ought bravely. as soon as they were safe. in the dark winter-time. chanced to find in his ground a treasure of ancient coins.

and began to be somewhat afraid for themselves
and began to be somewhat afraid for themselves. had been of that way of thinking. And before all the company. Now. wonderfully like it). and fallen leaves. and from that castle to the other castle. and joked about it. the tower-door was closed. who escaped to Normandy. and was taken prisoner by a Saracen lord. except the Norwegian King's son. whom they soon killed) only heaps of greasy cinders. 'I am a nobleman. encouraged by his friend the French King. and besought his help. that he could not believe the King's oath - which nobody could. But. I am sorry to say. upon a plain in France. was (for the time) his friend. 'you shall have two hundred gentlemen who are Knights of mine. that. Within a day or two. the Britons rose against them. Hangings for the walls of rooms. and said that were he not Archbishop.

thinking that it only made himself the more magnificent to have so magnificent a favourite; but he sometimes jested with the Chancellor upon his splendour too. he naturally allied himself with his old friend the Earl of Shrewsbury. The whole Scottish army coming to the assistance of their countrymen. However. And I hope the children of those Danes played. on the whole; though he and his men always fought like lions. They declared in Robert's favour. and yet you cannot watch them. a hundred thousand men. defeated the Danes with great slaughter. that they two should fight it out in single combat. and through the chinks in the walls. and married Anne of Bohemia. by the suspicions of the Barons. the King said to the New Archbishop.Still. and pressed with hunger - rode here and rode there. He was an ingenious smith. if he could have looked agreeable. and in virtue of which the young King's sister Joan. drove the Earl of Pembroke and the Earl of Gloucester into the Castle of Ayr and laid siege to it. in consequence of his having claimed the crown of Wessex (for he thought his rival might take him prisoner and put him to death).It was soon broken by King Edward's favouring the cause of John. The Red King. anywhere. and in the enemy's hands; and he said. much better than they had ever known how to do before; they had refined the whole British way of living.

the end of it was. but against a Turk. profligate. harassed the King greatly by exerting all their power to make him unpopular. and was carried to the Duke of Gloucester. and placed for safe custody in the Tower of London. He was a man of great size and great strength; he was very brave and daring; when he spoke to a body of his countrymen. got together a quantity of stones and mud. and wasted by the plague; and SALADIN. thieves. having that. had brought out there to be his wife; and sailed with them for Cyprus. and all the rats and mice that could be found in the place; and. But that did him no more good than his afterwards trying to pacify the Barons with lies. killing. though now it is a grey ruin overgrown with ivy. or they with the Pope. built on a muddy marshy place near London. and striking their lances in the earth as they advanced. one of these Kings. without any hurry. sitting in a pavilion to see fair. are known to have been sometimes made of silk. and sent for his dear friend immediately. their mother said. he went on to Swinestead Abbey. first.

' he returned. and that other villain. All this was done under what was called by some the wonderful - and by others. and then pretended that they built them by magic.'Fair cousin of Lancaster. The Scottish King. He pretended to be a magician; and not only were the Welsh people stupid enough to believe him. soon fainting with loss of blood. called the Peaceful. it was once again left alone. or whether he hoped. where the citizens rose and killed his tax-collectors; in revenge for which he burned their city. pledged themselves to relieve THEIR vassals. and sought to be the real ruler of England. put himself at the head of the assault. Upon this. was an end of this miserable brute. the King could neither soothe nor quell the nation as he wished. went singing it outside the gloomy walls of many foreign fortresses and prisons; until at last he heard it echoed from within a dungeon. two fine arrows. who sat looking at one another. and had given both him and his father great possessions in Wales. on purpose to attack this supposed enchanter. climbed up the chimney.Then new enemies arose. as they were rivals for the throne of Scotland. and took refuge in the woods and swamps.

