The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift/Volume 16/The Reign of Henry I

by Jonathan Swift

THE REIGN OF

Henry the First.

THIS prince was the youngest son of William the Conqueror, and bred to more learning than was usual in that age, or to his rank, which got him the surname of Beauclerc; the reputation whereof, together with his being born in England, and born son of a king, although of little weight in themselves, did very much strengthen his pretensions with the people. Besides, he had the same advantage of his brother Robert's absence, which had proved before so successful to Rufus; whose treasures he likewise seized on immediately at his death, after the same manner, and for the same end, as Rufus did those of his father the Conqueror. Robert had been now five years absent in the holy war, where he acquitted himself with great glory; and although he was now in Apulia, upon his return homeward, yet the nobles pretending not to know what was become of him, and others giving out that he had been elected king of Jerusalem, Henry laid hold of the occasion, and calling together an assembly of the clergy, nobles, and people of the realm, at London, upon his promises to restore king Edward's laws, and redress the grievances which had been introduced by his father and brother, they consented to elect him king. Immediately after his coronation, he proceeded upon reforming the abuses of the late reign: he banished dissolute persons from the court, who had long infested it under the protection and example of Rufus: he restored the people to the use of lights in the night, which the Conqueror had forbidden, after a certain hour, by the ringing of a bell. Then he published his charter, and ordered a copy thereof to be taken for every county in England. This charter was in substance; The freedom of mother church from former oppressions; leave to the heirs of nobles to succeed in the possession of their lands, without being obliged to redeem them, only paying to the king a moderate relief; abolition of fines for licence of marriage to their heiresses; a promise of not refusing such licence, unless the match proposed be with the king's enemy^[1], &c.; the next of kin to be guardians of the lands of orphans; punishments for coiners of false money; a confirmation of St. Edward's laws; and a general amnesty.

About the same time he performed two acts of justice, which, by gratifying the revenge and the love of the people, gained very much upon their affections to his person: the first was, to imprison Ralph bishop of Durham; who having been raised by the late king from a mean and sordid birth, to be his prime confident and minister, became the chief instrument, as well as contriver, of all his oppressions: the second was, in recalling and restoring archbishop Anselm; who having been forced by the continual persecutions of the same prince, to leave England, had lived ever since in banishment, and deprived of all his revenues.

The king had not been many months on his throne, when the news came that duke Robert, returned from the Holy Land, was received by his subjects with great marks of joy and honour, and in universal reputation for his valour and success against the infidels: soon after which, Ralph bishop of Durham, either by the negligence or corruption of his keepers, escaped out of prison, and fled over to the duke; whom he stirred up to renew and solicit his pretensions to the crown of England, by writing to several nobles, who, either through old friendship, or new discontent, or an opinion of his title, gave him promises of their assistance, as soon as he should land in England: but the duke having returned exceeding poor from the Holy Land, was not yet in a condition for such an undertaking, and therefore thought fit to defer it to a more seasonable opportunity.

As the king had hitherto, with great industry, sought all occasions to gratify his people, so he continued to do in the choice of a wife. This was Matilda, daughter of Malcolm the late king of Scots; a lady of great piety and virtue; who, by the power or persuasion of her friends, was prevailed with to leave her cloister for a crown, after she had, as some writers report, already taken the veil. Her mother was sister to Edgar Atheling, the last heir male of the Saxon race; of whom, frequent mention has been made in the two preceding reigns: and thus the Saxon line, to the great contentment of the English nation, was again restored.

Duke Robert, having now with much difficulty and oppression of his subjects, raised great forces, and gotten ready a fleet to convey them, resolved once more to assert his title to the crown of England: to which end he had for some time held a secret correspondence with several nobles, and lately received fresh invitations. The king, on the other side, who had received timely intelligence of his brother's preparations, gave orders to his admirals to watch the seaports, and endeavour to hinder the enemy's landing: but the commanders of several ships, whether Robert had won them by his bribes, or his promises, instead of offering resistance, became his guides, and brought his fleet safe into Portsmouth, where he landed his men; and from thence marched to Winchester, his army hourly increasing by great numbers of people, who had either an affection for his person, an opinion of his title, or hatred to the king. In the mean time Henry advanced with his forces, to be near the duke, and observe his motions; but, like a wise general, forbore offering battle to an invader, until he might do it with manifest advantage. Besides, he knew very well that his brother was a person whose policy was much inferiour to his valour, and therefore to be sooner overcome in a treaty than a fight: to this end, the nobles on both sides began to have frequent interviews; to make overtures; and at last concert the terms of a peace; but wholly to the advantage of the king, Robert renouncing his pretensions in consideration of a small pension, and of succeeding to the crown on default of male issue in his brother.

