ENGLAND UNDER WILLIAM THE FIRST, THE NORMAN CONQUEROR1
UPON the ground where the brave Harold fell, William the Norman afterwards founded an abbey, which, under the name of Battle Abbey, was a rich and splendid place through many a troubled year, though now it is a grey ruin overgrown with ivy2. But the first work he had to do, was to conquer the English thoroughly3; and that, as you know by this time, was hard work for any man.
He ravaged4 several counties; he burned and plundered5 many towns; he laid waste scores upon scores of miles of pleasant country; he destroyed innumerable lives. At length STIGAND, Archbishop of Canterbury, with other representatives of the clergy8 and the people, went to his camp, and submitted to him. EDGAR, the insignificant9 son of Edmund Ironside, was proclaimed King by others, but nothing came of it. He fled to Scotland afterwards, where his sister, who was young and beautiful, married the Scottish King. Edgar himself was not important enough for anybody to care much about him.
On Christmas Day, William was crowned in Westminster Abbey, under the title of WILLIAM THE FIRST; but he is best known as WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. It was a strange coronation. One of the bishops10 who performed the ceremony asked the Normans, in French, if they would have Duke William for their king? They answered Yes. Another of the bishops put the same question to the Saxons, in English. They too answered Yes, with a loud shout. The noise being heard by a guard of Norman horse-soldiers outside, was mistaken for resistance on the part of the English. The guard instantly set fire to the neighbouring houses, and a tumult11 ensued; in the midst of which the King, being left alone in the Abbey, with a few priests (and they all being in a terrible fright together), was hurriedly crowned. When the crown was placed upon his head, he swore to govern the English as well as the best of their own monarchs12. I dare say you think, as I do, that if we except the Great Alfred, he might pretty easily have done that.
Numbers of the English nobles had been killed in the last disastrous13 battle. Their estates, and the estates of all the nobles who had fought against him there, King William seized upon, and gave to his own Norman knights15 and nobles. Many great English families of the present time acquired their English lands in this way, and are very proud of it.
But what is got by force must be maintained by force. These nobles were obliged to build castles all over England, to defend their new property; and, do what he would, the King could neither soothe16 nor quell17 the nation as he wished. He gradually introduced the Norman language and the Norman customs; yet, for a long time the great body of the English remained sullen18 and revengeful. On his going over to Normandy, to visit his subjects there, the oppressions of his half-brother ODO, whom he left in charge of his English kingdom, drove the people mad. The men of Kent even invited over, to take possession of Dover, their old enemy Count Eustace of Boulogne, who had led the fray19 when the Dover man was slain20 at his own fireside. The men of Hereford, aided by the Welsh, and commanded by a chief named EDRIC THE WILD, drove the Normans out of their country. Some of those who had been dispossessed of their lands, banded together in the North of England; some, in Scotland; some, in the thick woods and marshes22; and whensoever they could fall upon the Normans, or upon the English who had submitted to the Normans, they fought, despoiled23, and murdered, like the desperate outlaws24 that they were. Conspiracies25 were set on foot for a general massacre26 of the Normans, like the old massacre of the Danes. In short, the English were in a murderous mood all through the kingdom.
King William, fearing he might lose his conquest, came back, and tried to pacify27 the London people by soft words. He then set forth28 to repress the country people by stern deeds. Among the towns which he besieged29, and where he killed and maimed the inhabitants without any distinction, sparing none, young or old, armed or unarmed, were Oxford30, Warwick, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Lincoln, York. In all these places, and in many others, fire and sword worked their utmost horrors, and made the land dreadful to behold31. The streams and rivers were discoloured with blood; the sky was blackened with smoke; the fields were wastes of ashes; the waysides were heaped up with dead. Such are the fatal results of conquest and ambition! Although William was a harsh and angry man, I do not suppose that he deliberately32 meant to work this shocking ruin, when he invaded England. But what he had got by the strong hand, he could only keep by the strong hand, and in so doing he made England a great grave.
Two sons of Harold, by name EDMUND and GODWIN, came over from Ireland, with some ships, against the Normans, but were defeated. This was scarcely done, when the outlaws in the woods so harassed33 York, that the Governor sent to the King for help. The King despatched a general and a large force to occupy the town of Durham. The Bishop7 of that place met the general outside the town, and warned him not to enter, as he would be in danger there. The general cared nothing for the warning, and went in with all his men. That night, on every hill within sight of Durham, signal fires were seen to blaze. When the morning dawned, the English, who had assembled in great strength, forced the gates, rushed into the town, and slew34 the Normans every one. The English afterwards besought35 the Danes to come and help them. The Danes came, with two hundred and forty ships. The outlawed36 nobles joined them; they captured York, and drove the Normans out of that city. Then, William bribed37 the Danes to go away; and took such vengeance38 on the English, that all the former fire and sword, smoke and ashes, death and ruin, were nothing compared with it. In melancholy39 songs, and doleful stories, it was still sung and told by cottage fires on winter evenings, a hundred years afterwards, how, in those dreadful days of the Normans, there was not, from the River Humber to the River Tyne, one inhabited village left, nor one cultivated field - how there was nothing but a dismal40 ruin, where the human creatures and the beasts lay dead together.