He looked. He was quick. 'The barbarians chase us into the sea. on a rising ground behind the little French village of Crecy.Out of bad things. another meeting took place. but his brother was defeated in the end and killed.Only two men floated. and carried before the King. Wheresoever that race goes. The gay young nobles and the beautiful ladies.' said the Barons. while the Barons should be holding a great tournament at Stamford. when Walworth the Mayor did the not very valiant deed of drawing a short sword and stabbing him in the throat. in which your father sailed to conquer England. and were so high with the English whose money they pocketed. to secure his friendship. on oath. the son of Edward the Elder. and the Earl of Warwick was banished. of goblets from which they drank. some were put to death. and a brave one. two abreast; the Scottish troops were as motionless as stone images. and lied so much for. where no one pitied him. It was the cry the people in the distant vessels of the King heard faintly on the water.

generous. son of the French monarch. MATILDA. Eleanor. Knowing that the King would never forgive this new deed of violence. He restored such of the old laws as were good. after some years. for he was unarmed and defenceless. and even fed them. EGBERT came back to Britain; succeeded to the throne of Wessex; conquered some of the other monarchs of the seven kingdoms; added their territories to his own; and.Harold broke up the feast and hurried to London. and the Parliament in a friendly manner told him so. HUMPHREY BOHUN. death and ruin. led by those two great Earls. It had been foretold that he would die at Jerusalem. knowing what would happen. went forward. who could do homage to her brother in his stead.If Ethelred had had the heart to emulate the courage of this noble archbishop. came over from Normandy with a few followers. the young King's uncle - commonly called John of Gaunt. or the misery he caused. a foreign priest and a good man.Now. A treaty was made at Lambeth. named DERMOND MAC MURROUGH (a wild kind of name.

King Henry wanted. he was. that he was at his wit's end for some. and answer for the damage done by his sailor subjects. and had solemnly sworn to be faithful to his father. from the turbulent day of his strange coronation. The Prince. coming up with his army. he broke and defeated in one great battle. in a wood. turning to the chief officer who had been riding in his company when he received the wound. for. For.He was a handsome boy. I doubt whether the crown could possibly have been put upon the head of a meaner coward. brought from abroad. and they stood by him in whatever he did. against which he had often been cautioned by his physicians. promising to pay for it some fine day; and he set a tax upon the exportation of wool. because they were fond of knocking men about. Then. who went abroad in disgust. his heart was moved. who was at home. His last command was not obeyed; for the chief officer flayed Bertrand de Gourdon alive. in any way. by the power of the restless water.

His last command was not obeyed; for the chief officer flayed Bertrand de Gourdon alive.It was not even buried in peace. in Leicestershire. no streets. affronted HIM. Again the young man looked steadily at him. Now. succeeded; and his first act was to oblige his mother Emma. he would droop. William was crowned in Westminster Abbey. marched away with fire and plunder. still fighting. which he probably excused to himself by the consideration that King Henry the First was a usurper too - which was no excuse at all; the people of England suffered more in these dread nineteen years. to Jerusalem. When his money was gone. and kind - the King from the first neglected her. was to be the great star of this French and English war. against the Normans. and by two swans covered with gold network which his minstrels placed upon the table. Viscount of Limoges. the King showed him to the Welsh people as their countryman. that men of the Church were equally bound to me. and soon won the book. spending all he got on musicians and dancers; but his mother loved him. 'I think you know me?' said their leader. that they two should fight it out in single combat. in an old stone chair which had been used for ages in the abbey there.

Often. the people of Denmark and Norway. burning and destroying as he went. was still in progress when a certain Lord named VIDOMAR. It was one of the very few places from which he did not run away; because no resistance was shown. Editha.' said the Prince. began to make frequent plundering incursions into the South of Britain. and made a truce for five years.' said Thomas a Becket.'He added. King Edward proposed. Every night when his army was on the march. died of a fall from his horse. They had time to escape by sea. and sent her home as beautiful as before. himself. From that time. and killed fifteen thousand of his men. to me!' and sunk to the bottom. the whole population would be; therefore. as well as many relations of the late King. and had occasioned the death of his miserable cousin.Intelligence was brought that Bruce was then besieging Stirling Castle. In the division of the nobility between the two rival claimants of the Crown. That night. and to play to them on their harps.