The defection of nobles and other people to the duke was so great, that men generally thought if it had come to a battle, the king would have lost both the victory and his crown. But Robert, upon his return to Normandy after this dishonourable peace, grew out of all reputation with the world, as well as into perfect hatred and contempt among his own subjects, which in a short time was the cause of his ruin.

The king having thus, by his prudence, got rid of a dangerous and troublesome rival, and soon after by his valour quelled the insurrections of the earls of Shrewsbury and Mortain, whom he forced to fly into Normandy, found himself in full peace at home and abroad, and therefore thought he might venture a contention with the church about the right of investing bishops; upon which subject many other princes at that time had controversy with their clergy: but, after long struggling in vain, were all forced to yield at last to the decree of a synod in Rome, and to the pertinacy of the bishops in the several countries. The form of investing a bishop was, by delivery of a ring and a pastoral staff; which, at Rome, was declared unlawful to be performed by any lay hand whatsoever; but the princes of Christendom pleaded immemorial custom to authorize them: and king Henry, having given the investiture to certain bishops, commanded Anselm to consecrate them. This the archbishop refused with great firmness, pursuant to what he understood to be his duty, and to several immediate commands of the pope. Both sides adhering to their own sentiments, the matter was carried to Rome, where Anselm went in person, by the king's desire; who, at the same time, sent ambassadors thither to assert and defend his cause; but the pope still insisting, Anselm was forbidden to return to England. The king seized on all his revenues, and would not restore him, until, upon other concessions of the pope, Henry was content to yield up his pretensions to the investiture; but, however, kept the right of electing still in his own hands.

Whatever might have been the method of electing bishops, in the more primitive ages, it seems plain to me that in these times, and somewhat before, although the election was made per clerum & populum; yet the king always nominated at first, or approved afterward, and generally both, as may be seen by the style in which their elections ran, as well as by the persons chosen, who were usually churchmen of the court, or in some employment near the king. But, whether this were a gradual encroachment of the regal upon the spiritual power, I would rather leave others to dispute.

1104. ⁠ About this time duke Robert came to England, upon a visit to the king, where he was received with much kindness and hospitality; but, at the same time, the queen had private directions to manage his easy temper, and work him to a consent of remitting his pension: this was compassed without much difficulty: but, upon the duke's return to Normandy, he was severely reproved for his weakness by Ralph bishop of Durham, and the two earls of Mortain and Shrewsbury. These three having fled from England for rebellion, and other treasons, lived exiles in Normandy; and bearing an inveterate hatred to the king, resolved to stir up the duke to a resentment of the injury and fraud of his brother. Robert, who was various in his nature, and always under the power of the present persuader, easily yielded to their incitements; reproached the king in bitter terms, by letters and messages, that he had cozened and circumvented him; demanding satisfaction, and withal threatening revenge. At the same time, by the advice of the three nobles already mentioned, he began to arm himself as formidably as he could, with the design to seize upon the king's possessions in Normandy; but as this resolution was rashly taken up, so it was as faintly pursued, and ended in his destruction: neither has any prince reason to expect better fortune, that engages in a war against a powerful neighbour upon the counsel or instigation of exiles, who having no farther view than to serve their private interest, or gratify their revenge, are sure to succeed in one or t'other, if they can embark princes in their quarrel, whom they fail not to incite by the falsest representations of their own strength, and the weakness of their enemy: for, as the king was now settled in his throne too firmly to be shaken, so Robert had wholly lost all credit and friendship in England; was sunk in reputation at home; and by his unlimited profuseness, reduced so low, that, having pawned most of his dominions, he had offered Rouen, his capital city, in sale to the inhabitants.

1105 ⁠ All this was very well known to the king, who, resolving to make his advantage thereof, pretended to be highly provoked at the disgraceful speeches and menaces of his brother; which he made the formal occasion of a quarrel: therefore he first sent over some forces to ravage his country; and understanding that the duke was coldly supported by his own subjects, many of whom came over to the king's army, he soon followed in person with more; took several towns; and placing garrisons therein, came back to England, designing with the first pretext or opportunity to return with a more potent army, and wholly subdue the duchy to his obedience.

