SA XON S IN EN GL A ND .

A H ISTORY OF

THE ENGL ISH COMMONWEALTH

T ILL THE PERIOD OF

THE NORMAN CONQUEST.

JOHN MITCHELL KEMBLE, MA

nu n: a : fl usou l. “ w as" or scnucn A ? nomcu, nmo r cannounA cuna r or somaen A T "m u,

"new o r fl unounuocnm o r mnont nunocxuoun, mm or ‘fll l

tout. ma m c v ans-row Incorn-luau .

"17. m . m .

L O N DO NPRINTE D FOR

LONGMAN , BROWN ,GREEN , AND LONGMAN S,

PA TERN OSTER ROW .

1849 .

THE QUEEN’

S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY,

THIS HISTORY

OF TH E PR INC I PL ES W H ICH HAVE G IVEN HER EM P I RE

ITS PREEM INENCE

AM ON G TH E NATIONS OF EURO PE,

WITH HER GRAC IOUS PERM IS S ION,

INSCR I B ED BY

TH E MOST HUM B LE A N D DEVOT ED

O F H ER S E RVANTS .

PRE FA C E .

TH E follow ing pages containana ccount of the

principles uponwhich the public and pol it ical l ifeof our Anglosaxon forefathers w as based , and of

the insti tutions inwhich those principles were mostclearly manifested . The subject i s a grave andsolemnone : i t is the history of the chi ldhood of

our ownage,—the explanationof its manhood .

Onevery side of us thrones totter, and the deepfoundations of society are convulsed . Shot andshell sweep the streets of capitals which have longbeenpointed out as the chosenabodes of ordercaval ry and bayonets cannot control populationswhose loyalty has become a proverb here , whosepeace has beenmade a reproach to our ownmiscalled disquiet . Yet the exal ted Lady who w ieldsthe sceptre of these realms , sits safe uponherthrone , and fearless inthe holy circle of her domestic happiness , secure inthe affections of a people whose institutions have given to them all theblessings of anequal law .

Those institutions they have inherited from a

period so distant as to excite our admiration, andhave preserved amidst all vicissitudes w i th anen

PREFACE .

lightened will that must command our gratitude .

And w ith the blessing of the Almighty , they w illlong continue to preserve them ; for our customsare founded uponright and justice , and are maintained ina subj ection to His w i l l who bath thehearts of nations as well as of kings inHis ruleand governance .

It cannot be wi thout advantage for us to learnhow a State so favoured as our ownhas set aboutthe great work of consti tution, and solved theproblem , of uniting the completest obedience tothe law wi th the greatest amount of individual freedom . But inthe long and chequered history of

our State , there are many distinguishable periodssome more and some less well knownto us . Amongthose w ith which we are least fami liar is the oldestperiod . I t seems therefore the duty of those whosestudies have giventhem a mastery over its detai ls,to place them as clearly as they canbefore the eyesof their fellow-citizens .There have never beenwanting menwho en

joyed a distinct insight into the v alue of ourearliest constitutional h istory . From the days ofSpelman, and Selden and Twisden, even to ourown, this country has seenanunbrokensuccessionof laborious thinkers , who, careless of self-sacrifice,have devoted themselves to record the facts wh ichwere to be recovered from the darkness of the past ,and to connect them w ith the progress of our pol itical and municipal laws . But peculiar advantagesover these men, to whom this country owes a largedebt of gratitude , are now enjoyed by ourselves .

PREFACE.

It is only w ithin eight years that the“ Ancient

Laws and Ecclesiastical Institutes of the Anglosaxons have beenmade fully accessible to usl

w i thinnine years only , upwards of fourteenhundred documents conta ining the grants of kingsand bishops , the settlements of private persons , theconventions of landlords and tenants , the technicalforms of judicial proceedings , have beenplaced inour hands“; and to this last quarter of a centuryhas i t beengivento attaina mastery never beforeattained over the language which our Anglosaxonancestors spoke . To us therefore i t more particularly belongs to perform the duty of i llustratingthat period , whose records are furnished to us somuch more abundantly thanthey were to our predecessors ; and i t seemed to me that this duty wasespecially imposed uponhim whom ci rcumstanceshad made most familiar w i th the charters of theAnglosaxons.

The history of our earli est insti tutions has comedownto us ina fragmentary form ina similar way

Ancient Laws and Institutes of England ; comprising Laws enacted under the AnglosaxonK ings from E

‘

Selbirhtto Cnut, withEnglish tramlationof the Saxon: the Laws called Edward the Confessor

’s; the Laws of William the Conqueror, and those ascribed to

Henry the First ; also Monumenta Eeclesiastica Anglicana, from the

seventh to the tenth century : and the ancient Latinversionof the

AnglosaxonLaws. With a copiona Glossary, etc . ( By B . Thorpe,

under the directionof the Commissioners onthe Public Records oftheKingdom. uncccxn.Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici. Opera J . M . Kemble, M .A . ,

vol. i . London, 1839 ; vol. ii . 1840; vol. iii . 1845; vol. iv. 1846 ; vol. v .1847 ; vol. vi . 1848 . Published by authority of the Historica l Societyof England .

PREFACE .

has i t here beentreated ,—inchapters , or ratheressays , devoted to each particular principle or groupof facts . But throughout these fragments a systemi s distinctly discernible : accordingly the chaptersw i ll be found also to follow a systematic plan.

It is my intention, at a future period , to laybefore my countrymen the cont inuationof thisH istory , embracing the laws of descent and purchase , the law of contracts , the forms of judicialprocess , the family relations , and the social conditionof the Saxons as to agriculture , commerce ,art, science and literature . I believe these thingsto be worthy of investigation, from their hearinguponthe times inwhich we l ive , much more thanfrom any antiquarianvalue they may be supposedto possess . We have a share i n the past , and thepast yet works inus ; nor cana patriotic ci ti zenbetter serve his country thanby devoting his energies and his time to record that which is greatand glorious inher history , for the admirationandinst ructionof her neighbours .

J . M . K .

London, December 2nd, 184 8 .

SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS .

ELEVEN centu ries ago , anindustrious and conscientious h istorian, desiring to give a record of theestablishment of his forefathers inthis island , couldfind no fuller or better account than thi s : Aboutthe yea r of Grace 445- 4 4 6, the Bri tish inhabitantsof England , deserted by the Romanmasters whohad enervated while they protected them , and exposed to the ravages of Picts and Scots from theextreme and barbarous portions of the island , calledinthe assistance of heathenSaxons from the continent ofEurope . The strangers fai thfully performed

“ their task , and chastised the Northerninvaders ;then , inscorn of the weakness of their employers ,subjected them inturnto the yoke , and after various vicissi tudes of fortune , established their own

von. 1. n

2 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. (noonr.

power uponthe ruins of Romanand Briti sh civilization. The few deta ils which had reached thehistoriantaught that the strangers were under theguidance of two brothers , Hengest and Hors : thatthei r armament was conveyed in th ree ships orkeels : that i t consisted of Jutes , Saxons and Angles : that thei r successes stimulated similar adv enturers among their countrymen: and that inprocess of time their continued migrations were solarge and numerous , as to have reduced Anglia,their original home , to a desert

‘.

Such was the tale of the victorious Saxons intheeighth century : at a later period , the v anquishedBritons found a melancholy satisfactioninaddingdetai ls which might brand the career of thei r con

querors w i th the stainof disloyal ty . According tothese hostile authorities , treachery and fraud prepared and consolidated the Saxontriumph . Thewi les of Hengest’s beautiful daughter“ subdued themind of the British ruler ; a murderous violationof the rights of hospitali ty , which cut off the chieftains of the Britons at the very table

‘

of their hosts,

delivered over the defenceless land to the barbarous invadera and the miraculous interventionof

Beda, H ist. Eccl . i. 14, 15. Gildas, H ist . § I4 . Nennius, H ist. § 38 .

It isuncerta infrom the MSS. whether this lady is to be ca lledRouwenorRonwen. Theusual English traditiongives her name as

Rowena ; if th is be accurate, I presume our paganforefathers knewsomething of a divine personage—Hré‘

liwén—possibly a dialecticalform of thegreatand glorious goddessHréfie ; forwhom referto Chapter X . of th is Book .

The story of the treacherous murder perpetrated uponthe Welshchiefta ins doesnotcla im anEnglish origin. It is related of the Oldsaxons uponthe continent, in connex ionwith the conquest of theThurmgtans. See Widukind .

SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS .

Germanus, the spells of Merlinand the prowessofArthur, or the victorious career ofAurelius Ambrosius , although they delayed and inpart avenged ,

yet could notprevent the downfal of their people‘.Meagre indeed are the accounts which thus satis

fied the most enquiring of our forefathers yet suchas they are, they were received as the undoubtedtruth , and appealed to inlater periods as the earliestauthentic record of our race . The acuter criticism of

anage less prone to bel ieve , more skilful in the appreciation of evidence , and familiar w ith the fleetingforms of mythical and epical thought , sees inthemonl y a confused mass of tradi tions borrowed fromthe most heterogeneous sources , compacted rudelyand with li ttle ingenui ty , and inwhich the smallestpossible amount of historica l truth i s involved inagreat deal of fable. Yet the truth which such traditions do nevertheless contain, yields to the al

chemy of our days a goldenharv est : if we cannotundoubtingly accept the details of such legends

,

they sti l l point out to us at least the course wemust pursue to discover the elements of fact uponwhich the Mythus and Epos rest , and guide us tothe period and the locali ty where these took rootand flourished .

From times beyond the records of history,i t is

certainthat continual changes were taking place inthe positionand condition of the various tribes thatpeopled the northerndi stricts of Europe . Into thisgreat basinthe successive waves ofKeltic

,Teutohic

Conf. Nennius, B in. 37 Beda, H ist. Eco. i . 14 , 15.

one", am. 525.

THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

and Slavonic migrations were poured , and here,through hundreds ofyears,were probably reproducedconvulsions , terminated only by the great outbreakwhich the Germans callthewandering of thenations.

For successive generations , the tribes , or evenportions of t ribes, may have moved from place toplace , as the necessities of their circumstances demanded ; names may have appeared , and vanishedal together from the scene ; wars , seditious, conquests , the rise and fal l of states , the solemnformationor dissolutionof confederacies , may have filledthe ages which intervened betweenthe firs t settlement of the Teutons inGermany , and thei r appear

.ance inhistory as dangerous to the quietof Rome .The heroic lays 'may possibly preserve some shadowy traces of these events but of all the changesindetai l we know nothing : we argue only thatnations possessing in so preeminent a degree as

the Germans , the principles , the arts and institutions of civilization, must have passed through along apprent iceship of action and suffering , andhave learnt in the rough school of practice thew isdom they embodied intheir l ives .Possessingno w ritten annal s , and t rusting to the

The AnglosaxonTraveller’s Song contains a multitude of nameswhich cannot be found elsewhere . Paulus Diaconus, and Jornandeshave ev idently used ancient poems as the founda tionof their histories.

The lays of the various Germanic cycles still furnish deta ils respectingHermanaric, Otachar, Theodoric, H iltibrant and other heroes of thistroubled period . Butthe readerwho would judge of the fragmentaryandunsatisfactory result of all that the ancient world has recorded ofthe new , had better consult that most remarkable work of Zeuss, DieDeutschenund die Nachbarstiimme. Munich, 1837. H ew ill there seehow the profoundest science halts after the reality of ancient agea, _

andstrives invainto reduce theirmanifold falsehood to a truth .

cu. r.] SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS . 5

poet the task of the historian, our forefathers haveleft but scanty records of thei r early condition‘.

Nor did the superci lious or unsuspecting ignoranceof Italy care to enquire into the mode of l ife and

habits of the barbarians , unti l their strong armsthreatened the civil izationand the very ex istenceof the empire itself. Thenfirst , dimly through thetw ilight inwhich the sunof Rome was to set for

ever, loomed the Colossus of the German race ,gigantic, terrible , inexplicable ; and the v ague attempt to define its awful features came too late tobe fully successful . InTacitus , the city possessedindeed a thinker worthy of the exal ted theme ; buthis sketch , though vigorous beyond expectation, i sincomplete inmany of the most material points

yet thi s is the most deta iled and fullest accountwhich we possess , and nearly the only certainsource of information til l we arrive at the momentwhen the invading tribes inevery portionof theempi re entered upon thei r great task of recon

structing society from i ts foundations . Slowly ,from point to point , and from time to time , tracesare recognized of powerful st ruggles , of nationalmovements , of destructive revolutions : but thedefini te facts which emerge from the darkness ofthe first three centuries , are rare and fragmentary .

Let us confine our attention to that portionof

the race which settled onour ownshores .The testimony of contemporaneous hi story as

sures us that about the middle of the fifth century ,

“ Celebrant car-minibus antiquis, qued unum spud illes memoriaeet annalium genus est.

” Tac. Mor. Germ. cap. ii .

3 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

a considerable movement took place among thetribes that inhabited the western coasts of Germany and the islands of the Baltic sea . Pressedat home by the incursions of restless neighbours,and the urgency of increasing population, or yielding to the universal spiri t of adventure , Angles ,Saxons and Frisians crossed a l i ttle-known anddangerous ocean to seek new settlements inad

jacent lands . Fami l iar as we are w i th daring deedsof maritime enterprise ,

who have seenourflag floatover every sea , and flutter inevery breeze thatsweeps over the surface of the earth , we cannotcontemplate w i thout astonishment and admi ration,these hardy sai lors , swarming on every point , traversing every ocean, sweeping every aestuary andbay, and landing onevery shore which promisedplunder or a temporary rest from their fatigues .The wealth of Gaul had already att racted fearfulv isi tations , and the spoils of Romancultivationhadbeen displayed before the wondering borderers ofthe Elbe and Eyder, the prize of past , and iaceative to future activity . Britain, fertile and defenceless , abounding in the accumulations of a longcareer of peace , deserted by its ancient lords , nuaccustomed to arms ‘, and accustomed to the yoke ,

‘ This is asserted both by Gfldas md Nenniua and it isnot initselfimprobable. The Romans did sometimes attempt to disarm the na~tions they subdued : thus Probus with the Alamanni . Vopisc. cap. 14 .

Malmsbury’s account of the defenceless sta te of Brita inwas probably

semibarbaros, nullum inurbibus praeter ventri deditosreliquisSent, Bri.

Reg.m) . i . 6 2 .

ca . SAXON AND WELSH rm moxvs.

atonce invited attack and held out the prospect ofa rich reward : and i t is certainthat at that period

,

there took place some extensive migrationof Germans to the shores of England ’. The expeditionsknown to traditionas those of Hengest , E ll i , Cissa ,Cerdic and Port , may therefore have some foundation in fact ; and around this meagre nucleus oftruth were grouped the legends which afterwardsserved to conceal the poverty and eke out thescanty stock of early h istory . But I do not th inki t at all probable that this was the earl iest periodatwhich the Germans formed settlements inEng.

land .

It is natural to believe that for many centuriesa considerable and active intercourse had prevailedbetweenthe southernand easternshores of thi sisland , and the western districts of Gaul . The firstlanding of Julius Caesar was caused or j ustified bythe assurance that his Gal lic enemies recrui ted theirarmies and repa i red their losses , by the aid of theirBri tish kinsmenand allies“; and thé merchantsofthe coast, who found a market i n Bri tain, reluctautly furnished him w i th the informationuponwhich the plan of his invasionwas founded”. When

Prosper Tyro, A .D . 441, says, “ Theodosuxvm. Britanniae usque

tionem Saxonum rediguntnr.” See also Procop . Bel. Got. iv . 20. The

former of these passagesmight however be understood without the assumptionof an immigration, which the movements of Attila renderprobable.

Bell. Gall . iii . 8. 9 ; iv . 20.

Especially the Veneti : ir'rocpoc ydp beau“new for ( I: rvlv Bperm w rlv whofiv, xpé pflm rq

‘

i c'

propc’

qo. Strabo , bk . iv . 271. Conf. Bell .Gall. iv. 20.

8 THE m oresm ENGLAND . [noon1.

the fortune and the arms of Rome had prevai ledover her i ll-disciplined antagonists , and both continentand island were subject to the same all-embracing rule , i t is highly probable that the ancientbonds were renewed , and that the most familiarintercourse continued to prevail . Inthe time ofStrabo the products of the island , corn, cattle , gold ,si lver and i ron, skins , slaves , and a large descriptionof dog , were exported by the natives , no doubtprincipal ly to the neighbouring coasts , and theircommerce w ith these was sufficient to j ustify theimpositionof anexport and import duty . A s earlyas the time of Nero , London , though nota colony ,was remarkable as a mercanti le station“, and inallhumanprobabili ty was the great mart of the Gauls .There cannot be the least doubt that anactive communicationwas maintained throughout by the Keltic nations onthe different sides of the channel ;and similarly , as German tribes gradually advancedalong the lines of the Elbe , the Weser , the M acs

and the Rhine , occupying the countries which lieuponthe banks of those rivers , and betweenthemand the sea , i t is reasonable to suppose that someoffsets of thei r great migrations reached the opposite shores of England3 As early as the second

Book iv . p . 278. Tacit . Ann. xiv . 33 .

Caesar notices the migrations of continental tribes to Britain. he

says,“ Britanniae pars interior ab ris incolitur, quos natos in insula

ipsa memoria proditum dicunt; mari tima pars ab 1is qui praedae acbelli inferendi muss ex Belgis transieraut; qui omnes fore 1is nominibus civitatum ndpcllantur, quibus orti ex civitatibus cc perveuerunt, cthello inlato ibi remauserunt, atque agros colere coepenmt.” Bell . Gall.v . 12 .

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10 THE SAXONS lN ENGLAND . [BOOK 1.

inEngland long previous to the middle of the fifthcentury . It appears to me that the presence of

Romanemperors recru iting the forces w i th whichthe throne of the world was to be disputed , from

among the hardiest populations of the continent ,must not only have led to the settlement of Teutonic families inthis island , but also to the main

tenance,ontheir part , of a steady intercourse w ith

their k insmenwho remained behind . The militarycolony

,moreover

, whi ch claimed to be settled upongood arable land , formed the easiest and most advantageous mode of pensioning the emeriti ; andmany a successful Caesar may have felt that hisownsafety was better secured by portioning his German v eterans inthe frui tful va lleys of England ,than by settling them as doubtful garrisons inLombardy or Campania .

The fertile fields which long before had meritedthe praises of the first Romanvictor, must have offered attractions enough to induce wandering Saxons and Angles to desert the marshes and i slandsof the Elbe, and to call Frisianadventurers overfrom the sands and sal t-pool s of thei r home . If inthe middle of the fifth century Saxons had established regular settlements at Bayeux ‘ ; if evenbefore this time the country about Grannona borethe name of Littus Saxonicum’

,we may eas ily be

Saxones Baiocassini. Greg. Turon. v . 27 ; x . 9.

Grassona in litters Satanico. Notit. Imp. Occid. c. 86 . DuChesne H ist . i . p . 3 . The Totingas, who have lefi theirname to Tooting inSurrey, are recorded also atT6tingahim inthe county of Bou

on. L] SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS . ll

lieve that at still earl ier periods other Saxons hadfound over the intervening oceana way less dangerons and tedious thana march through the territories of j ealous or hostile neighbours , or eventhan a coasting voyage along barbarous shoresdefended by a yet more barbarous population. Anorth-east w ind would , almost w i thout effort of

thei r own, have carried their ships from Helgolandand the islands of the Elbe , or from Sil t and Romsey'

,to the Wash and the coast of Norfolk . There

seems thenevery probability that bodies more orless numerous , of coast-Germans , perhaps actuallyof Saxons and Angles , bad colonized the easternshores of England long before the time generally

assumed for thei r advent“. The very exigencies ofmilitary service had rendered this i sland familiarto thenations of the continent : Batavi , under theirownnational chieftains , had earned a share of theRomanglory , and why notof the Romanland , in

Ptolemy ca lls the islands atthe mouth of the Elbe, Snafu” visorrpci

'

s. Zeuss considers these to be Ffihr, S ilt and Nordstrand. DieDeutschen, p . 150. Leppenberg sees inthem, North Friesland, Eider

87. It seems hardly conceivable that Frisians, who occupied the coastas early as the time of Caesar, should nothave found their way by seato Britain, especially whenpressed by Romanpower: see Tac. Ann.

H engestdefeated the Picts and Scots at Stamford inLincolnshire,not far from the Nene, theWitham and theWelland,uponwhose banksit isnearly certa inthat there were Germansettlements. Widukind’sstory of anembassy from the Britons to the Saxons, to entreat aid, isthus rendered not altogether improbable : but thenit must beunderstood of Saxons already established inEngland, and onthe very line of

inflank . Compare Geofl'ry’s story of Vortigerngiving Hengest lands

inLincolnsh ire, etc.

12 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [noox 1.

Britain1 The policy of the Emperor Marcus An

toninus, at the successful close of the Marcomannicwar, had transplanted to Britainmultitudes of Germans , to serve at once as instruments of Roman

power and as hostages for their countrymenonthe

frontier of the empire“. The remnants of this oncepowerful confederation cannot but have left longand lasting traces of their settlement among us nor

cani t be considered at all improbable that Carau

sius, wheninthe year 287 , he raised the standard of

revol t inBritain, calculated Uponthe assistance of

the Germans inthis country , aswell as that of their

allies and brethrenon the continent 8 Nineteen

1 Tue. H ist. iv. 12, about an) . 69 . DiuGermanicia bellis exerciti ;

Dio. Cas. lxxi . lxxn. Gibbon, Dec. cap. ix. At a later pefiod.Probus settled Vandals and Burgundians here : M mm tellsus (H ist.Nov . i . Jew s 8? {Sim s aids Tl yiyom a rty , sirBprr ravlay impi

m pw oi TV)"rijm ollcrjaam r, r'

m ao-rriw ornerd ra irm river,w h om

flood s? xprjmpm. Procopius evengoes so far as to make Belisariustalk of Goths inBritain, butthe context itself proves that this deservesvery littlenotice. Bell . Got. ii . 6 .

Carausius was a Menapian: but inthe third century the inhabit

calls him a Batavian: see Gibbon, Dec. cap. xiii Carausius, and after

him Allectus, mainta ined a Germanforce here : Omnes enim illos, utaudio, campos atque collesnonnisi teterrimorum hostium corpora fusatexerunt. Illa barbara ant imitatione barbariae olim onltuvestis, etprolixo crine rutilantia, tunc vero pulvere etcruore foedata , et indiver

Euimvero, Caesar invicte, tanto deorum immortalium tibi estaddictsconsensuomnium quidem quos adortus fueris hostinm,

’

sed prsecipueinternecio Francorum, ut illi quoquemilites vestri, qui pererrorem as

bulosi, ut paullo ante dixi, maria abiuncti ad oppidum Londiniensc

pervenerunt, quidquid ex mercenaria ills multitudinebarbarorum praclio superfiierat, cum direpta civitate, fugam capessere cogitarent, passimtots urbe confecerint.” Eumen. Paneg. Const . mp. 18, 19.

cu. L] SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS . 13

years later the death of Constantius delivered thedignity of Caesar to his sonConstantine : he wassolemnly elected to that digni ty inBritain, andamong hi s supporters was Crocus , or as some readErcene, anAlamannic king who had accompaniedhis father from Germany ‘. Stil l later , under Valentinian, we find anauxil iary force of Alamanniserving w i th the Romanlegions here .

By chronological steps we have now approachedthe period at which was compi led the celebrateddocument entituled Notitia utriusque imperi i”.

Evenif we place this at the latest admissible date ,i t is stil l at least half a century earlier thanthe earl iest date assigned to Hengest . Among the important officers of state mentioned thereinas administering the affai rs of this island , i s the Comes Li ttoris Saxonici per Britannias ; and his government ,which extended from near the present site of Ports

Aurel . Vict . cap . 41. Lappenberg, referring to thisasks, Maynotthename Brocna be a corruptionof Ertocus, a La

tinizationof the old-SaxonHeritage , dam? 1think not; for anAlamanwould have beencalled by a high and notlow Germanname, Herizohho, notHeritogo. I think itmuch more likely thsthisname wasChrohho or Hrbca, a rook.

Pancirolus would date this important record inA d ) . 438 . Gibbon,however, refutes him and places it between395 and 407. Dec . cap.

xvii . l am inclined to th ink eventh is date inaccurate , and that theRomans didnotmaintainany such great establishment inBritain, as thathereindescribed , “ so late a period . For evenAmmianus tellsus in364, Hoe tempore Picti , Saxonesque etScotti ctAttacotti Britannosaerumnis verevere continuis,

”( H ist . xxvi . which is hardly cousis

tentw ith a flourishing state of the Romancivil and military rule . The

actual documentwe posscss may possibly date from 390 0r 400, but it

refers to the arrangements of sa earlier time, and to anorganizationofRomanpower inmore palmy days of their dominion.

14 THE SAXONS [N ENGLAND. [noon1.

mouth to Wells inNorfolk ‘, was supported by va

rions civil and mil itary establishments , dispersed

along the whole sea-board . The term Littus Sax

onicum has beenexplained to meanrather the coastv isited by , or exposed to the ravages of, the Sax

ons, thanthe coast occupied by them : but againstth is loose system of philological and histori cal ia

terpretationI beg emphati cal ly to protest : i t seemsto have arisen merely from the uncritical Spiri t in

which the Saxonand Welsh traditions have been

adopted as ascertained facts , and from the impos

sibility of reconci ling the account of Beda with the

natural sense of the entry in the Noti tia : but thereseems no reasonwhatever for adopting

.

anexceptional rendering inthis case , and as the LittusSaxonicum onthe mainland was that district inwhichmembers of the Saxonconfederacy were settled , theLitta s Saxonicum per Britannias unquestionablyobtained i ts name from a simi lar circ umstance".

The document itself may be consulted inGraevius, vol. vn. The

littas Saxonicum per Brittannias” ex tended atleast from the PortusAdurni to Branodunum, that is, from theneighbourhood of Portsmouthto Branchester onthe Wash . Inboth these places there were civil ormilitary officersunder the orders of the Comes littoria Saxonici.Professor Leo, of Halls, has called attentionto a remarkable te

semblance betweenthenames of certainplaces inKent, and settlementsof the Alamanni uponthe Neckar. A few of these, itmust be admitted,are striking, but the majority are only such as might be expected to

tries settled by cognate populations, having nearly the same language,religious rites and civil institutions. Evenif the fact be admitted inthe fullest extent, it is still unnecessary to adopt Dr. Leo ’

shypothesis,that the coincidence is due to a double migrationfrom the shores ofthe Elbe. Rectitud . sing . person. pp . 100 It has beenalready

on. L] SAXON AND WELSH TRAD ITIONS . 15

Thus far the object of this rapid sketch has beento show the improbabil ity of our earliest recordsbeing anything more thanill-understood and confused tradi tions, accepted w ithout cri ticism by ourfirst annalis ts, and to refute the opinionlong entertained by our chroni clers , that the Germanic settlements inEngland real ly date from the middle ofthe fifth century . The results at which we havearri ved are far from unimportant ; indeed they seemto form the only poss ible basis uponwhich we can

ground a consistent and intelligible account of themanner of the settlements themselves . And

,be i t

remembered , that the evidence brought forwardupon this point are the assertions of indifferent andimpartia l wi tnesses statesmen, soldiers , menof

letters and philosophers , who merely recordedevents of which they had full means of becomingcognizant , wi th no object ingeneral save that ofstating facts apperta ining to the history of thei rempire . Moreover, the accounts they give are probable inthemselves and perfectly consistent w i thother well-ascertained facts of Romanhistory . Canthe same pra ise be awarded to our ownmeagrenationa l tradi tions , or to the fuller, deta i led , butpal

mted that Constantius was accompanied to Brita inby anAlamannicking ; and I cannot doubt that under Valentinian, a force of Alamanniserved inth is country . Ammianus says :

“ Valentinianns inMa

recens excursus eundem penitus vastaverat pagum, inBritannos translatum potestate tribuni, Alamannorum prsefeceratnumero, multitudine,

renders it impossible that this numerusAlamannorum 3’ should havebeenanyth ing butgenuine Germans.

16 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAN D . [noon1.

pably uncritical assert ions of our conquered neighbours ? I confess that the more I examine thisquestion, the more completely I am convinced thatthe received accounts of our migrations , our suhac

quent fortunes , and ultimate settlement , are devoidof historical truth inevery detai l .I t strikes the enqui rer at once w ith suspicion

when he finds the tales supposed peculiar to hisownrace and to this island , shared by the Germanic populations of other lands , and with slightchanges of locali ty , or trifl ing variations of detail ,recorded as authentic parts of thei r h istory . Thereadiest belief infortuitous resemblances and co

incidences gives way before a number of instanceswhose agreement

‘

defies all the calculation of

chances . Thus , whenwe find Hengest and Horsapproaching the coasts of Kent inthree keels , andE ll i effecting a landing inSussex w ith the samenumber, we are reminded of the Gothic traditionwhich carri es a migrationofOstrogoths , Visigothsand Gepidae , also in three vessels , to the mouthsof the Vistula , certainly a spot where we do notreadi ly look for that recu rrence to a trinal calculation, which so peculiarly characterizes the modes ofthought of the Cymri . The murder of the Britishchieftains by Hengest is told totidem verbis byWidukind and others , of the Oldsaxons inThurin

gia‘. Geofi

'

ry of Monmouth relates also how Hen

Widukind inLeibnitz, Rer. Brunsw . i . 73, 74 , Repgow, Sachsensp .

iii . 44 , § 2. It is amusing enough to see how the number of shipsincreases as people beganto feel the absurdity of bringing over conquering armies insuch very small flotillas.

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18 m s SAxONs IN ENGLAND . [soonr.

tale told by Saxo Grammaticus of a Danish prince

bearing the same name ‘.The form i tself inwhich detai ls , which professto be authentic , have beenpreserved , ought to secure us from falling into error . They are romant ic ,not h istorical ; and the romance has salient andcharacteristic points, notvery reconcilable wi th the

variety which marks the authent ic records of fact .For example , the detai ls of a long and doubtfulstruggle betweenthe Saxons and the Britons areobviously based uponno solid foundation; the dates

and the events are alike tradi tional , —the usual andmelancholy consolationof the vanquished . Inproportionas we desert the older and apply to latersources of information, do we meet w i th successful wars , triumphant Briti sh chieftains , vanquishedSaxons , heroes endowed with supernatural powersand blessed w i th supernatural luck . Gildas, N ennius and Beda mentionbut a few contests , andeventhese of a doubtful and suspicious character ;Geofl

'

ry of Monmouth and gossipers of his classonthe contrary , are full of wondrous incidents byflood and field , of details calculated to flatter thepride or console the sorrow of Keltic auditors thesuccesses which those who l ived inor near thetimes described , either pass over inmodest silenceor vaguely insinuate under sweeping general i ties

,

are impudently related by this fabler and his copyists w ith every richness ofnarration. According tohim the invaders are defeated inevery part of the

Saxo Gramm. bk . iv. p . 59 seq .

on. L ] SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS .

island ,nay evenexpelled from i t army after armyis destroyed , Ch ieftainafter chieftainslain ; til l hew inds up his enormous t issue of fabrications withthe defeat , the capture and executionof a herowhose very existence becomes problematical whentested by the severe principles of hi storical criticism, and who, according to the strict theory of

our times , canhardly be otherwise thanenrolledamong the gods , through a godlike or half-godlikeform l

It is no doubt probable that the whole landwas not subdued w i thout some pains indifferentquarters that here and there a courageous leaderor a favourable position may have enabled theaborigines to obtaineventemporary successes overthe invaders the new immigrants were not likelyto find land vacant for thei r occupation among

’

their k insmen who had long beensettled here,

though well-assured of thei r co-operationinany

Woden'

inthegentile form of a horse, Hengest, cgm admisscm’

as,

the brother of Hors, and father of a line inwhichnames of horsesforma distinguishing part of the royal appellatives. It is hardly necessaryto remind the classical reader of Poseidonin his favourite shape,the shape in which he contended with Athens and mingled withCeres. Inthese remarks onGeofl’ry and his sources, I donotmeantodeny the obligationunder which the reader of romance has been laidby him ; only to reject everything like h istorical authority . I t is fromthe countrymenof Geoffry that we have also gained the marvelloussuperstructure of imagina tionwh ich has supp lied the talesof that time,

whenCharlemagne with all his peerage fellby Fontarabia,” and whichis recognised by history inthe very shortentry,

“ lnquo proelio Eggihardus regiaemensae praepositus, Anselmas comes palatii, ct Hruod

ciuntur.

"Pertz, n. 448 . Letus be grateful

for the Orlando lnnamorato and Furioso, bntnotmake history of

20 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [noon1.

attempt to wrest new settlements from the British .

But no authentic record remains of the slow and

gradual progress that would have attended the conquest of a brave and united people , nor is any suchconsistent w i th the accounts the Bri tish authorshave left of the disorganized and disarmed conditionof the populat ion. A ski rmish , carried onbyvery smal l numbers oneither side , seems general l yto have decided the fate of a campaign. Steadilyfrom east to west , from south to north , the sharpaxes and long swords of the Teutons hewed thei rway : wherever oppositionwas offered , i t ended i n

the retreat of the aborigines to the mounta ins ,fortresses whence i t was impossible to dislodgethem , and from which they sometimes descendedto attempt a hopeless efl

'

ortfor the liberty of theircountry or revenge upon thei r oppressors . Theruder or more generous of their number may havepreferred exile and the chances of emigrationtosubjectionathome ‘ ; but the mass of the people ,accustomed to Romanrule or the oppression of

native princes 2, probably suffered l ittle by a changeof masters , and did little to avoid it . At evenalater period anindignant b ard could pour out h ispatriotic reproaches uponthe Loegrians who had

Mimy beyond a doubt formd a refuge inBrittany among theirbrethrenand co-religionists who had long beensettled there. Conf.Ermold. N igel . bk . iii . v . II. inPertz, ii . 490. The Cumbrians andWelsh had probably beenas little subdued by the Romans as theywere by the Saxons.

’ Gildas does not spare the native princes : see Epist. quaernl.passion; and whenevery excuse has beenmade for the exaggerationsof anhonest zeal, wemust believe the conditionof the people to havebeenbad inthe extreme.

cu. L] SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS . 21

condescended to become Saxons . We learnthat atfirst the condition of the British under the Germanrule was fair and easy, and only rendered harsherin punishment of their unsuccessful attempts at

rebell ion‘ and the laws of Ini, aWestsaxonking ,show that inthe terri tories subject to his rule , andbordering Upon the yetBritish lands , the Welshmanoccupied the place of a perioecianrather thanaM lote

9. Nothing infact is more common, or less

t rue , thanthe exaggerated account of total exterminations and miserable oppressions , inthe traditional li terature of conquerednations and we may

very safely appeal evento the personal appearanceof the peasantry in many parts of England, as evidence how much Keltic blood was permitted to subsist and even to mingle with that of the ruling Germans while the signatures to very early charterssupply us w ith names assuredly not Teutonic , andtherefore probably borne by persons of Keltic race,occupying positions of digni ty at the courts of

Anglosaxonkings 8

Quorum illi qui Northwallos, id est AquilonalesBritones dicebantur, parti Westsaxonum regurnobvenerant. llli quondam consuetisservitiis seduli, dinnil asperum retulere, sed tune rebellionem meditantes, Kentiurinus rex tam anxia osede perdomuit, utnih il ulteriussperarent. Quare etultima malorum accessit captivis tributaria functio ; utqui antea nec solamumbram palpabant libertatis, nunc iugnmsubiectionis pa lam ingemiscerent.” Malmsb. vit. Aldh . Ang. Sac. ii . 14 .

Leg. Ini, § 32, 33.

See a tractof the author’s inthe Proceedingsofthe Archaeologica lInstitute, 1845, onAnglosaxonnames. From some very interestingpapers read by the Rev . R. Garnett before the Philological Society in1843, 1844, we learnthat a considerable proportionofthe wordswhichdenote the daily processes of agriculture, domestic life, and genera llyindoor and outdoor serv ice, are bom wed hy us fmm the Keltic.

22 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soon1.

From what has preceded i t w ill be inferred thatI look upon the genuine detai ls of the German

conquests inEngland as i rrevocably lost to us.

So extraordinary a success as the conquest of thisisland by bands of bold adventurers from the continent, whose cognate tribes had already come intofatal coll isionw i th notonly the Gall ic prov incials,but eventhe levies of the city itself‘, could hardlyhave passed unnoticed by the h istorians of the empire : we have seenhowever that only Prosper Tyroand Procopius notice th is great event , and thattoo interms wh ich by no means necessa ri ly imply

Ph ilolog. Trans. i . 171, seq. The amount of Keltic words yetcurrentinEnglish may of course be accounted for inpart, w ithout the hypothesis of anactual incorporation; butmany haveunquestionably beenborrowed, and serveto show that a strong Kelticelement was permittedto remainand influence the S axon. That it did so especially inlocalnames isnotof much importance, as it may be doubted whether con~

questever succeeded inchanging these entirely, inany country .I borrow fromHermannMiiller’s instructive work, Der Lex Sa lica

und der Lex Angliorum etWerinorum Alter and Heimat, p . 269, thefollowing chronological notices of the Franks intheir relations to theRomanempireA .D . 250. Franks, the inhabitants of marshes, become knownby their

predatory excursions.

287. Franks occupy Batavia ; are expelled .291. Franks inthe Ga llic provinces.

306 . Constantine chastise: the Franks. They enjoy considerationinthe serv ice of Rome.

340. Wars and treatieswith the Franks.356 . Juliantreats with the Franks onthe lower Rhine.

358. He treats with Franks inToxandria .

395. S tilicho treat: with the Franks.

408 . The Vandals invading Gaul are defeated by the Franks.414 . War w ith the Franks.

416. The Franks possess the Rh ine-land .437. Chlojo bursts into Gaul and takes Cambray.

cu. L] SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS . 23

a state of things consistent w i th the received ao

counts . The former only says indefinitely , thatabout 441, Britainwas final ly reduced under theSaxonpower ; while Procopius clearly shows howvery imperfect , indeed fabulous , anaccount he hadreceived ‘. Could we trust the accuracy and critical sp iri t of this wri ter , whom no less a manthanGibbonhas condescended to call the gravest historianof his time , we migh t indeed imagine that wehad recovered one fact of our earli est history , whichbrought w i th i t all the attractions of romance . AnAngle princess had been betrothed to Rediger,prince of the Varni , a Teutonic tribe whose seatsare subsequently described to have been about theshores of the Northern Ocean and uponthe Rhine ,by which alone they were separated from the

Frank s”; Tempted however partly by motives ofpolicy, partly perhaps by max ims of heathendom ,

he deserted his promised bride and offered his handto Theodechild , the w idow of his father, and sisterof the AustrasianTheodberhta Like the epic heroine Brynhildr, the deserted lady wasnotdisposed

Procop . Bel. Got. iv . 20.

Oflopvot p23 im'

p"Iovpov m aybe 13v 861v 83 d

'

xpc f t is

“1:00d rdv dpxrq‘

iov m i um pdv T ine», da 'rnp ail-rode re Bwpffcc m l

M uckra ker30W}, dm firp ibpvwm'm

’nm (brew er, door rd wahaw v

6M Tim M W nomads «5mm , lbiov pi e two: dvdparor ( more:

perd é yxam xowfir 83 Pcppavoi c’

xakoi'

nrro 63

calQpa'

yyoc rovrlpdvov 7 06 Trim rd damp w aft”; fxov o w. Bel. Got.

Procopius tellsus that this was done by the dying father’s advice,and ineonsonance wi th the law of the pe0p1e.

'

Padi’

y¢p 88 6 W IS sw or

n‘c’

oflo 75parpwé rd hoa rds mimic, mddrep 6 minim tip?» idiomaims. lbid . Conf. Bed . H . E . ii . 5.

24 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [aoox r.

to pass over the affront thus offered to her charms.

With an immense armament she sailed for themouth of the Rhine . A victory placed the faithlessbridegroom a prisoner

'

inher power. But desire ofrevenge gave place to softer emotions , and the triumphantprincess was content to dismiss her rivaland compel her repentant suitor to perform his en

gagement.To deny all historical foundation to this tale

would perhaps be carrying scepticism to anunreasonable extent . Yet the most superficial exa

mination proves that inall its detai l s , at least , i t isdevoid of accuracy. The period during which theevents described must be placed ‘, is betweentheyears 534 and 54 7 and i t is very certainthat theVarni were not settled at that time where Proco

p ius has placed them“

on that local ity we canonly look for Saxons . It is hardly necessary to saythat a fleet of four hundred ships, and anarmy ofone hundred thousand Angles , led by a woman, arenot data uponwhich we could implicitly rely incalculating either the pol itical or military power ofany Engl ish principality at the commencement ofthe six th century ; or that ships capable of carryingtwo hundred and fifty meneach , had hardly beenlaunched at that time from any port in England .

Still I am notaltogether disposed to deny the pos

The years 534 and 547 are the extreme terms of Theodberht’s

reign. See Gib. Dec. bk . 38 .

This fact, which has escaped the accurate, and generally merc iless,cri ticism of Gibbon, is very clearly proved by Zeuss, Die Deutschcn,etc. pp. 361362 .

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26 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [BOO K 1.

eventhe locality is unknown What account shallw e render of those occurrences , which exist for usonly in the confused forms givento them by successive ages ; some , mischievously determined toreduce the abnormal to rule , the extraordinary toorder, as measured by their narrow scheme of analogy ? Is i t not obv ious that to seek for historictruth insuch traditions , i s to be gui l ty of violatingevery principle of historic logic ? Such was thecourse pursued by our early chroniclers , but it isnot one that we canbe j ustified inrepeating . Intheir view no doubt , the annals of the several Saxonkingdoms did supply points of definite information;but we are now able to take the measure of theircreduli ty , and to apply severer canons of criticismto the facts themselves which thev bel ieved and recorded . If i t was the tendency and duty of theirage to del iver to us the history that they found , itis the tendency and duty of ours to enquire uponwhat foundationthat h istory rests , and what amountof authority i t may j ustly claim .

The li ttle that Beda could collect at the beginning of the eighth century , formed the basis of allthe subsequent reports . Though notentirely freefrom the prejudices of his time , and yielding readyfai th to tales which his frame of mind disposed himw i llingly to credit , he seems to have bestowed somepains uponthe investigationand critical appreciation of the material s he collected . But the l imitsof the object he had proposed to himself

, v iz . the

ecclesiastical history of the island ,notonly imposeduponhim the necessi ty of commencing his detailed

on. r.) SAXON AND WELSH TRAD ITIONS . 27

narrative at a comparatively late period‘, but led

him to reject much that may have beenwell knownto him, of our secular history . The deeds of paganand barbarous chieftains offered little to attract hisattentionor command his sympathies indeed werelittle l ikely to be objects of interest to those fromwhom his owninformationwas generally derived .

Beda’s account , copied and recopied both athomeand abroad , was swelled by a few vague data fromthe regnal annals of the kings ; these were probablyincreased by a few traditions , ill understood and i llapplied , which belonged exclusively to the epicalor mythologica l cycles of our ownseveral tribesand races , and the cognate families of the continentand finally the whole was elaborated into a mass ofinconsistent fables , on the admission of Cymric orArmoricantales by Normanwriters , who for themost part felt as little interest inthe fate of theBritonas the Saxon, and were as li ttle able to appreciate the genuine history of the one as of theother race . Thus Woden, Ba lding , Gei t , Scyld,See“ and Beowa gradually found thei r way intothe royal genealogies ; one by one , Brutus , AureliusAmbrosius , Uther Pendragonand Arthur, Hen

gest , Hors and Vortigern, all became numberedamong historical personages ; and from heroes ofrespective epic poems sunk down into kings and

Beda attempts to give some account of the early state of Britainprev ious to the arrival of Augustine ; a few quotations from Solinus,Gildamand a legendary life of St. Germanus, comprise howevernearlythe whole of his collections. Either he could findno more information,or he did notthink itworthy of belief. He even-peaks doubtfully oftho tale of lleagest.

as THE saxoxs IN ENGLAND. [sooni .

warriors, who l ived and fought and died uponthesoil of England .

We are ignorant what fasti or mode even of

reckoning the revolutions of seasons prevailed inEngland , previous to the introduction of Chris

tianity. We know not how any event before theyear 600 was recorded , or to what period the memory of manextended . There may have been rareannals : there may have been poems if such therewere they have perished , and have left no tracebehind , unless we are to attribute to them suchscanty notices as the Saxon chronicle adds to Beda’saccount. From such sources however little couldhave been gained of accurate informationeither asto the real internal state , the domestic progress ,or development of a people . The dry , bare eutries of the chronicles inhistorica l periods maysupply the means of j udging what sort of annal swere likely to exist before the general introductionof the Roman alphabet and parchment , while , inall probabil ity , runes supplied the place of letters

,

and stones , or the beech-wood from which theirnameis derived , of books. Again, the traditions embodied inthe epic , are pre-eminently those of kingsand princes : they are heroical , devoted to celebrate the divine or half-divine founders of a race,the fortunes of their warlike descendants , the manners and mode of l ife of mili tary adventurers

, notthe obscure progress , household peace and orderlyhabits of the humble husbandman. They are fullof feasts and fighting, shining arms and goldengoblets :

'

the gods mingle among men almost their

SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS . as

equals, share inthe same pursuits , are animated bythe same passions of love , and jealousy and hatredor, blending the div ine wi th the mortal nature , become the founders of races , kingly because derivedfrom divini ty itself. But one race knows little ofanother or i ts traditions , and cares asli ttle for them .

Alliances or wars alone bring them incontact withone another ; and the terms of intercourse betweenthe races w i l l for the most part determine the character under which foreign heroes shallbe admittedinto the national epos , or whether they shall beadmitted atall. All history then, which is foundedinany degree uponepical tradition ( and nationalh istory is usually more or less so founded) must beto that extent imperfect , if not inaccurate ; onlywhencorrected by the writtenreferences of contemporaneous authors , canwe assignany certaintyto its records ‘.Let us apply these observations to the early

events of Saxonhistory : of Kent indeed we havethe vague and uncertainnoticeswhich I have mentioned : evenmore vague and uncertainare thoseof Sussex and Wessex . Of the former, we learnthat inthe year 4 7 7 , E lli w i th three sons , Cymen,Wlencing and Cissa , landed inSussex that intheyear 485 they defeated the Welsh , and that in491they destroyed the populationof Anderida 9

. Notanother word is there about Sussex , before the ar

The B omeric poeml and those of theEdds are obvious examplesbntnothing eanbe more instructive thanthe history which Livy andSaxo Grammaticm have wovenoutof similarmsterisls.

Sax. Chron.undertbe respective dates.

so THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

rival of Augustine , except a late assertion of the

mili tary pre-eminence of E ll i among the Saxonchiefta ins . The events of Wessex are somewhatbetter detail ed ; we learn that in495 two nobles ,Cerdic and Cynerlc , came to England , and landedatCerdices ora , where onthe same day they foughta battle that in501they were followed by anoblenamed Port, -

who w ith his two sons Bieda and

n la made a forcible landing at Portsmouthand that in508 they gained a great bat tle over aBritish king , whom they slew together w ith fivethousand of his people . In514 Stuff andWihtgar,their nephews , brought them a reinforcement ofthree ships in519 they againdefeated the Britons ,and established the k ingdom ofWessex . In527 a

new victory is recorded : in530, the Isle ofWightwas subdued and givento Wihtgar ; and in534 ,

Cerdic died , and was succeeded by Cyneric, whoreigned twenty-six years In544 Wihtgar died .

A v ictory of Cyneric in552 and 556, and Ceawlin’s

accessionto the throne ofWessex arenext recorded .

Wars of the Westsaxonk ings are noted in568 ,571, 577 , 584 . From 590 tb 595 a k ing of thatrace named Ceél is mentioned : in591we learnthe expulsionof Ceawlinfrom power : in593 thedeaths of Ceawlin, Cwichelm and Crida are mentioned , and in597 , the year of Augustine

’s arrival ,we learn that Ceolwnlf ascended the throne of

Wessex .

Meagre as these detai ls are, they far exceed what

Cerdic and Cyneric landed in495, after forty years Cerdic dies,and Cyneric reigns twenty-six more!

on. SAXON AND WELSH TRADITIONS. 31

is related of Northumberland , Essex , or Eastanglia . In54 7 we are told that Ida beganto reignin the first of these kingdoms and that he was succeeded in560 by E lli that after a reignof thirtyyears he died in588 and was succeeded by E

’Sel

ric, who againin593 was succeeded by E Eelfri’S.

Thi s is all we learn of Northumbria ; of Mercia,Essex , Eastanglia , and the innumerable kingdomsthat must have beencomprised under these generalappellations , we hearnota single word .

If this be all that we cannow recover of events ,a great number of wh ich must have fal lenwithinthe lives of those to whom Augustine preached ,what cred it shall we give to the inconsistent accounts of earlier actions ? How shal l we supplythe almost total want of informationrespecting thefirst settlements ? What explanationhave we togive of the alliance betweenJutes , Angles andSaxons which preceded the invasions of EnglandWhat know l edge w il l these records supply of the

real number and qua l ity of the chieftains , the language and blood of the populations who graduall ySpread themselves from the Atlantic to the Fri thof Forth ; of the remains of Romancultivation, orthe amount of Bri tish power w i th which they hadto contend of the v icissi tudes of good and evi l fortune which visited the independent principali ties ,before they were swal lowed up inthe kingdoms of

The chronology is inconsistent throughout, and it is inconceivablethat it should have beenotherw ise. Beda himself assigns differentdates to the arrival of the Saxons, though it is the m fromwhich hefrequently reckons.

32 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [aoox I.

the heptarchy , or the extent of the influence whichthey retained after that event Onall these severalpoints we are left entirely in the dark ; and yet

these are facts which i t most imports us to know ,

if we would comprehend the grow th of a societywhich endured for at least sevenhundred years inEngland , and formed the foundationof that in

which we l ive .Lappenberg has devoted several pages of hiselaborate history to aninvestigation of the Kenti sh legends , wi th a view to demonstrate thei r tra

ditional, that is unhistorical , character. He hasshown that the best authorities are inconsistentw ith one another and w i th themselves , in assigningthe period of Hengest’s arrival inEngland . Careful ly comparing the dates of the leading events , asgivenfrom the soundest sources, he has proved be

yond a doubt , that all these periods are calculatedupon a mythical number 8 ,whose multiples recur inevery year assigned . Thus the periods of twentyfour, six teen , eight and particularly forty yearsmeet us at every turn ; and a somewhat similartendency may, I think he observed in the earl ierdates of Westsaxonh istory cited ina preceding

page . It is also very probable that the early genealogies of the various Anglosaxonk ings werearranged inseries of eightnames, including alwaysthe great name ofWoden’.The resul t of all these enqui ries is , to guard

Thorpe’s Lappenb . i . 78 erg.

Beéwulf, ii. Postscript to the Prebos, m u.

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34 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx .

hereafter ; they w i ll furnish a strong confirmationof what has been advanced in this chapter as . to

the probability of an early and wide dispersionof Teutonic settlers inBritain .

CHAPTER II .

THE MARK .

A LL that we learnof the original principles of

settlement , prevalent either inEngland or on thecontinent of Europe , among the nations of Germanic blood , rests upontwo main foundations ;first , the possessionof land ; second , the distinctionof rank ; and the public law of every Teutonic tribeimplies the dependence of one Upon the otherprinciple , to a greater or less extent . Evenas hewho i snotfree can, atfirst , hold no land w i thinthel imits of the communi ty , so is he who holds noland therein, notfully free , whatever his personalrank or character may be . Thus far the Teutonicsettler differs but l ittle from the ancient Spartiateor the comrade ofRomulus .The particular considerations which arise from thecontemplationof these principles in their progressive development , w ill find thei r place inthe several chapters of th is Book : i t deals w i th land heldincommunity , and several ty ; with the nature andaccidents of tenure ; w ith the distinctionand privileges of the various classes of citizens , the free , thenoble and the serf and with the insti tutions bywhich a mutual guarantee of life , honour and peaceful possessionwas attempted to be secured among

D 2

36 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonI.

the Anglosaxons. These are the incunabula , firstprinciples and rudiments of the English law ‘

andi n these i t approaches , and assimilates to , the systemwhich the Germanconquerors introduced intoevery state which they founded uponthe ruins of

the Romanpower.As land may be held by many meni n common ,

or by several households , under settled conditions ,i t is expedient to examine separately the natureand character of these tenures : and first to enquireinto the forms of possessionincommon; foruponthis depends the political being of the state, itsconstitutional law , and i ts relative positiontowardsother states . Among the Anglosaxons land so heldincommonwas designated by thenames Mark , andG3 or Shire .The smal lest and simplest of these commondivisions i s that which we technically call a Mark orMarch (meare) ; a word less frequent inthe Anglosaxonthanthe Germanmuniments , only becausethe system founded uponwhat i t represents yieldedinEngland earl ier thaninGe rmany to extraneousinfluences . This is the first general d ivision, thenex t inorder to the private estates or alods of theMarkmen: as its name denotes

,i t is something

mark ed out or defined , having settled boundariessomething serving as a S ign to others , and distin

guished by signs . I t is the plot of land on wh icha greater or lesser number of free menhave settled for purposes of cultivation, and for the sakeof mutual profit and protection ; and i t comprises a

Incunabula etrudiments virtutis.

” Cic. de Off.

cn. IL ] THE MARK .37

port ion both of arable land and pasture , inproportionto the numbers that enjoy its produce ‘

However far we may pursue our researches intothe early records of our forefathers , we cannot discover a period at which this organization was

unknown . Whatever may have beenthe originalcondi tionof the Germantribes , traditionand history alike represent them to us as l iving partly byagricul ture , partly by the pasturing ofcattle

g. They

had long emerged from the state of wanderingherdsmen, hunters or fishers , whenthey first attracted the notice , and disputed or repelled thepower, of Rome . The peculiar tendencies of various tribes may have introduced pecul iar modes of

placing or constructing their habitations ; but of

no German. populationi s i t stated , that they dwelt

i n tents l ike the Arab , in waggons l ike the Scythian, or inearth-dug caverns l ike the troglodytesofWal lachia : the same authority that tells of somewho l ived alone as the hill-side or the fresh springpleased themfi

, notices the v i llages , the houses andeventhe fortresses, of others .

Agri pronumero cultorum, abuniversisperv ices occupantur, quosmox inter se secundum dignationem partiuntur ; facilitatem partiendi

camper-um spatia praestant.”Tac. Germ. 26.

“ Sela terrae segea imperatur,” they raise corn, butnot fruits or

vegetables. Tao. Germ. 26. Frumenti modum dominus, antpecoris,antvestis, ut colono, iniungit; et servus bactenus paret.” lbid. 25.

Hordeum, and frumentum. Ib id . 23.

3 Golant discreti ac diversi , utfons, utcampus, atnemus placuit.V icos locant, noninnostrummorem, connexis etcohaerentibus sedid.

cils ; suam quisque domum spatio circumdat.” Tao. Germ. 16. WhenTacitus speaks of caverns dug inthe earth , it is as granaries ( wh ichmay to this day be seeninHungary) or as places of refuge from sud

38 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soonI.

Without commerce , means of extended communication, or peaceful neighbours , the Germans cannot have cultivated their fields for the se rvice of

strangers : theymust have beenconsumers , as theycertainly were raisers , of bread-corn; early documents of the Anglosaxons prove that considerablequantities of wheat were devoted to this purpose .Eventhe serfs and domestic servants were entitledto anallowance of bread , inadditionto the supplyof desh ‘ ; and the large quanti ties of ale and beerwhich we find enumerated among the dues payablefrom the land , or ingifts to religious establishments , presume a very copious supply of cerealesfor the purpose of malting’ . But it i s also certainthat our forefathers depended very materially forsubsistence upon the herds of oxen, sheep , andespecially swine , which they could feed upontheunenclosed meadows , or inthe wealds of oak andbeech which covered a large proportionof the land .

From the moment , inshort , whenwe first learnanything of their domestic condition, all the Germantribes appear to be settled uponarable land ,surrounded wi th forest pastures , and having somekind of property inboth .

Onxii méntium ta scealtsillen“Binum beéwanmenvnhund hldfa

3 xx hhifa, hfitanmorgemettnm 1n6nmettum : inthe course of twelvemonths thoushalt give thy bedw or serf, sevenhundred and twentyloaves, besides morning mea ls and noonmeals. Sal. and Sat. p . 192 .

We should perhaps read sevenhundred and th irty, which would giveda ily two loaves, probably of rye or barley . Compare the allowancesmentioned inthe Rectitudines S ingularum Personarum. Anc. Laws.

Thorpe, i . 432 seq .

So fromthe earlies t times : Potui humor ex bordao aut frumentoinquandam similitudinem vini corruptas.

”Tac. Germ. 23 .

on. "J THE MARK . 39

Caesar , i t is true , denies that agriculture wasmuch cultivated among the Germans, or that property in the arable land was permitted to be permanent ‘ : and , al though it seems impol itic to l imit theefforts of industry , by dimini shing its reward , i t isyet conceivable that , under pecul iar circumstances ,a warlike confederationmight overlook this obvious truth inthei r dread of the enervating influencesof property and a settled life . There may havebeen difficul ty inmaking a new yearly divis ionof

land , which to our prejudices seems almost impossible yet the Arab ofOranclaims only the produceof the seed he has sown“; the proprietor intheJaghire district of Madras changes his lands fromyea r to year8 the tribes of the Afghans submi t toa new distributionevenafter a tenyears ’ possessionhas endeared the field to the cultivator ‘ ; Diodorustells us that the Vaccaeans changed thei r lands

yearly and d ivided the produces ; and Strabo attributes a s imilar custom to one tribe at least of theIllyrian Dalmatians , after a period of seven“.But so deeply does the possessionof land enter

into the principle of all the Teutonic insti tutions ,that I cannot bring myself to believe inthe accu

Agriculturae nonstudent : maiorque pars victus eorum inlacte,caseo, carnc cousistit: neque quisquam agri modum certam ant fineshabet proprios ; sed magistratusac principes inannos singulosgentibuscognatiouihusque hominum, qui una coierint, quantum, ct quo locovisnm est, agri adtribnunt, atque anno post alio transire cogunt. Eiusrei multas adfernnt causes; us, a dsidua consuetudine capti , stadiumbelli gerundi agriculture commutent etc. Bell . Gall. v i . 22.

The administrationof Oran. Timesnewspaper, Aug. 24th, 1844.

Fifth Rep. , Committee,1810, p . 723, cited inM ill'sBrit. India , i .315.

Elphinstone’s Caubul, ii . 17, 18, 19.

5 Diodorus, v . 34 . Strabo, bk . vn. p . 315.

40 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [aoox I .

racy of Caesar’s statement . Like h is previous rashand most unfounded assertionrespecting the Germangods , this may rest only upon the incorrec tinformation of Gall ic provincials : at the utmost i tcanbe applied only to the Suevi and their warl ikeall ies ‘, if i t be not evenintended to be confined tothe predatory bands ofAriovistus , encamped amongthe defeated yet hosti le Sequani ’. The equallywell-knownpassage of Taci tus , arva per annosmutant , et superset agera,

”—may be most safelyrendered as applying to the commonmode of culture ;

“ they change the arable from year to year,and there is land to spare that is , for commonsand pasture : but i t does not amount to a proofthat settled property inland was not a part of theTeutonic scheme ; i t implies no more thanthis ,that wi thin the Mark which was the property of all,what was this year one man’s corn- land , might thenext be another man ’s fallow ; a process very iatelligible to those who know anything of the systemof cultivationyet prevalent inparts of Germany ,or have ever had any interest in what we callLammasMeadows .Z euss , whose admirable work

‘3 is indispensableto the student of Teutonic antiquity

,brings toge

ther various passages to show that at some earlyperiod; the account givenby Caesar may haveconveyed a just descriptionof the mode of l ife in

IIarudes, Marcomanni, Tribocci, Vangiones, Nemetes and Seduan.Bell . Gall . i . 51.

Bell . Gall . i . 31. Tao. Germ. 26.

Die Deutschenund die Nachbarstiimme, vonKaspar Zeuss. Munchen. 1837 .

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42 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soox 1.

The word Mark has a legal as wel l as a territorial meaning : it i s not only a space of land , suchas has been described , but a member of a statealso ; inwhich last sense it represents those whodwell uponthe land , inrelationto their privilegesand rights , both as respects themselves and others .But the word , as applied evento the terri tory , hasa twofold meaning : i t is , properly speaking , employed to denote not only the whole distri ct occupied by one small communi ty ‘ but more especiallythose forests and wastes by which the arable is enclosed

, and which separate the possessions of onetribe from those of another“. The Mark or boundary pasture-land , and the cultivated Space whichi t surrounds , and which is portioned out to the several inembers of the community , are inseparable

If a manbe emancipated, his lord shall stillretainthe rightto hismund and '

wergyld, a)?

ofermearce hair he wille, be be over the mark

wherever he may be, be be outof the district where he may. LLWihtr.

Q8 . Thorpe, i . 38 .

Grimm is of opinionthat the word Marc itself originally denotedforest, and that the modernsense is a secondary one, derived from the

fact of forests being the signs ormarks of communities. Dent. Gran:alterthilmer. Berl . 1844 . There canbeno doubt that forests were soinOld Norse thetwo ideas, and the words by wh ich they are expressed,flow into one another: Mork ( f) is silos, Mark (n) is limes. IntheEdda and Sogar. Myrltvifir is the commonname for a wood : thus,sem bessi her kom samau, riiia heir é skog baner Myrkvibr heitir.hannskilr H linaland oh Reibgota land ; they rode to the forest whichis called Myrkvii r (mearcwiduinAnglosaxon) wh ich separates Hanaland from Reidgota land . Forum. 863. i . 496. Though givenhere asa proper name, it is unquestionably a general one. Conf. Edda, Viilund. cv . l .

mcyjarflugusnnnanmyrkvifi igiignum.

and so inmany passages. The darkness of the forest gives rise also tothe adjective murky .

ca . IL ] THE MARK. 48

however different the nature of the property whichcanbe had inthem , they are infact one whole ;takentogether, they make up the whole territorialpossession of the original cognatio, k in or tribe .The ploughed lands and meadows are guarded bytheMark and the cult ivator ekes out a subsistencewhich could hardly be wrung from the small plothe calls his own, by the flesh and other produce ofbeasts , which his sons , his dependents or his serfsmast for him inthe outlying forests .Letus first take into considerationthe Mark in

its restricted and proper sense of a boundary . Itsmost general characteristic is , that i t should notbedistributed inarable , but remaini n heath , forest ,fenand pasture . In i t the Markmen—cal led inGermanyM arkgenossen, and perhaps by the Anglosaxons M earcgeneétas—had commonable rights ;but there could beno private estate ini t , no bid orblot , no M 30: or haeredium. Evenif under peculiar circumstances , any markmanobtained a rightto essart or clear a portionof the forest, the portionso subjected to the immedia te law of propertyceased to be mark . I t was undoubtedly underthe protectionof the gods ; and i t is probable thatw i thini ts woods were those sacred shades eSpe

cially consecrated to the habitationand service ofthe deity ‘.

Tacitus says of the Semnones S tato tempura insilvam auguriis

patmm ct prises formidiue sacram omnes eiusdem sanguinis popul ilegationibus cocuut, cassoque publlce homine celebrant barbari ritushorrenda primordia . Est ct alia luco reverentia . Ncmonisi vinculoligatua ingreditur, utminor etpotesta tem numinis prae se ferena. S i

forte pmh pm mg attolli etinsurgere haud licitum, per humum evol

44 rue SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [Book a.

If the nature of anearly Teutonic settlement ,which hasnoth ing incommonw i th a ci ty , be dulyconsidered , there w i ll appear anobvious necessityfor the existence of a mark , and for its being maintained inviolate . Every community , not shelteredby walls , or the still firmer defences of public law ,

must have one, to separate i t fromneighbours and

protect i t from rivals : i t is l ike the outer pulp thatsurrounds and defends the kernel . No matter howsmall or how large the communi ty , —it may beonly a village , even a single household , or a wholestate ,—itw il l sti ll have a Mark , a Space or boundary by which its ownrights of jurisdictionare

limited , and the encroachments of others are keptoil". The more extensive the community which

ihi regnator omnium dens, cetera subiecta atqueparentia.

” Germ. 39.

Aga in: Apud Nahanarvalos antiquae religionis lucus ostenditur.”

Ibid. 43. Wi thout asserting the existence of the Mark among theGreeks with all the peculiar Germancharacteristics, we may borrowfrom them anillustrationand definitionof its nature. Betweentheterritories of the Athenians and Mcgareans lay a tract of land, the cultivationof which by the latter formed the pretext or justificationof theexcommunication launched against them by Olympian Pericles,which ultimately led to the Peloponesianwar, and the downfal of

Athens. The Athenians, Thucydides tellsus, refused to rescind theirintemperate decree, {flunkoi

'

lm s cirrtp'

yw tav Mcyapci'

rot 76: fi t

“pa: and n}: dopiarov’

( Lib . i . w here the Scholiast explains cidpc

m v by Ot’) avm popr’

vqc. S acred and notdivided intoplotsforcultivationby thep lough, is the exact definitionof a Teutonic Mark . Comparexolpm win-n( silva porcine) betweenLaconia and Messenia. Pans. iv . 1.

Inthe legend of St. Gfiblfic, thesa int is said to occupy the desert wilderness, mearcloud, themark ( Codex Exoniensis, p . 112, l . and th is isaccurately defined as idel ‘

j témen, é‘lielrihte feor, empty and uninhabited, inwhich there wereno rights of properly. Ibid. p . 115. l . 9.

Caesar appears to have understood th is. He says : Civitatibus

on. m] THE MARK . 45

is interested in the Mark , the more solemnandsacred the formali ties by wh ich i t is consecratedand defended but even the boundary of the private man’s estate is under the protectionof the

gods and of the law . Accursed ,”inall ages

and all legislations , i s he that removeth hisneighbour’s landmark .

” Eventhe owner of a priv ate estate is notal lowed to build or cult ivate tothe extremity of his ownpossession

,but must leave

a Space for eaves '. Nor i s the general rule abrogated by changes inthe original compass of thecommuni ties as smal ler districts coalesce and become , as i t were , compressed into one body , thesmaller and original Marks may become obliteratedand converted merely into commons

, butthe publicmark wi ll have been increased upon the new andextended frontier. Vi llages tenanted by Heardingasor M édingas may cease to be separated , but thelarger d iv isions which have grownupby their union,M eanwaras, M aegsetanor Hwiccas

’w i ll sti ll have

a boundary of their own these againmay be lostinthe extending circui t of Wessex or Mercia ti ll

habere. Hoe proprium virtutis existimant, expulsos agris finitumos

tutiores arbitrantur, repentinae incursionis timore sublato.

” Th is istrue, butinthe case of most settlements thenecessity of maintainingextensive pasture-groundsmust have made itself felt at a very early

Efese. Goth . Ubiswa . The name for this custom wasYfesdrype,

Eavesdrip . Ina charter of the year 868 it issaid : “ And by the custom ( folces folcriht) two feet space onlyneed be lefi for eavesdrip onthis land .” Cod. Dipl . No . 296 . InGreece the distances were solemnlyregulated by law : see Plut . Solon, cap. 23.

3 The people inthe hundreds ofEastandWestMean; inHerefordshire and inWorcester and Gloucester.

46 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soox r.

a yet greater obliteration of theMarks having beenproduced through increasing population, internalconquest , or the ravages of foreign invaders , thegreat kingdom of England at length arises , havingwood and desolate moorland and mountain as i tsmark against Scots , Cumbrians and Britons , andthe eternal sea i tself as a bulwark against Frankishand Frisianpirates!

But although the Mark is waste , i t is yet theproperty of the community : i t belongs to the freemen as a whole , not as a partible possession: i tmay as l ittle be profaned by the stranger, as the

arable land itself which i t defends“. It is under thesafeguard of the public law , long after i t has ceased

To a very late period, the most powerful of our nobles were the

Lords Marchcrs or Lords of the Marches of Wales and Scotland .Harald was lord of the Marches against theWelsh . And so the hereditary Markgraves or Counts of the Mark, Marchiones, have becomekings inGermany and I taly. Our only Markgraviats by land couldbe against the Welsh onthe west, the Picts and Scots onthenorth .There were undoubtedly others among the Saxons while their kingdoms remained unsettled : butnotwhenoncethe whole rea lm becameunited under E eelstan. The consolidationof the English power hasputdownall but transmarine invaders ; hence the sea is become ourMark, and the commanders of our ships, the Margraves. But, as

B lackstone rather beautifully says, “water is a wandering and uncer

tainth ing,” andourMargraves therefore establish no territorial authmrity . The reader isreferred toDonniges, Deutsches Staatsrecht, p. 297,seq . , for a very good account of the Marches of the GermanEmpire.

