A manual of English history for the use of schools ...

Preface

This " Manual of English History " has been prepared to meet the wants of those schools whose limited time forbids an extended course of study. The mere committal to memory of the names of kings and isolated events, however important, is in no proper sense a study of history. There should be enough of explanation and detail to make intelligible the relation which one event bears to another, that is, the cause and effect of events. The author has sought, therefore, in the preparation of this manual, to arrange the essential facts of English history in the briefest manner consistent with clearness and a proper understanding of causal relations.

The most valuable lesson to be learned by American youth from the history of the mother country is the worth of liberty, civil and religious. The struggle between the king and the people, the one striving to maintain the royal prerogative and the other to secure their natural rights, was happily over long before we became an independent nation. TJie principles established by the Revolution of 1688 stand an enduring monument of the triumph of the people. Our constitution is but the matured product of that long and painful struggle, and a just conception of the one can be gained only by a careful study of the other.

4 PREFACE

If the youth of our land, however few in number, shall be aided, by the use of this brief work, in forming a just estimate of the free institutions under which they live, the highest object of the author will have been accomplished.

Among the many works consulted in the preparation of this manual, special acknowledgments are due to Knight's " Popular History of England," valuable for its fullness of detail ; and Green's " Short History of the English People," which, in the masterly comprehension and vivid expression of the spirit of English history, stands absolutely without a peer. Among later authorities consulted are McCarthy's " History of Our Own Times," and Sanderson's " British Empire."

The author remembers thankfully the assistance of numerous friends. He takes great pleasure in mentioning the name of his esteemed friend, Henry B. Miner, Principal of the Edward Everett School of this city, to whom he is especially indebted for many valuable suggestions.

E. M. L.

Boston, 1900.

KINGS OF ENGLAND

SAXON LINE

Eihelwolf

Ethelbald

Ethelbert

Henry IV

Alfred

Edward the Elder

Athelslan

Edward the Martyr ....

Ethelred II

TUDOR FAMILY

DANISH LINE

Harold I

Mary

Canute II

Edward — Saxon

Harold II. — Saxon. . . .

STUART FAMILY

NORMAN LINE

1603-1625-22

William I

William II

William and Mary

PLANTAGENET FAMILY

Henry II

Henry III

George I

NAMES OF KINGS AND LEADING TOPICS

Roman Conquest and Occupation — the first four centuries. Saxon Conquest and Heptarchy — the next four centuries. Reign of Saxon Kings and Danish Invasions — the ninth and tenth centuries. Danish Conquest and Reign of Danish and Saxon Kings — the eleventh century.

LEADING TOPICS

£ > /• NAMES OF KINGS

Z^ I William I. — Norman Rule — Saxon Rebellion — The Feudal System. m Z [ William II. — Beginning of the Crusades — The System of Chivalry.

Henry I. — First Charter of Liberties — Union of Saxon and Norman

Families — Robert, Duke of Normandy.

Stephen — Usurpation — Civil War and Anarchy — Compromise with Henry.

X >

►J H J

Henry II. — Plantagenet Rule — Establishment of Order — Constitutions of Clarendon and Thomas a Becket — Courts of Justice.

Richard I. — The Knight and Crusader — Usurpation of John.

John — Contest with the Pope — Rebellion of Barons — Magna

Charta.

Henry III. — Rebellion of Barons — Simon de Montfort— House of Commons — Prince Edward and the Holy Land. 2 ^ I Edward I. — Conquest of Wales — War with Scotland — Arbitrary Taxah tion forbidden.

Edward II. — War with Scotland — Rebellion — Deposition of Edward.

Edward III. — War with Scotland — War with France for the Crown — Chivalry and the Black Prince.

Richard II. —Wat Tyler's Rebellion — Chaucer— Wickliffe and the First Reformation.

Henry IV. — House of Lancaster — Rebellions — Persecution of Reformers.

Henry V. — Reformation suppressed — Conquest of France — The Navy. Henry VI. — Joan of Arc and the Loss of France — Jack Cade's Rebellion — Wars of the Roses.

Edward IV. — House of York — Wars of the Roses — William Caxton and

the Art of Printing.

Edward V. — Usurpation of Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Richard III. — Wars of the Roses ended with the death of Richard at

Bosworth.

S P

S >

z « w 5

£U

NAMES OF KINGS AND LEADING TOPICS 7

LEADING TOPICS

NAMES OF KINGS

Henry VII. — Tudor Family — Union of York and Lancaster — Simnel

and Warbeck — Discovery of America — Revival of

Learning.

