and with difficulty he reached Newark Castle, where he died on the 19th October 1216, in the forty-ninth year of his age and the seventeenth of his reign, having accumulated more odium on his head than all the Norman kings who had preceded him on the English throne.

19. COMMERCE AND THE ARTS.-The provision in favour of foreign merchants in the great charter has been already noticed. This was an important step in civilisation; but in the same reign we meet with the first mention of one of the greatest arms of modern commerce-letters of credit. In 1199, John engaged to repay in four instalments the sum of 2125 marks advanced by a company of Italian merchants to the Bishops of Anjou and Bangor on the faith of the letters of Richard I. During his reign he frequently employed such letters for the purpose of raising money. From there being no mention of interest, it was probably paid when the money was advanced.

Early in the 12th century, the Scottish merchants carried on a considerable trade with foreign parts; and from some of the burgh-laws, ascribed to David I., we gather that woollen cloth was already an article of manufacture, and that the northern harbours were much frequented by foreign fishermen. Some of the Scotch towns were very wealthy, as they contributed 6000 of the 15,000 marks which William the Lion bound himself to pay to John by the treaty of Berwick.

In both countries the fisheries were apparently productive. Onę fishery in Cheshire paid an annual rent of 1000 salmon, and the port of Sandwich yielded 40,000 herrings yearly to the monks of Canterbury. The present variety of fruits and vegetables was unknown: the poorer classes lived commonly on animal food, but it was frequently eaten alone, bread even of the coarsest quality being very rare. During many ages no improvement had taken place in the dwellings of the common people, but in the castles of the nobility, in the manor-houses of the gentry, and even in the houses of the wealthier citizens, the peculiarities of Norman architecture prevailed. The Norman castles were mere fortresses: everything was sacrificed to strength and solidity. They are generally great square towers, with thick walls and narrow round-headed windows.

Chimneys were unknown: the hearth was placed in the middle of the hall, whence the smoke of the wood and turf ascended to blacken the roof, or escape through the unglazed windows. Carved wainscoting sometimes hid the lower portion of the walls; tapestried hangings were confined to the apartments of the females. The toll of the curfew announced the hour of rest, at sunset in summer, and at eight o'clock in winter; and when "life's fitful fever" was ended, a rude coffin received the lifeless corpse: even the mighty Conqueror himself was laid in a shallow grave lined with masonry; and when stone coffins were used they were merely sunk a little into the ground, so that the massive cover should be on a level with the surface.

20. LEARNING AND EDUCATION.-William the Conqueror loved and patronized letters, and gave no small countenance to the clergy, the only scholars of the times, by sending his son Henry Beauclerc to be educated in the monastery of Abingdon. Most of William's successors, who had themselves received a learned education, followed his example. Henry II. had been carefully instructed by his uncle the Earl of Gloucester, and three of his children, Henry, Geoffrey, and Richard, were noted for their literary accomplishments. The extent of their acquirements was probably trifling, but they had the good taste to protect learned men. Latin was the key to every kind of erudition, and the knowledge of this language was confined almost exclusively to churchmen, who indulged in the notion that it was a possession too valuable to be communicated to the laity, who were indeed looked upon as beings of an inferior species.

Schools and universities, however, greatly multiplied, and there were few religious houses without their seminaries, intended exclusively for the instruction of persons about to enter the church. Others, at the same time, were established in cities, and even in villages, for the instruction of the community at large; among the most celebrated of which were three of a high order in the city of London, and one at Saint Albans. The university of Oxford, properly so called, dates from the reign of Richard I., and its earliest charters were granted by John; the incorpora

tion of Cambridge dates from 1231: prior to the twelfth century they had been little more than great schools, undistinguished by any rank or privileges above others in the kingdom. But the most ambitious of English students still resorted for the completion of their education to foreign universities, as Paris, Toledo, Padua, and Bologna. Their studies were divided into two classes: the first, or Trivium, comprehending grammar, rhetoric, and logic; the second, or Quadrivium, including music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy-all falling very short of what is meant by those terms in a modern system of education. Theology now began to be ranked as a science, and the scholastic logic became the universal instrument of thought and study.

Books were rare and of great value; yet every abbey had its library, and the monks were employed in copying the manuscripts. The library of Croydon monastery, which was burnt in 1091, contained 900 volumes. These were of parchment, for paper did not come into use until the twelfth century.

EXERCISES.

1. How did Henry acquire his continental dominions? What was the character of his government at its commencement? Give an account of the traditions about Thomas à Becket. How did his greatness originate?

2. What was Becket's principal object? What was the law in favour of the churchmen which Henry wished to abolish? Who opposed Becket's appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury? Describe his conduct after he became archbishop.

