Florence L. Bowman

“ But the King had no leisure to set sail for Ireland.
In the days of Henry II, it befell that Dermot, King of Leinster, carried off the wife of O'Ruarc, the one-eyed, Prince of Meath, who was "heart-struck both by his shame and by his loss." Then he gathered his men together and marched against Dermot, "a man tall of stature and stout of frame, a soldier whose heart was in the fray and held valiant among his own nation. From often shouting his battle-cry, his voice had become hoarse. A man who liked better to be feared by all than loved by any." ”

“ As the English soldiers looked at the great host before them, there were some who sighed for the thousands lying idle in England. Henry, hearing them, answered, "I would not have a single man more. If God give us the victory it will be plain that we owe it to His grace. If not, the fewer we are, the less the loss for England." "What time is it now?" he asked. "The bells are ringing prime [six o'clock] , my lord," answered the Bishop. "Now it is good time," said the King. "England prayeth for us, let us be of good cheer. ”

“ English barons were sent to rule Scotland but they were not so wise as Edward and there was bitterness among the people.
In their distress, they found a leader in William Wallace, who drilled them to fight on foot against the foreigner, for they were too poor to buy horses and ride into battle in costly armour. On the field, they stood close together, shoulder to shoulder, awaiting the onslaught of the knights, and then they fought with spear and battle-axe.
The English soldiers were taken by surprise, for they had never heard of such a strange army nor seen such steady ranks of men. ”

“ In casting of great iron bars and heavy stones, he excelled all men, never shrinking at cold, nor slothful for heat; and when he most laboured, his head commonly uncovered; no more weariness of light armour than a light coat, very valiantly abiding at need both hunger and thirst, so manful of mind as never to seem to quinch at a wound or to smart at the pain."
When he came into the realm of France, he laid siege to the strong city of Harfleur. It was summer time and many of the soldiers fell sick. ”

“ By my customs, and by the customs of my father, no man may acknowledge a Pope in England without my leave. To challenge my power in this is as much as to deprive me of my crown."
Anselm, seeing that in no way could he bring the King to have respect for the Church, went to Rome to seek the Pope's help. He said to the bishops and barons, "Since you, the Shepherds of the Christian people, and you, who are called chiefs of the nation, refuse your counsel to me, your chief, except according to the will of one man, I will go to the chief shepherd and prince of all." ”

“ Be it never so stark winter I dare not linger at home for awe of my lord, but having yoked my oxen and fastened share and coulter, every day I must plough a full acre or more. I have a boy driving the oxen with a goad-iron, who is hoarse with cold and shouting. ”

“ As they held wassail, a messenger came riding into the camp, breathless with haste, for he had rested not day nor night in the long ride to the North. He shouted to those who stood by, "The Normans—the Normans are come—they have landed at Hastings—Thy land, O King, they will wrest from thee, if thou canst not defend it well." That night, the Saxons broke up their camp and hurried towards London. The wise men begged Harold to burn the land, that the enemy might starve, but Harold would not, for he said, "How can I do harm to my own people?" So they rode off to meet the Duke near Hastings. ”

“ If they brought scaling ladders, it was difficult to climb when the moat ran below and the archers shot from the ramparts. If they mined beneath the rock, the defenders could make a counter-mine. The besiegers could bring catapults to hurl heavy stones upon the walls, and siege towers to shoot their arrows high. These attacks were usually in vain, for the garrison of a castle only surrendered when there was famine.
These were days of great strife and turmoil, and strong was the King in whose reign it was said that "a man might travel through his realm with his bosom full of gold, unhurt." ”

“ This tireless ruler, before he became King, had restored order in England, for he commanded the hired soldiers to be gone immediately, and they went as they had come like a flight of locusts. He destroyed more than a thousand castles, and those that were well built he kept for himself. "All folk loved him, for he did good justice."
He opened the Court of Exchequer, so that the Barons were forced to pay all they owed Stephen for the nineteen years of his reign. He visited all the courts of justice in the land, and no man durst do evil, for none knew where the King might be. ”