3 If a stranger come through the wood, he shall blow his horn andshout : this willbe evidence that his intentions are just and peaceful.Butif he attempt to slink through insecret, he may be slain, and shalllie unavenged . Ini. Thorpe, i . 114, 116. if the death-blowunder such circumaances be publicly avouched, his kindred or lordshallnotevenbe allowed to prove that he wasnota thief : otherwise;if the manslaughter be concealed . This raises a presumptioninlawagainst the slayer, and the dcad man’s kindred shall be admitted to

their oath that he was guiltless.

on. i t.) THE MARK . 47

to be under the immediate protectionof the godsi t is unsafe , full of danger ; death lurks ini ts shadesand awai ts the incautious or‘

hostile visitant

eal wses‘

litetmearclond all themarkland wasmorZSre bewunden, with death surrounded,

the snares of the foe‘:

punishments of the most frightful character are denounced against him who violates it? ; and though ,inhistorical times, these canbe only looked uponas comminatory and symbolical , i t i s v ery possiblethat they may be the records of savage sacrificesbeli eved due , and evenoffered , to the gods of theviolated sanctuary . I canwell believe that we toohad once our Diana Taurica . TheMarks are calledaccursed that is accursed to man, accursed to himthat does not respect thei r sanctity : but they aresacred , for onthei r mai ntenance depend the safetyof the communi ty , and the service of the deitieswhom that community honours”. And evenwhenthe gods have abdicated their ancient power, evento the v ery last , the terrors of superstitioncome inaid of the enactments of law : the deep forests and

Cod. Vercel . And. 1. 38 .

3 Grimm has givenexamples of these, but they are too horrible forquotation. They may be read inhis Deutsche Rcchtsalterthiimer,pp. 518, 519, 520.

3 I am inclined to think that the cwealmstow or place of executionwas properly inthe mark ; as it is indeed probable that all capita lpunishments among the Germans were originally inthenat ure of sacrifices to the gods. W’henJuliana is about to be put to death , she is

takento the border, londmearce neah, nigh to the landmark . Cod.

Exon. p . 280. Prometheus hung inthe «13pm : lpqpt'

a : though perhaps there is another and deeper feeling herc,—that the friend of manshould suffer inthe desert

whereno mancomes,Nor hath come, since themaking of the world !

48 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonI .

marshes are the abodes of monsters and dragonswood-spirits bewi lder and decoy the wanderer todestruction : the N icors house by the side of lakes

and marshes ‘ :Grendel , theman-eater, i s a “ mightystepper over the mark“ the chosenhome of thefiredrake i s a fa x”.The natural tendency, however, of this state of

isolationi s to give way ; populationis anever-aotive element of social wel l-being : and whenoncethe surface of a country has become thickly studded w ith communi ties settled between the Mark s ,and daily finding the several clearings grow lessand less sufficient for thei r support ‘, the nextstepis the destructionof the Marks themselves , and theunion of the settlers inlarger bodies , and underal tered circumstances . Take two v illages , placedonsuch clearings inthe bosom of the forest , eachhaving anill-defined boundary in the wood thatseparates them , each extending i ts circui t woodward as population increases and presses upontheland , and each attempting to drive its Mark furtherinto the waste , as the arable gradually encroachesuponthis . Onthe first meeting of the herdsmen ,one of three courses appears unavoidable : the communitiesmust enter into a federal union; one must

M W. 1. 2822 .

9

Like to a lonely dragon, that his fenMakes fear’d and talk’d ofmore thanseen.

Shaksp. Coriol. act iv . so. 1.

Facilitatempartiendi camporumspatia praestant.” Tac. Germ.26.

Butas the space diminishes, so also diminishes the stability of a form

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60 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

Christiani ty , which destroys or diminishes theholiness of the forests , necessarily confines the guarantec of the Mark to the public law of the state .Hence whenthese districts become included w ithinthe l imits of Christiancommuni ties , there is nodifficulty inthe process which has beendescribedthe state deals wi th them as wi th any other part ofi ts territory , by its ownsovereignpower , accordingto the prevalent ideas of agricultural or politicaloeconomy ; and the once inviolate land may atoncebe converted to public uses , widely different fromits original destination, if the public advantage require it. No longer necessary as a boundary , fromthe moment whenthe smaller community has become swallowed up and confounded inthe larger,i t may remainincommons, be takenpossessionof

by the state as folcland , or become the source ofevenprivate estates , and to all these purposes wefind i t gradual ly applied . Inprocess of time i tseems evento have become partible and appurte

nant to private estates ina certainproportiontothe arable ‘ towards the close of the tenth centuryI find the grant of a mil l and millstead , and thereto asmuch of the markland as belongeth to threehydes ” 2 .

The general advantage which requires the maintenance of the Mark as publ ic property

,does not

however preclude the possibili ty of using i t for

Most likely as commonsare distributednow, under endosure-hillsallotments being made infee, as compensationforcommonable rights.

3 And are mylenhém“

1se myln‘Eaérté , 1

“8m mearclandes swé mycelswatobrim hidongebyra‘

S . an. 982 . Cod. Dipl . No. 633 .

on. THE MARK. 51

public purposes , as long as the great condition ofindivisibili ty is observed . Although itmay notbecleared and ploughed , i t may be depastured , andall the herds of the Markmenmay be fed andmasted uponi ts w i lds and w ithini ts shades . Whi lei t sti l l comprises only a belt of forest , lying betweensmall settlements , those who l ive contiguous to i t ,are most exposed to the sudden incursions of anenemy , and perhaps Special ly entrusted w ith themeasures for public defence , may have peculiarprivi leges , extending incertaincases evento theright of clearing or essarting portions of i t . Inthe case of the w ide tracts which separate kingdoms , we know that a comprehensive milita ry or

ganization prevai led , w ith castles , garrisons andgovernors or Margraves , as inAustria , Brandenburg and Baden, Spoleto and Ancona , Northumberland and the Marches of Wales . But whereclearings have beenmade inthe forest , the holdersare bound to see that they aremaintained , and thatthe fresh arab le land he not encroached upon if

forest~trees spring there by neglect of the occu

pant , the essart againbecomes forest , and, as such ,subject to all the commonrights of the Markmen,whether inpasture , chase or estovers

l

The sancti ty of the Mark is the conditionand

guarantee of i ts indivisibil ity , w i thout which i t cannot long be proof against the avarice or ambition

Estoeeria . Inthis case, small woodnecessary for household purposes, as Ilousebote, Hedgebote and Ploughbote, thematerials formpa iring house, hedge and plough . But timber trees are not included.See Stet . West . 2 . cap. 25 ; and 20 Car. I I . c. 3.

52 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

of individuals : and i ts indivisibi li ty is , i n turn , theconditionof the service which i t is to render as abulwark , and of its utility as a pasture . I thereforehold i t certa inthat some solemnreligious ceremonies atfirst accompani ed and consecrated i ts l imitation‘. What these may have consisted in, amongthe heathenAnglosaxons, we cannot now discover,but many circumstances render it probable thatWoden, who inthis functionalso resembles

'

Epp v‘

ic,

was the tutelary god$2 though notabsolutely to the

exclusionof other deities , Tiw and Frea appearingto have some claim to a similar distinctionS . Buthowever its l imit was originally drawnor driven, i twas, as i ts name denotes, distinguished by marksor signs . Trees of peculiar size and beauty , andcarved wi th the figures of birds and beasts , perhapseven wi th runic characters , served the purpose ofl imitation and definition‘ : striking natural features ,

Silvam auguras patrum etprises formidine sacrum.

” Tao. Germ.

39. See Moser, Om abriickische Geschichte. i . 57, seq .

Eppqr, inthis one sense Mercurius, is identical withWoden. Bothinvented letters ; both are the wandering god ; both are Odysseus.The name of Wodenrs preserved inmany boundary places, or chainsot

’

hills, inevery part of England. See chap. xii . of this Boolt. The

Wénéc (Cod . Dipl . No. the Wénstoc ( ibid . Nos. 287, Ihave no hesitation in transla ting by Woden’s oak , Wéden

’s post.

Scyldes tre6w ( ibid . No. 436) may also refer to Wodeninthe form of

Seyld, as Hnices born( ibid . No. 268) may record the same god inhisform of B alcor, orHnic.

Teowes born, Tiw’s thorn. Cod. Dipl . No. 174 . “wasmére, Tiw’

s

lake. lbid. No. 262. Frigedreges treéw ( ibid. No. the tree of

Frigedrcg, a name I hold equivalent to Free or Fricge.

The boundaries of the Anglosaxoncharters supply a profusionofevidence onth is subject. The trees most frequently named are theoak , ash, beech, thorn, elder, lime and b irch . T he heathenburialplnce or mound is singularly frequent. Cod. Dip] . Nos. 247, 335, 476.

on. IR] THE MARK . 53

a bill, a brook , a morass , a rock , or the artificialmound of anancient warrior, warned the intruderto abstain from dangerous ground , or taught theherdsmanhow far he might advance wi th impunity. In water or inmarshy land , poles were setup, which i t was as impious to remove , as i t would

‘

have beento cut or burndowna mark-tree intheforest .Inthe second and more important sense of the

word , the Mark is a community of families orhouseholds , settled on such plots of land and forestas have beendescribed . This is the original basisupon which all Teutonic society res ts , and must beassumed to have beenat first amply competent to

The charter No. 126 has these words : Bainda vero ad aliosmonticulos, postea vero ad viam quae diciturPif ac, recto itinere ad easdem tif

6c, ac proinde autem ad breom gemseran.

” Here the boundaries of

three several districts lay close to a place called I'i ve Oaks. That thetrees were sometimesmarked is clear from the entries inthe boundaries : thus, inthe year 931, to barre gemearcodanso setAlerburnan,the marked oak . Cod. Dipl. No. 1102. fie gemearcodanmfse, themarked eaves or edge of the wood . lbid . Also, on6a gemearcodanlindan. 1bid . No. 1317. Cyrstelmael ac, or Christ cross oak . Ibid.No. 118. AtAddlestone, near Chertsey, is anancient and most venerable oak , called the Crouch ( crux , crois), that is Cross ask , whichtraditiondeclares to have beena boundary of Windsor forest. The

same th ing is found inCircassia. See Bell, ii . 58. The mearcbeém,

without further definitionis common: so the mearctreéw . Cod. Dipl .No. 436. Themearcbréc. lbid . No . 1102 . Artificial ornatural stoneposts are implied by the constantly recurring hat-ansténas, gnéganstanas, hoary orgrey stones. Among Christians, crosses and obeliskshave replaced these old heathensym bo ls, without altering thenatureof the sanction, and the weichbild, ormark that defines the limits of ajurisdiction, can, inmy Opinion, meanonly the sacred sign Onthis

point see Haltaus. Gloss. intrace, whose derivationfrom wic, oppidum,

munsatisfactory. See too Eichhorn, Deutsche Staa ts nnd Rechtsgcvschichte, ii. 76. $ 224 a. note 0 : with whose decisionGrimm and I

54 THE SAXON S IN ENGLAND . [noon1.

all the demands of society ina simple and earlystage of development : for example , to have been

anunionfor the purpose of administering justice,or supplying a mutual guarantee of peace , securi tyand freedom for the inhabitants of the district . Inthis organization, the use of the land , the woodsand the waters was made dependent uponthe goneral w i ll of the settlers , and could only be enjoyedunder general regulations made by all for the benefitof all. The Mark w asa voluntary associationof free men, who laid down for themselves , and

strictly maintained , a system of cult ivat ion bywhich the produce of the land onwhich they settled might be fai rly and equally secured for thei rservice and support ; and from participation inwhich they jealously excluded all, who were notborn, or adopted , into the association. Circumstances dependent uponthe peculiar local conformationof the district , or evenonthe relations ofthe original parties to the contract , may have causeda great variety inthe customs of different Marks ;and these appear occasional ly anomalous , whenwemeet w i th them still subsisting ina different orderof social existence ‘ ; but w i th the custom of oneMark , another had noth ing to do , and the Markmen, wi thin thei r ownl imit , were independent,sufficient to thei r ownsupport and defence, andseised of full power and authority to regulate theirownaffai rs , as seemed most conducive to thei r own1For example inManors, where the territorial jurisdictionof a lord

hasusurped the place of the old Markmoot, butnotavailed entirely todestroy the old Mark-rights inthe various commons.

on. 1L ] THE MARK . 55

advantage . The Court of the Markmen, as i t maybe j ustly ca lled , must have had supreme jurisdiction, atfirst , over all the causes which could inanyway affect the interests of the whole body or theindividuals composing it : and suit and service tosuch court was not less the duty , than the highpriv i lege , of the free settlers . Onthe continent ofGermany the div i sions of the Marks and the extentof thei r jurisdictioncanbe ascertained wi th considerable precision; from these i t may be inferredthat in very many cases the later courts of thegreat landowners had beenin fact at first Markcourts , inwhich , even long after the downfall ofthe primmval freedom , the Lord himself had beenonly the first Markman, the patronor defender ofthe simple freemen, either by inheritance or theirelection ’. Inthis country

,the want of materials

precludes the attainment of similar certainty, butthere canbe no reasonto doubt that the same process took place , and that originally M arkcourtsexisted among ourselves w i th the same objects andpowers . Ina charter of the year 971, Cod . Dipl .No . 568 , we find the word Mearcmét, wh ich canthere meanonly the place where such a court , mot

Numerous instances may be found inGrimm’s valuable work, Die

DeutschenWeisth iimer, 3 vols. 8vc . These are the presentments or

verdicts of such courts, from a very early period, and inallparts of

Germany. It is deeply to be lamented that the very early customsfound inthe copies of Court Roll inEngland havenot beencollectedand published . Such a step could notpossibly affect the interests ofLords of Manors, or their Stewards ; but the collectionwould furnishinvaluablematerials for law and history . We shall have to referhereafter to the Advocatus or Vogt, D elected or hereditary patronof

56 THE saxons IN ENGLAND . [noon1.

or meeting was held : while the mearcbeorh, whichis notatall of rare occurrence , appears to denotethe hill or mound which was the site of the court ,and the place where the free settlers met atstatedperiods to do right betweenmanand man1

It i snotatallnecessary that these communitiesshould have beenvery smal l on the contrary , someof the Marks were probably of considerable extent ,and capable of bringing a respectable force intothe field uponemergency : others , no doubt, wereless populous , and extensive : but a hundred headsof houses , which isnotatall anextravagant supposition, protected by trackless forests, ina districtnot well knownto the invader, constitute a bodyv ery wel l able to defend its rights and privileges.

Although the M ark seems originally to have beendefined by the nature of the district , the hills ,streams and forests , still i ts individual , peculiarand, as i t were , private character depended insomedegree also upon long-subsisting relations of theMarkmen, both among themselves , and w i th rega rdto others . I represent them to myself as great family unions , comprising households of various degrees of wealth , rank and authority : some, indi rectdescent from the commonancestors , or from thehero of the particular tribe others , more distantlyconnected, through the natural result of increasingpopulation, which multiplies indeed. the members of

Mearcbeorh, the M ark-hill, seems too special a name to express

some hill or other, wh ich happened to lie inthe boundary . A Kentish'

charternames the gemotbeorh ( Dipl . No . 364 . an. butthis isindefinite, and might apply to the hiremoot.

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58 THE SAXON S IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

of Scandinavia, not less thanthe scattered nameswhich meet us here and there inearly Germanhistory , offer hints which canonly serve to exci teregretfor the mass which has perished . The k ingdome and empires which have exercised the profoundest influence upon the course of moderncivilization, have sprung out of obscure communitieswhose very names are only known to us throughthe traditions of the poet , or the local denominations which record the sites of their early settl ements.

Many hypotheses may be formed to account forthese ancient aggregations , especial ly onthe continent of Europe . Perhaps not the least plausibleis that of a single family , i tself claiming descent ,through some hero , from the gods , and gatheringother scattered families around i tself ; thus retaining the administrationof the family rites of religion,and giving its ownname to all the rest of the

communi ty. Once establi shed , such distinctive appellations must wander with the migrations of thecommunities themselves , or such portions of themas want of land and means , and excess of popa lationathome , compelled to seek new settlements .In the midst of restless movements , so generaland extensive as those of our progenitors , i t cannot surprise us, whenwe find the genti le namesof Germany , Norway, Swedenand Denmark , reproduced upon our own shores . Evenwhere a

few adventurers—one only—bearing a celebratedname , took possessionof a new home , comradeswould readily be found , glad to consti tute themselves

ca . THE MARK . 59

around him under anappellation long recognized asheroic : or a leader, distinguished for his sk il l , hisvalour and success , his power or superior wealth ,may have found li ttle difficulty inimposing thename of his own race uponall who shared inhisadventures . Thus Harlings andWaelsings, namesmost intimately connected w ith the grea t epos ofthe Germanic and Scandinavian races , are repro ;

duced inseveral local ities inEngland : Billing , thenoble progenitor of the royal race of Saxony , hasmore thanone enduring record : and simi larly, Ibel ieve all the local denominations of the earlysettlements to have arisenand beenperpetuated I

So much light appears derivable from a proper in

vestigationof these names , that I have collectedthem inanAppendix (A .) at the end of this vo

lume,to the contents of which the reader ’s atten

tion is invited 9

The HarlingminAnglosaxonHerelingas (Ti-av . Har

lunge, (W. Grimm, Dent. Heldensage, p. 280, are found atBarling inNorfolk and Kent, and atHarlington(Herelingsttin) inBedfordshire and Middlesex . TheWe lsings, inOld NorseVolsungar, the familyof S igurdr or Siegfried, reappear atWalsingham inNorfolk , Wolsingham inNorthumberland, andWoolsingham inDurham. The B illings,atB illinge, Billingham, Billinghoe, Billinghurst, Billingden, Billington,and many other places. See Appendix A .

These local denominations are for the most part irregular compositions, of which the former portionis a patronymic m -ing or «ding,declined m the genitive plural . The second portionis a mere definitionof the locality, as -geat, -hyrst, o bam,

-wic, min, M e, and thelike. Ina few cases the patronymic stands alone inthe nominative

Meallingas, Malling, Kent ; Weberingas, Wittering, Sussex . Ina stillsma llernumber, thename of the eponymusreplaces that of his descendants, as Finnes burh, Finsbury Wrelses him, Walsham, inNorfolk 3inwhich lastname, as well as inWielses eafora ( Beowulf, l. we

6 0 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

In look ing over this l ist we are immediatelystruck w i th a remarkable repetition of various

names , some of which are found atonce in severalcounties and most striking are those which , like theexamples al ready alluded to, give a habitation uponour ownshores to the races celebrated inthe poeticalor historical records of other ages and other lands .There are indeed hardly any enqui ries of deeperinterest, thanthose whose tendency is to link thepresent w i th the past inthe bonds of a mythicaltradition; or which present results of greater importance to him who has studied the modes of

thought and actionof populations atanearly stage

have a recmd of the pmgenimr of theWmlsingg who is alikeunknownto the Scandinavianand the Germanlegends of that noble race. Indealing, however, with thesenames, some amount of cautionis acces

sary : it is by no means enough that a word should end in-ing, toconvert it into a genuine patronymic. Onthe contrary it is a power ofthat terminationto denote the genitive or possessive, which is also thegenerative, case : and insome local names we do find it so used : thusH elwulfing lond (Cod. Dipl. No. 179, a. 801) is exactly equivalent to[Eoelvirulfes load, the estate of a duke M elwulf, notof a family calledM elwulfings. So again. Stet Folcwining 10nd ( Cod. Dipl. No. 195,

a . BartWynhearding lond ( Cod. Dipl. No. 195, a . imply theland of Folcwine, ofWynheard, not of marks or families called Folewinings and Wynheardings. Woolbedington, Wool Lavington, Barlavington, are respectivelyWulfbieding tdn, Wultlafing ton. Be6rléfingturn, the tda or dwelling of Wulfltif, Wulfhared and Beorlaf. Betweensuch words and genuine patronymics the line must carefully be drawn,a task wh ich requires both skill and experience : the best security is,where we find the patronymic inthe genitive plural : butone canverygenerally judge whether thename is such as to have ariseninthe waydescri bed above, from a genitive singular. Changes for the sake of

euphony must also be guarded against, as sources of error: thusAbingdoninBerks would impel us strongly to assume a family of Abingas ;the Saxonname E bbendi’m convinces us that it wasnamed from anE bba (m) orAs

'

bbe ( f) . DimningtonisnotDunings tun, butDunnan,that isDunna's tun.

ea . in] THE MARK . 1

of their career. The intimate relations of mythology

, law and social institutions , which later agesare too aptscornfully to despise, or superstitiouslyto imitate , are for them , l iving Springs of actionthey are bel ieved in, not played w i th , as inthemajority of revivals, from the days of Anytus andMelitus to our own; and they form the broad foundationuponwh ich the whole social pol i ty is established . The people who bel ieve inheroes , originally gods and always god-born, preserve a remembrance of their ancient deit ies inthe gentile namesby wh ich themselves are distinguished , long afterthe rites thev once paid to thei r divinities havefal leninto disuse ; and i t is this record of beingsonce hallowed , and a cult once offered , which theyhave bequeathed to us inmany of the now unintelligiblenames of the Marks .

aTaking these facts

into account , I have no hesitationinaffirmingthat the names of places found inthe Anglosaxoncharters , and yet extant inEngland , supply notrifling links in the chain of evidence by which wedemonstrate the existence among ourselves of a

heathendom nearly allied to that of Scandinavia .

The Waelsings, the Volsungar of the Edda , andVolsungenof the GermanHeldensage

,have al

ready beennoticed ia a cursory manner : they arethe family whose hero is S iegfried or S igurdr

‘,the

centre round which the N ibelungenepos ci rcles .Another of their princes , Fitela , the Norse Sinfiiitli,

InBeowulf ( l. Siegfried is replaced by Sigmund, his father.

Here occurs his patronymical appellationof Wash ing andWashes cafora ( l .

62 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

i s recorded in the poem of Beowulf and from him

appear to have beenderived the Fitelingas, whosename surv ives in Fitliug.

The Herelingas or Harl ings have also beennoticed they are connected w i th the same greatcycle

, and are mentioned inthe Traveller's Song ,1. 224 . As HarlingeninFriesland retains a recordof the same name , it is possible that it may havewandered to the coast of Norfolk w ith the Batavian auxiliaries , numerus B atanorum, who servedunder their ownchiefs inBrita in. The Swa

’

efas,

a border tribe of the Angles", reappear atSwafil

ham. The B rentings8are found aga ini n Brenting

by . The Scyldings and Scylfings‘

, perhaps the mostcelebrated of the Northernraces , give their namesto Skelding and Shilv ington. The A rdings, whosememorial i s retained inA rdingley, ArdingtonandA rdingworth, are the Azdingi

s

, the royal race of

the Visigothsand Vandals a name which confirmsthe traditionof a settlement of Vandals inEngland .

W ith these we probably should not confound theHeardingas,who have left thei rname toH ardinghaminNorfolk“. The Banings, over whomBecca ruled

’,

are recognized inBanningham the Haelsings8 in

Lines 1752, 1772. Trav . S. l . 121.Beéw . 1. 5610. lb id . 1. 60, 125, etc.

See Zeuss, p. 461and pp . 73, 74 especially hisnoteuponp . 461,where he brings forward a good deal of evidence infavour of the form

The Rune poem says that lng was first knownamong the Eastdanes, and that he was so named by the Heardings. Th ismay referto Norfolk : or must we read heardingas, bellatores ? See Anglos.

Runes. Archaeolog. xxviii . 327, seq.

7 N V. 8 . l . 37. Ib id. 1. 44.

on. m] THE MARK . 63

Helsington , and inthe Swedish Helsingland’: the

Myrgings“, perhaps inMerring, and Merrington

the Hundings”, perhaps in Hunningham and Hun

nington: the Hocings“, inHucking : the Seringas

5

meet us againinSharington, Sheringtonand Sheringham . The Dyringas

6

, inThoringtonand Thorrington, are l ikely to be offshoots of the great Her

munduric race , the Thy ringi or Thoringi, now Thuringians, always neighbours of the Saxons . TheB leccingas, a race who probably gave name toBleck ingeninSweden, are found inBletchington,and Bletchingley. Inthe Gytingas, knownto usfrom Guiting , we canyet trace the Alamannic tribeof the Juthungi, or Jutungi. Perhaps inthe Scytingas or Scydingas, we may find another Alamannic tribe

,the Scudingi

", and inthe Dylingas, an

Alpine or H ighdutch name , the Tulingif’. The

Waeringas are probably the Norman Va'

eringjar,whomwe callVarangians. TheWylfingas

", another

celebrated race, well knowninN orse tradition, arerecorded inBeowulflo and the Traveller’s Song".

These are unquestionablyno trivial coincidences ;they assureus that there l ies atthe root of our landdivisions anelement of the highest antiquity ; onetoo , by which our kinsmanship wi th the Northgerman races is placed beyond dispute . But theiranalogy leads us to a w ider induction : whenwe

Zeuss, p. 544 .3 Trev. S . l . 45. lbid. l . 46.

4 Ibid . 1. 57, perhaps the Chanci . Ibid. 1. 150.

lbid. l . 60.7 Zeuss, p . 584 .

8 Ibid. pp. 226, 227.

Cod. Dipl. No. 1135. Wylfinga ford . Lines 916, 936.

1‘ Line 68 . Thev aretheYltingarofNorse tradition. Helg.Hund.

64 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . ( soonx.

examine the list of names contained in the Appen

dix, we see atonce how very few of these are identi

fied wi th the names recorded inBeowulf and otherpoems all that are so recorded , had probably be

longed to portions of the epic cycle ; but there isnothing inthenames themselves to distinguish themfrom the rest nothing at least but the happy accident of those poems, which were dedicated to thei rpraise , having survived . Inthe lapse of years , how

manv similar recordsmay have perished I Andmaywe not justly conclude that a far greater numberof races might have beenidentified , had the Agesspared the songs in w hich they were sung

Visere fortes ante AgamemnonsMulti ; eed omnes inlachrymahilesUrgentur ignotique longaNocte, carentquia vate sacro !

Whatever periods we assume for the divisionofthe land into Marks , or to what cause soever weattribute the names adopted by the several communities, the method and manner of thei r d ispersionremains a questionof some interest . The Appendix shows a most surprising distribution of someparticular names over several counties ’ : but thisseems conceivable only intwo ways ; first , that theinhabitants of a Mark , finding themselves pressed

‘zEscings inEssex, Somercetand Sussex Alings inKent, Dorset,

Devonshire and Lincoln: Ardings inSussex, Berks and Northamptonshire : Arlings inDevonsh ire, Gloucestershire and Sussex : Banings inH ertfordsh ire, Kent, Lincolnshire and Salop : Beadings inNorfolk,Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex and the Isle of Wight : Berings inKent, De

ptonahire, Northumberland, Sa lop, Sussex and the Isle ofWight, etc.

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66 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [BOOK I.

soonhave perished , when theMarks coalesced intothe G5or Shi re , and several of the latter becameincluded in one kingdom . N ew interests andduties must thenhave readily superseded maxims

wh ich belonged to an almost obsolete organization.

But intruth , to this question of dispersionandrelationship , considered in i ts w idest generali ty ,there is no l imi t either of place or time : i t derives ,indeed

,some of i ts charm from the very vagueness

which seems to defy the efforts of the historian :and eventhe convictionthat a positi ve and scientific resul t is unattainable , does not suffice to tepress the anxiety w ith which we strive to lift theveil of our Isis . The questionof every settlement ,large or small , ultimately resolves itself into that ofthe original migrations of mank ind . Unless wecan bring ourselves to adopt the hypothesis of

autochthonous populations ,—anhypothesis whosevagueness is not less thanattaches to a system of

gradual , but untraced , advances ,—we must fallback from point to point , until we reach one starting-place and one origin. Every family that squatsuponthe waste , assumes the existence of two families from which i t sprang : every household , comprising a manand woman, if i t is to be fruitful andcontinue , presupposes two such households ; eachof these continues to represent two more , ina geometrical progression, whose enormous sum and finalresul t are lost inthe night of ages . The solitarywho wanders away into the uncultivated waste , andthere by degrees rears a famil y , a tribe and a state,

on. THE MARK . 67

takes wi th him the traditions , the dispositions , theknowledge and the ideas , which he had derivedfrom others , inturnequally indebted to their predecessors. This state of society , if society it can

be cal led , is rarely exhibited to our observation.

The backwoodsman inAmerica , or the settler inanAustral ianbush , may furnish some means of j udging such a form of civi lization and the traditionsof Norway and Iceland dimly record a similar process : but the sol itary labourer

,whose constant

warfare w i th anexulting and exuberantnature doesl ittle more thanassure him anindependent ex istence , has no time to describe the course and theresul t of his toils : and the progress of the modernsettler is recorded less by himself, thanby a civilized society , whose offset he is ; which watcheshis fortunes w ith interest and j udges them wi th intelligence which finds inhis career the solutionofproblems that distract i tself, and never forgets thatbe yetshares inthe cultivation he has left behindhim .

Still the manner inwhich such soli tary households gradually spread over and occupy a country ,must be nearly the same inall places , where theyexist at all. The family increases innumber ; thearable is extended to provide food ; the pastureis pushed further and further as the cattle multi s

ply , or as the grasslands become less productive .Along the banks of the river which may have attracted the feel ings or the avarice of the wanderer ,which may have guided his steps inthe untrackedw ilderness, or supplied the road by which he

r 2

68 ms saxoxs IN ENGLAND. (noon:1.

journeyed , thefootsteps of civ i l ization move upward : ti ll , reaching the rising ground from whichthe streams descend on either side, the vanguards

of two parties meet , and the watershed becomesthei r boundary , and the place of meeting for religious or pol itical purposes . Meantime , the ford , themill

,the bridge have become the nucleus of a v il

lage , and the blessings of mutual intercourse andfami ly bonds have converted the squatters ’ settlement into a centre of weal th and happiness. Andin like manner is it , where a clearing inthe forest ,near a spring or well ’,—divine , for i tsuses to man,—has been made ; and where , by slow degrees, theseparated families discover each other, and findthat i t i s notgood for manto be alone .This description, however , w il l not strictly applyto numerous or extensive cases of settlement , although some analogy may be found , if we subetitute a tribe for the family . Continental Germanyhas no t radition of such a process ; and we maynotunjustly believe the records of such in Séandinavia to have arisenfrom the wanderings of unquiet spiri ts , impatient of control or rival ry, of criminals shrinking from the consequences of theirguilt , or of descendants dreading the blood-feudinherited from ruder progeni tors. But al thoughsystematic and religious colonization , like that ofG reece , cannot be assumed to have prevai led , wemay safely assert that i t was carried onfar more

‘ Water ceems the indispensableconditionof a settlementinany partof the world : hence, inpart, the worship paid to it. I t is the verykey to the history of the East.

cu. IL ] THE MARK . 69

regularly , and upon more strict principles thanarecompatible w i th capricious and individual settlement ‘. Tradition here and there throws lightuponthe causes by which bodies of menwere im

pelled to leave their ancient habitations , and seeknew seats inmore fruitful or peaceful districts .The emigrationrepresented by Hengest has beenattributed to a famine athome , and eventhe graveauthori ty of history has countenanced the beliefthat his keels were driveninto exi le : thus far wemay assume his adventure to have beenmade wi ththe part icipation , if not by the authority , of theparent state .Ingeneral we may admit the divisionof a con

quered country , such as Bri tainwas, to have beenconducted uponsettled principles , derived from theactual positionof the conquerors . As anarmythey had obta ined possession, and as anarmy theydistributed the booty which rewarded their valour.That they nevertheless continued to occupy theland as families or cognationes, resulted from the

method of thei r enrolment inthe field i tself, whereeach kindred was drawnup under anofficer ofi ts ownl ineage and appointment , and the severalmembers of the family served together. But such a

l The solemnapportionment of lands and dwellings isnowhere more

Norway and the Swedish borderlands may have offered more numerous instances of solitary settling. The manner of distributing thevillage land is called Sélskipt or S6lskipti : the provisions of this law

are givenby Grimm, Rechtsalt. p . 539 . There is aninteresting accountof the formalitiesused nponthc first colonizationof Iceland, inGeijer,H ist. of Sweden, i. 159 . (Germantranslationof

79 THE ssxoxs IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

distributionof the land as should content thevarioussmall communi ties that made up the whole force ,could only be ensured by the joint authority of theleaders , the concurrence of the families themselves,and the possessionof a sufficient space for thei rextension, undisturbed by the claims of former cc

cupants, and suited to the wants of itsnew masters .What difficulties , what j ealousies preceded the adjustment of all claims among the conquerors , wecannot hape to learn , or by what means these weremet and reconciled : but the divisions themselves,so many of whose names I have collected , provethat , insome w ay or other,i the problem was successfully solved .

On the natural clearings inthe forest , or onSpots prepared by manfor his ownuses invalleys ,hounded by gentle accl iv i ties which poured downfertilizing streams ; or on plains which here andthere rose , clothed w i th verdure , above surrounding marshes ; slowly and step by step , the warlikecolonists adopted the habits and developed the chareeter of peaceful agriculturists . The towns whichhad beenspared inthe first rush of war, graduallybecame deserted , and slowly crumbled to the soi l ,beneath which thei r ruins are yetfound from timeto time, or uponwhich shapeless masses yet remain,to mark the sites of a civilization, whose bases werenot laid deep enough for eterni ty . A ll over England there soonexisted a network of communities ,the principle of whose being was separation, as regarded each other : the most intimate union, as respected the individual members of each . Agricul

on.u.] THE MARK . 71

tural, not commercial , dispersed , not cent ralized ,content withintheir ownl imits and little giventowandering , they relinquished ina great degree thehabits and feelings which had united them as military adventurers and the spiri twhich had achievedthe conquest of anempire , wasnow satisfied withthe care of maintaining inviolate a l ittle peacefulplot

,sufficient for the cultivationof a few simple

CHAPTER III .

THE GA'

onscrn.

NEXT inorder of constitution, if not of time , i s theunionof two, three or more Mark s i n a federal

bond for purposes of a religious , j udicial or evenpol itical character . The technical name for sucha unionis inGermany , a Gauor Bant

‘; inEng

land the ancient name Gahas been almost universal ly superseded by that of Scir or Shire . For themost part the natural divisions of the country arethe divisions also of the Ga ; and the size of thi sdepends uponsuch accidental l imits aswell asUponthe character and disposi tions of the several collective bod ies which we have cal led Marks .The Ga is the second and final form of unseveredpossession for every larger aggregate is but the resul t of a gradual reductionof such districts , undera higher political or administrative unity , differentonly indegree and not inkind from what prevai ledindividually ineach . The kingdom is only a largerGa thanordinary ; indeed the Ga i tself was theoriginal kingdom .

But the unsevered possessionor property which

1 Lessusnsl are Eiba and Para. The Norse Herrad may insomesense be compu

'

ed with these divisions.

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74 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [BOOK 1.

be effected ; while the machinery of governmentand efiicientmeans of protectionwere secured .

At these great religious rites , accompanied as theyever were by the solemnDing , placitum or court ,thrice inthe year the markmen assembled unbidden and here they transacted the ordinary and routine business required . Onemergencies however,which did notbrook delay, the leaders could issuethei r peremptory summons to a biddenD ing , andin th is were thendecided the measures necessaryfor the maintenance and well-being of the community, and the mutual guarantee of life and honour.

To the Ga thenprobably belonged, asanunseveredpossession, the lands necessary for the site andmaintenance of a temple , the supply of beasts forsacrifice , and the endowment of a priest or priestsperhaps al so for the erectionof a stockade or fortress , and some shelter for the assembled freemeninthe D ing . Moreover, if land ex i sted which fromany cause had notbeenincluded w i thinthe limitsof some Mark , we may believe that i t became the.

public property of the Ga, i . e. of all the Marks intheir corporate capacity this at least may be inferred from the rights exercised ata comparativelylater period over waste lands , by the consti tu tedauthorities , the Duke , Count or King .

Accident must more or less have determined theseat of the ( la-j urisdiction: perhaps here and theresome powerful leading Mark , al ready in the possessionof a holy site , may have drawnthe neighbouring settlers into its territory : but as the possessionand guardiansh ip of the seat of government

on. in.) THE GA'

onSCI’R. 75

could not but lead to the vindicationof certainprivileges and material advantages to its holders ,i t is not unreasonable to believe that where theMarks coalesced on equal terms , the temple-landswould be placed w i thout the peculiar territorialpossession of each , as they oftenwere inGreece ,upon the éaxa rui or boundary- land . On the summit of a range of hil ls , whose v al leys sufiiced forthe cultivationof the markmen, onthe watershedfrom which the fertiliz ing streams descended , at

the po in twhere the boundaries of two or three communities touched one another, was the proper placefor the commonperiodical assemblages of the freemen: and such sites , marked evento this day bya few venerable oaks, may be observed invariousparts of England ‘.The descriptionwhich has been given might seem

atfirst more properly to relate to anabstract politicalunity than to a real and terri torial one : nodoubt the most important qual i ty of the G6 or Sei rwas its power of uniting distinct populations forpublic purposes : inthi s respect i t resembled thesh ire , while the sheriff

’s court was still of some importance ; or evenyet , where the judges comingon thei r circuit , under a commission, hold a shi remoot or court ineach shi re for gaol-delivery . Yetthe Shi re is a territorial d iv is ion2 aswell as anabs

tract and merely legal formulary , although all the

There are instances which show that the custom, afterwards keptup, of

“ Trysting Trees,” was anancient one. Probably some greattreesmarked the site of the several jurisdictions : I find mentioned theceirao, the hundrcdcs treéw and the mearcbeam.

’ The Gauitself had a mark or boundary . DenL Rechtsalt. p. 496.

76 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [acct 1.

land comprised w i thini t is divided into parishes,hamlets, vills and liberties.Strictly speaking, the Shi re , apart from the units

that make it up , possesses little more land thanthat which the town-hall , the gaol , or the hospitalmay cover. When for the two latter institut ions we substitute the fortress of the king , anda cathed ral , which was the people

’s and not thebishop ’s , we have as nearly as possible the Anglosaxonsh ire-property , and the identi ty of the twod iv is ions seems p roved . Just as the Ga (pagus)contains the Marks ( vices) , and the terri tory of

them all, takentogether , makes up the terri tory ofthe Ga, so does the Shire containhamlets , parishesand l iberties , and i ts terri torial expanse i s distributed into them . As thenthe word Mark is usedto denote two distinct things , -a territorial d ivisionand a corporate body , - so does the word GetorScir denote both a machinery for government anda district inwhich such machinery prevai ls . Thenumber of Marks included ina single Gamust havevaried partly w i th the variations of the land i tself,i ts valleys , hills and meadows : to this cause mayhave beenadded others arising , to some extent ,from the original mil itary organizationand distribution, from the personal character of a leader, orfrom the pecul iar tenets and customs of a particularMark . But proximi ty , and settlement uponthesame land , w ith the accompanying participationinthe advantages of wood and water, are ever themost active means of unit ing men inreligious andsocial communities ; and i t is therefore reasonable

on. a t.) THE GA‘

OR SCI'

R. 77

to believe that the influence most fel t inthe arrangement of the severa l Gas was infact a terri torial one , depending uponthe natural conformationcf the country.Some of the modern shire-divisions of England

inall probability have remained unchanged fromthe earli est times ; so that here and there a nowexistent Shire may be identical interritory w i th anancient Ga. But i t may be doubted whether thisobservationcanbe very extensively applied : oh

scure as i s the record of our old divisions , whatlittle we know , favours the suppositionthat the ori

ginsl Gas were not only more numerous thanourShires

,bu t that these were not always identical in

their boundaries w i th those Gaswhose locality canbe determined .

The policy or pedantry of Normanchroniclershas led them to pass over in silence the namesof the ancient d ivisions , which nevertheless wereknownto them’

. Wherever they have occasion torefer to our Shi res , they do so by the names theystill hear ; thus Florence ofWorcester and Malmsbury, name to the south of the Humber, Kent ,Wil tshire, Berkshire , Dorset , Sussex , Southampton, Surrey, Somerset , Devonshire , Cornwall , Gloucester,Worcester ,Warw ick , Cheshire , Derby , Staf

ford , Shropshi re , Hereford , Oxford , Buckingham ,

tavernnt, hoe sit ad summam complecti, quod, cum numerentur inAnglia trigintnduo pagi, illi iam sedecim invnserant, quorum nominapropter barbariem linguae scribers refugio.

”Gul. Meld. Gest. Reg.

lib. ii . 5165.

78 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soot 1.

Hertford , Huntingdon , Bedford , Northampton, Leicester, Lincoln , Nottingham , Cambridge , Norfolk ,Suffolk and Essex , comprising w i th Middlesexthirty-two of the Shires , out of forty into whichEngland is now distributed .

Yet eventhese names and divisions are of grea tantiquity : Asser, inhis life ofE lfred, mentions byname , Berksh ire , Essex , Kent , Surrey , Somerset,Sussex , Lincoln, Dorset , Devon, Wiltshi re andSouthampton, being a th ird of the whole numberunfortunately , from his work being composed inLatin and his consequent use of page , we cannottell how many of these divisions were consideredby h im as Scir.

The SaxonChronicles , during the period anterior to the reignof E lfred , seem to know onl ythe old general divisions : thus we have Cantwaraland , Kent l Westseaxan, Sti

’dseaxan, Eastseaxan,M iddelseaxan, Wessex , Sussex , Essex , MiddlesexEastengle, Eastanglia : N or

’Sanhymbra land , Sti’8anhymbra land , Myrcna land , Northumberland ,Southumberland, Mercia : Lindisware and Lindisse,Lincolnshire : Sfi’8rige, Surrey ; Wiht, the Isle of

Wight ; Hwiccas, the Hwiccii inGloucestershi reand Worcestershire“; Merscware, the people of

Romney Marsh :Wilsaetan, Dornsaetanand Sumorsastan, Wiltshire , Somersetshi re and Dorsetshires.

The divisionof Kent into East Centingas and West Centingas isretained by the charters till late inthe eleventh century.

3 “ Cirrenceaster adiit, qui Britannica Cairceri nominatur, qnae est

m meri dians parte Huicciorum.

”Asser, Vit . E lfr. an. 879.

Where the country is considered as a territorial division, ratherthanwith reference to the race that possesses it, instead of se tanor

on. m .) THE GA' OR 80111. 79

But after the time of E lfred, the different manuscripts of the Chronicles usual ly adopt the wordScir, inthe same places as we do , and w ith the samemeaning . Thus we find , Bearrucscir, Bedanfordscir, Buccingahamscir, Defenascir, Deorabyscir,Eoforwicscir, Gleawanceasterscir, Grantabrycgscir,Hamtlinscir ( Southampton) , Hamtlinscir (Northampton) , Heortfordscir, Herefordscir, Huntanddnscir, Legeceasterscir, Lindicolnascir, Oxnafordscir,Scrobbesbyrigscir ( but also Scrobsetan) , Snotingahamscir

, Stmfi‘

ordscir, Waeringwicscir or Wearingscir, Wigraceasterscir, and Wiltunscir : Middelseaxe, Eastseaxe, S i

’

i’dseaxe, Sti

’drige and Cent temain : Eastengle is not divided into Norfolk andSuffolk . Thus, out of the th irty-two shires southof the Humber, which Florence and Malmsburymention , the Chronicles note twenty-six, of whichtwenty-one are distinguished as shires by the wordscir.

InBeda nothing of the k ind is to be found : thegeneral scope of his Ecclesiastical History rendereditunnecessary forhim to descend to minute details,and besides the names of races and kingdoms, hementions few divisions of the land . Still he noticesthe Provincia Huicciorum the M iddelangli orAngli Mediterranei , a portionof the Mercians : theMerciiAustrales and A quilonales theRegio Sudergeons or Surrey : the Regio Lo idis or Elmet nearYork : the Provincia Meanwarorum, or Hundreds

setan, thesettlers, we have sarte. the land settled ; thus Sumorssrte. So

Eastseaxe for Eastseaxanor Eastseaxna land ; Cent for Ccntingas or

so ranSAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soot

ofEast andWest Meoni n Southampton; the RegioGyrwiorum in which Peterborough lies , and dist inct from this , the Australes Gyrwii or SouthGyrwians.

The Appendix to the Chronicles of Florence of

Worcester‘

supplies us wi th one or two names of

small d istricts, not commonly found in other au

thors . One of these is the Merciandistrict of theWestangles or West Hecan, ruled over by Merewald ; inwhose country were the M aegsetan, orpeople of Hereford , who are sometimes reckonedto the Hwiccas, or inhabitants of Worcester andGloucester l Another, the M iddleangles, had itsbishopric inLeicester : the Southangles, whose bishOp satatDorchester inOxfordsh ire , consequentlycomprised the counties down to the Thames . TheN orthangles or Mercians proper had their bishopinLichfield . Lastly we know that Malmsbury inWi l tshire was inProvincia Septonia

’.

Butwe are notal together w ithout the means ofcarrying this enqui ry further. We have a recordof the div i sions which must have preceded the distributionof this c ountry into shi res they arenufortunately notnumerous , and the names are general ly v ery difiicult to explain : they have so longbecome obsolete , that i t i s now scarcely poss ible toidentify them . Nor need this cause surprise , whenwe compare the oblivioninto which they have fal

“ C ivitas tunc etnunc totiusHwieciae velmage'

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82 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soon

Hydu.

Spalda 600 Unecunga 1200

Wigesta 900 A rosetna 600

Herefinna 1200 Fearfinga 300

Sweordora 300 Belmiga 600

Eysla 300 Wi’6eringa 600

Hw icca 300 East Willa 600

Wihtgara 600 West Willa 600

N oxga ga 5000 East Engle 30000

Ohtga ga 2000 East Seaxna . 7000

Hwynca 7000 Cantwarena 15000

Cilternsetna 4000 Sti’S Seaxna 7000

Hendrica 3000 West Seaxna .100000‘

The entries respecting Mercia , Eastanglia andWessex could hardly belong to any period anteriorto that of E lfred. For Mercia previous to theDanish wars must certainly have contained morethan hides : while Eastanglia cannot havereached so large a sum til l settled by Gu’o

‘

orm’

s

Danes : nor i s i t easy to bel ieve that Wessex , apartfrom Kent and Sussex ,

should have numberedone hundred thousand inthe counties of Surrey,Hampshire , Dorset ,Wiltshire , wi th parts of Berkshire , Somerset and Devon, much before the timeof E belstan“. A remarkable variation is foundbetween the amounts stated in this l ist andthose givenby Beda , as respects some of the eutries : thus Mercia , here valued at hides , i sreckoned in the Ecclesiastical History at

The tota l sum thus reckoned is hides.About the year 647, Wessexnumbered only 9000 h ides.

on. m .] THE GA'

onscra . as

only ’: Hwiccas are reckoned at. 300 : they contained 600 hides ; Wight , reckoned at 600, contained 1200. Onthe other hand Kent and Sussexare retained at the ancient valuation.

It i s nevertheless impossible to doubt that thegreater number of the names recorded i n this listare genuine , and of the highest antiquity . A few

of them can be recognized inthe pages of veryearly writers : thus Gyrwa , Elmet , Lindisfaran,Wihtgare, and Hwiccas, are mentioned by Beda inthe eighth century . Some we are sti ll able to identify wi th moderndistricts .Mercia I imagine to be that portionof Burgred

’

s

kingdom , which upon its divisionby the victoriousDanes in874 , they committed as a tributary royal tyto Ceélwulf ; which subsequently came into thehands of E lfred , by the treaty of Wedmor in878,and was by him erected into a duchy under hisdaughter E ’Selflaéd , and her husband . Wocensetnamay possibly be the Ga of the Wrocensetan, thepeople about the Wrekinor hill-country of Somerset , Dorset and Devon . The Pecsetanappear to bethe inhabitants of the Peakland , or Derbyshire : theElmedsetan, those of Elmet , the ancient BritishLoidis, anindependent district inYorksh ire : Lindisfaranare the people of Lindisse, a port ionof

Lincolnshire : North and South Gyrwa were probably inthe Mark betweenEastanglia and Mercia

The twelve thousand hides counted by Beda ( H ist. Ecol. m. 24 ) tothe South and North Mercians may however be exclusiveof theWest~angles and other parts of the great Mercianlongdom.

o 2

84 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

as Peterborough was inNorth Gyrwa land , th ismust have comprised a part of Northamptonshi reand fE ’

del’Sry

’S derived her right to Ely from herfirst husband , a prince of the South Gyrwians ; thisdistrict is therefore supposed to have extended overa part ofCambridgeshire and the isle ofEly. Spaldsmay be the tract stretching to the north-east ofthese, upon the river Wel land , inwhich still l iesSpalding. The H wiccas occupied Worcestershireand Gloucestershire l , and perhaps extended intoH erefordshire

,to the west of the Severn. The

Wihtgaras are the inhabitants of the Isle ofWightand the Cilternsetanwere the people who ownedthe hill and forest land about the Chilterns , vergingtowards Oxfordshire , and very probably in theMark betweenMercia and Wessex .

I fear that i t w i l l be impossible to identify anymore of these names , and it does not appear probable that they supplyusw ith anything like a com

plete catalogue of the English Gas. Setting asidethe fact , that no notice seems to be takenof Northumberland , save the mentionof the little princi

pality of Elmet , and that the local d ivisions of

Eastanglia, Kent , Essex , Sussex and Wessex , arepassed over inthe genera l names of the k ingdoms ,we look invainamong them for names , knowntous from other sources , and which canhardly have

C irencester was inthe south of Hwiocas. Gloucester, Worcester,and Pershore were all inthis district. I t was separated fromWiltsh ireinWessex by the Thames, and the ford atCricklade was a pass oflendisputed by the inhabitants of the border lands.

en. THE GA‘ OR SCl’

R. 85

beenother than those of Gas. Thus we have nomentionof the Tonsetan, whose district lay apparently uponthe banks of the Severn

‘; oftheMean

ware , or land of the Jules, inHampshire ; of theM aegsetan, or West B ecan , inHerefordshire ; of theMerscware inWest Kent ; or of the Gedingas, whooccupied a tract in the province of Middlesex“.Although i t is possible that these d ivisions are included insome of the larger units mentioned inourl ist , they still furnish anargument that the namesof the Gas were much more numerous thantheywould appear from the l ist itself, and that thismarks only a period of transition .

It is clear that whenMalmsbury mentions thirtytwo shires as making up the whole of England , heintends only England south of the Humber. Thelist we have been examining contains thirty-fourentries of all the names thereinrecorded , oneonly canbe shownto lie to the north of that riverfrom this however i t i snotunreasonable to supposethat the whole of England is intended to be comprised ia the catalogue . Evenadmitting this , wecannotbut conclude that these divisions were morenumerous thanour shires , seeing that large districts ,such asMercia, Wessex and Eastanglia , are enteredonly under one general head respect ively .The originof the Ga inthe federal unionof two

or more Marks is natural , and must be referred toperiods far anterior to any historical record : thatof the divisioninto Shires , as well as the periodat which this arose , are less easily determined .

1 Cod. Dipl . No. 261. Cod. Dipl . No. 101.

86 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noox 1.

But we have evidence that some divisioninto shires

was knowninWessex as early as the end of theseventh or beginning of the eighth century , since

Ini provides for the case where a plaintiff cannotobtainj ustice from his shireman or judge ' ; andthe same prince declares that if anealdorman compounds a felony , he shall forfeit h is shire

“while

he further enacts that no manshal l secretly w ithdraw from his lord into another shire“. As it w i l lbe shownhereafter that a territorial jurisd ictioni sinseparably connected w i th the rank of a duke orealdorman, I take the appearance of these officersinMercia , during the same early period , to be evidence of the existence of a similar divisionthere .Its cause appears to me to lie inthe consolidationof the royal power. As long as independent associations of freemenwere enabled to mainta inthei rnatural liberties , to administer thei r ownaffairs undisturbed by the power of strangers , and by means

of their ownprivate alliances to defend their territories and thei r rights , the old division into Gasmight continue to exist . But the centralizationofpower inthe hands of the k ing impl ies a more artificial system . It i s more conveni ent for judicialand administrative purposes , more profitable , andmore safe for the ruler, to have districts governedby his ownofficers , and inwhich a territorial uni tyshal l supersede the old bonds of kinsmanship centralization i s hardly compatible w ith family tradition. The members of the Ga met as associated

Ini, 8 . Thorpe, i . 106 .

3 Ini , 36. Thorpe, i . 124 .

3 Ini, 539 . Thorpe, i . 126 .

cn. m ] THE GA'

OB. SC I’E. 87

freemen, under the guidance of thei r ownnaturalleaders , and formed a substantive uni t or smallstate , whi ch m ight , or might not, stand inrelationsof amity to similar states . The Shire was a politica l d ivision, presided over by anappo inted oflicer,forming part only of a general system , andno longerendowed w i th the high poli tical rights of self-government , in their fullest extent . I canimagine the Ga,but certainl y not the Shire , declaring war againsta neighbour . As long as the Ga could maintaini tself as a li ttle republic , principal ity , or evenkingdom

,i t might subsist unscathed but as the smaller

kings were rooted out , their lands and people in

corporated w i th larger unions , and poweifulmonarchies rose upontheir ruins , i t is natura l thatasystem of districts should arise, based entirely upona terri torial d ivi sion. Such districts , w i thout peenliar, indiv idual character of thei r own, or principleof internal cohesion, must have appeared less dangerons to usurpationthan the ancient gentile ag

CHAPTER IV.

LANDED POSSESSION . THE EDEL, H I’D OR ALOD .

Possessronof a certainamount of land inthe d istrictwas the indispensable conditionof enjoyingthe privi leges and exercising the righ ts of a freeman‘. There i s no trace of such a qual ifica tionas

1 Eventill the latest period, personal property was notreckoned inthe distinctionof ranks, although land was. No amount ofmere chattels, gold, silver, or goods, could give the Saxonfranchise. See the

ordinance BeWergyldum, 10. Be Gebinc'lfum, 2. Thorpe, i . 189,191. This is a fundamental principle of Teutonic law : Utnullumliberum sinemortali crimine liceat inservire,nec de haereditate sunex

pellere sed liberi, qui instis legibus descrviunt, sine impedimento haereditates suns possideant. Qnamvis pauper sit, tamenlibertatem suamnonperdst, nee haereditatcm suam, nisi ex spontanea voluntate, seal ieni tradere voluerit, hoc potestatem habest faciendi.” Lex A lam.

Tit. 1. cap. 1. Lex Baiovar. Tit . 6. cap. 3. l . E ichhorn, i . 328,note (1. Loss of land enta i led loss of conditioninEngland, long afi erthe establishment of our present social system. A beautiful passage tothis effect occurs inthe play of “ A Womankilled with k indness” : agentlemanrefuses to partwith his lastplot of ground, onthis account

A las, alas ! ’tis all trouble bath left me

If th iswere sold, ournames should thenbe quiteRazed from the bedroll of gentility .Yousee what hard sh ift we have made to keep itAllied still to our ownname. This palm, yousee,Labour hath glow ’d with in; her silver brow,

That never tasted a rough w inter’s blastWithout a mask or fan, doth with a graceDefy cold w inter and his storms outface1”

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90 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soon1.

its members are sharers inthe arable, the forest andthe marsh , the waters and the pastures : thei r bondof union is a partnership inthe advantages to bederived from possessionof the land , anindividualinterest i n a commonbenefit .

The district occupied by a body of new settlerswas divided by lot invarious proportions ‘ Yet i tis certain thatnotall the land was so distributeda quantity sufiicient to supply a proper block of

arable 9 to each settler, was set apart for divis ion whi le the surplus fitted for cultivation

,the

marshes and forests less suited to the operations ofthe plough , and a great amount of fine grass ormeadow -land , destined for the maintenance of cattle

,remained inundivided possessionas commons .

A t first too , i t is clear from what has beensaid inthe second chapter , that considerable tracts wereleft purposely out (if cult ivationto form the marchesor defences of the several communi ties . But thosealone whose share inthe arable demonstrated them

The traces of this mode of distributionare numerous. Hengestforcibly occupying the Frisianterritory, is said to do so, elne,unhlytme,violently and w ithout casting of lots. Beéw . l . 2 l87, 2251. The Law of

the Burgundians calls hereditary land, terra sortis titulo acquisita,”incontradistinctionto chattels takenby purchase . Lex Burg. Tit. 1.mp. l , 2. E ichhorn, i . 360, 400, note a . Godred, having subdued theManxmen, divided their land among his followers by lot. Godreduasequenti die obtionem exercitui suo dedit, utsi mallentManniam interse dividere, ct inca hahitare ; vel cunctam substantiam terrae aecipere,ctad propria remeare.

” Chron. Menuise. ( Cott . MS. Jul. A . VII. fol.

Uponthe removal of St. Cu’Sberht’s relics to Durham, the firstw e was to eradicate the forest that covered the land ; thenext, to diatribute the clearing by lot : eradicata itaque silva, etunicuique mansionibus sorta distributis,

”etc. S imeon. H ist . Dunclm. Ecol. 537 .

Words denoting measures of land have very frequently referencetothe plough : thus geéc, furlang, sulung, aratrum, carucata, etc.

on. IV .) THE EDEL, HI'D OR ALOD. 91

to be members of the li ttle state , could hope to participate inthe advantages of the commons of pasture : like the old Romanpatricians , they derivedfrom thei r haeredium benefits totally incommensurate wi th i ts extent . Without such share of thearable , the manformed no portionof the state ; i twas his franchise , his political qual ification, evenas a very few years ago , a freehold of inconsiderable amount sufficed to enable anEnglishmantovote , or evenbe voted for, as a member of thelegislature , —to be , as the Greeks would call it , inthe uokrrea

'

a,—a privilege which the utmost wealth

incopyhold estates or chattels could not confer .He that had no land was atfirst unfree : he couldnotrepresent h imself and his interests inthe courtsor assemblies of the freemen, but must remain in

the mund or hand of another ‘,—a necessary consequence of a state of society inwhich there isindeed no property but land , inother words , nomarket for i ts produce .From the mode of distribution i t is probablethat each share was originally cal led Hlyt ( sors,xkr

’

ipoc) , i t derived however another and more commonname from its extent and nature . The ordinaryAnglosaxonwords are H igid

£2

( in i ts contractedand almost uni versal form Hid) and H iwisc. TheLatinequivalents which we find in the chroniclesand charters are, familia , cassatus, mansus, mansa ,

npmrrdrov m ares“ , to be enrolled under some one’s patronageto be inhis rim-

ad and bark . 6013 of: e'

ovrornpoardrov W pfi opat.

( Ed. Tyr. 411.

Cod. Dipl. No . 240.

92 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soon1.

m usic, manens and term tributam . The words

H id and H iwisc are similar, if not identical , inmeaning : they stand inclose etymologica l relationto H igau, Hiwan, the family , the manand w ife ,and thus perfectly justify the Latinterms familiaand cassatas ‘, by which they are translated . The

Hid then, or Hide of land , is the estate of onehousehold , the amount of land sufficient for thesupport of one family“. It i s clear however thatthis could not be an invariable quantity , if thehouseholds were to be subsisted onanequal scaleitmust depend uponthe original qual ity and conditionof the soil , as well as uponmanifold contin

gencies of situation- cl imate , aspect , accessibi lityof water and roads , abundance ofnatural manures ,proximity of marshes and forests , inshort anendless catalogue of varying detai ls . If therefore theHide contained a fixed number of acres all overEngland , and all the freemenwere to be placed inapositionof equal prosperi ty , we must assume thatinthe less favoured districts one Hide would notsuffice for the establishment of one man, but thathis allotment must have comprised more thanthatquantity . The first of these hypotheses may bevery easily disposed of there is not the slightestground for supposing that any attempt was

,or

Canola: orCasalns, a married man, Span. Casado. Othello speaksof his unharmed free condition, that is, his bachelor sta te . It is bymarriage that a manfounds a house or family.

Henry of Huntingdonthus defines its extent : H ida autem Anglice vocatur terra unius aratri cultura sufiiciens per annum.

" lib . vi .an. 1009. But this is a variable amount onland of various qualities,as every ploughmanwell knows.

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94 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soonx.

Experience of humannature would rather inclineus to believe that , as each band w rung from theold masters of the soil as much as sufficed for i tsownsupport and safety , i t hastened to realize itspositionand marked its acquisitionby the stampand impress of individual possession. It is moreover probable that , had any solemnand generalagreement been brought about through the influence of any one predominant chief, we shouldnothave beenleft wi thout some record of a fact ,so beneficial initself, and so conclusive as to thepower and w isdom of i ts author : this we mightnot unreasonably expect , even though we admitthat such anevent could only have takenplace atthe very commencement of our history , and thatsuch a division, or, what is more difficul t still , redivisionof the soil , is totally inconsistent w ith thestate of society inEngland at any period subsequent to A .D . 600: but these are precisely thecases where the mythus replaces and i s ancillaryto history .

Against all these arguments we have only onefact to adduce , but i t is no light one. It is certainthat , inallthe cases where a calculationcanbemadeatall, we do find a most striking coincidence w ithrespect to the size of the Hide invarious pa rts ofEngland ; that such calculationis applicable to verynumerous instances, and apparently satisfies theconditions of the problem inall ; and lastly thatthere appears no reasonto suppose that any suchreal change had taken place inthe value oftheHide ,downto the period of the Norman conquest and the

ca . xv .] THE EDEL, urnonALOD. 95

compilationof Domesday , according to the admeasurement of at least the largest and the most influca tial of the English tribes ‘. The latest of thesemeasurements are recorded inDomesday the earl iest by Beda the same system of calculations , thesame results , apply to every case inwhich trial hasbeenmade betweenthese remote limits and we are

thus enabled to ascend to the seventh century , aperiod atwhich any equal ity of possessions is entirely out of the question, but atwhich the old uni tof measurement may sti ll have retained and handeddownits originalvalue evenas, w i th us , one farmmay comprise a thousand , another , only two orthree hundred acres , yet the extent of the acre remainunal tered .

H ow thenare we to account for this surprisingfact , in the face of the arguments thus arrayedagainst i t ? I cannot positively assert , but stillthink it highly probable , that there was some suchgeneral measure commonto the Germanic tribesuponthe continent , - and especially inthe north .

Whether originally sacerdotal , or how settled , i t isuseless to guess but there does seem reasonto be

Beda almost invariably gives his numbers as iuxta measuramAnglorum.

”Buttub iaworks Angli denotesalltheTeutonic inhabitants

of Britain. II. E . i . cap. 1. Aguin, inBk . i . cap. 15, he identifies them,

“ Anglorum sive Saxonum gens.” He drawsno distinctionbetweenAngle and Saxontribes, except where special reasons lead him to par.

ticularize them. He does note discrepancies between them, whichwould have appeared far less important to a scientific andmathematica lthinker, as he was, tthanditferencesm land divisions. I conclude thenthatno limitationcanbe admitted m his assertion, and that thenerdsinsta mensuram Anglorum denote, according to the admeasuremeut

commonto allthe Germanic inhabitants of Brita in.

96 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonI.

l ieve that a measure not w idely different from theresult of my owncalculations as to the Hide , prev ai led in Germany ; and hence to conclude thati t was the usual bas is of measurement among allthe tribes that issued from the storehouse of nations ’.What was the amount thenof the Hide among

the Anglosaxons ? Perhaps the easiest way of

arriving at a trustworthy conclusion w i ll be tocommence w i th the Anglosaxonacre , and othersubdiv isions of the Hide and the acre itself.There i s reasonto bel ieve that the latter measure

impl ied ordinari ly a quanti ty of land not very different inamount from our owns tatute acre I

argue this from a passage inthe dialogue attributedto E lfric, where the ploughmani s made to sayac geidcodanoxanand gefaestnodansecare and

oultre mid baére syl selce dang ic scesl erianfulnesacer o’6’8e mare that is , having yoked my oxen,and fastened my share and coulter, I am bound toplough every day a ful l acre or more . N ow expe

I donotknow the present average amount of a FrisianorWestphalianHQf, butthe peasanb farms a little below Cologne, onthe leftbank of theRhine, average from 30 to 50 acres. See Banfield, Agri~cult . Rh ine, p . 10. The BavarianHof of two Hubenconta ins from50 to GOjuckert ( each fucker! equal to square Bavarianfeet, ornearly a jugerum). This brings the Hof from about 36 to 40 acres.

See Schmeller, Bsierisch. Wortcrbuch, ii . 142, 000. Hueb . Schwel

ler’s remarks onHof are worth consulting, and especially his Opinionthat it may meana necessary measure or portion. See also Grimm,

Rechtsalt. p . 535.

3 That it was a fixed and not a variable quantity, both as to formand extent, seems to follow from the expressions, three acres wide

(Cod. Dipl . No. i ii acera braids, i . c. three acres breadth ( Leg.

E oelat. iv. is noneM itudinc. Leg. B en. I . cap. xvi.

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98 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. ( 3 00: t.

the measure of length . Thus 5-5x 40=220, whichtakeninyards are one furlong , and which w ithone yard

’s breadth are 513; of anacre . A gain, forty

times 56 yards w i th a breadth of 56 yards (or 220

x are 1210 yards square ,'25of anacre : tw ice

that , or forty times w ith a breadth of eleven

yards are'5 acre : and twice that , or 220x 20 ( that

is inmodernsurveying tenchains by one)= 4840yards or ‘ the whole acre . The same thing may bepressed inanother way : wemay assume a square

of yards, which is cal led a rod , perch or pole :

forty of these make a mod , which is a furlong w i tha breadth of yards ; and four such roods , or afurlong w i th a breadth of twenty-two yards , are anacre of the oblong form described above , and whichis still

'

the normal or legal acre .My hypothesis goes onto assume that such , or

nearly such , were the elements of the original cal

culation: in fact , that they were enti rely so , wi ththe substi tutiononly of 5 for as a factor . Itremains to be asked why these numbers should befixed upon? Probably from some notionof themystica l properties of the numbers themselves .Forty and eight are of continual recurrence inAnglosaxon tradition, and may be considered as

thei r sacerdotal or mythical numbers forty dividedby eight gives a quotient of five and these mayhave beenthe original factors , especial ly if, as thereis every reasonto believe , the first division of lands

(whether here or onthe continent matters not)took place under the authori ty and w i th the assistance of the heathenpriesthood .

If this were so , the Saxon acre ve robabl

en. xv .] THE EDEL, HI’D OR ALOD. 99

consisted of 5x 5x 40x 4 4000 square yards ‘ ;inwhich case the rod would be 25 yards square,and the furlong 200 yards inlength . A t the sametime as the acres must be considered equal forall the purposes of useful calculation, 4000 Saxonsquare yards 1: 4840 English , 5 Saxon 55 Euglish , and 200Saxon=220English yards . Further,the Saxonyard= l

°1English , or inches . ThisI imagine to be the metgyrde or measuring-yard ofthe SaxonLaws“. If thenwe take 5x 5x 40 yardswe have a block of land , 200 Saxonyards inlength ,and five inbreadth ; and this I consider to havebeenthe Saxonsquare Furlang or smal l acre , andto have beenexactly equal to ourmod, the quarantena of early calculations". There isno doubt whatever of the Saxonfurlang having beena square aswell as long measure“; as i ts name denotes , i t is the

I think , for reasons to be assigned below , that there was a smallas well as large acre : inwhich case the small acre was probably madeup of 5x 5x 40=1000 a .

The yard of land was a very different thing : this was the fourthpart of the H ide, the Virgata of Domesday .

This seems clear from a comparisonof two passages already qnotedina note, butwh ich must here be givenmore at length . The law of

xEfielstzindefines the king’s peace as extending from his door to the

distance onevery side of three miles, three furlongs, three acres’

breadth , nine feet, nine palms, and nine barleycorns. The law of

H enry givesthemeasurements thus : tria miliaria, ettree quarantmae,

ct ix iii) nerac latitudine, etix pedes etix palmae, et ix grana ordei.”

Thus the furlang and quarantena are identified . But it is also clearthat the series is a descending one, and consequently that the furlangor quarantena is longer thanthe breadth of anacre. If, as is probable,it is derived from quarnale, I should suppose three lengths and threebreadth: of anacre to have beenintended infact that some multipleof forty was the longer side of the acre.

Inone case we hear of fia hean-tariang, the furlongunder beamcultivation. Cod . Dipl. No. 1246.

n2

100 rue saxossm ENGLAND . [mm

length of a furrow :now 220 ( = 2OOSaxon) yards i snotatall too long a side for a field in our modern

husbandry ‘, and i s sti llmore readily conceivable in

a less artificial system , where there was al togetherless enclosure , and the rotations of crops werefewer. Five yards , or five and a half, is not toomuch space to allow for the turnof the ploughand i t therefore seems not improbable that such an

oblong block ( 200 x 5) should have beenassumedas a settled measure or furlong for theploughman,two being takenalternatel y , as i s done at this day,inworking , and forming a good half-day

’s work formanand beast : the length of the furrow , by whichthe labour of the ploughmanis greatly reduced ,being takento compensate for the improved cha~

reeter of our implements .I think i t ex tremely probable that the Saxons

had a large and a smal l acre , aswell as a large andsmall hundred , and a large and smal l yard : andal so that the quarantena or rood was th is smallacre . Taking forty quarantenne we have a sum of

tenlarge acres , and taking three times that number we have 120 quarantenae, or a large hundred ofsmall acres 30 large acres , giving ten to eachcourse of a threefold system of husbandry . Thison the whole seems a near approximationto thevalue of the Hide of land ; and the calculationofsmall acres would then help to account for the

A square of 220yardswould form a field of tensores, wh ich isnotatalloversized . Since the happy downfall of the corn-laws, which werea bonusuponhad husbandry, hedges are being rooted up inevery quarter, and forty orfifty acres maynow be seeninsingle fields, where theywerenot thought of a few years ago.