3. Mention an incident relating to the dispute about the clergy and the courts of law. How did Henry try to get the dispute settled? Give the name of the council where the rules subjecting the clergy to the civil courts were passed. What were the circumstances of Becket's death?

4. Was Ireland a country under one king? Describe its division among various leaders. What was the head of the clan called? How was he appointed? What was the method of succession to land there?

5. How did the pope acquire his authority in Ireland? What use did he make of it? Mention the kingdoms into which Ireland was divided. What was then the state of Ireland?

6. What Irish king appealed to Henry II., and what prompted him to do so? What was the result of the application? Whom did Strongbow marry?

7. What was the effect of Strongbow's success on the king? Describe Henry's expedition to Ireland. What part of the country agreed to yield to him, and what part refused?

8. What was the conduct of Henry's sons towards him? Give an account of the circumstances under which he died.

9. What were the chief imports to London during Henry's reign? What were the exports? What town had been formerly the capital? Mention some of the local peculiarities of London during Henry's reign. 10. When did Richard I. succeed to the crown? For what purpose did he desire money? What methods did he take for obtaining it? 11. What services did the Jews perform? How did the people feel towards them? Give an account of a remarkable instance of persecution.

12. With whom did Richard unite to carry on the crusades? What was the result of the alliance? What great stronghold did he take? Describe the circumstances of his captivity.

13. With whom did Richard leave the care of his kingdom? Who tried to seize the crown in his absence? Mention the circumstances in which the king's brother showed his treachery and cruelty. How was Richard killed?

14. What was Richard's character? Describe his qualifications. What celebrated freebooter flourished in his reign? Mention the different theories maintained about Robin Hood.

15. By what right did John claim the throne? What were the claims of his nephew Arthur? Give an account of Arthur's history and fate. 16. What was the origin of King John's dispute with the pope ? What did Pope Innocent do to England? What was the nature of the pope's interdict? How was the interdict removed?

17. Mention the English and the Latin name of a document to which King John gave his consent? What was its nature? Describe the franchises of the towns which it protected.

18. What was the most important feature of the great charter? Try to give an account of the reasons why trial by jury was so important and beneficial. Did King John sincerely intend to adhere to the great charter? Describe the circumstances of his death.

19. What improvements in commerce took place at this time? What was the state of trade in Scotland? Did the dwellings of the poor people improve as much as those of the rich? Describe the Norman castles.

20. Give an account of what William the Conqueror and his successors did for learning. When were the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford founded? What were the two classes into which the studies of young men were at that time divided?

CHAPTER XII.

ENGLAND FROM THE ACCESSION OF HENRY III. TO THE DEATH OF EDWARD II., A. D. 1216—1327.

Henry III., A. D. 1216-1272.

1. AT the death of John, the city of London and all the southern counties of England acknowledged the authority

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of Prince Louis of France; and in the north his cause, though not triumphant, was the more popular. The barons, however, who had not abandoned King John, adopted as their monarch his son, the youthful Henry of Winchester, then only ten years old. They were more conversant than Louis with the constitutional customs of the country, and knew that the people would not acknowledge Henry as their sovereign until he was crowned, and had taken the coronation oath. They accordingly led him to Gloucester, and in the cathedral of that city, in presence of the cardinal legate Gualo, and the bishops of Winchester, Exeter, and Bath, placed on the head of the royal child a circle of gold, a temporary substitute for the diadem which John had lost in the sands of the Wash, and received from the new king an oath of fealty to the Holy See. In the follow1216. ing November, a great council was held at Bristol, where the Earl of Pembroke, the marshal of England, was chosen Protector, with the title of Rector Regis et Regni (governor of the king and kingdom). Here also the Great Charter was revised and confirmed, its articles being reduced from sixty-one to forty-two.

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Prince Louis soon discovered that John's death was not so favourable to him as he had hoped. The youth and innocence of Henry III. captivated the affections of the English, while the arrogance of the French daily added to their unpopularity. The clergy, in obedience to Gualo's orders, read every Sunday and holiday the sentence of excommunication fulminated by the pope against the partisans of Louis; and in a brief space the king's party became so formidable that the French prince was compelled to raise the siege of Dover, which had been valiantly defended by Hubert de Burgh. The Tower of London, however, was surrendered to him not long after, and he reduced the castles of Hertford and Berkhampstead. In the following year, the French cause became desperate, and Louis, cooped up within the walls of London, was glad to propose terms of accommodation, by which an amnesty was granted to all the English barons who had espoused his interests, the prisoners on both sides were released, and the privileges of London, as well as of all other cities and boroughs, were confirmed. Louis then set sail for