Stories from English history

Preface To The Revised Edition

This is a book of stories from English history, edited for school and home use. These stories have been writ¬ ten in an easy and familiar style, and in simple language to attract and hold the attention of young people.

The stories comprise notable and dramatic events in English history, carefully compiled and rewritten from the writings of well-known authors. It has been the aim of the author to provide in a readable form a convenient in¬ troduction to more advanced books which have been writ¬ ten on a similar subject.

Personal anecdotes and incidents which thrill us be¬ cause of their human element, and which smack of the picturesque life of the English people, have been freely used. Such material, instinct with human life, serves a useful purpose in teaching elementary history. Experi¬ enced teachers know that a bit of romance, a simple in¬ cident, or an interesting story will throw more light on a historical situation than many pages of mere description.

More than twenty-five years have passed since this book was first published. Meanwhile great and important improvements have been made by our leading publishers in the typographical appearance of their books. The

V vi STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY

author has taken the advantage of a call for a revised edition to revise the text and to provide illustrative material in accord with the demands of the present time.

The author would acknowledge his indebtedness to Miss Elise C. Dodge for help in revising the manuscript, and for assistance in reading the proofs of this edition.

A. F. BLAISDELL

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. Britain in the Old Days . i

II. How the Romans came to Britain .... 6

II

HOW THE ROMANS CAME TO BRITAIN Fifty-five Years before the Birth of Christ

One bright morning in summer, in the old days we have been speaking of, a great crowd of Britons stood on the white chalk cliffs of Kent. Every now and then they looked across the narrow seas toward France, or Gaul, as it was called at that time.

It was plain that they were making ready for a battle. Every man was half naked, his breast and arms and face painted with new war paint, and a weapon of some sort in his hand. Some had clubs, some had spears, some had flint-headed darts to throw at their foes, and a few of them had long blunt swords and round shields of basketwork with which to guard their bodies.

Most of them were on foot, but a few rode on horseback, while some stood up in low wooden chariots drawn by two horses. These war chariots, you will remember, had a sharp scythe fastened to the axle of each wheel, which cut down men as a mower cuts down grass.

But why were the Britons standing on the cliffs this bright summer morning ? Why did they keep looking over

the sea toward Gaul ? Let me tell you. A vessel had come

HOW THE ROMANS CAME TO BRITAIN in with the startling news that a Roman army which had been fighting against the Gauls was coming across the sea to conquer Britain.

The news roused the country like a trumpet blast. Julius Caesar, a brave and skillful general, who had con¬ quered wherever he fought, was coming to invade Britain.

Men sprang to their horses. Through the forests and over the hills, from one village to another, they rode shout¬ ing their war cry and calling the people to arms. Before long not a man was to be seen in the grainfields. The women and children stayed at home and took care of the cattle.

The news which the vessel had brought was indeed true. The Britons soon spied, far out at sea, a number of black specks that looked at first like a flock of sea gulls. As they came nearer and nearer, the Britons saw that they were Roman ships, full of Roman soldiers, whose bright brass helmets and brass breastplates flashed in the summer sun.

Before the prows of the Roman ships could touch the beach the Britons dashed into the sea, and with savage war shouts flung their darts at the Romans. For a while the Romans, though brave and fearless, dared not leave their ships. But at last a soldier who carried the Roman standard, a small golden eagle on a staff, leaped into the waves and called out to his comrades, "Follow me!”

Then the Romans leaped into the sea; for no Roman soldier dared to leave the eagle in the hands of the foe, or he would be put to death in his own land. Grasping their short, sharp swords and raising their great shields to keep off the darts, they rushed in a long, solid line up the beach.

The poor naked savages fought like lions, but they were no match for the well-drilled soldiers of Rome. Before the close of that summer day the sand on the beach was strewn with the dead and the dying. The Britons had been driven back to their woods, but they were not yet beaten.

From their forest homes they watched the enemy; and, fighting in war chariots, on horseback, or on foot, they constantly cut off small parties and lonely camps. When armies fought, the dreaded chariots of the Britons swept like the rush of a torrent through the Roman ranks, leaving behind them a path of dead bodies. Once when some Roman soldiers went out to reap grain, the Britons fell upon them so suddenly that few escaped.

Caesar had to bring over more soldiers and fight many more battles before the Britons gave in and were forced to call the Romans their masters. It was agreed that the Britons should pay a yearly sum of money to Caesar.

