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The History of England From the Norman Conquest

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THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

Seventy-five years have passed since Lingard completed his HISTORY OF
ENGLAND, which ends with the Revolution of 1688. During that period
historical study has made a great advance. Year after year the mass of
materials for a new History of England has increased; new lights have
been thrown on events and characters, and old errors have been
corrected. Many notable works have been written on various periods of
our history; some of them at such length as to appeal almost exclusively
to professed historical students. It is believed that the time has come
when the advance which has been made in the knowledge of English history
as a whole should be laid before the public in a single work of fairly
adequate size. Such a book should be founded on independent thought and
research, but should at the same time be written with a full knowledge
of the works of the best modern historians and with a desire to take
advantage of their teaching wherever it appears sound.

The vast number of authorities, printed and in manuscript, on which a
History of England should be based, if it is to represent the existing
state of knowledge, renders co-operation almost necessary and certainly
advisable. The History, of which this volume is an instalment, is an
attempt to set forth in a readable form the results at present attained
by research. It will consist of twelve volumes by twelve different
writers, each of them chosen as being specially capable of dealing with
the period which he undertakes, and the editors, while leaving to each
author as free a hand as possible, hope to insure a general similarity
in method of treatment, so that the twelve volumes may in their
contents, as well as in their outward appearance, form one History.

As its title imports, this History will primarily deal with politics,
with the History of England and, after the date of the union with
Scotland, Great Britain, as a state or body politic; but as the life of
a nation is complex, and its condition at any given time cannot be
understood without taking into account the various forces acting upon
it, notices of religious matters and of intellectual, social, and
economic progress will also find place in these volumes. The 'footnotes'
will, so far as is possible, be confined to references to authorities,
and references will not be appended to statements which appear to be
matters of common knowledge and do not call for support. Each volume
will have an Appendix giving some account of the chief authorities,
original and secondary, which the author has used. This account will be
compiled with a view of helping students rather than of making long
lists of books without any notes as to their contents or value. That the
History will have faults both of its own and such as will always in some
measure attend co-operative work, must be expected, but no pains have
been spared to make it, so far as may be, not wholly unworthy of the
greatness of its subject.

Each volume, while forming part of a complete History, will also in
itself be a separate and complete book, will be sold separately, and
will have its own index, and two or more maps.

Vol. I. to 1066. By Thomas Hodgkin, D.C.L., Litt.D., Fellow of
University College, London; Fellow of the British Academy.

Vol. II. 1066 to 1216. By George Burton Adams, M.A., Professor of
History in Yale University, New Haven Connecticut.

Vol. III. 1216 to 1377. By T. F. Tout, M.A., Professor of Medieval and
Modern History in the Victoria University of Manchester; formerly Fellow
of Pembroke College. Oxford.

Vol. IV. 1377 to 1485. By C. Oman, M.A., Fellow of All Souls' College,
and Deputy Professor of Modern History in the University of Oxford.

Vol. V. 1485 to 1547. By H. A. L. Fisher, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of New
College, Oxford.

Vol. VI. 1547 to 1603. By A. F. Pollard, M.A., Professor of
Constitutional History in University College, London.

Vol. VII. 1603 to 1660. By F. C. Montague, M.A., Professor of History in
University College, London; formerly Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford.

Vol. VIII. 1660 to 1702. By Richard Lodge, M.A., Professor of History in
the University of Edinburgh; formerly Fellow of Brasenose College,
Oxford.

Vol. IX. 1702 to 1760. By I. S. Leadam, M.A., formerly Fellow of
Brasenose College, Oxford.

Vol. X. 1760 to 1801. By the Rev. William Hunt, M.A., D.Litt., Trinity
College, Oxford.

Vol. XI. 1801 to 1837. By the Hon. George C. Brodrick, D.C.L., late
Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and J. K. Fotheringham, M.A., Magdalen
College, Oxford, Lecturer in Classics at King's College, London.

Vol. XII. 1837 to 1901. By Sidney J. Low, M.A., Balliol College, Oxford,
formerly Lecturer on History at King's College, London.




THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND
IN TWELVE VOLUMES

Edited by William Hunt, D.Litt., and
Reginald L. Poole, M.A.


II.

THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND
FROM THE NORMAN CONQUEST TO THE DEATH OF JOHN
(1066-1216)

By

GEORGE BURTON ADAMS
Professor of History in Yale University




CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

A.D.
Oct., 1066. After the battle of Hastings
Nov. The march on London
Winchester occupied
London submits
25 Dec. The coronation of William
Jan., 1067. Regulations for government
The confiscation of lands
The introduction of feudalism
Power of the Norman duke
March-Dec. William in Normandy
Revolts in England

CHAPTER II

Feb.-March, 1068. Conquest of the south-west
Coronation of Matilda
Summer. Final conquest of the north
Raid of Harold's sons
1069. Danish invasion; the north rebels
Dec. The harrying of Northumberland
Jan.-Feb., 1070. Conquest of the west
Reformation of the Church
Aug. Lanfranc made primate
Effect of the conquest on the Church
The king and the Church

CHAPTER III

1070-4. The revolt in Ely
Norman families in England
Centralization of the State
The New Forest
Aug., 1072. William invades Scotland
1073. He subdues Maine
1075. Revolt of Earls Roger and Ralph
1082. The arrest of Bishop Odo
William's son Robert
1086. The Domesday Book
9 Sept., 1087. The death of William

CHAPTER IV

26 Sept., 1087. Coronation of William II.
Apr.-June, 1088. The barons rebel.
Nov. The trial of William of St. Calais
1095. The revolt of Robert of Mowbray
28 May, 1089. The death of Lanfranc
Ranulf Flambard
Troubles in Normandy
April, 1090. The court resolves on war
Feb., 1091. William invades Normandy
Malcolm attacks England
1092. William occupies Carlisle
Nov., 1093. Death of Malcolm and Margaret

CHAPTER V

Lent, 1093. Illness of William II
March. Anselm named archbishop
Conditions on which he accepted
Jan., 1094. His first quarrel with the king
19 March. William crosses to Normandy
1095. Second quarrel with Anselm
March. The case tried at Rockingham
1096. Robert mortgages Normandy
1097. Renewed quarrel with Anselm
Nov. Anselm leaves England
1098. Wars on the continent
2 Aug., 1100. William II killed

CHAPTER VI

2 Aug., 1100. Henry claims the crown
5 Aug. His coronation
His character
Aug. His coronation charter
23 Sept. Return of Anselm
11 Nov. Henry's marriage
Beginning of investiture strife
Merits of the case
July, 1101. Robert invades England
He yields to Henry
1102. Robert of Bellême punished
1101-2. Fruitless embassies to Rome
27 April, 1103. Anselm again leaves England

CHAPTER VII

1104. Henry visits Normandy
1103-5. Dealings with Anselm
21 July, 1105. Meeting with Anselm and Adela
Aug., 1106. The compromise and reconciliation


CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME

A.D.
28 Sept., 1106. The battle of Tinchebrai
Terms of investiture compromise
21 April, 1109. Anselm's last years, and death
1109-11. Reform of local courts
1109-14. Marriage of Matilda and Henry V
1109-13. War with Louis VI of France
Growing power of the Church

CHAPTER VIII

March, 1116. William recognized as heir
Renewed war with France
1120. An advantageous peace
25 Sept., 1120. Henry's son William drowned
Robert made Earl of Gloucester
1123. Revolt of Norman barons
Jan., 1127. Matilda made Henry's heir
She marries Geoffrey of Anjou
1129. A period of peace
1130. The Pipe Roll of 1130
The Exchequer
Henry's charter to London
1 Dec, 1135. His death

CHAPTER IX

Dec., 1135. Stephen of Boulogne secures London
Obtains support of the Church
His coronation
Normandy accepts Stephen
1136. Charter to the Church
Matilda appeals to Rome
The first revolt
The impression created by Stephen
1137. Stephen in Normandy

CHAPTER X

1138. The beginning of civil war
The revolt around Bristol
22 Aug. The battle of the Standard
June, 1139. The arrest of the bishops
Matilda in England
1140. Stephen's purchase of support
2 Feb., 1141. The battle of Lincoln