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we ranSAXONS IN ENGLAND . (noon1.

ofWight ( ingreat port ions of which vegetationisnot abundant) our Saxonforefathers had half as

much under cultivationas wenow have , we shouldobtaina quotient of about thirty-one acres to thehide

,leaving acres of pasture , waste , etc . : the

ratio betweenthe cultivated and uncul tivated land ,being about 37 49 , is much too near equal ity forthe general ratio of England , but may be accountedfor by the pecul iar circumstances of the island .

Again, Beda estimates Thanet at 600 hides‘.N ow Thanet , at th is day, contains acres ofarable land , and of marsh and pastures . Thelatter must have beenfar more extensive inthetime of Beda , for inthe first place there must havebeensome land onthe side of Surrey and Sussexreserved as Mark , and we know that drainage andnatural causes have reclaimed considerable tractsinthat part of Kent 2 nor i s i t reasonable to suppose that our forefathers ploughed up as muchland as we do . Yeteven acres w i l l give usonly 38% acres to the hide and I do not think weshal l be venturing too much in placing the 3200,3800 or 5000 acres by which respectivelyexceed and to the accountof pastures and commons . Sevenor eight thousand acres of commonland would hear infact sounusual ly small a proportionto the quantity undercrop , that we should be disposed to suspect theislanders of having been less wea lthy than many

3 H ist. Ecol. i . 25.The riverWantsum alone was three stadia wide, about a third of a

mile. and was passable attwo points only. Bed. Hist. 13001. i. 25.

cu. rv .] ranEDEL, urnonALOD . ms

of their neighbours,unless we give them credit

for having sacrificed bread crops to the far moreremunerative pasturage of cattle ‘

The whole acreage of Kent is acres .What amount of this must be deducted for waste ,rivers , roads and towns I cannot say, but some deductioni s necessary . N ow Kent numberedhides : this gives a quotient of 64 to 65 acres perhide and at the least , one half of this may fairlybe takenoff for marsh ,

pasture and the weald ofAndred .

The calculationfor Sussex is rendered uncertaininsome measure, through our ignorance of the relative proportionborne by the weald inthe seventhcentury or earlier , to its present extent . The wholecounty is computed at acres , and the wealdat acres. We may be assured that everyfoot of the weald was forest inthe time of Bedato this must he added acres which are

stil l waste and totallyunfit for the plough :acres now computed to be occupied by roads , buildings , etc . may be neglected our amount wil l therefore state itself thus

The great fertility of Thanet isnoticed by the ancients. Solinas( cap. xx ii .) calls it frumentariis carnpis felix etgleba uberi .” Butcornis of no value without a market ; and unless Londonor the adjacentparts of the continent supplied one, I must still imagine that theislanders did notkeep so great anamount inarable. It istrue that atvery early periods a good deal of com was habitually exported fromBrita in: anuona a Britannissucta transferri.” Ammian.Hist. xviii . 2 .

104 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

N ow Sussex contained 7000 hides ‘, and this w illgive us a quotient of 532 5 acres per hide . Hereagain, if we make allowance for the condi tionof

Saxonhusbandry , we shal l hardly err much inas‘

suming something near thirty to thi rty-three acresto have beenthe arable hide inSussex .

Whenonce we leave the accurate reports of ahistorianl ike Beda for the evidence of later ma

nuscripts, we must necessarily proceed with greatcaution, and inreasonable distrust of our conclusions . This must be borne inmind and fairly appreciated throughout the follow ing calculations.

Anauthority already mentioned 52 computes thenumber of hides inEastanglia at I t isdifiicult to determine exactly what counties are

meant by this , as we do notknow the date of thedocument ; but supposing , what is most probable ,that Norfolk and Suffolk are intended , we shouldhave a total of acres inthose two greatfarming districts 3 But even this large amountw i ll only give us a quotient of 737 acres per hide,and i t may fai rl y be diminished by at least onehalf, to account for commons , marshes , forests andother land notbrought under the plough from theseventh to the tenth centuries .The same table states Essex at7000 hides . The

acreage of that county is acres “, hence

Beda, Hist. Ecol. iv . c. 13. See Chap . 111. p . 82.

Norf. Sufi‘

. Of these I believeonly about are actually under cultivation, wh ich would te~

duce the quotient to sixty-three and two-third acres per hide.

Ofwh ich only are computcd tobenow under cultivationthis reducesthe quotient to acresper hide ; and the ratio of cul

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106 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAN D . [noon1.

thirty-three, forty and one hundred acres respectively ; the ninth , tenth , eleventh and twelfth , theexcess of real over supposed acreage , atthe first fouramounts the thirteenth , the excess of hidage overreal acreage onthe hypothesis of one hundred acres

Graveucy

BeddingtonCompton Dorset

ComptonSanderstead

Wrington Somers.

Barrow onHumb Linc.

Chertsey Surrey.

Sutton Surrey.

1140 1216

Bradtield Berks.

Charin Kent.llants.

Huntborne Prior. llants.

Newnton Wilts.

Mordon Surrey.

Sotwell Berks.

llanney, East Berks.

llanncy, Berks.

‘ o . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .

on. m ] THE w as, are onALOD. 107

per h ide ; the fourteenth , fifteenth , sixteenth and

sev enteenth , the rat ios of hidage at thirty, th irtytwo , th irty three and forty, to the excess , fromwhich we deduce the proport ionbetweenthe arable ,and the meadow ,

pasture and waste . In a few tu

- 210

—470

—ll70

—110 —1610

108 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [aoox l .

stances , there is a double return , implying that i t i suncertainto which , of two synonymous districts ,a grant must be referred .

We have thus forty-nine cases inwhich theHide is proved less than100 acres , a fortiori lessthan120. Any one who carefully considers theratios arrived at inthe foregoing table , which forany one of the assumed cases rarely exceed one totwo, w ill agree that there is a remarkable coinci

dence inthe results , in at least the rich , fertile andcultivated counties from which the examples arederived . Insome cases indeed the proportionof

arable to waste is so great , that we must supposeother districts , now under cultivation , to have beenthenenti rely untouched , inorder to conceive sufficient space for marks and pastures . But lest i tshould be objected that these examples canteachus only what was the case inferti le districts , I subjoin a ca lculationof the Hidage and Acreage of

allEngland , including all i ts barrenmoors , i ts forests , its marshes and its meadows , from the Solentto the utmost limit of Northumberland .

The total Hidage of EnglandThe total Acreage of England st. a.

Acreage at 30 mm Rat. nearly .52 1:3

33 8 23

40 3 8

100

120 14 : I

This calculation leaves no doubt a bare possibili ty

of the h ide ’s containing 100 or 120 statute-acres

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110 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

The exactdata forEngland are I believe notfound ,but i n 1827 Mr . Gouling , a civil engineer and surveyor delivered a series of calculations to the SelectCommittee of the House of Commons onEmigration , wh ich calculat ions have been reproduced byMr. Porter inhis work on the Progress of theNation . From this I copy the following table

N ow as the arable and gardens are all thatcanpossibly be reckoned to the h ide , we have thesefigures

Meadow, waste, forest, etc.

giving a '

ratio of 5 11nearly betweenthe cultivatedand uncultivated ‘.The actual amount i n France is difficult to asoertain, but of the hectares of which i tssuperficial extent consists , i t is probable that about

are under some sort of profitable culture : giving a ratio of rather less than 15: l l between the cul tivated and uncultivated : how muchof this is arable and gardenI cannot exactly determine ; hut i t is probable that a great

’

deal is reckoned to profitable cul tivation , which could not have

This dill’ers from the result obtained at forty acres, only by thesmall advance of fi : or taking Mr. Porter’s tables, of fi .

ca . rv .] THE EDEL, urnona wn. 1

been counted in the hide . Osieries , meadows, orchards, cul t ivated or artificial grassland , and brush 4

wood , are all sources of profit , and thus are properly included i n a cadastre of property which maybe ti thed or taxed as productive : but they are notstrictly what the hide was, and must be deductedinany calculationsuch as that which is the objectof th is chapter. We are unfortunatel y also furnished with inconsistent amounts by different authorities, where the difference rests upon what i sreckoned to profitable cultivation, onwhich subjectthere may be a grea t variety of opinion. Still, fora time neglecting these considerations , and makingno deductionwhatever, i t appears that the excessof culture upon the gross sum is only as 15:11i nFrance ‘.Inthe returns from Austria we canfollow the

The hectare is about 2 5 acres. The calculations have beenrionslymade. One is as follows :

Total superficies hect.Profitably cul tured, including gardens, osieries, w illow plantations, orchards, meadows hect.and cultivated pastures

Another, and I believe sounder, calculationmakes the forests andlandes amount to

Where, probably, portions of the wood and lands arenotreckoned tothe landunder profitable cultivation. Still this is a very different thingfrom beingunder thep lough.

112 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

same trainof reasoning : as the ensuing table w i ll

show .

Product. cart injoehs. (joch z l'

sacre) .

Thus of the whole productive surface of theAustrian empire , the arable bears only the proportionof 4 :11. But to this must clearly be addedanimmense extent of land totally unfitted for theplough ; by which the ratio of arable to the wholeterri torial surface w i l l be material ly diminished .

Strange then as the conclusionmay appear, we are

compelled to admit that England atthe close of thetenth century had advanced to a high pitch of cultivation: whi le the impossibil i ty of reckoning theh ide at much above thirty Saxonacres is demonstrated . It is clear, however the property of theland may have been distributed , that the elementsof wealth existed in no common degree '.

It iswell knownthat great quantities of land were thrownoutofcultivationto produce chases and forests. And the constant wars of

the baronial agesmust have had the same effect . However singular wemay think it, we canhardly avoid the conclusionthat, insome distri ctsof England, the Suonsmay have hadmore land incultivationthanwe

317,246i

4

13

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IN THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [BOOK 1.

tensuch acres constituted the bind , and that thehind itself was the third part of the hide . When

we consider that thirty acres are exactly three

times anarea of 40x 40 square rods , there appears

a probability that the measure was calculated upon

a th reefold course of cultivation, similar to that in

ure uponthe continent of Europe ; this consistedof a rotationof w inter corn, summer corn, and

fallow , and to each a block or telga of tenlarge orforty smal l acres ( roods ) was al lotted . Thirty acres

were thus devoted to cultivation; but where wasthe homestall? Probably not uponthe th irty acresthemselves , wh ich we cannot suppose to have beengeneral ly enclosed and sundered , but to have lainundivided , as far as external marks were concerned ,inthe general arable of the community. The vil lagecontaining the homesteads of the markers , probablylay ata l ittle d is tance from the fields', and I donot think we shall be giving too much whenweal low three acres , over and above the thi rty , forfarm buildings , strawyard and dwelling. For wecannot doubt that stall-feeding was the rule w i thregard to horned cattle ingeneral . Inthe samedialogue which has beenal ready cited ; the ploughmani s made to say : I must fill the oxen’s cribs

“ Inthe greater part (of Germany), especially inall the populousparts of SouthernGermany, the land is tilled by its owners, scarcelyany small holdings being farmed out. The possessions of the peasantowners and cultivators are usually very diminutive, and those of the

richer lords of the soil, especia lly inthe North , immensely extensive.

Lastly, the peasant scarcely anywhere lives uponhis land, but intheadjacent vi llage, wha tevermay be its distance from his fields.

”Ban

field, Agric. onthe Rhine, p . 10.

cu. xv .) THE EDEL, HI'D OR ALOD. 115

w ith hay, and give them water , and bear out thei rdung ‘ Moreover there must be room found forstacks of hay and wood , for barns and outhouses ,and sleeping-rooms both for the serfs and the members of the family ; nor are houses of more thanone story very l ikely to have beenbuilt’l Withthis introduction I proceed to another grant of

Oswold 3. Inthe year 996, he gave three hides ofland to Eadric : the property however lay indifferent places : setEanulfesti

’

me 6’6erhealf hid ,

“

j a t

fiferanStraetforda , on’83ére gesyndredanhide , hone

6’8eme aecer,

‘

1mtFachanleage’60ne priddanasoer

feldlandes ‘

j oneasthealf A fene eahta mceras

ma'

edwa ,‘

j forne geanB iecanclife xii aecerasma'

edwa ,‘

1’6a preo accerse benor

’SanA fene to mylnsteallei . e . atEanulfestuna hide and a half ; at upperStratford the second acre ( i . e . half a bide) , atFachsuleah the third acre ( i . e . a thi rd of a hide) : onthe east of the river Avon, eight acres of meadow,

and onwards towards B iccanclifl'

, twelve acres andto the northward of the Avon, the three acres fora millstall. Our data here are l% hide hide

hide , or 25, hide ; but , if the calculations whichprecede are correct , 8 12 acres or 20 acreshide

, and thus make up three hides of thi rty acreseach : three acres devoted to mit uildings are not

reckoned into the sum , and i t is therefore possible that a similar course was pursued w ith regard

Leo, Spracbproben, p. 7. Thorpe, Analect. p. 8.

InHungary, where land is abundant, houses, eventhose of com

siderahle proprietors, are rarely of more thanone story .Cod. Dipl . No. 529

116 THE saxons IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

to the land occupied , not by the millstall but bythe homestall ‘.Having thus stated my ownview of the approxi

mate value of the h ide , I feel i t right to cite one or

two pesages which seem adverse to it . By a grant

of the year 97 7 , Oswald conveyed to IE’Selwald ,

two hides , all but sixty acres ; these sixty acres thebishop had takeninto his owndemesne or inlandatKempsey , aswheat-land

9. N ow if this be anse

curate reading , and not by chance ani l l-copied lxfor i x , i t would seem to imply that sixty acres wereless thana hide for these acres were clearly arable .Again, E

’Selred granted land atStoke to Leofrici n 982 : the estate conveyed wasof three hides and

thirty acres , called inone charter jugera , inanotherpart of the same grant , camera”. I t may be arguedthat here the acres were meadow or pasture , notincluded inthe arable . But there are other calculations uponthe j ugerum ‘

, which render i t probablethat less thanour statute-acre was intended by theterm . For example , in839, k ing E

’delwulf gave

1 It is to he remarked that the eight and twelve acres of meadow

are distinguished here from the feld-land or arable : and instrictnessthey ought not to be calculated into the h ide ; but perhaps it wasintended to plough them up : or Oswald may even have beguntofollow a system inwh ich arable and meadow should both be includedinthe h ide, which is equivalent, inotherwords, to the attempt to re

place the wasteful method clunenclosed pastures by a more civilizedarrangement of the land . H e speaks indeed, onmore thanone occa

sion, of granting gedal-land , and land té gediile, wh ich canhardlymeananything butnew enclosures.

Cod . Dipl . No. 612 .3 Ibid . No . 633.

According to Pliny, the jugerum was a day's work for a yoke of

oxen, i . e.nearly anacre ; butthe Saxonjugerum canhardly have beenso large, for the reasons giveninthe text .

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118 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soot 1.

bides ‘. The acreage of Anglesey givesacres under cultivation: this would be 156 33 perhide but inthis island a v ery great reductionisnecessary : taking it evenas i t stands , and calculating the hide at th irty acres , we should have aratio of 24 :101 atforty acres , a ratio of 32 :93

or little more than1:3 .

Ionanumbers about 1300 acres (nearly two squaremiles) this atfive hides would give 260 acres perhide : at thirty acres , a ratio of or nearly1 8 betweencultivated and uncultivated land oratforty acres

'

, a ratio of 2 :11. But the monks andtheir dependants were the only inhabitants and inthe time of Beda , up to which there i s no proof of

the land ’s hav ing been inhabited at all ( infact i twas selected expressly because a desert) , sand , ifnotforest , must have occupied a large proportionof the surface .

Letusnow retrace our steps for a few moments .The hide was calculated upon the arable : i t wasthe measure of the alod ,—the rifle] , or inheri ted ,individual possession; i t was the xkr

‘

ipoc, lot , orshare of the first settler : i t kept a plough atworkduring the year : and , according to its etymology

( higid) and the word familia by which it was trans~

lated , i t was to suffice for the support of one Hiwiscor—household .

D id i t really so suffice , atfirst and afterw ards ?Unquestionably i t did . We may safely assert this ,w ithout entering into nice speculations as to the

H ist . Eccl . iii . 4 .

ca . 1v .] ranEDEL, 1111) on 119

amount of populationinthe Saxonkingdoms of theseventh , eighth , ninth , or eveneleventh centuries .We know that inthe eighth century , 150 hides wereenough for the support and comfort of 600 monksinYarrow and Wearmouth ‘ there is no reason ,from their history, to suppose that they were atallsparingly provided for. But allowance must bemade also for serfs and dependants , the ex ercise ofhospital ity and chari ty , the occasional purchase ofbooks , vestments and decorations , the col lection ofreliques , and the maintenance of the fabric both ofthe church and monastery . Grants and presents ,offerings and foundations would do much , but stillsome portionof these necessary expenses must becarried to the account of the general fund . At thisrate however , one hide was capable of maintainingfour ful l-grownmen.

N ow evenat the present day anindustrious mancanvery well support his family upon, not thirtyor forty , but tenacres of average land“. If we lookat the produce of such a threefold course as has

beenmentioned , there can hardly be any doubtuponthe subject the cultivator would have everyyear twenty Saxon N orman) acres undersome kind of corn, principal ly barley inall probability, though much wheat was grown . Assumingthe yield atonly two quarters per acre , which is an

This at forty actual acres, is tem aeres

Weneednotenteruponthe questionwhether w eb a plot of landcanbe well cultivated ( except as a garden). or whether it is desirablethat there should be such a class of cultivators. All I assert is, tha t a

120 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

almost ludicrous understatement of the probableamount ‘, we give each householder forty quartersof cereales , at the very lowest , and deducting hisseed o cornand the publ ic taxes , we still leave him a

very large amount . The average annual consumption of wheat per head inEngland isnow computedatone quarter : let us add one half to compensatefor the less nutri tious quali ties of barley , and weshal l yet be under the mark if we allow our householder atthe close of the year , a netreceipt of thirtyquarters , or food for at least twenty persons . Addto this the cattle , and especial ly sw ine fed intheforests ,—which paid well for thei r ownkeep , and

gave a netsurplus—and the ceorl or owner of onehide of land , independently of his political rights ,becomes a personof some consideration from hisproperty

’: inshort he is fully able to maintain

himself, his w ife and child , the ox that ploughs ,and the slave that tends his land , - owning muchmore indeed , thani n Hesiod

’s eyes, would havesufficed for these purposes“. It may be admitted

The fertility of England was always celebrated, and under the R0mans it exported cereales largely . See Gibbon’s calculationof anexportunder Julian. Dec. F. cap x1x Ourpresentaverage yield ot

'

wheatexceeds 30 bushels or qrs.

If he had a market for his surplus, he might accumulate wealth .Evenif be had not th is, be insured a comfortable, though rude subsistence, for his household . The spur to exertion, urging him to acquireluxuries, might be wanting, and the national advancement inrefinement thus retarded : but he had a sufficiency of thenecessaries of life,and anindependent existence inthe body of the family and the Mark .Such a statenecessarily precedes the more cultivated stages of society.

s

Cited inArist. Pol. bk. l.The land ot

'

a fullboruSpartanmay have beensomewhatless thsnthe

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CHAPTER V.

PERSONAL RANK . TH E FREEMAN . TH E NOBLE .

Tns second principle laid down inthe first chapterof this book , is that of personal rank , which intheTeutonic scheme appears inseparably connectedth the possessionof land .

The earliest records we canrefer to , place beforeus a system founded upondistinctions of birth , asclearly as any that we canderive from the Parliamentary writs or rolls of later ages inour historythere is not even a fabulous Arcadia, whereinwemay settle a free democracy : for evenwhere therecords of fact no longer supply a clue through thelabyrinths of our early story , the epic continues thetradition, and still celebrates the deeds of noblesand of kings .Tacitus , fromwhom we derive our earl iest information

,supplies us w ith many detai ls , which not

only show the existence of a system, but tend alsoto prove i ts long prevalence . He tells usnotonlyof nobles , but also of kings , princes and inheritedauthority ‘

, more or less fully developed : and the

The Cherusci feeling the want of a king sent to Rome for a de

scandant of Arminius. Tac. Au. xi. 17 . The Herali inIllyria havingslaintheir king, sent to their brethreninThule ( Scandinavia) for a

descendant of the blood royal . During his journey however they secepted another king from the hands of Justinian. This personandtheir alliancew ith the emperor they renounced uponthe arrival of the

on. v .] THE FREEMAN . THE NOBLE. 123

unbiassed judgment of the statesmanwhow itnessedthe operationof institutions strange to himself,warns us against theoretical appeals to the fanciedcustoms of ages not contemporaneous w ith ourown. The history of Europe knows nothing of a

period inwhich there were not freemen,nobles andserfs and the insti tutions of Europe , inproportionas we pursue them to their earliest principles , furni sh only the stronger confirmationof history . Wemay, no doubt , theorize upon this subject , andsuggest elementary forms ,

‘

as the necessary conditions of a later system : but this process is andmust be merely hypothetical , nor cansuch formsbe shown to have had atany time a true historicalex i stence . That every Germanwas, inthe beginning , Kaiser and Pope inhis ownhouse 1may beperfectly true inone sense just as true is i t thatevery Englishman’s house is his castle : nev ertheless

,the Germanl ived under some government ,

civi l or religious , or both : and—to the great advantage of society - the process of law surmountsWi thout the slightest difficulty the imaginary battlements of the imaginary fortress .The whole subject must be considered inone of

two ways : w i th reference ,namely , to a manl iving

prince from the North . Procop . Bell . Got. “ Regesex nobilitats,

principia dignationem etiam adolescentulis assignant .” lbid . xiii . Al

though mere boysmight be kings, they could hardly he (faces, inthe

Moser, Osnabriickischc Gesch ichte ( 1780) l‘i"r Abachn. 8 .

Solche einzelne wohner warenPriesterund Komga inihrenHansen:and Hofmarken,

”etc. See his references to Tac. Germ. x . etc .

124 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

alone w ith his fami ly , or to the same manand fa

mily, ina bond ofunionwith others , that i s inthe

state.

Could we conceive a permanent condition of

society,such that each particular family l ived

apart , w ithout connection or communion withothers

,we must admi t the inevitable growth of a

patriarchal system , of which the eldest member ofthe family would be the head a system simi lar tothat which we do find described as prevail ing inthe wandering family of Abraham . But such a

conditioncould only exist ata period of time , andina state of the earth , which admitted of frequentmigration, and while the populationbore a smal lproportionto the means of support , perhaps evenincountries where water is of greater value thanland . Thus the moment the family of Abrahambecame too numerous , and his herdsmenfound i tnecessary to defend their wells and pastures againstthe herdsmenof Lot, a separationtook place andthe Schieks parted , according to the provisions ofa solemncompact , that there might not be strifebetweenthem'

. But, setting aside the mysteriouspurposes forwhich the race of Abrahamwere madewanderers , and which impress anexceptional chao

racter upon their whole history, i t i s clear thateventhey were surrounded by a society , whose conditions were totally different from any that couldhave existed inGermany . They fled from the faceof a depraved cultivation, prevalent inthe ci ties,

Genesisn'

ii. 6, seq.

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126 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soox 1.

to the ful lest extent , the doctrine of sol i tary settlements, we must sti ll contend that these are, inthei r very nature , temporary ; that they containno possible provision for stabili ty , inshort thatthey are excluded by the very idea i tself of a stateyet i t is as a member of a state that manexists ,that he is intended to exist ', and unless as a member of a state , he is incapable of existing as a man.

He canas li ttle create a language as create a statehe is bornto both , for both , and w i thout both hecannot exist atall.Each single fami ly thenis a state two, three or

four families are a state , under larger conditions .How are these last to be settledWhere a number of independent households arethinly dispersed over a port ionof the country , theirreciprocal relations and positionw il l probably bemore or less of the follow ing kind .

Some arrangement w ill exist for the regulationof the terms onwhich theuse of the woods , watersand common uncul tivated land may be enjoyed byall the settlers : i t is evenpossible that they mayhave some common rel igious ceremonies as thebasis of this arrangement ’ . Butfurther thanthisthere need be no union or mutual dependence ;each sol itary homestead is a state by itself, possessing the jus belli inno federa l relation to ,and consequently ina state of war w ith , every

Aristotle’1! Politics, book I. cap. 1. B ahlmann, Politik, 53 It is of course extremely difficult to conceive this apart from the

existence of a commonpriesthood ; but such a priesthood is alreadythe commencement of a regular state.

on. v .] THE FREEMAN . THE NOBLE . 197

other household,even though this right of war

should not be inactive operation at any givenmoment‘.Inhis ownhousehold every manmay hear rule ,

either following his ownarbitrary wi ll , or inaccordance wi th certain general principles , which he probably recogniz es incommonw ith his neighbours .He may have a family worship of his own, of whichhe w i ll be the chief priest 9 , and which worship mayormaynotbe consistent w ith that of hisneighbours .If he is troublesome to them , they may root himout

,slay or enslave him, do w i th him what seems

good inthei r eyes , or whatsoever they have powerto do . If he thrives and accumulates wealth , theymay despoil him , or he oppress them ,

-all, how

ever, jure belli , for there canbe no jus imperii insuch a case .This , however, cannot be the normal state of

man. The anxious desire , i t might almost be ca lledinstinctive yea rning , to form a part of a civilizedsociety , forbids its continuance not less thantheobvious advantage of entering into a mutual guarantee of peace and security . The p roductionoffood and other necessaries of l ife is the first busi

Insuch a case, power or force being the only term of reference,each household will be determined by that alone inits intercoursewithothers. If A wants a slave, he w ill waruponand take B , if he canbutto prevent this, B and illunite ; so that at last a regnlatedunionis found bcst for all putiesdnrespect to themselves as a com

munity, and aga inst all other communities.

Tac. Germ. x. Si publice consulatur sacerdos, sinprivatr'

m, ipss

paterfamih’

as precalus Door.

” Th is seems to indicate at the com

mencement, anindependent priestly power inthe paterfamilias. Compare the remarkable history inJudges, cap. xvii . xviii .

123 was SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soot r.

ness of men the attempt to take forcible possessionof, or to defend , accumulated property , presupposes the accumulation. While the land and

water are more thansufficient for the support ofthe population, the institutions proper to peace w illprevai l . It is inconceivable , and repugnant to thevery nature of man, that such institutions shouldnot be established the moment that two or moreseparate families become conscious of each other’sexistence ' and inrespect to our Germanic forefathers , we find such inful l vigour from thei r veryfirst appearance inhistory .

Some of the institutions essential to the greataim of establishing civil society atthe least possiblesacrifice of individual freedom—such as the Wer

gild , the Frank pledge, etc .—w i l l be investigated inthei r proper places : they seem to offer a nearlyperfect guarantee for society at anearly period .

But for the present we must confine ourselves tothe subject of personal rank and as the centre andgroundwork of the whole Teutonic scheme is theindividual freeman, i t is with him that we mustcommence our investigation.

The natural d ivisions into which all humansociety must be distributed , with respect to the beingsthat form it , are the Free and the Unfree

g

, those

The only place where I canadmit of such solitary settlements isScandinav ia, and eventhere they must have formed the exception, notthe rule. See Chap . 11. p . 68.

i Summa itaque divisio personarum hme est, quod omnes hominesant liberi sunt nut serv i .” Fleta , bk . i. cap . I. Est autem libel-tan.naturalis facultas ejus, quod caique facere libet, nisi quod de jure autvi prohibetur.” lbid . cap. 2 .

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130 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

qualities of the nature which God has implanted inhim ; and the first community is the unionof freemenfor purposes of friendly intercourse and mutualaid , each enjoying at the hands of every other thesame rights as he is w ill ing to grant to every other,each yielding something of his natural freedom inorder that the idea of state , that is of orderly goverament

, may be realized . For the state is necessary , not accidental . M annot living ina state ,not having developed and insome degree realizedthe idea of state , i s insofar not manbut beast .He has no past and no future : he l ives for theday, and does not evenaccumulate for the days tocome : he lives , thinks , feels and dies like a brute .For manis free through the existence , not the absence , of law ; through his voluntary and self-eonscious relinquishment of the power to do wrong ,and the adoptionof means to counteract and diminish his own tendency to evil . The amount ofpersonal l iberty to be givenup is the only questionof practical importance , but from the idea of Freedom itself results the law , that this amount mustbe inall cases a minimum .

The ideas of freedom and equal ity are not, however , inseparable : a nationof slaves may exist insorrowful equal ity under the capricious wil l of a

native or foreigntyrant : a nationof free menmaycheerfully , w isely and happily obey the judge or thecaptainthey have elected inthe exigencies of peaceand war. Hence the voluntary unionof free mendoes notexclude the possibil ity of suchunion beingeither originally based uponterms of inequal ity , or

on. v .] THE FREEMAN . THE NOBLE . 131

becoming sooner or later settled uponsuch a basis .But , as the general term is the freedom , I take this asthe uni ty which involves the difference ; the nobleis one of the freemen, and is made nobleby the act

of the free : the free are notmade so by the noble .

By these principles the divisions of th is chapterare regulated .

The freemani s emphatical ly cal led M an, ceorl ,mas, maritne z weepned man, annulus : after the prevalence of slavery, he is , for distinction, termed

free, frigman, frihals, i . e . freeneck : the hand of amaster hasnotbent hisneck 1 but his oldest andpurest denominationi s ceorl . Till a very late period the Anglosaxonlaw knows no other distinctionthan that of ceorl and eorl

g. The Old Norse Rigs

mal which is devoted to the originof the races ,considers Karl as the representative of the freeman.

His sons are H alr, Anglos . H aele, vir ; Drengr,Anglos . Dreng , vir ; li egen, Anglos . begn, virfortis,mik e, minister ; H iildr, Anglos . hold , pagil, fidelis ;Bti i, Anglos . gebtir, colonus ; Bondi , Anglos . bonda ,colonize ; Smi

’dr,Anglos . Smifi faber ; Seggr,Anglos .Secg, vir. Among the daughters are Snot , Briilir,Flio

’d and Wif. Many of these terms yet survive,to represent various classes of freemeninalmostevery Germanic country

3.

The converse is collibertas, qui eollum Iiberav il, culvert, coward.

Swaeae we settati be callum hadum, ge eeorle, ge eorle : “so also

we ordainconcerning all degrees of men, churl as well as earl .” Ll .{E lfin 4 .

Conf. Grimm, Dent. Rechtsalt. 283 . The Latinlawsof theMiddle Ages usually adept the words, L iber, liber homo, ingenmw . Inreference to the noble, he is mediocris, minoficdus, xarab a

’

crnpoc : inrespect of hiswife, he is baro.

132 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

The rights of a freemanare these . He has landw i thinthe l imi ts of the communi ty , the é

’Sel orhereditary estate ( xkr

‘

ipoc, haeredium, hyd) by virtueof which he is a portionof the communi ty , boundto various duties and graced w ith his various privileges. For although h is rights are personal

,in

herent i n himself, and he may carry them w i th himinto the w i lderness if he please, stil l , where he shallbe permitted to execute them depends upon hispossession of land in the various local iti es . Inthese he is entitled to vote w i th his fellows uponallmatters concerning the general i nterests of the

communi ty ; the election of a j udge , general ork ing ; the maintenance of peace or war w i th a

neighbouring community ; the abrogationof old , orthe introductionofnew laws ; the admissionof conterminous freemento a participationof rights andprivi leges inthe district . He is not only entitledbut bound to share inthe celebrationof the publicri tes of rel igion, to assist at the public council orD ing , where he is to pronounce the customary law,

by ancient right , and so assist inj udging betweenmanand man; lastly to take part , as a soldier , insuch measures of offence and defence as have beendetermined uponby the w hole community . He isat l iberty to make his ownall iances , to unite withother freemeninthe formationof gilds or associations for religious or pol itical purposes . He canevenattach himself, if he wi l l, to a lord or patron ,and thus w ithdraw himself from the duties andthe privileges of freedom . He and his family maydepart , whither he wi ll , and no manmay follow or

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134 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [noon1.

to float uponhis shoulders or w inds about his

head ‘

His proper measure and value , by which hissocial positioni s ascertained and defended , is thewergyld , or price of a man. His life , his limbs ,the inj uries which may be done to himself, his dependants and his property , are all duly assessed ;and though notrated so highly as the noble , yet hestands above the stranger , the serf or the freedman .

Inl ike manner his land , though not entirely exemptfrom charges and payments for public purposes ,is far less burthened thanthe land of the unfree .Moreover he possesses rights in the commons ,woods and waters , which the unfree were assuredlynotpermitted to exercise .

The great and essential distinction, however,which he never entirely loses under any ci rcumstances , i s that he a ids in governing himself, thatis inmaking , applying and executing the laws bywhich the free and the unfree are alike governed ;that he yields , inshort , a voluntary obedience tothe law , for the sake of l iving under a law , inanorderly and peaceful communi ty .

Inthe state of things which we are now consi

‘ Thet-e were differences inthis respect among the ditferentrsces.and insome, the long hairmay have beenconfined to thenoble families. Among the Saxons, however, itseems that it was also used by thefree : gif frco wif, locbore, lyswres hwretgedo, if a free woman, thatwears long hair, do any wrong . Lex M elb. 573. To cut a freeman’s hair was to dishonour him. Lex E lfr. 935. See also Grimm,

Dent. Rechtsalt. pp . 240, 283 . Bamanina speaks of the Franks uprolixo crine rutilantes.

”Paneg. Constant . c. 18.

cu. v .] THE FREEMAN. THE NOBLE . 135

dering , the noble belongs to the class of freemen;out of i t he springs , i n all i ts rights and privilegeshe shares , to all i ts duties he is liable , but ina

different degree . He possesses however certainadvantages which the freemandoes not. Like thelatter he is a holder of real estate ; he owns land inthe district , but his lot is probably larger, and ismoreover free from various burthens which pressuponhis less fortunate neighbour . He must alsotake part inthe Ding , placitum or genera l meeting ,but he and his class have the leading and directingof the publ ic business , and ultimately the executionof the general w i ll’. The people at large may elect ,but he alone canbe elected , to the offices of priest ,judge or king . Uponhis l ife and digni ty a higherprice is laid thanuponthose of the mere freeman.

He is the uni ty inthe mass , the representative of

the general sovereignty , both athome and abroad .

The tendency of his power is continually to increase , while that Of the mere freemani s continu

ally to diminish , falling inthe scale inexact proportionas that of the noble class rises .The distinctive name of the noble is Eorl

'.

De minoribus rebus principes consultant ; dc majoribus omnes.

Ita tamenntea quoque quorum penespichem arbitrium est, apnd prin

cipes pertractentur.

” Tae. Germ. xi. Someth ing similar to th is pro~bably prevailed inthe Dorianconstitution, and inthe Old Ionianbeforethe establishment of the great democracy . The mass of the peoplemight accept or reject, but hardly, I th ink, debate the propositions of

the nobles. After all the rpéfiovkoc seem necessary inall states. See

Arist . Pol. 15.

3 Inthe Rigsmal, Jarl is the progenitor of all the noble races, as

Karl is of the free.

136 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [BOOK 1.

E bele (nobilis) and Rice ( potens) , denote his qualities, and he hears other titles according to theaccidents of his social position: thus caldor , ealdorman, pn

'

nceps ; w i ta , weota , consiliarias ; optimes ;senior ; procer, melior, etc . Inadditionto his ownpersonal privileges , the noble possesses inthe fullest extent every right of the freeman, the highestorder of whose body he forms .

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138 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soon1.

guard of their freedom the monarchical principleis the conditionof their national ity . But this ideaof kingship isnot that which we now generally entertain; i t is insome respects more , inothers less ,comprehensive .And here i t seems necessary to recur to a defi

nitionofwords. Withus, a king is the source bothof the milita ry and the judicial powers he is chiefj udge and general in chief ; among protestants heis head of the church , and only wants the functionsof high priest , because the nature of the churchof Christ admits of no priestly body exclusivelyengaged in the sacrifices , or inpossession of theexclusive secrets , of the cult

‘. But inthe eye of the

sta te , and as the head of a state clergy , he is thehigh priest , the authori ty inwhich ul timately eventhe parochial order centres and finds its completion. He is anoflicer of the state ; the highestindeed and the noblest , but to the state he belongsas a part of i tself w ith us a commissionof regency ,a stranger or a womanmay perform all the functions of royalty : the houses of parliament mayl imit them ; a successful soldier may usurp them .

With the early Germans , the king was somethingdifferent from th is .The inhabitants of the Mark or Ga, .howevernu

merous or however few they may he, must alwayshave some provisionfor the exigencies of peaceand war. But peace is the natural ornormal sta te ,that for which war i tself exists , and the institu

1Peter, 11. 5, 9.

on. THE K ING . 139

tions proper to war are the except ion, notthe rule .Hence the priestly and judicial functions are permanent , - the military , merely temporary . The former, whether united inthe same person , or dividedbetweentwo or more , are the necessary conditionsof the existence of the state as a communi ty ; thelatter are merely requisite from W e to time , tosecure the free exertionof the former, to defendthe ex istence of the communi ty against the attacksof other communit ies .We may admit that the father is the first priest

and j udge inhis ownhousehold ; he has, above allothers , the sacerdotal secrets , and the peculiar ritesof family worship ; these , not less thanage, axpericuce and the digni ty of paterni ty , are the causesand the j ustificationof his power . The judicialis a corollary from the sacerdota l authori ty. Butwhat applies to the individual household applies toany. aggregate of households : evenas the familyworship and the family peace require the exertionof these powers for their ownmaintenance andpreservation, so do the public worship and thepubl ic peace require their existence , though ina

yet stronger degree . From among the heads of

famil ies some one or more must be elected to discharge the all- important functions which they imply . If the solemn festivals and public ri tes of the

god are to be duly celebrated , if the anger of thethunderer is to be propitiated , and the fruits of theearth to be blessed ,—if the wounded cattle are to behealed , the fever expelled , or the secret malice ofevil spirits to be defeated ,

—who but the priest can

40 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

lead the ceremonies and prescribe the ri tual Whobut he cansanctify the transfer of land , the unionof manand w ife, the entrance of the newbornchilduponhis career of l ife ; who but himself canconduct judicial investigations , where the deities are

the only guardians of truth and avengers of perj ury ,or where their supernatural power alone candetermine betweeninnocence and guiltl ? Lastly , whobut he canpossess authority to punish the freemanfor offences dangerous to the wellbeing of all freemen? To what power less than that of God wi llthe freemancondescend to bowfl?How thenis i t to lie

-

determined to whom suchpower, once admitted to be necessary , shall be at

first entrusted ? The first claim clearly l ies w i th'

those who are believed to be descended from thegods , or from the local god of each part icular district“. They are his especial care , his children;he led them into the land , and gave them the secretof appeasing or pleasing him he protects them byhis power , and guides them by his revelations : heis thei r family and household god , the progenitorof their race , one of themselves ; and they are the

The various forms of the ordeal were undoubtedly pagan, thoughretained by the Christiancommunities of the Germ ans.

3 Eveninwar the general had not at first the power of punish ingthe freeman. The very urgencies of mil itary discipline were subordi

nated to the divine authority of the priests. Duces exemplo potinsquam imperio, si prompti, si conspicui, si ante aciem agant, admiratione pracsunt. Ceterumneque animadvertere, neque vincire, as verberare quidemnisi sacerdotibns permissum ; nonquasi inpoenam, needucis jassu, sed velutdeo imperante, quem adesse bellantibus credunt.”

B iia genitos sacrosque rages.

”Tsc. Orat . 12.

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1443 T HE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [sooni .

establish a preponderance over a more numerousbut less favoured race : insuch a case they w i l lprobably jointhe whole mass of the people , receiv ing or taking lands among them , and they wi llby right of their superiority constitute a noble ,sacerdotal , royal race , among a race of freemen'.They may introduce thei r rel igionas well as theirform of government , as did the Dorians inthe Pelo

ponesus. Or if, as must frequently be the case ,

a compromise take place , they and their god w i llreserve the foremost rank , although the conqueredor otherwise subjected people may retaina shareinthe state , and vindicate for their ancient deitiesa portionof reverence and cult : the gods ofnature ,of the earth and agriculture, thus yield for a whi leto the supremacy of the gods of mental cultivationand warlike prowess : Demeter gives way beforeApollo , afterwards however to recover a portionofher Splendour : Odinnobtains the soul of the warrior and the freeman; Dorr must content himselfw ith that of the thrall .Inall the cases described , -to which wemay add

violent conquest by a migratory body , leaving only

garrisons and governors behind it’

,—the family or

tribe which are the rul ing tribe , are those inwhomthe highest rank , dignity , nobili ty and power areinherent : but unless some peculiar circumstances,

A ircov 83 51-4ma m f wd ripen} rvyxdvovoa xOpqyiar ml Baitsoflm 86mm ; pdhw

’

ra , xal 30m ! del 76 spamiitv c'

v imrpoxfi rwdr,chore doxeiv p r} ci vw dprfi jr riva l 7 133! Bios! Arist. Polit. I . cap. 6.

( Bekkcr. ) We may remember the Incas inPeru.

3 A fact abundantly fami liar inthe history of India, whether underAfghan, Mogul orMahmtta rule.

on. THE KING . 143

arising w ithinthe rul ing tribe itself, l imit the succession to the members of one household , as forexample among the Jews , the sanctity of the tribew ill be general and not individual . They wil l bealone qual ified to hold the high and sacred ofiicesbut the w i l l of the whole state i . e. popular election ,mustdetermine which particular manshall be invested w i th thei r functions . Outof the noble racethe electioncannot indeed be made , but the choiceof the individual noble is , atfirst , free . This is thesimplest mode of stating the problem history however is fil led w ith examples of compromise , wheretwo or more noble tribes divide the supreme eu

thority inevenor unevenshares : two kings , forinstance , represent two tribes of Dorians intheSpartanwoknec

’

ag. The sevengreat and hered i

tary ministerial houses inthe Germanempire , thefive great 001008 of the Dooraunee Afghans , w iththei r hereditary offices , represent similar facts .Among the old Bavarians , the A gilolfings couldalone hold the ducal dignity , but three or fourother families possessed a peculiar nobility , raisingthem nearly as much above the rest of the nobles ,

l The whole state may possibly consist only of the predominanttribe, as Dorians or Ionians, or Anglosaxons: the rest of the populotionof the country may be perioecianas were the inhabitants of Laconia, and the British . The ruling tribe itself may have distinctionsof rank ; as for instance the Ilypomeiones among the Spartans, theCeorlas among the Anglosaxons.

2 The rule, rages ea:nobililalc, duccs er virlule, dyafiofi rwor inrepdxq,applies instrictures to this case. Agis or Agesilaus might be generals, butB rasidas could nothave beena king. Descent from Heracleswas to the Spartiate what descent fromwodenwasto the Saxon, —theconditionof royalty.

144 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [B OOK 1.

as the nobles were rai sed,

above the rest of thepeople . Under these ci rcumstances the attributesof sovereignty may be continual ly apportioned : toone fami ly i t may belong to furnish kings or judgesto another , generals ; to a thi rd , priests

l or th isdivisionmay have arisenincourse of time , w ith ina single family. O r again , the general may onlyhave beenchosen, pro renata , whenthe necessi tyof the case required i t , from among the judgesor priests , or evenfrom among those who werenot capable by birth of the jud icial or sacerdotalpower . We are able to refer to an instance insupport of this assertion; Beda

2 says of the O ldsaxons , that is , the Saxons of the continent : N onenim habent regem iidem antiqui Saxones, sed

satrapas plurimos, suae gent i praepositos, qui , ia

gruente belli articulo , mittunt acqualiter sortes , et

quemcumque sors ostenderit, hunc tempore bell iducem omnes sequuntur , huic ohtemperant; peracto autem hello , rursum aequalis potentine omnesfiunt-satrapae.

”And th is throws l ight upon what

Tacitus asserts of the Germanic races generallyal

Inthe Dooraunee empire, the Suddozyes had the exclusive rightto royalty. Sooja ulMoolk was the last of the race inCaubul . The

Essufzyes were hereditary v iziers : the Barukzyes, the family of DostMahomet Khan, hereditary commanders inch ief : the unionof the

vizieratw ith the military command inDost Mahomet’s father, led totheultimate ruinof the Suddozye princes. Inthe Mogul empire, thegreat offices of state became hereditary, and the historians of Indiacould speak ofthe Vizier of Oude, the N izam, the Peishwa or theGuicowar, long after the throne of Aurungzeb had crumbled to the dust.

3 Hist. Ecol. v . 10. d ilfred translates the word salrapae by caldor.

Germ. xn.

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146 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [sooni .

tice , at least incivil causes'. The law of the Visi

goths , while i t recogni zes a separation of the persons , impl ies a confusion of the j urisd iction: Si

index vel sacerdos reperti fuerint nequiter indiThe people , i t i s true , found the j udge

ment or verdict , but the j udge declared the law,

pronounced the sentence, and most probably superintended the execution: in this he represented at

once the justi ce of the god , and the collective powerof the state . Thus thenwe may conclude that at

first inevery Mark , and more especial ly in every(36. or Scir, whenvarious Marks had coalesced ,there was found at leas t one manof a privileged

family , who either permanently or for a time conducted the public affai rs during peace , and was,from his functions , not less than his descent , nearlyconnected with the rel igionof the people and theworship of the gods : whether this manbe ca lledealdorman, index , raw, satrapa or princeps, seemsof li ttle moment : he is the president of the freemenintheir solemn acts , as long as peace i s maintained , the original K ing of the shi re or smal l nation . If he be by birth a priest , and distinguishedby military talents , aswell as elected to be a j udge ,he unites all the conditions of kingship“: and,under such ci rcumstances, be wi llprobablynotonlyextend his power over neighbouring communit ies ,

‘ If Dfinnigeo is right inhis view , the Frankish clergy were to ex

creisc a nimilar jurisdictionin criminal causes of a grave nature.Deuteches Staatsrecbt.n30.

Leg. Visig.

“ Hic etenim at rex illis etpontifex oh suam peritiam babebttur,et insua iustitia populos iudicebat.

"Jornnndes.

03 . v i .l THE K ING . 147

but evenrender i t permanent , if nothereditary , inhis own: a similar process may take place , if thepriest or judge be one, the general another, of thesame household . We may conclude that the regalpower grows out of the judicial and sacerdotal , andthat , whether the mi l itary skill and authori ty besuperadded or not, king is only another name forthe judge of a small circui t ‘. It is only whenmanysuch districts have been combined , whenmanysuch smaller kings have beensubdued by one morewise , more wea lthy , powerful or fortuna te thanthemselves , that the complete idea of the German

kingdom developes itself : that the judicial , military , and even, inpart , the priestly powers sinkinto a subordinate position, and the kingdom repre

sents the whole state , the freemen, the nobles , andthe folcrihtor public law of both . I t is thus thatthe king gains the ultimate and appellate jurisdiction

,the right of punishment , and the general

conservancy of the peace , as wel l as the power ofcal ling the freemento arms ( cyninges ban, cyningesiitware) . Whenthis process has takenplace theformer kings have become subreguli, principes,duces, ealdormen: they retainthei r nobili ty , theiroriginal purity of blood , their influence perhapsover thei r people ; but they have sunk into subordionte officers of a state , of which a king at oncehereditary and elective is the headg.

l “ Nee potest aliquis indieare intemporalibus, niai 80111! rex rel

subdelegatus : ipse namque ex vii-tute sacramenti ad boc specialitcr

obligatur, et ideo corona insignitur, ut per iudicia populum regat sibisubiectum.

”Fleta, lib . i . cap. 17 . l .

2 Le titre demi éta it primitivement dc mi lle consequence chez les1. 2

148 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

We are tolerably familiar with the fact that atl east eight k ingdoms existed atonce inSaxon England ; but many readers of English history have

yet to learnthat royalty was much more w idelyspread , evenat the time whenwe bear but of

eight , sevenor six predominant k ings : as this isa point of some interest

, a few examples maynotbe amiss .It is probable that from the very earliest times

Kent had at least two kings , whose capitals wererespectively Canterbury and Rochester, the seat oftwo bishoprics ‘. The distinctionof East andWestKentings is preserved till the very downfal l of theSaxonmonarchy : not only do we know that Eadtie and Hlo’dhere reigned together ; but also thatWihtred and his sonE belberht the Second didso ’. 0

'

sw ine is mentioned as a king of Kent daring the period whenour general authorities tellus of Ecgberhtalone

”; contemporary w ith him we

have Swaebheard , another king ‘ , and all these extend into the period usually given to Eadric and

Hlé’dhere. The later years of E ’Gelberht the Se

cond must have seenhis power shared wi th Ead

barbares. Ennodius, eveque de Paris, dit d’une armée dugrand Théodoric : ‘ Ily avail tan! dc roisdanscette armée, que leurnombre éta itnumoins égal acelui deo soldats qu’onpouvait nmirrir avec les subsistence: exigées des habitans da district oh elle campait .’ Michelet,Hist . France, i . 198 , note.

‘ At a later period we find a duchy of tbe Merscware, or inhabitcuts of Romney marsh, and this is certa inly infavour of a third Kentish kingdom. Malmsbury speaks of the reguli whom dwelberht hadsubdued, and it is probable that these were petty prime: of Kent. DeGest . lib . l . 510.

3 God. Dipl . Nos. 72, 77, 86 , 108.

3 Ibid . Nos. 8, IO, 3 0.

lbid. Nos. 14, 15. Beda. H ist. Roe. v . 8 .

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150 THE saxons IN ENGLAND . [noon1.

O'

sric and O'

shereg E

’Selwearda, E

’Gelheard ‘ ,

AS’Selrie

5and inall probability O

'

swudu, between

an. 704 - 709. A few years later, viz . betweenan.

757 and 785, we find th ree brothers Eanberht“,Kaldred 7 and Uhtred 8 claiming the royal ti tle inthe same district , while Ofi

'

a their relative swayedthe paramount sceptre of Mercia. That other parts

of that great kingdom had always formed separatestates is certain: even inthe time of Penda (whoreigned from 626 to 656) we know that the Middle

Angles were ruled by Peada , his son9, while Merewald , another sonwas k ing of the West Hecanorpeople of Herefordshirew. Inthe important battleof W inwidfeld , where the fal l of Penda perhapssecured the triumph of Christianity , we learnthatthirty royal commanders fell onthe Mercianside".

Under E bilraed, Penda’s sonand successo r , we

find Beorhtwald cal ling himself a king in MerciaDuring the reignof Centwine inWessex , we hearof a king , Baldred , whose k ingdom probably com

3 Ibid . Nos.No . 56. Ibid. No. 53 .

lb id . No. 57 .

6 Ibid . Nos. 102, 105.

7 Ibid. Nos. 125, 131, i4s. lbid. Nos9 Beda, H ist . Real. 111. 21, 1° Flor. Wig . Append. MmBeda, H ist . Eccl . iii . 24 . Inito ergo certamine, fugati sunt ct

caesi pagani, duces regii triginta qui ad auxilium venerant, pens omnesinterfecti.” The SaxonChronicle is more deta iled ; an. 654 : “ H ér

O'

swi ii cyng ofsléh Pendancyng onWinwidfelda and brittig cynebearnamid him ; and bé r waerea sume cyningas. Daéra mmm E fielhere

‘3 Cod . Dipl . No. 26. Malmsbury, it is true, says of him,“ Non

quidem rex potestate, sed subregulus inquadam Tegni paste.

” Vit.

Aldhelmi. Ang. Sacra, ii . 10. But it was not to be expected thatMalmsbury would understand such a royalty as Baldred’

s.

eu. v1.] rns K ING. 151

prised Sussex and part of Hampshire ‘ ; atthe sameperiod also we find E bilheard calling himself kingofWessex“, and perhaps also a brother Affeilweard8

unless this be anerror of transcription. Fri’duwald

ina charter to the Monastery of Chertsey , mentions the following subreguli as concurring inthegrant : O'sric ,Wighard and E ’Selwald

‘

There was a kingdom of Elmet inYorkshire,and eventil l the tenth century one of Bamborough.

The same facts might easily be shownof Eastanglia“, Essex and N orthumberland ,were i tnecessary ;but enough seems to have beensaid to show hownumerously peopled w ith k ings this island , always

fertilis tyrannomm“, must have beenintimeswhere

of history hasno record . As a chronicler of thetwelfth century has very justly said ,

“ Ea tempestate venerunt multi et saspe de Germania , etoc

cupaverunt Eastangle et Merce sed necdnm subuno rege redacti crea t . Flures autem procerescertatim regiones occupabant, unde innumerabiliabella fiebant: proceres vero, quia multi erant, nomine carent7 .”

From all that has preceded , i t is clear that bythe term K ing we must understand something verydifferent among the Anglosaxons from the sense

Gui. Meldun. Ant. Glut . an. 681, pp. 308, 309 . Cod . Dipl.Nos. 20, 28, 71, 73.

Cod . Dipl . Ne . 76. lbid . No. 73. lbid . No. 987.

lgitur rex unus ibi erat aliqnando, multi aliquando reguli .”Henric. Hunt . lib . v. Rex autem Eadmundus ipala temporibus regnavit super omnia regna Eastanglorum.

”S im. Dunelm. an. 870.

6( but 85 real m kvdvflpmrov rij v n m i dw de‘

rar

M obs fxcw . Died. Sic. v . 21.7 How ie. Hunt. lib. ii .

162 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. ( soon1.

which we attach to the word : one principal difference lies indeed inthis , that the notionof territorial influence is never for a single moment involvedini t . The kings are k ings of tribes and peoples,but never of the land they occupy ,—kings of theWestsaxons, the Mercians or the Kentings, butnotofWessex , Mercia or Kent . So far indeed is th isfrom being the case , that there is not the slightestdifliculty i n forming the conception of a k ing,totally wi thout a kingdom :

“ Sole rex verbo, secns tamenimperitabat

i s a much more general descriptionthan the writerof the

'

line imagined . The Norse traditions are fullof similar facts ’. The king is intruth essentiallyone wi th the people from among them he Springs ,by them and their power he reigns from them hereceives his name ; but his land is l ike theirs , pri ~

vate property ; one estate does not owe allegianceto another

, as inthe feudal system : and least ofall is the monstrous fiction admitted evenfor a

moment , that the king is owner of all the land inacountry .

The Teutonic names for a king are numerousand various, especial ly inthe language of poetry ;many of them are immed iately derived from thewords which denote the aggregations of the peoplethemselves : thus from peed , we have the Anglosaxonhedden; from folc, the Old Norse Fylkr ;but the term which , among all the Teutons , pro

Abbe de Belle Paris. Civit. Pertz, 11. 779 .

Langebek . ii . 77. Bahlmann, Geech . d . Diinen, p . 51.

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154 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [Boox x.

the ceremonies of his recognitionby the people , andthe outward marks of distinctionwhich he bore :immediately uponhis election he was raised Upona shield and exhibited to the multitude, who greeted him w ith acclamationsl eveninheathent imesi t is probable that some religious ceremony aecom

panied the solemnri te of electionand installationthe Christianpriesthood sooncaused the ceremonyof anointing the new king , perhaps as head of thechurch , to be looked uponas a necessary part ofhis inauguration. To him were appropriated theWaggonand oxen“; in this he visited the severalportions of his k ingdom : traversed the roads , andproclaimed his peace uponthem and I am inclinedto think , solemnly ascertained and defined the national boundariesS , - a duty symbolical insomedegree , of his guardiansh ip of the private boundaries . Among all the tribes there appear to havebeensome outward marks of royal ty , occasionall yor constantly borne : the M erwingiank ings weredistinguished by their long and flowing hair ‘ , theGoths by a fillet or cap ; among the Saxons the

“ ‘ Levatus inregem : t6 cyninge 6hafen, continued to be the wordsinm J ong at’tei-the custom of really chairingthe king had inallproliab ility ceased to be observed .

The Merwingiank ings continued to use this: perhapsnotthe Ca»tolings. Among the Anglosaxons I findno trace of it.This duty of riding through the land, ca lled by Grimm the “ landes

bereisung" (Deutsche Rechtsalterthiimer, p . is probably alludedto by Beda inhis account of Eadwine. H ist. Ecol. ii . 16.

aqua-rev ydp m i: Baudm

’

nnré v tbpdyywv 06 minrm « (preach dkx

dxupexopor rs slow 31: solde r a’

clm lflame-3mm ( tin-oi: dr aw er ( 5mild

pm v rei Bamku'

cp 7 6m dw iafla:"W arm. Ap thins. bk. l .

on. v i .j THE KING . 165

cynehelm,or cynebeah, a circle of gold , was inuse ,

and wornround the head . Inthe Ding or popularcouncil he bore a w and or staff inwartime he was

preceded by a banner orflag. The most precioushowever of all the royal rights , and a very jewelinthe crown, was the power to entertaina comite

tus or collectionof household retainers , a subjectto be discussed ina subsequent chapter.The king, l ike all other freemen, was a landedpossessor , and depended formuch of his subsistence

uponthe cultivationof his estates ‘. Invarious

parts of the country he held lands inabsolute property, furnished w i th dwell ings and storehouses , inwhich the produce of his farms might be laid up ,and from one to another of which he proceeded ,as political exigencies , caprice , or the consumptionof his hoarded stock rendered expedient . Ineachvi lla or wic was placed a bailifl

'

, villicus, wicgereffa ,

whose business i t was to watch over the k ing’s in

tercets , to superintend the processes of husbandry ,and governthe labourers employed inproduction;above all to represent the king as regarded thefreemenand the officers of the county court .

' “ De victuex regis praediis. Dis is fionne seo lihtingc fie icwylle eallonfolee gebeorgm be big é rflysonmidgedrehte wém eancstoswy

‘

fie. Dmt is fionne é rost. Se tie bebeode esllum minm geréfnnSethi onminsnfigenm rihtlice tilian'

j me mid fiflm feoflnian.

“H S-it

himnfinmsnne beuf té feormfnltnmenénb'

mgc syllm bdtsnhe sylf

wille. And gif hwfi mfter fiam wite m flge beé hehis weres scyldigwifli one cyningc.

”Cnut, § lxx.

“ I commnnd all

my reeves thstthey jnstly provide r me] out of my ownproperty,

a fi rm-aid ( feormfultum) unless he himself be willing .” We here

156 m s saxons IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

The lot , share , or as we may call i t T épevoc of

the king, though thus divided , was extensive , andcompri sed many times the share of the freemanwe may imagine that it originally , and under ordinary circumstances would be calculated uponthesame footing as the wergyld that if the life of theking was seventy-two times as valuable as that ofthe ceorl , his land would be seventy-two times aslarge ; if the one owned thirty , the other wouldenjoy 2160 acres of arable land . But the comi

tatus offers a disturbing force, which , i t will hereafter be seen, renders this sort of calculationnugatory in practice and the experience of later periodsclearly proves the king to have beena landownerina very disproportionate degree . Inaddi tiontothe produce of his own lands , however , the kingwas entitled to expect voluntary gifts inkind ,naturalia

, from the people , which are not only distinctly stated by Tacitus

‘ to have beenso given,but are frequently referred to by early continentalhistorians 2 . Inprocess of time , whenthese volunta ry gifts had beenconverted into settled paymentsor taxes , further voluntary aids were demanded ,uponthe visit of a king to a town or country , the

"‘ Mos est civitstibus nltro ac viritim conferre principibus vel ar

mentorum, V0! frugum, quod pro honore seceptum etiamnecessitatibussnbvenit; gaudent prsecipnefinitimsrumgentium donis, quanonmodo

torquesque ; ism etpecunism accipere docnimus.

” Mor. Germ. xv .

Indie autem Martincampo secnndum antiquam eonsuetudinemdons illis regibus a populo ofl'erebantur, et ipse rex sedehat insellsregia, circum:tante exercitu, etmaior domusoorameo. anLsurishamenses Minores ( Peru, Monuments, I. See othermstsnces inGrimm’

sDentsche Recbtsslw 'thtimer, p. 245, etc.

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I68 rns saxons 1N ENGLAND . [soon1.

In proportion as this idea gains ground , the in

duenes of the k ing inevery detai l of public l ife necessari ly increases , and the regal ia or royal rightsbecome more varied and numerous : he is lookeduponas the protector of the stranger , who has noother natural guardian, inasmuch as no stranger

canbe a member of any of those associations whichare the guarantee of the freeman . He has the soleright of settl ing the value and form of the med iumof exchange th rough his power of cal ling out thearmed force , he obtains rights which canonly consist w ith martial law ,

—eventhe righ t of l ife anddeath the justice of the whole country flows fromhim the establishment of fiscal officers dependent

trsctum rex huins patriae suae ( litioni avidas devenire iniuste Optevit.Cod . Dipl . No . 601. The injustice compla ined of is inthe king’s seizinglands that were really notthe offender’s : butso strong was the king’sright, that the church was obliged to buy back its ownland for onehundred and twenty mancusses of gold . That these forfeitures resultedfrom a solemnjudicial act admits of no doubt . In1002, a lady whoowned lands was found guilty of fornication, her lands were forfeited,and made over to the king, inthe language of the instrument, vulgaritraditione.

” Cod. Dipl . No. 1296 . In938 M elstangave sevenhides ofland tothe church atWinchester : istarum autem vii mansarum quantitas iusto valde iudicio totias populi. seniorum etprimMum, ablata fuitab eisqui eorum possessoresfuerunt, quia aperto crimine furti usque ad

mortem obnoxii inventi sunt ; ideoque decretum estab omni p0puloutlibri illorum, quos ad has terms habebant, aeternaliter dampnarentur,

”

etc. Cod . Dipl . No. 1002 . [Edelsige stole E fielwine’sswine : his land atDumbletonwas accordingly forfeited to the king. “

1 mangeréhtemelrede cyninge

“

Stet land ‘

1ashte.

” Cod . Dipl . No . 692 . The law of

theRipuarianFranks seems «to have beensomewhat different : see Tit.lxxix . de homine penduto eteius hereditatc ; and E ichhorn, i . 269 .

l I may aga inreferto the story ofthe vase atSoissons. Clovisputthesoldierto death onpretex t of a breach of discipline ; inrea lity, becausethemanhad opposed him with respect to the booty. But, except inthefield, it isnotto be imagined that Clovis could have takenhis life ; andcertainlynotwithout a legal convictionand condemnationby thepeople.

on. v1.] THE KING . 159

uponhimself places the private possessions of thefreeman athis disposal . The peculiar conservancyof the peace , and command over the means of internal communicationenable him to impose tollsonland and water-carriage : he is thus also empowered to demand the services of the freemen toreceive and conduct travelling strangers, heralds orambassadors from one royal vill to another ; to demand the aid of their carts and horses to carryforage , provisions or building-materials to his royalresidence . Treasure- trove is his, because wherethere is no owner , the state claims the accidentaladvantage, and the k ing is the representative of

the state . It is part of his dignity that he maycommand the aid of the freemeninhis huntingand fishing and hence that he may compel themto keep his hawks and bounds, and harbour orfeed his huntsmen. As head of the church he hasanimportant influence inthe electionof bishops ,eveninthe establishment ofnew sees , or the abolitionof old established ones . H is authority i t isthat appoints the duke , the gerefa, perhaps eventhe members of the Witena-gemdt. Above all, hehas the right to divest himself of a portionof theseattributes , and confer them uponthose whom hepleases , indifferent districts .The complete descriptionof the rights ofRoyalty,

inall their detai l , w i ll find a place inthe SecondBook of this work they canonly be noticed cursorily here , inasmuch as they appertain, i n strictness , to a period inwhich the monarchical spiri t , andthe institutions proper thereto, had become firmly

160 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

settled , ahd applied to every part of our socialscheme. But whatever extensionthey may haveattained inprocess of time , they have their origininthe rights permitted to the king, evenin the remotestperiods of which we read .

There cannot be the least doubt that many ofthem were usurpations , gradual developments of anold and simple principle ; and it is only inperiodsof advanced civilizationthat we find them alludedto. Nevertheless we must admit that evenat theearl iest recorded time in our history , the kingswere notonly wealthy butpowerful far beyond anyof their fellow-countrymen. All intercourse w i thforeignnations , whether warlike or peaceful , tendsto this result , because treaties and grave afl

'

airs of

state canbest be negotiated and managed by singlepersons : a popular council may be very properlyconsulted as to the final acceptance or rejectionofterms ; but the settlement of them canobviouslynot be beneficially conducted by so unw ieldy a

multitude . Moreover contracting parties oneitherside w i l l prefer having to do w i th as smal l a number of negotiators as possible , if i t be only for thegreater dispatch of business . Accordingly Tacitusshows us , onmore thanone occasion , the Senate

incommunicationwith the princes , not the pcpulations of Germany and this must natural ly bethe case where the aristocracy , to whose body the

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CHAPTER VII.

THE NOBLE BY SERVICE.

I nave called the right to entertaina Comitatus,or body of household retainers, a very jewel inthecrown: i t was so because i t formed , inprocess oftime , the foundationof all the extended powerswh ich became the attributes of royalty , and finallysucceeded inestablishing , upon the downfal l of theold dynasts ornobles by birth , anew order ofnoblesby serv ice , whose root was inthe crowni tself. Aclose investigationof i ts gradual rise , progress andultimate development

,w i ll show that the natural

basis of the Comitatus i s inthe superior weal th andlarge possessions of the prince .Inall ages of the world , and under all conditions of society , one profound problem has pre

sented itself for solution; v iz . how to reconcile theestablished divisions of property wi th the necessitiesof increasing population. Experience teaches usthat under almost any ci rcumstances of social being ,a body of menpossessed of suflicient food andclothing have beenfound to increase and multiplyw ith a rapidity far too great to be balanced by thenumber ofnatural or violent deaths and i t followstherefore that inevery nation which has establ ished

cu. vu.] ranNOBLE av ssnvrcs. 163

a settled number of households upon several estates,each capable of supporting but one household incomfort , the means of providing for a surplus po

pulationmust very soonbecome anobject of generaldifficulty . If the paternal estate be reserved forthe support of one son, if the paternal weaponsdescend to him , to be used inthe feuds of his houseor the service of the state , what is to become of theother sons who are excluded from the benefits ofthe succession Ina few instances we may imagine natural affection to have induced a painful, andultimately unsuccessful , struggle to keep the familytogether : here and there cases may have occurredinwhich a community was fortunate enough fromits position, to possess the means of creating newestates to sui t the new demand : and conquest , orthe forcible partitionof a neighbouring territory ,may have supplied a provisionfor the new generation . Tacitus indeed tells us' that “ numeramliberorum finire autquemquam ex agnatisnecare ,flagitium habetur : yet tradition contradicts this ,and speaks of the exposure of childrenimmediatelyafter birth , leaving it to the w i ll of the father tosave the life of the child or not”. And similarlythe tales of the North record the solemnand vo

luntary expatriationof a certain proportionof thepeople , designated by lot , at certain intervals of

time8 However , inthe natural course of things ,

Mar. Germ. xix . Grimm, Rechtult. p . 455.

Cumqne,utdixi, sive pal-um compluta humo, seunimium torrida;torpentibus satis, ac puree fructificantibus campis, ine dise languor defiectam escis regionem attereret, nullumque, parum suppetentibus ali

M 2

164 m s SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [noon1.

he who cannot find subsistence at home must seeki t abroad if the family estate w i l l not supply himw i th support , he must strive to obtaini t from thebounty or necessit ies of others : for emigrationhasi ts ownheavy charges , and for this he would requi re assistance and ina period such aswe are describing , trade and manufacture offer no resourcesto the surplus population. But all the s ingle hidesor estates are here considered as included in thesame category, and i t i s only onthe large possessions of the noble that the poor freemancanhopeto l ive

,wi thout utterly forfeiting everything that

makes life valuable . Some sort of service he mustyield

, and among all that he canoffer, militaryservice

,the most honourable and att ractive to

himself, is sure to be the most acceptable to thelord whose protectionhe requires .The temptationto engage indistant or dangerous

warlike adventures may not appear very grea t tothe agricultural settler , whose cont inuous labourw i l l only wring a mere sufficiency from the soil heowns . I t is w i th regret and reluctance that sucha manwi ll desert the land he has prepared orthe cr0ps he has rai sed , evenwhenthe necessity

mentis, trahendae famis superesset auxilium , Aggone atque Ebbone

nique demum imbelli aetate regno egesta, robustis duntaxat patriadonaretur; neenisi autarmis, autngris colendis habiles domestici larispaternorumque penatium habitacula retinerent.” By the advice however of Gambara, they cast lots, and a portionof the people emigrate.

“ Igitur omnium fortunia insoftem coniectis, qui designabantur, extorres adiudicati aunt.” Saxo Gram. p . 159. Under similar circumstances, according to Geoffry Of Monmouth . Hengest came to Brita in.

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156 THE SAXONS lN ENGLAND. [noon1.

band of ever-watchful defenders , existed as a garrisonnear the disputable boundary of the Mark .