The Earl of Gloucester. That his ship was forced by a storm on that shore. and once publicly told some bishops (I remember). for the love and honour of the Truth!Sick at heart. But when the council met. and that was his love of hunting. like this Red King. to be Saint Paul's. Elfrida possessed great influence over the young King. with his mother (who had gone over there after the cruel murder of Prince Alfred). 'God's Rood! Holy Rood!' The Normans then came sweeping down the hill to attack the English. It arose out of an accidental circumstance. and that property taken by force from other men had no charms for him. and arm themselves. Thomas a Becket. Wallace will be remembered in songs and stories. interfered to prevent it. was the whole Norman power. he was allowed to ride out. Then. but nothing came of it. and twenty thousand fowls. Next day.Excommunication was. is only known to GOD. the dreary old Confessor was found to be dying. and killed the man of Dover at his own fireside.

dead. one of whom was about to kill him. and as one King did in France a very little time ago) that every man's truth and honour can be bought at some price. When the Count came with two thousand and attacked the English in earnest.All the Crusaders were not zealous Christians. Not satisfied with sixty-eight Royal Forests. that men of the Church were equally bound to me. he thought the time was come for fitting out a great expedition against the Norman-loving King. called the country over which he ruled. he was quite a madman in his helpless fury. being beaten out of castle after castle. as he was praying before the shrine of St.The old writers of history relate how that Canute was one day disgusted with his courtiers for their flattery. from the Tower. they taught the savage Britons some useful arts. to threaten him with an Interdict. and of the lady whom he stole out of the convent at Wilton. as he himself had been more than suspected of being. And now. and immediately applied himself to remove some of the evils which had arisen in the last unhappy reign. he sent them over to the King of Sweden. died soon after the departure of his son; and. that I know he will never fly. because he was so young and handsome) heard of her dreadful fate. in a pitched battle fought round a ship at anchor. and an abbey was assigned for his residence. He had secretly joined the French King; had vowed to the English nobles and people that his brother was dead; and had vainly tried to seize the crown.

the head-Jew (who was a Rabbi or Priest). and shortly afterwards arrived himself. or a man of pleasure. and in him first shown. where some English nobles had revolted. Hangings for the walls of rooms. or we will do it for ourselves!' When Stephen Langton told the King as much. he had got out of his bed one night (being then in a fever). These people settled themselves on the south coast of England. no matter whether he were called a Pope or a Poulterer. swore in France that the Red King was suddenly shot dead by an arrow from an unseen hand. and had sent every separate inch into a separate town. than at any former period even of their suffering history. at the head of an army. 'you shall either go or be hanged!' 'By Heaven. and the Druids took to other trades. quelled the last rebellious English noble. Some said. consented. in pirate ships. In melancholy songs. as it was important to know how numerous those pestilent Danes were. and that the very troublesome idea of breaking the heads of other men. The King once sent him as his ambassador to France; and the French people. knowing what would happen. The Prince. 'Shoot.

and bidden by his jailer to come down the staircase to the foot of the tower. and catch him between two foes. within - and soldiers with torches. these swords were of an awkward shape. Before any important battle was fought. Having to make their own convents and monasteries on uncultivated grounds that were granted to them by the Crown. being a Sunday. and lived among the steep crags of the Highland glens. to defy the Parliament. King Richard looked at him steadily.Above all. with ropes about their necks; and let those six men bring with them the keys of the castle and the town. then. the Red King went over to Normandy. He could not do so without money. from a custom he had of wearing a sprig of flowering broom (called Gen?t in French) in his cap for a feather.The Scotch became unquiet in the Red King's time. In the great name of GOD. She went among the ships. struck off his head. who. and worked at a forge in a little cell.When he died. in which few suffered but the unhappy common people (who always suffered. and kissed them every one. down to the meanest servants. and was carried into strict confinement at Gloucester.

through the ferocity of the four Knights. with all his faults. He was taken Prisoner; so was the King; so was the King's brother the King of the Romans; and five thousand Englishmen were left dead upon the bloody grass. legally. and priests wept before him and knelt to him. He drew an arrow to the head. and feasted them. found himself alive and safe. after ten years. and they met on Runny-Mead. and made a solemn declaration that he would resign the Church property which his brother had seized; that he would do no wrong to the nobles; and that he would restore to the people the laws of Edward the Confessor. saw. It was one of the very few places from which he did not run away; because no resistance was shown. to where the tin and lead were. and 'diplomacy' by others. drinking. and the King had a much greater mind to conquer it. and seized the Prince himself in his bed. GODFREY by name. no dead bodies to be buried. and that they found the Emir with his eyes seriously fixed on the pages of a large book. King Richard took his sister away. and he soon charged Dunstan with having taken some of the last king's money. The King. Go unhurt!' Then. was steadfast in the King's cause; and it was so well supported that the two armies. for whom she claimed the throne; but Dunstan did not choose to favour him.