Robert, now grown sensible of his weakness, became wholly dispirited; and following his brother into England, in a most dejected manner begged for a peace: but the king, now fully determined upon his ruin, turned away in disdain, muttering at the same time some threatening words. This indignity roused up once more the sinking courage of the duke; who, with bitter words, detesting the pride and insolence of Henry, withdrew in a rage, and hasting back to Normandy, made what preparations he could for his own defence. The king observing his nobles very ready to engage with him in this expedition; and being assured that those in Normandy would, upon his approach, revolt from the duke, soon followed with a mighty army, and the flower of his kingdom. Upon his arrival he was attended, according to his expectation, by several Norman lords; and, with this formidable force, sat down before Tinchebray: the duke, accompanied by the two exiled earls, advanced with what strength he had, in hopes to draw the enemy from the siege of so important a place, although at the hazard of a battle.

1106 ⁠ Both armies being drawn out in battalia, that of the king's, trusting to their numbers, began the charge with great fury, but without any order. The duke, with forces far inferiour, received the enemy with much firmness; and, finding they had spent their first heat, advanced very regularly against their main body, before they could recover themselves from the confusion they were in. He attacked them with so much courage, that he broke their whole body, and they began to fly on every side. The king believing all was lost, did what he could by threats and gentle words to stop the flight of his men, but found it impossible: then he commanded two bodies of horse, which were placed on either wing, to join, and wheeling about, to attack the enemy in the rear. The duke, who thought himself so near a victory, was forced to stop his pursuit; and ordering his men to face about, began the fight anew; mean time the scattered parts of the main body, which had so lately fled, began to rally, and pour in upon the Normans behind, by which duke Robert's army was almost encompassed; yet they kept their ground awhile, and made several charges, until at length, perfectly overborn by numbers, they were utterly defeated. There duke Robert, doing all the parts of a great captain, was taken prisoner, together with the earl of Mortain, and almost his whole army: for being hemmed in on all sides, few of them could make their escape.

1107 ⁠ Thus, in the space of forty years, Normandy subdued England, and England Normandy; which are events perhaps hardly to be parallelled in any other ages or parts of the world.

The king, having staid awhile to settle the state of Normandy, returned with his brother into England, whom he sent prisoner to Cardiff castle, with orders that he should be favourably used, which, for some time, were duly observed; until being accused of attempting to make his escape (whether it were real or feigned) he had his eyes put out with a burning basin, by the king's express commands; in which miserable condition he lived for six and twenty years.

It is believed the king would hardly have engaged in this unnatural and invidious war, with so little pretence or provocation, if the pope had not openly approved and sanctified his cause, exhorting him to it as a meritorious action; which seems to have been but an ill return from the vicar of Christ, to a prince who had performed so many brave exploits for the service of the church, to the hazard of his person, and ruin of his fortune. But the very bigotted monks, who have left us their accounts of those times, do generally agree in heavily taxing the Roman court for bribery and corruption. And the king had promised to remit his right of investing bishops, which he performed immediately after his reduction of Normandy, and was a matter of much more service to the pope than all the achievements of duke Robert in the Holy Land; whose merits, as well as pretensions, were now antiquated and out of date.

1109. ⁠ About this time the emperor Henry V sent to desire Maude the king's daughter in marriage, who was then a child about eight years old: that prince had lately been embroiled in a quarrel with the see of Rome, which began upon the same subject of investing bishops, but was carried to great extremities: for, invading Italy with a mighty army, he took the pope prisoner, forced him to yield to whatever terms he thought fit to impose, and to take an oath of fidelity to him between his hands: however, as soon as Henry had withdrawn his forces, the pope assembling a council, revoked all his concessions, as extorted by compulsion, and raised great troubles in Germany against the emperor, who, in order to secure himself, sought this alliance with the king.

About this time likewise died archbishop Anselm, a prelate of great piety and learning; whose zeal for the see of Rome, as well as for his own rights and privileges, should in justice be imputed to the errours of the time, and not of the man. After his death, the king, following the steps of his brother, held the see vacant five years, contenting himself with an excuse, which looked like a jest, That he only waited until he could find another so good a man as Anselm.

