upward, that they might fall upon the heads of the English. This was fatal to Harold: he was struck by an arrow, which entered his left eye, and penetrated his brain. The English then gave way; but they only retreated to their standard, which they sought to defend. Desperate efforts were made by the Normans to seize the banner, and at length a band of twenty threw themselves into the ranks, and succeeded, after ten of their number had perished. At this rallying point Gurth and Leofwin, the brothers of Harold, perished; and after this the English troops, broken and dispirited, dispersed through the woods which lay in the rear of their position, The Normans followed them by the light of the moon, but the English slew many of their pursuers, and they soon gave up the chase.

Such was the battle of Hastings, which decided the fate of Saxon England. By this battle, indeed, William did not gain a fourth part of England; his wars for the conquest of the west, the north, and the east were protracted for seven long years. The battle, though lost, had been nobly fought on the part of England. All the Norman writers express their admiration of the valour of the foe; and most of them confess that the great superiority of his forces alone enabled William to obtain the victory. But it is not always by numbers that victory is obtained; and it would rather appear that a special Providence opened the way for William to succeed to the throne. The arrow which entered the eye of Harold was as surely charged with a commission as the Syrian shaft that struck Ahab. His days were numbered.

A.D.

REMARKABLE EVENTS OF THE PERIOD.

981. Southampton plundered by the Danes, and its inhabitants taken for slaves.

993. A Danish host lands and takes Bamborough Castle by storm.

1002. The Danes throughout England massacred at the Feast of St. Brita, November 13th.

1009. The Danes called Thurkill's Host ravage Kent, and murder Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury.

1039. Duncan, King of Scots, murdered by Macbeth. 1066. The battle of Hastings.

CHAP. VI.

THE GOVERNMENT, LAWS, ETC. OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS.

The Government, &c.—THE annals of the Saxons are so imperfect, that it would be impossible to state exactly what were the prerogatives of the crown or the privileges of the people after their settlement in Britain. The Anglo-Saxon government seems to have been a kind of aristocracy, and it is certain that the laws were made by the king and a national assembly or parliament, composed of the nobility, dignitaries of the church, and freeholders possessing a certain portion of land. This was called the Witenagemot, or "the meeting of the wise men."

In the earlier period of the Saxon domination the kings were elected by the chiefs and priests, but by degrees attention to hereditary succession became general, though a son or a nephew was frequently set aside for a chief possessing greater power. At the coronation of the Saxon kings the public service had many references to Scripture history and principles, and distinctly sought the blessing of God, by whom alone kings reign. The kings had considerable privileges and powers, but they were only supreme chiefs among other rulers, and not such monarchs as now reign over Europe. Their authority gradually increased, being supported by the popes, but it varied with their personal characters; and down to the latest period they were assisted by the advice of influential noblemen.

Castes.-Like the other Teutonic nations, the Anglo-Saxons were divided into various castes. The highest of these was that out of which their kings were taken; a race said to have been descended from the deified monarch of the Asi, Odin, or Woden. The second great caste among the Anglo-Saxons was that of the nobility, who bore the title of eorls or thanes. These were a numerous body of men, comprehending all the considerable landholders in England. They were the descendants and representatives of the ancient German companions of their princes. In war they constituted the flower of the armies, and in times of peace they swelled the trains of their monarchs, or resided on their estates. From this body all the chief officers, both civil and military, were taken. The third caste was composed of the remainder of the people, and consisted of the ceorls, or villains. The distinctions between the eorl and ceorl were strongly marked. Thus, the

declaration of one eorl was equal to that of six ceorls; and the life of one eorl was equal in value to that of six ceorls. The ceor!, or villain, was a tenant of the glebe; one who, performing prædial or agricultural services, was unable to depart from the land which he held, and who had acquired a definite and recognised estate in the soil. The ceorl was in some sense free; he could be given and bequeathed, bought and sold, but he could not be separated from his land those who bought the ceorl must purchase the estate on which he resided. So long as he performed his services he could not be removed, nor was a higher rent or a greater proportion of labour to be exacted from him than what was usual. That the rights of the thane over the ceorl were limited and certain is proved by the fact that he could purchase his own freedom and that of his wife and children: he therefore had the means of acquiring wealth.

There were, however, slaves among the Saxons, called theowes (the Servi of Domesday), who were destitute of political rights, and whose condition was similar to that of a modern negro slave. Some of these theowes were the offspring of British serfs; but the greater portion of them were freemen who had forfeited their liberty by crimes. Slavery continued in England as long as the Saxons were heathens, and for some time after they were converted to Christianity; and slaves formed a very numerous class in the community, though they did not rank among the people.

Divisions of the Country.—Little is known of the territorial divisions of the Anglo-Saxons. It seems certain, however, that the division of the country into counties, hundreds, and tithings goes back to the time of the settlement of the Saxons in England. Over each of these divisions there presided a magistrate: over the county a count, earl, or alderman; over the hundred a centenary, or hundreden; and over the tithing a decanus, or tithing-man. Each of these officers held a court, in which justice was administered and the affairs of the district discussed and settled. These courts were subordinate to one another: from the decision of the tithing there was an appeal to the hundred; and from that of the hundred an appeal to the shire.

