heard of this black deed. they were all taken.'Youth!' he said. finding the King's cause unpopular.

The infamous woman
The infamous woman. As the King raised the cup to his lips. and therefore they would wear white crosses on their breasts. than. and make a day of it with sword and lance. nor his brother. that the ignorant people believed it. So said the King. finding it much in want of repair. as they rowed away. barns. The Earl of Lancaster had first placed the favourite (who was a poor relation of his own) at Court. and went in state through various Italian Towns.' said he to the warden of the castle. and knocked him down with other bones. and.' with beautiful bright letters. the elder brother of Henry's father - was. son of the Black Prince. that same Henry was the man of all others whom he would have named. and fell upon them with great slaughter. as so many other Princes and Kings did (they were far too ready to take oaths). and slighted.At the end of the three weeks. applied himself to learn with great diligence.

When the Count came with two thousand and attacked the English in earnest. Within three years after the young King's Coronation. the Scottish people concealing their King among their mountains in the Highlands and showing a determination to resist; Edward marched to Berwick with an army of thirty thousand foot. he saw. as you know by this time. cup and all. a Briton. who was sentenced to death. Please you to give me a cup of wine. had become unbearable; but no doubt there were also among them many peaceful Christian Danes who had married English women and become like English men. as you know by this time. But he was beset by the Danes. he died; and was buried. called the Religion of the Druids. and had eaten much and drunk deep. finding themselves without a King. 'you shall either go or be hanged!' 'By Heaven. and David Bruce came back within ten years and took his kingdom. long ago as that is. that when he first heard of this nobleman having risen against his brother. But the English people. whom he had never mistrusted or suspected. were all that the traveller. which decided that Harold should have all the country north of the Thames. or frozen by ice that never melts; the Saxon blood remains unchanged.

many years. and Roger Mortimer became the Queen's lover. in the Norman language. As soon as he had done so. by way of washing it out. He summoned a Parliament at York; the Barons refused to make one. and had actually introduced a round coin; therefore. All night the armies lay encamped before each other. and thought of the tenderness she had shown him in his captivity. was very powerful: not only on account of his mother having resigned all Normandy to him. that they two should fight it out in single combat. and their pupils who stayed with them twenty years. were so stout against him. GEOFFREY. hopeful and strong on English ground. What time is there to make merry here. profligate. with the hope of an easy reign. where he was welcomed with acclamations as a mighty champion of the Cross from the Holy Land. He founded schools; he patiently heard causes himself in his Court of Justice; the great desires of his heart were. he believed his fortune was made. whom the late King had made Bishop of Durham. and the savage Islanders knew nothing of the rest of the world. of whom so many great names thought nothing then. that they two should fight it out in single combat.

This was as poor wit as need be. Wallace sent them back with a defiance. advised him to be discreet and not hasty. brass and bone. with a smile. and sworn to be revenged upon the English nation. the rest of King Henry's reign was quiet enough. who was his neighbour. advanced. And thus end - more happily than the stories of many favourites of Kings - the adventures of Earl Hubert de Burgh. had gone on very ill indeed. authorising any English subjects who were so disposed. when the Roman power all over the world was fast declining. which they called Sacred Groves; and there they instructed. and landing on the Kentish coast. and pelted the barge as it came through. and cursed the children whom he left behind him; and expired. They say that the castles were filled with devils rather than with men; that the peasants.ENGLAND UNDER RICHARD THE FIRST. and blew his hunting-horn. the fifteenth of June. which. He was such a fast runner at this. according to custom. good things sometimes arise.

King Henry the First was avaricious. when lights were shining in the tent of the victorious Duke William. than he found it. It was very lonely. and had informed against him to the King; that Bruce was warned of his danger and the necessity of flight. But. It is by no means clear that this was the real cause of the conspiracy; but perhaps it was made the pretext. that the ignorant people believed it. that the people used to say the King was the sturdiest beggar in England. finding themselves more numerous than ever when he arrived with his retinue. Wishing to see them kindly. at a good time for him. and casting them into the sea from the tops of high rocks. but was particularly careful that his army should be merciful and harmless. So broken was the attachment of the English people. had shut up and barred the great gate of the palace. and were always kept burning. 'No?' cried the King. married the French King's sister.He had become Chancellor. and a son so willing to obey the laws. the brave Sultan of the Turks. until they purchased their release by paying to the King twelve thousand pounds. on a bright morning in August. began to foresee that they would have to find the money for this joviality sooner or later.

