perstitious practices to which they had given counte- Owerhi. was executed, as being thus miraculously convicted. The trial by camp-fight was performed by single combat, in lists appointed for that purpose, between the accuser and the accused. He who, in such a case, came off victorious, was deemed innocent; and he who was conquered, if he survived his antagonist's resentment in the field, was sure to suffer as a malefactor some time after. Both these trials William abolished, as unchristian and unjust; and he reduced all causes to the judgement of twelve men, of a rank nearly equal to W that of the prisoner. This method of trial by jury was common to the Saxons, as well as the Normans, long before; but it was now confirmed by him with all the sanction of undisputed authority. Insurrection While William was thus employed, in rewarding his indu Nor. associates, punishing the refractory, and giving laws. mandie. for the benefit of all, he was threatened with an insur A.D. rection in his dominions on the continent, which 1073. he thought his presence necessary to suppress. Unwilling, however, to draw off his Norman forces from England, he carried over a considerable army, composed almost entirely of English; and by those brave troops he soon reduced the revolters to submission. Thus we see a whimsical vicissitude of fortune: the inhabitants of Normandy brought over for the conquest of the English, and the English sent back to conquer the Normans. However, William had not time to enjoy his success unmolested; for accounts were quickly brought him from England, that a new conspiracy was formed, more dreadful, in being supported by the joint efforts of the Normans and the English. The adventurers who had followed the fortunes of William into England, had been bred in authority and independence at home, and were ill able to endure the absolute, authority which this monarch had for some time assumed. The discontents were therefore become very general among these haughty nobles; and some wanted only the opportunity of his absence to break out into open rebellion. Among the number was Roger, earl of Hereford, son and heir to Fitz-Osborne, who had been the king's principal favourite. This nobleman had, either by way of compliment to the king, or in compliance with some obligation of the feudal law, solicited William's consent to permit the marriage of his sister with Ralph de Guader, earl of Norfolk; but he was flatly refused. Nevertheless, he proceeded to solemnise the nuptials with great magnificence, assembling all his friends, and those of Guader, upon the occasion. As the parents of the new-married couple were well acquainted with the character of William, whose resentment they had every reason to dread, they took the opportunity, while the company was heated with wine, to introduce that as a subject of conversation. They inveighed against the severity of his government; they observed, that, by means of his excessive imposi tions, he had taken with one hand what he had given William Dampfl autouchs. with the other; they affected to commiserate the English, whom he had reduced to beggary; and aggravated the defects in his disposition, which they represented as as haughty and unforgiving. The guests were ready enough at any time to concur in their complaints; but now, warmed by the jollity of the entertainment, they put no bounds to their zeal. They unanimously entered into a conspiracy to shake off his yoke; and earl Waltheoff himself, whom we have already seen pardoned upon a former insurrection, was among the foremost on this occasion. But it was not without the greatest anxiety that he reflected, in his cooler intervals, upon an engagement made in the ardour of intoxication, big with the most fatal consequences both to himself and his country. In this state of perturbation he had recourse to his wife, the niece of the king, and unbosomed himself to her, as he had the most firm reliance on her fidelity. But he was deceived; for she was in love with another, and only wanted an opportunity of getting rid of her husband at any rate. She, therefore, instantly found means to communicate the whole affair to the king, taking care to represent her husband's conduct in the most disadvantageous point of view. In the mean time, Waltheoff himself gave way to his internal remorse, and confessed the whole conspiracy to Lanfranc, who exhorted him, by all means, to reveal it to the king; which he was at last persuaded to do: but it was not till the whole affair had been divulged by his faithless consort. William coolly thanked him for his fidelity; but the former account of his perfidy sunk deep into the king's mind, and he secretly resolved to punish it. During this interval, the conspirators, being informed that Waltheoff was gone over to Normandy, justly concluded that their designs were betrayed, and flew to arms before their schemes were ripe for execution. The earl of Hereford was checked by Walter de Lacy, a great baron in the king's interest. The earl of Norfolk was defeated by Odo, the king's brother; and the prisoners who were taken had each the right foot cut off, in order to deter others from a similitude of treason. The earl himself retired to Denmark; so that William, upon his arrival in England, found that nothing remained for him to do but to punish the criminals; which was performed with unusual severity. Many of the rebels were hanged, some had their eyes put out, and others their hands cut off. The unfortunate Waltheoff, who had imprudently entered into the conspiracy, but attempted to atone for his fault by an early confession, found no mercy. He was rich, and he was an Englishman; two faults that served to aggravate his guilt: he was accordingly tried, condemned, and executed. His infamous wife did not long enjoy the fruits of her perfidy; but, falling some time after under the king's displeasure, was abandoned by the world, and passed the rest of her life in contempt, remorse, and misery. Some assert that this nobleman fell a sacrifice to the cruelty of Odo, not of William; but, however that may be, it is certain that Waltheoff, and Fitz-Aubert, a noble Norman, who was also beheaded on this occasion, were the only persons of note that were executed during the reign of William the Conqueror. Having thus re-established the peace of his government, and extinguished the last embers of rebellion with blood, William returned once more to the continent, in order to pursue Guader, who, escaping from England, had taken refuge with the count of Bretagne. Finding him, however, too powerfully protected by that prince, instead of prosecuting his vengeance, he wisely came to a treaty with the count, in which Guader was in cluded. Williams William, having thus secured the peace of his domihäuslich nions, now expected rest from his labours; and, finding Augelegenhone either willing or powerful enough to oppose him, he hoped that the end of his reign would be marked with prosperity and peace. But such is the blindness of human hope, that he found enemies where he least expected them, and such too as served to embitter all the latter part of his life. His last troubles were excited by his own children, from the opposing of whom he could expect to reap neither glory nor gain. He had four sons, Robert, Richard, William, and Henry, besides several daughters. Robert, his eldest son, surnamed Curthose from the shortness of his legs, was a prince who inherited all the bravery of his family and nation, but was rather bold than prudent, rather enterprising than politic. Earnest after fame, and even impatient that his father should stand in the way, he aspired at that independence to which his temper, as well as some circumstances in his situation, conspired to invite him. He had formerly been promised by his father the government of Maine, a province of France, which had submitted to William, and was also declared successor to the dukedom of Normandy. However, when he came to demand the execution of these engagements, he received an absolute denial; the king shrewdly observing, that it was not his custom to throw off his clothes till he went to bed. Robert openly declared his resentment, and was often heard to express his jealousy of his two surviving brothers, William and Henry; for Richard was killed, in hunting, by a stag. These, by greater assiduity, had wrought upon the credulity and affections of the king, and consequently were |