Soon afterward Caesar went back to Gaul, never to return; glad, no doubt, to leave a country where little was to be had except by hard fighting.

Read selections from Henty’s "Beric the Briton/’ a story of the Roman invasion.

Ill

THE STORY OF THE CAPTIVE KING Fifty Years after the Birth of Christ

We have seen that Caesar soon went away from Britain. Almost a hundred years after, the Romans came again with ships and with a great number of soldiers. Again the Britons fought bravely for their country.

Among the British chiefs in those days, one stands out in fame above all the rest. His name was Caractacus. He was a brave warrior, and he dearly loved his country. His bravery, skill, and courage were talked about all over the island, and his fame reached even as far as the city of Rome itself.

The Romans hoped to kill him in battle or to take him prisoner, for they knew that while he was alive and free the conquest of the land would not be easy. For nine long years he struggled against the Romans and gave them blow for blow, but he was driven back at last into the hill country of the west.

There is a high hill in the west of England with a swift river flowing at its foot, which the people to this day call the Camp of Caractacus. Here the brave chief fought io STORIES FROM ENGLISH HISTORY

his last battle. One day his little band of Britons, all that was now left to him, was standing on this hill, when they saw a great Roman army marching up the valley. The Romans were ten to one; but the British king drew up his men behind walls of earth and loose stones, and called on them to defend their homes and their native land with the last drop of their blood. "Conquer the Romans / 7 he cried, "or they will make you slaves.”

The Romans came up, dashed across the river, and made a rush up the hillside. The Britons flung their darts at them as they came on. But the Roman soldiers lifted their shields above their heads and, putting them side by side, made a sort of roof of them. When the darts struck the shields they bounded off, as you have sometimes seen hailstones bound off a roof in a pelting storm.

There was a fierce hand-to-hand fight on the hilltop, but it was soon over. The blunt swords of the Britons were useless against the brass armor and the shields of the Romans, who thrust their sharp steel blades into the half-naked bodies of their enemies.

The Britons were beaten, and the heroic chief and his wife and daughter fell into the hands of the Romans. Then they were put in chains and sent to Rome as captives.

It was a custom of the Romans, when they took noble captives in battle, to lead them through their city and make a great show of them in long procession before putting them to death. So the British king, with a train of captives,

THE STORY OF THE CAPTIVE KING ii was led in triumph through the streets of Rome. People crowded the streets and windows and housetops to catch a sight of him, for all of them had heard of the tall blue¬ eyed savage who had beaten the best soldiers of Rome in many a hard-fought battle.

When the proud captive king saw marble temples and rich palaces on every side of him, he could not help saying, "Why should these Romans, who have such grand houses at home, wish to rob me of my lowly hut in Britain ? ”

The captives were led before the ruler of the Romans, the Emperor Claudius, who sat on his throne in the open air. As they came near him they lifted up their chained hands and wept and cried aloud for mercy, all but Caractacus. He stood erect; and no proud Roman in the crowd around the throne looked more fearless than he.

"Briton,” said the emperor in surprise, "knowest thou not that thou must die ? All who bear arms against Rome, as thou hast done, are doomed to death.”

"Torn from my home and robbed of freedom,” replied Caractacus, "I have nothing now to live for; nor do I fear death more here than on the field of battle.”

Struck with his noble bearing, the emperor made up his mind to grant him his life.

"Thou shalt not die,” he said. "Thou art free. Rome is able to forgive a brave enemy.”

The Roman soldiers at once struck off his chains, and from that day Caractacus was free.

Some of the old books tell us that Caractacus went back to Britain and was made a prince under the Romans, but nothing more than I have told you is really known about him. No one knows whether his great heart broke and he died in Rome, or whether he ever returned to his own dear country. It was very difficult to send or hear news in those early days, so perhaps the brave Caractacus never knew that his people still kept on fighting for their free¬ dom. Indeed they often succeeded in getting the better of the Roman soldiers.

After many years the Romans became masters of the land. Yet it was a good thing for the country that the Romans became masters of Britain. During the nearly four hundred years that they ruled the land they taught the people many useful things which you may read about in the next chapter.

IV

THE STORY OF THE BRAVE WARRIOR QUEEN Sixty-one Years after the Birth of Christ

In the eastern part of Britain there lived in the old days of which I am telling you a British queen named Boadicea. She was the widow of a king who had ruled over a large and warlike tribe. The Roman general who commanded in Britain at this time had gone to the other side of the island to attack the Druids. In his place he left an officer, a cruel man who hated the Britons.