CHAPTER XI

March, 1141. Matilda received in Winchester
24 June, 1141. She is driven from London
Stephen released
1142-4. Geoffrey conquers Normandy
1144. The fall of Geoffrey de Mandeville
1149. Henry of Anjou in England
1152. He marries Eleanor of Aquitaine
1153. Henry again in England
Nov. He makes peace with Stephen

CHAPTER XII

The character of Henry II
19 Dec., 1154. His coronation
1155. The pope's grant of Ireland
Jan., 1156. Henry in Normandy
1158. Treaty with Louis VII
June, 1159. Attack on Toulouse
New forms of taxation
1162. Thomas Becket made primate

CHAPTER XIII

1162. The position of Becket
July, 1163. First disagreement with Henry
The question of criminous clerks
1164. The constitutions of Clarendon
Oct. The trial of Becket
Becket flees from England
1165-70. War between king and primate
14 June, 1170. Young Henry crowned
July. Henry and Becket reconciled
29 Dec. Murder of Becket

CHAPTER XIV

Oct., 1171. Henry II in Ireland
May, 1172. Reconciled with the Church
Henry and his sons
Discontent of young Henry
1173. Plans of Henry II in the southeast
Young Henry and the barons rebel
12 July, 1174. Henry II's penance at Canterbury
12 July. The king of Scotland captured
6 Aug. Henry returns to Normandy
30 Sept. Peace concluded

CHAPTER XV

1175. Government during peace
The homage of Scotland
Judicial reforms
Itinerant justices and jury
The common law
1176. Young Henry again discontented
Affairs in Ireland
1177. Dealings with France
1180. Philip II king of France
1183. War between Henry's sons
11 June. Death of young Henry

CHAPTER XVI

1183. Negotiations with France
1184-5. The question of a crusade
1185. John in Ireland
1186. Philip II and Henry's sons
1187. War with Philip II
Renewed call for a crusade
1188. The Saladin tithe
A new war with Philip
Nov. Richard abandons his father
4 July, 1189. Peace forced on Henry
6 July. Death of Henry II

CHAPTER XVII

1189. Richard's first acts
Methods of raising money
Arrangements for Richard's absence
Conduct of William Longchamp
June, 1190. Richard goes on the crusade
1191. Events of the third crusade
Strife of John and Longchamp
Oct. Longchamp deposed
Philip II intrigues with John

CHAPTER XVIII

Dec., 1192. Richard imprisoned in Germany
1193. Negotiations for his release
16 March, 1194. He reaches London
War with Philip II
Hubert Walter justiciar
15 Jan., 1196. Treaty with France
Renewed war
7 Dec., 1197. Bishop Hugh refuses Richard's demand
1198. Financial difficulties
6 April, 1199. The death of Richard
The growth of English towns

CHAPTER XIX

April, 1199. John succeeds in Normandy
27 May. Crowned in Westminster
Philip II takes Arthur's side
1200. John's second marriage
1202. Trial and sentence of John
1 Aug. John captures Arthur
1203. Siege of Château-Gaillard
24 June, 1204. Capture of Rouen
1205. French conquest checked in Poitou

CHAPTER XX

1205. Question of the Canterbury election
17 June, 1207. The pope consecrates Langton
Taxation of the clergy
24 March, 1208. The interdict proclaimed
Power of the king
Nov., 1209. John excommunicated
1210. Expedition to Ireland
1212. Alliance against France
Philip II plans to invade England
May, 1213. John yields to the pope

CHAPTER XXI

20 July, 1213. The king absolved
Henry I's charter produced
Feb., 1214. John invades Poitou
27 July. Battle of Bouvines
The barons resist the king
The charter demanded
15 June, 1215. Magna Carta granted
Civil strife renewed
The crown offered to Louis of France
21 May, 1216. Louis lands in England
19 Oct., 1216. The death of John

APPENDIX

On authorities

INDEX

MAPS
(AT THE END OF THE VOLUME)