' Henry VIII. — Catherine of Aragon and Cardinal Wolsey — Progress of

Learning — Separation from Rome and the Reformation.

H > Edward VI. — Reformation Continued — Duke of Northumberland and

w D Lady Jane Grey.

" Z "* Mary — Reconciliation with Rome and Persecution of Protestants

« y — Philip of Spain — Calais.

Elizabeth — Church of England — Mary, Queen of Scots — Philip and the Armada — Maritime Supremacy — Great Names.

James I. — Stuart Family — Union of Crowns — Gunpowder Plot — Translation of the Bible — Settlement of America.

Charles I. — Illegal Taxation and Civil War — Petition of Right — Trial and Execution of Charles.

The Commonwealth — The Monarchy Abolished and Commonwealth Established — Cromwell and the Protectorate.

Charles II. — The Restoration — Plague and Fire — Habeas Corpus Act

— Popish and Rye House Plots.

James II. — Monmouth's Rebellion — Attempt to Restore Catholicism

— The Revolution.

William and Mary — Rebellion in Ireland — War with France and Peace

of Ryswick — Bill of Rights — English Constitution.

Anne — War of Spanish Succession and Peace of Utrecht — Union

of England and Scotland — The Augustan Age of English Literature.

George I. — House of Brunswick — The Old Pretender — The South Sea Scheme.

George II. — Walpole and his Policy — War of Austrian Succession and Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle — The Young Pretender — Seven Years' War — William Pitt — India.

George III. — Peace of Paris — Canada — American Revolution — French Revolution — Second War with the United States.

George IV. — Independence of Greece — Catholic Emancipation Act.

William IV. — Reform Bill of 1832 — Abolition of Slavery.

Victoria — Repeal of the Corn Laws — the Navigation Acts — and the Laws against Jews. Passage of Laws disestablishing the Irish Church — extending the Elective Franchise — substituting the Ballot for open voting — and founding a System of Public Schools. Wars with China and the Opening of Ports — the Crimean War — the Indian Mutiny — Civil War in the United States — Loss and Recovery of the Sudan — British Guiana boundary line

— the Boer Wars.

GENEALOGICAL TABLE

SAXON LINE

Egbert

I Ethelwolf

Ethelbald Ethelbert Ethelred I. Alfred

DANISH LINE

Sweyn

I Canute I.

Harold Canute II.

Edward the Elder

I I

Athelstan Edmund Edred

Edwy

Edgar

Edward the Martyr ETHELRED II.

NORMAN LINE William the Conqueror

EDMUND Ironside

Edward the Outlaw

I Margaret

Robert WILLIAM II. HENRY I. Adela Matilda

I Stephen-

Edward the Confessor

Earl Godwin Harold II.

Richard I.

Casur de Lion

' Matilda Union of Saxon and Norman Families Henry II.

Geoffrey

John

Arthur Eleanor HENRY III.

Murdered by John

Edward I.

Edward II.

Edward III.

GENEALOGICAL TABLE

Edward III.

Edward, the Black Prince

Richard II.

Lionel, Duke of Clarence

I Philippa

I Mortimer yohn of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster

Edmund, Duke of York

Edmund

Mortimer,

Earl of March

Anne

Henry IV.

I

Henry V.

I Henry VI.

Earl of Richard,

Somerset Earl of

Cambridge

Duke of

| Union of second and Somerset Richard fourth branches

Edward IV.

Richard III.

Edward V.

Richard Elizabeth

The Smothered Princes

Union of York and Lancaster

Margaret Henry VII.

Henry VIII.

Mary,

Daughter of

Catherine

of Aragon

Elizabeth, Daughter of Anne Boleyn

Edward VI.,

Son of

Jane

Seymour

Margaret married

y antes IV. of Scotland

James V,

I

Mary,

Queen of Scots

James I.

Maty

Frances Jane Grey

Charles I.

Charles II.

James II.

I Mary

Anne

/ James \

\ Charles/

The Pretenders

Mary

married

Prince of Nassau

I William III.

Union of Stuart and Nassau

I

Sophia

married

Elector of

Hanover

George I.

I George II.

Ml

George III.

George IV.

William IV.

Duke of Kent

I Victoria

THE ROYAL FAMILY

Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Duchess of Lancaster, Defender of the Faith, and Empress of India; b. (born) May 24, 1819; ascended the throne June 20, 1837; m. (married) February 10, 1840, Albert, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who died December 14, 1861.