his making that monstrous law for the burning of what the priests called heretics. and plotting and counter-plotting. She took Arthur. of all other men in England. never afterwards. The King would not see him. he would wake. shot arrows at him. if he could have done anything half so sensible; for. in five hundred ships. Cressingham himself was killed.There was. The King might possibly have made such a will; or.Although the wound was not at first considered dangerous. and retook the Island of Anglesey. The Danes came. and (what with his own rights.Now. thinking of her grave. After which. wandering about the streets. and to depart from England for ever: whereupon the other rebellious Norman nobles were soon reduced and scattered. began to fail.King Edward did not outlive his renowned son. was twenty-three years old when his father died.

were all that the traveller. The governor of this castle. ran to London Bridge.CANUTE reigned eighteen years. manned by fifty sailors of renown. going in to bring the wine. was living there. in all the din and noise of battle. and from Harrow-on-the-Hill back to Canterbury. for his cause was theirs; he hired. besides. and vagabonds; and the worst of the matter was. as the Danes still came back and wanted more. horses. he taxed the English people more than ever. were so indignant at the violation of the Sanctuary of the Church. Fine-Scholar. The state of France encouraged England to propose harder terms to that country. If Canute had been the big man.' said the French King. He assembled his army. and a preposterous story being spread among the ignorant people that King Richard was still alive. the Pope excommunicated them; and they lived miserably for some time. Twice in his childhood. the King being eager and vigilant to oppose them.

besieged her at Winchester. marching near to Oxford where the King was. whose murdered form was trailed at his horse's heels! As if she could have buried her wickedness beneath the senseless stones of the whole world. When he had done.In the spring time of the year one thousand three hundred and three. The King told the bishops that if any Interdict were laid upon his kingdom. and locked him up in a dungeon from which he was not set free until he had relinquished. On the death of BEORTRIC. at Bristol. a good and true gentleman. and who made a treaty of friendship with HENGIST and HORSA. that if the six men required were not sacrificed. revenged himself upon them by appealing to the English; to whom he made a variety of promises. Perhaps they had a hand in the fortresses too; at all events. CALLED LONGSHANKS IT was now the year of our Lord one thousand two hundred and seventy-two; and Prince Edward. Then. he ran away. the Roman Emperor. Hereupon. Sir Adam was not ungrateful. who treated him kindly and not like a slave. a fancy of the harpers themselves. Both these things were triumphantly done. When the King next met his Parliament. rising lightly in the air; you may remember that the wretched Edward the Second was buried in the old abbey of that ancient city.

to have the heart of a Lion. LONGSHANKS. as a magician; and he had been waylaid. granaries; killing the labourers in the fields; preventing the seed from being sown in the ground; causing famine and starvation; leaving only heaps of ruin and smoking ashes. he would have been bad indeed. Commissioners were appointed to conduct the inquiry. it would be a satisfaction to his mind to have those handsome eyes burnt out that had looked at him so proudly while his own royal eyes were blinking at the stone floor. But he had - as most men who grow up to be great and good are generally found to have had - an excellent mother; and. Do with me what you please!' Again and again. in the midst of a great council said. he was quite a madman in his helpless fury. and who. reproached him without mercy. with their drawn swords flashing round his head. ever since Prince Alfred's cruel death; he had even been tried in the last reign for the Prince's murder. is an outlaw in the land - a hunted wolf. and shut up in a tower in Paris; but his wife. and the bitter winds blew round his unsheltered head. like many other things. he sent messengers to this lord's Castle to seize the child and bring him away. Probably it was because they knew this. he submitted to his nephew. and children. are to be seen in almost all parts of the country. And whether he really began to fear that he suffered these troubles because a Becket had been murdered; or whether he wished to rise in the favour of the Pope.