This cruel officer tried to force Boadicea to give up her land to him, and because she would not he ordered her to be publicly beaten with rods. So the proud queen was punished in the presence of the Romans, and her two daughters were also most cruelly treated.

When Boadicea was set free she called upon the Britons to rise and fight against the Romans. So they gathered at her bidding by tens of thousands.

Standing in her chariot, with her long yellow hair streaming in the wind, a large golden collar on her neck, a loose mantle fastened by a clasp on her breast, she poured forth fierce and fiery words to the warriors around her.

"Know you,” she cried, "what these bloodthirsty Romans have done to your queen? If you are men, you will rise and sweep these invaders from our shores. Me, a Briton queen, they scourged in the presence of their hired legions; me they marked with their cruel whips. Rise, Britons, fight for your queen and your homes or be forever slaves.”

The savage Britons answered their queen with furious shouts and with the clash of swords and shields. She led them against the enemy and routed the Roman army with great slaughter. Then she turned against three Roman cities and put every man, woman, and child to the sword. Seventy thousand of them were slain. The land ran with Roman blood, and it seemed as if the Britons were once more to hold the island as their own.

But when the news came to the chief Roman general, he hurried back with his men and fell upon the British tribes. The brave but unskilled Britons went down before the short heavy swords of the Romans like grain before the scythe of the reaper. Boadicea herself, when she saw all her hopes gone and nothing but a life of slavery before her, took poison and died, we are told, rather than fall into the hands of the victor.

In spite of all that the brave Britons could do, the Romans made themselves masters of the country. They kept many thousands of soldiers in it and ruled it for nearly four hundred years. At the end of that time they took

BOADICEA LEADS HER SOLDIERS TO BATTLE i6 away their officers and soldiers because these were needed in their own land. So Britain once more was left to itself.

Although the Britons lost their freedom under the rule of the Romans, they learned a great deal from their mas¬ ters. They learned to build good houses and fine roads, to have better clothes, and to live very much more comfort¬ ably than they did before the Romans came.

Often, even now, when men are digging in England they find things that were used by the Romans in these old times, rusty coins, pieces of plate from which they ate, of goblets from which they drank, of pavements on which they trod. The wells which the Romans dug give water yet, and the roads which they made are highways still.

In some old battlefields British spearheads and Roman armor have been found, mingled together in decay, as they fell in the thick of the fight. Traces of Roman camps over¬ grown with grass and of mounds that are the burial places of countless Britons are to be seen in many parts of the country. Across the black moors, those dreary plains in the north of England, the old flattened ridge of the Roman wall, overrun with moss and weeds, still stretches, a strong ruin; and the shepherds and their dogs lie sleeping on it as they tend their flocks in the long summer afternoons.

Read Cowper’s poem "Boadicea.”

V

THE COMING OF THE ENGLISH About Four Hundred and Fifty Years after the Birth of Christ

As I have told you the Romans were forced at last to leave Britain, after having been there nearly four long cen¬ turies. Word was brought to them that hordes of savage tribes were marching through their own fair, sunny coun¬ try of Italy, and that the proud city of Rome itself was in danger. So their armies had to leave Britain.

In a short time there were no Roman soldiers left in any part of Britain. The Romans had scarcely gone away from the country when their enemies wished they had never left it. The truth is these Britons were not so brave as their fathers had been, and they had never been taught to fight.

So when they were left to themselves the fierce, wild tribes in the north, called Piets and Scots, came swarming into the country, burning the houses, trampling down the grainfields, and driving the Britons back into the woods.

The Romans had built two strong walls across the northern part of the country. But as there were no sol¬ diers to man these walls, they were no barrier to the wild Piets and the hardy Scots, who poured over them in greater and greater numbers.

In the south fierce bands of coast pirates roved the seas, now landing here, now landing there, and taking away with them grain and cattle, as much as their ships could hold.

In their distress the Britons sent a letter to their old masters, the Romans, asking for help.

This letter is called 'The groans of the Britons . 55 It says: "The barbarians drive us to the sea; the sea drives us back to the barbarians. Between them we are exposed to two kinds of death; we are either killed or drowned. 5 ’ But no help came from the Romans; they had their own troubles and were too busy fighting against their own enemies. This state of affairs led the Britons to look to others for help.