Victoria Adelaide Maria Louisa, Princess Royal; b. November 21, 1840; m. January 25, 185S, Frederick, later Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia, and had eight children. Emperor Frederick died June 15, 1888, a few months after coming to the throne.

Albert Edward, His Royal Highness, Prince of Wales; b. November 9, 1841; m. March 10, 1863, Princess Alexandra of Denmark, and had six children.

Alice Maud Mary; b. April 25, 1843; m - J m y I > 1862, Frederick William, Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, and had seven children; died December 14, 1878. Prince Frederick died March 13, 1892.

Alfred Ernest Albert, Duke of Edinburgh; b. August 6, 1844; m. January 23, 1864, Grand Duchess Alexandrovna of Russia, and had five children.

Helena Augusta Victoria; b. May 25, 1846; m. July 5, 1866, Frederick, Prince of Sleswick-Holstein, and had five children.

Louise Caroline Alberta; b. March 18, 1848; m. March 21, 1871, John Douglass Campbell, Marquis of Lome, eldest son of the Duke of Argyle.

Arthur William Patrick Albert, Duke of Connaught; b. May 1, 1850; m. March 13, 1879, Princess Louisa Margaret of Prussia, and had three children.

Leopold George Duncan Albert, Duke of Albany; b. April 7, 1853; m. April 27, 1SS2, Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont, and had two children; died March 28, 1884.

Beatrice Maria Victoria Feodore; b. April 14, 1857; m. July 23, 1885, Prince Henry of Battenberg, and had four children. Prince Henry died at sea January 20, 1896.

THE BRITISH EMPIRE

The British Empire includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and all its colonies and dependencies, having a population of more than 350,000,000, and an area of more than 10,000,000 square miles.

EUROPEAN The British Isles, the Channel Islands, Malta, and Gibraltar.

ASIATIC

AUSTRALIAN AND PACIFIC

Australia, Tasmania, British New Guinea, New Zealand, the Fiji Islands, the Gilbert Islands, and many other islands in the Pacific.

AFRICAN

Cape Colony, Natal, South Africa, Walfish Bay, Central Africa, East Africa, Somali, Gambia, Lagos, the Gold Coast, Niger Territories, Sierra Leone, and the islands of Ascension, Mauritius, Socotra, and St. Helena.

NORTH AMERICAN

British America, including Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and Newfoundland, all, except the last named, being united under the title of the Dominion of Canada; Belize; and the Bermudas.

SOUTH AMERICAN British Guiana, South Georgia, and the Falkland Islands.

WEST INDIAN

Jamaica, the Bahamas, Trinidad, and most of the Lesser Antilles.

Contents

CHAPTER

I. From the Beginning till 827

II. The Saxon Line .

CHAPTER I Britons, Romans, and Saxons

The Britons. — We know little of the early history of Britain. From rude relics found in the soil, we conclude that the island was once inhabited by a race of savages who disappeared before a superior people that, at some unknown period, crossed from the continent of Europe. These Celtic invaders were found in sole possession when the Romans first visited the island, about half a century before Christ. They were a barbarous people, divided into numerous tribes, whose principal employment was war. Their weapons were spears and broadswords, with blades of bronze, and they also used wicker shields covered with skins, and chariots armed with projecting scythes, in which, drawn by trained horses, they rode at full speed into the very midst of their foes. Their homes were huts and caves in the forests which at that time covered nearly all the land. They subsisted upon their flocks and herds and the products of the chase, and wore little clothing, painting their bodies blue and covering them with hideous tattoos to make themselves terrible to their enemies in battle. But those occupying the southwestern

14 THE BRITONS

corner of the island were superior to the rest, having been visited by other nations, from time immemorial, for the tin found in the mines of that section. Even the merchants of ancient Tyre and Sidon occasionally sent ships to barter Phoenician wares for British tin.

Druidism. — The Britons professed a religion called Druidism. They worshiped one Supreme Being, of whom they had no just conception, and numerous inferior deities, to whom they offered human sacrifices. The heavenly bodies occupied a prominent place among these inferior deities. The Britons believed in a future state of existence in which rewards and punishments were meted out according as men's conduct had been good or bad in this life. Much of the power and all the learning were confined to the priests, called Druids. They made the laws, administered justice, and were the sole instructors of the young. Nothing was committed to writing, and education consisted in receiving from the lips of the Druids and committing to memory a great number of verses on geography, astronomy, and religion. The priests performed their mystic rites in temples, each formed of a circular row of huge stones standing upright, with the altar in the center, open to the heavens above, and located in groves of their sacred tree, the oak. Remains of these temples still exist in various places, the most notable at Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain. Their most holy place was the Island of Mona, now Anglesea, just across the Menai Strait. Their most solemn festival occurred on the sixth day of the moon nearest the tenth of March, their New Year's Day, when the chief Druid, clothed in white robes, with a golden knife cut the sacred mistletoe from

THE ROMAN CONQUEST 1 5

the oak to which it clung. There were three other festivals of special interest to the English people, since to them may be traced the festivities of May Day, Midsummer Eve, and Harvest-home, celebrating respectively the sowing of the seed, the ripening of the crops, and the gathering of the harvests.