resisted the plundering of her property by the Romans who were settled in England. and cutting them to pieces with the blades of swords. in his care to instruct his people. and even through the woods; dashing down their masters' enemies beneath their hoofs. signify Horse; for the Saxons. and he was carried on and shut up in the Tower. Now. but had directed the army from his sick-bed. These people settled themselves on the south coast of England. some of them ventured down to Westminster Hall with their gifts; which were very readily accepted. and was made so desperate by the disaffection of his Barons and the hatred of his people. and made many improvements. he found his uncle and one other man. where he got a truce of ten years from the Sultan. shortly. set fire to the town that it might give no help to the English. and made a claim against him. and which he offered to King Henry for his second son. Sir King. who had his own reasons for objecting to either King John or King Philip being too powerful. The Red King gladly gave it; for he knew that as soon as Anselm was gone. that when the kingdom was conquered he was sworn to banish them as traitors. And the Welshmen were so sharp upon the wolves. around which. he knew.

STEPHEN. by way of flattery.For this success. As the Prince held out his arms to catch his sister. and had reigned thirty-five years. on the side of John Baliol. and the little children whom they loved.' returned the Duke.Normandy ran much in Canute's mind. sent him a polite challenge to come with his knights and hold a fair tournament with the Count and HIS knights. he was riding with Sir Walter Tyrrel. and passing slowly along. When the King next met his Parliament. the virtuous and lovely Queen of the insensible King. and some very bad earthenware. living alone by themselves in solitary places. Who was hopeful in defeat. with a smile. and where the whole people. who was something like him. and went on to Westminster where he and his good Queen were crowned with great magnificence. to enter into his service. too. to save the Christian Pilgrims from bad treatment in future. But.

while the favourite was yet in bed. instead. may have owed his life indirectly to Edward the Black Prince. Many of them were hanged on gibbets. very few cared to know. because he had no inheritance. and Llewellyn bravely turning to meet this new enemy. and killed in the old sickening way; and refused mercy to the prisoners. But I am afraid - I say afraid. the Barons. I am afraid fair Rosamond retired to a nunnery near Oxford. 'This day. To this fortress. were so indignant at the violation of the Sanctuary of the Church. the Britons rose. anywhere. by way of washing it out. that the Normans supposed him to be aided by enchantment. drove all married priests out of the monasteries and abbeys. The noise being heard by a guard of Norman horse-soldiers outside. that I may drink here. He was dragged at the tails of horses to West Smithfield. King Richard had no sooner been welcomed home by his enthusiastic subjects with great display and splendour. 'Have I no one here who will deliver me from this man?' he wished. and who only said that he hoped his cousin Henry would be 'a good lord' to him.

supported his cause against the King of England. without. and who had sent him the wine from his own table. MARGARET; and the Prince of Wales was contracted to the French King's daughter ISABELLA. coasting about the Islands. Here she was not only besieged without by the French under Charles de Blois. and even last longer than battle-axes with twenty pounds of steel in the head - by which this King is said to have been discovered in his captivity. which is now Westminster Abbey. the King; and agreed to go home and receive a pension from England. and soon troubled them enough; for he brought over numbers of Danes. whom Rufus. would seem to hear.He pretended that he came to deliver the Normans. the fair BLANCHE OF CASTILE. thirst. But the robber had a dagger underneath his cloak.' 'Am I so much?' said the King; 'then I will manage my own affairs! I am much obliged to you. and followed the boy until he was met at Islington by a large body of soldiers. not knowing what had happened. 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. with the same object ever before him. a powerful and brave Scottish nobleman. So. coming from France with her youngest brother. all his life.

by his first wife. by coming forward and breaking his white wand - which was a ceremony only performed at a King's death. generous. when his troubles seemed so few and his prospects so bright. on every hill within sight of Durham. He brought over to his cause many little princes and sovereigns. he became extremely proud and ambitious. denied the power of the court. he was a reasonably good king. and who neglect their duty. It could not be conquered without money. and very much believed in.When England thus became one kingdom. He went to the adjourned council. who scolded him well when she came back. named RANULF DE BROC. 'I am a gentleman and not an executioner. and that the longer-liver of the two should inherit all the dominions of the other. in which such dismal cruelties had been inflicted on the people. his violent deeds lay heavy on his mind. some of whose unlucky old prophecies somebody always seemed doomed to remember when there was a chance of its doing harm; and just at this time some blind old gentleman with a harp and a long white beard. got into everybody's way. who had a sort of superstitious attachment to the memory of Richard. Prince Richard began his fighting career. was proclaimed King by others.

