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of excefs at the marriage of a Danish lord, which was celebrated at Lambeth.

The disorders of the Danish monarchies once more induced the English to place a monarch of the Saxon line upon the throne, and accordingly Edward, furnamed the Confeffor, was by the general confent crowned king.

The English, who had long groaned under a foreign yoke, now fet no bounds to their joy, at finding the line of their ancient monarchs restored.

As he had been bred in the Norman court, he fhewed, in every inftance, a predilection for the cuf toms, laws, and even the natives of that country: and among the rest of his faults, though he had married Editha, the daughter of Godwin, yet, either from mistaken piety, or fixed averfion, during his whole reign he abstained from her bed.

Thus having no legitimate iffue, and being whol. ly engroffed, during the continuance of a long reign,. with the vifions of fuperftition, he was at laft furprized by ficknefs, which brought him to his end. on the fifth of January, in the fixty-fifth year of his age, and twenty-fifth of his reign.

Harold, the fon of a popular nobleman, whofe name was Godwin, and whofe intrigues and virtues feemed to give a right to his pretenfions, afcended the throne without any oppofition.

But neither his valour, his juftice, nor his popularity, were able to fecure him from the misfortunes attendant upon an ill-grounded title: His pretenfionswere opposed by William duke of Normandy, who infifted that the crown belonged of right to him, it being bequeathed to him by Edward the Confeffor.

William who was afterwards called the Conque-ror, was the natural fon of Robert duke of Normandy. His mother's name was Arlette, a beautiful maid of Falaize, whom Robert fell in love with as the ftood gazing at her door whilft he passed through the D. 2

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town. William, who was the offspring of this amour, owed a part of his greatnefs to his birth, but ftill more to his own perfonal merit. His body was vigorous, his mind capacious and noble, and his courage not to be repreffed by apparent danger. Upon coming to his dukedom of Normandy, though yes very young, he on all fides oppofed his rebellious fubjects, and repreffed foreign invaders, while his valour and conduct prevailed in every action. The tranquillity which he had thus established in his dominions induced him to extend his views; and fome overtures made him by Edward the Confeffor, in the latter part of his reign, who was wavering in the choice of a fucceffor, enflamed his ambition with a defire of fucceeding to the English throne. The pope himself was not behind the reft in favouring his pretenfions; but either influenced by the apparent juftice of his claims, or by the hopes of extending the authority of the church, he immediately pronounced Harold an ufurper. With fuch favourable incentives, William foon found himself at the head of a chofen ariny of fixty thousand men, all equipped. in the moft warlike and fplendid manner. It was in the beginning of fummer that he embarked this powerful body on board a fleet of three hundred fail; and after fomne fmall oppofition from the weather, landed at Pevenly on the coast of Suffex, with refolute tranquillity.

Harold, who feemed refolved to defend his right to the crown, and retain that fovereignty which he had received from the people, who only had a right to beftow it, was now returning, flushed with conqueft from defeating the Norwegians, who had invaded the kingdoin, with all the forces he had employed in that expedition, and all he could invite or collect in the country through which he paffed. His army was compofed of active and valiant troops, in high fpirits, ftrongly attached to their king, and eager to engage.

On

On the other hand, the army of William confifted of the flower of all the continent, and had been long enured to danger. The men of Bretagne, Bologne, Flanders, Poitou, Maine, Orleans, France, and Normandy, were all voluntarily united under his command. England never before, nor never fince,, faw two fuch armies drawn up to dispute its crown. The day before the battle, William fent an offer to Harold to decide the quarrel between them by fingle combat, and thus to fpare the blood of thoufands; but Harold refused, and faid, he would leave it to the god of armies to determine. Both armies therefore that night pitched in fight of each other, expecting the dawning of the next day with impatience. The English paffed the night in fongs and feafting; the Normans in devotion and prayer.

The next morning, at feven, as foon as day appear-ed, both armies were drawn up in array against each other. Harold appeared in the centre of his forces, leading on his army on foot, that his men might be more, encouraged, by feeing their king expofed to an equality of danger. William fought on horfeback, leading on his army that moved at once, finging the fong of Roland, one of the famous chiefs of their country. The Normans began the fight with their cross bows, which, at first, galled, and furprised the English, and as their ranks were clofe, their arrows did great execution. But foon they came to clos fer fight, and the English with their bills, hewed down their adverfaries with great flaughter. Confufion was fpreading among the ranks, when William, who found himself on the brink of deftruction, haftened, with a felect band, to the relief of his forces. His prefence restored the fufpenfe of battle; he was feen in every place, endeavouring to pierce the ranks of the enemy, and had three horfes flain under him. At length perceiving that the English line continued impenetrable, he pretended to give ground, which, as D 33

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he expected, drew the enemy from their ranks, and he was inftantly ready to take advantage of their diforder. Upon a fignal given, the Normans immediately returned to the charge with greater fury than before, broke the English troops, and purfued them to a rifing ground. It was in this extremity, that Harold was feen flying from rank to rank, rallying and infpiring his troops with vigour; and, though he had toiled all day, till near night-fall, in the front of his Kentish men, yet he ftill feemed unabated in force or courage, keeping his men to the poft of honour. Once more, therefore, the victory feemed to turn against the Normans, and they fell in great numbers, fo that the fierceness and obftinacy of this memorable battle, was often renewed by the courage of the leaders, whenever that of the foldiers began to flacken. Fortune, at length, determined a victory that valour was unable to decide. Harold making a furious onfet at the head of his troops, against the Norman hea-.. vy armed infantry, was fhot into the brains by an arrow; and his two valiant brothers, fighting by his fide, fhared the fame fate. He fell with his fword in his hand, amidst heaps of flain, and after the battle, the royal corpfe could hardly be diftinguished among, the dead.

This was the end of the Saxon monarchy in England, which had continued for more than fix hun. red years.

CHAP.

CHA P. IV.

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.

S foon as William paffed the Thames, at

A Wallingford, Stigand the primate, made

fubmiffions to him in the name of the clergy; and before he came within fight of the city, all the chief nobility came into his camp, and declared an inten tion of yielding to his authority. William was glad of being thus peaceably put in poffeffion of a throne which feveral of his predeceffors had not gained without repeated victories.

But in order to give his invafion all the fanction poffible, he was crowned at Westminster by the archbishop of York, and took the oath ufual in the times of the Saxon and Danish kings, which was, to protect and defend the church, to obferve the laws of the realm, and to govern the people with impartiality. Having thus fecured the government, and, by a mixture of vigour and lenity brought the English to an entire fubmiffion, he refolved to return to the con. tinent, there to enjoy the triumph and congratulation of his ancient fubjects.

In the mean time, the abfence of the Conqueror in England produced the moft fatal effects. His officers being no longer controlled by his juftice, thought this a fit opportunity for extortion; while the English, no longer awed by his prefence, thought it the happiest occafion for vindicating their freedom.

The English had entered into a confpiracy to cut off their invaders, and fixed the day for their intended maffacre, which was to be on Ath-Wednesday, during the time of divine fervice, when all the Normans. would be unarmed as penitents, according to the difcipline of the times. But William's return quickly