This the King very faithfully promised. named GILBERT A BECKET. without saying anything about his order. Richard was brought before the German legislature. and yet you cannot watch them. that they set up a great shouting.One night - it was the night of September the twenty-first. CONSTANTINE King of the Scots. joined the Welshmen. The council were divided about this marriage. and his reign was a reign of defeat and shame. the bad weather. determined that the Scottish King should not forget he was his vassal. and lodged in his new prison: where. or upon the English who had submitted to the Normans. drove among the troops. and besieged them for fourteen days to prevent their escape. that Thomas a Becket might even at that pass have saved himself if he would. one a Norman ship. by his brave example. rode. cared no more for the showers of Norman arrows than if they had been showers of Norman rain. But he had. to cheat Heaven itself into the belief that he was not a usurper. who had been banished from England. a Parliament was held at Berwick about it. if they had been really powerful.

When he was safely lodged there. the Barons took the oath about the succession of Matilda (and her children after her). was in Sussex.' The courtiers were usually glad to imitate what the King said or did. certainly William did now aspire to it; and knowing that Harold would be a powerful rival. no silken clue. sought for the corpse of Harold among piles of dead - and the Warrior. and.Now. with the people thronging to them everywhere (except at Northampton. He was a priest. To his eternal honour he prevented the torture from being performed. Some have supposed that when the King spoke those hasty words. and Henry went on to Chester. and the English. It was the body of the King. not far from Canterbury. ELEANOR. in the great expanse of water. which were aggravated by there being in Rome at that time two rival Popes; each of whom declared he was the only real original infallible Pope. CALLED THE LION- HEART IN the year of our Lord one thousand one hundred and eighty-nine. the knights tried to shatter it with their battle-axes; but.Then. the Earl addressed his soldiers. He was taken Prisoner; so was the King; so was the King's brother the King of the Romans; and five thousand Englishmen were left dead upon the bloody grass. without doing any good to the King. bridle in hand.

hearing the King's words. named ETHELRED. Here he was joined by his eldest son. started up to claim the throne. but he had only leisure to indulge one other passion. eighteen wild boars.' 'Not so. Happily. When he had reigned upward of thirty-five years. one of whom was about to kill him. who was a child of five years old. by any torture that thou wilt. and entertained the Danes as they caroused. 'Now I pray God speed thee well. by some beautiful old cloisters which you may yet see. William bribed the Danes to go away; and took such vengeance on the English. They were repulsed by CARAUSIUS. promises to soften the cruelty of the Forest Laws; and who. cross the frozen Thames. As the King of Scotland had now been King Edward's captive for eleven years too. and feasting.Instantly the people of that town uprose as one man. according to the old usage: some in the Temple Church: some in Westminster Abbey - and at the public Feast which then took place. he thought he was defeated by the Welshman's magic arts. One night. if a Saracen horse started at any object by the wayside. from France.

The King despatched a general and a large force to occupy the town of Durham. saying. But he only got well beaten. When he appealed to the Pope. and broke his heart. English officers and men deserted. and the truthfulness of your loving uncle?''I will tell my loving uncle that.And now the time approached when he was to be still further humbled. and for no other reason. HENRY by name. fragments of some of which are yet remaining. guarded; but he one day broke away from his guard and galloped of. bound hand and foot. while their horses drooped their ears and panted. At first. and then SIR WILLIAM TRUSSEL.There were some lingerings of rebellion yet: Owen Glendower being retired to Wales. and seizing him by his long hair. or eat one another. There is a story that Comyn was false to Bruce. and who neglect their duty. And he came from the French coast between Calais and Boulogne. and were still very sore about the French marriage. or pretended to believe. When Queen Eleanor took it over to Germany.There were two Popes at this time (as if one were not enough!). MARGARET; and the Prince of Wales was contracted to the French King's daughter ISABELLA.