“ Now some of Arthur's knights went in search of the Holy Grail, a mysterious cup, that had disappeared because men were evil. They thought that if they could find it and bring it back to the earth again, there would be no more sorrow nor pain.
One day, there came in to the court an old man, clothed all in white, and there was no Knight that knew from whence he came. And with him, both on foot, he brought a young Knight, in red arms, without a sword or shield, save a scabbard hanging by his side. "Sir," said the old man to King Arthur, "I bring you here a young Knight." ”

“ The Normans were glad of the promises of gold and of land and willingly set sail for Ireland. Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, was their leader, "a man with reddish hair, freckled skin, grey eyes and tall of stature," strong in battle and of much wisdom.
The King of Leinster gave him Eva, his daughter, in marriage. Then did the Kings submit to Dermot, for there was much bloodshed and he "made Ireland a trembling sod." When the King died, Strongbow succeeded him, and Henry II, when he heard the news, was not willing that his barons should be lords in a new land. ”

“ The best soldiers in the world were the Romans, who came from the great city of Rome, far away in Italy. Everybody had heard of their mighty deeds, for they had conquered nearly every land except Britain, and to them Britain seemed to be in the farthest corner of the world, just on the edge, a land, no doubt, of dragons and strange wild people. Now the Romans had heard that there was meat and corn in plenty in the land, that there were tin mines, and tin was very useful for mixing with copper to make armour. ”

“ A monk, who was also an artist, wrote "Man's eye knoweth not whereon to gaze; if he look up at the vaults, they are as mantles embroidered with spring flowers; if he regard the walls, there is a manner of paradise; if he consider the light streaming through the windows, he marvelleth at the priceless beauty of the glass and at the variety of this most precious work." ”

“ When the tired soldiers came in sight of Jaffa, it was the season of oranges and the time of vintage was at hand, so there they made a camp.
Much refreshed they marched within twelve miles of Jerusalem, but the weather was bad and their tents were torn up and whirled away. The horses perished of cold and the stores were spoiled and their armour grew rusty and many fell ill from long sojourn in this land. There, too, Richard received a letter telling him that his brother John was plotting to take away his inheritance and that the King of France intended to make war on Normandy. ”

“ In such troublous times when there was great fear abroad, when men feared the King, feared their neighbours and feared all foreigners, it seemed to them necessary that every lord should be trained to war. ”

“ Great men brought gifts of frankincense and myrrh, to be burned in the church on holy days, or jewels for the altar, and silk from the east for hangings, but the greatest treasure of all was the "relic." ”

“ In this way the West Saxon folk heard of great, unknown countries and peoples, and the sons of the nobles learned not only "to run, to ride, to swim and to make runes or rhymes," but to be great rulers and adventurers as their forefathers had been.
Alfred was a very busy King, for not only had he to receive ambassadors and counsellors, but he had to ride through the land, seeing justice done, and restoring the ruined churches and monasteries. He taught the workers in gold and artificers of all kinds, "to build houses majestic and good, beyond all that had been built before. ”

“ All these men had been soldiers since they were twelve years old. They had learned "to run, to ride, to swim, to wrestle and to leap," so it is no wonder that the Britons fled before them in terror. Some fell into the hands of these stern warriors and became their servants, but those who lived in peace in the mountains of the west were called "Welsh," i.e. "foreigners," by all who heard of them afterwards. The Scots vanished into their fastnesses and the Saxons became lords of Britain. ”

“ Pope Gregory had sent Augustine from Rome to tell the Saxons about Christ, for he was sorry that they loved Odin and Thor, and did not know any other god. Ethelbert, the King of Kent, had a Christian wife, and he was very anxious to know what these strangers had to say about the new God. But he was afraid that they might know how to work charms and to call out wicked spirits, so he let Augustine and his monks preach to the people out of doors, for he thought that they could not harm any one in the open air. ”