In the fourteenth year of this king's reign, the Welsh, after their usual manner, invaded the Marches with great fury and destruction; but the king, hoping to put a final end to those perpetual troubles and vexations given to his kingdom by that unquiet people, went in person against them with a powerful army; and to prevent their usual stratagem of retreating to their woods and mountains, and other fastnesses, he ordered the woods to be cut down, beset all their places of security, and hunting them like wild beasts, made so terrible a slaughter, that at length observing them to fling down their arms, and beg for quarter, he commanded his soldiers to forbear; then receiving their submissions, and placing garrisons where he thought necessary, he returned, in great triumph and satisfaction, to London.

1114. ⁠ The princess Maude being now marriageable, was delivered to the emperor's ambassador; and for a portion to the young lady a tax was imposed of three shillings upon every hide of land in England, which grew afterward into a custom, and was in succeeding times confirmed by acts of parliament, under the name of "Reasonable Aid for marrying the King's Daughter," although levied after a different manner.

As the institution of parliaments in England is agreed by several writers to be owing to this king, so the date of the first has been assigned by some to the fifteenth year of his reign: which however is not to be affirmed with any certainty: for great councils were convoked not only in the two preceding reigns, but for time immemorial by the Saxon princes, who first introduced them into this island, from the same original with the other Gothick forms of government in most parts of Europe. These councils or assemblies were composed according to the pleasure of the prince who convened them, generally of nobles and bishops, sometimes were added some considerable commoners; but they seldom met, except in the beginning of a reign, or in times of war, until this king came to the crown; who being a wise and popular prince, called these great assemblies upon most important affairs of his reign, and ever followed their advice; which, if it proved successful, the honour and advantage redounded to him; and if otherwise, he was free from the blame: thus when he chose a wife for himself, and a husband for his daughter, when he designed his expedition against Robert, and even for the election of an archbishop to the see of Canterbury, he proceeded wholly by the advice of such general assemblies, summoned for the purpose. But the style of these conventions, as delivered by several authors, is very various; sometimes it is comites, barones, et cleri^[2]; his marriage was agreed on, consilio majorum natu et magnatum terræ. One author^[3] calls it consilium principium, sacerdotum, et reliqui populi. And for the election of an archbishop, the Saxon Chronicle says. That he commanded by letters all bishops, abbots, and thanes, to meet him at Gloucester, ad procerum conventum. Lastly, some affirm these assemblies to have been an imitation of the three estates in Normandy. I am very sensible how much time and pains have been employed by several learned men to search out the original of parliaments in England, wherein I doubt they have little satisfied others or themselves. I know likewise that to engage in the same inquiry, would neither suit my abilities nor my subject. It may be sufficient for my purpose, if I be able to give some little light into this matter, for the curiosity of those who are less informed.

The institution of a state or commonwealth out of a mixture of the three forms of government received in the schools, however it be derided as a solecism and absurdity by some late writers on politicks, has been very ancient in the world, and is celebrated by the gravest authors of antiquity. For, although the supreme power cannot properly be said to be divided, yet it may be so placed in three several hands, as each to be a check upon the other; or formed into a balance, which is held by him that has the executive power, with the nobility and people in counterpoise in each scale. Thus the kingdom of Media is represented by Xenophon before the reign of Cyrus; so Polybius tells us, the best government is a mixture of the three forms, regno, optimatium, et populi imperio: the same was that of Sparta in its primitive institution by Lycurgus, made up of reges, seniores, et populus; the like may be asserted of Rome, Carthage, and other states: and the Germans of old fell upon the same model, from whence the Goths their neighbours, with the rest of those northern people, did perhaps borrow it. But an assembly of the three estates is not properly of Gothick institution; for these fierce people, when upon the decline of the Roman empire they first invaded Europe, and settled so many kingdoms in Italy, Spain, and other parts, were all heathens; and when a body of them had fixed themselves in a tract of land left desolate by the flight or destruction of the natives, their military government, by time and peace, became civil; the general was king, his great officers were his nobles and ministers of state, and the common soldiers the body of the people; but these were freemen, and had smaller portions of land assigned them. The remaining natives were all slaves; the nobles were a standing council; and upon affairs of great importance, the freemen were likewise called by their representatives to give their advice. By which it appears, that the Gothick frame of government consisted at first but of two states or assemblies, under the administration of a single person. But, after the conversion of these princes and their people to the Christian faith, the church became endowed with great possessions, as well by the bounty of kings, as the arts and industry of the clergy, winning upon the devotion of their new converts: and power, by the common maxim, always accompanying property, the ecclesiasticks began soon to grow considerable, to form themselves into a body, and to call assemblies or synods by their own authority, or sometimes by the command of their princes, who, in an ignorant age, had a mighty veneration for their learning as well as piety. By such degrees the church arrived at length, by very justifiable steps, to have her share in the commonwealth, and became a third estate in most kingdoms of Europe; but these assemblies, as we have already observed, were seldom called in England before the reign of this prince, nor even then were always composed after the same manner: neither does it appear from the writers who lived nearest to that age, that the people had any representative at all, beside the barons and other nobles, who did not sit in those assemblies by virtue of their birth or creation, but of the lands or baronies they held. So that the present constitution of the English parliament has, by many degrees and alterations, been modelled to the frame it is now in; which alterations I shall observe in the succeeding reigns, as exactly as I can discover them by a diligent search into the histories of the several ages, without engaging in the controverted points of law about this matter, which would rather perplex the reader than inform him.

