Imagens da página
PDF
ePub

able to crush the natives, and put it out of their power to make any insurrection, let their sufferings be never so great. To this end, he brought, from Roan in Normandy, a great number of Jews, who were a griping usurious sort of people, whom he knew, that, by their covetous artifice, would omit no ways to make their markets of the poor oppressed natives.

The conqueror had heard how all the Danes had formerly been massacred, in one night, by the English; and, for fear his Normans might be served in the same manner, and also to prevent any nocturnal meetings and cabals, he commanded, That, in every town and village, a bell should be rung every night at eight o'clock, and that all people should then put out their fire and candles, and go to bed; which order was punctually observed, during his whole reign.

In the next place, his favourites and soldiers, who had served him in this expedition, must be rewarded for the toil and hazards they had undergone in his service, to whom he shares the greatest part of the land of the kingdom. Taylor, in his history, reckons sixhundred and thirty families, who had the foundation of their fortunes grounded upon the ruins of the English nation.

Normandy, in his absence, was inclined to revolt from him. Being informed of it, he hastened hither, and carried along with him all the prime noblemen of England, whom he suspected might raise any disturbance in the kingdom, while he was out of it. Having quieted Normandy, he returns, and lays an insupportable tribute upon the Englishmen. It is observable, that the English, by these sort of extravagant impositions, defrayed the greatest part of these frequent wars, which he maintained beyond sea, during his reign over England. As a conqueror, he well knew, that to impoverish them was the effectual means, not only to lessen their fortunes, but also to debase their courage; vast numbers of the inhabitants (whereof many were of the royal family) were forced to fly into foreign countries, to avoid the cruelty of the Normans. Scotland was so replenished with these fugitives, that there was no parish, town, or village, in that kingdom,but had several of them, whom the Scots employed in all their servile drudgery.

Those of them, who could not make their escapes, were reduced to that degree of necessity, that, rather than starve, they were contented to become slaves to those, who, at that time, first had power of life and death over them. The services which they performed to their masters, were the most vile offices, that could be imposed upon mankind. This was the original of bondmen in England.

Before the conquest, there were few or no inland castles in this kingdom; and, wherever inland castles are in use, they are designed, for the most part, rather to inslave the natives, than protect them from foreign invasions. The conqueror was resolved to curb the English, and to inslave them, to that degree, that there should be no possibility left them, of recovering their lost liberties. To that end, he caused a castle to be built at Nottingham, two at York, and another at Lincoln, and a great many more in other places, which were

when they saw they were not in a condition to make any farther resistance, submitted themselves to the conqueror, and gave him pledges for their future good behaviour.

The duke, having possessed himself of the capital city of the king. dom, was there, both by the Normans and Englishmen, chosen, and, proclaimed king on Christmas-day, and, on the same day, was crowned by the Archbishop of York.

Before I proceed any further in this tragical story, it will not be amiss to give some short account, how the Kentish men came to save their country, lives, laws, and liberties, in the midst of these devastations, which overspread all the rest of the kingdom, that our imprudent malecontents may see what effects an unanimous resist. ance is capable of producing, in such cases of extremity.

[ocr errors]

The king, soon after his coronation, took a journey to reduce Dover Castle, and the rest of the county of Kent; the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Eglesine, Abbot of the Augustines, being chief lords of that country, understanding the king's design, caused all the people of Kent to assemble at Canterbury, where they declared to them, That before the late revolution, there were no bondmen in England, and, that now, as well the noblemen, as the com. mon people, were made subjects to the perpetual bondage of the Normans, and persuaded them to provide for their safety, from the miserable example of an infinite number of their countrymen, who groaned under the yoke of foreign slavery; they likewise encouraged them to defend, manfully, their lives, liberties, and the laws of their country; and that they both, after the ex ample of the Maccabees, would be their captains.' At a day appointed, all the Kentish men at Swanescombe, two miles westward from Gravesend, hid themselves in a wood, where they lay in wait for the king's coming; and it was agreed, that all, as well horsemen as footmen, should carry boughs in their hands. The next day, the king came near Swanescombe, where he was mightily surprised to see himself, on a sudden, inclosed round about by a moving wood. When the Kentish men had hemmed him in, they threw down their boughs, sounded their trumpets, and drew their swords, &c. and shewed themselves in a readiness to give the king battle. The amazed king could not tell what to do in this streight, to which he was re duced. Whereupon, the archbishop and the abbot advanced towards him, and acquainted him with their desires, and, in case of refusal, that they were all ready to die in the defence of their country. The king, who could do no otherwise, granted them every thing they asked; and by this means it was, that Kent preserved its laws and customs inviolable.