1. England and the French Possessions of William I. (1087)
2. England and France, July, 1185




CHAPTER I


THE CONQUEST

The battle of the 14th of October, 1066, was decisive of the struggle for
the throne of England, but William of Normandy was in no haste to gather
in the results of the victory which he had won. The judgment of heaven
had been pronounced in the case between him and Harold, and there was no
mistaking the verdict. The Saxon army was routed and flying. It could
hardly rally short of London, but there was no real pursuit. The Normans
spent the night on the battlefield, and William's own tent was pitched on
the hill which the enemy had held, and in the midst of the Saxon wounded,
a position of some danger, against which his friend and adviser, Walter
Giffard, remonstrated in vain. On the next day he fell back with his army
to Hastings. Here he remained five days waiting, the Saxon Chronicle
tells us, for the nation to make known its submission; waiting, it is
more likely, for reinforcements which were coming from Normandy. So keen
a mind as William's probably did not misjudge the situation. With the
only real army against him broken to pieces, with the only leaders around
whom a new army could rally dead, he could afford to wait. He may not
have understood the rallying power of the Saxon soldiery, but he probably
knew very well the character of the public men of England, who were left
alive to head and direct a new resistance. The only candidate for the
throne upon whom all parties could unite was a boy of no pronounced
character and no experience. The leaders of the nobility who should have
stood forth in such a crisis as the natural leaders of the nation were
men who had shown in the clearest way their readiness to sacrifice
England to their personal ambitions or grievances. At the head of the
Church were men of but little higher character and no greater capacity
for leadership, undisguised pluralists who could not avoid the charge of
disregarding in their own selfish interests the laws they were bound to
administer. London, where the greater part of the fugitives had gathered,
could hardly have settled upon the next step to be taken when William
began his advance, five days after the battle. His first objective point
was the great fortress of Dover, which dominated that important
landing-place upon the coast. On the way he stopped to give an example of
what those might expect who made themselves his enemies, by punishing the
town of Romney, which had ventured to beat off with some vigour a body of
Normans, probably one that had tried to land there by mistake.

Dover had been a strong fortress for centuries, perched on its cliffs as
high as an arrow can be shot, says one who may have been present at these
events, and it had been recently strengthened with new work. William
doubtless expected a difficult task, and he was correspondingly pleased
to find the garrison ready to surrender without a blow, an omen even more
promising than the victory he had gained over Harold. If William had
given at Romney an example of what would follow stubborn resistance, he
gave at Dover an example of how he proposed to deal with those who would
submit, not merely in his treatment of the surrendered garrison of the
castle, but in his payment of the losses of the citizens; for his army,
disappointed of the plunder which would have followed the taking of the
place by force, had burned the town or part of it. At Dover William
remained a week, and here his army was attacked by a foe often more
deadly to the armies of the Middle Ages than the enemies they had come
out to fight. Too much fresh meat and unaccustomed water led to an
outbreak of dysentery which carried off many and weakened others, who had
to be left behind when William set out again. But these losses were
balanced by reinforcements from Normandy, which joined him here or soon
afterwards. His next advance was towards Canterbury, but it had hardly
begun when delegations came up to meet him, bringing the submission of
that city and of other places in Kent. Soon after leaving Dover the duke
himself fell ill, very possibly with the prevailing disease, but if we
may judge by what seems to be our best evidence, he did not allow this to
interrupt his advance, but pushed on towards London with only a brief
stop at any point.[1] Nor is there any certain evidence to be had of
extensive harrying of the country on this march. His army was obliged to
live on what it could take from the inhabitants, and this foraging was
unquestionably accompanied with much unnecessary plundering; but there is
no convincing evidence of any systematic laying waste of large districts
to bring about a submission which everything would show to be coming of
itself, and it was not like William to ravage without need. He certainly
hesitated at no cruelty of the sort at times, but we can clearly enough
see reasons of policy in most at least of the cases, which may have made
the action seem to him necessary. Nearly all are instances either of
defensive action or of vengeance, but that he should systematically
ravage the country when events were carrying out his plan as rapidly as
could be expected, we have no reason to consider in accordance with
William's policy or temper. In the meantime, as the invading army was
slowly drawing near to London, opinion there had settled, for the time at
least, upon a line of policy. Surviving leaders who had been defeated in
the great battle, men high in rank who had been absent, some purposely
standing aloof while the issue was decided, had gathered in the city.
Edwin and Morcar, the great earls of north and middle England, heads of
the house that was the rival of Harold's, who seem to have been willing
to see him and his power destroyed, had now come in, having learned the
result of the battle. The two archbishops were there, and certain of the
bishops, though which they were we cannot surely tell. Other names we do
not know, unless it be that of Esegar, Harold's staller and portreeve of
London, the hero of a doubtful story of negotiations with the approaching
enemy. But other nobles and men of influence in the state were certainly
there, though their names are not recorded. Nor was a military force
lacking, even if the "army" of Edwin and Morcar was under independent and
not trustworthy command. It is clear that the tone of public opinion was
for further resistance, and the citizens were not afraid to go out to
attack the Conqueror on his first approach to their neighbourhood. But
from all our sources of information the fatal fact stands out plainly, of
divided counsels and lack of leadership. William of Malmesbury believed,
nearly two generations later, and we must agree with him, that if the
English could have put aside "the discord of civil strife," and have
"united in a common policy, they could have amended the ruin of the
fatherland." But there was too much self-seeking and a lack of
patriotism. Edwin and Morcar went about trying to persuade people that
one or the other of them should be made king. Some of the bishops appear
to have opposed the choice of any king. No dominating personality arose
to compel agreement and to give direction and power to the popular
impulse. England was conquered, not by the superior force and genius of
the Norman, but by the failure of her own men in a great crisis of her
history.