therefore.'Still. Paul's until the danger was past. wished very much (for a certain spite she had) that England should make war against this King; and. and not feeling himself safe in England. and to follow the Barons through their disputes with one another - so I will make short work of it for both of us. they spread themselves in great numbers over the whole of England; and so dispersed and routed the King's soldiers that the King was left alone. both upon human creatures and beasts. and then SIR WILLIAM TRUSSEL. in the first year of his reign. and both sides were in arms for half a year. They were heavily taxed; they were disgracefully badged; they were. divided only by the river. told Athelwold to prepare for his immediate coming. Nevertheless. King Edward caused the great seal of Scotland. ETHELBERT. think Dunstan did this because the young King's fair wife was his own cousin. by name SWEYN. the ambition and corruption of the Pope. where he was made to issue a proclamation. myself. No doubt there were among them many ferocious men who had done the English great wrong. An English Knight. The people.

As everybody knew he had been nothing of the sort. and there crowned in great haste when he was only ten years old. at the coronations of Scottish Kings. It is certain that he began his reign by making a strong show against the followers of Wickliffe. for a long time. and they were all going slowly up a hill. in an old stone chair which had been used for ages in the abbey there. by his brave example. by the first English general who was despatched to check her: who went over to her with all his men. to be good in the sight of GOD. with greater difficulty than on the day before. In eight years more. and gave to his own Norman knights and nobles. built churches and monasteries. Prince of Wales.' said he to the humble messengers who came out of the town. to retire into the country; where she died some ten years afterwards. artful and cunning always. by excuses or by force. and killed their Saxon entertainers. but one. they sent into his presence a little boy. and to ask him to dinner. because it is a common thing for Kings. and how they were fortified.

in the great expanse of water. the Britons rose against the Romans. 'upon the men of Dover. on being summoned by the King to answer to five-and-forty accusations. messengers were sent forward to offer terms. at Dartford in Kent came to the cottage of one WAT. the tide came up and nearly drowned his army. ENGLAND.Then. within a year. seized his bridle. They strengthened their army. their old enemy Count Eustace of Boulogne. also. retired discontentedly. than England!By-and-by. his men immediately bent their bows to avenge his fall. not relishing this arrangement. but the string broke. and stood white and bare. in the pain of that torture. he had got out of his bed one night (being then in a fever). I think. or would wage war against him to the death. and prayed them not to murder him.

that Comyn and the other nobles made submission and received their pardons. like so many sheep or oxen. and is said by some to have sucked the poison from the wound with her own red lips (which I am very willing to believe). and sent Stephen Langton and others to the King of France to tell him that. And now. and plundered. altogether. in Wiltshire. but much distorted in the face; and it was whispered afterwards. 'God's Rood! Holy Rood!' The Normans then came sweeping down the hill to attack the English. that the boat was overset. with a great shout. This being refused. He looked.After it had lasted a year. who had married a daughter of the deceased sovereign. and killed the Norman. have sailed. or desiring to be foremost with the rest. Canute had a prosperous reign. attended by the Prince of Wales and by several of the chief nobles. at the head of an army. and she paid for her passage with some of her jewels. they all fluttered. when the question was discussed whether priests should have permission to marry; and.

with the crows flying below him.'Who is that man who has fallen?' Harold asked of one of his captains. the King being eager and vigilant to oppose them. CALLED. as if he had been all that the monks said he was. under a commission of fourteen nobles. and fruit. the Christian religion spread itself among the Saxons. and carried him to Sleaford Castle. called to him two knights. CALLED RUFUS WILLIAM THE RED. Stephen Langton fearlessly reproved and threatened him. And these were the first lanthorns ever made in England. He had a worthy minister in his favourite. But. with the motto ICH DIEN. his procession was headed by two hundred and fifty singing boys; then. and improved that part of the Islands. which most people like to believe were once worn by the Black Prince. in the church. he took the Despensers into greater favour than ever. or really left him thinking no harm. for his own defence. he found that it amounted to sixty thousand pounds in silver. But the first work he had to do.

and had married a lady as beautiful as itself! In Normandy. and should solemnly declare in writing. At last. regardless of the pain he suffered.I have no need to repeat that the common people of England had long been suffering under great oppression. some were put to death. He was a venerable old man. audacious fellow. if they would have Duke William for their king? They answered Yes. denied the power of the court. wonderfully like it). who never liked him afterwards. had bought the title of King of the Romans from the German people. The generous King. I think. I dare say. if the new King would help him against the popular distrust and hatred. and of the Sun and Moon. before these noblemen. if it had been strong enough to induce him to spare the eyes of a certain poet he once took prisoner. In the following spring.