Having gone thus far in his conquest, he received homage, fealty, and pledges, from all the noblemen, who submitted themselves to him; he thought this might be a sufficient security for the present, until he could find an opportunity (as he afterwards did by degrees) to ex tinguish them all.

It is the usual policy of conquerors, to bring as many strangers, as they can into the conquered country, that they may be the better

able to crush the natives, and put it out of their power to make any insurrection, let their sufferings be never so great. To this end, he brought, from Roan in Normandy, a great number of Jews, who were a griping usurious sort of people, whom he knew, that, by their covetous artifice, would omit no ways to make their markets of the poor oppressed natives.

The conqueror had heard how all the Danes had formerly been massacred, in one night, by the English; and, for fear his Normans might be served in the same manner, and also to prevent any nocturnal meetings and cabals, he commanded, 'That, in every town and village, a bell should be rung every night at eight o'clock, and that all people should then put out their fire and candles, and go to bed; which order was punctually observed, during his whole reign.

In the next place, his favourites and soldiers, who had served him in this expedition, must be rewarded for the toil and hazards they had undergone in his service, to whom he shares the greatest part of the land of the kingdom. Taylor, in his history, reckons sixhundred and thirty families, who had the foundation of their fortunes grounded upon the ruins of the English nation.

Normandy, in his absence, was inclined to revolt from him. Being informed of it, he hastened hither, and carried along with him all the prime noblemen of England, whom he suspected might raise any disturbance in the kingdom, while he was out of it. Having quieted Normandy, he returns, and lays an insupportable tribute upon the Englishmen. It is observable, that the English, by these sort of extravagant impositions, defrayed the greatest part of these frequent wars, which he maintained beyond sea, during his reign over England. As a conqueror, he well knew, that to impoverish them was the effectual means, not only to lessen their fortunes, but also to debase their courage; vast numbers of the inhabitants (whereof many were of the royal family) were forced to fly into foreign countries, to avoid the cruelty of the Normans. Scotland was so replenished with these fugitives, that there was no parish, town, or village, in that kingdom,but had several of them, whom the Scots employed in all their servile drudgery.

Those of them, who could not make their escapes, were reduced to that degree of necessity, that, rather than starve, they were contented to become slaves to those, who, at that time, first had power of life and death over them. The services which they performed to their masters, were the most vile offices, that could be imposed upon mankind. This was the original of bondmen in England.

Before the conquest, there were few or no inland castles in this kingdom; and, wherever inland castles are in use, they are designed, for the most part, rather to inslave the natives, than protect them from foreign invasions. The conqueror was resolved to curb the English, and to inslave them, to that degree, that there should be no possibility left them, of recovering their lost liberties. To that end, he caused a castle to be built at Nottingham, two at York, and another at Lincoln, and a great many more in other places, which were

all garisoned with Normans, who treated the English inhabitants with all the insolencies and barbarities imaginable. This was the reason of building so many castles, in so few years after the conquest; that, about the reign of King Stephen, and Henry the Fifth, about eleven-hundred of these castles were demolished by publick authority, in regard that, by that time, they were become a most insupportable grievance to the nation.