“ There was much trouble because there were no heirs to the throne, and the Norman chroniclers say that the King promised his crown to William, Duke of Normandy. The Saxons did not know this, and if they had they would not have crowned him; so they chose Harold, son of Godwin and brother of the Queen, to rule after Edward the Confessor. They chose Harold for he was a man after their own heart, strong and fearless, like the heroes of old. Harold had two elder brothers, but they were cruel and lawless and the people feared them. ”

“ A year after the siege of Calais, a great sorrow befell all men, for a little ship coming out of the east brought a terrible plague, called the Black Death. And the wind blew the plague from the south to the north, and as it passed, the towns were left desolate, for the rich escaped into the woods and many of the poor died. ”

“ At the cross-roads, by the great rivers, the Romans built their towns and camps all over Britain, just like those they had known in Italy. Every town was surrounded by a great wall, whence the soldiers could keep a look-out for the enemy, and nobody could enter the place except through the gates between sunrise and sunset. ”

“ Sometimes I fish in the sea, but seldom, for it is a far row for me to the sea. I catch there herring and salmon, porpoises and sturgeon and crabs, mussels, periwinkles, sea-cockles, plaice and fluke and lobsters and many of the like. It is a perilous thing to catch a whale. It is pleasanter for me to go to the river with my boat than to go with many boats whale-hunting. ”

“ In the heat of the day, on the dusty roads, S. Francis and his companions trudged along, singing songs of joy and cheering those whom they chanced to meet. At night, they sometimes lay out-of-doors, singing praises all the while of "Sister moon and the stars bright and precious and comely" and watching for the rising of the sun, "that doth illumine us with the dawning of day." ”

“ When the King heard the news, he was in great distress; for no woman had yet ruled in England and his daughter Matilda was married to a French Count, whom all the Normans hated for his fierce temper and overbearing ways. The King, nevertheless, made them swear to put her on the throne, but, when he died, the barons chose her cousin, Stephen, for "he was a mild man, soft and good, and did no justice." ”

“ The Normans were soldiers and rulers and great builders too. With the white stone, which they found in their own land, they built magnificent cathedrals, abbeys and churches, for they were cunning craftsmen and dreamers. ”

“ Then Henry marched on towards Paris, for "he had such knowledge in ordering and guiding an army with such a gift to encourage his people that the Frenchmen had constant opinion he would never be vanquished in battle." The Dauphin of France was idle and the old French King ill, so it befell that Henry married the French Princess and ruled Northern France.
To the sorrow of all men he died soon after, and his son when he grew up had many troubles; for in those days, a soldier was held more in honour than a poet and a dreamer. ”

“ Eleanor, the King's mother, gathered soldiers for her son, and though she was very old she did her best to save Normandy. Yet Saucy Castle fell and the Norman barons would not fight for John. So Normandy was lost and the barons had to choose between their French lands and their English lands. Many, who were fierce and turbulent, went to live in Normandy, and those who had learned to love their new country stayed in England. Though they still spoke French they served England well and tried to make the King rule more justly. ”

“ Now the people of England had been proud of Normandy and they were angry with John because he had lost it. In his days, too, there was a great quarrel between the King and the Pope, and the priests were forbidden to hold any services in England, and for five years the churches and monasteries were closed, the dead were buried without prayer in the ditches and highways, and no one could marry in church. ”

“ Edward planned to marry her to his son the Prince of Wales and so make England and Scotland one kingdom. He sent a ship to bring her from Norway in the winter and he stored it with good things, with toys and sweetmeats for the voyage.
The weather was stormy and Margaret died on the voyage. There was much woe in Scotland and trouble in the English King's mind. Many Scottish nobles claimed the crown and they asked Edward to choose amongst them. It was a difficult matter but Edward was trusted, for all men praised him as the Lion of Justice. ”

“ In vain did the lords beg the King to forbid the labourer to ask for hire. If a man fled from his lord's land, whereon he was born, he should be branded with the letter F for fugitive, but still the peasants got away and offered themselves for hire in other places and those for whom they laboured were glad to have them.
The peasants had many grievances. The wars with France had cost much money and the taxes were heavy. There were few who gave thought to the labourer and his troubles, for the monks had become idle and rich, and the friars had forgotten their vows and the priests their duties. ”