The outlaws had, at this time, what they called a Camp of Refuge, in the midst of the fens41 of Cambridgeshire. Protected by those marshy42 grounds which were difficult of approach, they lay among the reeds and rushes, and were hidden by the mists that rose up from the watery43 earth. Now, there also was, at that time, over the sea in Flanders, an Englishman named HEREWARD, whose father had died in his absence, and whose property had been given to a Norman. When he heard of this wrong that had been done him (from such of the exiled English as chanced to wander into that country), he longed for revenge; and joining the outlaws in their camp of refuge, became their commander. He was so good a soldier, that the Normans supposed him to be aided by enchantment44. William, even after he had made a road three miles in length across the Cambridgeshire marshes, on purpose to attack this supposed enchanter, thought it necessary to engage an old lady, who pretended to be a sorceress, to come and do a little enchantment in the royal cause. For this purpose she was pushed on before the troops in a wooden tower; but Hereward very soon disposed of this unfortunate sorceress, by burning her, tower and all. The monks46 of the convent of Ely near at hand, however, who were fond of good living, and who found it very uncomfortable to have the country blockaded and their supplies of meat and drink cut off, showed the King a secret way of surprising the camp. So Hereward was soon defeated. Whether he afterwards died quietly, or whether he was killed after killing47 sixteen of the men who attacked him (as some old rhymes relate that he did), I cannot say. His defeat put an end to the Camp of Refuge; and, very soon afterwards, the King, victorious48 both in Scotland and in England, quelled49 the last rebellious50 English noble. He then surrounded himself with Norman lords, enriched by the property of English nobles; had a great survey made of all the land in England, which was entered as the property of its new owners, on a roll called Doomsday Book; obliged the people to put out their fires and candles at a certain hour every night, on the ringing of a bell which was called The Curfew; introduced the Norman dresses and manners; made the Normans masters everywhere, and the English, servants; turned out the English bishops, and put Normans in their places; and showed himself to be the Conqueror indeed.
But, even with his own Normans, he had a restless life. They were always hungering and thirsting for the riches of the English; and the more he gave, the more they wanted. His priests were as greedy as his soldiers. We know of only one Norman who plainly told his master, the King, that he had come with him to England to do his duty as a faithful servant, and that property taken by force from other men had no charms for him. His name was GUILBERT. We should not forget his name, for it is good to remember and to honour honest men.
Besides all these troubles, William the Conqueror was troubled by quarrels among his sons. He had three living. ROBERT, called CURTHOSE, because of his short legs; WILLIAM, called RUFUS or the Red, from the colour of his hair; and HENRY, fond of learning, and called, in the Norman language, BEAUCLERC, or Fine-Scholar. When Robert grew up, he asked of his father the government of Normandy, which he had nominally51 possessed21, as a child, under his mother, MATILDA. The King refusing to grant it, Robert became jealous and discontented; and happening one day, while in this temper, to be ridiculed52 by his brothers, who threw water on him from a balcony as he was walking before the door, he drew his sword, rushed up- stairs, and was only prevented by the King himself from putting them to death. That same night, he hotly departed with some followers53 from his father's court, and endeavoured to take the Castle of Rouen by surprise. Failing in this, he shut himself up in another Castle in Normandy, which the King besieged, and where Robert one day unhorsed and nearly killed him without knowing who he was. His submission54 when he discovered his father, and the intercession of the queen and others, reconciled them; but not soundly; for Robert soon strayed abroad, and went from court to court with his complaints. He was a gay, careless, thoughtless fellow, spending all he got on musicians and dancers; but his mother loved him, and often, against the King's command, supplied him with money through a messenger named SAMSON. At length the incensed55 King swore he would tear out Samson's eyes; and Samson, thinking that his only hope of safety was in becoming a monk45, became one, went on such errands no more, and kept his eyes in his head.
All this time, from the turbulent day of his strange coronation, the Conqueror had been struggling, you see, at any cost of cruelty and bloodshed, to maintain what he had seized. All his reign57, he struggled still, with the same object ever before him. He was a stern, bold man, and he succeeded in it.
