Salt-cellars are first mentioned in the reign of King John, when a mark of gold is ordered in the Close rolls to be furnished to make one for the king's use, and 29s. 6d. to be paid for a silver salt-cellar, gilt within and without. Fine cotton for three couches or beds for the king is also mentioned in these rolls; and linen sheets were used at the same period. This indicates some advance in refinement; but on the whole there was little progress either in the comfort or elegance of domestic furniture.

In dress there was, in the reign of Henry I., one great improvement, as it became a practice to cut the hair and shave the beard; a change that was effected principally by the clergy. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, refused his benediction to those who would not cut their hair; and, at the end of a long sermon against the sinfulness of long locks and curling moustaches, razors and scissors were not only recommended, but actually produced for immediate operation.

The dress of the Anglo-Normans was both costly in material and extravagant in shape. In the illuminations the ladies appear with their sleeves wide and kerchiefs knotted up to prevent their trailing on the ground; but in the reign of Henry II. they seem to have adopted a somewhat more rational costume. The gentlemen of the period are represented in full and flowing robes of a moderate length, girt with richly ornamented waist-belts, with mantles fastened by fibulæ or brooches on the breast or shoulders, chausses, or long hose, shoes or boots, caps of various forms, and jewelled gloves.

Both Normans and Saxons were very superstitious. Their northern descent, their ancient traditions, their imperfect Christianity, the habits of a chivalrous life among the nobles, and the ignorance of the common people, led them to strew the path of their existence with omens, prodigies, and superstitious observances. The meeting of a hare in their path, of a woman with dishevelled locks, a blind man, a lame man, or a monk, was regarded as the omen of some calamity; while if a wolf crossed their path, if St. Martin's bird flew from left to right, if they heard distant thunder, or met a deformed or leprous man, some good fortune might be expected.

Among the sports and pastimes of the Anglo-Saxons hunting and hawking were the chief, both for ladies and gentlemen, and by the Great Charter every freeman was allowed to have in his woods eyries of hawks, eagles, and herons.

Horse-racing was practised among the Anglo-Normans, though only on a small scale; but gambling with dice was often carried to a pernicious excess, and violent quarrels arose out of it. A more innocent in-door amusement was furnished, however, by the jugglers and buffoons.

The peasantry found their recreation in archery, wrestling, running, leaping, sword and buckler playing, throwing spears, large stones, &c. In large towns the citizens diverted themselves with boar and bull baiting and the game of foot-ball; and in many parts of the country sports still in use among the peasantry on the eve of All-Hallows are derived from this remote period.

CHAP. IX.

THE PERIOD FROM THE ACCESSION OF HENRY III. TO THE END OF THE REIGN OF RICHARD II.

HENRY III., SURNAMED OF WINCHESTER.

IMMEDIATELY after the burial of John the Earl of Pembroke, the marshal of England, marched with the royal army and Prince Henry, the deceased king's eldest son, to the city of Gloucester. On the day after their arrival (October 28.) Henry, who was only ten years old, was crowned in the Church of St. Peter by Gualo, the Pope's legate. There were no English bishops present but those of Winchester, Bath, and Worcester, and no lay nobles but the earls of Chester, Pembroke and Ferrers, with four barons. After his coronation Henry rendered homage to the Pope for Eng

land and Ireland, and engaged to pay the tribute of 1000 marks a year, which his father had promised.

In the following month a great council was held at Bristol, in which the Earl of Pembroke was chosen protector, with the title of Rector Regis et Regni. At this council Magna Charta was carefully revised, with the view of satisfying the demands of the barons who adhered to Louis without sacrificing the royal prerogative.

These barons were very numerous, and Louis not only held London and the richest provinces of the south, but he was powerful also in the north and west. Louis when he heard of John's death was besieging Dover Castle; but he immediately raised the siege and returned to London, fancying that now all opposition would cease. He found, however, a powerful opponent in the Earl of Pembroke; and after the French had obtained some partial successes, they were attacked by him at Lincoln, and completely defeated. Louis sent for fresh troops and hoped to renew the war; but his fleet, while attempting to sail up the Thames, was destroyed by a smaller squadron under the brave Hubert de Burgh; and in September, 1217, he was compelled to leave England, though not without stipulating that the English nobles who had fought in his cause should not suffer for their conduct. This agreement the regent faithfully observed; but the Pope's legate dispossessed the clergy who had favoured the invaders, and bestowed their benefices upon his own adherents.

Under the wise government of the Earl of Pembroke the peace of the country was made every day more secure, and a confirmation of Magna Charta was granted by the young king, and its benefits extended to Ireland. A clause was added ordering the demolition of every castle built or rebuilt since the beginning of the war between John and his barons, and other clauses were withdrawn and formed into a separate charter, called the "Charter of Forests."

By this instrument forests enclosed since the reign of Henry II. were thrown open; offences in them, which had formerly been declared capital, were to be no longer so, and even the crime of killing the king's deer was to be punishable only by fine or imprisonment; so that these charters were brought nearly to the form in which they have remained to the present day.