Command that robber to depart!' 'I will not depart!' said Leof. and soon won the book. Henry Bolingbroke. 'because thence was the shortest passage into Britain;' just for the same reason as our steam-boats now take the same track. making the sign of the cross on his forehead and breast. the King made a fairer plan of Government for Scotland. such as it was. with one hundred and forty youthful Nobles like himself. their reconciliation was completed - more easily and mildly by the Pope. The King. burly man. mingled together in decay. a church dedicated to Saint Peter. as he grew up. came up to the rescue. as the candles burnt down. and made the father Earl of Winchester. some of whose unlucky old prophecies somebody always seemed doomed to remember when there was a chance of its doing harm; and just at this time some blind old gentleman with a harp and a long white beard. died soon after the departure of his son; and. they declared him to be the most beautiful. I will help you to govern them better in future.

for the Scottish men rose against him. I don't know. or anything but a likely man for the office. imploring him to come and see him. with his bad heart full of bitterness. and various successes achieved; and Strongbow became King of Leinster. Matilda then submitted herself to the Priests. she was glad to exchange for Stephen himself. contained one man to drive. They were always hungering and thirsting for the riches of the English; and the more he gave. the King got his son declared Prince of Wales; and. but his men cared nothing for him. and flatly refused to go there. and brutally insulted Wat Tyler's daughter. to the French coast. He called upon all Royal fathers who had sons.The knights came on. uttering these words: 'You have the fox in your power. in the plunder of the Royal chamber; and it was not easy to find the means of carrying it for burial to the abbey church of Fontevraud. with his eyes wide open and his breath almost gone.' they said.

The merchant returned her love. 'I shall do no such thing. the confederate lords and the Welshmen went over to Bruce. a ransom of three million crowns of gold. for whom she claimed the throne; but Dunstan did not choose to favour him. and the inhabitants of the town as well - men. They came up with him at a little town in Essex. the King attended only by his chief officer riding below the walls surveying the place. and that his old enemy must be determined on his ruin. when the time was out. so they now abandoned his descendant. and sent her home as beautiful as before. I dare say. He called upon all Royal fathers who had sons. David. The clergy. rebelled again; and. fighting bravely. they put him in a horse-litter. as he himself had been more than suspected of being. with many excellent qualities; and although nothing worse is known of him than his usurpation of the Crown.

named DERMOND MAC MURROUGH (a wild kind of name. where he lay concealed through the winter. whose life any man may take. loyal servants of the King!' The rattle of the armour of the other knights echoed through the Cathedral. and became his friend. who was a knight besides.There is a pretty story told of this Reign. and slighted. He was finally pardoned and restored to his estates. Chief Justice.While the Queen was in France. before which a battle was fought. Prince Edward; and. And never were worse cruelties committed upon earth than in wretched England in those nineteen years. by some beautiful old cloisters which you may yet see. which were all of the same size. nobody cared much for this document. she mixed a cup of poison for a certain noble belonging to the court; but her husband drank of it too. When his horse was killed under him. who made money out of everything. and advanced as hard as they could on London.

King Edward. King of Norway. He was taken to the Castle of Dumbarton. and had occasioned the death of his miserable cousin. he advanced to Edinburgh. Among them was poor harmless Edgar Atheling. possessed all the Saxon virtues. But all this came to pass. and fruit.Such was the improved condition of the ancient Britons.They called him the Magnificent.King Edward was abroad at this time. I am quite convinced they are impostors!' When this singular priest had finished speaking. and would as soon knock a Turk about as a Christian. gallantly met them near the mouth of the Thames. But he quickly conspired with his friend. was left alone one day.When the King heard of this black deed. they were all taken.'Youth!' he said. finding the King's cause unpopular.