1116. ⁠ But to return: Lewis the Gross king of France, a valiant and active prince, in the flower of his age, succeeding to that crown that Robert was deprived of, Normandy, grew jealous of the neighbourhood and power of king Henry; and began early to entertain designs either of subduing that duchy to himself, or at least of making a considerable party against the king, in favour of William son of Robert, whom for that end he had taken into his protection. Pursuant to these intentions, he soon found an occasion for a quarrel, expostulating with Henry, that he had broken his promise, by not doing homage for the duchy of Normandy, as well as by neglecting to raze the castle of Gisors, which was built on the French side of the river Epte, the common boundary between both dominions.

But an incident soon offered, which gave king Henry a pretext for retaliating almost in the same manner: for it happened that upon some offence taken against his nephew Theobald count of Blois by the French king, Lewis in great rage sent an army to invade and ravage the earl's territories. Theobald defended himself for a while with much valour; but at length in danger to be overpowered, requested aid of his uncle the king of England, who supported him so effectually with men and money, that he was able, not only to defend his own country, but very much to infest and annoy his enemy. Thus a war was kindled between the two kings; Lewis now openly asserted the title of William the son of Robert, and entering into an alliance with the earls of Flanders and Anjou, began to concert measures for driving king Henry out of Normandy.

The king having timely intelligence of his enemy's designs, began, with great vigour and dispatch, to prepare for war: he raised, with much difficulty and discontent of his people, the greatest tax that had ever been known in England; and passing over into Normandy with a mighty army, joined his nephew Theobald. The king of France, who had entertained hopes that he should overrun the duchy before his enemy could arrive, advanced with great security toward the frontiers of Normandy; but observing an enemy of equal number and force already prepared to engage him, he suddenly stopped his march. The two armies faced one another for some hours, neither side offering battle; the rest of the day was spent in light skirmishes begun by the French, and repeated for some days following with various success, but the remainder of the year passed without any considerable action.

1119. ⁠ At length the violence of the two princes brought it to a battle: for Lewis, to give a reputation to his arms, advanced toward the frontiers of Normandy, and after a short siege took Gué Nicaise^[4]; there the king met him, and the fight began, which continued with great obstinacy on both sides for nine hours. The French army was divided into two bodies, and the English into three; by which means, that part where the king fought in person, being attacked by a superiour number, began to give way; and William Crispin, a Norman baron, singling out the king of England (whose subject he had been, but banished for treason) struck him twice in the head with so much violence, that the blood gushed out of his mouth. The king, inflamed with rage and indignation, dealt such furious blows, that he struck down several of his enemies, and Crispin among the rest, who was taken prisoner at his horse's feet. The soldiers, encouraged by the valour of their prince, rallied, and fell on with fresh vigour; and the victory seemed doubtful, when William the son of king Henry, to whom his father had entrusted the third body of his army, which had not yet engaged, fell on with this fresh reserve upon the enemy, who was already very much harrassed with the toil of the day: this quickly decided the matter; for the French, though valiantly fighting, were overcome, with the slaughter of several thousand men; their king quitted the field, and withdrew to Andely; but the king of England recovering Gué Nicaise, returned triumphant to Rouen.