The Germania of Tacitus suppl ies us w i th a de

tai led account of the insti tutionof the Comitatus,which receives strong confirmation onevery pointfrom what we gather from other authentic sources .Inhis ownwordsI llustrious birth or the great services of their

fathers give the rank of princes even to youngmen: they are associated with the rest who haveal ready made proof of their greater powers . Nor isthere any shame inappearing among the comi tes'.Moreover , the Comitatus itself has i ts grades , according to the judgement of him they follow ; andgreat is the emulationamong the comi tes , as towho shall hold the highest place in the estimationof the prince , and among the princes , as to whoshall have the most numerous and the bravestcomites . This is digni ty , this is power. to be eversurrounded with a troop of chosenyouths , a gloryintime of peace , and a support inwar. Nor is itonly intheir owntribe , but inthe neighbouringstates aswell , aname and glory,

‘

to be distinguishedfor the number and valour of the comi tatus ; forthey are courted w ith embassies, and adorned w ithpresents , and keep of? were by their very reputation. Wheni t comes to fighting,

.

it is dishonourable for the prince to be excelled invalour

, for thecomitatus not to equal the valour of the prince ;but infamous , and a reproach throughout life , to

This very assertionproves that the positionof the com was, initself, inferior to that of the freeman.

ca . vu.] ranNOBLE BY ssavrca. 167

returnfrom battle the survivor of the prince . Todefend and protect him , to reckonto his glory evenone’s ownbrave deeds , this i s the first and holiestduty . The princes fight for victory , the comitesfor the prince . If the state inwhich they Spring istorpid w ith long peace and ease , the mostof these

young nobles voluntarily seek such nations as maybe engaged in war, partly because inactiondoesnot please this race , partly because distinctioni smore easy of attainment under difficulties . Norcanyoukeep together a great comitatus, save byviolence and war: since i t is from the l iberali ty of

the prince that they exact that war-horse , thatbloody and victorious lance. For feasts and meals ,ample though rude , take the place of pay. Warsand plunder supply the means of munificence ; norwill youso readily persuade them to plough theland or wai t wi th patience for the year, as to challenge enemies and earnwounds ; seeing that i tseems dull and lazy to acquire w ith sweat what

youmay winw ith bloodIt would be difficult ina few l ines to give any

thing like so clear and admirable anaccount of thepecul iarities of the Comitatus , as Tacitus has leftus inth is v igorous sketch and l ittle remains but toshow how his view is confirmed by other sources

of information, and to draw the conclusions which

naturally result from these premises.

To the influence and operationof these associations are justly attributed notonly the conquests ofthe various tribes, but the most important modifi

Mor. Germ. xiii . xiv .

168 ms SAXONS iN ENGLAND. [B OOK 1.

cations inthe law of the people . As the propername for the freemanis ceorl , and for the born-nobleeorl , so is the true word for the comes, or comrade ,

gesi’S . This is inclose etymological connectionw ith

Bid ,a journey , and li teral ly denotes one who ac

companies another . The functions and social positiouof the gesilS led however to another appellation: inthis pecul iar relationto the prince , he i s

pegn, a thane , strictly and originally a servant orminister, and only noble whenthe service of royal tyhad shed a l ight upondependence and imperfectfreedom . Beowulf describes himself as the relativeand thane of Hygelac : but his royal blood and t riedvalour make him also the head of a comitatus

,and

he visits H eort w ith a selected band of his owncomrades , swa

'

ese gesi’das : they , l ike h imself, be

long however to his lord , and are described as Hygelac

’

sbeédgeneétas, heor’Sgeneatas ( tischgenossen,

heerdgenossen) , sharers inthe monarch’s table and

hearth . A portionof the booty takeni n warnaturally became the property of the gesifias ; thisalmost fol lows from the words of Tacitus ; andSaxo Grammaticus, who inthis undoubtedly ex

presses a genuine fact , al though after a peculiarfashion of his own, says of one of his heroes ‘,Proceres non solum domesticis stipendiis cole

bat, sed etiam spoliis ex hoste quaesitis : aflirmaresol itus , pecuniam ad mili tes , gloriam ad ducem te

dundere debere . ” And ageing, “ Horum omniumclientelam rex liberali familiaritate coluerat. N am

primis apud cum honoribus, habitum,cultos auro

‘ Him Dam i .t lbii p , l44 ,

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70 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. (noon: 1.

edly could by the free soldier inthe H ereban, butdepended enti rely Upon the w i l l of the chief, andhisnotions of pol icy : a right could nothave beendescribed as the resul t of his l iberali ty . In the historical time of Charlemagne we have ev idence ofthis 1 Quo accepto idem vi r prudentissimusidque largissimus et Dei dispensator magnam indepartem Romam ad limina A postolorum misit perAngilbertum dilectum abbatem suum ; porro reliquam pa rtem obtimatibus, clericis s ive laicis, cae

terisqne fidelibus suis largitus est :” or, as i t is

still more clearly expressed inthe annals of Eginhart", reliquum vero inter Optimates et aulicos,caeterosque inpalat ic suo mili tantes , l iberal i manudistribuit.” And similarly we are told of E

’Oel

stan: Praeda quae incastro reperta fuerst , eteaquidem amplissima , magnifies et v iritim divisa .

H oe enim v ir i lle animo imperaverat suo , utnih ilopum ad crumenas corraderet; sed omnia conqui

sita, velmonasteriis, velfidelibussuis, munificus exThe share of the freemanwho serv ed

under his gerefa , and notunder a lord ,was his own

by lot , and neither by largitio nor liberalitas,—a

most important distinction, seeing that where allwas left to the arbitrary dispositionof the chief,the subservience of the follower would very natural ly become the measure of his l iberal ity.The relationof the Comites w as one of fealtyi t was

’

undertaken in the most solemnmanner,

Anna] . Laurish . an. 796. Pertz, Mon. Germ. i . 182.

AB . 796 . Peitz, i . 183.

3 Old . Meldun. Gest . Reg. i . 213, Q134 .

011. Van] THE NOBLE BY SERVICE . 171

and with appropriate , symbolic ceremonies , out ofwhich , in later times , sprung homage and theother incidents of feudal ity . All history provesthat it was of the most intimate nature that evenl ife itself was to be sacrificed w i thouthesitationifthe safety of the prince demanded i t : the gesl

’6as

of Beowulf expose themselves with him to the attack of the fiendish Grendel ‘ Wiglaf risks his ownlife to assist his lord and relative inhis fatal eontest with the firedrake’ ; and the solemndenunciationwhich he pronounces against the remainingcomites who neglected this duty , recal ls the wordsOf Tacitus , and the infamy that attached to the survivors of their chief8

call é‘lfelwyn,06m m cynnelufentilicgean:londrihtesmot503mmaigburgcmonna é ghwilc

go about deprived,whenonce thenoblesfar and wide shall hearof your fl ight,

d6m1easandred . your dishonourable deed .

Dead bib sells Death is betterfor every warrior

50m edwitlif. thana life of shame.

But we are notcompelled to draw uponthe storesOf poetry and imaginative traditionalone : the soberrecords of our earlier annal ists supply ample evidence incorroborationofthe philosophical historian.

Beéwulf, l . 1582 seq . Ibid. 1. 5262 seq ., 5384 seq .

Ibid . 1. 6763.

How shall the service of treasureand the gift of swords,all joy of a paternal inheritance,all supportfa il yourkin:of the rights Of citizenship mustevery one

172 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [B OOK 1.

WhenCwichelm ofWessex sent anassassinto cutoff Eaduuini of Northumberland , that prince wassaved by the devotionof his thane Li l la , who threwhimself between, and received the blow that wasdestined for his master ; in the words Of Beda ':

Quod cum v ideret Li lla minister regis amicissi

mus, nonhabens scutum ad manum quo regem a

nece defenderet, mox interposuitcorpus suum anteictum pungentis sed tanta v i hostis ferrum infixit,utper corpus militis occisi etiam regem vulneraret.”

Againwe learn that inthe year 786, Cyneheard ,

anaetheling ofWessex , who had pretensions to thecrown , surprised the king Cynewulf at the houseof a paramour atMerton, and there slew him. He

proffered wealth and honours to the comites Of thek ing , which they refused , and with smal l numbersmanfully held out til l every one had fallen. Onthefollowing morning a superior force of the k ing’sthanes came up : to them againthe aethel ing Offeredland and gold , but in vain: he was slainonthespot w ith all his owncomites , who refused to deserthim inhis extremi ty . This i s the account givenof these facts in the words of the Saxon Chroniclei tself 2

Andflé gebeéd behim heora agen And thenhe offered them theiras «him fees and loudes, gif his owndesire of money and land, ifhim ha s ricesfifion, and him cy

‘b they would grant h im the kingde,

“

Bret heora ma'egas him mid dom, and he told them that theirm icron, 5a

“

be him from noldon. ownrelatives were w ith him, who

And ‘

86 cwé donhie,“S tet himnié w ouldnotdesert him. Thensaid

B ig ma’

eg le6fra mere “

Sonne heora they, that no relative was dearerblaford, and hiene fre his banan to them thantheir lord , and that

H ist. Ber. 11. 9. Chron. Sax. an. 755.

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174 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [sooni .

prince ; but he could notbe the possessor of a freeH ide , and consequently bound to service in thegeneral fyrd , or to suit inthe folcr

’

nOt: he mighthave weal th , and rank and honour

,be powerful

and splendid , dignified and influential , but he couldnotbe free : and if eventhe freemanso far forgotthe inherent dignity of his stationas to carry himself ( forhis é

’Sel I think he could notcarry) into theservice of a prince , -euindividual man, althougha prince, and notas yet the state , or the representative of the state ,—cani t be doubted that the re

munerative service of the chief would outweigh thebarrenpossessionof the farmer, or that the festiveboard and adventurous l ife of the castle would soonsupply excuses for neglecting the humbler duties

Of the popular court and judicature ? Even if the

markmen razed him from thei r roll , and committedhis eiSel to a worthier holder , what should he care ,whom the l iberali ty of his conquering leader could

endow wi th fifty times its worth ; and whose totaldivorce from the vulgar community would probablybe looked uponw ith no disfavour by him who had

al ready marked that community for his prey ? Norcould those whom the gesi

’6 inturnsettled u'

ponlands which were not withinthe general mark-jurisdiction

, be free markmen, but must have stood toWards him insomewhat the same relationas hestood to his ownchief. Uponthe planof the largerhousehold , the smaller would also be formed : thesame or simi lar conditions Of tenure would prevai land the services of his dependants he wasno doubtbound to hold atthe disposal of his ownlord , and

ea . vu.] THE NOBLE BY SERVICE . 176

to maintai n forhis advantage . We have thus , even

inthe earl iest times, the nucleus of a standingarmy , the means and instruments of aggrandizement both for the King and the praetoriancohortsthemselves practised and delighting in battle , everready to join inexpeditions which promised adven

ture,honour or plunder , feasted intime of peace .

enriched in time of war ; holding the bond thatuni ted them to their ch ief asmore sacred and strin

gent thaneven that of blood‘

, and consequentlyready for his sake to turn thei r arms against thefree settlers inthe district , whenever his caprice , hispassionor his ambition called upon their services.

Inproportionas his power and digni ty increasedby their efforts and assistance. so their power anddignity increased : his rank and splendour were refiected uponall that surrounded him, till at lengthi t became not only more honourable to be theun~

free chattel of a prince , thanthe poor, free cul tivetor of the soil , but evensecurity for possessionand property could only be attained within the

compass of their body. As early as the periodwhenthe Frankish Law was compiled, we find thegreat advantage enjoyed by the Comes Over theFree Salian or Ripuarian, inthe large proportionborne by his wergyld, incomparison wi th that ofthe latter”.The advantage derived by the community from

[Elfred excepts the lord, wh ile he defines the cases inwhich a manmay give armed assistance to his relative. The right Of private feudisnotto extend to that sacred obligationof fea lty . Ll . AElf. 42.

Ll . suis. Tit. lvii . cap. 1, 2 . L1. Rip. liii cap. 1, 2.

176 rue saxousm ENGLAND. [soox r.

the presence and protectionof anarmed force suchas the gesi

’Sas consti tuted , must have graduallyproduced a dispositionto secure thei r favour evenat the expense of the free nobles and settlers : anda Mark that w ished to entrust its security and itsinterests to a powerful soldier, would probably soonacquiesce inhis assuming a directionand leadership inthei r ad

’

ai rs , hardly more consistent w iththeir original l iberty , thanthe influence which a

modernnoblemanmay establish by watching , asi t is called , over the interests of the Registrat ion.

Eventhe old nobles by blood , who gradually beheldthemselves forced downinto a stationof comparativ e poverty and obscurity, must have early hastenedto give inthei r adhesionto a new order of thingswhich held out peculiar prOSpects of advantage tothemselves and thus , the communities , deserted by

their natural leaders , soonsunk into a very subordinate situation, became portions of larger unities under the protection, and ultimately the rule ,of successful adventurers , and consented w i thout astruggle to receive their comi tes into those oflicesof power and distinctionwhich were once conferredby popular election.

As the gesi’das were notfree, and could nottake

a part inthe deliberations of the freemenat the

folcmot, or inthe judicial proceedings, except inasfar as they were represented by their chief,means for doing justice betweenthemselves becamenecessary : these were provided by the establishment of a system of law , administered inthe lord

’s

court , by his officers, and to which all his depen

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178 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

to be by him disposed of at his pleasure . Hencethe forfeiture of lands for adultery and fornication,and hence evenE lfred affixes the penalty of deathto the crime of hlafordsyrwe, or conspiracy againsta lord ', while manslaughter could still be com

pounded for bycustomary payments . One or twospecial cases may be quoted to show how the relationof the gesi

’S to his chief modified the generallaw of the state .The horse and arms which , inthe strict theory

of the comitatus , had been the gift , or ratherthe loanof the chief, were to be returned at thedeath of the vassal , inorder, according to the sametheory , that they might furnish some other adventurer with the instruments of service ’ . These , technically cal led Heregeatwe, armatura bellica , havecontinued evento our ownday under the name ofHeriot , and strictly speaking consist of horses andweapons . Inlater imi tationof this , the unfree settlers ona lord ’s land , who were not cal led uponby thei r tenure to perform mil itary service

, werebound ondemise to pay the best chattel (meliuscatallum,

besthead, inGermanbeste haupt , heriotcustom , as opposed to heriot-service) to the lord ,probably onthe theoretical hypothesis that he, at

Ll . {ElfinIntroduction, and 54 .

2 This is necessary ina eonntry where thematerials ot'

which wea

pens are fabricated arenotabundant, which Tacitusnotices as the caseinGermany, ne ferrum quidem superest, sicut ex genere telornmcolligitur.

” Germ. vi . Adventurers, ever onthe move, are prone torealize their gains inthemost portable shape. Rings, gems and armsare thenatural form, and a Teutonic king’s treasury must have beenfilled with them, inpreference to all other valuables.

ca . vu.] THE NOBLE BY SERVICE . 179

the commencement of the tenancy , had supplied thenecessary implements of agriculture . And this differs enti rely from a Rel ief ‘, because Heriot is theact of the leaving , Re l ief the actof the incomingtenant or heir”; and because ini ts very natureand amount Heriot is of a somewhat indefini techaracter , which Relief is not .Inthe strict theory of the comitatus , the geei

’d

could possess no property of his own; all that heacqui red was his lord ’s , and eventhe liberal itiesof the lord himself were only beneficia or loans ,notabsolute gifts”: he had the usufruct only duringlife , the dominiumutile : the dominiumdirectumwasinthe lord , and at the death of the tenant i t isobvious that the estate vested inthe lord alonethe gesi

’d could have no ins testamenti , as indeedhe had no family : the lord stood to him inplace

Relief, releoium, from relevare, to lift or take up again. It'

is a

sum paid by the heir to the lord, ontel-ing or lifting up againthemheritance of anestate which has, as itwere, fallento the ground by thcdeath of the aneestor.Fleta. lib. iii . cap. 18.

Montesquieuhas seenthis very clearly, whenhe considers eventhe

M d, an. 915-922, it would seem that inMercia a thane requiredthe consent of the lord , beforehecould purchase anesta te of bookland :“ Ego dedi licentiam Eadrico meo ministro comparanditerram decem manentium mtFernbeorgen, sib i suiaque baeredibus perpetualiter possidendam.

”Cod. Dipl . No. 343. About the close of the

ninth century.Wulfhere, a duke, having left the country, and so de

serted the duties of his position, was adjudged to lose evenhis privatelands of inheritance : Quando illeutrumqne etsuum dominum regemE lfredum etpatriam, ultra iusiurandum quam regi etsuis omnibusopo

iudicio sapientium Geuisorum etMercensium, potesta tem ethacredita

tem dereliquitagrorum. Cod . Dipl . No. 1078 . The immrtancc of th ispassage seems to me to restnponthe w

“sine licentia.

”

N 2

180 rm: SAXONS 1x ENGLAND . [sooni .

of father, brother and son. Hereditary succession,which must atfirst have beena very rare exception,could only have arisenatalleither from the voluntary or the compelled grant of the lord : i t couldonly become general whenthe old distinctionbetweenthe free markmenand the gesi

’S had becomeobliterated , and the system of the Comitatus hadpractically and politically swal lowed up every other .Yet evenunder these circumstances i t would appearthat a perfectly defined result was not attained ;and hence , although the document entituled Rec

titudines singularum personarum numbers the{us testamenti among the rights of the pegen’, y et

evento the close of the Anglosaxonmonarchy , wefind dukes , praefects , kings

’ thanes and other greatnobles humbly demanding permissionfrom the kingto make w il ls , entreating him not to disturb thei rtestamentary dispositions, and even bribing hisacquiescence by including him among the legatees . Inthis as inall humanad

'

ai rs , a compromisewas gradual ly found necessary betweenopposingpowers , and the king aewellne.the comi tes ,neitherof whom could dispense with the assistance of theother , found it advisable to make mutual concessions . I doubt whether at evenanearlier periodthanthe eleventh century , the whole body of thaneswould have permitted the king to disregard thetestament of one of their body , unless upondefinite legal grounds , as for example grave suspicion

pcgenes lagnis iiect he ayi

his hécrihtes wyrlie ; taini lex estutsitdignas rectitudine testamenti sui.” Thorpe, i . 432 . And with th isAl fred’s law of entails is consistent . Ll . zElf. § 4 l . Thorpe, i . 88.

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182 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [sooni .

of subservience to the king ’s w ishes : a bond of

affection and interdependence surpassing that ofblood , and replacing the mutual free guarantee ofl ife and security , was formed betweenthem ; andthey shared al ike in the joys and sorrows , thesuccesses and reverses of peace and war : but wi thit

.

all, and whatever thei r rank , they were infactmenials , housed w ithinthe walls , fed at the table ,clothed at the expense of thei r chief ; dependentuponhis bounty, his gratitude or forbearance , forthei r subsistence and posit ion in l ife ; bound tosacrifice that life i tself i n his serv i ce , and , strictlyconsidered , incapable of contracting marriage orsharing inthe inestimable sancti ties of a home .They were his cupbearers , stewards , chamberlainsand grooms ; evenas kings and electors were to

stand. Cod. Dipl . No. 685. In'

the timeof E beh'

ed,Wulfwaru, s lady,commences her will inthese words: IoWulfwarubidde mine ledfanhléford E belred kyning, him towlmyssan,

“

Se t ic mote be6nminescwides wyi

'lSe ; i . c. thatI may be worthy of my right of devisingby w ill ; that I may enjoy my right of making a w ill . Cod . Dipl .No. 694 . E lfgyfuthe queenin1012 commences herwill insimilarterms: “ Dis is E lfgyfe gegurning té hire cynehlfiforde. Dct istint

hyre cwides wyrbe.

” Cod. Dipl . No. E belsdn, king m elted's

son, made also a will , from which I takethe follow ing passage Now

I thank my father, with all humility, inthe name of Almighty God,for the answer which he sent me onthe Friday after Midsummer day,by E lfgfir [Efi’a

’s son; that was, that he told me, uponmy father’s

word, that I might, by God’s leave andhis, grantmy realty andchattels,as I thought best, whether forspiritualortemporalends. And thewitnesses to this answer are Eadmund,” etc. Cod . Dip] . No. 722 . Lastly,E lthelm concludes his w ill w ith these words : Now I entreat thee,my dear lord, that my w ill may stand, and that thoupermit not thatany manshould set it aside. God ismy w itness that I was ever obedient to thy father, to the utmost of my power, and full faithful tobimboth inmind andmain, and have ever beenfaithful to thee, infullfaith imd full love, as God ismy witness.

”Cod. Dip] . No. 967.

on. vu.] THE NOBLE BY SERVICE. 183

the emperor , whom they had rai sed out of theirownbody . The real nature of thei r service appearseventhrough the haze of splendour and digni tywhich gradual ly surround the intimate servantsof royalty ; and as the chief might select his comites and instruments from what class he chose ,i t was the fate of these voluntary thanes , not unfrequently to be numbered in the same categorywi th the unfree by birth , and thus, intheir ownpersons , tow i tness the destructionof that essentialprinciple of all Teutonic law, the distinctionbetweenthe freemanand the serfGreat indeed ought to be the advantages which

could compensate for sacrifices like these , and greatinthei r eyes , beyond a doubt , they were . Inte

turnfor freedom, the gesi’S obtained a certainmain

tenance, the chance of princely favour , a militaryand active l ife of adventure , w ith all i ts advantagesof pillage , festivals and t riumphs , poets and minstrels, courtly halls and adventitious splendour ;the usufruct at least , and afterwards the possession,of lands and horses , arms and jewels . As the royalpower stead i ly advanced by his assistance , and theold , national nobility of birth , as well as the old ,landed freemansunk into a lower rank , the gesi

’6

found himself rising inpower and considerationproportioned to that of his chief : the offices which had

Liberti nonmultnm supra servos sunt, raro aliquod momentumindomo, nunquam incivitate ; exceptis dnntaxst iia gentibus, quaeregnantur : ibi enim ct super ingenuos et supernobiles aseendunt:spud caeteros imp res l ibertini libertatis argumentum aunt." Tac .

Germ.m .

184 THE saxos'

s IN ENGLAND. [soonI .

passed from the electionof the freemento the giftof the crown‘

, were now conferred upon him, andthe ealdorman, duke , gerefa, judge , and eventhebishop , were at length selected from the ranks ofthe comitatus . Final ly , the nobles by birth themselves became absorbed inthe ever-w idening whirlpool day by day the freemen, deprived of their oldnational defences , wringing w i th difficulty a precarions subsistence from incessant labour, sullenly

yielded to a yoke which they could not shake off,and commended themselves ( such was the phrase)to the protectionof a lord ; til l a complete changehaving thus beenoperated inthe opinions ofmen,and consequently in every relationof society, a

new order of things was“

consummated,inwhich

the honours and securi ty of serv ice became moreanxiously desired thana needy and unsafe freedomand the alods beingfinal ly surrendered , to be takenback as beneficia , under mediate lords , the foundations of the royal , feudal system were securely laidonevery side .

By th is step, the crownbecame the real leader of the barchan. orposse comitatus. as well as of the gesi

'fias and their power: and thusalso, thehead of thejuridical power inthe counties, as well as the lords’courts. Moreover it extended the powers and provisions of martiallaw to the ofi

'

ences of the freemen.

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186 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [nooz r.

from over-population, has beennoticed inthe lastchapter ; but I agree w ith Eichhorn

land Grimm ’

,

inattributing the principal and original cause ofslavery inall i ts branches to war and subsequentconquest . Another and important cause is forfeiture of liberty for crime and the amount of de

pendence, the gentler or harsher conditionof theserf, depend to a great extent uponthe originalground of serv i tude . If the victor has a right tothe life of the vanquished , which by the law of

nature is unquestionably the case , he possesses d

fortiori a perfect claim to the person, the propertyand the services of his prisoner, if his self-interestor the dictates of humani ty induce him to waivethat rights. These remarks apply no doubt , intheir full force, only to our paganforefathers butevenChristiani ty i tself did not at once succeed inrooting out habits which its divine precepts of justice and mercy emphatically condemn. Beda, inhis desire to prove the efficacy of the mass for thedead tells aninteresting story of a young noble

Dent. Stastsges. i . 72, 515.

3 Deutsche Rechtsalterthiimer, p . 320, with the numerous examplesthere given. So Fleta .

“ Fiunt autem homines servi de iure gentiumcaptivitate bella enim orta sunt, etcaptivitatessequntae. Fiuntetiamde inre civili, per confessionem incuria fisci factam.

” Lib. i. c. 3. 3.

3 A whole armymaybe devoted as victims by the conquerors. Sed

bellnm Hermunduris prosperam, Cattis exitiodus fnit, quia victores

diversam seiemMarti ac Mercurio sacravere, quo voto equi, viri, euncta

quot patibula captivis, quae scrobes,” etc. Tac. Anna]. i . 61.H ist. Eccles. iv. 22.

on. vnt.] THE UNFREE . THE SEEP. 187

who was left severely wounded onthe field , after abattle betweenEcgfri

’S of Northumberland andE

’é‘

elred of Mercia, i n the year 679 . Fearful ofthe consequences should his rank be discovered , hedisguised himself inthe habit of a peasant , and as

sumed that character , at the castle of the earl intowhose hands he fell declaring that he was a poor,and married man who had beencompelled to attend the army w i th supplies of provisions . But hislanguage and manners betrayed him , and atlength ,under a solemn promise of immuni ty , he revealedhis name and station. The reply of the earl i s characteristic ; he said : I knew well enough fromthy answers that thou wert no rustic and now iadeed thou artworthy of death , seeing that all mybrothers and relations were slain inthat battle :yet I wi ll not k ill thee , lest I should break thefai th that I have pledged . Accordingly whenhiswounds were healed , his captor sold him to a FrisianinLondon, who , finding that he could not be bound ,finally released him onhis parole and permittedhim to ransom himself. Whatever the motive , i tis thus clear that the victor possessed the right oflife and dea th over his captive, even whentaken incold blood and the traditions , aswell as the historical records of the northernnations are fil led w i thinstances of i ts exercise .

‘ This is confirma ory of the statement inthe last ehspter, thst,

strictly speaking, the Comes couldnotmarry. One cannot see why theassertionshould have beenmade onany other grounds : his greatanxiety was to prove himselfnot it comes orminister, and as one argu

188 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. ( soon: 1.

I t does not however by any means follow thatthe total defeat of a hostile tribe resulted in the immed iate and direct enslaving of all the survivorsas in the example just cited , the blood-feud nodoubt frequently led to the murder of the captivechiefs and nobles , even if less justifiable motivesdid notcounsel the same miserable means of re .

moving dangerous competitors ‘ but the heavydoom of death must have beenone of the melancholy priv i leges of thenoble class : and eventhoughmany of the common freemenmay have beensoldor retained as slaves at the caprice:of the captors ,still we cannot suppose this to have beenthe lot ofany but those who had actual ly takenpart incombat; no natural ornational law could extend theseharsh provisions to the freemenwho remained quietathome . Nevertheless even these were liable tobe indirectly affected by the hostile triumph , inasmuch as the conquerors appear invariably to havetakena portion, more or less great, of the territoryoccupied by the conquered“: and wherever this is

After a battle betweenRagnachsri and Chlodowich, inwhich theformer was takenprisoner, the victor thus addressed him : CuidixitChlodovens, Cur humiliasti gentemnostram, ut te vinciri permitteres? Nonne melius tibi fuerit mori ? Et elevata bipenne, incaputeius defixit, etmortuus est. Conversusque ad fratrem eius, nit:S i tusolatium fratri tuo praebnisses, ille ligarasnonfuissetl Similiteret ipsum incapite percussum interfecit, etmortuus est.” Gest. Reg.

Franc. ( Script. Rer. Ga ll . ct Francic. ii . It was the interest ofChlodowich to put these princes to death, but there must still havebeensome rightacknowledged inhim to do so . He seems however torest it uponthe disgrace which they had brought uponthemé gburh,gear or family, by suffering themselves to be captured and bound.

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190 ransuons IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

of the folcmdt, and forgottenthat self-governmentis the inherent right and digni ty of man, intheconvenience of having others to defend and rulethem . Moreover the territorial subjectionwas notnecessarily a juridicalone indeed some of the Tentonic conquerors recognized as positive law, the

right of eventhe dependent Romans and Provinciels to be judged and taxed according to the rul esand maxims of Roman, not Salic or Langobardic ,jurisprudence : and this , when carried out in thefullest detailw ith respect to the various tribes atany time united under one supreme head , constitutee what is now called the system of P ersonal

Right, whereby each manenjoyed the law and formsof law to which he was born, w ithout the leastreference to the pecul iar district inwhich he mighthappen to l ive ; inother words, that he carried hisownlaw about , whithersoever he went , as a qual i tyattached to his ownperson, and not inthe slightestdegree connected w ith or dependent uponany particular local i ty . Inthis way Alamanni , Baiowari,Saxons , Frisians, Langobards , Romans , Gallic prov incials and Slavonic populations , were all unitedunder the empire of the Sal ic andRipuarianFranks‘.The peculiar circumstances under which the conquest took place must , of course , have defined therelationsunder which the subject stood to the rulingstate . I t i s conceivable that the conquerors mightnot want land , but be contented w ith glory and

‘ This led by dcgrees to the vast power and influence of all theclergy, who were originally Roman, and who, whatever their nationmight be, lived underthe Rom law,

“

pes clericalem honorem.

”

en. vm .] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 191

pillage ; or they might not be able to seize andretainthe conquered terri tory : or againthey mayhave required new settlements for themselves andtheir alli es, to obtainwhich they waged a war of

extermination. Thus the Suevi , al though unableto

_

expel the Ubii altogether from thei r territory,

yet succeeded inrendering them tributary‘; while

in Thuringia , the Franks and thei r Saxon al liesseized all the land , slaying, expelling or completelyreducing the indigenous inhabitants to slavery.

Another and curious instance may be cited from a

comparatively late period , whenthe l ittle island ofM anwas invaded , conquered and coloni zed by theNorwegianGodred . Godredus sequenti die optionem exercitui suo dedit , ut si mallent, Manniaminter se dividere et inea habitare, vel cunctamsubstantiam terrae accipere et ad propria remeare.

Hiis autem magis placuit totem insulam vastare,

etde bonis i llins ditari , et sic ad propria reverti .Godredus autem paucis qui secum remanseruntde insulanis

,australem partem insulae , etreliquiis

Mannensium aquilonarem tali pacto concessit , utnemo corum aliquando anderst iure haereditariosibi aliquam partem terrae usurpare . Unde acciditut usque inhodiernum diem tota insula solius regissi t , etomnes redditus eius ad ipsumThe not being able to dispose of property hereditarily is the true badge and proof of slavery.

The Franks imposed a trihute of hides

uponthe Ih-isians : we hcsr also of tribnte paid them by the'l'

hurin

Chron. Minimise. MS. Cott . Jul. A. VII. fol. 32.

192 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

Tacitus draws the great d istinctionbetweenthedifferent degrees of servitude among the Germans .He tells us that the unsuccessful gambler who hadstaked and lost his l iberty and the free diSposal ofhis ownbody uponone fatal cast of the dice , wouldvoluntarily submit to be bound and sold ‘, but thati t wasnotusual for them to reduce their other serfsto the condition of menials ; they only demandedfrom them a certainamount of produce ( or , unquestionably, of labour inthe field or pasture) , andthenleft them the enjoyment of thei r owndwel lings and property0 The general duties of thehouse , beyond such supplies , which were providedfor among the Romans by the ministeria perfamiliamdescripta , were left among the Germans to the wifeand childrenof the honseholderB. I t w ill be desirable to follow a somewhat similar distinctionin

“ Servos conditionis hnius per commercia tradunt, nt se quoquepudore victoriae exsolvant.” Germ. xxiv . The last member of the

sentence is a bit of imaginative morality which we shall acquit theGermans of altogether. The very word caeteris inthenext sentenceshows clearly enough that if they did sell some slaves conditionis hm’

us,they keptothers formenial functions.

“ Caeteris serv is, noninnostrum morem descriptis per familiamministeriis, ntuntur. Suam quisque sedem, suos penates regit. Frumenti modum dominns, antpecoris, antvestis, utcolono, iniungit; et

servus hactenus paret.” Germ. xxv. This amounts to no more thanthe descriptionof a certa inclass of our owncopyholders, of the Slavonic holder inBohemia or Galicia, and the peasant onanoble sessioninHungary .This is the obvious meaning of the passage, which has however

beendisputed, indefiance of sense and Latin: see Walther’s edition,vol. iv. 58 . The general rule inthe text is true, but where therewere slaves they wereused inthe house, under the snperintendence of

the family. This of course app lies more strongly to later historical

rous, and the ladiesmuch less domestic.

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194 THE saxons IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

serfs raw or nature, and the serfs casucompriseserfs by the fortune ofwar, by marriage, by settle.

ment , by voluntary surrender, by crime , by superiorlegal power, and by illegal power or injustice . Theremaining class are serfs natura , or by birth .

The serfs by fortune of war were those who werenot left under the public law to enjoy a portionoftheir ancient freedom and possessions , but wereactually reduced to a state of praedial or menialservi tude by their captors , and either reserved forhousehold drudgery or sold , at their arbitrary wi l l .The Cassandra and Andromache of Grecianstorystand here side by side w ith our ownGermanGudrfin. This part of the subject has received sufficient illustrationfrom the tale of the thane Imma ,already quoted from Beda.

The serf by marriage was the free manor freewomanwho contracted that bond w ith a slave : inthis case the free party sank to the conditionof theunfree , among some at least of the Germanraces .The Sal ic law is expl ici t uponthis point both wi threspect to manand woman': among the RipuarianFranks itwas enacted thus“: If a free Ripuarianwomanhath followed a Ripuarianserf, let the k ingor the count offer unto her a sword and a spindle :if she accept the sword , let her therewi th slay theserf ; if the spindle , let her abide w ith him inser

Si quia ingenuus ancillam alienam sib i inconiugitim sociaverit,

ipse cum ea inservitutem inclinetur.” Lex Sal. xiv. l l . Si ingenuafemina aliqnemcunque de illis ( i . e. raptoribnsnoningenuis) sua voluntate secuta fuerit, ingenuitatem suam pcrdat.

” Lex Sal. xiv. 7.

Lex Rip. lviii . 18 .

on. vm .) THE UNFREE . THE BEEF. 196

vitnde.

” In this case the Burgundian law' commanded both parties to be slain; but if the relativsa of the womanwould notput her to death , shebecame a serf of the king. Saxo Grammaticus citesa similar law forDenmark g There is no evidenceof the Anglosaxonpractice in this respect , but i tappears unlikely that the case should be of commonoccurrence . Probably purchase and emaneipatioualways preceded such marriages , and thelaw of Henry the First makes no mentionof thisamong the grounds of slavery

”.

The serf by settlement is he who has takenuphis abode in a district exclusively inhabited by theunfree ; and to this refers the GermanexpressionD ie luft macht eigen,

” i . e . the airmakes the serf.There is no distinct Anglosaxonprovisiononthesubject , but perhaps we may include inthis classsome at least of those who taking refuge ona lord’sland , and among his sdcmen, w ithout any absoluteand formal surrender of thei r freedom , did actually become his serfs and l iable to the services dueto him from all thei r neighbours“. The generali ty

Lex Burg . am . 2, 3. H ist. Dan. lib. v . p . 85.

Trittst da meine henne, so wirst da meinhahn.Dieunfreie hand zieht die freienach sich .Enformariage le pire emporte le bon.

”

Such may also have beenmalefactors, who sought anasylum inchurch or other privileged lands, and who sometimes formed a veryconsiderable number of dependants or reta iners : thus, “ Contrasituniversum inventntem Honlandiac [Holland inLincolnshire] atteanissimus comes Algarusf—unh cum cohorte Croylandiae monasterii,videlicet CC bellatoribns robustissimis, eo quod maxims pars illorumde fugitivis fuerst.” H ist . Ingulf. p . 865.

196 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [aoox I.

however of such cases fal l under the next followinghead , v iz .

The serfs by surrender, the sua dationc servus of

Henry ’s law, the servus dedititius, and giafbrzel ofthe Norse law . Among these Grimm numbers theserfs whose voluntary submissionso much surprisedthe Romanphilosopher. Eventhe law of the Germans , so generally favourable to liberty, contemplates and provides for the case of such a voluntaryservitude ‘ This might arise invarious ways . Forexample, a time of severe scarcity , such as are onlytoo oftenrecorded inour ancient annals , nuquestionably drove eventhe free to the cruel alternativeof either starvationor servitude : Suhdebant se

pauperes serv itio , utquantulumcunque de al imento

porrigerent,” says Gregory of Tours“; Gildas tells

us a similar tale of the Britons”; and even as lateas the Normanconquest we find Geatfia

’

ed, a lady,directing by her w ill the manumissionof all thosewho had bent their heads inthe evi l days forfood‘ .

Si liber homo spontanea voluntate vel forte necessitate coectus,nobili , seulibero, senetiam lito, inpersonam st inservitium liti sesubdiderit. Lex Fm . xi . 1. Utnullum liberum liceat inservire.

quarnvis.pauper sit, tamenlibertatem mamnonperdatnec hereditatem

suam, nisi ex spontanea voluntate se alicui traders voluerit, hoc potestatem habent faciendi . Lex Bajuv. vi . 3 . The Anglosaxonlaw gavethis power of voluntary surrender to a boy of th irteen. See Them] .Poenit. xxix . Thorpe, ii . 19.

“ Interea fumes dira ac famosissima vagis ac nutahunrlis haeret,quae multos corum cruentis compellitpraedonibus sine dilutions victasdare manna, ut panxillum ad refocillandam animam cibi capercut.”H ist . Brit . cap. xvii .

“ Ballets men“

Se he6nonheora heafod for hyra mete onSanyflum dagum.

” Cod . Dip. No. 925. The instance is, I believe, a solitarv one inour records, butthe casesmust have beennumerous.

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198 m s SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [B OOK 1.

cal led a witebeéw , convict , or criminal slave . Theseare the servi redemptione of Henry the First .Serfs by force or power are not those comprised

inthe first class of these divisions , or serfs by thefortune of war: these of course have lost their freedom through superior force . But the class underconsiderationare such as have beenreduced to serv itude by the legal actof those who had a right todispose of them as, for instance , a sonor daughterby the actof the father '. It is painful to recorda fact so abhorrent to our Christianfeel ings , butthere cannot be the leastdoubt that this right wasboth admitted and acted upon. The father, uponwhose w ill i t li terally depended whether his childshould l ive or not. had a right at a subsequent period to decide whether the lot of that child shouldbe freedom or bondage“. Illegitimate children, theoffspring of i l licit intercourse w i th his wyln or

beowen, may have formed the majori ty of those thusdisposed of by a father : but intimes of scarcity ,i t is to be feared that eventhe issue of legi timate

The w ife, by the actof thehusband, I think very doubtful, inpointof right. Inpoint of fset this casemay have occurred much more frequently thanour records vouch .

The illegitimate ofispring of his ownw ife, a husband was notlikely to spare. Anold Germantale records this fact . Her lord teturning from a long absence and finding a child which could not behis owninthe house, was told by the faithless mother, tha t whenwalking m the fields a flake of snow had falleninto her bosom andImpregnated her. Afterwards the husband took the child to Italyand sold him there, excusing h imself to the mother by the assertionthat theheat of the sunhad melted the snow-child.

Denive conceptum quemmater adultera finxit;Hunc dominus vendens liquefactum soleretulit.”

on. Vim] THE UNFREE . THE SERF. 99

marriage was not always spared '. The Frisians ,when oppressed by the amount of Romantribute ,sold their wives and children Ac primo bovesipsos , mox agros , postremo corpora coniugum autliberorum servitio tradebant“ this is however anexceptional case , and the sale ofw ives and childrenappears only to have beenresorted to as a last resource . But the very restrictionto the exercise ofthis right,withinparticular limits of time—which wemay bel ieve the merciful interventionof the churchto have brought about—speaks only too plainly fori ts existence inEngland . Evenas late as the endof the seventh century , and after Christianity hadbeenestablished for nearly one hundred years inthis country , we find the following very distiqctand clear recognitions of the right , inbooks of

discipline compiled by two several archbishops forthe guidance of their respective clergy . In the

Poenitentialof Theodor , archbishop of Canterbury ,occurs this passage : “ Pater filium suum septemannorum, necessitate compulsus, potestatem habettradere inservitium delude

,sine v oluntate filii ,

licentiam tradendi nonhabet Inthe somewhat

Lingard (A . S . Church , i. 45) accuses the paganSaxons of sell ingtheir childreninto foreignslavery . I am notsure that th is is not as

depreciate the Saxons, inorder to enhance the merit of their converters. I admit the probabil ity of the fact, only because the right isa direct corollary from the paternal power, and because ArchbishopsTheodor and Ecgberht ( the first a Romanmissionary) recognize it ;but I cannotsuppose its exercise to have beencommon.

3 Tee . Anna] . iv. 72 .

Theodori, Arch . Cant. Liber Poenitentialis, xxviii . Thorpe, A. 8 .

Laws, ii . 19.

5200 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [8 00 K I .

later Confessionale ofEcgberht, archbishop ofYork ,we find Pater potestfilium suum , magna necce-i

sitate compulsus, inservitutem tradere , usque adseptimum annum deinde, sine voluntate filii, eumtradere nonpotest It is however v ery remarkable that lnthe Poenitential of the same Ecgberhtthe sal e of a chi ld or near relative is put downas

anoffence punishable by excommunication9 . Theseare the servi alterius datione of Henry the Fi rst .The next head includes the serfs by reasonof

crime . The distinctionbetweenthese and the classof criminals who became slaves through compactor redemption, is that intheir case serv i tude wasthe direct punishment of thei r offence , and notmerely anindirect and mediate consequence . It

seems to me at least that this sense stri ctly lies atthe foundationof two laws of Eadweard, Z EIfred

’

s

son of these the former says“, If any one throughconvictionof theft forfei t his freedom , and deliverhimself up, and his k indred forsake him , and he

Confessionale Ecgberhti, Arch . Ebor. xxvii . Thorpe, u. 153 .

2 The only way of getting rid of this strange contradictionis, eitherto assume the passage to be a later interpolation, wh ich there is noground for, save the contradictionitself ; orto take the passage incon~nectionwith Theodor. Poen. xlii . 3, 4 , 5, which refer to sale of a

Christianamong Jews orHeathens, and generally to fraudulent or iilegal sale. But then, onecannotunderstand why the words infantcmsuum proprium, velproximum suum cognatum should have beeniatroducedby Ecgberht, though omitted by Theodor. Perhapswemayreconcile the passages, by assuming Ecgberhtto refer to anillegal sa le,viz. whenthe ch ild was above sevenyears old, but still inthe samecategory as those for whose safety Theodor provides by the same ee

clesiastical penalty. The child or very near relationwere preciselythosewhowere most liable to be in alteramregioncm seducti, furati,etc.

3 Ll . Eédw. 9.

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202 m s SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soot r.

Richilda, quae libertatem suam fornicando polluit , amisit. . . . filiae illorum liberae permaneant,

nisi forte adulterio vel fornicatione polluantur.” It is true that the Anglosaxon laws do notgive us any enactment of a corresponding naturenevertheless I entertainno doubt that fornicationwas a ground of slavery in the case both of manand woman. Toward the end of the ninth century ,Denewulf, bishop of W inchester, leased the landsof Alresford to a relative of his own, onconditionof a yearly rent : Is equidem insipiens, adulterans,stuprum , propriam religiose pactatam abominans,scortum diligens, l ibid inose commisit. Quo reata ,

omni substantia peculiali recte privatusest, etpraefatum rus ab eo abstractum rex huius patriae auaeditioni avidus deveni re iniuste optavit Howeverunjust the canons of Winchester might think it , i tis clear that the Witena-gemot did not for the bishop was obliged to pay 120mancusses ingold tothe king , to have back his ownland . Againintheyear 1002 , we hear of a lady forfeiting her lands tothe king , by reasonof fornication9 . The conse

quences of this destitutioncanhardly have beenother thanservi tude and i tmay be atonce admittedthat where there were no lands to forfeit, servitudewas the recognized punishment of the offence .

Theodor 8 whenapportioning the penance due to it ,says , S i intra v iginti annos puella et adolescens

peccaverint, i annum , etinsecundo iii quadragesimas ac legitimas ferias . S i propter hoc peccatum

Cod. Dip. No. 601. Ibid. No. 1296.

Lib . Poenit. xvi. 3. Thorpe, n. 9.

cu. vm .] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 203

servitio humano addicti sunt , i i i quadragesimas .Aga in,

“Maritus si ipse seipsum infurto autfornicatione servum facit , vel quocunque etc .The last div isionof the semi casu comprisesthose who have been reduced to slavery by violenceor fraud , inshort illegal ly . Illegitimate children,poor relations , unfriended strangers , young personswi thout power of self-defence , may thus have beenseduced or forced into a servile conditionof l ife ,escape from which was always difiicult, inasmuchas there is necessarily a prima facie case againstthe serf, and he canhave no standing inthe courtcomposed only of the free . To this head seem re

ferable the passages I have al ready alluded to inTheodor’s Poenitential“, and which I w ill now citeat length : S i quis Christianus alterum Christianum suaserit, ac inalteram regionem seduxerit,ibique cum vendiderit pro proprio servo , i lle nonest dignus inter Christianos requiem habere , donecredimatcum etreducatad proprium locum .

”And

again: Si quis Christianus alterum Christianumvagantcm reppererit, eumque furatus fueri t ac ven

diderit,nondebet habere inter Christianos requiem ,

donec red imatcum, etpro illo furto septem annos

poeniteats.

”

The other great d ivisionincludes all the servi

natura , nativi , or serfs by reasonof unfree birth ;and as these are necessarily the childreneither ofparents who are both unfree , or ( under particularcircumstances)

‘

of one unfree parent, i t follows that

Thorpe, n. 9, note 4 . Supra, p. 200, note 2 .

Lib. See alsoniii. § la.

201 TH E SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [B OOK 1.

their heredi tary conditionmay arise from any oneof the condi tions heretofore under examination.

Al l the legitimate childrenof two serfs are themselves i rrevocably serfs ‘ but some distinctionsarise where the parents are of unequal condition,as where the mother is free , the father unfree , andvice versa . Inthis respect the law was v ery differentamong the different tribes : the Swedish lawdeclared infavour of l iberty“, the Germangenerallythe other ways. The Sachsenspiegel decides thatthe childrenfollow the father’s right‘ , and similarlythe law of Henry the First5 has, S i quis de servo

patre natus sit etmatre l ibera, pro servo reddatur

occisas and again, S i pater si t liber et materancilla , pro l ibero reddatur occisus onthe general principle that semper a patre nona matre generacionis ordo texitur,

”which Fortescue confirms ,

sayingb'

, Lex Angliaenunquam matris , sed semperpatris conditionem imitari partum iudicat, ut exlibera etiam ex nativa nonnisi l iberum liber generet , etnonni s i servum inmatrimonio procrearepotest servus .” Fleta’s argument rests uponthesame doctrine ’. Glanvi lle however appears to adoptthe contrary view”, which agrees w i th the maxim

Theod . Poen. xvi. 33. Begh . Poen. xxv .

3 Dent. Rechtsalt. p. 324 . Ibid . p . 324 .

Sachs. iii . 73. Ll . Hen. I . lxxvn. l , 2.

Commend. cap. xiii . 7 Lib . i . cap. 3. 2 .

Sunt autemnativ i a prima nativitate sua quemadmo dum si quisfuerit procreatus ex nativo et nativa, ille quidem nativus nascitur.

Idem estsi es patre libero rtmoi re nativa . Sed si ex matre libera et

patre nativo, idem estdicendum quantum ad sta tus integritatem.

” Lib .v . cap. 6. But the passage initalic is wanting insome manuscripts,and may possibly have beenthe gloss or additionof a civilian.

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206 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [8 00K x.

to thi rd parties only that a question canarise'.There is no proof that such a questionever did ariseamong the Anglosaxons, or that i t was thoughtneedful to provide for i t by law : and the earlierevidences w ith which this book has especially to doare either enti rely silent

,or so general inthei r ex

pressions that we cannot decide from them uponaparticular case . Infact the whole argument is reduced to the second head , v iz . where one parent isthe property of a third party , and where the childis borninlawful wedlock ; for a child notso hornis notsubject to any law which binds the parents , isnulliusfilius, and canas l ittle be injured as advantaged by the law.

Inthe strict Anglosaxonlaw there is no definitedecisiononthese points : the codes of other Germanraces, at. the oldest period , are equal ly silent .Inlater times indeed we have determinations butthese , as we have observed , are contradictory .

Perhaps we may take the doctrine of the Sachsenspiegel , coinciding as i t does w i th the opinionofmany , probably a majority , of our ownlaw-sages,as the original one, especial ly as i t is the only oneinaccordance w ith other detai ls of family l ife , andwi th the supreme law of nature itself which leaves

Of cmme ( except under circumstances which the Christianclergy,and probably eventhe heathenpriesthood,—and if neither of these,yettheuniversal humanfeeling—would condemn,) the i ssue of suchmarriage could not have beentreated asunfree, during the life of thefather. Buta questionmight arise after death, and onsubsequent tuheritance by third parties. And cases might occur where the publicright rendered it necessary to take care that the unfree shouldnota n

joy the advantages of freedom.

on. vm .] THE UNFREE. THE SERF. 207

to the father the decisionas to the life or death of

the chi ld , as to its liberty or slavery . Inthis sensethenI agree w i th Si r JohnFortescue and S i r Edward Coke ‘. I t is to be remembered that we aredeal ing now w i th the conditionof the offspring,not of the parent : the uncertainty that prevailswi th respectto the latter , inthe Anglosaxonlaw ,

and the contradictory enactments of other Germancodes have beenal ready noticed .

But all that has beensaid applies solely to thecase of children born in lawful wedlock ; andalmost all the apparent contradictions which havebeennoticed inour ownlaw , arise from a wantof clear distinctiononthis point . The chi ld of afree father and unfree mother, if the parents werenot married , remained to the lord of the neif, according to our expressive proverb ,

“ M ine is thecalf that is bornof my cow e

.

”InFleta’s words8

the distinctioni s drawnmost clearly , and they maytherefore stand here inplace of my own: Serviautem autnascuntur ant fiunt; nascuntur quidemex nativo etnativa solutis vel copulatis, eteius critservus incuius potestate nasci contigerit

‘

; dumtamende soluta nativa, domini loci , quia sequiturconditionem matris , a quocunque fueri t genitus,l ibero vel nativo". Si autem copulati fuerint et

Co. Litt. 187, 188 .

3 Take an instance, though with a wider application, from Shakspeare, K ing John, act i . se. 2.

3 Lib . i . cap. 3. 2.

That is, if the serfs of two different lords, thenthe child to follow

Inthe eventof there baing anmarriage. The case of a man-isgeis very different, and provided for inthenext sentence.

908 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

genitus fuerit partus a l ibero , licet a nativa, partuscri t l iber ; et si de servo et libera inmatrimonio ,servus cri t .” Thus

,here againthe offspring fol

lows the father, as soonas there is a marriage todetermine that there is anoffspring atall, inlaw ;but if there be no marriage , the chattel thrown intothe world , l ike any other waif or stray belongsdomino loci i t has a value , canbe worked or soldi t i s treasure-trove of a sort

, and as i t belongs tonobody else , fall s to the lord , as a compensationprobably for the loss of his neif’s services duringpregnancy and the nonage of the child ‘.Whatever the originof serfage may have been,i t canhardly be questioned that the lot of the serfwas a hard one ; and this perhaps not so muchfrom the amount of labour required of him , as

from the total i rresponsibility of the master, intheeye of the law , as to all dealings betweenhimselfand his heéw . The Christianclergy indeed did all

they could to mitigate its hardsh ips , but whenhasevenChristiani ty i tself beentriumphant over theselfishness and the passions of the mass of men?The early paganGermans , though ingeneral theytreated their serfs well , yetsometimes slew them ,

under the influence of unbridled passion: Verberare servum ac vincul is et opere coercere rerum .

Occidere solent , nondisciplina et severitate, sed

Mr. Alleninhis valuable notes uponthe law of Henry the First( published by Thorpe m his Anglosaxonla ws, 1. 609-631) has someremarksuponthe whole subject, as considered by our Normanjurists.

His conclusions coincide genera lly with mine, and he says ( p.“ The Mirrormakes themarriage of the parents anessential conditionto the liberty of the offspring,” etc.

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210 rue SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soot 1.

death no feud canarise , for the relatives who al

lowed'

him to fall‘

into , or remaininslavery , haverenounced the family bond , and forfeited both thewergyld and the mund . If he be guilty of wrong,he cannot make compensationinmoney or inchattels for he canhave no property of his ownsavehis sk in: thus his skinmust pay for him

‘, and the

lash be his bitter portion. He cannot defend himself by his ownoath or the oaths of friends andcompurgators , but , if accused , must submit to thesevere , uncertainand perilous test of the ordeal .And if, whenthus hunted down, he be found guilty,severe and ignominious punishment , —amountingina case of theft , to death by flogging formen, byburning , for women , —is reserved for him“ N a

turally and originally there canbe no l imitationinthe amount or the character of labour imposed uponhim , and no stipulation for reciprocal advantageinthe form of protection, food or shelter. Amongthe Saxons the w itepeow at least appears to havebeenbound to the soil , adscriptus glebae

s, conveyed

w ith it under the comprehensive phrase mid meteand mid mannum though insome few cases wecantrace a power, vested,

perhaps only incertainpublic authorities , of transferring the slave fromone estate to another‘ . Last , but most fearful of all,

The compensationfor a flogging was called hidgcld.

Ll . M eist . iii . 6. Thorpe, i. 219.

3 Cod. Dipl . Nos. 311, 1079,ibid . No. 31l . The serfsmentioned inth is document were atfirst

attached to the royal v ill of Bensingtou butwere now transferred tothe land of the church atRadnor, with their offspring, and their posterity for ever.

on. vm .] THE UNFREE . THE SERF. 2“

the taint of blood descended to his offspring, andthe innocent progeny, to the remotest generations ,were bornto the same miserable fate asbowed downthe guilty or unfortunate parent .But yet there was a gleam of hope : one solitary

ray that made eventhe surrounding darkness tolerable , and may have cheered the broken-heartedserf through years of unrequited toil and suffering.

The law that reduced him to slavery made it alsopossible that he should be restored to freedom . Itdid not shut from him this blessing , however distant i t might seem . Tacitus knew of liberti amongthe Germans , menwho had beenslaves , had beenmanumitted , and were free ‘. Thus inyet pagantimes , generalkindliness of disposition, habi ts of domestic intercourse, perhaps the suggestions of selfinterest , may have tended to raise the conditionofthe serf evento the restorationof freedom : but i twas the especial honour and glory of Christiani ty ,that while i t broke the spiri tualbonds of sin, i t everactively laboured to relieve the heavy burthenof

social servitude . We are distinctly told that BishopWilfri’S , on receiving the grant of Selsey fromCaedwealha of Wessex , immediately manumittedtwo hundred and fifty unfortunates, whom he foundthere attached to the soil , -that those, whom bybaptism he had rescued from servitude to devils,might by the grant of liberty be rescued from servitude to man“. Inthis spirit of charity , the clergyobtained respite from labour for the peow onthe

Bed. H . E . iv. 13.

P 2

2l2 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soonx.

Sabbath , oncertain high festivals and onthe dayswhich preceded or followed them ‘

; the lord who

compelled his pedw to labour betweenthe sunsetonSaturday and the sunset on Sunday , forfeitedhim altogether“; probably at first to the king orthe gerefa ; but inthe time of Cnut the serf thusforfeited was to become folkfree

". To their merci

ful intervention i t must also be ascribed that thewill of a Saxonproprietor, laic as well as clerical ,so constantly directs the manumission of a num

ber of serfs , for the soul’s heal of the testator“;

E lfred evengoes so far as to give free power tothe serf of bequeathing to whomsoever he pleases ,whatever may have beengivenhim forGod

’s sake ,or he may have earned inhis ownmoments of leisure“; and this provision, which probably implies aprohibi tionto the lord of removing his labourerarbitrarily from a plot of ground well cultivated byhis ownefforts , tends to secure to the unfortunateserf some interest inthe produce of his industrythe Hungarianw i ll recognize in it the spi ri t ofMaria Theresia ’s Urban

'

um. It is moreover obviousfrom many surviving documents, that , inthe laterperiods , the serf could purchase his ownrelease“,

LLWihtr. 9, IO. Ini, 3. Edw . Gab. 6 7. M b . viii . 2.

3 Ll . Ini, 53 . Cnut, Ll . Sec. 545.

Cod. Dipl . Nos. 716, 721, 722, 782, 788, 919, 925, 93l, 946, 947,957, 959, 981.

Ll . E lf. 43. dwell-cd ( viii . 2) permits the serf to labour onhis ownaccount, three days before Michaelmas. Theodor ( Poen. xix .

630) and Ecgberht ( Poen. Addit. 935) forbid the lord to rob his serfof what hemay have acquired by his ownindustry . It wasneverthelessheld by some that the serf couldnotpurchase his ownfreedom.

Th is is true only of the Saxon, notof the Normanperiod . Glau

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214 m s ssxonsm ENGLAND . [noon1.

seems doubtful whether the labour of the serf waspractically more severe , or the remunerationmuchless thanthat of anagricultural labourer inthiscountry atthis day : his lord was bound to feed himfor his ownsake , and if, whenold and wornout , hewished to rid h imself of a useless burthen, he couldby anact of emancipationhand over his brokendownlabourer to the care of a Church which , w ithall its faults , never totally lost sight of the divineprecepts of chari ty ' We are notaltogether w ithout the means of judging as to the conditionof theserf, and the provis ionmade forhim ; although theinstances which wemay cite are not alleither of oneperiod , or one country , or indeed derived fromcompilations having the authority of law , they showsufficiently what Opinionwas entertained on thissubject by some among the ruling class . Intheprose v ersionof Salomonand Saturn i t is saidthat every serf ought to receive yearly sevenhundred and thirty loaves , that is , two loaves a day,

beside morning meals and noonmeals ; this cannotbe said to be a veryniggardly portion. Again,the valuable document entituled , Rectitudinessingularum personarum

s,

” gives deta ils respecting

l The Romansused to slay their intirrnand useless serfs, or exposethem inanisland of the Tiber. Claudius made several regulationsintheir favour. “ Cum quidarnaegra et afiecta mancipia ininsulamAesculapii taedio medendi exponerent, omnes qui exponerentur, libero.ease sanxit, nec redire inditionem domini, si convaluissent; quod ai

quisnecare mallet quem quam exponere, caedis crimineteam-i.” Suet.

inClaud. 25.

Thorpe, A. 8 . Laws, i . 432, and a later editionby Dr. H . Leo of

Halle, 1842.

err. vm .] THE UNFREE . THE SERF . 215

the allowances made to the serfs invarious praedialor domestic capacities, which would induce a beliefnotonly that they were tolerably provided for, butevenenabled by the exertionof sk ill and industryto lay up funds of their owntowards the purchaseof their freedom , the redemptionof their chi ldren ,or the alleviation of thei r ownpoverty. From thesame authority and others , we may conclude thatonanestate in general , serfs discharged the functions of ploughman, shepherd , goatherd , swineherd ,oxherd and cowherd , barn-man, sower , hayward ,woodward , dai rymaid , and beadle or messenger ;while the geneat, cotsetla, gebiir, beocere and gafolswanwere probably poor freemenfrom whom a

certainportionof labour could be demanded inconsideration of their holdings or a certainrent

(gafel) reserved out of the produce of the hives ,flocks or herds committed to their care : and theseformed the class of the Lastand Esne, poor mercenaries, serving for hire or for thei r land , but not

yet reduced so low in the scale as the boow orwealh. It is not only probable that there would bedistinctions inthe condition of various serfs Uponthe same estate , but evendemonstrable : i t canhardly be doubted that menplaced insituationsof some trust , as the ploughman , oxherd or beadIe,were ina somewhat higher class , and of better condition, thanthe mere hewers of wood and drawers

This is the Robotof Slavonic countries, the Operatio of our Normanlaw ; a mere labour-rent, necessary incountries where there isno

land, and limbs wherewith to till it.

216 THE SAXONS m ENGLAND. [noon1.

of water. Now ina charter of the year 902 , we

find an interesting statement , which I must take

leave to cite ' Denewulf bishop of Winchesterand his Chapter had leased land atEblesburne to

Beornwulf, a relative of the bishop : the Chaptersent word to Beornwulf that the men, that is thcserfs , were to remainattached to the land beet’6a menmostonon’6am lande wunian -whether

he, or any other, held i t : bonne wa'

eronhai r preow itepeowe menbdrbé rde,

‘

J preo peéwbaérde, 5ame salde bisceOp

‘

j’8a hiwan to rihtre aéhte ‘

j hirateam N ow there were three convicts burba'erdeand three beowbé rde, whom the bishop and thebrethrengave me, together w ith their offspring.

The expressions used inthis passage seem to showthat some of the w itepeowe menuponthis estateenjoyed a higher conditionthanothers “, being cultivators or boars, while the others were more strictlyslaves . The very curious and instructive dialogueof E lfric numbers among the serfs the yr

’SIing orploughman, whose occupationthe authornevertheless places at the head of all the crafts , w ith perhapsa partial exceptioninfavour of the smith ’s 3 .

Servitude ceased by voluntary or compulsorymanumissionon the part of the lord ; the lattercase being that where the serv ices of the slave wereforfeited through the misconduct of the master.

Cod. Dip. No. 1079.

The compounds of bé rdc cannot denote anything buta permanentconditionor quality : they are nearly equivalent to the compounds ofend, excepting that they are 11l persona l.

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218 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

land , sufl‘icientforeasy or evenweal thy subsistencebut this wi ll not make him fully a free man, givehim his full positioninthe wokir evpa or poli ty, andplace him ona level with the free inhabitants of

the Mark .

Till periods very late incomparisonwith thatwhich is assumed inthe course of this argument , asimi lar principle prevai ls inour legislationupon thissubject . Glanville says ,

“ It is also to be observedthat a manmay enfranchise his serf inrespect ofthe persons of himself or his heirs , but not inre

spect of others . For if any one, having once beena serf, and afterwards having attained to freedom inthis manner , should be produced incourt against athi rd party to Support a cause , or for the purposeof making any law of the land , he may justlybe removed therefrom , if his birth in villenageshould be objected to and- proved against him inthe court , even though the serf so enfranchisedshould have come to be promoted unto a knight

'

s

Later still , l iberty seems considered as a privi legethe value of which might be diminished by its extension and Fleta gives as a reasonwhy the lordis bound to pursue his fugitive serf, lest by negligence of the lords , serfs should prevai l to asserttheir ownOnconsideration therefore of all the facts , we

must conclude that where full and complete manumissionwas intended , the transactioncould only be

Lib. 7 . cup. 5. Lib . i . cap. 7, 7, 8.

ca . vu1.] THE UNFREE. TIIB SBRP. 219

completed inthe presence and with the cc-operationof the community , whereby all claims besidesthose of the manumitting lord would be formallyestopped for the future . And this would benearlyequivalent to the admission( rare indeed) of a meticor other stranger to the full rights of citizenship atAthens , which could hardly have effect w i thout a

q pa or deliberate vote of the whole people ‘.Accordingly eveninthe laws of William the Con

queror and Henry the First we find evidence thatthe completest publicity was givento formal manumissions ’ ; and i t is not unreasonable to beli evethat this refers back to a time whensuch publicitymay have consisted inthe presentationof the serfbefore the assembled folcmot, and their expressedor implied assent to the solemnact.Practically however , i t i s probable that the dissolutionof servitude did not absolutely confer allthe privileges of freedom . The numerous acts of

manumissiondi rected by the wills of great land

The slaves who fought onthe Athenianside at Arginuue weremanumitted and enro lled among the Plataeans, being thusadmitted intothe wok i‘nvpa . We learnthis from a fragment of Hellanicus, preservedinthe ScholiastonArist. Ran. 706 : the words are, roar ow vavpoxvj

martinis a vpn‘

ol irrfieoflruai'

zroi'

r. See also Niebuhr ( Hare and Th irlwall), p . 264 . The Langobardsupona somewhat similaroccasionmanumitted their serfs. Igitur Longobardi, ut bellatorum possentumpliure numerum. pimu a le servili iugo steptoe, ad h

’

bcrtatis statumperducunt. t herata posset haberi libertas, sanciunt, more solito, per

tria verbs . Paul . Disc. de Gut. i . 13.

Si qui vero relit servum mum liberum facere, tradat cum vicecomiti,

”etc. Ll. Wil . iii . § 15.

“Qni servum suum liberat, inaecclesia,velmercato, vel comitatu, vel hundreto ,

”etc. Ll . Hen. I . l , 6 78.

220 ms ssxozvs m ENGLAND. [soon1.

owners are total ly inconsistent with the notion ofany interference onthe part of the assembled people, asnecessary to thei r val idity : the instances , i tis true, are mostly of modern date, but stil l wehear of manumissions by wholesa le at very earlyperiods , where nothing but the lord

’s ownwi llcanpossibly be thought of It seems therefore probable that a certainamount of dependence was teserved ; that the freedmanbecame relieved fromthe harsher provisions of his former condition, butremained ingeneral under the protectionand onthe land of his former lord , perhaps receiving wagesfor services still rendered . Inthe eighth centuryWihtraed of Kent enacted that evenin the case of

solemnmanumissionat the altar, the inheritance ,the wergyld and the mund of the family should remainto the lord , whether the new freedmancontinued to reside w ithinthe Mark or not“. The modeof provisionfor the emancipated serf must

, ina

majority of cases , have led to this result . The lordendowed him out of his ownland , either wi th a

full possession, secured by charter, or a mere temporary ; conditional loan, lain: the manthereforeremained upon the lord ’s estate , and inhis barkor surety, though no longer liable to servile disabilities

".

For exampleWilfrin’s, atSelsey ; see above, p. 211.2 LLWihtr. 8 .

Wnlfwaruinher wi ll directs her legatees to feed twenty freolsmenor freedmen. Cod. Dipl . No. 694 . Ketcl commands that all themenwhom he has freed sha ll have all that is under their heath—probablyall they had received as stock, or had beenable to gainby their industry. Cod . Dipl . No. 1340.

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THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

appears that the master, even though he gave thefree roads , might reserve the mund of his freedman,by which be retained the right of inheriting fromhim, if he died childless

‘; and this recal ls to us

the provisionalready cited from the Kentish law“.The history of Ramsey informs us that fE ’delstan,the sonofManni

, adopted this form ina very extensive emancipation of his serfs

s

, and we maytherefore suppose it to have beena mode usualamong the Saxons . Among the Franks , the ful lestand completest actof emancipationwas that whichtook place before the king , or ina popular court ;the freedman, from the ceremonies adopted ontheoccasion, was called Denarialis, orDenaria

'

tus, quidenarium ante regem iactav it.” He became capable of a wergyld , of contracting marriage with a

free woman, and ingeneral obtained all the righ tsof a free citizen. But he still remained in somedegree under the mund of the king , who receivedhis wergyld, and had certainrights over his inheritance“ I do not know whether this has any connexionw ith a law of Henry the First , which prov ides that inany case of manumission, the serfshall give th irty pence to the lord , as a witness,namely the price of his sk in, for a testimony that

Ll . Roth . Langob . Reg. cap. 226 . Ll .Wiht. § 8 .

Per omnes terras sues, detriginta hominibusnumeratis, tredecimmanumisit, qucmadmodum cum sot

-s docuit, at in quadrivio porih

'

pergercntquocunqae vola issent.”

H ist. Ram. 29 .

See Eichhom , i . 333. Such a personresembles the Langobardicfreedmanper impans. lbid . p . 331. I imagine the principle uponwh ich the wergyld went to the king, to be this: the freedmaneithernever had a free marge, or they had forfeited the maégsceafi by suffersing him to be reduced to serfage. Conipare Ll . Badw. 59.

on. vm .) THE UNFREE . THE SERF. 223

he is thenceforth himself its master ‘. There was aform ofmanumissionamong theFranks by charter“,which however did not confer all the priv ileges of

the denarialis. The holder of such a charter wasthence called Chartularius : I w i ll not assert thatsuch a system prevai led here , although i t is possible that some of the many charters of emancipation ,printed inthe Codex Diplomaticus, may be of thisnature . Their general character however is that ofa record of bargainand sale betweendifferent parties : itmay be indeed presumed that emancipationwould follow, but there is no posit ive statementthat i t did . The following class of cases perhapsapproaches nearest to such a charta ingenuitatis

By this book of the Gospels i t appeareth that[E lfwig the Red hath bought h imself out , from AhbatE lfsige and all the convent , w ith one pound .

Whereof i s w itness all the brotherhood at Bath .

Christ blind him who turneth away this recordal”

But this is only a memorandum ina copy of theGoSpelS ,no charter ofmanumission and I presumethat the sheriff would have required some muchmore definite and legal act, before he look ed uponE lfwig the Red as a freeman. Probably he wasduly made free at the altar of the abbey church orat the door“. Of this subsequent process we havea good example i n the book of St . Petroc .