The conqueror practised all the ways he could imagine, to extinguish, as well as impoverish the English; and, in pursuance to that design, it was his usual policy to employ them always in his most desperate service. He likewise made use of every opportunity, to engage the English in the destruction of one another, and the cir cumstances of affairs afforded him an occasion for it. Many of the English nation, being fled into Denmark and Ireland, made war upon England several times, in conjunction with these two nations. The conqueror always made use of English armies, under English leaders, to oppose them; and though fortune commonly declared herself, in most of those battles, in favour of the Norman conqueror, yet the victory was seldom obtained without great slaughter of the English on both sides; neither did he care how many of them perished, provided the consequence was not destructive to his interest.

When he came to be well fixed in the possession of his new con quest, he degraded the few noblemen that were left, and conferred their titles and estates upon his own countrymen ; to the intent, that no Englishman, of any quality or interest, should be left in the nation. He would often glory in this piece of policy, and as often des ride the imprudence of that good-natured king, Canutus the Dane, who, having subdued England, restored the English to their former possessions; whereby it came to pass, that, after his death, they easily expelled the Danes out of the kingdom, and reinstated the Saxon line upon the throne. It is commonly a conqueror's policy, to abolish all that was in use amongst the conquered people; neither was he wanting in that respect, for he altered most of the laws and customs of the country. Their very speech was so much abhorred, that the laws were pleaded in the French tongue, and the children, in schools, were taught their letters, and rudiments of grammar, in the French language.

He charged upon the nation threescore-thousand knights fees, which provided him so many horsemen, well accoutred, whenever he had occa sion to make use of them. The possessions of the clergy were not exempted from this service; which, in all former ages, had been pri vileged from all temporal incumberances.

The king had given the earldom of Northumberland to one Robert, sirnamed Cummin, who marched thither, with a considerable body of men, to take possession of his earldom. The Northern people, hearing of his coming, prepared to resist him, and at Durham, they destroy him, and rout his party. The king comes with an army to the North, to revenge the death of the earl; in his march, he killed

and plundered all he met with; and, when he arrived in the north, he committed such a general devastation, that, the next year, there was so great a dearth throughout all England, and especially in Northumberland, and the countries next adjoining, that men were forced to eat horse-flesh, cats, dogs, and man's flesh. And all the land, betwixt Durham and York, lay waste, without inhabitants to till the ground, for the space of nine years following.

He plundered all the monasteries and abbies in England, of all their gold and silver, not sparing even the chalices and shrines. In these places he found vast sums of money, which were hid there, by other people, for fear of the Normans.

Having ruined the laity, he was resolved the clergy should fare no better. He hindered all the English from being preferred to any vacant churches, and, to rid his hands of those that were in possession, by the consent of the Pope, he summoned a great council, to be held at Winchester, where the Archbishop of Canterbury, and several other bishops, abbots, and others, were deprived of their livings, to make room for the greedy Normans.

He oppressed the English nobility and gentry so intolerably, with a design to force them to rebel against him, that from thence he might have a more colourable pretence, to destroy them and their families.

What I have in particular said of this conquest, is not the twentieth part of the people's sufferings, neither will my intended brevity permit me to enlarge upon this subject; for, if all the burnings of towns, slaughters of people, the several torments which were inflicted upon the inhabitants, and the oppressions of all sorts, which they endured, were mentioned, it would afford matter enough for a volume; but what I have declared, is sufficient to let us see what miseries our forefathers underwent, as also to oblige as many of us, as have a grain of sense, or courage left, to exert our utmost abilities, to prevent the like destruction from falling upon these populous and flourishing kingdoms.

Our malecontents are very much mistaken, if they expect any better usage from a French conqueror, at this day, than their ances tors did meet, in former times, from the taskmasters of the same country. For let them assure themselves, that Lewis the Fourteenth is as well versed in the methods of villainy and cruelty, as ever the Norman was, or could pretend himself to be. His arts do far outdo all that went before him, for, besides the calamities which our fore. fathers suffered, he hath others in store, which are much more insufferable, some of which follow:

First, You shall have a king, that fears neither God nor man, that never observes his oath, nor keeps any promise, made with his subjects or strangers.

You shall be governed by a prince, that is arbitrary in the highest degree; your lives and fortunes will be absolutely at his disposal, who values the life of a subject, not so much as another man values the life of an ordinary dog.

« AnteriorContinuar »