First Roman Invasion. — Britain, lying to the west of the continent, and separated from it by an expanse of water, was too insignificant to excite either enmity or cupidity, and long escaped the notice of Rome, the " Mistress of the World." It was only when the tide of Roman conquest had reached the western shore of Europe, that the scheme of making it a Roman province was first conceived. Julius Caesar, having nearly completed the subjugation of the Gauls, crossed the English Channel with two legions, and landed just beyond the cliffs of Dover, B.C. 55. The Britons, warned of the purpose of Caesar, had gathered in large numbers to oppose his landing. Though they were driven back, and repeatedly beaten, so stubborn were they that Caesar did not venture far from the coast, and was glad to accept their offers of peace and return to Gaul. But the next year he returned with a much larger force : five legions or thirty thousand foot soldiers, and two thousand horse. Having conquered the country for some distance beyond the Thames, compelling the chiefs to pay tribute and give hostages, Caesar again withdrew from British soil.

Second Roman Invasion. — Occupied with weightier matters, the Romans soon practically forgot their distant and worthless conquest, and the Britons were left for nearly a century to take care of themselves. During this period

1 6 BRITONS AND ROMANS

a growing trade and a better acquaintance with their neighbors on the continent had done something toward their civilization, attracting the attention of the Roman Emperor Claudius, who began, in a.d. 43, a second and more difficult conquest.

Caractacus. — Caractacus, the most important of the chiefs at that time, putting himself at the head of the inland tribes, for eight years held the Romans at bay, when he was captured and taken to Rome to grace the triumph of his captor. " Is it possible that a people possessed of so much magnificence at home could covet my humble cottage in Britain ! " exclaimed the wondering barbarian as he gazed on the glories of Rome. His kingly bearing won the respect of the Emperor, who restored him to liberty, and this is the last we hear of the noble Briton.

Slaughter of the Druids. — The Druids possessed almost unlimited power over the people, and this power they had used to the utmost, to arouse in them a bitter hostility to Roman authority. Suetonius, the Roman general and governor, resolving to strike a decisive blow, in the year 61 crossed the strait of Menai and landed on the sacred shore of Mona. For a moment even Roman soldiers faltered, as they listened to the shrieks and imprecations of frantic priests and priestesses, and beheld the host of painted warriors gathered to defend their altars ; then pressing resolutely forward, they soon gained possession of this stronghold of British superstition and British power, and Druidism received a fatal blow in the slaughter of its priests and the destruction of its groves and temples.

Boadicea. — During the absence of Suetonius a fresh

THE ROMAN CONQUEST 1 7

insurrection broke out under Boadicea, widow of the king of the Icenians. Stung to madness by shameful abuse, when protesting against the seizure of all her wealth by Roman officials, she went from tribe to tribe exciting the warriors to frenzy with the story of her wrongs. Under her lead they suddenly fell upon the Roman settlements, and seventy thousand soldiers and citizens were put to the sword. Suetonius hurried back from Mona to wreak a terrible vengeance on the Britons in arms. In a great battle fought near London, eighty thousand warriors sealed with their blood their devotion to their country, and the spirited queen, unwilling to survive the slaughter of her people and the destruction of her hopes, put an end to her own life. »

The Roman Conquest. — But the Britons were still unsubdued, and it remained for Agricola (who became governor in the* year j&), by the practice of justice and humanity as well as soldierly skill, to reconcile them to Roman authority. Under the firm but liberal policy of Agricola and his successors, the Britons rapidly improved. They gave up their heathenish rites and savage customs, and adopted the manners, dress, and, to some extent, the language of the Romans. They became peaceful and industrious. Wide stretches of gloomy forests gave place to fields of waving grain ; and the mines of tin, lead, and iron began to be worked in earnest. Their surplus products found a ready market abroad, giving rise to a moderate but increasing commerce. The construction by the Romans of a system of public roads not only facilitated the transportation of troops to needed points, but hastened the development of the country and the civilization of its

1 8 BRITONS, ROMANS, AND SAXONS

inhabitants. A wall of solid stone, twelve feet high and eight feet thick, running from the mouth of the Tyne to the Solway Firth, a distance of sixty-eight miles, was built by the Emperor Severus to protect the Britons from the incursions of the Scots and Picts, wild and warlike tribes occupying the highlands of Caledonia. Rome continued in undisturbed possession of Britain until the year 420, when she recalled her soldiers to repel the Goths, who were pouring from their German homes into Italy in vast numbers, threatening even Rome itself.