L . Hen. l. lxxviii . 3. That is, that he is no longer liable tocorporal punishment like a serf.

Qui vero perchartam ingenuitatis dimissi auntliberi,” etc. Capit.Bajuvar. an. 788 . cap. 7 (Georgisch . p. Eichhom, i . 332.

Cod . Dipl . 1350.

Every lawyer knows the value of the ad ostium aecclesiae, atanyrate inmatters of dower. It implies perfect publ icity.

224 TH E SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soonI .

This book beareth wi tness that E lfsige boughta womancal led Ongyne

’del, and her sonGy’diccael,

of Durei l for half a pound , at the church~door inBodmin : and he gave to E lfsige the portreeve andMaceos the hundred-man, fourpence as toll . Thencame E lfsige who bought these persons , and tookthem , and freed them , ever sacles, onPetroc

’s al tar,

inthe w i tness of these good men; that is , Isaac theetc .

Of all forms of emancipationI imagine this tohave beenthe most frequent , partly because of i tsconvenience , partly because the motives for emancipationwere generally of a religious cast , and thesanctions of religionwere solemnand awful . A l

most all the records which we possess onthis sub

jectare takenfrom the margins of Gospels or otherbooks belonging to religious houses , and the fewreferences inthe laws imply emancipationat thealtar. Among the Franks this form , i n which thefreedmanwas called Tabularius, conveyed onlyimperfect freedom : the utmost it could do was toconfer the privi leges of a Roman provincial , towh ich class the clergy were reckoned : but the tabularius evenso was notfully free ; he still remainedinthe mund of the church . Wihtraed’

s law, so oftencited , shows clearly that this was not the case inEngland ; nor could it be , seeing that the clergyamong us were national , and the Frankish systemof personal rights did not prevai l . I am thereforedisposed to think that gradual ly emancipationat

the altar was taken to convey all the privileges of

Cod. Dipl . 981. 528 .

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226 THE saxons IN ENGLAND. [300K r.

settled by the custom of the county or the manor ; and it i probablethat onemeasure prevailed for all tenants of similar grades. A recordof descents wasnecessary to regulate the claims of 9. lord to the families of his colom

’

, and some extensive system of registrationvery pro

bably preva iled : it would be impossible without it to secure the dueoperationof the law of tedm.

Dudda was a gebt’ir atHai'lifeld, and he had three daughters, onewas named Deérwyn, the second new , the third Golda. AndWulflaf atH ié

‘

ofeld hath Dedrwynto w ife, E lfstanatTreccingawyr'S

hath De6rswy5 to wife, and Ealhstén, E lfstan’sbrother, hath Golde to

wife. There was a mannamed Hwita, the beemaster atHatfi eld, andhe had a daughter Tate, the mother of Wulfsige, the bowman; andWulfsige

’s sister Lulle hath H éhstanto w ife, atWealden. Wiffis and

Dunne and Seoloce are inbornto H iéfifeld. Dnding, the sonofWifiis,is settled atWea lden and Ceolmund the sonof Dunne, also sits at

Wealden, and E delheah the sonof Seoloce, also sits atWealden: andTate, Cénwold’s sister, Ming has to wife atWelgun; and Eadhelm, the

sonof H erebryfi , hath Téta’s daughter to wife. We rlaf, Wm tfin’sfather, was a right serf atHaitifeld, he held the grey

A mannamed Brads was a geblir atHaS'l eld, and B wite wasthe name of Bri de’sw ife ; she was a gebdr

's daughter at Hé fifeld.

Hwite wasWm tén’sWé rbry‘d

’

s and Wynburh’s third mother’. And

Waerstansits atWédtfin, and bathWine’s sister to w ife, andWine hathe ‘

liryfi to w ife, And Dunne satatWédtt’

m, she was inbornto Héflo

feld : andDeorwynherdaughterhath Cynewaldto wife“ Munden: andDedrm

’

roher brother is with Cynewald. And Dudda, Wiffia’s daughtersits atWilmundeslea. Cynhelm, Cenwald

'

s father, was a gebtir atHathfeld, and Manna, Cénwald

’s son, sits atwadtdnunderEadwald.

”

Buhe, Dryhtléf’

smother-in-law, was removed from Haéiifeld

into Eslingaden: and xE‘

lSelwyn, Eadugu and E delgyli were threesisters ; and Tilwine and Dudda , these were all Buge’s children; andEalhstiinTilwine’s son, and Wulfsige Eédugu

’

s son, and CeélhelmE fielgyli

’

s son, and Ceélstanand Manwine. This kincame from

[Hflj felh Deérwulf, Cyneburh’

s son, and his two sisters ; and Cyneric atClsefring is theiruncle. These menare the mega: of Tats,

the gebi'

ir atHsé‘

lifeld.

”Cod . Dipl . No . 1353.

It is probable tha t all these places are inHertfordsh ire, or inEssex .

Inboth counties we find H atfield and Walden: there isno ClaveringinHertfordshire, that I know of. Onthe other hand 1amnot awareof any MnndenorWattoninEssex.

He was the ashteswanor poroariu dominicalc’

s. I cannot explainthe distinctionintended by ‘

Ea grxégansw in, literally the grey swine.

on. v im] THE UN FREE . THE SERF. 227

In880E tched, duke ofMercia, gave various esta tes to the bishopricofWorcester. He also gave six persons with their ofl’spring, who had

previously beenadscript‘s'

glebes atthe royal vill of Bensington. Thesearethenames of the persons who arewrittenfrom Bensingtonto Readanora, to the bishopric ofWorcester, with their offspring, and the progeny that may come of them to all eternity ;heah, Lnll andIn902, Beornwnlf horned ( gebamette) , that is attached to hismanor

of Eblesburne, a number of persons, of both sexes. Lufe and herthree ch ildren, Luha and his six childrenarenamed ’.Inthe time of Esdgar we have the record of several persons esta

tbe king’. AnAppendix to this chapter conta insnumerous examples

Cod . Dipl . No.3 l l. Ibid . No. 1079. Ibid . No. 98l.

CHAPTER IX.

THE MUTUAL GUARANTEE. 345208111111. TITH ING .

HUNDRED .

TH E organizationinMarks and inthe G5 or Scirwas a territorial one, based uponthe natural conformationof the country , commonpossession of thesoiland usufruct of i ts produce . I t has beenalreadysa id that both of these divisions had thei r separatecourts of justice or parliaments , thei r judges andexecutive officers . But some further machinerywas required to secure the publ ic peace , to prov idefor the exercise of what , inmodernsociety , we cal lthe police , and to ensu re the rights of the individualmarkman, inrespect to other markmen, aswellas his conformity to the general law . A corporateexistence was necessary , which should embrace a

more detai led system of relations thanwas to befound either inthe Mark or in the Shiremoot.Strictly speaking , the former of these was principal ly busied wi th the questions which arose outof i ts ownpeculiar nature , that is , w i th offencesagainst the integrity of the frontier, the forest , therights of commoninthe pastures and meadows ,and other delinquencies of a public character. Onthe other hand , the Shiremoot, though it must havetakencognizance of disputed questions betweenseveral Marks , and may, evenfrom the first , have

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230 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . ( 3 00 : x.

a most important social element , the responsibili tyof manto maninthe bond of kindred , the feelingsand engagements of family affection, family honourand family ambition. The problem was finall ysolved by a partial unionof the two methods : inall probabili ty, the law of compromise which reignsthroughout all hi story , gradually brought about afusionof two separate principles , w idely differinginpoint of antiquity, and thus superinduced theartificial uponthe natural bond , w ithout entirelydestroying the influence of the latter .For I think i t unquestionable that the artificial

bond was real ly later inpoint of t ime : since , inthe first place, indefini te and vague arrangementsusually precede the definite and settled ; and nex t ,because Tacitus takes no notice whatever of anybut the family bond , which he represents as stringent inthe highest degree . We have already seenthat Caesar declares the divisions of the land tohave tak enplace according to families or relationships, cognationes

‘, from which we may infer

atfirst a considerable amount of terri torial unity .

From his far more observant successor we learnthat the military organizationwas based uponthesame principle that the composi tionof the tr00por regiment depended uponno accidental arrangement , but was founded uponfamilies or relationships“; and that every manwas bound to take up

See above, p . 39, note 1.

“Quodque praecipuum fortitudinis incitamentum est, noncasusnec fortuita oonglob-atio tux-mam antcuneum facit. led familiae etpro

ca . lx .] mm rrrnmo AND H UNDRED . 231

the enmities as well as the friendships of his fatheror kinsman‘. But leav ing these earlier ev idences ,it sti ll seems that the Ma

'nurh or Fhmily-bond isaninstitutionwhose full comprehensionis necessary to a clear conceptionof the Anglosaxonpubli cand private l ife .The idea of the family is atonce the earliest andstrongest of humanties : inits development it isalso the most ennobling to the individual and salutary to the state ; on i t depend the honour anddignity of woman, the unselfish educationof man,the training of children to obedience and love , ofparents to protectionand justice , of all to love of

country and enlightened subordinationto the state .Where i t does not exist , manbecomes aninstrument inthe hands of others , or the blind tool ofsystems. Inits highest form it is the representative of that great mystery by which all Christiansare one brotherhood , united under one Father andK ing. Throughout the latter day of ethnic civil ization, whenthe idea of state had almost ceasedto have power, and the idea offamily didnot exist ,there was a complete destruction both of publicand private morali ty ; and the world , grownto bea sink of filth and vice , was tottering to the fal lwhich Providence inmercy had decreed for i tspurification. The irruptionof the Germantribesbreathed into the dead bones of heathencultivationthe breath of a new life ; and the individual dignityof manas a member of a family , -the deep-seated

tinnecesse est.” Germ. xxi.

232 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [8 00 1 I .

feeling of all those nations ,—while i t preparedthem to become the founders of Christianstateswhich should endure, made them the wonder ofthe philosophers and theologians of Rome , Greeceand Africa, and anexample to be held up to thedegenerate races whom they had subdued ‘. TheGermanhouse was a holy thing ; the bond of marriage a sacred and symbolic engagement“; holyabove manwas womanherself. Eveninthe depthsof their forests the sternwarriors had assigned toher a stationwhich nothing but that deep feel ingcould have rendered possible : this was the sacredsex

,bel ieved to be innearer communionwith divi

nity thanmens. Inthe superstitious traditionof

their mythology, it was the young and beautifulShieldmays, the ma iden Waelcyrian, who selectedthe champions that had deserved to become theguests of Woden. The matrons presided over therites of religion, conducted divinations ‘, and encouraged the warriors onthe field of battle5 Ve

first century (Germ. xv iii . xix . seemed equa lly remarkable to the

thinkers of the Romanworld inthe fourth and fifth . Innumerable

more valuable because supplied by hosti le witnesses, by the conqueredof the conqueror, the orthodox of the Arian.

Tao. Germ. xix.

Cues. Bell . Gall. i . 50.

Tee. Germ. vii . viii . After the defeat of the Cimbri by Marius,their womenapplied to the Consul , to have their chastity resp

ected,and themselvesusigned as serfs bo the vestal virgins. Onreceiving :refusal they puttheir childrenand thenthemselves to death . Thedogsthat had accompanied them, long defended their corpses. See Flume,

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234 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soonx.

stity , and the undoubted influence of alliances bymarriage ‘, through which separate kindreds are

fused into one body, adopting common interests ,pursuing commonobjects , and recogniz ing inthebond which unites its members , obl igations whichare sti ll exhibited inoriental countries, which wetrace throughout the middle ages of Europe, butwhich are gradual ly vanishing under the conditionsof our modern, mercantile society.

It l ies inthe very nature of things that among apeople animated with such principles as have nowbeendescribed , and so placed by circumstances ontracts of land far more thansufficient for their support , the v ery earliest organizationshould be baseduponthe fami ly relations . Dwellingnear to one another, uni ted by a community of interests and theendearing ties ofmutual relationship , or the scarcelyweaker bond of adoption—strong as regards otherfami l ies indirect proportionto their unionamongthemselves ,—the mé g’é or family ofl

'

er all the guarantees intheir ownnatural positionwhich the primitive state canrequire . Inthe popular councilsthe largest and most distinguished family hasnecessarily the greatest weight ; but associationof

others , severally less powerful , is always capable ofcounteracting danger which might arise ina freestate from the ambitionof any of i ts portions . Inthe absence of a central power ,—or rather i ts dispersionthrough allthe severalmembers of the com

A beautiful evidence of this lies inthe epiename forwoman; inAnglosaxonpoetry she is called freo‘

Sowebbe. the manor qf peace.Be6w. l . 3880, Trev.

on. xx .) THE rrrnma AND HUNDRED .

munity, the collectionof revenue and the maintenance of the peace must be left to the heads ofthe several fractions , whether villages ( as intheEast) , or fami lies , which at one time are identicalw i th villages . The police therefore especially belongs to the family , and is by i t exercised over allthe individuals that compose it; hence also thegrave misconduct of the individualmay j ustly havethe efl

'

ect of destroying the social position of thewhole mé g

’d. InBeowulf, the warriors who deserted their prince inhis utmost need , are sternlytold by his successor, that notonly they , but theirwhole maégburh will thenceforth have forfeited therights of citizenship ,

folcrihtes sceal

idel hweorfhn,

not, each of youindividually, but each and everymanof your k in, cognationor ma

'

egsceaft, shall be deprivad of his rights of citizenship : from which wemust infer that the misconduct of one personmightcompromise his relatives , who are held responsiblefor his actions '. And this rule , coupled w i th thefact of allserving together,under one selected fromamong themselves , and each under the eye of hisnearest and dearest friends , suppl ied a military or

ganizationcapable of enabling the barbarians tocope w i th far more disciplined and scientific military systems thantheir own; serving to explain

See the remuksble pam ge cited atp . 188, note l .

236 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

the almost irresistible power w ith which , l ike theTurks ofmore recent times , the Teutons of old burstuponthe nations exposed to their onset ‘. The wer

gyld , or price of blood , the earliest institutionofthis race, only becomes perfectly intelligible whenconsidered from this point of view : the gens or fa

mily at large are inj ured by the loss of their associate

,and to them compensationmust be made ;

so they , inturn, must make compensationfor him ,

since rights and duties are commensurate . Thisprinciple, however darkly , is still involved inthetheory of our civil actions for seduction.

Weight and momentum combined are the secretofmoderntactics,and moraléy speakiag fi. e. the appearance insuperior force oncertain

points), of modernstrategiesalso. Cavah-y cchargingm successive echelons would always break infantry but for the check which manandhorse experience intheir speed from the file‘ fir

'

mg of the squares : the

it if he reached it. If theweightof the advancing body be greater thanthat of the resisting, the latter is destroyed. A. successful charge of

cavalry wonthe battle of Marengo, anunsuccessful one lost that ofWaterloo. Modernwarfarewas more changed by the substitutionofironforwoodenramrods, by which themomentum ofmusket-balls wasincreased, thanby almost any other mere change of detail . Steam

sqnadrons of horse, are only larger bullets, which may be launchedw ith more or less success ; all these are mechanical discoveries conse

are lower inthe scale of moral dignity thanof old Onee greup meninmasses, and they becorDe subject, more or less, according as discipline has destroyed their individuality, to the mechanical lawswhichgovernthe relations of allmasses. No doubt a stone wall will turnany charge of eavalry ; and so will a regimentof infantry, inexact proportionas youteach it to stand like a stone wall, that is, asyoudestroythe individual actionof each soldier. The Romans stood above two

are fitter perhaps for aggressive movements. The Germans probablycharged tnmultuously ; butthe scyldburh, orwall of shields, was hardly

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238 rue saxons IN enem a) . [soonr.

bodies of menexisting as corporations , foundeduponnumber andneighbourhood , and thus makingup the public uni ts inthe state i tself. From thefirst , we find the inhabitants of the Mark classedintens and hundreds ( technically inEngland , Tithings and Hundreds) , each probably comprisingrespectively a corresponding number of members ,together w ith the necessary oflicers, v iz . a ti thingmanfor each tithing , and a hundred-manfor thehundred , thus making one hundred and elevenmen,or Heads of houses inthe territorial hundred The

Frankish law names the oflicers thus alluded toini t the tithing-manis Decanus, the hundred-manCentenariusg. The Anglosaxonlaw doesnot indeedmentioni ts divisions by thesenames til l a comparatively late period , whentheir significatious had become insome respects altered but i t seems probablethat i t does imply them under the term Gegyldan,fellowa, brothersof thegyld . Ina case of aggravatedcrime i t is provided that the ofl

'

ender’s relatives shall

pay a third part of the fine, his gegyldana thi rdpart , and if he cannot pay the remainder himself, heis to become anoutlaw , i . e. forfeit his land and flee,perhaps formal ly abjure the country". N ow i t is

There is some difi culty indeciding whetherthehead of the tithingwas included inthe ten, or beside it. [ have proceeded uponthc suppositionthat he wasnot included, consequently that there were reallyelevenmen inthe tithing. The leading authority ( Jud. Civ. Lend .

IE‘SeIst. v . 63. Thorpe, i . is totally and irreconcileably contradictory onthe point.

The Decani appear to be the same as the Decimales hombres ofJE

‘Belred'

s law . Thorpe, i . 339 .

3 L1. zElf. 527.

cu. xx .] m e rrrnmo AND HUNDRED. 239

perfectly clear that a law expressed insuch generalterms as these , cannot be directed to a particularand exceptional condi tion that i t does not applyto the accidental existence of gegyldan, but onthecontrary assumes every man to have such : we

cannot therefore construe i t of voluntary associations formed for religious , social or funerea l ohjects ‘, and for the purposes of this law we mustlook upongegylda as a general name borne byevery individual inrespect of some gyld or associationof which be was taken to be a member.The only meanings wh ich the root gyld enables usto attach to the word gegylda are these ; either,one who shares with others inpaying ; or, one whoshares with others inworshiping. If we adopt theformer rendering , wemust suppose that certaincontributions were made by a number of persons to acommonpurse , partly for festive purposes , pa rtlyas a mutua l guarantee and club~fund for lega l costs ,for the expenses of reciprocal aid and defence, perhaps evenfor mortuary celebrations and charitable distributions . Another , though perhaps a lessprobable , suggestion is that such gegyldanmayhave beenjointly responsible for taxes , or the outfit of armed men who attended in the fyrd or military expedition, onbehalf of them all. But thiswe cannot further illustrate , inthe absence of all

Such voluntary associations were not unusual. Several deeds of

agreement of such clubs are giveninanAppendix to this Chapter.There seem to have beensimilar clubs among the Hungarians : theywere called Kalender-Bruderschaften,” from usually meeting onthefirst day of every month . Feed er, Geach . der Ungern, i . 725.

240 THE ssxons IN ENGLAND . [noon1.

record of the financial system of the early Teutonicmonarchs

,ev enthose ofCharlemagne himself,which

would have beeninvaluable guides to us throughthe intricaciesof that dark subject of enquiry. Thesecond meaning given to gegylda would rest uponthe assumptionof some private and as i t were heroworship , common to the gyld-brothers ,—a fact fami liar enough to us in the Athenian (pul a i andRomangerites ; but the existence of any such foundationfor the gyld among the Anglosaxons is extremely improbable , whenwe consider the smallnumbers that appear to have constituted the as

sociation, and that no trace of any such worsh ipremains inour heathenmythology

'. I therefore

prefer the first rendering of the word , and look upon

gegyldanas representing those who mutually payfor one: another ; that is, under a system of peouniery mulcts , those who are mutually responsiblebefore the law,

—the associates inthe tithing andthe hundred .

I t i s well known that inthe later Anglosaxonlaw, and evento this day, the ti thing and hundredappear as loca l and terri torial , not as numericaldivisions we hear of tithings where there are more ,and tithings where there are fewer people we are

told of the spoor of cattle being followed into onehundred , or out of another 9. I do notdeny thatin process of time these div isions had become ter

‘ The later guilds of trades, dedicated to particular Saints, areua different th ing ; inform these bear a most striking resemblance to

at Ll . Eédg. Hand. 55. Thorpe, i . 260.

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242 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soonI .

gylds were gathered into a Hundred . The remarkable document knownas Judicia Civitatis Londineneis gives the follow ing detailed account of thewhole proceeding

“ This is the ordinance which the bishops andthe reeves belonging to Londonhave ordained , andconfirmed w ith pledges , among our fri’6gy1ds, as

well eorlish as ceorlish , inadditionto the doomswhich were fixed at Greatley , at Exeter , and at

Thundersfield .

“ Resolved : That we count every tenmen together, and the chief one to direct the nine ineachof those duties which we have all ordained , andafterwards the hyndens of them together, and onehynden-manwho shall admonish the ten for our

common benefit and let these elevenhold themoney of the hyaden, and decide what they shalldisburse , whenaught is to pay, and what they shallreceive , should money accrue to us atour commonsuit ’

That we gather to us once inevery month , ifwe canand have leisure , the hynden-menand thosewho direct the tith ings , as well wi th butt-filling, oras else may please us , and know what of our agreement hasbeenexecuted . And let these twelve men’

have their refectiontogether , and feed themselvesas they themselves think right , and deal the remainsof the meat for love of Gods.

”

m elst. v . 3, 5l . Thorpe, i . 230.

The MS. reads twelve, xii, but it seems almost .certainthat weought to understand eleven, that is onemanfor each tith ing and one forthe hundred or hynden.

3 M oist. v . 8. l . Thorpe, i . 236 .

cu. lx .] THE TITH ING AND HUNDRED. 243

N ow as this valuable record mentions also territorinl tithings , containing different amounts of poo

pulation', i t seems to me to furnish important confirmationof the conclusionthat the gegyldanof Iniand Z Elfred , the members of the London tithingsor fri’6gylds of ten, and the York tenmanlale, areintruth identical . And i t is further infavour ofthis view that the citi zens called the members ofsuch gildships, gegyldan

g

And we have also ordained , respecting everymanwho has givenhis pledge inour gyldships,that , should he die , each gyld-brother ( gegylda)shall give a gesufel-loaf for his soul , and sing a

fifty ( psalms) , or cause the same to be sung w ithinxxx days .”

Upona review of the preceding passages it maybe inferred that the hyndenconsisted oftentithings ,and consequently answered to what we more com

mouly cal l a hundred : i t may perhaps be suggestedthat , if any distinctionexisted betweenthese twoterms , the hyadenrepresented the numerical, thehundred the territorial division. But their original identi ty may be argued from animportant passage inthe law of Ini. He ordains’s He that is

3 Swaof énre tao‘

8ung as: mare fole rig.

” Thorpe, i . 232 .

And we cwrédonshe be é lcum tiara manna ‘Se ondrum gegyldscipum his wed geseald hiefi , gif him forlisifi gebyrige, Stet rélc gegyldagesylle énne gesufelne hléf forM rs séwle, and gesinge finfittig, ofthebeg

-its gesungenbinnanxxx nihtan.

”H eist. v . 8 . 56 . Thorpe, i . 236 .

SetSe bit? werfiéh‘Be betogen, and he onsacanw ille fires slegesmid“a. bonus sceal be6uon5mm hyndenne fincyningfifi be xxx hida,swa be gesi

’6cund menswa be ceorliscum, swfi hwse

‘

lier swa hit sy.

”

lni . 54 . Thorpe, i . 136 . Uponthis passage the lateMr. Price had thefollow ing note, which is interesting, though 1 cannot agree with his

R 2

244 THE SAXONS [N ENGLAND. [soon1.

charged wi th mortal feud , and is willing to deny theslaying onoath thenshall there be inthe hyndenone king’s oath of thirty hides , as well for a nobleas a churl , be i t whichever it be .

”

N ow hyndencanonly meanone of two things ,v iz . a collectionof tenor a collectionof a hundred ,according as we render the word hand . Admittingthat at some very early period hund did meanten,we yet never find i t wi th any such significationinany book or MS . , or indeed atall except inthenumerals hundseofontig, hundeatatig, hundnigontig,bundtwelftig, where its force is anything but clear,whenwe compare those words w ith fiftig, sixtig,

twentig, etc . Onthe other hand the adjectivehynde does clearly denote something which hasthe qual ity of a hundred thus a twyhynde or twelfhynde manis he whose life is worth respectively twoor twelve hundred shil lings . Againi t is clear thatthe Jndieia Civitatis Londinensis intends by hyadena collectionof a hundred , and not of ten, men,inasmuch as it distinguishes this from the tithings .

conclusion: “ It has beenalready observed that the hyndenconsistedof tenpersons, and, like hyndemthewords twyhynde, sixhynde, twe1f.hynde, appears to have beenformed from hand, of wh ich the originalmeaning was tea . The hyadentherefore w ill correspond to the turboof the Civil Law ( ‘ quia Turba decem dicuntur.

’Leg. Pre t. 4 . § Tur

barn), the Tourbe of the French Coutumes : Coutume si doit verefierpar deux tourbes et chacund’ieelles par dix temoins.

’ Loisel . liv . v .tit. 5. c. Butthe correspondencenoted will entirely dependuponthe fact of the hyndenreally being a collectionof tenmen, which I donotadmit. There isno dispute as to themeaning of Turbo or Tourbe:but if, as it isnot iinpossible, turba should be really identical with korpview , it might deserve considerationwhether the original village wasnotsupposed to consist of tenfamilies and so to form the tithing or

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246 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAN D. [noon1.

remainstationary for agesl ; a holy horror preventsthe alterationof that which has beensanctified inmen’s minds by long continuance, was perhapsmore deeply sanctified at the first by religious ceremonies . The rights of property universal ly demandthe jealous guardianship of boundaries . Moreoverthe first tithings , or atall events the first hundreds ,must have had elbowroom enough w i thinthe Markto al low for a considerable elasticity of populationW i thout the necessity of disturbing the ancientboundary and thus we canreadily understand twovery distinct things to have grownup together ,out of one origin, namely a constantly increasingnumber of gylds, yet a nearly or entirely stationarytale of territorial t ithings and hundreds . I cannotbutthink that , under happier circumstances , thisview might lead us to conclusions of the utmostimportance with respect to the history of our racethat if i t were possible for us now to ascertaintheoriginalnumber of hundreds inany county ofwhichBeda inthe eighth century gives us the population ,and a lso the populationat the period of the originaldivision, we should find the two data inexact aocordance, and thus obtaina clue to the movementof the populationitself downto Beda ’s time . Looking to the permanent character of land-divisions ,

It is very remarkable how many modernparishesmay be parambulatcd with no other directionthanthe boundaries found inthe CodexDiplomaticus. To this very day the little hills, brooks, evenmeadowsand small farms, bear thenames they bore before the time of zElfred,and theMarkm y be traced with certainty uponthe local informationof the labourer onthe modernestate.

on. m ] THE Trrnmo AND HUNDRED. 247

and assuming that our present Hundreds nearlyrepresent the original innumber and extent , w e

might conclude that , if inthe year 400Kent wasfirst divided , Thanet thencontained only one huno

dred beads of houses , or hydes, uponthree thousand acres of cultivated land , while inthe time of

Beda , three centuries later , i t comprised six hundredfamilies or hides uponeighteenthousand acres .It is a commonsaying tha t we owe the insti

tutionof shire , ti thing and hundred divisions toE lfred. S tated inso broad a manner as this, I amcompelled to deny the assertion. No one cancontemplate the life and acts of that great prince andaccomplished manwithout being fil led wi th admiration and respect for his personal energy , hismora l and enlightened policy , and the sound legislative as well as administrative principles onwhichhe acted . But we must nevertheless not inthenineteenth century allow ourselves to be blindedby the pass ions and prejudices which ruled inthetwelfth . The people, oppressed by foreignpower,no doubt , long looked back with anaffectionateregret to the memory of England ’s Darling hewas the hero of a suffering nation; his activityand fortune had once cleared the land of Normantyranny ; his arm had smitten the forefathers ofthose whose ironyoke now weighed onEnglandhe was the reputed author of those laws , which ,under the amended and extended form enacted bythe Confessor, were now claimed by the Englishpeople from their foreignkings : he was, ina word ,the representative , and as i t were very incarnation,

248 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [BOOK 1.

of English national i ty . We may smile at, but must

yet respect, the feel ing which made him also therepresentative of every good thing , which connectedevery institutionor custom that his suffering countrymenregretted , with his time-hallowedname. I tis unnecessary to detai l the many ways inwhichthis traditional character of E lfred continual ly teappears ; the object of these remarks is merely topoint out that the attributionto him of the systemof tithings , hundreds and the l ike , is one of manygroundless assertions connected w ith his name .Not one word incorroborationof i t is to be foundinAsser or any other contemporaneous authority ;and there is abundant evidence that the systemex isted long before he was born, not only inotherGerman lands , but evenamong ourselves . Still Iam unwi ll ing to incur the responsibili ty of decla

ring the traditionabsolutely w ithout foundationonthe contrary it seems probable that E lfred mayhave found it necessary , after the dreadful confusionand devastationof the Dani sh wars , to make anew muster or regulationof the tith ings , nay evento cause , insome districts , anew terri torial divisionto be established uponthe old principle ; and thisis the more credible , since there is reasonto believethat the same causes had rendered a new definitionof boundaries generally necessary even inthe caseof private estates : the strongest argument againstthis lies however inthe total si lence of all contem

porary writers . A less tenable suppositionis , thatE lfred introduced such divisions for the first timeinto the countries which be united w ith Wessex as

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250 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

glish callFriiSborgas, with the exceptionof the menof York , who cal l i t Tenmannetale, that is , thenumber of tenmen. And i t consists inthis , thatinall the villa throughout the k ingdom , all menare bound to be ina guarantee by tens , so that ifone of the tenmenoffend , the other nine may holdhim to right . Butif he should flee , and they allegethat they could nothave him to right , thenshouldbe giventhem by the king’s justice a Space of at

least thirty days and one : and if they could findhim they might bring him to justice . But for himself, let him out of his ownrestore the damage hehad done, or if the offence be so grave let j usticebe done uponhis body . But if w i thinthe aforesaidterm

'

he could notbe found , since inevery fril orh

there was one headmanwhom they called fri’6borgheved , thenthis headmanshould take two of thebest menof his fri’dborh ,

and the headmanof eachof the three fri’dborgs most nearly neighbouring tohis own, and l ikew ise two of the best ineach , if hecanhave them ; and so w ith the elevenothers heshall , if he can, clear both himself and h is fri

’dborh

both of the offence and fl ight of the aforesaid malefactor. Which if he cannot do , he shall restorethe damage done out of the property of the doer ,so long as this shall last , and out of his ownand

that of his fri’dborh : and they shal l make amendsto the justice according as i t shall be by law ad

judged them. And moreover the oath which theycould notcomplete w ith the venue, thenine themselves shallmake , v iz . that they had no part intheoffence . And if atany time they canrecover him,

cu. 1x .) THE TITHING AND HUNDRED. 25]

they shall bring him to the justice, if they can, ortell the justice where heThus the object of the gylds or tithings was,

that each manshould be inpledge or surety ( bark)as well to his fellow-manas to the state for themaintenance of the public peace : that he shouldenjoy protectionfor l ife , honour and property himself, and be compel led to respect the life , honourand property of others : that he should have a fixedand settled dwelling where he could be found whenrequired , where the public dues could be levied ,and the public services demanded of him : lastlythat , if guilty of actions that compromised thepublic weal or trenched uponthe rights and wel lbeing of others , there might be persons especiallyappo inted to bring him to justice ; and if injuredby others , supporters to pursue his claim and exactcompensationfor his wrong. A ll these points seemto have beenv ery wel l secured by the establ ishment of the Tithings , to whom the communitylooked as responsible for the conduct of every individual comprised w ithinthem and coupled w iththe family obligations which still remained inforceinparticular cases , they amply answered the purpose of a mutual guarantee betweenall classes ofmen. The system possessed the advantage of beingnecessarily regulated by neighbourhood , and it wasfree from some disadvantages which might haveattended anexclusive reliance uponkinsmanship

mannetale, i . e. sermo decem hominum, etc. Ll . Edw . Conf. xx .

Thorpe, i 450.

252 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [B OOK 1.

the fri’6borgas not having the bond of blood betweenthem, which might have induced animproperpartial ity infavour of one of their members ; andas they stood under responsibil ity for every actofa gyldsman, being interested inpreventing annudue interference onthe part of his family . We thussee that the gyldsmenwere notonly bound to present their fellows before the court of the freemenwhenspecially summoned thereto , but that theyfound their ownadvantage inexercising a kind ofpolice-surveillance over them all : if a crime werecommitted , the gyld were to hold the criminal to hisanswer ; to clear him ,

if they could conscientiouslydo so , by making oath inhis favour ; to aid inpaying his fine if found guil ty ; and if by flying fromj ustice he admitted his crime , they were to purgethemselves onoath from allguilty knowledge of theact, and allparticipationinhisfl ight failing which ,they were themselves to suffer mulct inproportionto his offence . Onthe other hand they were toreceive at least a portionof the compensationforhis death , or of such other sums as passed fromhand to hand during the progress of anAnglosaxonsuit . Being his neighbours

, the visnetum, vicinageor venue, they were his natural compurgators orwi tnesses , and consequently , being examined onoath , insome sense the jurati or jurors uponwhosev erdict his weal or woe depended . And thus theimportance of character, so frequently appealed toeveninour modernjurisprudence , was carried tothe highest extent .We may reasonably conclude that the close ia

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254 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [noox r.

have impressed somewhat of a solemnand sacredcharacter uponthe whole institution'

Much of what has beenobserved respecting thetith ing, applies also to the hundred . This , i t hasbeenseen, was originally a collectionof tentithings ,and was presided over by a hundredes ealdor9 , orhundred-man

,who exercised a jurisdictionover. his

circuit and its inhabitants . From the concurrentpractice of later periods we may conclude that hiscourt was holdenmonthly for the hearing of suchcivi l and lighter criminal causes as could not besettled in the tithing , or interested more tithingsthan one3 . It is not probable that the highercriminal causes could at any period he pursuedin the hundred“, but that they were necessarilyreserved for the considerationof the folcmdt or

1 Inwhat may be called the Act of Constitutionof Orey’e Gyld at

the instrument inanAppendix to this chapter, although as a voluntarygyld it difi

'

ers insome respect from those heretofore under consideration. The trade-guildsof the Middle Ages paid also especial attentionto the religious communionof their members.

The word Borseholder renders it probable that the cap italist, tynmanna heéfod, yldesta, etc. bore among the Saxons thename of Borgescaldor, princepaplegii.This againwe learnfrom the law attributed to Eadweard theCon

femor.

“Cum autem maiores causae insurgebant ( that is greater thanthose which concerned the tithing).referebant eas ad alias maiores insticiarios, ques sapientessupradicti super eos constituerant, scilicet superdecem decanos, quos possumus vocare centenarios, quia super centum

I findno instance of a hundredes manhaving the blutobmm or ins

gladii : but111the time of Badger, he seemsto have had powerto administer the single and threefold ordeal ; whetheronly inthe ease of serfs

doesnotappear. Inst . B andr. Thorpe, 1. 260.

cu. 1x .] THE TITH ING AND HUNDRED, 255

shire-court , which met three times intheyear. Inthe later legislation, trial of capital offences was reserved for the scyremot, and the words of Tacitus

l

seem to imply that this was the case inhis timealso : perhaps evensuch causes as involved thepenalties of outlawry may have beenbeyond the jurisdictionof the hundred . It is however less as a

court ofjustice thanas part of a system forthemaintenance of peace , that we are to contemplate thehundred . It may be securely affirmed that wherethe ti thing alone could notbe made responsible , ormore tithings thanone were involved ina similardifficulty as to crimes commi tted by their members ,resort was had to the responsibility of the collectivehundred ,—a principle which , i t is well-known, subsists evento this day.

Ata comparatively late period , we occasionallyfind a consol idationof hundreds into one body , forjudicial purposes , presided over by the ealdormanof the shire , or his geréfa , and forming a subsidiarycourt to the Shiremoot: and after immunities , orprivate j urisdictions , had become rapidly extended ,i t is certainthat such consolidations were notnuusual , ia the hands of great civi l or ecclesiasticalauthori ties , and that they , by means of their officersor geréfan, held plea insevera l hundreds at once ;they thus substituted thei r ownpower for that ofthe ealdormanor the sheriff, inthe last instance ,throughout the district comprehended by their immunity ; either replacing the old hundred-menby

Licet apud concil ium accusare quoqueetdiscrimencapitis intendere. Germ. xii.

256 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

geréfanor bai liffs , or suffering the hundreds to bestill governed and administered inthe way commonto all such divisions, by the elective ofiicer‘.It stands to reasonthat the system above de

scribed applied only to the real ly free . It was theform of the original compact between the independent members of anindependent community .

But as by the side of the free landholders , theredwelt also unfree menof various ranks , so alsothere existed modifications of the original compact ,suited to their condition. Those who ina more orless stringent degree were dependent , could not bemembers of the tithing , the hundred or the folcmot.They stood to right among themselves , in theirlord ’s court , not inthe people

’s , and inthe latterthey could not appear for themselves . The institutiontherefore which provided that the lord mightmaintaina Comitatus or following, provided alsothat i ts members should all be inhis mund ( protection) and borh ( surety) , and that he should makeanswer for them inthe courts from which theywere themselves excluded“

Ei dweard the Confessor granted the hundred of Hornmere inBerkshire to ordric, abbat of Ahingdon; “

so thatno sherifl'

ormoot

term :may hold thereinany plea or moot, without the Abbat’s oncommand and permission.

”Cod . Dip. No. 840. He also granted

the hundred of Godley m Surrey to Wulfwold, Abbat of Chertsey,and forbade the sheti if to meddle inthe same. Cod. Dip . No. 840,

849.

“And letevery lord have his household inhisownbar/c. Thenifanyof them should be accused, and escape, letthelordfpay theman

’

swer

to the king. And if any accuse the lord thatthe escape was by his counselJethim clear himself with five thanes, being himself the sixth . If

the purgationfail him, lethim forfeit his war to the king ; and letthemanbe anoutlaw .

”E tch . i . l . Thorpe, i . 282.

“ And let every

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258 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

tionof that tacit understanding among men, thatthe well-being of society depends upona regulatedmutual forbearance . Those werenotages inwhichacts of self-defence or righteous retributioncouldbe misnamed revolutions . But all these remarksare intended to apply only to a state of society inwhich the nobles were few and independent , thepeople strong and united where the people wereintruth the aristocracy and the nobles only thei rchiefs . The holder of animmunity ( hav ing sacuand soon) in later times , under a consolidatedroyalty representing the national wi ll , and ina

state from which the element of the people hadnearly vanished , through the almost total vanishing of small independent freeholds , wasnecessarilyplaced ina very different position.

It now remains only to bestow a few words uponthe manner inwhich the original obligations of thefamily bond were gradually brought to bear uponthe artificial organization.

Upona careful considerationof the latter i t appears that its principal object was gained wheneither offences were prevented , or the offender presented to justice : the consequences of crime , inallbut a few excepted cases , fellnotUponthe gegyldan

The frecmanis a member of anaristocracy inrespect of all the

unfree, whether these be temporarily so , as hischildrenand guests, orpermanently so, as his serfs. To be inthewoMrw pa , which others arenot. to havethe franchise which others havenot, to have the freedom

of a city which others have not, all these are forms of aristocracy,the aristocracy of Greece, Rome and England . The Peers inEnglandare notthemselves exclusively anaristocracy : they arcthebornleadersof one, which consists now of ten-pound householders, freemen intowns, and countv tenants under the Chandos clause.

ca . lx .] THE TITH ING AND HUNDRED . 259

( if they could clear themselves of participation) butuponthe maégas or relatives ‘ .

The laws of AB’Selberht, Wihtraed and Hlo’6hereknow nothing of gegyldan: w ith them the mzégas

are still wholly responsible , and eventheir interventionis noticed inthree cases only : E belberhtprovided that inthe event of a manslayer flyingthe country , the family should pay half the wergyldof the slain“ Againhe enacts , that if a marriedwomandie wi thout hearing children, the propertyshe brought her husband , and that which he settleduponher after consummation, shal l returnto herpaternal relatives”. According to the legislationofHIo

’Shere, if a mandied , leaving a w ife and child ,the mother was to have the custody of the child tillhis tenth year, but the paternal k insmenwere toadminister his property, under satisfactory pledgefor due discharge of their duty ‘ . The regulations

And if any one charge a personinholy orderswith feud ( fé hfie)and say that he was a perpetrator or adviser of homicide, lethim clearhimself with his kinsmen, who must bear the feud with him, ormakecompensationfor it . And if he haveno kin, lethim clear himself withhis associates or fast for the ordeal by bread, and so fare as God may

ordain.

”E

’

Geh'. ix . 23, 24 . Thorpe, i . 344 . Cnut, i . 5. Thorpe,i . 362. The associates or gcferaa here are probably his fellows inorders. Buta monk being released from all family relations couldnotbeimflicated inthe responsibil ities of themé gburh ( ibid . for he

forsakes his law of kin(miéghlage) whenhe submits to monastic law .

’

Cunt, i . 55. Thorpe, i . 362.

Gif bana of lande gewite’S, 8a mzégas healfne le6d forgylden.

melt) . § 23. Thorpe, i . 8.

mor

gengyfe.

’ E belb. 81. Thorpe, 1. 24 .

Gif ceorl acwyle be lihbendum wife and beams, riht1s brat hit,‘Uctbeam, wedder folgige ; and him mananhis fmderingmrégum wilsumne berigeangeselle, his feoh tohealdenneob

‘

t‘rethe tynwintre sie.

Hlo‘

Sh . 6. Thorpe, i . 30.

2S

260 rue suoxs IN ENGLAND . [noon1.

of Ini allow us to enter still further into the natureof the family engagement . He enacted that if a

stranger came through the wood out of the highway, and attempted to slink through in secret,w i thout shouting or blow ing his horn, he should betakento be a thief, and might be slainor forced to

pay according to his presumed crime : and if theslayer were thenpursued for his wergyld , he mightmake oath that he slew him for a thief, and the lordand the gegyldanof the dead manshould not beal lowed to make oath to the contrary : but if theslayer had at the time concealed the deed , and itwas only afterwards discovered , a presumptionof

unfair dealing was raised against him , and the k indred of the dead manwere entitled to make oath ofhis innocence ‘. Againif a stranger were slain, theking was to have two parts of his wergyld, the sonor relatives of the dead manmight claim the thirdbut if there were no relatives , the king claimedhalf, the count half 9 . Besides a provisionfor a sur

Gif feorcnnd man0650 fremde hfitanwege geond wudugouge,and na hty

'

w e né hornblawe, for beof he hit; toprofianne, owe to

sleanne owe to alysanne. Gif mon‘

Sms ofslasgenanwerea bidde, hemotgecy

‘

San“Stet he hine for be6f ofslége, nalles ofslmgenangegil

danné his bléford . Gif he h it bonne dyrnefi, and weor’lieii ymb langypp

e,“

lionne rymefi he“

56m deédanto55m afie, first hinemotonhismmgasunscyldigne gedén. Ini, 20, 21. The collocationof gegyl

danand ma'

agas inth is law seems to show clearly that Ini looked uponthem as the same thing : hence that inthe original institutionthe gyldand the family were identical, though afterwards, for convenience’ sakethenumber andnature of the gyld were otherwise regulated, whenthekinsmenhad becomemore dispersed.

Gif monlelbeodigne ofslea, se cyning ah twwdne dxélwerea, briddandael sunuob‘Se mségas. Gif he “Sonne mségleas sic, healf cyninge,healf se gesi

'

b‘

. Ini, $ 23 .

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262 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

him humbly surrender his arms and his goods tohis friends , to hold for him,

and let him remainforforty days inprisonina king’s t1

’

1n lethim theresuffer as the bishop may direct him ; and let hisk insmenfeed him, if he have himselfno food ; butif he have no k insmen, or no food , let the king

’sreeve feed him .

” Againif a manis accidentallyslainwhile hewing wood wi th others , his kinsmenare to have the tree , and remove i t from the landw i thin thirty days , otherwise it shall go to theowner of the wood ‘. The most important case ofall, however, is that of a divided responsibility betweenthe kinsmenand the gegyldan, which E lfredthus regulates : If one that hath no paternal k indred fight and slay a man, if thenhe have maternalrelatives, let them pay a third part of the wer, his

gyldhrethrena third part , and for a third part lethim flee . If he have no maternal relatives, let his

gyldbrethrenpay half, and for half let him flee .And if any one slay such a man, hav ing no relatives, let half be paid to the king , half to the gyld

It was also the principle of E lfred’

s

law , recognized but not introduced by him ,that

no manshould have the power of alienating fromhis ma

'

egsceaft, booklands whose first acquirer hadentai led themuponthe family ,—a principle which

E lf. 13. Thorpe, i . 70.

z Gif fwderenmaéga mségleas mongefechte and monofsleé, and"Bonne gif he médrenmaégas hmbbe, gylden56, ha s weres briddandail,briddandail 5a gegyldan, forbriddanda

’

al hefled. Gif hemédrenmm'

gas

nflge, gylden"5a gegyldanhealfne, for healfne hefled. Gif monswagerfidne monofsleé , gif he maigas nage, gyido monhealfne cyningc.healfne “56m gegyldan.

”E lfr. 27, 28 . Thorpe, i . 78, 80.

cu. 1x .] ranTITH lNG AND HUNDRED . 263

tends, as far as humanmeans seem capable of ensuring it , to ensure its permanent maintenance ‘.The reciprocal rights and duties of the ma

'

egburhwere similarly understood by Eadweard : he enactedthat if a malefactor were deserted by his relatives ,and they refused to make compensationfor him ,

he should be reduced to serfage ; but inth is casehis wergyld was to abate from the kindred And.ZEiielstandistinctly holds the ma

'

eg’G responsible

for their kinsman. H e says ,“ If a thief be put

into prison, let him remainthere forty days , andthenlet him be ransomed for 120 shillings , and letthe kindred go surety for him that he shall ceasefrom theft for the future . And if after that hesteal , let them pay for him w ith his wergyld, orreplace him inprisons.

” But he goes further thanthis , and imposes uponthem the duty of finding alord for him,

or exposing him to the penalty of

outlawry And we have ordained respecting thoselordless menof whom no law canbe got, that thekindred be commanded to domicile him to folkright

, and find him a lord inthe folkmote ; and ifthenthey w il l not or cannot produce him at theterm ,

let him thenceforth be anoutlaw, and letwhoso cometh athim slay him ‘

a provisionwhich

Thorpe, i . 88 .

Badw . ii . 9. v . cap. 12, 2. Thorpe, i . 164 , 242 .

E bola . i . 1, 6 ; v . cap. 1, 4 , cap. 9. Thorpe, i . 198 , 202 , 228 ,

fi eld . 1. 2 . Thorpe, i . 200. Uponthe just pnnciple that He

may die without law who refuseth to live by law.

” Utlagatus etweyvista capita getunt lupina [wolveso head] quae ab omnibus impune potcnmt amputari : merito enim sine lege perire debout, qui secundumlegem vivere recusant .” Flct. lib. 1. cap . 27, 12, etc.

264 THE SAXONS 1N ENGLAND . [8 00 K 1.

obviously cannot apply to free landowners, who

would have beenincluded ina tith ing , and couldnothave beenthus compulsorily commended to a

lord . Where a manis slainas a thief, the relatives

are to clear him , if they can‘, inasmuch as they

would have a right to pursue the slayer and claim

the compensationfor their kinsman’s death . Again

i t is provided that if a lord has so many dependentsthat he cannot personally exercise a due supervisionover them, he shall appoint efficient reeves or bailifl

'

s inhis several manors , to be answerable to him .

And if need be , the bailifl'

shal l cause twelve rela

tives of any manwhom he cannot trust , to enterinto sureties for him“.Eadmund permitted the maégb

’

to avoid the consequences of thei r kinsman’s act, by refusing to abethim inhis feuds. I imagine that this law must betakenin connectionwith that of Eadweard“, andthat i t implies a total desertionof the criminal byhis kindred , w ith all i ts consequences

,viz . loss of

l iberty to him, and of his wergyld to them . Thetroubled time of E ’

Selred , the ill-advised , suppl ies another attempt to secure peace by holding therelatives strictly and personally responsible : inhislaw we find it enacted , If breach of the peace be

E fielst. i . 11. Thorpe, i . 204.

Ut omnis homo teneat homines snos infideiussione sua contraomne furtum. S i tune sitaliquis qui tothomines habest quodnonsufflciatomnes custodire, praeponatsibi singulia v illia praepositumunum,

qui credibilis sitci , etqui concredathominibus. Etsi praepositus alicui eorum hominum ooncredere nonaudeat, inveniatxii plegios cognationis suae qui ci stent infideiussione.

”H eist. ii . 7 . Thorpe, i . 217.

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266 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soon1.

A further inquiry now ari ses , as to the basis uponwhich all calculations as to satisfactionbetweenmanand manwere founded inother words to thesystem of Wergylds and its various corollariesthis will form the subject of a separate chapter.

CHAPTER X.

FE '

HDE. WERGYLD.

TH E right ofprivatewarfare , technical ly called fa’

eh’de

or feud’,was one which every Teutonic freeman

considered inal ienable ; and which , coupled w iththe obligations of family , was directly derived fromhis original positionas a freeman” i t was the priv ilege which he possessed before he consented toenter into any pol itical bond , the common termuponwhich all freemen could meet in anequalform of polity . It was animmediate corollary fromthat primaaval law of nature , that each manmayprovide for his owndefence , and use his ownenergies to secure his ownwell-being , and the quietpossessionof his life, his liberty and the fruits ofhis labour. History and traditionboth assure usthat i t did exist among the tribes of the North ;and i t is reasonable to suppose that i t must havedone so , especially inany case where we canconceive separate families and households to have maintained at all anindependent positiontoward one

Faibiie is etymologically derived from hi, a foe : it is the state orconditionof being fi with any one. Gif hwaofer ”Bet stalige of heft’

i wifi Done cyning and eallehis freond. If after that, any one steal,be he foe ( at feud) with the k ing, and all that love him.

”

3 Tacit. Germ. xxii .

268 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [noon1.

another . Where no imperium yet exists , society itself possesses only a {us belli against i ts ownseveral members and if neighbours w i llnotbe neighhourly , they must be coerced into peace ( the greatand first need of all society and the conditionof itsexistence) by alliance of the many aga inst the few,

of the orderly and peaceful against the violent andlawless . This right of feud thenlies at the rootof allTeutonic legislation; and inthe Anglosaxonlaw especially i t continues to be recognized longafter animperial power has beenconstituted , andthe general conservancy of the peace has beencommitted to a central authority . It admits as i ts mostgeneral term , that each freemanis at l iberty to defend himself, his family and his friends to avengeall wrongs done to them , as to himself shall seemgood to sink , burn, kill and destroy, as amply as

a royal commissionnow authoriz es the same ina

professional class, the recognized executors of thenational wi l l inthat behalf. N ow i t is obviousthat such a power, exercised ini ts full extent , mustrender the formationof anorderly society difficult ,ifnot impossible . The first problem thenis to dev ise means by which private vengeance may beregulated , private wrong atoned , the necessity of

each man’s doing himself right avoided , and thegeneral state of peace and securi ty provided for.

For setting aside the loss to the whole communitywhich may arise from private feud , the moral senseof menmay be shocked by its results : anindiv idual ’s ownestimate of the satisfactionnecessaryto atone for the injury done to him

, may lead to

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270 THE suoxsm ENGLAN D . [soonx.

wert made prisoner ‘ and this principle was re

cognized eveninthe later legislation, after whatwe may call a legal commutationof this right hadbeen established : the ordinance respecting oathsto be administered says , A twelfhynde man’soath stands for six ceorls ’ oaths because if a manshould avenge a twelfhynde man, he w i ll be fullyavenged onsix ceorls , and h is wergyld w i l l be sixceorls’ wergylds The Teutonic nations general lyavoided the inconveniences of such a system by

making the State itself the arbitrator betweentheparties that is , by establishing a tariff atwhich iajuries should be rated , and committing to the Statethe duty of compell ing the injured personto receive ,and the wrongdoer to pay, the settled amount . Itthus engaged to act as a mediator between theconfl icting interests , with a view to the maintenance

of the general peace : i t assured to the sufferer thelegal satisfactionfor his loss ; i t engaged to his

adversary that , upondue payment of that legalsatisfaction, he should be placed under the publicguarantee and saved from all the consequences offeud . For doing this , the State claimed al so someremuneration i t imposed a fine, called sometimes

fredum, from fri’d

, peace , or banaum from i ts proclamation( bannan)

3

, over and above the compen

Beda, H ist . Ecol. iv . 22.

“Twelt'

hyndesmannes 65 forstent sys ocorla £5 for‘Eém gif mantone twelfhyndanmanwrecansocclde, he his full wrecenonsyx ecot

lum, and his wergyld bit? syx eeorla wergyld .

” Oaths, 12. Thorpe,i . 182 .

The technical term is, to setup the king’sprotection,

“cyning“

munde ré ran.

” Badw . and Gus. 13. Eédm. ii . 7 . Thorpe, i . 174,

ca . x .] PE HDE . WERGYLD. 271

sationbetweenmanand man. And this is obviously what Tacitus means whenhe says

‘, They are

bound to takeup both the enmities and the friendships of a father or relative . Nor are their camities implacable for evenhomicide is atoned forbya settled number of flocks or cattle , and the wholehouse receives sat isfaction,—a useful thing for thestate , for feuds are dangerous inexact proportionto freedom .

”And again,

“ A portionof the finegoes to the k ing or state, a part to him whose damages are to be assessed , or to his relatives .

”Only

where the State would not, or could not, as maysometimes have happened , undertake this duty, didthe right of private warfare againresume its course

,

and the family relations recover their pristine importance . The manwho presumes to fight , beforehe has invainappealed to all the recognized authorities for redress, is liable , under Z Elfred

’

s law ,

to severe punishment , except in one importantcase, which involved the maintenance of the familyitself, to secure which alone the machinery of theState exists". But where the offender refuses to

250. This 13 the engagement of the State that the arbitrement shallbe peaceably made, and it atonce abrogates all right of feud, and fearof violent revenge .

Suscipere tam inimicitias senpatris seupropinqui quam amici~tinsnecesse est. Nee implacabiles durant luitur enim etiam homicidium certo armentorum ac pecorum numero, recipitque satisfactionemuniverse domus : utiliter inpublicum ; quia periculosiores aunt inimicitiae iuxta libertatem. Germ. xxii . Sed et levioribus delictis [iacluding homicide] pro modo poenaruxnequorum pecornmque numeroconvictimultantur. Pars ma ltee regi vel civitati, pars ipsi qui v indicatur, velpropinquis eius exsolvitur. Ibid . xii.

The Saxonlaw says, inaccordance with the universal law of nature and society, A manmay fight, w ithout incurring the penalty of

272 THE SAXONS lN ENGLAND. [noox 1.

avai l himself of the means of peaceful settlementwhich society has provided for him , the personiajured may make waruponhim , and have the assistance of the State inso doing . The most generalexpressionof this right is found ina proverbia lformula retained inthe law of Eadweard the Confessor, and which may be said to comprise all thelaw of the subject : i t says , Let amends be madeto the k indred , or let their war be borne whencethe English had the proverb , B icge spere of sideo’der bere ,

’ that is to say, Buy of the spear or bear

it‘. The mode however of applying this generalright was not left to individual caprice. The following regulations made by successive k ings w illexplainvery fully the practice and the theory ofFeud orWar. E lfred ordains , That the manwhoknows his foe to be homesitting fight not, before he have demanded justice of him . If he havepower enough to beset his foe, and besiege him inhishouse , let him keep him there for sevendays, butnotattack him, if he wi ll remainwithin-doors . If

then , after sevendays , he be w ill ing to surrender,and to give up his weapons, let him be kept safefor thirty days , and let notice of him be givento his kinsmenand friends . But if the plaintiff

raising war, against him whom he finds with his wedded w ife, w ith in

born, or with his sister lawfully born, or with his mother, who was

givento his father as his wedded w ife.

” Inthese cases there is, and

canbe, no murder before the law . Itisneedless to show from the

history and traditions of every Europeanstate, that this is a principle

Ll . Badw. Conf. xi1. Thorpe, i . 447.

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274 ms ssxons IN ENGLAND . [soon1.

tury,'to release the kindred from the consequences

of faéhiSe : he thus commences his secular laws :Eadmund . the king makes knownto all the

people , old and young , that are inhis dominion,what I have deliberated w i th the counsel of myWitan, both ordained and laic . First how I mightbest promote Christianity . Then seemed it to us

first most needful that we should most firmly preserve peace and harmony among ourselves , throughout all my dominion. Both I , and all of us , holdinhorror the unrighteous and manifold fightings

that exist among ourselves : we have therefore decreed : lf henceforth any one slay another, let him

bear the feud himself, unless by the assistance ofhis friends , and wi th intwelve months , he makeamends with the ful l wer, be he born as he may.

But if his kindred forsake him,and w illnotpay for

him, i t is my will that all the kindred beunfa'

h [outof feud] except the actual perpetrator ; providedthat they do notgive him either food or protection.

But if afterwards any of the kindred harbour him ,

he shall be l iable inall that he possesses to theking1 and bear the feud with the kindred , becausethey had previously forsakenhim . But if any of

the other kindred take vengeance uponany mansave the actual perpetrator

,let him be foe to the

k ing and all his friends , and forfei t all that hehas”

’

A forfeiture of this kind is recorded inthe Codex Diplomaticus,N09 . 714, 719, 1304 . A lady had harbour-cd her brother, while anout~law lbrmurder. B er landswere all forfeited and givento the king.3 Etidm. Sec. L . 1. Thorpe, i . 246.

cu. x .] ramps. m o no. 275

It is probable that this right thus reserved to thekindred of deserting their guilty k insman, wasnotoftenexercised , nevertheless the subsequent lawsof E ’Selred and Cnut ‘ may be considered to havebeenunderstood in connex ionwith it , and subjectto i ts limitations .The law ofEadweard the elder ( about 900 to

regulates the mode of proceeding whenbothparties arew i ll ing to forgo the feud , uponthe established

’

principlesof compensation. He says“: “Thewergyld of a twelfhynde man is twelve hundredshillings. The wergyld of a twyhynde manis twohundred shillings . If any one be slain, let him bepaid for according to his birth . And i t is the law ,

that , after the slayer has givenpledge for the wer

gyld , he should find inadditiona werborh, according to the circumstances of the case ; that is , forthe wergyld of a twelfhynde man, the werborhmust consist of twelve men, eight by the father

’s ,four by the mother’s side . Whenthat is done ,letthe king’s protectionbe set up ; that is , all, of

either kindred , laying thei r hands together upononeweapon, shall pledge themselves to the mediator,that the k ing ’s protectionshall stand . Intwentyone days from that day let one hundred and twentyshill ings be paid ashealsfang, ata twelfhynde man’swergyld . The healsfang belongs to the children;brothers and paternal uncles ; that money belongsto no k insmenexcept such as are w ithinthe degrees of blood . Twenty-one days after the healsfang

See above, cap. ix . p . 264 .

Earl . and Gab. 13. Thorpe, i . 174 .

T 2

276 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [1100111.

i s paid , let the maabdt be paid ; twenty-one dayslater, the fight-fine ; intwenty-one days from this,thefrumgyld or first instalment of the wergyld andso forth until the whole sum be discharged at suchfixed time as the Witan have agreed . After thisthey may depart with love , if they desi re to havefull friendship . And w ith respect to the wergyldof a ceorl , all-that belongs to his conditionshall bedone in l ike manner aswe have said respecting thetwelfhynde man.

”

The law ofEadmund contains similar provisions ‘

The Witan shall appease feud . First , accordingto folkright, the slayer shall give pledge to his adv ocate , and the advocate to the kindred of the slain,that the slayer w i l l make compensationto the k in.

Theni t is necessary that security be givento theslayer’s advocate , that the slayer may drawnigh inpeace , and himself give pledge for the wergyld.

Whenhe has givenhis wed for this, let him furtherfind a werborh, or securi ty for the payment of thewer. Wh enthat is done let the king’s protectionbe setup : w ithintwenty-one days from that , let thehealsfang be paid ; wi thinother twenty-one days ,the manbot ; and twenty-one days from that , thefirst instalment of the wergyld.

”

The wergyld then, or l ife-price, was the basisuponwhich all peaceful settlement of feud was

established . A sum,paid either in kind or in

money , where money existed , was placed uponthelife of every free man, according to his rank inthe

mam. Sec. 7. Thorpe, 1. 250.

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27 8 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soon1.

various circumstances have tended to introducechanges into the early and simple order ‘.Saliau Franks .—Ingenuus, 200 sol . : l itus , 100

801. ingenuus inhoste 600 l itus inhoste , 300 sol . :ingenuus intruste 1800 : l itus intruste , 900 sol .Thus if engaged inactual warfare , the value ofthe freemanand the emancipated serf was tripledand -if inthe trustor immediate serv ice of the king,their respective values were multiplied nine times .It is probable that the RipuarianFranks adoptedthe same numbers .Angli etWerini. —Liber 200 sol. : adaling (no

ble) 600 : libertus ( freedman) 80 sol.

Law of the Saxons . -Probably, the freeman240shillings : noble 1440 : freedman120 shillings .Law of the Bavarians .—The duke 960 shillings

the ducal family of the A gilolfings, 640 : the otherfive noble races , 320 shillings : the simple free man160 shillings .Law of the Alamanni . —Primus ( the first rank ofthe nobles) 240 sh ill ings medianns ( the secondrank of nobles) 200 minofledus ( the free man)160.

Law of the Burgundians .—Noble 300 shillingslower noble (mediocris) 200 : freeman(minor) 150.

Law of the Frisians . -Noble 80 shillings : freeman531; freedman263 shillings .Law of the Visigoths .—Freeman ( between theyears of twenty and fifty) 300 shillings : freedman150.

3 The following numbers are takenfrom Grimm, Rechtsalt. p . 272 .

cu. x.] FE ’HDE . WERGYLD. 279

Inthe North , 100 silfrs was the wergyld of thefreeman, and there is no account of the jarl ’s . TheOld Swedish laws generally assign40 marks thisis the reckoning of the Upland , Sudermanland,and Eastgothland laws . TheWestgothland law has39 marks ; the Jutish 54 and the Gutalag, threemarks of gold .

The wergyld of the clergy is slightly differentamong the Salic Franks , deacon300, priest 600,bishop 900 shillings . A late additionto the Ri

puarian law computes ,—clericus 200, subdeacon400, deacon500, priest 600, bishop 900.

This is sufficient to give a general outline of thesystem : i t w ill be observed that these continentalcomputations give no reckoning for the king. Be

yond doubt they were forthe most part settled afterthe royal power had become so fully developed asto castas ide all traces of its original character andnature .

The Anglosaxonequivalents for these computations are by no means clear ; nor, as far as we canj udge , are they altogether consistent . It is probablethat they varied notonly inthe several Anglosaxonkingdoms , but were also subject to change atvarious periods , as the relative value of l ife and produce altered . The Kentish law which names onlythe cor] and ceorl , as the two classes of free men,does not give us the exact amount of their wer

gylds, but i t supplies us w ith some data by whichperhaps anapproximationmay be made to it . InE fielberht

’

s law ( x52 , 5, 8) the king’

s mundbyrdor protection is valued at fifty shillings , the eorl ’s

280 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonI.

or noble’s at twelve 13 , 14 , compared wi th 10,

15, 16 , and the ceorl’s or simple freeman’s atsix 15, 25, Thus the three classes stand inthe relationof fifty , twelve and six ; or taking the

ceorl as unity , their respective values are Sly, 2 andl : that is,

Ceorl : eorl

Ceorl king 1

Eorl : king

N ow the medumc leédgeld of the ceorl is stated tobe one hundred shillings and if Grimm and

Thorpe were right intranslat ing this the half wer

gyld, we should have the very improbable sums of200, 400 and 1666% Kentish shillings . Meduma

however does notsignify half , but middling, moderate : the enactment inE ’Selberht

’s law amounts

in fact to this : If a manslay another, he is to

pay his wergyld ; but not so , if the slayer happento be the king’s armourer or messenger ; inthatcase he is to pay onl y a moderated wergyld of onehundred sh ill ings . It was anexemptioninfavourof two most important officers of the royal household ; and shows partly the growing encroachment of prerogative , partly the value set uponthetalents of the oflicers themselves ’. The commonwergyld thenwas above one hundred , and I thinkit canbe shownthat i t was below two hundred ,shillings. The case of a wergyld paid for a king ,

The royal messengers were oftenof. the h ighest rank . The heroiccharacter of the weapon-smith or armourer appears throughout thetraditions of the North, and indeed inthe epic poetry of allnations.

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282 ms SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soonx.

thirty pounds , brittig punda. N ow however contradictory all these statements may at first sightappea r ( and there canbeno doubt that some of themare ridiculously exaggerated) , i t is not impossibleto remncile and explainthem . Every one of theauthorities I have cited , exceptFlorence , who hasevidently calculated his sum uponwhat he believedto be the value of the mancus , reads thirty thousandof some coinor other. Onewill have them pounds ,another shillings , another mancuses , etc . N ow

they are all wrong inthei r denomination, and all

equal ly right intheir number ; and for this veryobvious reason,—the originals from which they derived their informationdid mention the number ,and did notmentionthe denomination. Each euthor put the questionto himself, Thirty thousandwhat?

”and answered i t by supplying the supposed

omission w ith the coinmost familiar to himself.But there cannot be the least doubt that the Saxonoriginal read brittig busenda , thirty thousand , andnothing else and this is notonly actually the reading of some MSS . of the Chronicle, but most likelythe cause of the error which lies inthe other copies ,incautious transcribers having beenmisled by theresemblance betweenthe Saxon and p , and mistakenthe contractionprittig panda forprittig punda , thirty pounds . It is the custom of the Anglo .

saxontongue , indescribing measures of land orsums of money, to use the numerals only , leavingthe commonest units to be supplied by the reader.Thus if land were intended , thirty thousand woulddenote that number of hides ; and where money is

on. we] FzE'HDE. m evw . 283

intended,’

at least in Kent , thirty thousand semca‘.

This thenI believe to have been the sum paid toIni , and the regular personal wergyld of a Kentishking . Letus now apply this sum to elucidate thevalue of the other Kentish wergylds. From a comparisonof the compensationappointed for injuries done to the nails of the fingers and toes , Mr .Thorpe , the late Mr. Allen, and I concluded thatthe value of a Kentish shilling was twenty soests.

But thirty thousand scaets would be fifteenhundredsuch shillings , and assuming this to be the royalwergyld, we shall find the eorl

’s to be 360, theceorl ’s 180 shillings

, which amounts are exactlythirty times the value of the several mundbyrds

’.

In the first volume of Mr. Thorpe’s AnglosaxonLaws , at p . 186, there is a document which professes to give the values of different classes inNorthumberland . Its date isuncerta in, though it

appears to have beengeneral ly assigned to the commencement of the tenth century. I confess that Icanhardly reconci le myself to so early a date , andthink it altogether a suSpicious authori ty . It tellsus as follows

1. The N orthpeople’

s royal gyld i s thirty thousand thrymsas ; fifteenthousand thrymsas are forthe wergyld , and fifteenthousand for the royal dig

Conf. Ll . Hlofih. 510. {E licia 6 7. E lfred’

sBeds, iii. 5. So, infiftig, m fifly, means fifiy psalm to be m g or said. M ela . iv. 3.

v. 8 . 9 6 . No one mistakes the meaning offive hundred, ) ivc thousanda year.

1500 Kentish shill ings, wh ich are equivalent to rather more than7800 Saxonshillings, were a sufficient sum, at a period whenanewe

with her lamb wss worth only one Saxonshilling. Ll . Ini, 555.

234 m s SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

nity. The wer belongs to the k indred the cynebétto the people .

2 . Anarchbishop ’s and anse’6eling’s wergyld

is fifteenthousand thrymsas .“ 3 . A bishop ’s and anealdorman’s, eight thou

sand thrymsas .“ 4 . A hold ’s and a king ’s high reeve ’s , four

thousand th rymsas .5. A mass thane ’s and a secular thane ’s , two

thousand thrymsas .6 . A ceorl 's wergyld is two hundred and sixty

six thrymsas , that is two hundred shillings by Mercianlaw .

“ 7 . And if a Welshmanthrive so well that hehave a hide of land , and canbring forth the king

’stax , theni s h is wergyld one hundred and twentyshillings ; and if he thrive not save to half a hide,thenlet h is wer be eighty shillings .

8 . And if he havenotany land , but yet is free,let him be paid for w ith sev enty shill ings.

9. And if a ceorl ish manthrive so well thathe have five hides of land for the k ing’s zitware,

and any one slay him, let him be paid forw ith twothousand thrymsas .

10. And though he thrive so that he have ahelm and coat-of-mai l , and a sword ornamentedw ith gold , if he have not that land , he is notwithstanding a ceorl .

11. And if his son and his son’s sonso thrivethat they have so much land after him

,the off

Spring shal l be of gesi’Scund [noble] race at two

thousand .

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286 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

they are the originalnobles , three times as valuableas the freeman, and whether the twelfhynde areanexclusive class of magnates , raised above themduring the progressive development of the royalpower ; or whether onthe contrary , the twelfhyndeand twyhynde are the original divisions , and the sixhynde a middle class of ministerials, which sprangup when ceorls had entered the serv ice of the crown,and thus became raised above their fellow freemen.