This important victory was followed by the defection of the earl of Anjou to king Henry, and the earl of Flanders fell in the battle; by which the king of France was at once deprived of two powerful allies. However, by the intercession of the former, a peace was soon after made between both crowns. William the king's son did homage to Lewis for the dukedom of Normandy; and the other William, following the fortunes of his father, was left to his pretensions and complaints.

It is here observable, that from this time, until Wales was subdued to the English crown, the eldest sons of England were called dukes of Normandy, as they are now princes of Wales.

1120. ⁠ The king having staid some time in Normandy, for the settlement of his duchy after the calamities and confusions of a war, returned to England, to the very great satisfaction of his people and himself. He had enlarged his dominions by the conquest of Normandy; he had subdued all his competitors, and forced even the king of France, their great protector, after a glorious victory, to his own conditions of a peace; he was upon very good terms with the pope, who had a great esteem and friendship for his person, and made him larger concessions than was usual from that see, and in those ages. At home he was respected by the clergy, reverenced by the nobles, and beloved by the people; in his family he was blessed with a son of much hopes, just growing to years of manhood, and his daughter was an empress; so that he seemed to possess as great a share of happiness as human life is capable to admit. But the felicity of man depends upon a conjunction of many circumstances, which are all subject to various accidents, and every single accident is able to dissolve the whole contexture; which truth was never verified more than in this prince; who, by one domestick misfortune not to be prevented or foreseen, found all the pleasure and content he proposed to himself by his prudence, his industry, and his valour, wholly disappointed and destroyed; for William, the young prince, having embarked at Barfleur some time after his father, the mariners being all drunk, suffered the ship to run upon a rock, where it was dashed to pieces: the prince made a shift to get into the boat, and was making to the shore, until forced back by the cries of his sister, whom he received into the boat; so many others crowded in at the same time, that it was immediately overturned. There perished, beside the prince, a natural son and daughter of the king's, his niece, and many other persons of quality, together with all their attendants and servants, to the number of a hundred and forty, beside fifty mariners; but one person escaping.

Although the king survived this cruel misfortune many years, yet he could never recover his former humour, but grew melancholy and morose; however, in order to provide better for the peace and settlement of the kingdom after his death, about five months after the loss of his son, his former queen having died three years before, he married Adelais, a beautiful young lady of the family of Lorrain^[5], in hopes of issue by her; but never had any.

The death of the prince gave occasion to some new troubles in Normandy; for the earls of Meulant and Evreux, Hugh de Montfort, and other associates, began to raise insurrections there, which were thought to be privately fomented by the French king, out of enmity to king Henry, and in favour of William the son of Robert, to whom the earl of Anjou had lately given his daughter in marriage.

1124 ⁠ But William of Tankerville, the king's lieutenant in Normandy, surprising the enemy's forces by an ambush, intirely routed them, took both the earls prisoners, and sent one of them (Meulant) to his master; but the count d'Evreux made his escape.

1126. ⁠ King Henry having now lost hope of issue by his new queen, brought with him, on his return to England, his daughter Maude; who, by the emperor's death, had been lately left a widow and childless; and in a parliament or general assembly which he had summoned at Windsor, he caused the crown to be settled on her and her issue, and made all his nobles take a solemn oath to defend her title. This was performed by none with so much forwardness as Stephen earl of Boulogne, who was observed to show a more than ordinary zeal in the matter. This young lord was the king's nephew, being second son of the earl of Blois by Adela the Conqueror's daughter: he was in high favour with the king his uncle, who had married him to the daughter and heiress of the earl of Boulogne, given him great possessions in England, and made him indeed too powerful for a subject.

The king having thus fixed the succession of the crown in his daughter by an act of settlement and an oath of fealty, looked about to provide her with a second husband, and at length determined his choice in Geoffry Plantagenet earl of Anjou, the son of Fulk lately deceased.