The need of haste seems an element in the situation, and under the
combined pressure of the rapid approach of the enemy and of the public
opinion of the city--citizens and shipmen are both mentioned--the leaders
of Church and State finally came to an agreement that Edgar atheling
should be made king. It was the only possible step except that of
immediate submission. Grandson of Edmund Ironside, the king who had
offered stubborn and most skilful resistance to an earlier foreign
invader, heir of a house that had been royal since the race had had a
history, all men could unite upon him, and upon him alone, if there must
be a king. But there was no other argument in his favour. Neither the
blood of his grandfather nor the school of adversity had made of him the
man to deal with such a situation. In later life he impressed people as a
well-mannered, agreeable, and frank man, but no one ever detected in him
the stuff of which heroes are made. He was never consecrated king, though
the act would have strengthened his position, and one wonders if the fact
is evidence that the leaders had yielded only to a popular pressure in
agreeing upon him against their own preference, or merely of the haste
and confusion of events. One act of sovereignty only is attributed to
him, the confirmation of Brand, who had been chosen by the monks Abbot
of Peterborough, in succession to Leofric, of the house of Edwin and
Morcar, who had been present at the battle of Hastings and had died
soon after. William interpreted this reference of the election to Edgar
for confirmation as an act of hostility to himself, and fined the new
abbot heavily, but to us the incident is of value as evidence of the
character of the movement, which tried to find a national king in this
last male of Cerdic's line.

From Canterbury the invading army advanced directly upon London, and took
up a position in its neighbourhood. From this station a body of five
hundred horsemen was sent forward to reconnoitre the approaches to the
city, and the second battle of the conquest followed, if we may call that
a battle which seems to have been merely one-sided. At any rate, the
citizens intended to offer battle, and crossed the river and advanced
against the enemy in regular formation, but the Norman knights made short
work of the burgher battalions, and drove them back into the city with
great slaughter. The suburb on the south bank of the Thames fell into the
hands of the enemy, who burned down at least a part of it. William
gained, however, no further success at this point. London was not yet
ready to submit, and the river seems to have been an impassable barrier.
To find a crossing the Norman march was continued up the river, the
country suffering as before from the foraging of the army. The desired
crossing was found at Wallingford, not far below Oxford and nearly fifty
miles above London. That he could have crossed the river nearer the city
than this, if he had wished, seems probable, and considerations of
strategy may very likely have governed William's movements. Particularly
might this be the case if he had learned that Edwin and Morcar, with
their army, had abandoned the new king and retired northward, as some of
the best of modern scholars have believed, though upon what is certainly
not the best of evidence. If this was so, a little more time would surely
convince the Londoners that submission was the best policy, and the best
position for William to occupy would be between the city and this army in
the north, a position which he could easily reach, as he did, from his
crossing at Wallingford. If the earls had not abandoned London, this was
still the best position, cutting them off from their own country and the
city from the region whence reinforcements must come if they came at all.
A long sweep about a hostile city was favourite strategy of William's.

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