I incline to the latter opinion, partly from the apparent absence of this sixhynde class inMercia,partly from the appositionnoticed above , and theomissionof the sixhynde altogether from the passage ia Eadweard ’

s law , which regulates the payments for the other two classes . There is no statement of a royal wergyld inWessex , but from whathas beensaid of the compositionmade for M iil, i tmay be inferred that i t was thirty thousand sceattasor 120 pounds , like that of Mercia . The total ihconsistency of these several valuesw il l be. apparentif we arrange them tabularly :

44 5000

If these data be accurate , we must conclude that

en. x .] m ains. wssoa . 287

the ratio of the king and noble to the ceorl inthedifferent states varied as follows

North. king : ceorl : 113 1nearlv .

Mere. king : ceorl 72 l.

Wessex . k ing : ceorl : 72 1.

Kent . k ing : ceorl l7% : 1.

North . noble , l st class : ceorl 56 Inearly .

2ndclass ceorl 301} Inearly.3rd class ceorl l nearly.4th class ceorl 72g :1nearly.

Mere. noble ceorl 6 1.

Wessex . noble, l st class ceorl 6 : 1.

2nd class ceor1: :3 : 1.

Kent . noble ceorl 2 1.

N ow this variety , which is total ly irrespective ofthe real value of the bryms and the shilling, seemsto involve this part of the subject inimpenetrabledarkness . A ll that we can permi t ourselves toguess is, that circumstances had inprocess of timealtered the original relations between the classes ,but indifferent ratios inthe different kingdoms .This however is not all the difficul ty : we haveto contend w i th the complicationarising from thefact , that the scilling, the currency inwhich all thesoutherncalculations are nominally made , reallydiffered invalue inthe several states : and thuswhenwe attempt to compare one freemanw ithanother, we find thei r respective prices to be inMercia 8335sceats, inKent 3600.

However the details were arranged , the principleitself is clear enough , and we must now be content

288 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

to remaininignorance of the means adopted to reconcile confl icting interests measured by a standardso imperfect .But the wergyld or price of the whole manwas

notall that the law professed to regulate . Whenonce the principle had been admitted , that thismight be fixed at a certainsum , i t was aneasycorollary notonly that the sum inquestionshouldl imit the amount of responsibility to the State 'butthat a tariff for all injuries should be settled . Inthe laws of E

’Selberht and E lfred we find verydetai led assessments of the damage which could bedone to a manby inj uries , either of his person, hisproperty

,or his honour : many of these are amu

sing and strange enough , and highly indicativeof the rude state of society for which they wereadapted . But i t seems unnecessary to pursue thedetai ls they dea l w i th : they may serve to turnaperiod about Teutonic barbarism , or to point a

moral about humanfallibili ty ; but the circumstances under which they were rational and convenientarrangements have passed away , and

“

theyare now of l ittle interest as historical records , andofnone wi th a view to future util i ty.

Capital punishments arenecessarily rare inearly periods. Tacituslimits those of the Germans to casesof high-treasonorcfi'eminacy, twocrimes wh ich strike at the root of all society. Hence the h ighest punishment is payment of the wergyld : a capital th ief is wergyld-beéf.If he cannot or will notpay, he is outlawed, that is excluded from the

benefits of the mutual guarantee among freemen: he may be slainasa commonenemy, iurc belli, or reduced to slavery , which is the moreusual result.

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290 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [8 001 t.

by slaying Ongen’Seow was rewarded w ith a grant

of land and rings ’. The clearest view of the natureand object of folcland is givenus by Beda , whocomplains that it is diverted from its proper purpose , —which is, to be granted as a support to thosewhose arms would defend the country ,—under pretence of erecting monasteries , which are a disgraceto thei r profession. The fol lowing are hisextremelyimportant words

And since there are both very numerous andvery extensive tracts , which , to adopt the commonsaying , are of use neither to God nor man,seeing indeed that inthem there is neither maintained a regular l ife according to God ’s law, norare they possessed by the soldiers or comites of

secular persons , who might defend our race fromthe barbarians ,—if any one, to meet the want ofour time , should establish an episcopal see inthose places , he w i ll be proved not to incur the

Pittacus was thus rewarded by the peopleofMitylene, afterovercomingPhrynon, the Athenianchampion, insingle combat : nib bi Mervinva iaw draped: a im}; prydl a r bcbdvrm , dKOW fO

‘

d f rb bdpu, roiiro pdvov vb

xwpl'

ov rifiabov , doov c’

rrc'

rrxw f; aixjuj‘ ml w h im pixpc rimH tfldxw v.

Pint. de Malign. Herod . c. xv . The reward allotted to Horatius intheBomanAger oughtnow to be familiarto every one

They gave him of the corn-landThat was of public right,As much as two strong oxenCould plough frommorntillnightl”Geald bone gdbrsesGetita dryhtenofermatimum sealde

heora gehwrebmmhund busendalandes and locenra bei ge.

Deow. l. 5977.

cu. xr.] FOLCLAND AND BO'

CLAND. 291

guil t of prevarication , but rather to perform anactof

And again , he continuesBy which example it behaves also your Holi

ness, inconjunctionwith our rel igious king , toabrogate the irreligious deeds and w ritings of ourpredecessors, and to provide for the general advantage of our kingdom, either in reference toGod , or to the world : lest inour days , eitherthrough the cessationof religion, the love and fearof aninspector athome should be abandoned ; or,onthe other hand , the supply of our secular mili tiadecreasing , we should not have those who mightdefend our boundaries from the incursions of barbarians. For , what is disgraceful to say, personswho have not the least claim to the monastic chareeter, as youyourself best know , have got so manyof these spots into their power, under thename ofmonasteries , that there is really now no place at

allwhere the sons ofnobles or veteransoldiers canreceive a grant“. And thus, idle and unmarried ,being grownup to manhood , they l ive oninno professionof chasti ty ; and onthis account , they eithercross the sea and desert the country which theyought to serve with thei r arms ; or, what is evenmore criminal and shameless, having no profession

Bed . Epist. ad Ecgbirhtum Archiepiscnpum, 11. ( Opera Min.

11.

9 We know thstthese grants were regulated by the rank and conditionof the grantee. Beda , speaking of Benedict Biscop, a youngNorthumbriannobleman,

'

says, Cum essctminister Oswii regis, ct

possessioncm terrae suo gradui competentem, illo donante perciperet,”

etc. Vit. Sci. Bened. 1. (Op. Min. ii .

292 ms ssxoxs IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

of chasti ty , they give themselves up to luxury and

fornication, and abstainnot evenfrom the virginsconsecrated toThe evils of a course which , by preventing thepossibili ty ofmarriage , tends to the general neglectof moral ity, are as obvious inthis state of society ,as in those where the indefinite partitionof es;

tates reduces all the members of the higher classesto a state of poverty ,—a fact perfectly familiar incountries where the resources of trade arenotpermitted to mitigate the mischief of subdivision.

The folcland theninEngland was the nationalstock . I t is probable that the same thing occurredinother Teutonic states, and that the folcland therealso formed a reserve from which endowments ofindividual s , homebornor foreign, and of religioushouses, were made . Thus , Princeps de eius recuperatione simul etpostulatione multum gav isus,et suum ad hoc consensum et parentum adep

tus est favorem ; deditque ill i ineisdem partibus ,multas possessiones de publica , quatinus vicinioripotentia soceris acceptior factus , nonminori apudillos, quam ingenitali solo praecelleretWe cannot now tell the exact terms uponwhichthe usufruct of the folcland was permitted to indiv idual holders . Much of i t was probably distributed inseveralty , to be enjoyed by the granteeduring his life , and thento revert to the donor theState. As the holders of such lands were most probably not included inthe Marks , like the owners

Epist. ll. ( Op . Min. u. 217,\

'

it. S . Idae, Pertz, ii . 57l.

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294 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [noon1.

repai r of roads , bridges and fortifications . But besides these , there were dues payable to the king,and the gerefa ; watch and ward onvarious occasions ; aid inthe royal hunting ; convoy of messengers going and coming onthe public service , fromone royal vi ll to another ; harbouring of the king ,his messengers and huntsmen; lastly provisionforhis hawks , hounds and horses . Inadditionto these ,there were heavy payments ink ind , which were tobe delivered at the royal vills , to each of which ,v arious districts were apparentlymade appurtenant ,for this purpose ; and onwhich stores , so duly delivered , the king and his household insome degreedepended for subsistence . These were comprisedunder the name Cyninges-feorm, or a a regis.

I t 18 from the occasional exemptions granted bythe authori ty of the king and his witan, that welearnwhat burthens the folcland was subject to itmay therefore be advantageous to cite a few examples, which wi llmake the details clear.Between791 and 796 , eighty hides of land at

Westbury and H anbury were relieved by Ofi'

a fromthe dues to kings , dukes and thei r subordinates ;except these payments , that i s to say, the gafol atWestbury ( sixty hides) , two tuns full of brightale, and a comb full of smooth ale, and a comb fullofWelsh ale, and sevenoxen, and six w ethers , andforty cheeses, and six lang

’Sero and thirty ambers of rough corn, and four ambers of meal , to theroyal vi ll ‘.

Cod . Dipl . No. 166. Here, by the way, the comb is used as a

liquid measure ; very probably of th irty-tyre gallons, the amount of the

on. XL ] POLCLAND AND BO’

GLAND. 295

In863 , anestate atMarsham was to pay by theyear , twenty staters of cheese , forty lambs, fortyfleeces , and two days ’ pastus

' or feorm , which lastmight be commuted for thi rty silver shillings (ar

gentea)g

In877 , Bishop Tunberht, w ith the consent of hischapter, appmpriated lands at Nursling to the useof the refectory . His charter says he grants it ,l iberam ab omnibus terrenis difiicultatibus om

nium gravitndinum, sive a pasturegis , principis,exaetoris ; et ab omni aedificiorum opere , tributo ,a paraveredis, a taxationibus quod dicimus witcraédene omnium rerum saecularium perpetualiterl ibera sit , excepta expeditione et pontis aedifica

tiones.” As he could notdo th is by his ownauthority, he probably only means to record that theyhad beenso freed by the Witena-gemot .In883 , twenty years later, a monastery is freed

from allwhich the monks were sti ll bound to payto the king’s hand , as cyningfeorm, both inbrightale, beer, honey , oxen, swine and sheep , inshortfrom all the gafol, much or li ttle , known or nuknown, that belongs to the lord of the nation

“.

The dues from the monastery atTauntonwereas follows : a feorm of one night for the king , and

01d barrelof ale, ( the present barrel is thirty-six gallons) . to as.

day the hogshead is sixty-four gallons or twice thirty-two, the comb ;as the quarter is sixty-fourga llons, ortwo combs of drymeasure. Evennow insome parts of Surrey and Sussex , the peasants use peck fortwo gallons of liquid measure : I have heard them speak of a peck , andevenhalf a bushel, of gin. brandy, beer, etc.

The partus regis is the gite duroi well knowninFrench history.Cod. Dipl . No. 288, see also No.

Cod. Dipl. No. 1063. Ibid. No. 313.

296 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

eight dogs and one dog-keeper ; and nine nights ’

keep for the king’s falconers ; and carriage w i thwaggons and horses for whatever he would havetak ento Curry or.Wilton. And if strangers camefrom other parts , thev were to have guidance to thenearest royal vi ll upontheir road ’.The payments reserved upon twenty hides at

Titcbbourn, which Eiidweard in 901- 909 grantedto Denewulf of Winchester for three l ives , wereprobably the old royal gafol : they were now transferred to the church as double~commons for foun~

der’s day. They amounted to , twelve sexters of

beer, twelve of sweetened Welsh ale, twenty ambersof bright ale, two hundred large and one hundredsmal l loaves , two oxenfresh or sal ted, six wethers ,four swine , fourflitches, and twenty cheeses ; but ifthe day of payment should fall inLent , anequivalent of fish

,mightbe paid instead of flesh

“.

Insuper etiam , banepraedictam terram liberaboab omni servitute saecularium rerum , a pastu regis ,episcopi , praefeetorum, exactorum, ducum, canum,

vel equorum seu accipitrum ab refectione ethabituillorum omnium qui dieuntur Faestingmen,

” etc .

3

Siut l iberati a pastuprincipum, eta difiicultateilla quod nos Saxoniee dicimus Festingmen; neehomines illuc mittant qui accipitros vel falconesportant , aut canes aut cabal los ducunt; sed sintl iberati perpetualiter in

Ab opere regal i et pasturegis etprincipis, veliuniorum eorum ab hospitorumrefectione velv ena

1 God No. 1084, an. 904 . Ibid. No. 1088.

lbid . No . 216, an. 822. No. 257, an. 844 .

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298 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonI.

freed all'

the bishopric ofWorcester, tota parochinHwicciorum,

”—ia other words all the churchesbelonging to it,—from the pastusequorum regis ,

”

and thei r keepers ‘.Many of the instances we meet w i th , both in

England and uponthe Continent , are those of

churches or monasteries : this is natural, inasmuchas the clergy were most likely to obta inand recordthese exemptions . But how, i t may be asked , didi t happenthat such exemptions were necessary ?It seems to me that , whenChristiani ty was introduced, and folcland was granted for the erectionorthe endowment of a church , the burthens were notalways discharged and that the piety of later timeswas occasionally appealed to , to remedy the carelessness or alter the pol icy of early founders .Folcland may be considered the original and ge

neral name of all estates save the blot , sore or alédof the first markmen: the whole country was div ided into Folclands, containing one or more hides ,subject to folcriht or the publ ic law ,

—and hencehavingno privilege or immuni ty of any sort ; inmany instances where Beda uses term unius tri bu

tarii, term familz'

ae unius, and similar expressions ,he canonly meanto denote separate and distinctportions of folcland , and the words of fE lfred

’

s

translationimply the same thing.The power of disposal over this land lay inthe

nationitself, or the state that is , inthe k ing andhisw itan; but inwhat way, or by what ceremonies ,

1Cod . Dipl . No. 306, an. 875.

ca . x1.] FOLCLAND AND BO’GLAND. 299

i t was conferred , we no longer know. Still thereis great probabil ity that i t was done by some of

those well-knownsymbols , which survived both athome and abroad in the familiar forms of l ivery ofseisin,—by the straw , the rod or yard , the cespcs

m'

ridis and the l ike ’. We may however distinctlyassert that i t wasnotgivenby book or charter , inasmuch as this form was reserved to pass estatesunder very different ci rcumstances .The very fact that folcland wasnotthe object of

a charter causes our informationrespecting it to bemeagre : i t is merely incidenta l ly and fortuitouslythat i t is mentioned inthose documents from whichwe derive so much valuable insight into the anti .

quitica of SaxonEngland . But evenfrom themwe

may infer that i t wasnotheredita ry .Towards the end of the ninth century, E lfred ,

who appears to have beenealdormanor duke of

Surrey , dev ised his lands by w il l . He left almostall his property to his daughter ; and to his sonZ EBelwald ( perhaps ani l legitimate child ,) he gaveonly three hides of hereditary land , hooland , expressing howev er his hope that the king wouldpermit his sonto hold the folcland he himself hadheld . But as this was uncertain, inorder to meetthe case of a disappointment, he directed that ifthe king refused this , his daughter should choose

Perhaps ina case of this sort, evenIngulfmay be trusted : hetellsus, with some reference however to the Normanforms of livery, withwhich he was fam

'

liar,“ Conferebantur etiam primo multa praedia

nndo verbo, absque seripto vel charts, tantum cum domini gladio, velgalea, vel cornu, vel craters ; et plurima tenements cum calcari, cummigili, cum arcu, etnonnulla cum aagitta .

”Hiat Croyl. p . 70.

300 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soo1c 1.

which she would give her brother , of two hereditaryestates which he had devised to her‘.Again, shortly before the Conquest , we find Ah

botWulfwold thus informing Gisa bishop ofWells ,E gelno

’d the abbot , Tofig the sheriff, and all thethanes inSomerset52

Eadweard the k ing , my lord , gave me the landat Corfestige which my father held , and the fourfarms at E scwic, and the fields of meadow-landthereunto belonging , and inwood and field so muchthat I had pasture for my cattle and the cattle of

my men; and all as free inevery respect as theking’s owndemesne , to give or sell , during my dayor after my day, to whomsoever i t best pleases me .

”

Inboth these cases i t i s clear that the land washoldenas a benefice ; that the tenant had only a

life interest , which Wulfwold however succeeded inconverting into afee.

As the State were the grantors , so also there ap .

pears to have beenno restriction as to the persons ofthe grantees . Of course this does not include serfs ,orothers below the degree of freemen although anemancipated serf may sometimes hav e beenprov ided w ith anestate of folcland , by general donation. But there is no reasonto doubt that everyother class might obta ingrants of folcland . Thoseof a duke and of various bishops have beenmentioned ; Wulfwold

’

s father was probablv , at least athane. But eventhe king himself could and did

Cod . Dipl . No . 317 .

3 Members of the scirgemétor county-court : hence the instrumentis of a solemnand legal description. Cod. Dipl . No. 821.

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302 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [aoox 1.

versions of folcland into boclandwere made atfirst ,wasthe erectionand endowment of a rel igious houseuponthe land , by the grantee and we also learnthat sometimes the conversionwasmade , the thanepresented with the estate , but the church or mo

nastery notconstructed . Soonafter the introductionofChristianity into Northumberland , i t appearsindeed to have been customary to grant muchgreater privi leges and immuni ties to church-landsthanwere found advisable ata later period , or thanseem to have beenpermitted inthe provinces southof the Humber . It stands to reason that therecould be no reversioninlands granted to a corporation: hence folcland which had beenpresented toa church assumed what may be called a heredita rycharacter ‘, and could only lapse by total destruotion of the particular body ,—a circumstance whichcould obviously never be contemplated , but whichdid actual ly occur during the civi l wars, internaldissensions and foreigninvasions , which gradual lychanged the face of the whole country

“. But the

lands which the Northumbrianprinces devoted topious purposes , were most likely relieved from all

burthens whatsoever we have conclusive evidencethat evenmi litary service was excused inthat distriet before the time of Beda . Inall probability ,

Land is sometimes ca lled B ishop-land, wh ich I imagine to be thelegal designa tionof this particular estate.

3 This was the case w ith Peterborough , Ely and other ancient foundations restored inthe timeof Badgar. He himself saysof Ely : Nd

wa s se bi lge stede yfele forhetenmid lzessanbeowdome Gonna ( is gelicode nuonfirum timan, and eéc m gehwyrfed

'

56m cyninge t6handmic cwe’Ee be me ailfum.

”Cod. Dip. No. 563 .

on. xx.] POLCLAND AND BO’GLAND. 300

i t was not suspected how much the defences of

the country might become impai red by grants of

the kind . The passages already cited from Beda’sepistle to Ecgberht may be adduced incorrobo

rationof these assertions , but we have more directevidence inhis history Oswi1

’

1 onhis conversionplaced his daughter Eanflaéd inthe conventpresided over by Hild , and w ith her he gavetwelve estates ,

“

possessiunculae terrarum,

” mostl ikely folcland, each estate comprising tenhides ;in

.

which , Beda continues , Ablato studio mili tiasterrestris , ad exercendam militiam coelestem locusfacultasque suppeteret,

”—or as the Saxontranslator expresses it , Those twelve béclands be freedfrom earthly warfare and earthly service, to be employed inheavenly warfare . ” It is very clear thatthe duties of military service were removed inthiscase, and that religious warfare was to be the destinationof those that held the lands . SimilarlywhenBenedict Bisc0p decided upondevoting himself to a monastic l ife , he surrendered his lands tothe king 9. These must obviously have beenfolcland , the retaining of w hich he considered impos.

sible , under the circumstances ; and which , notbeing his own, he could not take w ith him into a

monastery : “ despexit militiam cum corruptibilidonativo terrestrem, ut vero regi militaret; andthese words of Beda clearly show how we are

to understand what he says of Oswiti’

s grant toWhitby .

Bed:Vit. Sci. Bened. § 1. ( 0p . Minor. 11.

304 m s saxoxs1N ENGLAND. [acc t 1.

The gaining of a hereditary character for lands,and especial ly the rel ief from heavy dues , were advantages which might speedily arouse the avarice

and stimulate the inventioneven of barbarians .Accordingly those who could gainaccess to the earof the king and his w i tan, bought , or begged or extorted grants of privi leged land, which they eitherconverted enti rely into private estates , or uponwhich they erected monasteries , nominally suchand over these , which they filled wi th i rregular andoftenprofligate monks , they assumed the jurisdictionof abbots ; w i th such little advantage to theservice of religion, that we have seenBeda describethem as a public scandal , and recommend eventhe desperate remedy of cancelling , by royal andepiscopal authority , the privilegia or charters onwhich thei r immuni ties reposed .

To the growing prevalence of this fraud we probably owe i t that , at least i n Wessex , the customarose of confiscating land onwhich the conditionsof the grant had notbeen fulfil led . Thus Ini calledinthe lands which Cissa had granted to Heantheabbot and Cille the abbess , his sister, because noreligious buildings had beenerected thereon SedIni rex candem terram,

postea dum regno potiretur, diripiens ac reipublicae restituit, nondum constructo monasterio inea, nec ullo admodum ora

torio that is , as I understand i t , folclandthey had been, and folcland they aga in became . Buteventhis didnotmeet all the exigencies of the case,

1 Cod. Dipl. No. 46.

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306 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [aoox r.

gave five ploughlands of folcland forfive of bdcland ,and thenmade the folcland hooland , the boclandfolcland .

Inthis general spoliationi t is to be supposed thatthe kings would notomit to share : accordingly wefind them causing estates to be booked to them bytheir witan; which estates , whenthus become theirprivate and heritable property , they devise and dealwi th at their pleasure : and indeed , as the king

’sconsent was necessary to all such conversions , hewas much better able to obtainthat of his w itaninhis owncase , thanbishops , thanes or others wereintheir cases : these general ly found themselvescompelled to pay handsomely for the favour theyrequired . With respect to ecclesiastical lands , wefrequently find a loss of very large estates submitted to , inorder to secure freedom to what remained . There are also a few instances inwhichlands having descended , encumbered wi th payments , the owners engage some powerful noble orecclesiastic to obtaintheir freedom ,

- that is , to persuade the w i taninto abolishing the charges. Thegratuity offered to the member whose influence wasto carry these ancient private acts of parliament , isoftenvery considerable . Towards the closing period of the Anglosaxonpolity , I should imaginethat nearly every acre of land inEngland had hecome bocland and that as, inconsequence of th is ,there w asno more room for the expansionof a freepopulation, the conditionof the freemenbecame depressed , while the estates of the lords increased innumber and extent . Inthis way the ceorlas or free

on. x l.] FOLCLAND AND BO’GLAND. 307

cultivators gradually vanished , yielding to the evergrowing force of the noble class , accepting a dependent positionupontheir bdcland , and standingto right intheir courts , instead of their ownoldcounty gemotas ; while the lords themselves ranriot , dealt with their once free neighbours at theirowndiscretion, and filled the land w i th civil dissensions which noteven the terrors of foreigninvasioncould still . Nothing canbe more clear thanthat the universal breaking up of society inthe timeof E fielred had i ts source inthe ruinof the oldfree organizationof the country . The successes ofSwegenana ut , and evenofWi lliam the Norman,had much deeper causes thanthe mere gainor lossof one or more battles. A nationnever falls tillthe citadel of i ts moral being has beenbetrayed

and become untenable . Northerninvasions w i l lnot account for the state of brigandage whichE fielred and his Witandeplore inso many of theirlaws . The ruinof the free cultivators and theovergrowth of the lords are much more likelycauses . At the same time i t is evenconceivablethat , but for the invasions of the ninth and tenthcenturies , the result which I have described mighthave come uponus more suddenly . The swordand the torch , plague , pesti lence and famine are

very effectual checks to the growth of population,and sufficient for a long time to adjust the balancebetweenthe land and those i t has to feed .

Anestate of bdcland might be subject to conditions . I t was perhaps not always easy to obtainfrom theWitanallthat avarice desi red : accordingly

x 2

308 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [noon1.

we sometimes find l imitations ingrants , to a certainnumber of l ives w ith remainders and reversions .

And i t was both law and custom not only that thefirst acquirer might impose what condit ions be

pleased uponthe descent of the estate , but that toall time his expressed w i ll in

‘

that respect shouldbind those who derived thei r t itle from h im ‘

. E l

fred requires his Witan, who are the guaranteesand administrators of his w i l l , to see that he has

not violated the disposition of his ancestors byleaving lands to womenwhich had been enta i ledon the male l ine

, and vice versd’

; and we havecases of grants solemnly avoided for like want ofconformity . More questionable inpoint of principle i s the right attempted to be set Up by someof these purchasers , °to bar escheat and forfei

ture of the land upon felony of thei r heirs or devisees .It is to be presumed that a tenant of folcland

was permitted to let the same ,—upon condi tionnodoubt that be conveyed no estate superior to hisown. The holders must have beenal lowed to placepoor settlers upon thei r estates , whose rents and

services , inlabour and k ind , would be importantto their ownsubsistence . Of course inbdcland nol imitationcould be thought of ; i t was the absolute ,inheritable property of the purchaser, and he couldingeneral d ispose of i t as freely as if i t were aloditself. But there seems no reason to doubt thatmuch the same course was adopted inboth descrip

zElfr. s41. Cod. Dipl . No. 314 .

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310 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [noon1.

by the household . The remainder of the land theowner leased onvarious conditions to menwho

had no land demanding inreturnfor that commodity, indispensable in a country wh ich has notyet lea rnt to manufacture , rents paid in kind , inlabour, and eveninmoney. This labour-rent , yetcal led robot inS lavonic countri es , as well as theother dues , natural ly varied invarious districts ,partly w i th the importance of land ‘, to the cultiv ator, and the value of i ts produce to the owner.And at last pol i tical motives may have had someweight , whenthe number and condition of a man

’sdependents might affect his owninfluence and positioninthe state : but in general we shall be j ustified insaying that land was very v aluable , and theconditions onwhich it was to be obtained harsh andonerousg. Such land, whether i n large

‘or in smal lportions , whether leased on long or short terms ,large or smal l rents , was cal led by the commonname of Laén, or loan“. It was considered to belent ; and where the hi mwas onfolcland , i t is oh

The Rectitudines S ingularum Personarum inform us that theywere very difl

'

erent indifl‘

erentplaces, which necessarily would be thecase. We canimagine that a butseearl or fishermanof Kent was notso anx ious to have a holding as a peasant inGloucestershire.

Eveninthe eighth century Ini found it necessary to enact , that ifa mantook land onconditionof gufol or produce-rent, and his lordendeavoured to raise his rent also to service, heneed notabide by thebarga in, unless the lord would build him a house : and he was insucha case, not to lose the crop he had prepared . Ini, 67. Thorpe, i . 146 .

3 The transitory possessions of this life were oftenso described , inreference to the Almighty : “ 8a a

'

zhta“8c him God alréned bari‘li .” Cod .

Dipl . No . 699. A himfor life, eventhough guarded by a very deta iledboo or charter, is distinctly ca lled [magicians by the grantee, M elbaldof Wessex . Cod . Dipl . No . 1058 .

cu. XL ] LrE’NLAND. 311

v ious that no certaintime could be assigned , andthat the after-tenant could have only a tenancy atwill . Inany case i t was reasonable that misconduct inthe holder, which would have entai led uponhim the forfei ture of his ownreal property , shouldnotbe permitted to interfere w ith the rights of thereversioner : ls

'

enland therefore could notbe takenfrom the owner , for the crime of . the tenant . Intheyear 900 a certainHeimsten wasguilty of theft , andthe sheriff seized all his chattels to the king : andOrdlaf entered uponthe land , because it was hishi m that H elmstansat on: that he could not for

A simi lar principle prevai led ingrants forlives, especially where ecclesiastical corporationswere the grantors and reversioners and which ,though to a certainextent they conveyed estatesof bocland, gave , strictly speaking , laénor beneficiary tenuresfi But as the clergy were notalwaysqui te sure of meeting w i th fai r treatment, we findthem notunfrequently introducing into thei r instruments a prov ision that no forfeiture shall be validagainst their rights ; th is, from the great strictnessw ith which the prov isions of a book or charter werealways construed , and ingenera l from the fear ofviolating what had beenconfirmed by the signatureof the cross and the threat of eternal punishment ,may have had some effect . Insuch cases i t may

Cod . Dipl . No. 328 .

3 Thus Ealhfrih bishop ofWinchester ( 871-877) making a grant forlivesto duke Culired, properly calls it a li n: Balferb ‘

j“69. higanhah~

has gelsizned , etc. Cod . Dipl . No . 1062. They reserved ecclesiastical,butno secular dues.

312 THE saxons IN ENGLAND . [noon1.

bepresumed that the guilt of the grantee enti relycancelled the grant the remaining lives , if any, losing the advantage which they derived through thegrantee forfeiture really taking effect , but for thebenefit of the grantor , not the civi l power ‘. Thetenant of la

'

a'nlaud , who by his services acquiredthe good w il l of the lord , might hope to have histenure improved , ifnot into anabsolute possessionof hooland , yet into one for his ownor more l ives .Ina translationof St . Augustine of Hippo

’s Soliloquia , attributed l ike so many other things to E lfred ofWessex , there occurs this passage“

But i t pleaseth every man, whenhe hath builthimself some cottage uponhis lord ’s hi m, w i th hisassistance , for a while to take up his rest thereon,and hunt , and fowl and fish, and indivers waysprovide for himself uponthe laén, both by sea and

Oswald’s grantsgenerally containa specialclause to that effect : seeCod . Dipl . Nos. 494, 495, 506, 507, 509, 511, 529, 531, 538, 540, 552.

MS . Cott . Vitel. A . xv . fol. 2.

“ Ac w’

lcne manlyat, simnheamig cotlit

'

onhis hlafordes lainemid his fultume getimbred hc fli, lis the h ine mote hwilum liter-ougerestsn, 1 huntigsn, 1 fuglian1 fisca l,1 his ougehwylicw isant6

“Si re lmnan tilian. é g’lier ge onstage on

lande, 05 05 “one fyrst he he bocland ‘

j 600 yrt'

e burh his hhifordesmiltse ge-earnige.

” Whether land so putoutwas called earningland,I w ill notaffirm ; butatthe close of a grantfor three lives I find th ismemorandum :

“ Two of the lives have fallenin; then136d tookit, and granted it to whomsoever he would asearniugland.

” Cod . Dipl .No . 679. Cotlif seems inother passages to denote small estatesnotnecessarily onlm'n. The SaxonChronicle, an. 963, for example usestha t term of the lands wh ich E belwold gave to ‘

Ely, alter purchasingthem of the king. This it is clear he could nothave done, had theybeenonany person

’

s hen. Were theynotperhaps settlements of unlicensed squatters who had built their cottages onthe king’swaste anddeserted lands—the old Mark—ia the isle of Ely and Cambridgesh ire ?But againthe Chronicle, an. 1001, speaks of the ham or vill atWaltham, and many other coffifs.

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314 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

H elmstén’s estates mentioned above : be had deposited his charters w ith Ordlaf as a security onanoccasionwhenthis duke helped him to make oathto some property . On Helmstén’s felony , Ordlafseized the land to himself, and the document fromwhich we learnthis is obviously his appeal to E lfred ’s sonand successor , against anattempt to disturb H elmstan’s original title , under a j udgementgivenby E lfred . Nor was i t unusual for books tobe thus retained as securities , by which the tenanthav ing only a laéncould be evicted , if notatpleasure , at least by legal process l And the same re

marks apply to a very commonmode of disposingof estates

, where the clergy were grantees . Eitherto avoid l itigationwith j ustly exasperated heirs ,or to escape from the commands of various synods ,the clergy used to take deeds of gift from livingtenants , impounding the books of course, .

and leaving the life-interest only to the owner. Such anestate in technical Latinwasnamed praestaria ; buti t was obviously a laén, and was generally chargedw ith recognitory payments“.

I t may not be uninteresting, before I close thischapter , to give some examples of the gafolor rentpaid uponlands whether held for l ives , or as, morestrictly , laénland . They are extremely v aluable fromthe insight they give into the details of social l ife ,and the dai ly habits of our forefathers.

See the case of the estate at Cowling, inthe trial betweenQueen,

Eadgyfuand Gods. Cod . Dipl . No. 499.

3 Examples of this are found inCod. Dipl . Nos 429, 754 , 1351,1354, 6.

on. xt.] LxE'

NLAND. 315

Twenty hides of land at Sempringham wereleased by Peterborough to Wulfred for two liveS ,onconditionof his getting its freedom , and thatof Sleaford (both inLincolnshi re) uponthis estatethe following yearly rent was reserved . First , tothe monastery : two tons of bright ale, two oxen,fitfor slaughter, two mittenor measures of Welshale, and six hundred loaves . Secondly to the abbot’s private estate : one horse , thi rty shill ings ofsi lver or half a pound , one night’s pastas, fifteenmittenof bright and five of Welsh ale, fifteensesters of mild ale ‘

A little earl ier, Oswulf, a duke inKent , devisedlands to Christchurch Canterbury, which he chargedw i th annual doles to the poor uponhis anniversary . Forty hides at Stanhampstead were to find,one hundred and twenty loaves of wheat , thirtyloaves of fine wheat“, one fat ox and four sheep ,two d itches of bacon, five geese , tenhens , and tenpounds of cheese . If i t fell ona fast-day, howeverthere was to be ( instead of the meat) a way of

cheese , and fish , butter , eggs ad libitum. Moreover,thirty ambers of good Welsh ale, onthe footing offifteenmittan, and one mitta of honey (perhaps tomake into a drink) or two of w ine . From his land

Cod . Dipl . No. 267 . an. 852 . The mitts and other measures are

unknown. However the sester of cornwas one horse-low ( Hen. Hunt.lib. vi . an. qm e, What he could carry, or what he could draw ?Inthe middle of the eleventh century, the sester of honey was thirtytwo ounces. Cod. Dipl . No. 950.

They are called clean. These probably weremade of flour passedoftener through the boulter. The commonloaf had no doubt stillmuchbraninit, and answered to our seconds. But it is probable that breadwas generally made ot

’

rye.

316 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonI.

atBurnanwere to issue one thousand loaves, andone thousand ra ised loaves or cakes and the monksthemselves were to find one hundred and twentymore of the latter '.Werhard gave two j uga or geoc of land to Can

tetbury . The rent of one atLambaham was forty

pensas (wey s) of cheese , or anequiva lent inlambsand wool ; the other, atNorthwood , rendered onehundred and twenty measu res , which the Englishcall ambers

,of salt ’.

Lufe , in 832 , charged the inheritors and assignsof her land at Mundlingham,

w ith the followingyearly payment to Canterbury , for ever ; that is tosay : S ix ty ambers of malt , one hundred and fiftyloaves , fifty white loaves , one hundred and twentyalms-loaves , one ox , one hog and four wethers ,two weys of bacon and cheese , one mitta of honey ,tengeese and twenty hens

”.

In835, Abba , a reeve in Kent , charged his heirsw i th a yearly payment to Folkstone , of fifty ambersof mal t , six ambers of grits (gruta three weysof bacon and cheese , four hundred loaves , oneox , and six sheep , besides anallowance or stipendinmoney to the priests“. And Heregyfi , his wife ,

Cod. Dipl . No. 226. an. 805- 831. The anti-loafwh ich I have trans.lated raised , is I presume derived from the word sqfia re, and was pro

ceipt for beer ; but I presume the tex t implies that fifteenmitten,whatever they were, of malt were to go to the amber. Oswulf ’s cha

racter for splendid liberality will induce us to believe that he meantthe monk s to have anAudit ale of their own, as well as our worthyFellows of Trinity College Cambridge.

Cod . Dipl . No. 220. an. 832 .

3 Ibid . No. 231. Ibid. No. 235.

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318 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [B OOK 1.

day. I have already stated that th is may be theold charge onfolcland : i t was a grant from themonks to the bishop , probably negotiated by Eadweard . Al l parties were satisfied the monks probably got from the land as much as they could expeet from any other tenant , or what , if folcland ,they would themselves have had to pay ; the bishopgot the land into h is ownhands , to dispose of athispleasure , and the king was rewarded for intervention with all the benefits to be derived onhis anniversary from the prayers of the grateful fathers atWinchester .At the close of the ninth century ,Werfri

’S bishopofWorcester claimed land under the following circumstances. M ilred a previous bishop had grantedanestate inSopbury, onconditionthat i t was tobe always held by a clergyman, and never by a

layman, and that if no clergymancould be foundinthe grantee ’s family , i t should revert to the see .

By degrees the family of the grantee establishedthemselves inthe possession, but w i thout performing the condition. A t length Werfri

’d impleadedtheir chief Eédné ’d , who admitted the wrong andpromised to find a clergyman. The family howeverall refused to enter into holy orders . Eadnéfi thenobtained the intercessionof Z E

’Selred duke of Mercia, the lady E

’delfla'ed , and [ E’6eln6’6 duke of

Somerset and by their persuasion,Werfri’é ( inde

fiance of his predecessor’s charter) sold the land toEadno’d for forty mancuses

,reserving a yearly rent

of fifteenshi llings, and a vestment ( or perhaps some

on. xx.) LE NLAND. 319

kind of hanging) to be del ivered at. the episcopalmanor of Tetbury '

Ealdwulf bishop of Worcester leased forty acresof land and a fishery for three l ives to Leofenafi

'

,

onconditionthat they del ivered yearly fifteensal

mon, and those good ones too , during the bishop’s

residence inWorcester , onA shwednesday’2

Eadric gafeled ( gafelian) , i . e . paid yearly rent or

gafol for two hides with half a pound , or thirty shi ll ings , and a gare, a word I do notunderstands.In835, the Abbess Cyneware gave land to Hun

berht, a duke , onconditionthat he paid a gablum,

gufol or rent of three hundred shillings in leadyearly to Christchurch Canterbury ‘ .

The ceorlas or dependent freemenwho were settled uponthe land of Hurstboum inthe days ofE lfred, had the following rents to pay ; many of

these are labour rents, many arise out of the landi tself, viz . are part of the produce .From each hide , at the autumnal equinox , fortypence . Further they were to pay, six church-mittanof ale, and three sesters or horseloads of whitewheat. Out of thei r owntime they were to ploughthree acres , and sow them w i th their ownseed , tohouse the produce , to pay three pounds of gafol

barley,to mow half anacre of gafolmead and stack

the hay, to spl it four fo’6er or load of gafolwood

and stack i t , to make sixteenrods of gafolhedg

Cod. Dipl. No. 327 .

lbid . No. 695. I have rendered forme fmztcnes drag” inif it were

Ibid. No. 1043.

320 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

ing‘. At Easter they were further to pay two ewes

and lambs , two young sheep being held equivalentto one old one : these they were to wash and shearout of their own time . Lastly , every week theywere to do any work which might be required of

them , except during the three weeks , atChristmas ,Easter and the Gangdays

’

The follow ing customs and payments are re

corded invarious manors : some of the words Icannot translate . InDyddanham there are th irtyhides ; nine of these are inland ( demesne) , twentyone are let”. InStre t are twelve hides , twentysevenyards of gafolland ; and onthe Severnthereare thi rty cytweras

“. InMiddleton are five hides,

fourteenyards of gafolland , fourteencytweras onthe Severn, and two haecweras on the Way. AtKingstonthere are five hides , thirteenyards of gafolland , and one hide above the ditch which is nowalso gafolland, and thatw ithout the ham

“, i s still

inpart inland , inpart let out onrent to the shipwealase z to K ingstonbelong twenty-one cytweras

on the Severn, and twelve onthe Way. InB i

Gafolhmre, gafohméd, gafolwidu, gnfolttining. The Saxons knowwel l enough that all these things were rent; and all land putoutuponrent of any kind was ga folland, gafolcund orgavel/rind land .

Cod . Dipl . No. 1077.

Gesetland I have rendered by setoutor let; as land is afterwardssaid to be setto rent, togafole gesett.

The cytweras and hmcweras were weirs or places for taking fish,but I cannot distinguish theirnature. Thenames would induce us tothink the former were shaped like a moderneel-trap, the latter wereformed with a slat or hatch .

Anenclosure onthe water. See Cod . Dipl . iii. p . xxvn.

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322 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

the tenth , and nevertheless pay for commonofmasting, ifmast thereUnquestionably these are heavy dues, and much

aggravated by the circumstances of the estate or

yardland being but smal l , the tenant born free , andsome of the services uncertain. I shallconclude thischapter w i th a few l ines translated from that mostvaluable document cal led Rectitudinessingularumpersonarum“

; as far as the cases of the Geneat ,Cotsetla and Gebtir are concerned”. First of theGeneétor comrade .

“ The Geneat-right is various , according to thecustom of the land . Insome places he must paylandgafol , and a grass-swine yearly ride and carry ,l ead load work and feed his lord“; reap and mow ;

hew deer-hedge and hold .mte5 build and enclosethe burh [or mansion] make new roads to thefarm ; pay church -shot and aims-fee ; hold headward and horseward ; go onerrand , far or near,whithersoever he i s directed .

” This is comparatively free , and i t i s only to be regretted that wedo notknow what amount of land in general couldbe obtained at such a rent . We next come to theCotsetlan, whom E lfred i n a passage already citedstates to be onisenland , and who are obviously poorfreemen, suffered to settle onthe lord

’s estate .The Cotsettler’s right is according to the cus

tom . Insome places he must work for the lord , everv

Cod . Dipl . No. 461. Thorpe, i . 432.

3 The ancient Latinversioncalls themVillanus, Cotsetle and Gebfir.

Feormian,finnare; give so much asp astas.

Help to make park-paling, and perhaps keep watch for game.

on. at.) LE'

NLAND. 323

Monday throughout the year or three days everyweek inharvest ; he need payno landgafol . Heought to have five acres ; more if i t be the custom .

And if i t be less , i t i s all too li ttle , for his serviceis oftencalled upon. He must pay his hearth-pennyonholy Thursday ' as i t behaves every freemantodo and he must acqui t g his lo rd ’s inland , on summons , at seaward and at the king’s deer-hedge ”;and atsuch things as are inhis competence andlet h im pay his church-shot atMartinmas.

The customs of the Geblir are very various ; insome places they are heavy , but insome moderate .Insome places i t i s usual that he shal l do two daysweek -work , whatever work may be commanded him ,

every week throughout the year ; and three daysweek-work inharvest

,and th ree from Candlemas

to Easter. If he carries , he need notwork himself as long as his horse 1s out . He must pay at

Michaelmas ten gafol-pence , and at Mart inmastwenty-three sesters of barley , and two hens ’ ; at

‘ AscensionDay. Observe thatthe Cotsetls is distinctly m erted to

“Werige his bhifordes, etc. that is, perform for his lord, theduty of coast-guard, and attending the king’s hunt : from which itfollows that, where there wasno s

pecia l exemption, these services could

be demanded of the lord : that 111incase of folcland. The old Latintransla tes wet-innby acquictm , which I have adopted.

Either inrepairing the park-paling, or inserv ice during the hunt.Aferian, w erian,facitaveragiem, averiat.

This seemsanimmense amonnt of barley. but the Saxonclearlyreads as l have translated . The old h tinversionhu,

“ Dare debetinfesto Sancti M ichaelis x . den. de gabka et Sancti Martini die xxiii et

sestarium ordei et ii ga llinas. Twentyothree pence at Martinmas is

a considerable sum ; however as a sester of cornmust eveninordinary years have beenworth quite that sum, it is more reasonable tofollow the Latinthanthe Saxon.

324 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

Easter one young sheep or two pence and he shalll ie out from Martinmas ti ll Easter at the lord ’sfold ‘ ; and from the time whenthe plough is firstput intil l Martinmas , he shall plough one acreevery week , and make ready the seed inthe lord

’sbarn: moreover three acres on request , and two of

grass~ploughing9

. If he require more grass , lethimearn i t onsuch conditions as he may. For hisrent-ploughing he shall plough threeacres and sow them from his ownbarn and pay his

The fold was oftendistant from the homestead, and required carefulwatch ing, especially during the dark w inter months. Sheep alonewerenot folded, but oxen, cows, and particularly mares hry

'lirafald,

ctiafald, stodfald . This system may be st ill seeninfull force inHungary ; and we may add that, inthe article of horse and cattle stealing,the Hungarianpresents a very marked likeness to the Anglosaxon.

Wh ile reading these services, one canhardly getrid of thenotionthatone is studying the descriptionof a HungarianS ession.

9 “ Tres acras precnm ct dnas de herbagio : hreo teceras té béne1twatogmrsyrtie . If requested he shall do three acres ; but only twoif a meadow is to be brokenup ? Th is is always much harderworkthanploughing onold arable. But it is difiicultto reconcile this withthenex t sentence . The Saxonsays, G if hemartingmrses bebyrfe, carm

'

ge“

lites swahimmanhafige the Latin, Si plus indigestherbagio,ambitproinde sicut ei pcnnittatur. From the word ambit, Thorpesuggests rn

'

ge instead of ram iye. The two readings are howeverconsistent if we consider the expressiongtcrsyrbe as hav ing no connectionwith the gmtsof the following sentence . I suppose themeaningto be this : onextraordinary occasions, hemight be called uponby thelord to plough three acres instead of one, or inold meadow-land, twoacres. Ifnow he h imself should want more grass—land thanhe alreadypossessed, he might make a bargainw ith the lord, and earnit by thislabour with the plough . He was bound to give one day

’s ploughing

every week from the commencement of the ploughing seasontill thellth of November : butonpressing emergency, and onrequest of thelord, he must give three days ( foranacre 11day wasthe just ca lculation)or inold meadow two . If his serv ices at the plough were still furtherrequired , he was to make a bargainwith his lord ; and a commoncase

is supposed, viz . that he required more grass- land thanhe had. Inth isw ar all seems intelligible.

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396 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [noon1.

households rejoice ina sort of self-supporting , selfsufiicientautonomy , and the meansof internalcommunicationare imperfect —land and itsproduce arethe only wealth ; land is the only means wherebyto live. Butthe Saxonpeasant knew his positionitwas a hard one, buthe bore it he worked earlyand late, but he worked cheerfully , and amidst allhis toils there is no evidence of his ever havingshot at his landlord from behind a stone wall or ahedge.

CHAPTER XII.

A N account of the Saxonswhich should entirely exclude the peculiarities of their heathendom, wouldbe deficient inanimportant degree. Religionandlaw are too nearly allied , particularly inearly periods, forus to neglect either, inthe considerationofnational institutions. The immediate dependenceof one uponthe other we may not be able to showinsatisfactory detail ; but we may be assured thatthe judicial forms are always innear connexionwith the cult , and that this is especially the case attimes whenthe j udicial and priestly functions are

inthe hands of the same class.

The Saxons were not without a system of religion, long before they heard of Christianity, norshould we be justified inasserting that religiontohave beenwithout moral influence uponthe individualmaninhis family and socialrelations. Whoshall dare to say that the high-thoughted barbariandid not derive comfort inaffliction, or support indifliculty, from the belief that the gods watchedover him,

—that he didnotbend ingratitude for theblessings they conferrerL—that he wasnot guidedand directed inthe daily business of life by the con

328 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonI .

v ictionof his responsibility to higher powers thanany which he recognized inthe world around himThere has been, and yet is, religionwithout thepale of Christianity , however dim and meagre andunsatisfactory that religionmay appear touswhomthe mercy of God has blessed with the true light ofthe Gospel. Long before their conversion, all theGermanicnationshad established politics and statesupon anenduring basis,—uponprinciples whichstillform the groundwork and stablest foundationofthe greatest empires of theworld ,—uponprincipleswhich , far from being abrogated by Christianity ,harmonize w ith . its purest precepts. They who

think states accidental, and would eliminate Providence from the world , may attempt to reconcile thistruth with their doctrine of barbarism to us be itpermitted to believe that , inthe scheme of anall

w ise and all-pervading mercy , one conditionherebelow may be the fitting preparationfor a higher ;and that evenPaganism itself may sometimes beonly as the twilight , through wh ich the fi rst rays ofthe morning sunare dimly descried intheir progress to the horizon. Without religionnever was

yet state founded , which could endure for ages ;the permanence of our ownis the most convincingproof of the strong foundations onwhich the massive fabric , from the first , was reared .

The businessof this chapter iswith the H eathen( lom of the Saxons ; not that portionof it which

yetsubsists among us inmany of our most che

rished superstitions, some of which long lurked inthe ritual of the unreformed church , and may yet

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330 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

and as itwereministerialbeings and lastly the godbornand heroic personages of the epopoca .

The prudence or the contempt of the earliestSaxonChristians has left but sparing record of

what Augustine and his brother missionaries overthrew . Incidentalnotices indeed are all that re

maininany part of Teutonic Europe and onthecontinent , as well as inEngland , it is only by thecollationof minute and isolated facts, - oftenpreserved to us inpopular superstitions, legends andevennursery tales,— that we canrender probablethe prevalence of a religious belief identical initsmost characteristic features with that which weknow to have beenentertained inScandinavia . Yet

whatsoever we canthus recover , proves that , inallmainpoints, the faith of the island Saxonswas thatof their continental brethren.

It will read ily be supposed that the task of demonstrating this is not easy . The early periodat which Christianity triumphed inEngland , addsto the difficulties which naturally beset the subjcet . Norway , Swedenand Denmark had enteredinto public relations with the rest of Europe, longbefore the downfall of their ancient creed : here,the fall of heathendom and the commencement ofhistory were contemporaneous : we too had noIceland l to offer a refuge to those who fled fromthe violent course of a conversion, preached sword

Thus was Iceland colonized, bymenwho wouldneither relinquishtheir old belief,nor submitto the growing power of a king. The Old

saxons had no such place of refuge, and the arms of Charlemagne pre~vailed to destroy theirnationalindependence and theirreligiontogether.

cu. x i l.) HEATHENDOM . 831

inhand , and coupled with the lossof political inde

pendence ; still the progress of the new faith seemsto have beenonthe whole easy and continuousamongst us ; and though apostasy was frequent ,history either had no serious struggle to record , orhas wisely and prudently concealed it.

Indealing with this subject , we canexpect butlittle aid from the usual sources of information.

The early chroniclerswho lived intimeswhenheathendom was evenless extinct thanitnow is, andbefore ithad learnt to hide itself under borrowednames, would have shrunk with horror from thementionof what , to them, was anexecrable impiety : many of them could have possessed noknowledge of detailswh ich to uswould be invaluable, and no desire to become acquainted with themthe whole businessof their life, onthe contrary , wasto destroy the very remembrance that such thingshad been, to avoid everything that could recall thepast , or remind their half-converted neophytes of

the creed which they and their forefathershad held .

It is obvious that , under such circumstances, thegreater and more powerful the God, the more dan

gerous would he continue to be, the more sedulously would all mentionof him be avoided bythose who had relinquished hisserviceoroverthrownhis altars. But though th is may be the case withthe principal deities, there are others whose power,though unacknowledged , is likely to be more permanent . Long after the formal renunciation of

a public and national paganism, . the family and

household gods retaina certainhabitual influence ,

THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

and continue—oftenunder other names, nay perhaps engrafted onanother creed—to inform the

daily life of a people who are still unconsciouslyacted uponby ancient national feelings. A spellora popular superstitionmay yetrecallsome traces ofthe old belief, evenas the heathentemple , whenpurified with holy water and dedicated inanothername, retained the holiness which had atfirst beenattached to the site of its foundation.

What Paulus Diaconus, Jonas of Bobbio , Jornandes, Adam of B remen, Alcuin, Widukind , andthe monks of St . Gall, assert of other Germanraces, Beda asserts of the Anglosaxons also, viz .

that they worshiped idols‘, idola , sinmlacra deo

rum ; and this he aflirms notonly uponthe authority of his general informants and of unbrokentradition, but of G regory himself. Uponthe sameauthority also he tells us that the heathenwerewont to sacrifice many oxento their gods“. To

WhatTacitus says of the Germans ( Germ. ix .) nothaving templesor images is to be takenwith great caution. It is clear from other

passages of his ownwork thatsome tribes had such, eveninhis time ;yet if rare then, they may easily have become universal inthe roamof two or three centuries, particularly among those tribes whommili

tary service or commerce had gradually rendered familiar with the religious rites ofRome.

These facts are stated ina letter from Gregory to Mellitus, inthefollowing words: Cum ergo Deus omnipotensvos ad reverentissimvirum fratremnostrumAugustinum episcopumperdnxerit, dicite ci quiddiumecum de causa Auglorum cogitans tractavi, videlicet, quia fansidolorum destnii ineadem gente minime debeant; sed ipsa, quae ineissunt, idols destruantnr, aqua benedicta flat, insiadem funis aspergatur,alcaria construantur, reliquiae ponantur. Quin, si fans esdcm beneconstructs sunt, necesse est at a cultndaemonum inobsequium veri

Dei debeantcommuter-i ; nt dum gens ipsa eadem fana sunnonvidet

destrui, de corde errorem deponat, ct Deum verum cognoscens ac

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334 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

the idols‘ ; lastly that at the court of Eadwini ofNorthumberland there was a ch ief-priest”, and , as

we may naturally infer from this, anorganizedheathenh ierarchy .

The poenitentials of the church and the acts of

the witena-gemots are full of prohibitions directedagainst the Openor secret practice of heathendom";from them we learnthat eventill the time of Cnut ,well-worship and tree-worsh ip , the sanctificationof places, spells, philtres and witchcraft , were stillcommonenough to call for legislative interference ;and the heavy doom of banishment , proclaimedagainst their upholders, proves how deeply rootedsuch pagancustoms were inthe minds of the peo

ple. Still inthe Ecclesiastical H istory of Beda, inthe variousworkswhich inlater timeswere foundeduponitand continued it, inthe poenitentials andconfessionals of the church , inthe acts of the se

cular assemblies, we look inv ainfor the sacrednames inwhich the fanes were consecrated , or for

eventhe slightest hint of the attributes of the godswhose idols or images had beensetup. Exceptingthe cursory mentionof the two female divinities already noticed , and one or two almost equally rapidallusions inlater chronicles, we are leftalmost entirely without direct information respecting the

tenants of the SaxonPantheon. There are howeverother authorities, founded ontraditions more an

II . E . iii. 8 . Malmsbury says thatbe destroyed also their chapels,sacella deorum. De Gest. lib . i. ll.

II. E . ii. 13.

3 See these collected inthe Appendix atthe end of this volume.

ca . xu.] HEATH ENDOM . WO'

DEN . 335

cient thanBeda himself, fromwhich we derivemorec0pious, ifnotmore definite, accounts. First amongthese are the genealogies of the Anglosaxonk ingsthese containa multitude of the ancient gods, re

duced indeed into family relations, and entered inthe grades of a pedigree , butstill capable of identificationwith the deities of the North and of Ger

many . Inthis relationwe find Wriden, Bmldaag,Geat ,Wig, and Frea . The daysof theweek , also dedicated to gods, supply us further with thenames ofTiw , Dunor, Fricge and Saetere and the names ofplaces inall parts of England attest the wide dispersionof their worship . These, as well as thenames of plants, are the admitted signs by whichwe recognize the appellat ions of theTeutonic gods.

l . WO’DEN , inOld-norse ODINN, inOld-germanWUOTAN .

-The royal family of every An

glosaxonk ingdom,without exception, traces its

descent from Wodenthrough some one or other ofthose heroes or demigods who are familiar to usinthe Germanand Scand inaviantraditions'. But

Roger of Wendover appears however to have made a distinction,which I do not remember to have found inany other author, inthecase of E lli of Sussex . He says : “Wodcnus igitur ex antiquorum

prosapia Germanornm originem dncens, postmortem inter deos trans.

latus est; quem veteres pro deo colentes, dedicaverunt ei quartam feriam, quam denomine eiusWodenesday, id est diemWodeni, nuncu

parant. H ie habuit uxorem , nomine Fream, cui similiter veterea

sextam feriam consecrantes, Freday, id est diem Press, appellarunt.GenuitautemWodenus ex uxorc Frea septem filios inclytos, ex quorumsuccessionc septem regcs traxeruntoriginem, qui inBritannia potenter,expulsis Britannis, postea regnaverunt. Ex filio Wodcni primogenito ,

nomine c ta , reges Cantuariorum ; ex secundo, Frebegea th, ragesMerciornm ex tertio , Baldao, reges Westsaxonum ; ex quarto, Bel

336 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noont.

the divinity of Wodenis abundantly clear : he isboth inform and infact identical with the N orseOpinnand the GermanWuotan, the supreme godof all the northernraces, whose divinity none willattempt to dispute'. Nor was this his characterunknown to our early chroniclers ; M almsbury ,speak ing of Hengest and H ors, says : They werethe great-great-grandsons of that most ancientW6den, from whom the royal families of almost allthe barbarous nations derive their lineage ; whomthe nations of the Angles madly believing to be agod

,have consecrated unto him the fourth day of

the week , and the sixth unto his wife Frea , by a

sacrilege which lasts evenunto th is day“. M at

thew of Westminster 3 and Geofi'

ry of M onmouth‘l

repeat th is with characteristic variations, both add

ing, apparently inthe words of Tacituss

, Colimusmaxime M ercurium, quem Wédenlingua nostraappellamus.

”E

’fithelweard , anAnglosaxonnoblemanof royal blood , and thus himself a descendantofWoden, had previously stated the same thingafter the fash ionof his ownage,—the tenth cen

dago, reges Nortbanhumbrorum, sive Berniciorum ; ex quinto, Wagdego, regesDeirorum ex sexto, Kasero, regesOrientalium Anglorum ;

cnntnr ; octavns vero, id est, rex Australium Saxonum, ex eademgente,sed nonex eadem stirpe, originem sumpsit. Flor. H istor. i. 346 .

It 18 a peculiarity of the Old-norse to omit the initial W ; thus

ormr for wyrmr, a dragonor serpent: ulfr, for wulfr, a wolf : henceObinnis literally Woden. The identity ofWuotanis clearly showninGrimm’

sDent. Mythol. p. 120, seq.

3 Gal. Mold . De Gest. l 5, i. ll.3 Mat. Westm. Flor. Hist. p. 821154 .

Galf. Monum. lib. vi. p . 43 ( Ed .

5 Deorummaxims Mercurium colunt.” Germ. ix .

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338 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

of idolatry , but the glorious almighty God thespacious skies : and anearly missionary is described to have thus taught his hearers : Wodenvero quem principalem deum credideruntetpraecipuum Angli , de quo originem duxerant, cui et

quartam feriam consecraverant, hominem fuissemortalem asseruit, etregem Saxonum, a quo pluresnationes genus duxerant. Huius, inquit, corpore in

pulverem resoluto, anima ininferno sepulta aeter

num sustinetTo Wiidenwas dedicated the fourth or mid-day

of the week , and it still retains his name : thisamong other circumstances tends to the identificationof him with M ercurius 9 . The Old-norseRiinatale battr which introduces Chinndeclaringh imself to be the inventor of runesfl, is confirmedby the assertioninthe dialogue of SalomonandSaturn, which to the question Who invented letters answers, I tell thee,M ercury the giant

”

that is, Wodenthe god and this is further evi

Lagend. Nova, fol. 210, b.

This probably was the case evenbefore anyGermansettlementwasmade inBritain. Butno argumentcanbe raised onthis ground againstthe genuineness of theWodenworship here because, if the continentalGermans worshi him. they probably carried his rites with them to

England . We know thathe is one of the gods named inthe cele

brated formulary of renunciation, which themissionary Christians prepared fortheuse of the Saxonconverts. Why the interpretatio Romano

(Tao. Germ. xliii . ) fixed uponWodenas the corresponding god to

Mercury we do not clearly see : butwe are not acquainted with the

rites and legends which may have made this perfectly clear to the

Romans.

Namek tipp runar : Grimm seems to have some doubt of the ac

curacy of this translation. Dent. Myth. p . 136 ( editionof but Ithink unnecessarily . Atall events the inventionof tbe Hugrdnar, or

on. x11.) HEATHENDOM . WO'

DEN . 389

dence of resemblance. A metrical homily invarious collections, bearing the attractive title Defalsisdiis, suppliesus with further proof of this identification, notonly with Wéden, but with the NorseOpinn: itsays,

A manthere was. calledMercury during lift,

se was swibe faeenfuland deceitful indeeds,

and lufode eac stala and eke loved theftsand deception:him the heathenmade

him té mé rangode, a powerful god for themselves,and a twega gelé tumhim lac ofirodon,and td hedgum beorgum

broughthim sacrifice.

Dues god was: arwurfiabatwas eallnm hé Benum, among all the heathen,and he isOpongehaten and he is called Odin65mmnamanonDenise. by anothername'

inDanish .

Done feorlinndnzg The fourth dayhi sealdonhim 16 frdfre they gave for their advantageham foresaedanMercuric to the aforesaid Mercuryheora mé rangode‘ their greatgod .

Runes, the possessionof which makes mendear to their companions,isdistinctly attributed to him inthe Edda :

leer of hugdi Ilroptr

af beim legi

er lek ib hafdi

or havnHeiddraa is

oh or horni Hoddropnis. ( Brynh-qn. i.

Butthis is anadditional pointof approximationto the deities whom

we consider identical with Hermes, and insomerespects with Mercury,as for instance Thoth.

MS . Cott. Jul. E . vn. 237, b . etc. See the author’seditionof Sa

lomonand Saturn, p. 12 0, seq .

340 ms saxons IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

Thus we have M ercurius, Wodenand Opinnsufficiently ident ified . A careful investigationof the

inner spirit of Greek mythology has led somevery competent j udges to see a form of Hermes in

Odysseus. This view derives some corroboration

from the Teutonic side of the question, and the re

lationinwhich Wodenstands to M ercurius. Even

Tacitushad learnt that Ulixes had visited Germany ,and there founded a townwhich he called A sci

burginm and without insisting onthe probabilitythat A sciburgium grew out of a GermanAnseopurcor a ScandinavianAsgard , it seemsnotunreasonable to suppose that some tales of Wodenhadreached the ears of the Roman, which seemed tohim to resemble the history of Odysseus and hiswanderings. Such a tale we yet possess inthe ad

ventures of Thork ill onhis journey to Utgardalok i,narrated by Saxo Grammaticus, which bears a re

markable likeness to some parts of the Odyssee ’

and whenwe consider Saxo'

s very extraordinarymode of rationaliz ing ancient mythological traditions, we shall admit atleast the probability of anearlier versionof the tale wh ich would be muchmore consonant with the suggestionof Tacitus,although this earlier form has unfortunately not

“Ceterum etUlixenquidemopinantnrlougo illo etfabuloso errore inhuncOccanum delatnmadiisse Germaniae ten-as, Asciburginmque, quod

tumqne. Arum quinetiam Ulixi consecratam adiecto Imertae patris

nomine eodem loco olim repertam, monimentaque ettumulos qnosdamGraecis litteris inscriptos inconfinio Germaniac Raetiaeqne adhuceutare. Qnae neqne confirmare argumentis, neque refellere incart; ex ingenio suo quisque dematvel addatiidem.

” Germ. iii.

Saxo Gram. llist. Dan. lib . viii.

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342 rue SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

Skjoldungar; through B rand , of the Brondingasperhaps throughBaetwa, oftheBatavians It seemsindeed not wholly improbable that every name inthe merely mythical portionof the genealogies re~

presents some particular tribe, under the distinctiveappellationof its tntelar god or hero and that wemay thus be led insome degree to a knowledge of

the several populationswhich coalesced to form the

v arious kingdoms.

Legends describing the adventures of Wodeneither ina godlike or heroic form were probablynot wanting here , or inGermany ; it is only inScandinavia that a portionof these have beenpreserved , nnless the tales of Geat and Sceaf, to behereafter noticed , are inreality to be referred tohim. Equally probable is it that he had in thiscountry temples, images and religious rites, tracesof which we find uponthe continent ’ ; and that

l TheMS . lists read'

l‘

mtwa, hat es the alliterationwhich prevails inthose pedigrees fails inthis instance, Grimm threw outthe suggestionthatthe original reading was Betws. Selden, inthe English Janus,p. 9, cites Heuter de vet. Belgio, lib. n. cap. 8, for Beta ( Bum ) theeponymus of the Batavians, but this does not appear to rest uponany sound authority . Onthesubjectof the names ofWoden, and theAnglosaxongenealogies, the readermay consultstreetof the author’s,Die Stammtafel der Westsachsen, Munich 1836, and Beowulf, vol. ii.,the Postscriptto thePreface : together with a review of thefirst-namedbook by Jacob Grimm, inthe Gottinger Gel. Anz . for 1836.

The ancientGer-mam sacrificed humanvictims to him.

“ DeommmaximsMercurium colunt, cui certis dichas humanis quoque hostiislitare fas habent.” Tao. Germ.m ix .

“Victores diversemsciemMartiac Mercurio sacravere, quo voto equi, viri, cuneta victa occidioni dantur.” Tao. Annal. xiii . 57. King Ane or Am the old, offered up insuccessionnine of his sons to China , to increase the length of his ownlife. Yngling. Sag . cap. nix ; Geijer, Geech . Schwed . i. 416. Snntetenim inibi vicinae nationes Snevorum: quo cummouretur ct inter

on. x xr.] HEATHENDOM . WO’

DEN . 343

trees, animals and placeswere consecrated to him‘.

So numerous indeed are the latter , so commoninevery part of England are names of places com

pounded with his name, that we must admit hisworship to have beencurrent throughout the islanditseems impossible to doubt that inevery quarterthere were localities ( usually rising ground) eitherdedicated to him, or supposed to be under his especial protection; and thus that he was here, as

inGermany , the supreme god whom the Saxons,Franksand Alamans concurred inworshiping . The

following names of placesmay all be unhesitatinglyattributed to this cause, and they attest the general recognitionand wide dispersionof Woden’sinfluence .

Wanboroug/i , formerlyd nesbeorh, inSurrey , lat.51° 14'N . , long. 38

'W. , placed uponthe water-shedwhich throws downstreams to north and south ,

atsex modios ampliasminusve capiebat, cerevisia plenum inmedic habebantpositum. Ad quod vir dei accessit et sciscitatur, quid de illofieri vellent? Illi aiunt: deo suoWodano, quemMercurinm vocantalii,se velle liture.

” Ion. Bobbiensis, Vita Columbani. Compm'

e also what

Saxo Grammaticus says of the immense tub of beer which Hundingprepared to celebrate the obsequies of B edding. Hist. Dan. p . 19. Onfestal occasions itwasusual to drink to the health, love ormiaae of the

gods. China was generally thus honoured : the custom was preserved

among Christians, who drank mimic to St. John, St. Martin, St. Gertrude and other saints. Grimm, Myth. p. 53 seq .

Wolves and ravens appear to have beenObinn’

s sacred animalsthe Saxonlegends do not record anything onthis subject, but hereand there we do hear of sacred trees, which may possibly have beendedicated to this god : thus the Wénac (Cod. Dipl. No . 495), theWonstoc ( Ibid. Nos. 287, ad quendam fraxinum quem imperitisacrum vocant.” lbid. No. 1052. Respecting the sacred character of

the ash see Grimm, Myth. p. 617 .

344 THE SAXONS lN ENGLAND. [BOOK 1.

and running from east to west , divides the countyof Surrey into twonearly equal portions, once perhaps two petty kingdoms ; the range of billsnowcalled the Hog’s-back . It is a little to the north

of the ridge , nearly onthe summit ; the springs of

water are peculiarly pure and never freeze . Inall

probability it has beenin turna sacred site forevery religion that has beenreceived inB ritain.

Wanborough, formerly d nesbeorh inWiltshire ,lat. 51

°33

'N . , long . 1

°

42’ W about 3} miles

S E . of Swindon, placed uponthe watershed whichth rows downthe Isis to the north , and Kennet tothe south . Woodnesborough, formerly d nesbeorh,inKent , lat. 51

°16

'N . , long . 1

°29

’E . , throwing

downvarious small streams to north and south ,into the Stour and the sea . Wonston( probably dnes atda) inH ampshire, lat. 51

° 10’N . ,long . 1

°20’

W . , from which smallstreams descend tonorth andsouth , into the Test and

'Itchen. Wambrook ( probably Wédnes bréc) inDorsetshire . Wampool (pro

bably Wednesp61) inCumberland . Wansford ( probably d nesford) inNorthamptonshire. Wansford

inthe East Riding of Yorkshire . Wanstead ( probably d nes stede) anold RomanstationinEssex . Wanstrow, formerly Wodnestredw , inSomerset .Wanborough or Wamborough, formerlyWednesbeorh,two parishes inH ampshire. Wembmy ,

formerlyWédnesbeorh, inDevonshire. Wonersh ( probablyd nes ersc) , a parish atthe foot of theH og

’

soback ,

a few miles fromWanborough . Wansdike, formerlyd nes dz

'

c, anancient dike or fortification, perhaps the boundary betweendifferent kingdoms ; it

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346 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

Wunsch , wyse InDevonsh ire to thisday allma

gical or supernatural dealings go under the com

monname of Wishtness : canthis have any reference to d en’s name wysc ? So againa bad orunfortunate day is a wishtday perhaps a diabolical, heathen, accursed day. There are severalplaceswhich appear to be compounded with this name ;among them : Wishanger (Wt

’

schangm or Woden’

s

meadow) , one, about four miles S W . of Wanhorough in Surrey, and another near Gloucester ;Wisley Wisclsdh) also inSurrey Wisborough ( probably Wiscbeorh) inSussex ; Wishford ( probablyWisqford) inWiltshire .