Laws.-The criminal laws of the Anglo-Saxons were very mild, and the leading principle in the Saxon legislature was that of pecuniary compensation rather than of bodily infliction, for the punishment of crimes. A compensation in money or kind was sufficient for the murder even of persons of rank, not excepting the king or the archbishop, whose life, by the laws of Kent, was estimated higher than the king's. It was considered by them that the death of a man could not repair the evils he had occasioned,

and it was a common maxim among them, willingly amend."

The general principles of the Saxon laws display great justice and equity, and there were among them laws inforcing mercy to animals and the observance of the Sabbath as a day of rest from worldly labours. Trial by jury originated among them, and was applied to civil as well as criminal cases. Twelve men of honest and good report were chosen to decide disputes after hearing the statements of both parties. The witnesses were examined upon oath, and the punishment for perjury was very severe. Some questions were decided by the Witenagemot, or Parliament, and others by the courts above mentioned. Before the trial by jury was established persons were tried by ordeals. The usual course was for the accused person to plunge his hand into boiling water, or to carry a hot iron a certain distance. The hand was then bound up, and the man was adjudged innocent or guilty according to its appearance at the end of three days. But these fiery ordeals were gross impositions on the credulity of the people, and the presiding priests used many deceptions to obtain the verdict they desired.

Guilds.-Among the Anglo-Saxons were guilds or clubs, which appear to have been associations of individuals, with rules mutually agreed upon. From these the companies and corporations of later date seem to have originated. The guild was a sort of friendly society; and the members generally manifested that inclination for festive enjoyments which is still at the present time characteristic of such associations. At that period, however, guilds were useful in promoting commerce and in checking the power of the nobility. Union was then necessary for mutual protection, as well as to supply the capital needed for enterprise.

Trades.-Trades among the Anglo-Saxons were pursued by the servants of a family, by travelling artisans, and by those who settled in certain places to carry on trade on their own account. Smiths, carpenters, and workers in leather were very common; but the artisans employed in more elegant works were comparatively few. The arts of working in gold, silver, iron, lead, and jewels were frequently practised by priests. Dunstan, who governed both church and state with absolute sway, was the best blacksmith, brazier, goldsmith, and engraver of his age; and many trinkets manufactured by him were preserved by the church as precious relics. It is said that King Edgar required that every priest should know how to practise some handicraft.

Spinning, weaving, embroidery, and dyeing were practised in domestic occupations, and the skill of the Anglo-Saxon ladies in

needlework and embroidery with gold was so remarkable, that their performances were called Anglicum opus, or English work.

Commerce.-The Anglo-Saxons paid great attention to foreign trade. We read that Irish merchants sold cloth at Cambridge and purchased slaves at Bristol, and that glass and whale-oil were articles of commerce. But commercial intercourse was limited, as appears from the laws, which made housekeepers responsible for their guests, whether traders, or merely wayfaring men; and every traveller at one time seems to have been an object of suspicion, for a regulation was made that whoever travelled through a wood or out of the common road should blow a horn, or else be deemed a thief. Smuggling was common; and foreign articles were often concealed under the pilgrim's garb.

There is a volume of Saxon Dialogues in the British Museum which gives an account of a Saxon merchant's occupation and way of life. In answer to a question the merchant says, "I am useful to the king, and to ealdermen, and to the rich, and to all people. I ascend my ship with my merchandise, and sail over the sea-like places, and sell my things; and buy dear things which are not produced in this land; and I bring them here to you with great danger over the sea. Sometimes I suffer shipwreck, with the loss of all my things, scarcely escaping myself." The merchant is then asked what he brings to England; on which he replies: "Skins, silks, costly gems, and gold; various garments, pigment, wine, oil, ivory, orichalcus (perhaps brass), copper and tin, silver, glass, and such like." The principle of commercial dealings is stated in answer to the next question. He is asked whether he would sell the things here as he bought them there; to which he replies: "I will not; because what would my labour benefit me? I will sell them here dearer than I bought them there, that I may get some profit to feed me, my wife, and my children."

Foreign commerce was greatly encouraged by some of the Saxon monarchs, especially Alfred, Athelstan, and Ethelred. The AngloSaxons had not much to export except wool: and probably the mines of the different metals yielded something for exportation; but it seems certain that horses were exported; and it is quite clear that slaves were in great abundance. The mission of Augustine to England was, as before stated, the result of the exposure of a group of Angles for sale as slaves in the slave-market at Rome.

Agriculture. The great bulk of the Anglo-Saxon population was engaged in agricultural pursuits. A considerable portion of each estate was woodland, which furnished timber for building; and farms were divided into meadow, pasture, arable, and woodland; the boundaries of property being defined by a ditch, a brook, a hedge, a wooden mark, or some other prominent object. The