During his regency the Earl of Pembroke was a worthy protector to the kingdom, and more than a father to the boy-king. Unfortunately he did not long fill the offices whose duties he had so admirably discharged, for he died in 1219, and was succeeded in his protectorship by Hubert de Burgh, while the young king's person was committed to the care of Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester.

Between these two a rivalry sprung up; which led to such continual plots and conspiracies, that the nation rejoiced when the Pope sent a mandate, directing that Henry, who in the meanwhile had been crowned a second time, should himself assume the government. Hitherto the barons had refused to deliver up the royal castles, pretending that they held them in trust for the young king till he should come of age. In the course of the year 1224 he succeeded in getting possession of most of them; but in many cases it was only by siege and assault. Some of the castles had been held by foreigners, who had committed frightful excesses in the country; and when these were captured, the garrisons, knights and all, were hanged. About this time Peter de Roches, who was a Poitevin by birth, gave up the struggle with Hubert de Burgh, and left England under pretence of making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and many of the foreign adventurers followed him.

In the year 1225, the king's revenue having been greatly diminished by the grants of preceding monarchs, it was found necessary to raise money by direct taxation. A Parliament, as it now began to be called, met at Westminster, and after much discussion granted a fifteenth of all moveable property for this purpose, though only on the express condition that the king should again ratify the two charters. Henry accordingly gave a ratification to Magna Charta for the third time, with another for the Charter of Forests, and sent orders to some of his officers, who had hitherto treated them with little respect, to enforce all their provisions. In the grant made to the king there were many exceptions favourable to the nobility, gentry, and clergy. In the following year the Pope, alleging that he was at war with the Emperor of Germany, made a demand on the clergy for a tenth of their possessions, and exacted it under threats of excommunication.

In the year 1224 Philip, King of France, died, and his death was shortly followed by that of his son and successor Louis. During his short reign, however, he had been called upon to fulfil an engagement that he had made with the Earl of Pembroke to restore Normandy, Maine, and Anjou to England; but when his succession to the throne enabled him to keep his agreement, he not only refused to do so, but marched a powerful army into Poitou, and partly by force, and partly by bribery, obtained possession of Rochelle and other towns, and extended his conquests to the right bank of the Garonne. Henry sent an army, nominally under the command of his brother Richard, to defend the province of Gascony; and the Pope then deemed it expedient to interfere in order to prevent Louis from obtaining too much the advantage of his opponent. A truce was agreed to for one year, and before the year had expired Louis died, leaving his son Louis IX. under the guardian

H

ship of his mother, Blanche of Castile. Blanche was obnoxious to the French nobility, and a stormy period ensued in the affairs of the country, which promised no small advantage to hostile invaders. Henry therefore resolved to carry the war into France in 1229. Elated by the promises and invitations of the Barons of Guienne, Poitou, and Normandy, he set sail for the Continent; and on landing at St. Malo he was joined by a host of Bretons. He advanced to Nantes, but there wasted his time in feasts and pageantries, while the forces of the young French king were taking several towns. He came back to England in October covered with disgrace, and his ally, the Duke of Brittany, was compelled to appear at the foot of the throne of Louis with a rope round his neck.

The king and some of his favourites attempted to throw the blame of the failure on the brave Hubert de Burgh, but with little success, for the people attributed it to the king himself, and regarded him as a trifler and a coward. When he applied for money to his Parliament they refused it, and told him that his barons through his extravagance were as poor as himself.

In 1232 De Burgh, who had now been eight years at the head of public affairs, and to whose fidelity and courage Henry owed his crown, was doomed to experience the proverbial ingratitude of princes. Many circumstances combined to effect his downfall, but the most effectual was the envy of the nobles. In the midst of their plots against him his old rival Peter de Roches again reappeared at court, and Henry soon afterwards withdrew his favour from his long-tried friend. Some frivolous and foolish charges were brought against him, among others that of having gained the king's affections by magic and enchantment; and then, finding his enemies too powerful for him, Hubert fled, and took refuge in Merton Abbey. Shortly afterwards, desiring to see his wife, he ventured out on receiving a safe conduct from the king; but no sooner had he quitted his asylum than the faithless Henry sent 300 armed men to seize him. De Burgh escaped to a parish church in Essex, where, with a crucifix in one hand and the Host in the other, he stood firmly near the altar, hoping that the sanctity of the place would be his protection. But the king sent a troop of men to take him, who were not deterred by any such considerations. They dragged him forth, and sent for a smith to put him in irons; but the poor workman had a nobler spirit than Sir Godfrey de Crancumb, who headed the band; and he declared he would rather die than put fetters on the brave defender of Dover Castle and the conqueror of the French at sea. Hubert was conveyed to the Tower of London; but the bishops raised such an indignant outcry against this violation of a sanctuary, that the king was obliged to have his prisoner carried safely back to the parish church. He had the church surrounded, however, and