2 . DUNOR, inOld-norse DORR , inOld-germanDONAR .

—The recognitionof Dunor inEnglandwas probably not very general atfirst : the settlement of Danes and Norwegians in the ninth andfollowing centuries may have extended it inthenortherndistricts. But though his name is notfound inthe genealogies of the kings, there wasanantecedent probability that some traces of hisworship would be found among the Saxons. Thunar is one of the godswhom the Saxons of the continentwere called uponto renounce, and a totalabnegationof his authority was not to be lookedfor evenamong a race who considered Wedenasthe supreme god; That the fifth day of the weekwas called by his name is well known: Thursday

Oisc inthe form inwhich the earliest authorities give this name.d isc is certainly later, and may have beenadopted only whenthe ori

on. 1m .) HEATHENDOM . DUNOR. 347

is Dunres dmg, dies Janis ; and he is the proper

representative of Jupiter, inasmuch as he must be

considered inthe light of the thundering god, anelemental deity, powerful over the storms, as wellas the fertilizing rains‘. H is peculiar weapon, themace or hammer, seems to denote the v iolent ,crushing thunderbolt , and the Norse myth repre

sents,it as continually used against the giants or

elemental gods of the primal world . Ina compositionwhose antiquity it is impossible to asoertain, we may still discover an: allusion to thispoint : inthe ChristianRagna Ravk , or Twilightofthe Gods, it was believ ed that a personal conflictwould take place betweenthe divinity and a devil,the emissary and child of Satan: inthe course ofthis conflict , itis said : se Dunor hitpyrsceti mid”6mm fyrenauaexe,

”the thunder will thresh itwith

the fiery axe“; and I am inclined to see a similar

allusioninthe Exeter Book , where the lightningis called ryaegicstes maps , the weaponof A vkv

Dorr, the car-borne god , Thunder“.

The names of places which retaina record of

Dunor arenotvery numerous, but some are foundamong themThunders/islet, Dunresfeld, inSurrey

‘

;

Thundersley , Dunresleah , inEssex , near SaffronWalden; Thundersley, Dunresleah, also inEssex ,near Raylegb, and others inHampshire

“. Near

See the quotationfrom Adam of Bremen, p. 337.

Salonwnand Saturn, pp. 148, 177 .

Cod . Exon. p. 386. l. 8 .

Cod. Dipl. Nos. 270, 314, 363, 413.

Cod . Dipl. Nos. 450, 781, 784, 1022, 1038 . Some of these arenotinEssex, butHampshire.

348 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonI .

Wanborough inSurrey isThursley , which may havebeena Dunresleah also : it is unlikely that itwasever Ddresleah, from Dérr ( the Norse form of Du

nor) , but itmight have beenDyrsleah, themeadowof the giant or monster . Very near Thursley is a

h ill called Thunder hill, probably Enures by] . A si

milar uncertainty hangs over Thurleigh inBedfordshire, Thurlow inEssex , Thursby inCumberland ,Thur-afield inStaffordshire , and Thursford inNorfolk 1. The name of Dunor was, to the best of myknowledge, never borne by any manamong theAnglosaxons, which is insome degree anevidenceof its high divinity . The only apparent exceptionto this assertionis found inanearly tale whichbears throughout such strong marks of a mythicalcharacter as to render itprobable that some legendof B unot was current inEngland ; especially as its

locality is among the Jutish inhabitants of Kent .According to this account , Ecgbert the sonof Ecrcenberht, the fourth Christianking of Kent , hadexcluded his cousins from the throne

, and fearingtheir popularity determined onremoving them byviolence . The thane Thuner divined and executedthe intentions of hismaster. Under the king’

sownthrone were the bodies concealed ; but a light fromheavenwhich played about the spot revealed thecrime : the king paid to their sister the wergyld of

The analogy of Thursday, which wasunquestionably Thundersdsy,mustbe allowed its weight inconsidering these local names. EvenDyrs itself, atone period of Anglosaxondevelopment, mightrepresentB auer, and the resemblance ofuamesthus lead to a little straining of

the true one.

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350 ms saxons IN ENGLAND. [m a x 1.

whole relationis proved by the fact of the famoussailor onthe sea ,

”the “ wandering wo being

represented as the friend of N ebrond, probablyNimrod '.One of the names by which Dnnor is knownin

Germany is H amarg

, which was perhaps originallyderived from hisweapon. This has become almostsynonymous w ith devil. Perhaps the same allusionlurks inone or two names of places inEnglandinthe immediate neighbourhood of Thursley inSurrey , and at a short distance from Thunderhill,are some pondsknownby thename of the H ammer

ponds. It is remarkable that withintwo or threemiles of Thursley and the H ammer-ponds, threesingular naturalmounds which form most conspicuous objects upona very wild and desert heath ,

should bear the name of the Devil’s Jumps, whileata short distance a deep valley is knownby thatof the Devil’s Punchbowl, probably at some earlyperiod . theDevil

’

s Cup , Dunres-cup or the Hamercup . The word Haw ardenoccurs inthe boundaries of charters”; and other places recall the samename : thus H ameringham inLincoln, H amertoninHuntingdon, H omertoninM iddlesex ( hardly H am

mersmith inM iddlesex) , H amertonGreeninYorkshire , H amertonK irk inYorksh ire , H anunerwick inStafi

'

ordshire.

3 . TIW, the Old-norse TYR , and Old-germanZ IU.

—The third day of the week bears among us

8111. Sat. p. 156.

9 Dent. Myth . p. 166.

Cod . Dipl. Nos. 999. 1039 , 1189.

on. x11.] nssrnsunom. TIW. 351

the name of the god Tiw , the Old-h orse Tyr. Inlike manner we find him also giving his name toplaces. Inthe neighbourhood so oftenreferred tointhis chapter, and wh ich seems to have beena

very pantheonof paganism‘

, notfarfromThursleyor from Wanborough , we find Tewesley, which I

have no scruple to pronounce the ancient Tiwesleah . Tisleah

gseems to denote the same name , and

it is probable that evena race acknowledged thisgod as its founder, - the Tiwingas, who gave theirname to Tewing inH erts. Tiwesmere3 seems tobe the mere or lake of Tiw , and inanother charterwe have also Teowes porn

“, which goes far towards

substantiating the Germanform Z in.

The Anglosaxonglossaries are perfectly accuratewhenthey give the rendering M ars for Tiws, andTiwesdaeg is rightly dies M artis. I t cannot bedoubted that our forefathers worshiped this god ,as a supreme giver of victory , and especially a godof battle , insome parts of Scandinavia and Germany whether ornotinEngland appears doubtful.Inthemythology of the North he is the bravest ofthe gods, the one who did not scruple to place his

Ina circuit of a few miles ( takenfrom Elstead with a radius perhaps ofnotmore thanfour) we haveWanborough, Polstead, Thursley,the Hammer-ponds, Waverley, Tewealey, Thunderhill, D1-agonhill.Wonersh, the Devil

’

s Jumps, theDev il’

s Punchbowl, Wuhanger, Bahing, Loseley ( Loces leah l), Godalming ( Godhelmingbam), and -as Ibelieve, inclose connexionwith these—Gyldhill, Guildford, Guilddown,Frensham ( Fremcshfim), Tilford, Tilhill, Markwick , Ash, and Und ead .

Cod . Dipl. No . 739.

3 Ibid . No . 262. Ibid . No. 174 .

Mone’s Epinal Glosses gives Tiig, Mars, No. 520, and Lye does

the same without a reference. butno doubtfrom some MS . glossary.

The form is inthe same relationto Tiw as H iganto Hiwan. orgecegenvisasto gesewen; butthe long vowel is assured by the double 6.

362 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

hand inthe mouth of the wolf Fenris, whenhe demanded a pledge that the gods would unbind thechainthey had forged for him, and ontheir breachof faith Tyr paid the penalty ‘

. The Romanhistorian tells of the Hermunduri having vowed tosacrifice the beatenCatti to M ercu ry and M ars, bywhich vow the whole of the horses and menhe

longing to the defeated force were devoted to

slaughter. Jornandes savs of the Goths, M artem

semper asperrima placavere cultura ; nam victimae

ejus mortes fuere captorum, opinantes bellorum

praesulem aptius humani sanguinis efi'

usione plaProcopius tells the same tale of his Gou

M7 0 1, that is the Scandinavians 7 6 » 32 iepeiwv cupid :r d xékkw ‘

rov 5v0pw1roc some,3101e (i v Soptdhw

‘rov wot

noaw '

ro wpwrov’ “rous-cv “

yap f tp"Ape:Ovovo

'w , ewei Geo»

a v-rov vopi

Zova t p eyw'rov eivats. The Norse tradi tions,

although they acknowledge Ohinnas the giver ofvictory , are still very explicit as to Tyr : he is particularlyWigagub , dens praeliorum, and anespecialgranter of success in battle,

“raé

’dr mice sigri iorostom

‘. Perhaps the Tencteri may be added to

the number of those who paid anespecial honourto Tyr ( inGermanZ in) , since Tacitusmakes themsay, communibus deis etpraecipuo deorumM artigrates where it isnotatallnecessary tosuppose Wodenmeant and Grimm has good rea

Henee inNorse he is called the one-kanded god, ” Obinnis theoneoeyed . The Teutonic gods, unlike the Indian, have not a superfluity, butonthe contrary sometimes a lack , of limbs. It is otherwise

Hist. Goth. cap. v .3 Bell. Goth . u. 15.

Grimm, D. Myth. p. 179.5 H ist. iv. 64 .

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364 TH E SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

that is, Bar is a terror to every man, whenfastthe flesh , the corpse beginneth to become cold andpale to seek the earth for a consort . Joy faileth ,pleasure departeth , engagements cease. It is clearthat Ear, spice , arista , willnotexplainthis, and wemay believe that our forefathers contemplated thepersonal interventionof some deity whose contactwas death . This may have beenTiw or Ear, especially inthe battle-field , and here he would be equivalent to the ”ApacpPO ‘

rolmydc pta tdrdvoc Of Homer.

M ore thanthis we shall hardly succeed inrescuing but there yet remains a name to consider,which may possibly have tended to banish themoreheathenone of Tiw . Among all the expressionswhich the Anglosaxons used to denote a v iolentdeath , none is more frequent thanw ig fornam, or

wig gesceod, inwh ich there is anobv ious‘

personality , Wig (War) ravished away the doomed : hereno doubt war was represented as personally intervening, and slaying , as inother similar cases wefind the femininesH ild , Gu’S, which are of the sameimport, and themasculines Swylt, Dea

’6, more. The

abstract sense which also lay inthe word wig, andenabled it to be used without offence to Christianears, may have beena reasonfor its general adoptionincases where atanearlier period Tiw wouldhave beenpreferred . Old glossaries give us therenderingWigM ars, and Hild , B ellona : itis therefore not at all improbable that these words werepurposely selected to express what otherwise musthave beenreferred to a god of perilous influenceWig was a more general, and therefore less dangeronsname thanTiw , to recal to the memory of a

on. ma] HEATHENDOM . WI‘

G . 365

people prone to apostasy. That the latter surv ivedinthename of a weekday serves only to show that itwas too deeply grounded to be got rid of perhapsitsvery familiarity inthat particular relationrendereditsafe to retainthe name of any deity , aswas doneby five out of the sevendays. But Christianitywas tolerant of heathennames inother thanheathenfunctions, and inthe genealogy of the kingsofWessex, Wig is the father of Gewis, the eponymus of the race. I have already expressed my belief that this name represented either Wodenor

Tiw, and think itvery likely that itwas the latter,inasmuch as the paganism of the Gewisses seems tohave beenremarkable, beyond that of other Anglosaxontribes : Sed Britanniam perveniens, ac primum Gewissorum gentem ingrediens, cum omnesibidem paganissimos lnveniret,

”etc .

’ Intrantsautem episcopo inpottum occidentalium Saxonum,

gentem qui antiquitus Gewisse vocabantur, cumomnes ibidem paganissimos inveniret,

” etc .

“ The

events described are of the year 634 . We find thatTiw enters into the compositionof the names of afew plants

a

; onthe other hand it isnever found inthe compositionof proper names, any more thanTir ; although now Tirberht or Tirwulf would seemquite as legitimate compounds as Eadberht, Sigeberht, Eadwulf, Sigewulf.

FREA’, inOld-norse FREYR , inOld-german

FRO .-The god whom the Norse mythology cele

Beda, H ist. Eco. iii. 7. JohannTynem. Legend. Nova , fol.

Thus Old-norse Tvsfloln, Ty’rbjalm, Tysvibr.

2 A 2

356 THE SAXONS IN ENGLA ND. [noon1.

brates under the name of Freyer must have borneamong us thename of Fred. It is probable that heenj oyed a more extensive worsh ip inall parts of

Europe thanwe canpositively demonstrate. Atpresent we are only enabled to assert that the prineipel seat of his worship was at Upsala among theSwedes. Ingeneral there isnotmuch trace intheNorth of phallic gods ; but anexceptionmust bemade at once inthe case of Freyr. One of the

most beautiful poems of the Edda ‘ tells how Freyrlanguished for desire of the beautifulGerdr ; itwasfor her love that he lost the sword , the absence ofwhich brings destructionuponhim inthe twilightof the Gods. The strongest evidence of his peculiar character is found ia the passage already citedfrom Adam of B remen“, and what he says of theshape under which Frea was represented atUpsalaTertiusestFricco , pacem, voluptatemque largiensmortalibus ; cujus etiamsimulachrum fingunt ingenti Priapo .

”The fertilizing rains, the life-bring

ingsunshine , the blessings of fruitfulness and peacewere the peculiar gifts of Freyr

“; and from Adam

of B remenagainwe learnthat he was the god of

marriage : Si nuptiae celebrandae sunt ( sacrificiaoflemnt) Fricconi.” Inhis car he travelled th roughthe land , accompanied bv a choir of young and

For S kirnis. The legend of Gentand 31d howevermusthavebeenof this character : and thusWodenmay have beeninsome sort0

phallic Hermes.

3 M . Adami Bremensis lib. de situDenise. Ed. 1629, p. 23 . Ihre,inhis Gloss. Sueogoth. mentions forms dug up inthe North whichclearly prove the prevalence of phallic rites.

See Grimm, Mythol. p. 193 seq .

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368 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [3003 r.

gehrodengolde,as. and fyrheard various and hardened inthe fire

itheld the guard of life‘

And again,

ac se bwite helm butthe white helmethafelanwerede, guarded the head,

since geweoread, adorned with treasure,

swahine fyrndagum as itindays of yorethe armourermade,

besette swinlicum, setitaboutwith shapes of boats.thathine eyebannobrondné beadomecas brandnorwarknifebitanna meahton.

G rimm citing this passage goes so far as eventorender frea wrasnum” by Frothonissigais, and thusconnects itatonce with Fred”; and we may admitat all events the great plausibility of the anggestion. But though distinct proof of Frea’s worshipinEngland cannot be supplied during the Saxonperiod , we have very clear evidence of its still subsisting inthe thirteenth century . The followingextraordinary story is found inthe Chronicle of

Lanercost‘ , an. 1268 . Pro fidei divinae integritate servanda recolat lector quod , cum hoc anno

inLaodonia pestis grassaretur inpecudes armenti,quam vocantusitate Lungessouth, quidam bestiales,

Be6w . l. 604 seq .

Ibid. l. 2895.

Edited in1839 by the Rev . J . Stevensonfor thememh rs of the

Bannatyne and Maitland Clubs.

ca . run] HEATHENDOM . FREA'. 359

habitu claustralesnonanimo , docebant idiotas patriae ignem confrictione de liguis educere et simulachrum Priapi statuera , . et per base bestiis suc

Quod cumunus laicus Cisterciencis apudFentone fecisset ante atri um aulae , ac intinctistesticulis canis in aquam benedictam super animalia sparsisset; ac pro invento facinore idolatriae dominus villae a quodam fideli argueretur,ille pro sua innocentia obtendebat, quod ipso nesciente et absente fuerant haec omnia perpetrata ,etadiecit, et cum ad usque hunc mensem Juniamaliorum animalia languerent et deficerent, measemper sana erant, nunc vero quotidie mihi morina tur duo vel tria , ita quod agriculta i pauca supersunk ) ,

Fourteenyears later a similar fact is stated tohave occurred ina neighbouring district , at Inverkeithing, inthe present county of Fife .

Insuper hoc tempore apud Inverchethin, inhebdomada paschae [M an 29—Ap. sacerdosparochialis, nomine Johannes, Priapi prophana parans, congregatis ex villa puellulis, cogebat eas,

choreis factis, Libero patri circuire ; utille feminasinexercita habuit , sic iste, procacitatis causa, membra humana virtuti seminariae servientia super asserem artificiata ante talem choream praeferebat,

et ipse tripudians cum cantantibus motu mimicoomnes inspectantes etverbo impudico ad luxuriamincitabat.

,

H i qui honesto matrimonio honoremdeferebant, tam insolente oflicio, licet reverenturpersonam, scandalizabant propter gradus eminentiam. S i quis ei seorsum ex amore correptionis

360 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [5001 r.

sermonem inferret, fiebatdeterior, etconv icns cosimpetebat.

”

Itappears that this priest retained his beneficeuntil his death , which happened ina brawl about

a year later thanthe events described above ; andit is very remarkable that the scandal seems tohave beenless at the rites themselves thanat theirbeing administered by a personof so high a cleri

cal dignity . Grimm had identified Freyr or Frowowith Liber : it will be observed that his trainof

reasoning is confi rmed by the name Liber Pater,giveninthe chronicler’s recital. The unionof theN eedfirew ith these Priapic rites renders itproper todevote a few words to th is particular superstition.

Theneedflre,nydfyr, N ew-germannothfeuer, wascalled from the mode of its production, confi

-ictionedc ligm

'

s, and though probably commonto the Kelts‘

as well as Teutons, was long and well knownto allthe Germanic races at a certainperiod . All the

fires inthe v illage were to be relighted from thevirginflame produced by the rubbing together ofwood , and inthe highlands of Scotland and Irelanditwas usual to drive the cattle through it, by wayof lustration, and as a preservative againstdisease”.

See Jamieson’s Scottish Dictionary, voc. Beltane, and 301113tGlossary by Stevenson.

Inthe Mirror of June 24th, 1826, there is the accountof this ha o

ving becndone inPerthshire, onoccasionof a cattle epidemic.

“ A

very prevalentatpresent, and being able to aeemmt for it inno wsyso retionally as by witchcrafi , had recourse to the following remedy,recommended to him by a weird sister inhisneighbourhood, as anefi

'

ectual proteeticnfrom the attacks of the foul fiend. A few stones

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362 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonI .

quam faciuntvolvi : quod , cum immunda cremant ,hoc habent ex gentilibus. Antiquitus enim dra

cones in hoc tempore excitabantur ad libidinempropter calorem, et volando per aera frequenterspermatizabantur aquae , et tunc erat letalis, quia

quicumque inde bibebant, ant moriebantur, autgrave morbum paciebantur. Quod attendentcsphilosophi , iusserunt ignem fieri frequenter ct sparsim circa puteos et fontes, et immundum ibi cre

mari, et quaecumque immundum reddiderunt fumum, nam per talem fumum sciebantfugari dracones Rota involvitur ad significandum quodsol tune ascendit ad alciora sui circuli et statimregreditur, inde venit quod volvitur rota .

”

Anancient marginalnote has bonfires, intendingto explainthat word by the bones burnt onsuchoccasions. Grimm seems to refer this to the cultof Baldr or Baeldaeg, with which he connects thename Beltane ; but taking all the circumstancesinto consideration, I am inclined to attribute itrather to Free, if notevento a female form of the

same godhead , Fricge, the Aphrodite of the North .

Frea. seems to have beena god of boundaries ; probably as the giver of fertility and increase , he gradually became looked uponas a patronof the fields.

Ontwo occasions hisname occurs insuch boundaries, and once ina manner which proves some treeto have beendedicated to him. Ina charter of theyear 959 we find these words : “ bonne andlangherpa

’des onFrigedaeges treéw ,

”- thence along the

road to Friday’s ( that is Frea’

s) tree‘; and ina

on. HEATHENDOM. BE LDB G . 363

similar document of the same century we have a

boundary running 08 Gone Frigedzsg.

” There isa place yet called Fridaythorpe , inYorkshire. HereFrigedreg appears to be a formationprecisely similarto Baeldmg, Swmfdaeg, and Waegdaeg, and to meanonly Freehimself.

BALD/EG , inOld-norse BALDR, inOld-germanPALTAO.

—The appearance ofBaeldaegamongWoden’ssons inthe Anglosaxongenealogies, wouldnaturally lead us to the belief that our forefathersworshiped that god whom the Edda and other ls

gends of the North term Baldr, the father of Brand ,and the t hus Apollo of Scandinavia. Yet heyond these genealogies we have very little evidenceof his existence . It is true that the word bealdorvery frequently occurs inAnglosaxonpoetry as a

peculiar appellative of kings,—nay evenas a nameof God himself,—and that it is, as far as we know,

indeclinable , a signof its high antiquity. Thisword may thenprobably have obtained a generalsignification which at first did not belong to it,and beenretained to represent a king, whenithadceased to represent a god . There are a few placesinwhich the name of Balder canyet be tracedthus Baldersby inYorkshire , BalderstoninLancashire , Bealderesleah and Baldheresbeorh inWiltshire ‘ of these the two first may very likely have

arisenfrom Danish or Norwegianinfluence , wh ilethe lastis altogether uncertain. Save inthe genealogies the name Bmldaeg does not occur at all.

Cod. Dipl. No. 1059, 92 .

364 THE SAXONS lN ENGLAND. [BOOK 1.

But there is another nameunder which the Anglosaxons may possibly have knownthisgod , and thatis Pol or Pal.Inthe yea r 1842 a very extraordinary and very

interesting discovery wasmade atM erseberg : uponthe spare leaf of a MS . there were found two metrical spells inthe Old-german language : theseuponexaminationwere atonce recognized notonlyto be heathenintheir character , but evento containthe names of heathengods, perfectly free fromthe ordinary process of Christianization. The onewith which we are at present concerned is inthe

Phol endi d anvnorunzi holza,da wartdemo Baldcres

Sennaera snister,thnbiguolenPaid,Volki era suister,thubignolenW6dan,

8086 lidirenki

bénzi berm,

bluotzi hluodn,

sose geh'

mida sin. as if they were glued together.

The general character of this poem is one wellknownto us there are many Anglosaxonspells of

the same description. What makes this valuablebeyond all that have ever beendiscovered , is the

wentto the wood,thenof Balder’s coltthe footwaswrenched ;thenSinthgnntcharmed him,

and her sister Sunna.thenFrua charmed him,

and her sister Polls,thend encharmed him,

ashe well could doboth m uch of bone, andwrench of blood,

and wrench of limb ;bone to bone,

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366 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

thenwas this god named inEngland Undoubtedly Pol or Pal

‘ Of such a god we have someobscure traces inEngland . We may pass overthe Appolynand Apollo , whom many of our earlyromancers number among the Saxon gods, al

though the confused remembrance of anancientand genuine divinity may have lurked under thisforeigngarb , and confine ourselves to thenames ofplaces bearing signs of Pol or Pal. Grimm has

shownthat the d ikes calledPhalgrabeninGermanyare much more likely to have beenoriginally Pfol

Though little food ofmodernAnglosaxonverses, of modernLatinhexameters ormodernGreek iambics, I shall givestrsnslstionof thesetwo spells, for the purpose of comparison:

towuda féron

fotbewrencedeahine Sisgfisbegol,Sunne hire sweoster,

56 hine Fry'e begél,Folle hire sw eoster,‘

86 hineWodenbeg61swfi he wel cutie :swasy banwrence, swi syblodwrence,m a 5; li

'llwrence ;bintobane,

swé swagelimede syn.

And thus the English one :Dryhtenrad.fola clad

se lihtode

and rihtode

efic swabéntobi as,sinewe tosinewe.

Hflwesfimon‘

lhes HaganGastesnamsnl

on. run] HEATHENDOM . POL.

graben, and his conclusionapplies equally to Palgrave , two parishes inNorfolk and Suffolk —so

Wednes Dic, and the Devil’s Dike betweenCambridge and Newmarket . Polebrooke in Northamptonshire, Polesworth inWarwickshire , PolhamPtoninHants Polstead in Suffolk , Polsteadclose underWanborough (Wednesbeorh) inSurrey ,—which is remarkable for the exquisite beauty ofits Springs of water , -PolsdeninH ants, PolsdoninSurrey, seem all of the same class. To thesewe must add Polsley and Polthorn, which lastname would seem to connect the god with thatparticular tree : last , butnotleast , we have inPoling,inSussex , the record of a race of Polingas, whomay possibly have carried up their genealogy toBa ldmg inthis form.

The myth of Baldr inthe North is one of themost beautiful and striking inthe whole compassof their mythology : it is to be lamented that notrace of it remains inour ownpoems. Still Baldr’slay may not have beenentirely without influenceuponthe progressofChristianity among the Saxons,if, as is probable , itresembled inits mainfeaturesthe legend of the Scandinavians. For them he wasthe god of lightand grace , of splendour, manly excellence and manly beauty . A prophecy that Baldrwould perish afilicted the gods ; Frigga took anoath from all created nature that no individualthing would harm the pride of the B sir, the dar

Polhématl‘

in. Cod . Dipl. Nos. 642, 752, 1136, 1187. Polcslcéh inWilts. Cod . Dipl. No. 641. Polstede inSuffolk . Cod Dipl. No. 685.

PolborninWorcester. Cod .Dipl. No . 61. Polleham, No. 907.

368 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND . [soon1.

ling of the Asyniar. A sprig of mistletoe, at tha ttime too young to enter into so solemnanobligation, was alone, and fatally , excepted . The invul

nerability of the god induced him to offer himselfas a mark for the practice of his relatives and

friends. M aces, axes and spea rs fell innocuousfrom his sacred frame but Lok i placed a sprig of

mistletoe in the hand of the blind H audr , andwith th is, the sole thing that could notbe forsworn,he slew his brother . Aneffort still remained to bemade. Opinnhimself descended to the abode ofHel, inhopes of persuading the goddessof the deadto relinquish her prey . He was successful, and re

turned w ith the joyful intelligence that Baldr wouldbe restored to the gods, if all created nature wouldweep for him. Allnature did weep forthe lossofthe god of beauty, save one old crone . Whencalleduponto do her part inhis restorationshe answered ,What have the godsdone forme,thatI should weepfor Baldr LetHel keep her dead It is thoughtthat itwas Loki who had assumed the old woman’sform. Thus Baldr’s fate was sealed . The faithfulNanna ’ would not survive her beautiful lord , andthe gods and goddesses attended round the pileonwhich their two cherished companions were re

lnAnglosaxon, Heatlo , which however has almost always the abatractsense of wa r.

InAnglosaxon, N65 : this occursrarely save incomposition, whereitseems to denote bravery or courage. But it is to be observed that

né'8’

is thename of a ship or large boat; and it is worth inqtury whether the Teutonic goddess Z iza, probably m AnglosaxonTate, maynothave beenidentical with this Nmma, instead of Frouwa . The draggingabout a boat or ship was p eculiar to Z ian’a worship. Dent. Myth.

p . 237, seq.

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370 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

GEA'

T,inOld-norse GAUTR, inOld-German

KO'

Z .—A cursory allusionhas already beenmade

to Geat , probably only another form of Woden,since in the mythology of the North , Opinnis

Gatitr, but certainly the eponymus of the Geatas,that tribe of whom Bedwulf was the championand

afterwards the king. Geat appears inthe Westsaxongenealogy as a progenitor ofWéden, but thiscollocationis unimportant inmythological inquiries. It is probable that Gapt, whom Jornandes

places atthe head of the Gothic genealogy , is onlya misreading of Gavt, which is the equivalentGothic form of Geat , and that Sigegeat, Angelgeat,Wa

’6elgeat, which occur inother Anglosaxongenealogies, are identical with him‘ H is love forMae

’dhild, a legend unknownto all the nations of

the North , save our ownforefathers, isnoticed inthe Exeter Book : itis there said ,

We Ea tMaebhilde To Maibhild, we

monge gefrunon the tale have heard,

the love of Gent,beethim sed sorglufu so thatthe painof lovesleep ealle binom. took all sleep from him

“.

It ismuch to be regretted that this is all we learnonthissubject,which becomesveryinterestingwhen

And see Gelj er, Gesch. Schwed. i. 30. Gaut, Gantuk, Alglut,Gauthilld. Yngl. Sag. cap. 38 .

3 Cod . Exon. p . 378 . If Geat really beWéden, this is another approximationto Hermes inhis phallic character. Altogether the mythof the ap

e

s ydpoc, so constant inGreek mythology, is scarcely traceable inthe North . TheWédenworship, atleast, may have had something more of the character of the Apollo worship among theDorians.

on. x11.] HEATHENDOM . GEA‘T. 371

we remember how little t race there is of phallicgods inthe Northernmythology . But that Geatwas a god , and not merely a hero , is not leftentirely to inference : it is distinctly asserted byvarious and competent authorities : N ennius hasdeclared him to have beenfilius dei , not indeedthe God of H osts, and God of Gods, but of someidol‘. ButAsser, who wasno doubt wellacquaintedwith the traditions of E lfred

’

s family , says“,

Qnem Getam dadam pagani pro deo venerabantnr.

which is repeated inthe same words by Florence ofWorcester” and

'

Simeonof Durham“, and is con

tained ina Saxongenealogy preserved inthe TextusRoflensis, Geata ,

!tiene ’8a hae

’denanwurfiedon

for God .

” We cantherefore have no scruple aboutadmitting his divinity ; and a comparisonof theGothic and Scandinaviantraditions proves the belief initto have beenwidely held . Thename, whichis derived from geotan, to pour, most probably de

notes only the special form inwhich Wodenwasworshiped by some particular tribes or families ;

and the occurrence of it inthe genealogies, onlythe fact that such tribes or families formed part ofthe national aggregates, to whose royal line it belongs. Butnevertheless we must admit the personality at tributed to him by those tribes, and the

probability of his having been, at least for them,

the national divinity . The circumstance of his

Nennius, 31. Iluntingdonfollows Nennius, Hist. Angl. bk . 11.

3 De Reb. Gest. {Elli-a h , an. 849.

3 Flor. Wig. Chron. an. 849.

De Reb. Gest. Begum, an. 849.

2 13 2

372 THE ssxorvs 1N ENGLAND. [soon1.

name having left such deep traces as we perceiveinthe quotations givenabove , provesnotonly theespecial divinity of the person, but perhaps also thepolitical power and importance of the worshipers'.

SJETERE .—Among the Gods invariably men

tioned as having beenworshiped by our forefathersis one who answered to the LatinSaturnus, atleastinname. From the seventh week-day we may iafer that his Anglosaxonname was Saetere, perhapsthe Placer or Disposer

g

; for Saeteresdaeg seems a

more accurate form thanSmternesdmg which we

sometimes find . There are both names of placesand of plants formed uponthe name of this godas Satterthwaite inLancashire, Satterleigh inDevonshire and Sacteresbyrig

3inthe same county , of

which there appears to be no modernrepresentative while among plants the Gallicrus, or commoncrowfoot , is called inAnglosaxonSatorla

’de. The

appearance of Saturnus as aninterlocutor insucha dialogue as the Salomonand Saturn‘ is a furtherevidence of divinity ; so that , taking all circumstances into account , it is probable that whenGregory of Tours, Geofl

'

ry of M onmouth and others,number him among the Teutonic gods, they are

notentirely mistaken. N ow there has beena tra

See the author’s editionof Bedwulf, vol. 11. Postscriptto the Preface. Leo’

s Beéwulf, etc. : and Ettmuller’s Beowulf, etc. , with the last

of whom, uponthematurestconsideration, I find itimpossibleto agree.

2 Grimm seems rather to imagine insidiator. Myth. p. 226.

3 Cod. Dipl. No. 813.

Aneditionof the Anglosaxondialogues onthis subjecthas beenputforth by the author forthe tElfric Society. To thisreferencemaybe made for full details respecting Saturnus.

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374 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonI .

From the Godswe pass to the Goddesses of thesewe have indeed but scanty record inEngland . Of

the great and venerable goddess Fricge, Woden’s

wife, we are only told that she gave her name tothe sixth day of the week and we must admit thatthis is all we know of her, unless she be impliedunder some other name , which is possible .

B eda inacquainting us with the ancient namesof the Anglosaxonmonths tells us of four whichwere called from their especial reference to the

gods : these are Solménati or February ; B re’6mo

nab , M arch ; Eéstermona’é, April ; and B ldtména

’G,

November. Solménafi he says received itsnamefrom the cakes which were offered to the gods atthat time‘ Blotmdna’S from the v ictims ( cattle) thatwere vowed for sacrifice ; of the others he says“,H ré

’éménab is called from a goddess of theirs,- Rheda, to whom they sacrificed inthat month .

Eosterména’o'

, which is now interpreted by thePaschalmonth ,

’had itsname of old from a god

dess of theirsnamed Rostre , to whom inthismonththey offered celebrations.

”

The Scandinavianand Germanmythology are

alike destitute of these names ; although amongthe many goddesses they recognize some two mayperhaps be identical with ours. The name B reb

'

e

may possibly meansevere,fierce, and denote a warlike goddess ; but still I am more inclined to connect itwith the adjective B ro

’S, glorious, famous,

Canthis word sol ( perhaps 361) be a contracted formof sqfi ? If

not, I cannototI'

er anexplanationof it.De Natura Rerum, cap. xv.

cu. XXL ] HEATHENDOM . GODDESSES . 375

and to see init the meaning of the great or glori

ous goddess, that is, insome form or other, Fricge,Woden’

s wife : it is however not to be forgottenthat the GermanChrodo, inAnglosaxonH r6

’8 orevenHré

’de, isnow admitted , and that this godwas infact Satu rn. I t is true that we have morethanone fragmentary legend inwhich the name of

Saturnsurvives, but ina heroic rather thana godlike form, and thismay have beenthe cause of its

preservation: the Church found Satu rnuseful, andkept him nor is itatall surprising that a changeof sex should have takenplace : the same thinghappened with the Germangoddess Nerthus, whoreappears inthe Norse god N iordr, and the classicalscholar will at once remember the god Lunus, aswell as the goddessLuna ‘ Whatever explanationwe may attempt to give of B re

’fie, it is clear thatshe was a Saxongoddess to whom atstated periodssacrifice was offered . The same thing may be saidof Eéstre or Eastre, whose name must be etymolo

gically connected with East , orients, and who therefore was inall probability a goddess of brightnessand Splendour, perhaps also a Beorhte or B rightgoddess : she may have beena goddess of light, ofthe morning beams, of the newly awakening year ,whenthe sunfirst begins to recover power after the

Thename of Net-thus stands inall the bestMSS . of Tacitus’ Ger

mania, and the change of it into Herthus, though very plausible, wasunnecessary . One easily sees the cause of error: it was thoughtthat

H erthus, term mater, was the Gothic Airthus, inOld-germanErdu, inAnglosaxonBorlie. Butthere is no H inthese words ; if there werewe should have had a Teutonic Vesta . The goddess

’

sname was Nairthus, Nerdu, Ner’t'ie, and her corresponding form inOld-norse, Niiirdr.

37 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noox r.

gloom and darkness of winter. That shewas deeplyimpressed uponthe mind and feelings of the peo

ple follows from her name having beenretained forthe great festival of the church : it may also befairly argued that she was a mild and gentle divinity , whom the clergy did notfear thus to commemorate .

Lye’

s dictionary cites another goddess, Ricen,with the translationDiana , which he seems to havetakenfrom some CottonMS . I t stands too iso

lated for us to make any successful investigation,but I may be excused for calling to mind the factthat Diana ismentioned by the versifying chrouiclers as among the Saxon gods, and also thatthe superstitionknowninGermany as the WildH unt , and wh ich is pmperly connected with W6den, goes very generally among us by thename ofLudus Dianae . This, which became the foundationof many a cruel persecution, under the nameof witchcraft , is spread over every part ofGermanyinone form or another : sometimes itis B erodiadis who is compelled for ever to expiate her fataldancing atother timeswe haveM inerva orBertha ,H olda , H abundia , Dame Abonde , Domina, HeratheLady , and so on. It is true that our fragmentaryremains of Saxonheathendom do not

‘

containanyimmediate allusions to th is superstition, but yet itcanscarcely be doubted that itdid ex isthere as itdid inevery part of the continent ', and one there

“ Incontrariam partem est auctoritas, xxvi (1. y . c. episcopi. Ita

ibi lcgitur. lllud nonest obmittendum quod quedam scelerati mulicres retro post Sathanconverse ; demonum illusionibus ct fantasma

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378 m s saxosrs IN ENGLAND. ( soon: x.

N icors and other supernatural beings of a fiendishcharacter. The references are Grindles pyt ‘, Grindles bece”, and Grendlesmere

”. G rimm, by a com

parison of ph ilological and other data , identifiesGrendel with the Norse Loki, the evil-bringer, andinthe end destroyer of the gods“. The early converted Anglosaxonswho possessed another deviltooppose to the Almighty inthe Ragnaravkr

s, could

easily reconcile themselves to the destructionof

Grendel by anearthly hero ; although the ancientheathendom breaks out inthe supernatural powersattributed to the latter, and which placing him verynear the rank of the gods, induce a belief that Beowulf contains only the shadow of anolder mythwh ich may have beencurrent far beyond the limitsof this islands. It will be sufficient to call attentionto the many Germantales inwhich the devil’smother figures as a principal actor, nay to our ownfamiliar expression, the devil

’s dam

, to show howessential th is characteristic of the fiend was : thedevil of the Church had certainly no mother ; butthe old Teutonic evil Spirit had, and Loki andG rendel are alike inthis. Eventhe religious view,

which naturally shaped itself to other influences,could notescape the essential heathendom of thisidea : thedevil who is so constant anagent intheAnglosaxonlegends, has, if not a mother, atleasta father, no less thanSatanhimself ; but Satanlies

Cod. Dipl. No. 59 .3 Ibid. No. 570.

3 Ibid. No. 353. Mythologie, p. 222.

5 TheDevilandthe PaterNosterwere to contend togetheratDoomsday : each was to assume fifteendifferentforms. Sal. Sat. p . 145.

See Beéwulf, ii. Postscript, and the Stammtafel der Westsachsen.

ca . xn.] HEATHENDOM . MONSTERS . 379

bound inball, as Loki lies bound , and itis only ashis emissary and servant that the devil his son1appears onearth , to tempt and to destroy . InCaedmon, the legend of St . Andrew, Juliana, Gfifilac,etc. , it is always the devil’s sonand satellite whoexecutes his work onearth , and returns to give anaccount of hismissionto him that sent him.

Thus throughout the strange confusionwhichbesets all Anglosaxoncompositions inwhich thedevil is introduced either as a tempter or a persecutor of the holy and j ust , we may perceive a rayof ancient heathendom, gloomy enough , no doubt ,but far lessmiserable thanthe vile materialism ofthe notions with which ithas beenmixed up . Therude Eatenor Titanis notnearly so repugnant toour Christianideas as the gross corporeal fiendswho have grownout ofhim, and who play so CODSPl

cuous a part inAnglosaxonhagiology or purgatorial legends nor is it easy to conceive any superstitionmore degrading thanthat which Easternorperhaps evenRomantraditions thus engrafted uponthe ancient creed . With these we are not calleduponto deal inany further detail, for though they

Inthe legend of Juliana, the subordinate devil speaks of Satanashis father and k ing. Cod . Exon. pp . 261, 273. And so also inSalemonand Saturn( p. he is called Satan’s thane. Again, inthesame composition, Satanis called the devil

’

s father: “ The PaterNosterwill shootthe devilwith boiling shafts ; and the lightning will burnand mark him, and the rainw ill be she dover him, and the thick darkness confuse him, and the thunderthrash himwith the fiery axe, anddrive him to the ironchainwhereinhis father dwelleth, Satanand Sathiel. p. 149. Inthe legend of St. Andrew, Satanhimself appears,which may be owing to its Greek origin. See Vercelli Poems, Andr.

12388 still, inanotherpassage Satansends hischildren. Ibid.

380 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

have no claim whatever to be called Christian,they

certainly have nothing to do with Anglosaxonheathendom. The Grendels and N icors of our forefathersw ere gods ofnature, the spirits of the woodand wave they sunk into their degraded and disgusting forms only whenthe devils of a barbaroussuperstitioncame to be confounded and mixed upwith them. There is still something genuine andpoetical inthe account which a monk of St . Gall

gives of the colloquy betweenthe ancient godswhenthe missionaries settled onthe shores of thelake ofConstance ; wheninthe dead of night , theholy anchoret watching athisnets,

Heard how the spiritof thefloodSpake to the spiritof the hill :

Volvente deinceps cursutemporis, electus DeiGallus retia lymphae laxabatinsilentio noctis, sedinter ea audivit demonem dc culmine montis parisuo clamantem, qui erat inabditismaris. Quo re

spondents, Adsum montanus e contra : Surge,’

inquit,‘ inadiutorium mih i ! Ecce peregrini vene

runt , qui rne de templo eiecerunt namDeosconterehaut , quos incolse isti colebant insuper eteos adse convertebant Veni, veni, adiuva nos expellerseos de terris l’ M arinus demonrespondit: Enunusillorum est inpelago , cui nunquam nocere potero .

Volui enim retia sua ledere, sed me v ictum probalugere . Signo orationis est semper clausus, necumquam somno oppressus.

’

Electus vero Gallushaec audiens, muniv itse undique signaculo crucis,dixitque ad eos

‘ Innomine JesuChristi praecipiovobis, ut de Iocis istis recedatis, nec aliquem hic

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382 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

gods of Opinn’

s race , that they will themselves va

nish from the scene , and the glorious reignof A llfather commence . Loki alone has something meanand tricksey inhis character, something allied tofalsehood—a slight spice of the M ephistopheles.

Butitisnotprobable that thisbelongs to his earliestform, and it appears rather to mark the deteriorationof a myth becoming popular , and assumingtraits of the popular, humorous Spirit , which takesdelight inseeing power counteracted by cunning,and revenges itself for the perfectionof its heroes bysometimes exposing them to ludicrous defeat . ButevenLoki was at first the friend and associate of

the gods : he was united with them by the mostsacred bonds of brotherhood , and his skill andwisdom secured them victory inmany a dangerousencounter. Like Lucifer , he had beena tenant ofheaven: why he and the gods ultimately parted inanger we are not told ; but we find him pursuingthem with the utmost malice , tilt at length hecauses the death of Baldr. H e is thenbound andcast beneath the worlds, the poisonous snake hangsover him distilling torturing venom : his faithfulwife sits by and catches the drops as they fall, bu twhenthe vessel inwhich She receives them is fulland she turns for a moment to empty it, the deadlyjuice reaches the prostrate god , and inhis agonyhe trembles in every limb . This convulsion isknownto menas the earthquake . It is only inthetwilight of the gods that hewillbreak his chainandlead the sons of Muspel to avenge him upontherace of Opinn.

ca . Jun] HEATHENDOM . DEVIL. 383

ButLoki isno devil inthe Anglosaxonsense ofSatanand his son he isno deceiver or persecutorofmen least of all is be their torturer inanotherworld . He suffers indeed , but like Prometheus, orEntelechus, or E geon, and his hour of triumph isto come . There is inhis genuine character nothingmeanor little,—much indeed that is terrible , gloomyand vague , but nothing ridiculous or disgusting.

The Saxondevil with horns, tail, clovenfeet , sulphur and pitch , torches, red-hot tongs, pincers andpitchforks is less creditable to the imagination,and more dangerous to the moral, being, of his iaventors.

Nor are the occupations of such a fiend less vul

gar thanhis form he blasts the corn, wounds thecattle , fetters the hands of the doomed , enters themouth of those who havenotguarded itby the signof the cross, and ina future state becomes thetorturer—ia the most material and mechanicalway- of those whose life has beenspent inthe serviceof sin. The coarse fancy ofMarlowe h imself haltsafter the descriptions of the Anglosaxondivinesandpoets, revelling inthis fruitful theme . Unpleasantas such records are, and revolting to our sense of

right, itisnecessary that we should know what wastaught or permitted by the clergy , ifwe are to knowanything of the mode of life and mode of belief of

our forefathers.

A s early evenas the eighth century, we find so

great a manas Beda condescend ing to admit intohis ecclesiastical history , such melancholy evidenceofManichseanmaterialism as the v isionof Driht

384 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [BOOK 1.

helm. He tells how such a maninNorthumbria ,lying atthe point of death , had falleninto a trance ,recovering from which and being restored to health ,he had entered the monastery ofM elrose , inwhichhe continued till his death . During his trance hehad seenvisions wh ich he afterwards communiosted to Hamgisl a priest , king Aldfriii ofNorthumberland , and others. He related that onbeing released from the body his soul had beenled by one,bright of aspect , gloriously clothed , towards the

cast, into a valley wide and deep and of a lengththat seemed infinite : one side glowed terribly withflames, the other was filled with furious bail andfreezing snow . Either side was full of humansoulswh ich were tossed from left to right as by a tem

pest . For whenthey could not bear the v iolenceof the immense heat , they rushed wretchedly intothe midst of the dreadful cold ; and when theycould find no rest there , they sprung back again,again to burn inthe midst of inextinguishableflames. WhenDrihthelm saw them thus eternallytormented by a crowd of deformed demons, hethought withinh imself,

“ Th is is surely hell, of

whose intolerable tortures I have oftenheard tell1”

Buthis companionsaid , This isnotthe hell thouthinkest l and proceeding further, he beheld howthe darkness beganto thickenaround and fill thewhole space before him. Suddenly inthis deepnigh t be perceived globes of dusky fire cast up fromwhat seemed to be a vast well, into which theyfell again, without intermission. Inthe midst ofthese horrors his conductor left him. Onlooking

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386 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

sins, yetfly to penitence inthe hour of death , andthus leave the body : yet since they had confessionand penance evenindeath , shall all, at the day ofjudgement , reach the kingdom of heaven. But

many , both the prayers of the living, and their almsand fasts, and most of all the celebrationofmasses,assist , so that they shall be freed eVenbefore theday of judgement . But that flame-belching, putridwell which thou hast seenis the mouth of hell itself, into which whoever shall fall, shall never besetfree for ever and ever . And that flowery placeinwhich thou sawest those most beauteous youthsenjoy themselves insplendour, is that whereinare

received the souls of those who indeed leave thebody ingood works, but yet are not of such per»fectionthat they may atonce enter the kingdomof

heaven who yet shall all, inthe day of j udgement,enter into the sight of Christ , and the joys of the

heavenly kingdom. For they who are perfect inevery word and act and thought , immediately onleaving the body shall reach the heavenly kingdom to whose precincts that place belonged , wherethou heardest the sound of pleasant singing , together with the smell of sweetness and the splendourof H aving thus seenand heard ,Drihthelmwas allowed to returnto the body, where no doubthe became a powerful champion of Purgatory .

But Beda is not satisfied with this tale : he goesonto tell of a M erciannoble, who would not goto confession. At the point of death , he sees two

on. an.) HEATHENDOM . DEVIL. 887

angels enter his room, bearing the record of hisgood deeds, which fill but a small roll: havingcaused him to read this, they make way for a

crowd of fiends, black and foul, who hear the enormous tale of his sins of word , work and thought ,which also he is compelled to read . Thenthe leaderof the fiends turning to the sons of light exclaims,Why sit ye here, knowing assuredly that he is

ours to which they reply , Ye say truly takehim, and lead him with youinto the accumulationof

your owndamnationl Uponthis the good spiritsvanish , and two demons, a sort of OccidentalMunk irand N ekh‘, smite him with ploughshares onthehead and feet , and creep into him whenthey meetwithinhim, he dies and passes into everlastingtorments Th is tale , wh ich Beda heard from the

venerable bishop Pectbelm he refines upon, explains, and finishes by declaring that he relatessimply for the salvationof those who shall reador hear it. No doubt the distempered ravings ofmonks, made half mad by inhumanausterities, unnatural restrictions, and wretched themes of contemplation, would inthemselves be of little worthwe cancomprehend the visions of a Saint Francisde Salis, anIgnatius Loyola , a Peter the Hermit , aSanta Theresa, and evenmore readily those of a

Drihthelm or a Madame Guyon: but how shall

Beda, H . E . v . 13.

The firstB ishop ofWhiterne inGalloway, who died in737. Anyone who desires to learnmoreof themiserable superstitionswhich Bedacould recommend, may see the accountof Fursrens ( H . E . iii . andthe MS . lives of the sa intof which Mr. Stevensonhas givena noticeinhis editionof Beda, pp. 197, 199,notes.

388 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [BOOK 1.

we understand the record of them by a Beda or aFenelonSuch authority as this was likely to be followed

with zeal ; once open, the career of unbridled fancywas sure to find no limit ; the more sure , sincethenas now , the fears and miseries of the masswere sources of profit to the few . Thenasnow ,

there were rogues found who dared to step betweenmanand God , to clothe themselves in the coatwithout seam, to make themselves the mediatorsbetweeneternal mercy and the perishing sinner .Accordingly inlater times we find variationuponvariation in the outline already so vigorouslysketched ; M almsbury furnishes anample field forcollectors of this kind of literature. I shall contentmyself here with citing from the so oftenquotedSalomonand Saturntwo passages, which to me are

redolent of heathendom, disguised after the fashionwhich has beendescribed .

Maeg simle se Godes cwide Evermay the God'

s word '

gamene gehwylcum, for every man,ealra fednda gehwone every fiendfiednde gebringan, puttoflight,burh mannesmild, through mouth of man,manfulra heap the troop of evil ones,sweartne geswencan; the black troop, Oppress ;

naafi'

e hie bees syllice letthemnever so strangelybledum bregdab

aefler baincofan, intheir body,feberhomanonfdb . or assume plumage.

Hwilum fidtangripaii, Sometimes they seize the sailor,

hwilum h ie gewendao sometimes they turn

That is the Paternoster.

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390 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonI .

of Germany , but inour owncommonname for thedevil

,Old N ick . According to the account givenin

Beowulf, these were supernatural, elvish creatureshaunting the lakes, rivers and seas, ever onthewatch to inj ure the wayfarer , and apparently endowed with the power of creating tempests. Inthissemi-Christianv iew they were fiendish and savageenemiesofthe sailor, whom they pursued with home

and tusks, dragged to the bottom of the waves andthenno doubt devoured ‘. Probably , like other su

pernatural beings dreaded by our forefathers, theywere included inthe family of ogres and monstersdescended from the fi rst homicide . Yet itmay bedoubted whether this was the original and heathensense of the word N icor. As late as the thirteenthcentury I find inanold Germanglossary Neckartranslated by N eptunus, the god of the sea and itisnotorious that one of thenames borne by Obinu,whenever he appears as a sea-god is Hnikular andNikuz . H ence it is not unlikely that intheirancient creed , the paganSaxons recognized NicotasWeden. The name Hwala which occurs inthegenealogies, and like Great may be assumed to beonly another name of Woden, confirms this view .

Hwala is formed from Hwasl, cetus, just as Scyldwais from Scyld , clypeus, and was probably only a

name ofWodenas a sea-god . The danger attending the whale or walrus fishery“made the fi rst at

least of these animals anobject of superstitious

Beowulf, passim.

ThefishermaninE lfric’s dialogue disclaims any intentionof whale s

fishing, onaccountof its dangers. Thorpe, Anal. p. 24 .

on. x n.] HEATHENDOM. N ICOR. 391

dread to the Anglosaxonsailor ; perhaps, as inthecase of the bear, natural peculiarities wh ich are

striking enough evento our more scientific eyes,helped to give anexceptional character to the monareh of the Northernseas. Be this as itmay, it

isnotwithout importance that Hwala should appearinthe genealogies among names many of whichare indisputably Woden’s, that inScandinavia andGermany Nikuz or Necker should be names of thesea-

god , and that till a very late period , —whenthe heathengods had everywhere assumed the garbof fiends and devils,—the Nicer should appear as

the monster of the deep par excellence. The miraculous power attributed to the N icor, - lnBeowulfhe is called wundorllc waégbora , a supernaturalbringer of the waves, —is initself evidence of earliergodhead and inthis sense I am disposed to identifyhim with the demonmarinaswhom St. Galldefeatedby his constant watchfulness. Inhis altered anddegraded form we may also recognize the demonofthe lines lately cited , who stabs the horse with hishome while crossing the water. The beautiful N ixor Nixie who allures the young fisher or hunter toseek her embraces inthe wave which brings hisdeath , the Neck who seizes uponand drowns themaidens who sportuponhis banks, the river-spiritwho still yearly insome partsof Germany demandstribute of humanlife , are all forms of the ancientNicot ; but more genuine perhaps,—certainly morepleasing , - is the Swedish Stromk arl, who fromthe jewelled bed of his river, watches with delightthe childrengambol inthe adjoining meadows, and

392 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

singing sweetly to them inthe evening , detachesfrom his hoary hair the sweet blossoms of the water-lily , which he wafts over the surface to theirhands.

B EL—Among the fearful beings whose powerwas dreaded evenby the gods, wasHe] , mistress ofthe cold and joyless under-world . Called , th roughthe fate of battle, to the glories of Wmlheal, theTeutonic or Norse hero trembled at a peacefuldeath which would consignhim to a dwellingmore desolate and wretched thaneventhat whichawaited the fallenwarriors of heroic G reece andmany a legend tells of those whose ownhand savedthem from a futurity so abhorred 9 . ButH elwasnotherself the agent of death ; she only received those

This is so completely familiar to the student of antiquity, that Ishallnotmultiply examples : they may be found inBartholinus. Butone instance I may be excused for citing, inasmuch as it proves how

long the heathenspiritsurvived despite the peaceful hope and promiseof Christianity . Henry of Huntingdon, 111the sixthbook of hishistory,relates of S igeweard the great duke of Northumberland, that hearingof the loss of his soninbattle, he exclaimed,

“ Kecepitno vulnus lsthale inanteriori vel posteriori corporis parts ? Dixeruntnuntii : Inanteriori. At ille : Gaudeo plane, nonenim alio me, vel filium meumdiguet funere. In1055 however. Oppressed with sickness, he foundthathisdesire wasnotto be fulfilled . Siwardus, consulrigidissimus,profiuvio ventris ductus, mortem sensit imminere, dixitque : Quantas

pndorme totinbellismori nonpotuisse, ut vaccarum morti cum de

decore reservarer! Induite me saltem loriea mes impenetrabili,maecingite gladio, sublimate galea : scutum inlaeva, securim auratammihi

ponite indextra,utmilitum fortissimosmodo militiamoriar. Dinerat,ctntdixerat, armatus honorifice spiritum exhalavit.

”Through every

word of this passage breathes the old heathenspirit of Ilamlldr Hil

ditavn, and one feels that to Christianity alone itwas owing. thatS igeweard didnotpreventaninglorious by a voluntary violentdeath .

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394 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

Hel with Nastrond to complete a hideous prisonfor the guilty : the prevailing idea inthe infernalregions of the Teutonis cold and gloom the poi

sonous snakes, which waking or sleeping seem everto have haunted the Anglosaxon, formed a convenient point of j unctionbetweenhis owntraditionalhell and that wh ich he heard of from the pulpit ,inquotations from the works of the Fathers ; andto these and their influence alone canit be attri

buted whenwe find flames and sulphur , and all thehideous apparatus of Judaic tradition, adopted byhim. Inthis factseems to me to lie a very importantmark of ancient heathendom, and onewhich theclergy themselves admitted , a belief inwhich theyshared , and which they did notscruple to impressUpontheir flocks, eveninspite of the contrary tendency of their authorities : it will be sufi cienttorefer to the descriptiongivenof hell inthe poeticSalomonand Saturn, a compositionredolent ofheathendom : onthe defeat of the rebel angels, itis said , God

him helle gescop, for them hemade hell,waelcealde wic,

v intre beheahte : with winter covered :wmter insende water he sentinand wyrmgeardas, and snake-dwellings,atol dedrmonig many a foulbeast

irenum homam ; with horns of ironblodige earnasand hlticensedran; and pale adders

Fixe was too cheerhil inthe North to be'

sufllciently anohject of

terrorz itappem dmha wiw inthe Easg whm coolness isthe greatestOf luxurie.’

on. XXL ] HEATHENDOM . H EL. 395

and pearls gewin, and fierce conflict,eacne egesan, mighty terror,

joylessness

Evenintheir more orthodox descriptions, ecclesiastical poets, though naturally adopting the Judaic notions, cannot always shake off the old

, ha

bitual traditionof their forefathers, but recur tothe frost , gloom and serpents of Nastrond , and therealm of Hel ; of which a passage already quotedfrom Beda is ample evidence.

A s far as we canjudge from the descriptionswhich survive, the Anglosaxons represented H ell to

themselves as a close and covered dwelling , a prisonduly secured as earthly prisons are by locks, boltsand bars“. But the popular fancy had probablyeventhenadopted the notionof a monstrous beastwhose mouth was the entrance to the place of tor

ment : this appearsnot only from the illustrationsto Caedmon3 , but from the commonexpression, solong current , of H ell-mouth . From this peculiarfeature however we may believe that a remembrancestill lurked among our forefathers of the giganticorTitanic character of the ancient goddess, who , inNorse mythology, was Loki

’s daughter. Innearly

every case, the word H el inAnglosaxon, and especially Anglosaxonprose , has merely the abstractsense we now give it; but here and there a passage

‘ Sal. Sat. p. 173 .

Beda hhnself speaks of“ inferni claustra ( H . E . v . 13), and for

this there was supposed to be sufficientauthority m the figurative ex

pression. Matt. xvi. 18.

Published by the Society of Antiquaries.

396 ms saxous IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

may be found inwhich we discover traces of the

personalmeaning : thus perhaps inB eowulf wherewe find these lines,

infenfreofiohe his life laid down,

hi t him Hel onfeng. there Hel received h'

nn‘.

However as a death inbattle did not consignthe warrior to H el, it is usually H ild or Wig whois represented as ravishing away the doomed hero .

Hel was no desired obj ect , to be introduced into

the epic as the portionof chieftains and kings.

FATES .—The Northerncreed , and, as itnow

seems established , the Germanalso , admitted theinterventionbetweenmanand the gods, of subordinate deities or Fates. I callthemsubordinate fromtheir peculiar positioninthe fragmentary portionsof mythology that survive ; intheirnature we mustbelieve them to be of a higher order thanthe gods,who themselves are doomed one day to perish , andwho canprobably as little avoid their doomasmen,the frailer creatures of their power. Itmay be thatinthis, different views prevailed among differentclasses of men; the warlike princes and their followers, who exulted intales of battle and feasting,may have beenwilling to see inObinuthe supremedisposer of events, while a deeper wisdom lurked

Be6w . l. 1698 : and perhaps similarly l. 357,“ Hells gemundon,

they worshiped Hel.

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398 ms saxons IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

itcanhardly be doubted that the others are of adifferent order ; moreov er itattributes humanpassions to them wh ich are hardly consistent with thefunctions of the venerable Fates inthis case it ispossible that the Valkyriur, a race of beings whosefunctionsmight insome respectsbe confounded withthose of the N ornir, have beenso mixed up withthem. M an, dealing with the daily affairs of troubled life, thinksmore ofthe past thanof the future :to him the present is the child of the past , the past

the excuse for or cause of all he does and suffers ;his intellect comprehends the events that are com

pleted or incourse of completion, but notthe indeA

finite, illimitable probabilities of - the undiscoveredto be ; hence perhaps Ur

’6r is considered the old

est and most powerful of the Fates ; her work isdone , the others are doing or yet to do . Throughthis progress of opinionitbecame possible for theconceptionof the older Fate to include and finallysupersede those of the others, as soonas the livingbelief intheir personal agency became weakened .

I do notknow that any certaintrace of these Fatescanbe found inthe H igh-germancountries', butinthe Low-germanthe eldest Nornstill surviveslong after the introductionof Christianity , in a

sense little remov ed at times from that of Necessityitself. T hat th is should still have been coupledwith a lively feeling of personality only proves howdeeply rooted the old H eathencreed had been. In

1 Grimm, Mythol. p. 877, doesnotseem to lay much stressnpouthetwa instances which he gives, one ot

'

which is extremely doubtful, andthe other ofno certainauthority.

on. ma ] HEATHENDOM . WIERD. 399

thefollowing instances from the OldsaxonHéljand ‘,Wurth might almost inevery case be replaced byddd , mars ThiuWurth is athaudun, dod is at

hendi —the wit-rd“, or death , is at hand , i. e . so

near that shemight lay hold of the doomed . ThinWurthnahida thuo , - the wierd drewnigh . Wurthina benam , Wi erd , i. e . the goddess of death , rav ished him away ; as inAnglosaxonwe have Swyltbenam, Dea

’d benam, and similar expressions.

The Anglosaxonequivalent is Wyrd , anexpressionof the very commonest and most frequent cccurrence. It should however be borne inmind thatthere are two separate uses of this word , one a moreabstract one, inwhich it is capable of being usedinthe plural, and which may generally be renderedeventus", anothermore personal, similar to the OldsaxonWurth, and inwhich itnever occurs but inthe singular‘ . Inthe following most remarkablepassage the heathenand Christian thoughts are

nich. pp. 146, 2 ; 92, 2 ; 111, 4 .

We are fominfi c inbeiug able to useuota trauslationofWurth,butthe word itself ; I am not aware of its continuing to existinanyother Germandialect.

3 N e wa s wyrd beganSethe a tméste

manna cynnesbicgeanofer

“

8aniht. ( Beéw . I .wyrd as cubon. ( Ibid. 1.

One exceptionto be hereafternoticed seemsmore apparentthanreal. it

‘

however it be takeninits fullest and ordinary grammaticalsense, itwill show thatall three ormore sisters were incontemplation,and that the name of the eldesthad become a general expressionforthem all.

400 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [B OO K 1.

strangely mingled ,Wierd being placed inactualuppositionwith God ,

swahe hyra mawdlde

nefne him witig God,

3 Beesmannesmdd'

A s he would more of them had notwise God ,

Wierd forstood him, and the man’

s courage.

”H ow

v ery heathenthe whole would he, were we onlyto conceive the word God aninterpolation, whichis highly probable ; nefne him witig

—Wyrd forstdde

’! The following examples will show the use

ofWyrd hineWyrd fornam,

”—him Wierd ra

v ished away”; j ust as inother passageswe have gutsfornam‘

, Wig eells fornam“, swylt fornam

“, dea

’S

fornam’. Wyrdungemete —Wierd was im

measurably near him ; as inthe Oldsaxonpassagesabove cited , and asDea

’dungemeteneéh”.

“Acuncsceal weor

’é'

anmt wealle, swa unc Wyrd gete6’8,

metod manna gehwe'

es —itshallhefsiusasWierddecideth , the lord of every man

“. Swa himWyrd

ne Wi erd didnotappoint . “EalleWyrd

Beéw . l. 2104. Ibid. 1. 2411.3 Ibid. 1. 2240. Ibid . 1. 2154 .

Ibid . 1. 2872 . Ibid. 1. 4234 , 4468.

7 Ibid. 1. 4836.5 Ibid. 1. 5453 .

Ibid. 1. 5048.

This is a most remarkable passage, forWyrd is distinctly calledMetod , a word generally appmpriated to God ; but I am disposed to

think thatMetten, anotherword for Fate, was uppermost inthe poet’s

mind,—perhaps found insome heathencopy of the poem. Da gramanmettena,

”saevaeparcae. Boet. p . 161. ( RawL)

Be6w. 1. 5145.

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402 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

craeftum,7ia

’8e geolo godwebb geatwum frsetwa’d

,

-Worms wove me not, with the skill of M errie,

those namely which the yellow silk for garmentsbeautifully form. H ere weavmg 18 especially putforward as that inwhich Wierd excels, her ownpeculiar craft and business'.Spinning and weaving are the constant occupa

tionof Teutonic goddesses and heroines : Holdaand Bertha spin“, and so do all the representativesof these goddesses inpopular traditionevendownto the fairies . But the Valkyriur or Shieldmaysalso weave , and inthis function, as well as theirimmediate actioninthe battle-field, as choosers ofthe slain“, they have some points of contact withtheNorns andWyrd“. Gray has t ransferred to ourlanguage from the Nials Saga a fine poem5 whichthrows some light uponthe weaving of the Valkyriur, the w igspéda gewiofu. The Anglosaxonbeliefinthe Shieldmaidens comes to us indeed ina darkened form,

yet we canhardly doubt that itsurvived .

The word Wselcyrge occurs inglossariesto explain

I am almost inclined to think the words searcrdna gcspon, the webof various runes, merely a periphrasis for wyrd, takeninthe abstractsense of event. Cod . Ex . p. 347.

“ As terns onBertaniait,” i. e. ina period anterior to thememoryof man: inthe days of heathendom, of the goddess Bertha, not the

queen.Wielcyrige is derived fromWiel the slainand ceésanto choose.I do notknow whether the expressionH ineWyrd gccéas, canbe

found inSaxonpoetry ; butceésauis a very commonword inphrasesdenoting death, though by Christianpoets transferred to the doomedhero , from the god or goddess: air

‘80nforlicure, wintrum wee] rests .

Cmdm. p. 99. Priusquam aunis [i. e. vita] praetulerit mortiferumquietem.

The Fatal sisters. See vol. i. p. 70, Mitford’s edition.

on. m .) HEATHENDOM . SHIELDMAYS . 403

.Bellona , the goddess of war, and one gloss calls

eyes Waelcyrigean, gorgonei , terrible as those ofGorgo the flashing of the eyes was very probablyone mark of a Waelcyrge inthe old belief1, as she

floated or rode above the closing ranks of battle.

Inthe superstitions of a later period however wefind a clear allusionto these supernaturalmaidens.

A spell preserved ina H arleianmanuscrit con

tains the following passages

Hinds wxeronhi itmade, atby

ofer land tidou.

Loud,lo ! loud were they , as they rode over

WhenDorr visits Drymrunder the disguise of Freya, the giant issuspicious of theflashing eyes which he seesunder the veil. Loki explains them by the Freya’s desire for the

bik ini mér or augumcidr of brenna l”

Satinalsuotra

er or‘li um fann

vitSj iitunsméliSvaf vmtr Freyjaatta n6ttum,

avé varbon65m:i j iitunheima .

”

MS . Hui. 585, fol. 186 .

404 THE saxonsm ENGLAND. [noon1.

the hill ; bold were they , as they rode over the

land .

Stod under lindeunder ledhtum scylde

bé r5a mihtiganwit'

hyra maegenberséddon,and bygyllende

I stood beneath my lindenshield , beneath mylight sh ield , where the mighty womenexercised

their power, and sent the yelling javelins l An

other spell from a M S . inCorpus Christi College,

Cambridge, appears toname them more distinctly

Sitte ge, sigewif,

sigab aseoriian,nsefre ge Wildetowuda fledganbeé se swé semmdise

swabib manna gehwilc

metes and éiieles.

S it, ye victorious women( or womenof victory)descend to earth , never fly y e w ildly to the wood :

be ye as mindful of good to me, as every manis offood and landed possession.

”G rimm has remarked

w ith great justice1 that the sigewif here recalls thenames of Waclcyrian, Sigrdrifa , Sigri

’

m and S igrlinn. I certainly see inS igewif, womenwho give

victory ; and the allusionto the wild flight and thewood are both essentially characteristic of the t i

D. Myth. p. 402. He cites this spell, butproposes ongrammatical grounds to read w illc for wilde. i f any change isnecessary I shouldpreferflrdgm.

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406 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

sidered a gigantic chaos to have preceded theworldof order . While the giant Ymer lived , the earthwas

‘2without form and void . Listento the wordsof the VauluSpa , or Prophetess

’

s Song :

A 'r var alda WhenYmer dwelthere,

par er Y’mir bygbi

’twas the dawnof time :

vara sandrné star cool streams were not,116 svaIarunnir :

jiirfi fannsk teva

nor o’

er itheaven,yawned the gap,

The sons of Bur however, Obinu , Vile andcreated the vast M idgard , or realm of earth :

Sdl skeinsunnan The sunshone southwardonthe stone halls,

pri var grand groin thenwas earth grownwith greenproduce.

The constellations however as yet had no ap

pointed course :

861patno vissi Butthe sunknew notwhere her seatshould be,

mini patna vissi and themoonknew notwhathismightshould be,

stjo'

rnur patne v issu planets knew notwhere their place should be.

So the holy Gods went to council, and dividedthe seasons, giving names to night and noonandmorning, to undernand evening , that the yearsmight be reckoned

VauluSpa, st. 3 .