He loved money, and was particular in his eating, but he had only leisure to indulge one other passion, and that was his love of hunting. He carried it to such a height that he ordered whole villages and towns to be swept away to make forests for the deer. Not satisfied with sixty-eight Royal Forests, he laid waste an immense district, to form another in Hampshire, called the New Forest. The many thousands of miserable58 peasants who saw their little houses pulled down, and themselves and children turned into the open country without a shelter, detested59 him for his merciless addition to their many sufferings; and when, in the twenty-first year of his reign (which proved to be the last), he went over to Rouen, England was as full of hatred60 against him, as if every leaf on every tree in all his Royal Forests had been a curse upon his head. In the New Forest, his son Richard (for he had four sons) had been gored61 to death by a Stag; and the people said that this so cruelly-made Forest would yet be fatal to others of the Conqueror's race.
He was engaged in a dispute with the King of France about some territory. While he stayed at Rouen, negotiating with that King, he kept his bed and took medicines: being advised by his physicians to do so, on account of having grown to an unwieldy size. Word being brought to him that the King of France made light of this, and joked about it, he swore in a great rage that he should rue56 his jests. He assembled his army, marched into the disputed territory, burnt - his old way! - the vines, the crops, and fruit, and set the town of Mantes on fire. But, in an evil hour; for, as he rode over the hot ruins, his horse, setting his hoofs62 upon some burning embers, started, threw him forward against the pommel of the saddle, and gave him a mortal hurt. For six weeks he lay dying in a monastery63 near Rouen, and then made his will, giving England to William, Normandy to Robert, and five thousand pounds to Henry. And now, his violent deeds lay heavy on his mind. He ordered money to be given to many English churches and monasteries64, and - which was much better repentance65 - released his prisoners of state, some of whom had been confined in his dungeons66 twenty years.
It was a September morning, and the sun was rising, when the King was awakened67 from slumber68 by the sound of a church bell. 'What bell is that?' he faintly asked. They told him it was the bell of the chapel69 of Saint Mary. 'I commend my soul,' said he, 'to Mary!' and died.
Think of his name, The Conqueror, and then consider how he lay in death! The moment he was dead, his physicians, priests, and nobles, not knowing what contest for the throne might now take place, or what might happen in it, hastened away, each man for himself and his own property; the mercenary servants of the court began to rob and plunder6; the body of the King, in the indecent strife70, was rolled from the bed, and lay alone, for hours, upon the ground. O Conqueror, of whom so many great names are proud now, of whom so many great names thought nothing then, it were better to have conquered one true heart, than England!
By-and-by, the priests came creeping in with prayers and candles; and a good knight14, named HERLUIN, undertook (which no one else would do) to convey the body to Caen, in Normandy, in order that it might be buried in St. Stephen's church there, which the Conqueror had founded. But fire, of which he had made such bad use in his life, seemed to follow him of itself in death. A great conflagration71 broke out in the town when the body was placed in the church; and those present running out to extinguish the flames, it was once again left alone.
It was not even buried in peace. It was about to be let down, in its Royal robes, into a tomb near the high altar, in presence of a great concourse of people, when a loud voice in the crowd cried out, 'This ground is mine! Upon it, stood my father's house. This King despoiled me of both ground and house to build this church. In the great name of GOD, I here forbid his body to be covered with the earth that is my right!' The priests and bishops present, knowing the speaker's right, and knowing that the King had often denied him justice, paid him down sixty shillings for the grave. Even then, the corpse72 was not at rest. The tomb was too small, and they tried to force it in. It broke, a dreadful smell arose, the people hurried out into the air, and, for the third time, it was left alone.
Where were the Conqueror's three sons, that they were not at their father's burial? Robert was lounging among minstrels, dancers, and gamesters, in France or Germany. Henry was carrying his five thousand pounds safely away in a convenient chest he had got made. William the Red was hurrying to England, to lay hands upon the Royal treasure and the crown.
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conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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ivy
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| n.常青藤，常春藤 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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ravaged
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| 毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
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plundered
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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monarchs
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| 君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 ) | |
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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quell
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| v.压制，平息，减轻 | |
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sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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despoiled
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| v.掠夺，抢劫( despoil的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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outlaws
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| 歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯 | |
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conspiracies
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| n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 ) | |
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massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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pacify
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| vt.使(某人)平静(或息怒)；抚慰 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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harassed
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| adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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besought
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| v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的过去式和过去分词 )；(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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outlawed
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| 宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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bribed
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| v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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fens
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| n.（尤指英格兰东部的）沼泽地带( fen的名词复数 ) | |
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marshy
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| adj.沼泽的 | |
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watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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enchantment
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| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
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monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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quelled
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| v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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ridiculed
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| v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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incensed
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| 盛怒的 | |
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rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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gored
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| v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破( gore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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monasteries
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| 修道院( monastery的名词复数 ) | |
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repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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dungeons
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| n.地牢( dungeon的名词复数 ) | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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70
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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71
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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72
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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