Now these bold rovers of the sea that I have just told you about were our own English forefathers. The Romans knew them very well and feared them too. They called them sea wolves, sea dogs, and sea robbers. They came from the forests of Jutland (Denmark we call it now) and from the German coast near the mouth of the river Elbe. The Britons called them Saxons, but they, for the most part, called themselves Angles, or English.

Like the Britons, they were a brave and fearless race, fond of fighting and very fond of the sea. They were tall, sturdy fellows, with long yellow hair, blue eyes, and ruddy faces, true as steel to their friends, but fierce and cruel to their enemies.

Every warrior had his keen-pointed dagger, a tall spear,

THE COMING OF THE ENGLISH a huge battle-ax, and a sharp sword, all of good iron. They had also bows and arrows, and some of them carried a large, heavy hammer spiked with iron. No helmet was proof against this fearful weapon.

But how came these Angles, or English, to live in Eng¬ land, and how came the land to be called Angleland, or England? Let me tell you.

One day when the Scots were plundering the land, three ships full of English warriors in strong leather helmets and coats made of iron rings were seen cruising off the coast. When the British king heard of it he sent word to the sea robbers that if they would land upon the coast and help him drive back the Scots, he would give them a part of England called Kent to live in.

So the English warriors came under their two chiefs, Hengist and Horsa, and drove back the Scots and settled in Kent. When they had beaten the Scots, the English liked the country so well that they wanted even more land, and so used their swords against the Britons themselves. They took the whole of Kent from them and made Hengist their king.

Let me now tell you a story of Hengist’s beautiful, fair¬ haired daughter, whose name was said to be Rowena. It was at a feast that the British king Vortigern saw her. The lovely girl filled a bright golden goblet with wine, and, smiling sweetly on the Briton, handed it to him with the words, "Dear king, I wish you health.”

She was so charming that Vortigern fell in love with her on the spot and wanted to marry her. This he later did. Afterwards, when the Angles began to attack the Britons again and to take their land from them, Vorti¬ gern grew very angry.

But when he was going to punish his enemies, Rowena begged him to be kind to her people and spare them for her sake, softly saying: "Dear king, they are my people. Be kind to them, as you loved that Saxon girl who gave you the golden goblet of wine at the feast.”

He always listened to her, and the Angles soon became stronger and stronger in Britain and gained more and more of Vortigern’s land. At last the poor British chief lost his whole kingdom and was put in prison, where he remained until his death.

By and by more English sea kings came over, landed in other parts of the country, drove the poor Britons away, and settled upon their lands. In this way, inch by inch, the Britons were driven back and back from east to west, till in the end they had only the mountains left to live in; and there they have lived ever since. The country they live in is now called Wales.

In a hundred years after the landing of Hengist and Horsa, the Angles, or English, were masters of Britain, and it has been called Angleland, or England, from that day to this.

VI

HOW THE ENGLISH BECAME CHRISTIANS About Six Hundred Years after the Birth of Christ

When the English first settled in England they were still heathen. They used to worship the sun and the moon, the sea, springs and trees, and other pagan gods.

One of the gods was Thor, the thunder god, whose ham¬ mer they thought they heard in the thunderclap. Another was Woden, the great god of war, who, they said, was the father of their kings. The English named the days of the week after their gods. Thus Sunday meant the Sun’s day, Monday the Moon’s day, Wednesday was Woden’s day, and Thursday was Thor’s day.

It was a strange, wild, warlike sort of faith. They thought that only those who died in battle would be happy forever with the gods, and that in heaven they would hunt or fight all day and have as much boar’s flesh and ale as they could eat and drink. When a chief died they buried him in full armor and laid his sword and his spear beside him. They also slew his favorite horse and his dog and placed their bodies near his, believing that they would be of use to him in the other world.

One thing that the Saxons loved above all others was freedom. They did not give their chiefs very great power. No chief or king could make a new law. They loved jus¬ tice, and they set each man to watch every other, so that he should do no wrong. If anyone who did wrong ran away to another town, all the people in each town had to pay a fine.

In the place of this worship of pagan gods was slowly to come the gospel that told these fierce warriors of peace and good will to all mankind. The mountains, the rivers, and ancient oaks were soon to echo the worship of the true God and not to remain the objects of idolatry. I will now tell you of an incident that paved the way for this change.