This prince, whose dominions confined on France and Normandy, was usually courted for an ally by both kings in their several quarrels; but having little faith or honour, he never scrupled to change sides as often as he saw or conceived it for his advantage. After the great victory over the French, he closed in with king Henry, and gave his daughter to the young prince William; yet at the same time, by the private encouragement of Lewis, he prevailed on the king of England to be easy in the conditions of a peace. Upon the unfortunate loss of the prince, and the troubles in Normandy thereupon, he fell again from the king, gave his other daughter to William the son of Robert, and struck up with France to take that prince again into protection. But dying soon after, and leaving his son Geoffry to succeed in that earldom, the king was of opinion he could not any where bestow his daughter with more advantage, both for the security and enlargement of his dominions, than by giving her to this earl; by which marriage Anjou would become an acquisition to Normandy, and this be a more equal match to so formidable a neighbour as France. In a short time the marriage was concluded; and this earl Geoffry had the honour to introduce into the royal family of England the surname of Plantagenet, born by so many succeeding kings, which began with Henry II, who was the eldest son of this marriage.

But the king of France was in great discontent at this match: he easily foresaw the dismal consequences to himself and his successors, from such an increase of dominion united to the crown of England: he knew what impressions might be made in future times to the shaking of his throne by an aspiring and warlike king, if they should happen in a weak reign, or upon any great discontents in that kingdom. Which conjectures being highly reasonable (and since often verified by events) he cast about to find some way of driving the king of England intirely out of France; but having neither pretext nor stomach in the midst of a peace to begin an open and formal quarrel, there fell out an accident which gave him plausible occasion of pursuing his design.

Charles the Good earl of Flanders having been lately murdered by some of his subjects, upon private revenge, the king of France went in person to take revenge of the assassins; which he performed with great justice and honour. But the late earl leaving no heir of his body, and several competitors appearing to dispute the succession, Lewis rejected some others who seemed to have a fairer title, and adjudged it to William the son of Robert, the better to secure him to his interests upon any design he might engage in against the king of England. Not content with this, he assisted the earl in person, subdued his rivals, and left him in peaceable possession of his new dominion.

King Henry, on the other side, was very apprehensive of his nephew's greatness, well knowing to what end it was directed; however, he seemed not to regard it, contenting himself to give the earl employment at home by privately nourishing the discontents of his new subjects, and abetting underhand another pretender: for William had so entirely lost the hearts of his people, by his intolerable avarice and exactions, that the principal towns in Flanders revolted from him, and invited Thierrie earl of Alsace to be their governor. But the king of France generously resolved to appear once more in his defence, and took his third expedition into Flanders for that purpose. He had marched as far as Artois, when he was suddenly recalled to defend his own dominions from the fury of a powerful and provoked invader: for, Henry king of England, moved with indignation to see the French king, in the midst of a peace, so frequently and openly supporting his most dangerous enemy, thought it the best way to divert Lewis from kindling a fire against him abroad, by forcing him to extinguish one at home: he therefore entered into the bowels of France, ravaging and laying waste all before him: and quickly grew so formidable, that the French king, to purchase a peace, was forced to promise never more to assist or favour the earl of Flanders; however, as it fell out, this article proved to be wholly needless; for the young earl soon after gave battle to Thierrie, and put his whole army to the rout; but pursuing his victory, he received a wound in his wrist, which, by the unskilfulness of a surgeon, cost him his life.

This one slight inconsiderable accident, did, in all probability, put a stop to very great events; for, if that young prince had survived his victory, it is hardly to be doubted but through the justness of his cause, the reputation of his valour, and the assistance of the king of France, he would in a little time have recovered Normandy, and perhaps his father's liberty, which were the two designs he had in agitation; nor could he well have missed the crown of England after the king's death, who was now in his decline, when he had so fair a title, and no competitors in view but a woman and an infant.

1129. ⁠ Upon the king's return from Normandy, a great council of the clergy was held at London, for the punishing of priests who lived in concubinage, which was the great grievance of the church in those ages, and had been condemned by several canons. This assembly thinking to take a more effectual course against that abomination, as it was called, decreed severe penalties upon those who should be guilty of breaking it, intreating the king to see the law put in execution; which he very readily undertook, but performed otherwise than was expected, eluding the force of the law by an evasion to his own advantage; for, exacting fines of the delinquent priests, he suffered them to keep their concubines without farther disturbance; a very unaccountable step in so wise a body for their own concernments, as the clergy of those times is looked upon to have been; and although perhaps the fact be not worth recording, it may serve as a lesson to all assemblies, never to trust the execution of a law in the hands of those, who will find it more to their interests to see it broken than observed.

1132. ⁠ The empress Maude was now happily delivered of a son, who was afterward king of England by the name of Henry the Second: and the king calling a parliament, had the oath of fealty repeated by the nobles and clergy to her and her issue; which, in the compass of three years, they all broke or forgot.