The Saxon Conquest. — The Romans had no sooner left the island than the Scots and Picts, boldly crossing the wall of Severus, renewed their ravages in the northern districts. The Britons, weakened by long subjection to Rome, were unable to defend themselves ; and, after a vain appeal to the Emperor Honorius for help, called to their aid the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes, who together are called Anglo-Saxons, or sometimes Saxons.

These were fierce German tribes inhabiting the peninsula of Jutland and the country around the mouths of the Elbe and Weser rivers, who, roaming about the waters of the North and Baltic seas in their pirate boats, had long been the scourge of all the adjoining coasts. They entered Britain under the command of their brave chieftains, Hengist and Horsa, in the year 449, and quickly compelled the northern marauders to retire to their native highlands.

But, attracted by the mildness of the climate and the beauty and fertility of the country, and finding, in connection with the promised reward, a pretext for a quarrel, they soon turned their arms against the Britons themselves.

THE SAXON CONQUEST 1 9

The latter, compelled to fight in defense of their homes, gradually recovered their ancient valor. For a century and a half the struggle for mastery in the island went on, fresh hordes of Germans pouring in, from time to time, to the help of their countrymen.

The battle of Chester, fought in the year 607, established, beyond a doubt, the supremacy of the invaders. The districts still occupied by the natives, being severed one from another, could no longer act in concert, and the struggle, though lingering, ceased to have a national character. The brave but hapless Britons, beaten on all sides, and pursued with fire and sword, at last found a safe retreat among the mountain fastnesses of Wales and Cornwall. There, animated by a burning love of liberty, they continued in almost unbroken war for six hundred years, defying the whole power of England to subdue them ; and there their descendants, the Welsh, live to-day, a hardy, vigorous race, now at peace with the English, who have long since shared with them the blessings of a common country.

During the Roman occupation, Christianity had supplanted the native religion. The Latin language, too, had gradually come into use, especially among the upper classes and in the larger towns. The entire disappearance of Christianity, and both the Latin and native languages, attests the thoroughness of the German or Anglo-Saxon conquest. A few slaves held for the pleasure or profit of the conquerors were all that were left of the native population.

King Arthur. — Of the many heroic Britons who struggled against the German conquest, the most famous whose

20 BRITONS AND SAXONS

name has come down to us is Arthur, chief of one of the tribes in the west. But so much of fable has been woven into the story of this patriot Briton and his sixty " Knights of the Round Table," that we can with confidence only say that such a prince lived and bravely fought the enemies of his country.

The Heptarchy. — The conquerors gradually established separate kingdoms as they won new territory, each having its independent king. Seven of these, from their greater prominence, have been called, in history, the Heptarchy. 1 After the conquerors had become firmly established in their new homes, and the sharpness of the struggle with the Britons had begun to decline, jealousy and ambition for preeminence involved them in wars with one another. Constant changes, therefore, took place in the number and boundaries of the kingdoms. The stronger gradually absorbed the weaker, until Wessex, under its vigorous king Egbert, brought them all under one government in the year 827.

Introduction of Christianity. — Britain first became Christian under Rome, but how or when is not known. Possibly a Christian soldier in a Roman legion told the story of the Cross at a native fireside, or some nameless but devoted priest, going on a mission to heathen Britain, achieved a conquest under the banners of the Cross more glorious than that of Roman arms. St. Alban is

1 Kent, or Cantia, was founded by Hengist, in 457; SOUTH Saxony, or Sussex, by Ella, in 490; WEST Saxony, or Wessex, by Cerdic, in 519; East Sax- ONY, or Essex, by Ercewin, in 527; NORTHUMBERLAND (North of the Humber) by Ida, in 547; East Anglia, comprising Norfolk (North folks) and Suffolk (South folks) by Uffa, in 575; MERCIA (Marchmen, or people on the march or frontier) by Cridda, in 582.