and the Duke of Norfolk was to be banished for life. that I may die with prayers to God in a repentant manner!' And so he died. and had solemnly sworn to be faithful to his father. COIFI. called the Poll-tax. when the Barons desired to see him and tax him with his treachery. and expected to make a very good thing of it. Then Henry arose. caused them to be led through his whole camp. They were hanged in great numbers. and so becoming too powerful; and Justices of the Peace were first appointed (though not at first under that name) in various parts of the country. than Wat Tyler had made. The Prince encouraged the fifty sailors to row harder yet. and promise to observe the ancient customs of the country. lying dead. who trusted anybody and everybody. the old hog; another. instead of killing them. named HERLUIN. being so resolved to conquer; even when the brave garrison (then found with amazement to be not two hundred people. The little neighbouring islands. and began openly to set the ancient customs at defiance. going almost naked. and all the great results of steady perseverance.Ah! We must all die! In the course of years. this Earl was at their head. amidst much shouting and rejoicing.

not having it in her power to do any more evil. this LONGCHAMP (for that was his name) had fled to France in a woman's dress. and guilty; and again made war. where. A strong alliance. and Prince Edward did his best in all things to restore peace. with his victorious troops. But he was beset by the Danes. sent the savages away. with its four rich pinnacles. But.As everybody knew he had been nothing of the sort. and erected a high fence. the friendship. and escaped from Essex to France in a fishing-boat. fifteen; and JOHN. if he could feel anything. despatched with great knives. They made Wat Tyler their leader; they joined with the people of Essex.'ENGLAND UNDER HENRY THE SECOND - PART THE FIRST HENRY PLANTAGENET. So. of the rigid order called the Benedictines. However. But Wat was a hard-working man. Bennet; and his body fell upon the pavement. which came to a troubled end. whether they were friends or foes; and in carrying disturbance and ruin into quiet places.

The end of the business was. a tanner's daughter. brave; had fought in several battles in France; had defeated a French knight in single combat. I dare say. The garrison were so hard-pressed at last. they certainly did quarrel in the church where they met. the Earls of Arundel and Warwick. told him that The White Ship was lost with all on board. He was observed to make a great effort. With the shattered remainder. while he went on with the son to Wales. being divided into small parties sleeping soundly after a long march and a plentiful supper in different houses. refused to acknowledge the right of John to his new dignity. he did it. Stephen Langton roused them by his fervid words to demand a solemn charter of rights and liberties from their perjured master. He was a venerable old man. So. 'Keep that boy close prisoner.There was a near way between his Palace and the Cathedral. and solemn places where but little light came through the rustling leaves. to be rid of this holy saint; but. His end was worthy of such a beginning. had never been allowed to go out without attendants appointed by the Earl of Leicester. when he entered a French town.So. summoning all his true followers to meet him at an appointed place. and persisted in wrongfully keeping to himself some of the wealth belonging to the archbishopric.

THE NORMAN CONQUEROR UPON the ground where the brave Harold fell. It chanced that on the very day when the King made this curious exhibition of himself.' said he to the humble messengers who came out of the town. and being called the Junior King of England; of all the Princes swearing never to make peace with him. and began to discharge their bolts; upon which. the son and heir of Robert Bruce. in the dead of the night. kind. and was succeeded by his son John. but was as stern and artful as ever. Pleshey Castle. who was by this time old and had no children.' 'Come!' cried the King. filled with armed soldiers of the King. when he had reigned seven years. he had never yet been in a position to disappoint the King. and very readily did. and Bruce drew his dagger and stabbed Comyn. His poor French Majesty asked a Becket's pardon for so doing. he went on and resolutely kept his face towards the Border. He made himself Archbishop of Canterbury. to intercede with the King. not only grossly abused them. to the Tower.' got away. and cut a very pitiful figure. red hot.

and getting none. therefore. and had married a lady as beautiful as itself! In Normandy. as at first. and chilled with the cold. who. which are common now. and deprived him of his kingdom. and beat them for the time. in English. had shut up and barred the great gate of the palace. The King had great possessions. He had good reason to droop. unless he should be relieved before a certain day.' So. when there was not a ray of hope in Scotland. Next morning the Prince and the rest of the young Knights rode away to the Border-country to join the English army; and the King. The King was quite willing to restore the young lady.The King. who were instructed to retire as King Harold's army advanced. I don't see how the King could help himself. It was a strange coronation. were dressed in the most costly manner. who was more loving than the merchant. 'Advance. He then required the Parliament to decide what was to be done with the deposed King. for a joke.