Though the Saxons loved freedom for themselves, we are sorry to say that like most other people of their time they had many slaves. When a Saxon noble had more people on his land than he needed, or more slaves than he could find food for, he would take some of the boys and girls and sell them as slaves to the people of other countries.

In this way English boys and girls were sent even as far as Rome to be sold as slaves. When they reached the Im¬ perial City they were taken to the slave market and offered for sale. Trembling and frightened the captive children stood, feeling as we should feel if we found ourselves in a strange place with no one to care for us and not know¬ ing one word of the language the people around us were speaking.

KIND-HEARTED GREGORY IS MOVED TO PITY FOR THE ENGLISH SLAVE BOYS

One day some English boys who had been carried off as slaves were standing in the market place at Rome, wait¬ ing for someone to buy them, when a kind-hearted monk named Gregory came walking by. When he saw their sweet, fair faces, their blue eyes, and their golden hair, his heart was moved with pity for the children. He asked a keen-eyed merchant of what nation they were.

The merchant answered, "They are Angles.”

"They should be angels,” said Gregory, "for they have the faces of angels.” Then he asked what country they came from. When they told him, he said, "The praises of God shall some day be sung in that land.”

Years went on, and the good monk became the Pope and lived in Rome; but he did not forget the poor slave children. When he heard that an English king of Kent had married a Christian princess named Bertha, he sent a monk named Augustine, with forty other monks, to preach the gospel to the English. When the monks landed in Kent they sent word to the king, telling him why they had come.

King Ethelbert said he would hear what they had to say, but he dared not let them into his house for fear they might bewitch him. So he sat on his throne under an oak tree; and the monks, marching two by two over the green fields, bearing a silver cross and a banner of the Saviour, came before him, singing as they came.

When Ethelbert had heard all they had to say about the true God, he said to them: "Your words and promises

HOW THE ENGLISH BECAME CHRISTIANS 25

seem fair, but they are new and strange to me, and I cannot at once give up the gods of my fathers. But you may stay in this land, and I will give you food and shelter; and if any man will believe as you believe, I will let him.” He gave them his own house to live in and also a church near it, which had been built in the time of the Romans.

So the monks stayed in Kent and preached the gospel; and after a time King Ethelbert and many of his people be¬ came Christians. From Kent the faith spread and spread, until one hundred years after the landing of Augustine all England had become Christian. So the worship of Thor and Woden passed away; and the little "angels” in the market place of Rome thus became the messengers of a higher and nobler faith.

We must remember, however, that many years before the time of Augustine, soldiers and merchants who came from the Continent began to introduce Christianity into Britain. Scarcely anything is known of its progress in the island. There is no doubt that in different parts of the country rude churches were built and other sacred struc¬ tures were erected in which the people kept up a regular worship. It was not until the time of Augustine, however, that Christianity really gained a foothold in England.

VII How The Old English People Lived

About the Time of King Alfred

How did England look during old English times ? How did the people live? Let me tell you. The greater part of the country was still covered with forests, and only a very small part of the land was under cultivation. It seems that enough barley and wheat were grown to meet the wants of the people. The forests still swarmed with wild animals, such as the wolf, deer, fox, hare, and rabbit.

At the head of the old English people stood the king. In early times he did not have much power, but as the various tribes became united and formed one nation the power of the king began to increase.

To keep the king in proper state great tracts of land were given to him, and he had certain rights in the forests, woods, and mines. Wherever he traveled he and his serv¬ ants had food and shelter free.

When a king was crowned, all the people above twelve years of age took an oath to be obedient to him. The king in turn took an oath that he would treat all his subjects, whatever their condition, with kindness and justice.

HOW THE OLD ENGLISH PEOPLE LIVED 27

The people were divided into two great classes, freemen and slaves. The freemen were divided into two kinds. The first were men of the highest rank. They were either descended from princes, or had great property, or had done great service to the king. These nobles, when not at war with each other, spent their time in hunting and hawking.

The second class of freemen were the men who culti¬ vated the land or who worked at trades in the towns. They generally lived on the lands of some lord, a man of the first class. From these lands they could not remove, nor could they be turned away so long as they paid rent.

The lowest division of the English people were slaves. They belonged entirely to their masters, just as a horse or a cow does at the present day. The master of a slave could kill him if he liked, and there was no one to call him to account. If a slave ran away, he could be chased like a wild beast; if caught, he could be flogged to death. If a woman slave ran away, she might be burned to death.