his engagements, new swarms of Danes, not bound by them, continued to infest the shores of England. Alfred's infant navy, however, proved very serviceable in repelling their incursions. He now rebuilt and fortified the city of London, and also employed himself in strengthening the other portions of his kingdom, a salutary precaution, for the severest struggle was yet to come. In 893, a fleet of 330 ships, under the command of Hasting, the most renowned of the Danish leaders, landed on the coast of Kent; and at the same time the people of the Danelagh, whose king, Guthrun, was dead, rose in insurrection and joined their marauding brethren. During three years almost every part of South Britain became in turn the scene of devastation and bloodshed; but the military genius of the British monarch ultimately prevailed, and the remainder of his reign was passed in comparative tranquillity. 5. At the period of Alfred's accession, the English people were sunk in the grossest ignorance. The monasteries, then the only seats of learning, had been destroyed by the Danes, the monks dispersed, and their libraries burnt; so that, in the preface to his translation of Pope Gregory's tract on the Duties of Pastors, the king lamented that there was not one priest south of the Thames, and very few north of the Humber, who could interpret the Latin service. And although he supplied the means of instruction for his subjects, so little inclination was manifested to profit by them, that a law was enacted by which all freeholders, possessed of not less than two hides of land, were enjoined to send their children to school. Alfred is said to have founded the University of Oxford, and to have endowed it with many privileges. The nobility followed their sovereign's example, and he had reason erelong to congratu late himself on the improvement of the habits of his people. His own example was well worthy of imitation: he devoted one-third part of his time to the affairs of government, onethird part to study and devotion, and the remainder to sleep and recreation. On all sides a spirit of industry prevailed; cities, castles, and monasteries rose from their ruins, and the dwellings of the inhabitants assumed an air of comfort and convenience before unknown. Alfred was a shining light in an age of darkness: he is equally celebrated for his conquests, his wisdom in legislation, and his exertions to promote the civilisation of his people. At his court were entertained some of the most learned men of his time: the Welshman Asser, who wrote his life, Grim bald of Rheins, and Joannes Scotus. He left many remarkable compositions in prose and verse; wrote a commentary on Boethius' Consolations of Philosophy; and translated into Anglo-Saxon the Fables of Æsop, Beda's Ecclesiastical History, and the History of Orosius, which he enriched with many valuable remarks. He founded schools, and invited the most eminent men of the day to superintend them. Commerce, manufactures, and agriculture were encouraged by peculiar privileges, and the highways were cleared of robbers. Hence England, emerging from barbarism, and enjoying the blessings of peace, conferred on him the justly merited title of THE GREAT. Besides attending to internal improvements, this exemplary monarch cultivated an intercourse with different countries, and kept up a frequent communication with Rome, which he had twice visited in his youth. In this he appears to have had in view the extension of commerce as well as the acquisition of knowledge. He sent the Bishop of Sherburn on a mission to the Syrian Christians settled on the coasts of Malabar and Coromandel; and from this long and dangerous journey the clerical ambassador returned laden with gems and spices. Like all great monarchs appearing in a dark age, every good thing in the old constitution of England is attributed to Alfred. He is said to have invented the system of trial by jury, and to have made a division of the whole country into hundreds and tithings. A hundred consisted of a hundred heads of families-a tithing of ten, so that each hundred contained ten tithings. The advantage of this arrangement was, that within each of these little communities the whole were answerable for the conduct of one another. If a robbery was committed within a tithing, the several householders were liable to make it good; and thus all were observers of their neighbour's conduct, and interested in detecting him if he committed a crime. The origin of jury trial is probably connected with this system. A man who was accused got so many of his neighbours to answer for his innocence, and as they were responsible for the offence, if they acquitted him, it was considered clear that he must be innocent. It has been well observed, that such institutions are not made, they grow, and there is no doubt that though Alfred did not create them, his enlightened mind assisted them in their growth. C EXERCISES. 1. What was the title assumed by Egbert? What was the real extent of his power? By whom was England invaded in his time? Describe the people called Danes-their race, the country whence they came, and their connexion with other nations. How were they first received? 2. Who succeeded to Egbert? What were the results of Ethelwulf's conflicts with the Danes? Mention some of the places pillaged by the Danes. Mention a custom showing how the Saxons felt the inroads of the Danes. Who assisted King Ethelred against the Danes? Where were they conquered? What events followed the victory of Aston? 3. What were the circumstances under which Alfred's reign began? How did he employ the interval of peace? What effect did he produce with his fleet? Detail the history of his disasters. Where and in what disguise did he seek refuge? What anecdote is usually told of him in his retreat? 4. What induced Alfred to return to public life? What favourable omen inspired him with confidence? How did he visit Guthrun's camp? Mention how he defeated the Danes? What arrangement did he make with the view of their becoming peaceful citizens? What interfered with the success of his plan? In what year did Hasting's fleet invade England? 