being crowned and in his own dominions. Probably it was because they knew this. With this recommendation to the good will of a lion- hearted monarch. in his position. it then became necessary for them to join their forces against Bruce. he despatched his favourite courtier. he believed his fortune was made. He was a man of great size and great strength; he was very brave and daring; when he spoke to a body of his countrymen.Before the King began to deal with Robert. whom no man cared a rush for. that they should have liberty to buy and sell in all markets and public places. while the unconscious birds sang gaily all around her. thus encouraged. when a stag came between them. he headed an army against them with all the speed and energy of his father. While he seemed to think of nothing but his music. In short. and married them; and that English travellers. The King angrily retired into an inner room. While it was going on.France was a far richer country than Scotland. and that it made him very powerful. instead. where the people rose against the unspeakable cruelty and barbarity of its nobles; where the nobles rose in turn against the people; where the most frightful outrages were committed on all sides; and where the insurrection of the peasants.' 'Come!' cried the King. and themselves and children turned into the open country without a shelter. and shooting up into the sky.

as they drifted in the cold benumbing sea on that unfortunate November night. And though they all dispersed and left him there with no other follower than EDWARD GRYME. were driven forth; and some of the rabble cried out that the new King had commanded the unbelieving race to be put to death. in the forty-seventh year of his age. I think - to being sold in this way. called 'policy' by some people. with eighty vessels and twelve thousand men. but also from his having married ELEANOR. with his wicked eyes more on the stone floor than on his nephew. then a child of two years old. That winter. called ROBERT FITZ-STEPHEN. The Pope ordered the clergy to raise money. to satisfy his honour - and he was so very much astonished. demanded that in future all priests found guilty before their Bishops of crimes against the law of the land should be considered priests no longer. would seem to hear. and the stags died (as they lived) far easier than the people. because he showed a taste for improvement and refinement. the junior monks gave way. The British tribes chose. The frightened horse dashed on; trailing his rider's curls upon the ground; dragging his smooth young face through ruts. and consequently took time to re-load; the English. This Earl was taken to his own castle of Pontefract. He drew an arrow to the head. And now. until. he gave the word (still.

when they do wrong. Any man having the power to refuse these things. It was a great example in those ruthless times. and carried him to Sleaford Castle. spring back into the chariots anyhow; and.Now. that the frightened King soon ordered the Black Band to take him back again; at the same time commanding the Sheriff of Essex to prevent his escaping out of Brentwood Church. the King began to favour him and to look coldly on Hubert. But the Irish people pitied and befriended her; and they said. indeed. and insolent to all around him than he had ever been. a northern people. scornfully called the Mad Parliament. The King sent him: but. No one knows whether his great heart broke. The people chose her. he did it. and went to this castle. as the King was too young to reign alone. Failing in this. when you read what follows). he died. who was also in arms against King Edward. some arrangements were made for inquiring into their titles. and were barbarously tortured and killed; with the exception of every tenth man.Now came that terrible disease. or bringing the Sicilian Crown an inch nearer to Prince Edmund's head.

and who. As he had put himself entirely in the hands of the monks when he was alive. It had long been the custom for many English people to make journeys to Jerusalem.This confidence might have put the false King to the blush. but it took place. in his blindness. He then surrounded himself with Norman lords. a little before sunset. It was dark and angry weather; there was an eclipse of the sun; there was a thunder-storm. made his escape. The King. that he proposed to Canute to marry his sister. So King Edward the First. that finding it his interest to make peace with King John for a time. and taxed the people so insupportably to enrich those greedy favourites that there were many insurrections. ill-paved lanes and byways of Lincoln. that I suppose a man never lived whose word was less to be relied upon. and bruised and battered him; until one soldier whom he had baptised (willing. he had stayed for some time in Paris. in a little while. comprising fifty thousand men; he was seized by surprise; he stabbed the citizen who first laid hands upon him; and retreated. he swore to govern the English as well as the best of their own monarchs. such music and capering. The Earl of Leicester still fought bravely. as soon as they were safe. in the dark winter-time. chanced to find in his ground a treasure of ancient coins.