THE SAXON CONQUEST 21

recorded to have suffered martyrdom as early as the year 304. With the advent of the Anglo-Saxons the Christian religion disappeared, and for a century and a half Britain remained under a paganism more debasing than that of the Druids.

Christianity was introduced, a second time, by Augustine x and a band of forty monks from Rome, in the year 597. Ethelbert, king of Kent, who married Bertha, a Christian lady, and daughter of the king of Paris, was the first convert. His people followed his example and accepted Christianity. Augustine became Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England, and his successors have retained their superiority ever since. Ethelbert's daughter, Ethelburh, married Edwin, king of Northumbria, and through her influence and that of her priest Paulinus, Edwin and his people were converted. The other kingdoms became Christian during the next century.

Anglo-Saxon Religion. — The principal deity of the Anglo-Saxons was Woden, the god of war, from whom all their royal families claimed descent ; the next in rank being Thor, or Thunder, the god of storms. Each day of

1 The venerable Bede, our principal authority for early English history, tells how- Christianity was now introduced into Britain. Gregory, a priest, one day saw in the market place of Rome some very beautiful boys for sale, and asked who they were and whence they came. He was told they were heathen boys from the Isle of Britain. He then asked the name of their nation. " Angles" was the answer. "Angles" said Gregory; " they have the faces of Angels, and they ought to be made fellow-heirs of the Angels in Heaven. But of what tribe of Angles are they ? " " Of Deira" was the reply. " Deira / " said Gregory, " then they must be delivered from the wrath of God {de ira). And what is the name of their king ? " " ^Ella." "sEllal then Alleluia shall be sung in his land." Some time afterwards Gregory became Pope and sent Augustine and forty other monks to convert the English.

22 THE SAXONS

the week was dedicated to a particular deity, from whom it received its name — a name it still continues to bear. 1 Like barbarous tribes in general, making the future existence a realization of their highest ideal of the present life, they filled their Valhalla or Heaven with scenes of war, where happy Saxons would live forever, occupying the days in the slaughter of their enemies, and the nights in wild carousals of victory.

Anglo-Saxon Government. — The king was assisted in the government by a great council, called Witenagemot, or "Assembly of the Wise," composed of the great nobles, the ealdormen or earls, and, after the introduction of Christianity, the bishops and abbots. This council met regularly at Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide, and on special occasions when summoned. At the death of the king it assembled to elect his successor, who was taken from the royal family, but was not always the next in line. Besides the earls, who acted as judges and rulers in their districts, there was an inferior class of nobles, called thanes, men who had risen to nobility by personal attendance on the king. The churls were freemen of the middle and lower classes, the lowest class of all being the serfs or slaves, who composed about two thirds of the inhabitants.

1 SUNDAY (Sun's day) or day for the worship of the sun ; MONDAY (Moon's day) or day for the worship of the moon; Tuesday (Tiw's day), the day of the dark god Tiw, to meet whom was death ; Wednesday (Woden's day), the day of Woden, the war god ; THURSDAY (Thor's day) , the day of Thor, the god of storms ; Friday (Frea's day), the day of Frea, the goddess of peace and fruitfulness ; SAT- URDAY (Saetere's day), the day of an obscure god Saetere.

CHAPTER II The Saxon Line, 827 to 1017 — 190 Years EGBERT ETHELWOLF ETHELBALD ETHELBERT ETHELRED I

ALFRED the Great EDWARD the Elder

ATHELSTAN

EDMUND I.

EDRED

EDWY

EDGAR

EDWARD the Martyr

ETHELRED II.

EGBERT, 827 TO 837 — 10 YEARS

The Danish Invasions. — Egbert called the country England, from the Angles, the most powerful of the three tribes. His reign is generally regarded as the beginning of the English monarchy. No sooner were the different kingdoms united under one government and at peace among themselves, than a new danger appeared from without. Inroads began to be made by the Danes or Northmen, the piratical people of Denmark and Scandinavia, who, descending upon the eastern coast during the summer, would load their boats with plunder, and retire for the winter to their strongholds on the shores of the North and Baltic seas. They came year after year in ever increasing numbers, until at last, from pirate bands in search of plunder, they grew into invading armies bent on conquest. They planted themselves at various points along the coast, and waged perpetual war with the English in the interior.

24 THE SAXON LINE

They even colonized the coast of Ireland, forcing the inhabitants back into the interior. From the reign of Egbert to that of Ethelred the Unready, a period of nearly two hundred years, the struggle between Saxon and Dane went on, ending, as we shall see a little later, in the establishment of Danish rule.