1134. ⁠ I think it may deserve a place in this history to mention the last scene of duke Robert's life; who, either through the poorness or greatness of spirit, having outlived the loss of his honour, his dominions, his liberty, his eyesight, and his only son, was at last forced to sink under the load of eighty years, and must be allowed for the greatest example either of insensibility, or contempt of earthly things, that ever appeared in a sovereign, or private person. He was a prince hardly equalled by any in his time for valour, conduct, and courtesy; but his ruin began from the easiness of his nature, which whoever knew how to manage, were sure to be refused nothing they could ask. By such profusion he was reduced to those unhappy expedients of remitting his rights for a pension, of pawning his towns, and multiplying taxes, which brought him into hatred and contempt with his subjects; neither do I think any virtue so little commendable in a sovereign, as that of liberality where it exceeds what his ordinary revenues can supply: where it passes those bounds, his subjects must all be oppressed to show his bounty to a few flatterers, or he must sell his towns, or basely renounce his rights, by becoming pensioner to some powerful prince in the neighbourhood; all which we have lived to see performed by a late monarch in our own time and country.

1135. ⁠ Since the reduction of Normandy to the king's obedience, he found it necessary for his affairs to spend in that duchy some part of his time almost every year; and a little before the death of Robert he made his last voyage there. It was observable in this prince, that having some years past very narrowly escaped shipwreck in his passage from Normandy into England, the sense of his danger had made very deep impressions on his mind; which he discovered by a great reformation in his life, by redressing several grievances, and doing many acts of piety; and to show the steadiness of his resolutions, he kept them to the last, making a progress through most parts of Normandy, treating his subjects in all places with great familiarity and kindness, granting their petitions, easing their taxes, and in a word, giving all possible marks of a religious, wise, and gracious prince.

Returning to St. Denys le Forment from his progress a little indisposed, he there fell into a fever upon a surfeit of lamprey, which in a few days ended his life. His body was conveyed to England, and buried at Reading in the abbey-church himself had founded.

It is hard to affirm any thing peculiar of this prince's character; those authors who have attempted it mentioning very little but what was common to him with thousands of other men; neither have they recorded any of those personal circumstances or passages, which only can discover such qualities of the mind as most distinguish one man from another. These defects may perhaps appear in the stories of many succeeding kings; which makes me hope I shall not be altogether blamed for sometimes disappointing the reader in a point wherein I could wish to be the most exact.

As to his person, he is described to be of middle stature; his body strong-set and fleshy; his hair black; his eyes large; his countenance amiable, and very pleasant, especially when he was merry. He was temperate in meat and drink, and a hater of effeminacy; a vice or folly much complained of in his time, especially that circumstance of long artificial hair, which he forbad upon severe penalties. His three principal virtues were prudence, valour, and eloquence. These were counterbalanced by three great vices; avarice, cruelty, and lust; of which the first is proved by the frequency of his taxes; the second, by his treatment of duke Robert; and the last, was notorious. But the proof of his virtues does not depend on single instances, manifesting themselves through the whole course of a long reign, which was hardly attended by any misfortune that prudence, justice, or valour could prevent. He came to the crown at a ripe age, when he had passed thirty years; having learned, in his private life, to struggle with hardships, whereof he had his share, from the capriciousness and injustice of both his brothers; and by observing their failures, he had learned to avoid them in himself; being steady and uniform in his whole conduct, which were qualities they both seemed chiefly to want. This likewise made him so very tenacious as he was observed to be in his love and hatred. He was a strict observer of justice, which he seems never to have violated, but in that particular case, which political casuists are pleased to dispense with, where the dispute is about a crown; In that he ^[6] * * * * * * *

Consider him as a private man, he was perhaps the most accomplished person of his age; having a facetious wit, cultivated by learning, and advanced with a great share of natural eloquence, which was his peculiar talent: and it was no doubt the sense he had of this last perfection in himself, that put him so often upon calling together the great councils of the nation, where natural oratory is of most figure as well as use.

1. I. e. with a traitor or malecontent.
2. Brompton.
3. Polydore Virgil.
4. At that time reckoned an important fortress on the river Epte.
5. She was daughter of Godfrey duke of Louvain, or the Lower Lorrain.
6. Here the sentence breaks off short, and is left unfinished.