5. What was the state of religion at Alfred's accession? What did he do for education? What eminent men did he entertain at his court? What literary works did he accomplish? Describe the arrangement of hundreds and tithings. What connexion is it supposed to have had with jury trial? What share is Alfred supposed to have liad in the arrangement? CHAPTER IV. FROM THE DEATH OF ALFRED TO CANUTE'S INVASION, Ethelwald-Dunstan and Odo-Edgar the Pacific-Peculiarities of the Anglo-Saxon Church-Edward the Martyr-Danish Invasions under Sweyn-Dane-geld-Massacre of Saint Brice-Sweyn's RevengeThurkill the Dane-Ethelred and Sweyn-Saxon Trade and Exports. 1. EDWARD THE ELDER succeeded to his father's throne, but not without opposition, his right being disputed by Ethelwald, the son of Ethelbald, one of Alfred's brothers, who finding himself the weaker competitor, fled into the Danelagh, where his title was acknowledged. Ethelwald's claims were not so ill founded as they would be considered in our own days; for, while the Anglo-Saxons limited the inheritance of the crown to one family, they had not adopted the strict modern rule of lineal succession, which in their days was scarcely known in any part of the world. The children of the last monarch were often overlooked: Alfred himself succeeded to the prejudice of the sons of his elder brother; and somewhat later the sons of Edmund I. gave place to their uncle Edred, and were in their turn preferred to his issue. It would seem that the public security in those times was incompatible with a royal minority. The strict rule of hereditary succession was not established in England until the time of Edward I. The reign of ATHELSTAN, who succeeded his father, forms an epoch in our early history. At Brunanburgh in 938 he defeated Anlaf, king of Northumbria, and having seized that territory became the first king of all England. After the brief reigns of EDMUND, who was murdered at a feast by an outlaw (946), and of EDRED, EDWY the Fair, a boy only 15 years of age, ascended the throne. The chief troubles of his reign originated in his quarrels with the churchmen, of whom the celebrated Dunstan was the chief. This prelate, who was a man of noble birth and accomplished in the arts and learning of his time, was created Archbishop of Canterbury in 960, at the early age of 32. While still abbot of Glastonbury, he was the prime agent in one of the most important events in Edwy's reign. The youthful monarch having married a lady of rank named Elgiva, related to him within the prohibited degrees, the nobles and clergy were invited to the coronation banquet, at which, according to the custom of the times, they sat long and drank deeply. Delighting more in the company of his lovely spouse than in that of the riotous revellers, Edwy left the hall before the feast was over, and withdrew with the queen and her mother to an inner apartment of the palace. On finding that he did not return, Dunstan rudely broke in upon their retirement, and after insulting the mother and her daughter, dragged the king from his wife's side, and forced him back to the banqueting hall. Such an outrage was more than even the thoughtless Edwy could endure. Dunstan was accused of peculation in his office of treasurer to the preceding sovereign, his property was confiscated, and he himself driven into banishment. His disgrace, however, was of short duration, for Odo, archbishop of Canterbury, and Dunstan's political coadjutor, soon afterwards instigated a general rising of the people, the abbot returned from his exile, and Edgar, Edwy's brother, was proclaimed sovereign of all England north of the Thames. To fill up the measure of their vengeance, some of Odo's retainers seized Elgiva, branded her on the face with a red-hot iron, and caused her to be transported to Ireland. She soon, however, recovered from her cruel wounds, and returning to England more beautiful than before, was taken captive near Gloucester, where, after being barbarously mangled, she expired in great torture. Her afflicted and broken-hearted husband followed her to the grave in the A.D. succeeding year, and, according to some accounts, the 958. instrument of his death was the dagger of his enemies. 2. EDGAR, a boy of fifteen, was a passive instrument in the hands of the churchmen; but such was their vigour in the administration of the kingdom, that during his whole reign it was not troubled by a single war, and he obtained the enviable name of the Pacific. He exercised so wide an influence over the whole island, that a story has often been told, that when he was at Chester, eight kings were the rowers of his barge. These were Kenneth of Scotland, Malcolm of Cumbria or Strathclyde, Maccus of Anglesea and the Western Isles, the kings of Galloway and Westmere, and three Welsh sovereigns. In his private character, however, the king appears to have been a vicious profligate. In the early part of his reign, he carried off a young lady of rank from the convent of Wilton, and was guilty of many similar acts of revolting licentiousness. His marriage with his second wife, Elfrida, was stained with blood. She was the daughter of Ordgar, earl of Devonshire, and remarkable for her beauty, the report of which reached the ears of the voluptuous monarch. To ascertain the correctness of the rumour, he sent his favourite, Athelwold, on a visit to her father; but the courtier, captivated by her charms, married her, and then returning to the king, spoke in disparaging terms of her personal attractions. The fraud succeeded only for a time, and Edgar declared his intention of seeing the lady. Athelwold, having obtained leave to precede his master that he might prepare for his reception, besought his wife to disguise her beauty; but Elfrida, dazzled by the lustre of a crown, exerted all her fascinations to win the king's affections. In this she succeeded but too well, and Edgar, after Athelwold's murder, married his widow. He survived this marriage about six years, and died at the 975. early age of thirty-two. A.D. It was the great aim of Dunstan's life to assimilate the Anglo-Saxon Church with that of Rome; but the specific points of difference are not in all instances very clear. While rejecting the doctrine of transubstantiation, the English clergy practised image-worship to a great extent, and a belief in purgatory formed part of their creed. Penance, confession, |