3 Ibid. st. 5.

on. x11.) HEATHENDOM . CREATION, ETC . 407

The constructionof the world out of the fragments of Ymer

’

s body , the doctrine of the ash

Yggdrasil, and of wondrous wells beneath its roots,could of course find no echo here, after the conver.sion. But it is very remarkable how nearly thedescriptionof creationgiveninCaedmonsometimescoincides with the old remains of hea thendom

Ne wees hér5dgiet There had nothere as yetsave cavernshade

wihtgeworden, aughtexisted,ac lies wida grandstdd dedp and dim, stood deep and dim,

strange to its lord,

onbone edgum whit onwhich looked with his eyesthe king firm ofmood,

and os stowe behedld and beheld the placedredrna lease.

He saw the dark cloud

lonr inendlessnight,sweartunder roderum, swartunder heaven,warm and wéste dusky and desertfolde wees edgyt the earth was yet

grazsnngréne ; notgreenwith grass ;

garsecg peshta butoceancovereddark inendlessnight

wide and side far and widethe dusky ways.

Thenfollows the creationoflight , the separationof evening from morning , and the productionof

organic life, as inthe first chapter of Genesis. The

W ida grund , or vast abyss, is the Ginnunga gap ,

yawning gulf, of the Edda , and a very remarkable

d m. p. 7. I. 8 seq .

we ransaxossm ENGLAND. [soon1.

parallel lies inthe assertionthat there wasno grassanywhere to make greenthe earth .

The world was created out of the portions ofYmer

’

s body but itseems to be a remnantof ancient heathendom whenwe find inlater times a

tradition that M anwas created out of the greatnatural portions of the world itself. AnancientPriele manuscript quoted by G rimm inH aupt ’sAltdeutsche B latterl says, God scrip thene érestamenesk a , thet was Adam, fonachta wendem ; thetbenete fontha stene, thet flask fonthere erthe, thethidd fontha wetere, tha herta fontha winde, thenethochta fontha wolken, thene suét fontha dawe ,tha lokkarfontha gerse, tha agene fonthere sauna ,

and tha blérem onthene helga 6m.

” That is,—Godcreated him of eight th ings : his bones from stone ,his flesh from earth , his blood fromwater, hisheartfrom wind , his thought from cloud , his sweat fromdew , his hair from the grass, his eyes from the

sun, and thenbreathed into him the breath of life .

Inthe prose Salomonand Saturnwe are also toldthat Adam was created of eight pounds by weight :a pound of earth from whence his flesh ; a poundof fire, whence his red and hot blood ; a pound ofwind , whence his breathing ; a pound of cloud

,

whence hisunsteadiness ofmood a pound of grace ,

whence his stature and growth ; a pound of blossoms, whence the variety of his eyes ; a pound o f

dew, whence hissweat and a pound of salt , whencehis salt tears“.

Vol. i. Parti. p. l.

See the Author’s edition, p. 18l, and thenotes atp. 194 .

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410 THE saxons IN ENGLAND. ( soon: I .

sunand moonand earth will be destroyed , and theash Yggdrasil wither under the flames of Surtr.

Sdi tekr sortna, Black wanes the sun,sigr fold i mar, inwaves the earth shall sink ,hverfa af himniheilSar s

o

tjdrnurgeiser eimr round the tree

viii aldmrira, red fire shall rustle,leikr hat hitiviii himinsjdlfan

But the Gods will be found againinI’Savellithe earth will arise againfrom the ocean the sunthat perished will have left a yet more beauteousdaughter to perform her task the deities w ill remember their ancient power , and the secrets of thegreat god ; the goldentablets will be found inthegrass ; B aldr, the slain

'

god, will arise from the

tomb ; Havdr, that unconsciously slew him, willreturnwith him from the realms of Hel, the goddess of the dead . Viiiarr and Vale , sons, or rathernew births of China ; M ode and M agne, sons of

Thorr , will survive the universal destruction; A llfather’s glorious kingdom will be renewed , and thepower of death and evil vanish for ever.

Ser honuppkoma55m sinni,

j6r‘

5 ormagi

Eina ddtturbcrr A

'

le tSull

dfir hana Fenrir fari ; ere her form doth

Vauluspa, a . 56. ma. a . 57.

Thensees she risea second time

the world from oceanwondrous green.

One brightchild shall

sw arm] HEATHENDOM . CREATION, ETC. 411

ad skal rifle;

pri er regindeyja, thus shall go,

the maidenon

ti ISavelli,

oh um moldpinur doom with powerthe greatdisasters,

mighty judgements,ok afimbultys

former secrets.

parmunueptir

i grasi flnnask,[were i ardagafitter hdt

‘bu

0k Fjolnis kind .

all balemend, and

Baldrmunkoma ; hack come Baldr

blia peir HGISr ok Baldr

inHropter's palace,

shrines of gods

Sal sér honstands. There sees she stand

Gimli’

s hall

said to denote divine splendour. Edd . c . Myth. invoc.

VauluSpa. at. 57, 58, 59, 60.

all togetherfound inthe grassthe goldentablets,which intime past

possessed among themgods thatruledthe race of Odin.

412 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soot I.

par skoludyggvar there the justshalldrrittir byggja, joy for ever,0k um aldrdaga and inpleasureyunisnjote '. pass the ages.

The convictionthat the virtuous would rejoicew ith God ina world of happinesswas of coursenotderi ved by our forefathers merely from their heathendom ; but to this we may unhesitatingly refertheir belief, that after doomsday the sunand moonwould be restored with greater splendour. The

SaxonMenology ’ says very distinctlyAt doomsday , whenour Lord shall renew all

creatures, and all the race of menshall rise again,and never more commit sin, thenwillthe sunshineseven times brighter thanshe now doth , and she

willnever set; and the moonwill shine as the sunnow doth , and never will wane or wax , but standfor ever onhis courses.

” That this belief wasnotunknowninGermany may be argued from anexpressionof Freidank ,

Gothimelund erde hitzergan,untwil derntich einschoenerz han‘.

Dim and fragmentary as these rays of lightmay bewhich straggle to us through the veils of bygoneages, itis impossiblenotto recognize inthem tracesof that primaeval faith which teaches the tsaponsibility of man, the rule of j ust and holy beings

VauluSpai . st. 62. MS . Corp. Christi, No. 179.

See Sd omonand Saturn, p . 177. It may he observed here that

the feminine gender of the sun, and masculine of themoon, have theirorigininour heathenmythology .

Freydanck , Beschied . p. 8 .

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414 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

of Wessex . It is a singular fact that the Anglosaxons alone possess the fine mythus of this herothe Opening divisionor canto of Bedwulf relates ofhim that he was exposed as a child ina ship uponthe ocean a costly treasure accompanied the sleeping infant as he floated to the shores of the Gar

danes, whose king he became after reigning gloriously and founding a race of kings, he died , andwas againsent forth inhis ship , surrounded withtreasures, to go into the unknownworld , fromwhich he came ; he came to found a royal race ‘,and having done so, he departs and nothing moreis knownof him. That this mythus was deeplyfelt inEngland appears from its being referredto evenby the later chroniclers : E ’delweard fi andM almsbury 8 mentionitatlength , and a desire to

‘

Boae God sende whom God sentfolce tofréfre, to the people for their comfort,fyrenbearfe ongeat the evilneed heunderstood‘8a hie rer dragon which they before had suffered

aldorlease. while withouta king.

Boow . l. 26.

his words are : Ipse S'

cef cum nno dromone advectus est iniasulaoceani quae dicitur Scani, armis circumdatus, eratqne valde recena

puer, stah incolis illius terrae ignotus attamenab eis suacipitur, etat

familiarem diligenti animo eum custodierunt, etpost inregem eligunt:de cuius prosapia ordinem trahitAthulf rex.

Malmsbury ( Gest. Reg. ii . 116) adds another peculiarity to the le‘gend, which however he gives to Sceaf, Scyld

’s father ; he says, late,

atferunt, inquandam insulam Germaniae Scandzam, de qua Jordaneshistoriographus Gothorum loquitur, appulsus, navi sine remige, pnerulns, posito ad caput frumenti manipulo, dormieas, ideoque Sceaf nuncupatas, ah hominibus regionis illius pro miraculo exceptns, etsedulonutritus, adulta aetate regaavit inOppido quod tune Slasvic, nunc

nude Angli venerant inBritanniam, inter Saxones etGothos consti

on. xxx.] HEATHENDOM . BEO’WA. 415

engrafta nationalupona biblical traditionnotonlycauses Sceaf to be called by some authors the sonof Shem, but leads to the assertionof the Saxonchronicle that Sceaf was the sonof Noah , bornin

the ark ‘, inobvious allusionto the miraculous ex

posure onthe waters. The mentionof Sesa i byE tielweard may be takenin connectionwith a

Norse traditionthat Skjold was Skanunga gob, agod of the Scanings. AnAnglosaxonriddle intheCodex Exoniensis’ , and of which the answer seemsto me to be only a shield , concludes with the veryremarkable words,

nama minismtére,rapacious among men,

and hdlig sylf. and itself holy .

The second line seemsto exclude the suppositionofthere being any reference to Almighty God , thoughScyld

,like H elm, is one of his names, examples

of which are numerous inall Anglosaxonpoetry .

There are one or two places inEngland which bearthe name of this god or hero : these are Scyldes

treows

, Scyldrnere‘

,and Sceldes heafda5 but ex

cept inthe genealogy of Wessex and the traditionrecorded by E iselweard and Malmsbury, there is

no record of Sceaf.A s inthe poem of Bedwulf, Scyld issaid to have

tute . Wendover ( Flor. H ist.) copies Malmsbury, with the explanationof thename Sceafa, from Sceaf a sheaf of corn; others derived it

from scafan, tradere,“

quia fortuaac commissus.

” Die Stammtafel der

Westsachsen, p . 33 .

Se wzes geboreninsee: earce Noes.

” Chron. Sax . 855.

Co d. Exon. p. 407.

3 Cod . Dipl. No. 436.

Ibid. Nos. 356, 762 .

5 Ibid . No. 721.

416 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [BOOK 1.

a soncalled Beowulf from whom the kings of Sies

w ig are descended , so inthe genealogy of Wessex ,Scyld is followed by Beaw : there is some uncertainty inthe form of the name , but uponcomparisonof all the different versions givenby variouschroniclers, we may conclude that itwasBedwa orDeow , a word equivalent to Beowulf. The originaldivinity of this personis admitted by Grimm,

buthe suffers himself to be misled by some over-skilfulGermanlexicographer who has added B eewolf tothe list of English names for the woodpecker, andwould render Beowulf as a sort of Latin Picus.

I amnot aware that any bird inEngland was evercalled the beewolf, or that there are any superstitions connected with the woodpecker inEngland ,as there are inGermany ; the cuckoo and the

magpie are our birds of augury . WhenGrimmthendeclares himself disposed not to give up thetermination -q f in the name, he has only theauthority of the poem onhis side, indefence of histheory : against wh ich must be placed every otherlist or genealogy ; and itseems to me that theseare strongly confirmed by the occurrence of a placecalled , not Bedwulfes ham, but Beéwanham ‘

, inimmediate connectionwith anothernamed Grendlesmereg. Whatever thename, this hero was lookeduponas the eponymus of various royal races, andthis though the names wh ich have survived are

obviously erroneous”, is distinctive of his real character.

Cod . Dipl. No. 353. Ibid.

Stammtafel derWestsachsen, p. 18 seq.

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418 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

therefore inclined to think that inthis instance, asinso many others, anaccidental resemblance hasbeentoo much relied upon: it is infact quite as

likely ( or evenmore likely) that the historianshouldhave beenindebted to the legend , than that thepoet should have derived hismatter from history .

I t does seem probable that Hygeléc enjoyed a mythical character among the Germans: inthe A lt

deutsche B l‘

atter ofM oriz H aupt we find the following statement , takenfrom a M S . of the tenthcentury . De Getarum rege Huiglaueo mirae

magnitudinis.-Etsunt mirae magnitudinis, ut rex

Huiglaucus, qui imperav itGetis et a Francis oc

cisus est, quem equus a duodecimo anno portarenonpotuit, cuius ossa inB henifluminis insula ,ubiinoccanum prorumpit, reservata sunt etde longinquo venientibus pro miraculo ostenduntur.

”

But Hygelac is not knowninGermany onlyeven inEngland we have traces of him inlocalnames thus Hygelaces geét9 , which , as the namewas never borne by an Anglosaxon,—so far at

least as we know ,- speaks strongly for hismythi

cal character. That the fortunes, under similar

circumstances, of a historical prince , of the samename or notof the samename, should have becomemixed Up with anearlier legend , is by no meansunusual or surprising .

Another hero of the Beowulf cycle is Hnaef theHoeing , whose fate is described ina fine episode 8 ,and is connected with the poem called “ The battle

Book v . part i. p. 10. Cod. Dipl. No . 566.

Deow . l. 2130seq.

on. Jun] HEATHENDOM. WADA . WELAND. 419

of Finnesburh ’ Of him too England has something to tell: I find a place was called Hnaafesscylf

’

,

and further that therewasaHocesbyrgelss

,obviouslynota Christianburial-place , a Hoces ham and a

Hoeing ma'

sd5. But unless resemblances greatly

deceive us, we must admit that this hero was notentirely unknown to the Franks also Charlemagne ’s wife H iltikart, a lady of most nobleblood among the Swaefas or Sueves nobiiissimigeneris Suavorum puella was a near relationof

Kotofrit, duke of the Alamanni s : inher genealogyoccur the names Huocingus and Nebi inimmediate succession, and itseems difficult not to see in

these B oeing andHnaef. If, as has beensuggested ,the Hocings were Chauci or Frisians, their con

nexionwith the Sueves must be of an antiquityalmost transcending the limits of history , and

date from these periods whenthe Frisians wereneighbours of the Swaafasuponthe Elbe, and longbefore these occupied the highlands of Germany,long infact before the appearance of the Franks inGaul, under Chlodio.

Among the heroes of heathentraditionareWada ,

Weland and Eigils. A ll th ree, so celebrated inthe

mythus and eposofScandinavia and Germany, haveleft traces inEngland . Of Wada the Traveller’s

Printed inthe first volume of the author’s editionof Beowulf,

Cod . Dipl. No. 595. Ibid. No. 1267.

Ibid. No. 1142. Ibid. No. 1091.

Thegan. vit. Bludov. Perta, Mon. 11. 590, 591. Eginhart, § 18.

Pertz, Mon. ii . 453 .

2 s 2

420 rue saxossm ENGLAND. [soon1.

Song declares that he ruled theHelsings and evenlater times had to tell of Wade’

s boat9

, inwhichthe exact allusionis unknownto us : the Scandinavianstory makes him wade across the G roena

sund , carrying his sonuponhis shoulder ; perhaps

our traditiongave a different versionof this perilous journey . Thenamesof places which record hisname are notnumerous, but still such are found ,

thus Wadanbeorgas3, Wadanhla

'

aw“. I t is other

wise , however, with his still more celebrated son,Weland , the Wieland of German, Volundr of Norseand Galand of French tradition. Weland is themost famous of smiths, and all good swords are hiswork . InBeowulf, the hero whenabout to engageina perilous adventure , requests that if he falls hiscoat-of-mailmay be sent home, Welandes geweorc,either literally the work ofWeland , or a work so admirable that Weland might have made it5. E lfred

inhis Boetius6 translatesfidelis ossa Fabricii by

Line 44 . See also Cod . Exon. pp. Ettmiiller, Scopes

Chaucer once ortwice refers to this insuch a way as to show that

the expressionwas used inanobscene sense. Old women, he says,“connenso moche craft inWades bole.

” Againof PandarusHe song. heplaied, he told a tale of Wade.

In this there seems to lie some allusionto what anatomists havetermed fossa uavicularis, though what immediate connectiontherecould be with the mythicalWada,now escapesus. Itissufiiciently remarkable thatthe Greeksmade a similar applicationof

of»: ( rd: dtf)’

1311630 ( 1013 al rpayqodiat.

midi» ydp fopi v ”M y m udéw nal 0 x6”.

Aristoph. Lysistr. 137.1'Cod. Dipl. No . 55. Ibid. NO. 18.

Deow. 1. 901seq . Boet. de Cons. n. 7 .

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422 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

the constructor of a wondrous boat , and that theact of the sonmay thus have beentransferred tothe father , Weland

'

s boat to Wade .

Inthe Northerntraditionappears a brother of

Weland , named Eigil or Egil, who is celebrated as

anarcher, and to whom belongs the wide-spreadtale which has almost past into accredited historyinthe case ofWilliamTell this tale givenby SaxoGrammaticus to Toko , by the Jomsv ikinga Sagato Palnatoki , and by other authorities to otherheroes from the twelfth till the very end of the fif

teenth century , but most likely of the very highest antiquity inevery part of Europe , was beyonddoubt anEnglish one also , and is repeated intheballad ofWilliam of Cloudesley : itis therefore probable that it belongs to a much older cycle , andwas as well knownas the legends of Wada andWeland , with which itis sonearly connected . Ei

gil would among the Anglosaxons have borne theform of E gel, and accordingly we find placescompounded with this name,—thusnlesbyrig,

now Aylesbury inBuckinghamshire ; E glesford ,

now Aylsford inKent E gleslona , inWorcester’

;

Z Egleswur’S

, now Aylsworth inNorthamptonshire“;also E gleswyl and lastly Aylestone inLeicestershire.

The Wilk ina Saga and the Scald ’

s Complaintalready cited from the Codex Exoniensis, lead usnext to the legends of Deodric (Dietrich vonBern)and Eormenric , ( Hermanaric,) and through the latter to Sigfried and the other heroes of the Nibe

Cod. Dipl. No. 549 .

3 Ibid. Nos. 591, 423.

on. x11.) HEATHENDOM. DEO'DRI’C. EORMANRI

'

C.

lungencycle . The heroic or evengodlike characterof Dietrich has beenwellmade outby G rimm ‘

, andthe historicalTheodoric the Ost rogoth vanishes inhis traditional representative . The Anglosaxonpoet evidently refers to the latter, not indeed fromthe story he tells, but from the collocationof B eddric among merely mythical personages. Perhaps,as the whole scope of his poem is to relate

'

the mis

fortunes of the great and thus draw consolationforhis own, the thirty years

’ residence inM aeringaburg may be considered as a reference to Deodric’

s

flight from before Otachar9 and long-continuedexile . Ina Saxonmenology

aof great antiquity ,

D. Myth. p. 346.

The Hiltibrants Lied says,

Hiltibranthaetti minfater. ih heittuHadubrant.

fornher ostar gihueit. floh herOtachresnid .

hine mitTheotrihhe. enti sincro degano filu.

sid Detrihhe. darba gistontum.

fateres mines. datunas so friuntlaosman.

For remarks onDeodric’s exile seeW. Grimm, Deutsche Heldenssge,

pp. 22 , 24 , 34, 36, 37, 201, 204 .

MS . 0. C . C. Cantab. No. 179. On“

bone eahtateotianda g tiresmonties byti Sce Johannes tyd files papa .

"j

“83 smartyres, se gedydeburh Godesmyhtblyndum mengesyhtfe . Done Johannes for é fstum[héhtcwellan] Theodoricus sc waas Gotene cyning inRauenna ”

hairs

cesstre ; 1 sum westensetla on511m calonde “

Se i snemned Liparus, hece de sciplifiendum mannum first he gesawa Johannes séwle

"lites papan

lé dan“

Bone cyning be hine ofsloh gebundenne onecum witum. He

cwmfi , se Godes keow, toham sciplitiendum : Girsandzeg onbenigo‘lSantid dreges, first is on

‘

Bone n6n, Peodricus wrcs gelréded ungyrd 1unsceod “

1sec gebundenbe”

5am handum, betweoh Johanne 56m papan1 Finisnum “66m ealdormen, 1hew as fram heom aworpenonbyrnendesea

'

li onbysum neéh-ealande,“1flat isnemned Ulcania . And he sci

plifiende he”Ba t gebyredon, big ymbbydelice smearcodonbone dreg, ‘

j

him “

85 cyrdoneft to Etelwara maig‘

Se, as: big“

Bone cyning i r lyfi

gends forhéton; hig‘

Sé efi hine “

literdeédnegemétton,“

byyiosa dxegelic his wite fiim Godes beéwe wtywed mes. Dretwms swi‘be rihtbset

424 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND [soon1.

the author , after stating the eighteenth of M ay to

be the commemorationof St . John, Pope and Mar

tyr,goes onto say , that ananchoret onLipari told

certainsailors how ata particular time he had seenking Theodoric , ungirt , barefoot , and bound , ledbetweenSt . John and St . Finian, and by themhurled into the burning crater of the neighbouringisland Vulcano . That ontheir returnto Italy thesailors discovered by comparison of dates tha tTheodoric died onthe day onwhich the anchoretnoticed his punishment by the hands of his vic

tims. The author expressly tells itwas Theodoricus, the k ing of the Goths inRevenue ; and he

concludes by saying , That was Theodoricus thek ing whomwe callDeddric ,

” which we canonlynuderstand by supposing him to allude to the mythicalDeodric. .ZElfred seems also to have knownsomething of the mythical Deddric whenhe says

,he

wees Amaling ,”a fact historically true of the Ostro

goth Theodoric , butyetunlikely to have beencontained inE lfred

’

s Latinauthorities. The Traveller’s Song says Deddric weold Froncum,

” Theodoric ruled the Franks, but th is I should rathe runderstand of one of the h istorical Merwingiankings, thanof the Ostrogoth .

The legends of Eormanric were obviously familiar to the Anglosaxons inthe so oftenquoted

he fram tam twam mannum weere sended onfirst éce fyr,dSalic he hér

unrihtlice ofsléh onb isum life. Dartwa'sPeodoricus bone wenemnahDcédric.

”See further illustrations of this strange talc inthe Deutsche

H eldensage, p . 38, where Otto of Freisingenis quoted, but who doesnotgivenearly so many details as the Anglosaxonlegend.

Trav . Song, 1. 47.

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426 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonI .

over the Anglosaxonpoet alone mentions itinconnectionwith Eormanric. This peculiar feature isas little known to the other Germanic nations asthe beautiful legend of Scyld Scéfing, the loves ofGeat and Ma

'

aEhild, the dragon-slaughter of Sigmund , the wars of Hengest and FinnFolcwalding,or thenoble epos of Beowulf itself : unfortunatelywe have no detail as to the circumstances underwhich the necklace of the goddess came into thepossessionof Eormanric.

The Traveller’sSong however has traces ofmanyheroes who are closely connected with the traditional cyclus of Eormanric : among these are Sifeca

( the falseSibich of Germany) and Becca , the B ikk iof the corresponding Norse versions, whom it

makes Chieftainof the Baningas, perhapsthe sonsofmischief ” from B ana . Hama , already named ,and Wudga , the Wittich and Heime of Germany ,occur inthe same poem : so also the terrible Z Etla ,Attila the Hun, the [ Etli of Scandinavia, the Etzelof the Nibelungencycle. Inthe same compositionwe find Gubhere, king of the Burgundians, theNorse Gunnar, and GermanGunther and B agena,probably the Norse Hogni, and Hagenthe murderer of Sigfried . The Traveller’s Song , and theScop ’

s Complaint containno mentionof the greathero oftheNorse and Germanepos, SigurdrFafnisbani, Sigfried , the betrothed of the Sh ieldmay Bryhyldur, the husband of the fairhaired Chriemhilt.A ll the more welcome to us is the episode in

B eowulf, whichnotonly records the tale of S igurdr,though under the name of his father Sigmund , and

on. xu.] HEATHENDOM . snowman 427

makes particular mentionof the dragon-slaughter

( Fafnis-bani) -which isa centralpoint inthe Norsetradition, although hardly noticed atall inthe N ibelungenLied ,—but also refers to the fearful adventures which the Edda relates of the hero andhis kinsmanS infi6t1i (Fitela) which appear totallyunknowninGermany .

Having said thusmuch of the heroic personagesto whom so large a portionof Northernand Germanic traditionis devoted , it becomes possible forme to refer to the great work of James Grimm onGermanM ythology for a demonstrationof the connectionbetweenthese heroes and the gods of ourforefathers. I regret that my ownlimits render itimpossible for me to enter at greater length uponthis part of the subject ; butitrequires a work of

no small dimensions, and devoted to itexclusivelyand it is therefore sufficient to show the identityof our ownheroic story and that of Scandinavia andthe continent , and thus enable the English readerto adapt to his ownnational traditions the conclusions of learned inquirers abroad , with respect totheir own

l I would particularly call attentiontoW. Grimm’

s Deutsche Heldensage, P . Muller’s Sagabibliothek , and J . Grimm’

s Deutsche Mythologie the last, a very storehouse of all that bears uponthis

most interesting and importantsubject, iniportantwhetherwe consideritmerely ina literary pointof view , or inthe far higher one of a reve

lationof thecreed of our forefathers, the sources of theirh0pe and fear,the basis of theirmoral being and directing motive of their actions. If

itbe true that humancanbe withoutinterest for a man, mrelythatwhich tells of the religious belief of our forefathers mustbe of thedeepestand. nearest interest. Ithas had something to do withmaking

428 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

DIVINATION AND WITCHCRAFI‘.—Theattachment of the Germanic races to divinationattracted the notice of Tacitus‘ : he says :

“ Theyare as great observers of auspices and lots as any.

The way they use their lots is simple : they cut

into slips a branch taken from anoak or beech,

and having distinguished them by certainmarks,scatter them at random and as chance wills over awhite cloth . Thenif the inquiry is a public one,the state-priest ,—if a private one, the father of thehouse himself, —having prayed to the gods, andlooking up to heaven, thrice raises each piece , and

interprets them whenraised according to the marksbefore inscribed uponthem. If they turnout unfavourable , there is no further consultation thatday about the same matter : if they are favourable,the authority of omens is still required . Evenherethey are acquainted with a mode of interrogatingthe voices and flight of birds but it is peculiar tothis race to try the presages and admonitions of

horses. These , white incolour and subject to nomortalwork , are fed at the public cost inthe sacredgroves and woods : then being harnessed to thesacred chariot , they are accompanied by the priest ,the king or the prince of the state , who observetheir neighings and snortings. Nor has any au

gury more authority thanthis, not only among thecommonpeople, but eventhe nobles and priestsfor they think themselves the ministers, but thehorses the confidants, of the gods. There is another customary form of auspices, by wh ich they

Germ. x.

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430 ms m ossmv ENGLAND. (noon .

ever we have some record of a divinationinwhichnothorses but a bull played a principal part ; andas bulls were animals sacred to the great goddessNerthus, it isnotunlikely that this was a remnantof ancient hea thendom. St . B enedict onone oc

casionappeared to a fishermannamed Wulfgeat,and desired him to announce to duke E belwme‘,his lord , that it was his the saint

’

swish to have amonastery erected to himself, to the piousmotherof mercy and A llvirgins. The spot was to be wherehe should see a bull stamp with his foot . To usethe words of the saint to the fisherman, Ut ci

igitur haec omnia per ordinem innotescas exhortor,sermonem addens sermoni, quatenus scrutetur diligentius inloco praedicto quomodo noctu fessaterrae sua incumbant animalia, ac ubi tuaram sur

gmtem pede destro videritpercutera terram, ibidem

proculdubio xenodochii sciat se aram erigere debere.

” Obedient to the order, duke E belwine set

out inthe morning to find the spot M ira res, et

miranda , ubi v ir praedictus insulam estingressus,animalia suninmadam crucis, taurum vero

inmedia eorum iaccreprosperit. Etsieut quondamsanoto Clementi agnus pede dextro locum fontis,sic viro isti taurus terram pede percutiendo locum

mensae futuri arcisterii significav itdiv initus St .Clement ’s fountainnever rolled such floods of gold

as found their way to the rich abbey of Ramsey !Other details of heathendom inthe practices of

1The same whom the gratefulmonkshave distinguished bythenameofDei amicus.

Cod. Dipl. No. 581.

on. xxx.] sum mon. wrrcacasrr. 431

ordinary life must be left to the appendix to thischapter ; but a cursory reference may be made towhat appears to show a belief inthe evil eye, andthat practice which inLatinis called invultuatio.

The former of these is mentioned inthe poem of

Beowulf ‘, where H rofigar, warning Beowulf of thefrail tenure of humanlife , adds, eagena bearhtm,

”

the glance of eyes, to the many dangers the warriorhad to fear :

N 6 is dinesmiegnes hlmd Now isthebloomof thy strengthline hwfle,eftsons bib soonwill itbehastBee adl chiie ecg thatsickness or the swordeafoiSes getwaéfeb, shall partthee from thy power,

obi5s fyres feng, or clutch of fire,0155s fiddeswylm, orwave offlood,oboe gripe mecca, or gripe of sword,obbe gates diht, or javelin’

sflight,oiStSe atol yldo,

obbe cagona bearhtm, or glance of eye,

forsitteiSand forsworce‘

li . shall Oppress and darkenthee !

Immltuationis defined by M r. Thorpe inthe following words a Species of witchcraft , the perpstrators of which were called vultivoli , and are thusdescribed by Johnof Salisbury :Qui ad affectushominum immutandos, inmolliori materia, cera fortevel limo, corum quos pervertere nituntur, efligiesexprimunt To this superstitionVirgil alludes

Limusuthie durescit, ethaec utcera liquescit,Uno endemque igni, sicnostro Daphnis amore.

Of the practice of this superstition, both inEngland and Scotland , many instances are to be

Badw. l. 3520. De Nugis Curial. lib . i . cap. 12 .

432 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

metwith among the most remarkable, that of Eleanor Cobham,

duchess of Gloucester , and Stacey ,servant to George duke ofButitseems to include also the practising against

the life of anenemy by means of a waxenor otherfigure , inwhich pins were stuck , or against whicha sharp bolt was shot . I t is against this crime thatthe law of H enry the First enacts“ “ Si quis veneno , vel sortilegio , vel invultuacione, senmaleficioaliquo, faciathomicidium, sive illi paratum sitsivealii, nihil refert, quinfactum mortiferum, etnullomodo redimendum sit:

”and this is perhaps also

intended by the word libla'

cused by Z E’Selstans. Itis also probable that th is was the crime for whichinthe tenth century a widow was put to death bydrowning atLondonB ridge , and her property forfeited to the crown‘ . Anglosaxonhomilies howeveralso mentionphiltres of v arious k inds, which thepeople arewarned against as dangerous and damnable heathendom.

Such are the fragments of a systemwhich atonetime fed the religious yearnings and propped themoral faith of our forefathers,—faint notes from a.

chorus of triumphant j ubilationwhich once rose toheavenfrom every corner of the island .

H ow shallwe characterize it A s a dull and debasing Fetish-worship , worthy of Africansavagesor as a vague and colourless Pantheism, inwhichreligionvanishes away , and philosophy gropes fora basis which itcannot find I th ink not.

Anc. Laws and Inst. vol. 11. Gloss. Ll. Hen. lxxi . l.

3 M ist. i. 6. Cod. Dipl. No. 591.

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434 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soon1.

every secret of creation, may be anearnest puritanical age, a sternprotestant age, one thatwillnotbe fed with imaginative religions, but it cannotbe one of implicit , trusting , fearing , rejoicing, trembling belief : the age of faith ceased where the age

of knowledge began. Manknows too much, perhaps believes too little : he will not, and he mustnot, yield his privilege of calm, determined , obstinate enquiry : he will, and should , j udge for himself, weigh evidence , compare and reason, and decide for himself how much or how little he willreceive as true . How canhe wonder atthe stars,their rising, their setting or their eclipse ? He calculates wherenew planetsmay be found : he weighsthem inhis balances whenfound , and tellsnotonlytheir circumference or their density , but how longthe straggling ray of light that started from themwas onits journey , before itreached the eye of thegazer . What canthese wavering fragments of timeand space he to him who calculates durationby thenutationof suns, or the scarcely appreciable difference ofmillennial changes Letus remember whatour fathers were , and consider what we are. For

them there was indeed a time, a period to tell of,whenthe Sun

Knewnother dwelling, nor the Moonhis power,And the Stars knewnotwhere their place should be !

We know their places, and their dwellings, andtheir power. They are subordinated to a hypothesis of gravitation. For us there isno waveringbridge of the Gods, no . Bifrostor Asbrzi ; our rain

on. Jun] HEATHENDOM . CONCLUSION . 435

bow isa shadowy thing, a belt of deceptive colours,the reflectionof a sunbeam in the multitudinousprisms of a shower-cloud . We have no H ammer,wielded by the Thunder-god , and dreaded by thegiants ; our Mwlner has vanished into the indifference of opposing electricities. Apothecaries’ Hallprepares its simples without the aid of charms, orinvocationof divinities ; and though we stand asyetbut onthe threshold of science, we have closed forever behindusthe portalsofmystery and belief. Forwe are raised uponthe shoulders of the times goneby , and cast a calm and easy view over the countrywhich our forefathers wandered through in fearand trembling . We fearnotwhat they fea red ; wecling not to what they clung to , for relief and comfort ; we have setup our ownidol, theUnderstanding,

fortified by laborious egrperience, taught by repeatedstruggles and v ictories, firmly based onconquered ,catalogued and inventoried nature, onfacts, thesternchildrenof a passionless reality . I know notwhether we have gained or lost inthis inevitablecareer of humanity I have faith only that H e whorules the purpose of the ages, has thus cast our lotinthe infinite love and wisdom of hisownthought .Butnot to us, or inour finite forms of thought ,canthe world be as once itwas, and the dull ca.

talogue of commonthings” admitsno admixture of

a fancied divinity ; nay, so far are we from seekingto instil spirit into matter, that the informing soul

itself ceases to be the object of our contemplation,while we are busied with the nerves and tendons,

2 r 2

436 THE ssxons IN enem a . [noon1.

or charmed with the wonderful combinationof details that form the perfect whole We stand eupreme among the subjects of our knowledge ; and

the marvels of science itself willnow not form the

stock intrade of a second-class conjuror. Observethe manwho threads his way with imperturbable

security and speed through the thoroughfares of

a densely-peopled metropolis : the crowd th rong

about him, yet he yields here , he advances there ,till at length , almost unconsciously , he hasattained

the goal of his desire. He is familiar with the

straight lines and angles that surround him, he

measures his position and stands upright , mistak ing , if indeed he think atall, the inconceivablyrapid calculations of the understanding for acts ofhis ownspontaneous volition. The unaccustomedeye of the child cannot do this ; and he wavers inhis steps and stumbles from point to point , helpless

,but charming inhis helplessness, till practice

brings him power , and he too walks and standsupright among men. So is it with the minds of

meninearly and uninstructed periods, stumblingfrom belief to belief, resting for support uponeverycircumstance of surrounding life

, and unfurnishedwith the elements of scientific reasoning , wh ich , by

assuring certainty , destroy the vague , indefinitebasis of faith , or bring withina narrow and constantly decreasing circle , its v ague and indefiniteobject . We believe the results of Geometry , thetheorems of analytic mathematics

,because we can

nothelp ourselves, cannot escape from the inev ita

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438 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

shall he do, who isnot trained inwatching abstractforms of thought ? Is he more likely to find the

answer inhimself ? Alas, no ! he feels only toosurely that his nature cangive no satisfyingspouse ; that his confined and bounded being isitself full of problems which remainunsolved .

And now letthis state he considered with reference to the early inhabitant of a world , whose secretsare yet undiscovered , and onwhomno light of heavenly radiance has fallen. For him, as forus, thereis no answer either in the phaanomenonor intheobserver : buthe hasno reasonto reject the suppositionof a supernatural influence : everythingthat surrounds him is filled with evidence of super.natural power. He lives innearer communionthanwe do with the world about him : his frame , not

yet clogged and vitiated by the habits of anad

v anced cultivation, is more alive thanours to theexternal effects of natural causes : the world itself,existingunder different conditions of climate , differentelectrical combinations, notyet subdued bythe plough , or the axe of the forester, not yetbridled and trained by the canal, the manufactoryor the railroad , has effluences which act uponthenerv es and fluids of the man, and which seem tohim divine emanations, revelations of the divinitywithinthe lake, the mountainand the tree : thelake , the mountainand the tree he peoples thenwith gods,—with Nymphsand Nereida, with Oreadsand H amadryads- to . whose inward and spiritualactionthe outward owes its power and its form.

‘

on. nun] HEATHENDOM . CONCLUS ION . 439

But the outward and v isible is not a signonly , ofthe inward and spiritual ; it is a symbol, a partof that which itdenotes itis atonce the sower andthe seed .

Inno age canmanbe without the great ideas ofGod , of right , of power , of love, of wisdom ; but anage that has not learnt to feed uponabstractions,must find the realizationof these ideas inthe outward world , and ina few familiar facts of humannature . I t strives to give itself anaccount of itself,and the result of its efforts is a paganism, alwaysearnest and imaginative , oftencruel and capricious,as oftengentle, affectionate and t rusting—for eveninspite of cruelty and caprice , the affections willhave their way, and trust will find a home . Its in

consistence is the offspring notof guilt , butof imperfect knowledge : it seeks the great solutionof

all religious problems, amediator betweenGod and

man: it is its error, but notnecessarily its crime,that itfinds that mediator inthe complex of theworld itself : no other has beenrevealed to it andthe reveries of philosophy thathaunt the soundingPortico or the flowery swathesof v ettns, cannottell of the UnknownGod to the agriculturist ,the huntsmanor the pirate .

I believe intwo religions for my forefathers onethat deals with the domestic life, and normal stateof peace ; that sanctifies the family duties, prescribes the relations of father , wife and child , divides the land , and presides over its boundaries ;that tellsof gods, the givers of fertility and increase,the protectors of the husbandmanand the herds

440 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. noon: 1.

man; that guards the ritual and preserves the liturgy ; that pervades the social state and gives permanence to the natural, original political institutions. I callthisthe sacerdotalfaith , and I willadmitthat to its teachers and professors we may owe thefrequent attempt of later periods to give anabstract ,ph ilosophic meaning to mythus and tradition, andto make dawning science halt after religion.

The second creed I will call the heroic ; inthisI recognize the same gods, transformed into powersof war and victory , crowners of the brave infight ,coercers of the wild might ofnature , conquerors ofthe giants, the fiends and dragons ; founders of

royal families, around whom cluster warlike com

rades, exulting inthe thought that their deitiesstand inimmediate genealogical relationto themselves, and share inthe pursuits and occupationswhich furnish themselvesw ith wealth and dignityand power . Let it be admitted that a completeseparationnever takes place betweenthese differentforms of religion; that a wavering is perceptiblefrom one to the other ; that the warrior believeshis warrior god will bless the produce of his pas

tures ; that the cultivator rejoices inthe heroiclegend ofWodenand of Baldr , because the cultivator is himself a warrior whenthe occasiondemands his services : still, inthe ultimate development and result of the systems, the original distinotionmay be t raced, and to it some of the conclusions we observe must necessarily be referred : itis thus that spells of healing and fruitfulness survive whenthe great gods have vanished , and that

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442 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [soonx.

rest ; butmore must have participated inthatfeeling which is expressed ina Danish song ,

“ I trustmy sword, I trustmy steed,Butmost I trustmyself atneed ‘l"

while to many we may safely apply what issaid of aSwedish prince, hanvarmik it blandinni trunni,

”

he was mightily confused inhis belief. Still it iscertainthat a personal character was attributed tothe gods, as well -as animmediate interventioninthe affairs of life . The actual presence of Opinnfrom time to time onthe battle-field, inthe storm,

inthe domestic privacy of the household , was firmlybelieved , inScandinavia ; and it is reasonable toassume that Wodenwould have beenfound as ao

tive among our Germanprogenitors, had not theearlier introductionof Christianity into TeutonicEurope deprived us of the mythological recordswhich the North supplies. Beda tells us thatEadwini of Northumberland sacrificed and offeredthanks to his gods uponthe birth of a daughter.

Raédwald of Eastanglia, evenafter hisnominal conversion

,continued to pay his offerings to idols,

and the people of Essex , whenlabouring under theravages of a pestilence, abjured the faith of Christand returned to the service of the ancient gods.

But in the personality of God alone resides thepossibility of realizing the religious idea .

Fdrsttroer jeg mitgode sv iird,og m mingode hest,

jeg troermig self allerbedst.

Many examples are giveninGrimm, Mythol. p. 7 .

on. m .) w ranunon. CONCLUS ION . 443

We possess no means of showing how the religionof our ownprogenitors or their brethrenofthe continent , had beenmodified , purified , andadapted inthe course of centuries to a more advenced state of civilization, or the altered demandsof a higher moralnature ; but , at the commencementof the sixth century we do find the pregnantfact, that Christianity met but little resistanceamong them, and enjoyed aneasy triumph , or atthe worst a carelessacquiescence , evenamong thosewhose pagansympathies could notbe totally overcome . Two suppositions, indeed , canalone explainthe facile apostasy to or from Christianity, whichmarked the career of the earliestconverts. Eitherfrom a convictionof the ineflicacy of heathendomhad proceeded a general indifference to religioussanctions, which does not appear to answer otherconditions of the problem, or the moral demandsof the new faith did notseem to the Saxonsmoreonerous thanthose to which they were accustomedfor itis the amount of self-sacrifice which a religionsuccessfully imposes uponits votaries, which canalone form a measure of its influence . The factthat a god had perished , could sound strangely inthe ears of no worshiper of Baldr the greatmessage of consolation, - that he had perished to savesinful, suffering mam—justified the ways of God ,

and added anawful meaning to the old mythus.

Anearnest , think ing pagan, would , I must believe ,joyfully accept a versionof his owncreed , whichoffered so inestimable a boon, inadditionto whathe had heretofore possessed . The final destruction

444 THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. [noon1.

of the earth by fire could present no difliculties tothose who had heard of Surtr and the Twilight ofthe Gods, or of A llfather

’

s glorious kingdom,raised

onthe ruinof the intermediate divinities. A stateof happiness or punishment ina life to come wasno novelty to him who had Shuddered atthe ideaof N astrond : Loki or Grendel had smoothed theway for Satan. Those who had believed inrunesand incantations were satisfied with the efficacy of

the mass ; a crowd of saints might be invoked inplace of a crowd of subordinate divinities the holyplaces had lost none of their sanctity ; the holybuildings had not beenlevelled with the ground ,butdedicated inanothername ; the pagansacrificeshad notbeentotally abolished , but only convertedinto festal occasions, where the new Christiansmight eatand drink , and continue to praise GodHré

’lSe and Eostre, Wciden, Tiw and Fricge, B uhor

and Saetere retained their places inthe calendar ofmonths and days : Erce was still invoked inspells,Wyrd still wove the web of destiny ; and whileWodenretained his place at the head of the royalgenealogies, the h ighest offices of the Christianchurch were ofl

'

ered to compensate the noble classfor the loss of their old sacerdotal functions. How

should Christianity fail to obtainaccess where Pa

ganism stepped half way to meet it, and itcouldhold out so many outward points of unionto pa~ganism ?We darenotquestionthe decreesof omnipotence ,

or enquire into the mysterious operations of omniscient God ; itisnot for us to measure his infinite

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AP PEN D IX A .

MARKS .

Tm : following patronymicalnames I beliem to be those of ancientMarks. The first portionof them is derived from the Codex

containsnames inferred from the actual localnames inEngland at

VOL . I .

Cod . Dipl. No. 111.

314 .

445.

785.

1073.

38 .

994 .

81.

152 .

207 .

314 .

1000.

410.

436 .

447 .

450 APPENDIX A .

Bydelingas. N orthamptonshire.

Brdmleégingas.

Sussex .

Cnyllingas. N orthamptonshire.

Kent.

Sussex .

Doccingas.

Cod .Dipl.N o. 445.

4 75.

1175.

518 .

Chron.

N o . 569.

570.

657 .

663.

698 .

782 .

907 .

916.

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452 APPENDIX A .

Cod. Dipl.

Sussex .

Herelingas.

N orfolk .

Homingas.Norfolk .

Lmllingas.

Kent.

THE MARK .

Suffolk . Cod . Dipl. No. 907 .

Kent.

453

Wealthé mingas.

Wylfingas.

APPENDIX A.

Sussex .

H ampshire. Cod .Dipl.No. 342.

399.

399 .

410.

716 .

1016. 1061.

Chron. Sax . 1013 .

Hampshire. Cod.Dipl.No. 422 .

462

1069 . 1154 .

Sussex . 464 .

481.

492 .

Suffolk . 685.

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456 APPENDIX A .

Worcestershire. Cod .

Kent.

Moseten.

Wreocensetan.

MARKS INFERRED FROM LOCAL NAMES INENGLAND.

Abinger,Surr. ; Abinghall,Glouc °Abington,Cmu6.

Accrington, Lanc. ; Eakring, N otto.

Acklington, N tldd .

ton, Kentand Wore.

Aldringham, Suf i ; 11111a SW .

Alkrington, Lane.

Alphington, Devon; Alvington, Glow: Somm .

Alpington. N orf

Antingham, N aif .

zEfingas.

Baebingas.

Baflngas.

Arlingham, Glow . Arlington, Devon, Close. and

Armingford, Camb. ; Arminghall, N erf .

Arthington, York ; Arthingworth , M amp .

Athr'

mgtcn, Devonand Suam.

Barling, Essex ; Barlings, Linc.

Barming, Kent; Birmingham, Warw .

Barningham, W , York . and N orf .

Harrington, Camb., Somera. , B erlm, Glow .

Basing, Hunts ; Basingstoke, ibid .

Bealings, Sufi:

APPENDIX a .

Beddingham, Sum . Beddington, Surr. Beding

Berrington, Drain, Gla m , Salop , Wore.

Billing, N bawp . ; B illings, Lane Billingford,

B illingley, York ; Billingsgate, Mdd: Bil

ley, Salop ; B illington, B ed/1, Stay ; Lane.

B ing, S im; Bingfield, N lhld . ; BinghamJV/lamp

Bitterhlg, N orf .

Blatchington, Snow Blatchinworth, Lane.

Bleddington, Glov e.

Bletchingley, S ana ; Blatchington, Oaf .

Book ing, Essex, aw.

Beddington, Gleam , l amp .

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APPENDIX A .

Carrington, Check , Linc N ola ; Charing, Kent

Cassington, Oagf.

Chalvington, Sua Kilvington, Yark .

Cheddington, Bucks, Dora.

Chellington, B aal/2 ; Chillingford, Stqfll ; Chillingham, NMld . ; Chillington, Deeon, Samara ;

Chev ington, Sufi , N tidal.

Chiddingfold, Sana ; Chiddingly, Snow

Chiltington, Sm .

Chipping, H arts, Lane Glow B erks

Kettering, Nhamp . ; Ketteringham, N orf .

Climping, S amar.

Cofingas.

THE MARK . 459

Coddington, Cha in, H erqfl, N ous ; Coddenham,

Suf i

Collingbourne, Wilts; Collingham, N ona, Yark ;

Cottingham, N llamp ., York . Cottingley, York

Cullingworth, York .

Culmington, Salop ; Kilmington, Devon, Samara.

holm, Linen; Killingwoi'th,mm .

Docingas.

Dylingas.

APPENDIX A .

Dalling, N or/1; Dallinghoo, Sulfa ; Dallington,W . , Suear.

Deningham, N erf . Dorsington, Glove"Wane.

Didling, Sw ear. Didlington, Dora , N orf .

Dinnington, N thld . , W . , York .

Dinting, Derby .

Distington, Cumb.

Ditchling, S im .

Doddinghurst, Essex ; Doddington, Combo CM ,

Kent, Lina , N tlcld . , N hamp . ; Doddingtree,

Donington, Lina , Leic Salop ; Donningtzon,B er/m , Glouc" H ere/i, Leia , S alop , Sum .

Dorrington, L inc , Salop .

Dullingham, Camb.

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464 APPENDIX A .

Faldingworth, Lina ; Fawdington, York .

Farlington, H ants, York .

Parningham, K ent.

Fitling, York .

Fobbing, Essex .

Framingham, N erf ; Fremington, Devon,

Fring, N erf ; Fringford, 015f.

Fylingdales, York. ; Fylingthorpe, York .

Garlingas.

Garsington, Grassington, York . ; Gressingham, Lana ; Gressenhall, N erf .

Yalding, Kent; Yielding, B edj .

Gip'

mSaS

Goldingas.

Gofiringas.

Haningas.

Hearing”

THE MARK . 465

Yettington, Devon.

Gilling, York . ; Gillingham, Dom , Kent, N erf ;

Yelling, Hunt.Gim

'

mgham, N erf ; Gimmingbrook, Kent.

Yetlington, N thld .

ton, Bedj i, Bucks.

H ackington, Keat.

H allingbury, Essex ; H allington,Hanningfield,Essex ; Hannington, Hants,N kamp . ,

Hardingham, Norfi ; Hardington, Semen. Hard

ingstone, N kamp . ; H arden, York Harden

Hearingas.

Heortlingas.

H corfingas.

H acslingas.

H aeferingas.

Hafocingas.

H seglingas.

Hwifodingas.

Hemingas.

H eorringas.

APPENDIX A .

Harling, N erf . Harlington, B erlfl, M aids "York .

Harrington, Cumb., Lima , N bawp . ; Harring

worth, ZWtamp .

Hurting, Susan; Hartington, Derby N tkld . ;

Hartlington, York .

Harvington, Were.

H aslingden, Lane ; Haslingfield, Comb Heeling

Hassingham, N erf .

Hastings,W . ,B erke,Warm ,M ama ; Hastingleyt, Kent; H astingwood, Essex .

H awling, Glouc. Hayling, H ome.

Headingley, York . ; Headington, Orf . ; Hedding

Healing, Linc.

Ileckingham, N erf. Heckington, Linc.

ington, Drkm. , L inc.

Hellinghill, N ew. Hellingly, Sussh'.H elmingham, Sufi . Helmington, Drkm.

Helprington, Linc.

Hemblington, N or-fl; Hemlingford,Wane. Hem

lingtou, York . , Drkm.

mingfield, York Hemingford, Hunt He

mingstone, Sufi: Hemington, N kamp . , Sewers.

Hensingham, Cumb. Hensington, Off .

H erring, Dorm ; Herringfleet,

Herringthorpe, York Herringtcn, Drkm.

Hevingham, N aif .

H ickling, N or/1, N otls.

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468

Loningas.

APPENDIX A .

Irthington, Cumb.

Itchingswell, H ana ; Itchington, Giana , Wane.

ton; Gleam, N thld .

Leavington, Yark ; Levington, Sufi .

Leppington, Yerk .

Letheringham, Suf i ; Letheringsett, N eff.

Lexington, N ettc.

Linings, Yark ; Limngstone, Bucks ; Lillington,

Lingfield, sum ; Lingnam, em» LingweIl

Loddington, Kent, Leia , N ’mmp .

Lofingas.

Mellingas.

Mollingas.

Ne cingas'.

THE MARK . 469

Luddington, Lina , Warm , Hunt"N lump .

Lullingfield, Salop . ; Lullingstane, Kent; Lnllingstone, Kent Lullington, Derb. , Semm ., Sue“ .

Manningford, Wilts ; Manningham, Yer/a ; Man

nington, Dora , N or Manningtree, Essex ;

Marchington, Stafil ; Markington, Yark ; Mark

Marrington, Salep . ; Mering, N ette Merrington,

Musingham, N erf . Messing, Em ;

ham, L inc.

Meeching, SW .

Melling, Lane .

Metheringbam, Linc.

Minting, Linc.

Mollington, Cheek , Ozj l, Warw .

Mottingham, Kent.

N ackington, Kent; N edging, SM .

Needingworth, Hunt.

1 Thesem y properly have commenced with anH , thusfleecing“ , Hnat.

lingua. Similarly Hnnucillingu,now Nuulnlling or Naming inHum.

470 APPENDIX A .

S ana , M ddz .

Nottingas'. Netting, B erlf. Nottington, Dore. N ottingham,

N erf , N thld ., York .

Pmocingas. Packington, Derb Leic Stay ; Warm ; Patch

Paetingas. Pattingham, Salop . , Stop’

.

Pilcingas. Pilkington, Lane.

Seenote inp. 469.

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472 APPENDIX A .

Boddington, SalepBollington, Dors.

Rottington, S alep .

Rottingdean, Sussz . Cumb.

Ruskington, Linc.

Saddington. Leic.

Salvington, Sum .

Scaling-dam, Yor} .

Beaming, N erf .

Scarrington,N etts ; Sharrington, Nerf . Sheeting,Essex ; Sheringford, N erf ; Sherringham,N erf . ;

Sherrington, Bucks, Wilts.

Scrégingas.

Screadingas. Scredington, Linc.

Kent.

Seenote inthe preceding page.

Scylfingns.

Scytlingas.

Sprydlingas.

THE MARK .

Shavington, Ckesk Shevington, Lanefington, Leic.

C.

473

Skef

thorpe, Lina ; Shillington, Bed/i ;thorpe, Linen; Skillington, Linc.

Shilvington, Dors., NMid .

Shitlington, B ed/1, N thli ,

Shurdington, Gloue.

Shuttington, Wane.

Silvington, Salop .

Sh h iflgton, Yerk .

Sittingboume, Kent.

Skeflling, York.

Snoring, N erf .

Sompting, Sum .

ningwcll, B erks.

Spirringate, Gloue.

Spridlington, H ue.

Berks Sun

Stalling-bnsk , York . ; Stallingborougb, Lima ;

Stallington, Stay:

Sté ningns.

Stebbingas.

Teorringas.

Tmtingas.

Beddingas.

APPENDIX A.

uingley, York . ; Stmningten, N tlcld . ,York

Starling, Lane.

Steeping, Lina ; Steppingley, B ed] .

York Stillington, Drlm ., Yerk .

Streilington, Sum .

Swannington, Leia , N erf .

Worm ; Tiddington, Oxj i , Warw .

N or/Z , Yerk . ; Tonington, Devem, Linc.

Thanington, Kent.

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m lingas

APPENDIX A .

Walkcringham, N otts.

Wallingwells, N etts? ; Wellingboro'

, N kamp

Waplington, York .

Wamingcamp, Sum .

N icamp .

Worthing, Sussx .

Washington, Derby Dar/u, Sussa' Wasing,B erks ; Wessington, Derby .

1A: thewhole of thesenamesmightcommence wi th anH ,weshould havethe following forms: Hwa plingas, m ppingns, c nrflingn, Hm tlingns,Hwelpingu, Hwerringu, HweOpingn, Hwitlingas, l tcringu, Hwitingu.

Weedingas‘.

Wiceingas.

Winingas.

Wocingas.

Weorcingas.

Wyrmingas.

Watlington, N erf . Oxf .

Wellington, H ere/ I, Salep Somers. , Wilts.

Wittering, Sussx . Wetheringsett, SM . Wither

Westington, Gleue.

Whittingham, Lana , N tkld . Whittington,B erk ,

Gleam, Lane , N erf ., Salep . , S laj i , Warm ,

ham, Comb Lina , Sufi ; Willington, B eef/i ,Clank , Derb., Drkm. , N tkld . , Warw.

Winteringham, Line , Yerk .

Wiesington, Salop ., SufiWitchingham, N erf .

Witchling, Kent; Wychling, Kent.

Waking, Surr. ; Wokingham, B erks, Wilts.

Workington, Cumb.

Wormingford, Essex ; Worminghall, Bucks; Wor

mingtou, Glouc.

See note inthe precedingpage.

478 APPENDIX A.

Worthington,

Wratting, Camb. , Suj'

.

The totalnumber of the names thus assumed from local deno

minations amounts to 627, but as several occur once only, whileothers are found repeated invarious counties, I find the wholenumber reaches to 1329, which are distributed through the conh o

ties ina very strildng manner, as the follow ing table will show .

Monmouth .

Northumberland

Cumberland

Somerset.

Southampton

Sussex

Huntingdon. Warwick

Westmoreluud

Wilts.

Leicester. Worcester.

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480 APPENDIX A .

difficulty ina voyage from the Elbe or Skaget Back to Englandand the conquest of the Orkneys and Hebrides, of the south of

Ireland and Man, nay of large tracts of England by the Scandinavinna inthe ninth, tenth and following centuries, may supplythemeans of judging how similar adventures were conducted by

populations of the same race, and asnoble spirit,nine hundred or

a thousand years before.

The following additionsmay be made to the evidences giveninthis chapter.A mar/red lindenor lime-tree isnoticed inCod . Dipl. N o. 1317 .

AgaininKentwe hear of earnes beam, the eagle’s tree, ibid .

No. 287 : itismore probable thatthis was a treemarkedwith thefigure of aneagle, thanthat a real bird of that species shouldhave beenmeant. Further inthe boundary of the charter No.

393 we have, onthinmerkeden6k, to the marked oak .

The sacred woods are againmentioned by Tacitus, Annal. i. 59,where he tells us thatArminius hung up the captured Roman

ensigns to the gods of the country, inthe woods, ( act'

s : we hangthem up incathedrals. See also Tac. Germ. vii . Anna] . iv .

22.

The character of the Mark or March is very evidentinthe fol

lowing passage : Siquidem inLindeseia superiori extatprioratns

qui Marchby dicitur, longas ac lataspasturas pro gregibus alendisinhabitans, nonomnino privato iure, sed communem cum com

patriotis libertatem ex dono patronorum participans,”etc. Chron.

Lanerc. an. 1289. See also the quotations from the Indiculus

Pagan. and Synod . Leptin. an. 742, inMoser, Osnab. i. 52, and

thewhole of his twenty-ninth chapter, for the religious rites withwhich boundaries were dedicated, especially vol. i. p . 58, note 0.

It is more thanone could now undertake to do, withoutsuchlocal cooperationas isnotto be expected inEngland as yet, butI

am certainthatthe ancientMarks mightstill be traced . Inlook

ing over a good county map we are surprised by seeing the systematic successionof place s ending in-deu, -holt, -wood, -hurst,-fald, and otherwordswhich invariably denoteforests and outlying

pastures inthe woods. These are all intice M ark, and within

THE MARK . 481

themwemay trace with equalcerta inty, the h ams, ottina, -worfiigs

and -stedes which imply settled habitations. There are few coun

ties which are notthusdistributed into districts, whose limits maybe assigned by the observationof these peculiar characteristics.

I will lay this downas a nda thflthe ancientMark isto be recog

nised by following the names of places ending in-den

sw ine. Denu, a valley a British and notSaxonword, is

very rarely, perhaps never, found incomposition. The actual

surface of the island, wherever the Opportunity has beengivenof

remarkable facts bearing uponthis subject, which are only to be

gotatby those who are fortunate enough to have free access to

manorialrecords, before the actof Charles I I . destroyed allfeudal

services inEngland . A striking example of themark -jurisdictionis the “ Courtof Dena,

”inKent. This appears to have beena

mark-court, inthe sense inwhich mark-court is used throughoutthis second chapter, and which gradually became a lord

’

s court,only whenthe head markmansucceeded inraising himself attheexpense of his fellows: a court of the littlemarks, marches, or

pastures inKent, long afier themeaning of such marks ormarcheshad beenforgotten: a courtwhich inearlier timesmetto regulatethe rightsof themarkmeninthe densor pastures. I am indebted

Rev . L . Larking of Ryarsh for the following extracts from Sir

Roger Twisden’

s journal, which throw some lightuponwhat thecourt had become inthe middle of the seventeenth century, butstill show its existence, and lead ns to a knowledge of its ancient

form.

grounded inthe struggles betweenthe duties and privileges of

various classes, how entirely thenational right has beenmadeupand settled by the conflict of private rights, how impossible itwas for theunionof empire and freedom to exist—or for impe

rium and freedom to cc-exist, without the battle inwhich the

several autocracies measured their forces and discovered the justVOL . 1. 2 r

482 APPEND IX A.

terms of compromise—will value this record of the reluctance

with which a staunch country squire submitted to the duties of

his position. It is not only amusing, but instructive, to watch

thesemenof the seventeenth century, fighting onthe minutest

groundsofsquabble : very amusing, to those who take the worldas it is, to have beenalways as it is, and liltely always so to re

very instructive to those who know themiserable condition

from which such squabbles” have raisedus. There are people,who having no sense of right, buta profound sense of the wrongdone them, raise barricades, and overturndynasties inmoments of

irrepressible and pardonable excitement: there are people onthe

other hand who steadily and coollymeasure rightand wrong, whotake to the law-book rather thanthe sword, who argue the questionof ship-money, onwhich a system of governmentdepends, ascalmly as if itwere a questionof poor-rates ina parish attorney’shands, and having broughttheir right, the ancient right of the

land, into light, fall back into the orderly frame of society inwhich they lived before, as if no years of desperate struggle hadintervened,—the law being vindicated, and the work of the work

mendone. This work without distinctionof Parliamentarianor

of more general note andname, butnotmore claim to our gratitude and respect. Butto do this, required thatstudy which un

sary to their education, the study of the law, of which they arethe guardians, though a professional class may be its ministersand mostamusing now itis to see how zealously these old cham

pions of the law did battle inits defence, eveninthe mostminute

and now unimportantdetails. It was thena happy thing foEngland thatthere were courts of Dena, and squires who did nolike them : it is now anadmirable thing for England that thenare courts of all sorts and descriptions, and people who do not

like them, who are constantly trying their right against themconstantly winning and losing at the great game of law , or per

haps the greater game, of the forms under which law is administored—litigious people—people liking to argue the right am

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484 APPENDIX A .

Henhurst.

Rollenden.

Speldhurst.

Cowfold, Suam .

Itisnot likely that allmightbe greatly increased, were ever reduced under one judicialunity ; but, evenwith the aid of Sussex, I have beenable tomentiononly twenty-five dens, and we know that at least thirty »tw o,

The entries inTwisden’s Journal are to the following efi'

ect

“ 18th September 1655. I was at Aldyngton Court, at thechusing the officers to gather the Lord’

s Rent, where grew a

vice, to the Court, we were subject to the slavery of attendance,

THE MARK . 485

and whither the Tenants could prescribe men, 814! &c &c., or

impose anofficeuponthem,—and itwas the whole resolutionof

the Court, the Lord might sell his quib rents and all manner of

attendance onthe Court, and thenhe could not be tyed to anyoffice, nor the Tenants impose any officeuponhim

“ The l6th September 1656, I went to AldyngtouCourt, butcametoo late, there beeing layd onme the oflice forcollecting the32 Deuns, formy land inthem. I desired to know whatland itwas. inthe 32 Densuponwhich the office was laid, butthis Icould notlearn” . . the issue was, that if they canname the land

or descry it, I am to do it, - ifnot, I refused to gather it.1658. I was atAldyntonCourt again, and thenthere was

much stir about this land which could not bee found . I still

insisted the Deune of Plevyndenheld of Wye, thatthe 160. 2d .

06 . I payd was forlightmoney intime past. The Conclusionwas,They will distrainme if they canfind the land, and thencome toa trial intheir Courtwhich is held atSmethe.

1659. I was at AldingtonCourt, where I came before the

Steward sate, yet were they thenchusing for the 32 Denna, andM r. Short brought me a note for chusing Mr. JohnMaynard,Serg‘ atLaw . . he was not chosenafter the ancient custom of

the Court, that is, to presenttwo to the Steward, and he to take

one. The tenants of the 12 Denns pretended if itwere some

time a Custom ithad beenlong interrupted, and refused to followthe example of the 32 . after dinner, this grew a greatdispute,Mr. Shortcomplaining of partiality, that the choice of one man

was received for the 12 and notfor the 32 Dennes. This drewonthe manner of chusing of the 32 Dennes, which was, thattheyusually metat 9 o

’

clock long before the Steward himself couldreach the Court, made choice of one man before there was a

Court. This broughtforth anexcellent order, that the Dennashould chuse and present the

'

personby them chosenafter the

manner the other Culets did . . Coming away, the Bailiff toldme he had a writto distreynme for the rentof the 32 Denns. I

told him I had no land held of it that I knew . . Sir Edward

Svdnam, Lord of the Manor, and who is to answer the rents to

486 APPENDIX A.

the Exchequer, told me I would be distreyned for it,—my answerwas, I wasnotwilling tomakemy land chargeablewith a bnrthen

more thanmy ancestors had paid -that there was a Court of

Survey to be kept inthe Spring—that if I could not thendis‘

charge myself of having land, held of the 32 Denna, I would and

mustpay it.”

“ AldingtonCourt. 1664 . S' JohnMaynard Serg‘ atLaw was

chosento the Great Office though it were affirmed, he beingKings Serg‘ would procure a discharge. The order before men

tioned of 6s. 8d . for such Culets as received from the Steward a

transcript of whatthey were to collect, and 103 . for the Great

Ofiice was atthis Courtwillingly assented to .

This determined refusal of a Markgraviatinthe Mark of Kent

is

notmake quite so much difficulty aboutBrandenburg, BadenorAncona . How the dispute ended I do not know, but the rightwasnotinquestion all thatSir Roger doubted was its applica

bility to himself. Still thenature of the jurisdictionseems clear

enough, and the transitionof anold Mark Court into a Lord's

Court, with a steward, is obvious from the custom of the Tenantschusing before the Steward himself could reach theCourt the

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488 APPENDIX B .

120, because it is probable that such instances may have led to

that calculation: butitisnecessary to bear inmind thatthe H idis exclusively arable land, and thatinthe case where thenumberof hides equalled the whole acreage, there could have beenneitherforest, normeadow nor pasture. Thenotes onsome of the entries

will show how erroneous any such calculationwould necessarilybe. And lestthis assertionthatthe hid is exclusive ofunbroken

land should appearunsupported, I wish the following data to beconsidered . Butfirstwe mustsee how the hid is distributed into

its componentparts. InDomesday the hid consists of fouryardlands, virga or virgata : and the virga of four farthingsor fatlings,ferlingus, ferlinus, ferdinus, fertinus : thus

4

16 fertin. =-4 virg.= 1hide,

whatevermay have beenthenumberof acres inthe ferling . AgaininDomesday, the amount of anestate held by any one is given,together with the amount of wood, meadow and pasture inhis

hands. If these be included inthe amountof thehid, or itsparts,which the tenant held, we shall arrive atthe following results ;which ( evenfor a moment taking the hid at 120 acres) are a

series of reductiones ad abw rdum. Inthe Exeter Domesday ,fol. 205b ( vol. iii. 187) I find anestate valued at11acres : the

pasture etc. mentioned as belonging to it is counted at20 acres :

these, itis clear, couldnotbe comprised inthe eleven. Butletus

take a few examples tabularly .

Atleast.

210. vol. iii. 191. hide. 93 acres

211. 191. vir

g.

211, h. 191. renal, h . )

192 . ( fi le

192. l hide.

l

196 . 1

197 . 1198 . l

204 . 1ferl.

THE HI'

D. 489

Now it is particularly necessary to bear inmind thatthese ridi

culous amounts are the minimum ; thatinevery case the arable

land remains to be added to them, and insome caseswhole squaremiles of forest and moorland. I conclude thenthat the wood,meadow and pasture were not included inthe hid or arable, but

were appurtenantto it. Sometimes indeed they bear a very small

proportionto the arable, and to the number of cattle owned—a

fact perhaps to be explained by the existence of extensive com

mons.

Letusnow endeavour to settle the amount, as well as the pro

portions of the bid and its several parts. A s I have said the liidconsisted of four virgates, the v irgate of four ferliugs‘. I do not

give examples, because they may be found inevery other entry inDomesday ; but I may add that the gyld or tax payable to the

king from the land, is based uponprecisely the same calculationthe bid paid 6 shillings ( worth now about18s. the virgate1s. 6d ., and the ferling ‘

f or 4M . Thus (Exon. D. f. 80, 80, b.

vol. iii . p . inthe hundred of Meleborne, the king had£ l8 183 . as geld from 63 hides and l ferling of land :

now 63x 6s. 7 3780.

1 00. 41d. 3783 . 41d. or 181. 18s. Md.

Again( fol. 80, b.m p . the king had £ 9 103 .W . for 31h .

3 v . 5ferl.

i . e. 31x 63 . - 186a.

3X ll . M . 41. 6d.

{X 190m or91. 10s. Bid.

inwhich passage, ferlingus isused for the coinaswellas themeasure of land . Againinfol. 81, b . ( vol. iii. p. 74) the geld for60 h . 3 v . 15ferl. was £ 18 50. 04W. unum obolum et unum

i s C. 60 X 6" 3 360‘

3 x 1‘ a 6do a M .

3651. 03d . or181. 53 .

Orto testitanother way ; the hid==16 ferlings, 60h .3v . 1§ ferl.

Promfeower, four. Pearling or Fearbc‘

ng are similar formations, and dcnote a foprth, or far

-thing inmoney or land : also incorn( a quarterof corn) ,and inthe wards of a city. Ellis, Introd . p. 1. note.

490 APPENDIX B .

973} ferl. Butthe ferl. paid 451. 973i ferl. paid 438031.

which givesus the same value 181. 53 . 03d .

N ow if we canobtainthe value of any one of these denominations, we cancalculate all the restwith security . The value of the

virga or yardland we canobtain: itconsisted of tenN ormanagri,acres or acres, perhaps eightor eight and a third Saxon.

Inthe Exeter Domesday, fol. 4 8 . ( vol. iii . p . 42) we find ten

hydes of land to be made up of the following parcels, 4 hides+ 1virg.+ 10 agri+5§ hides agri

then10 h.= 9§ h.+1v.+10 a.

or 10—91h .=-1v .+10 a.

or v .+10 a.

i b = 2 m

2 v.=

2 - 1v.= 10 a. 1virga==10 agri.

l hyd = 4 virg. = 16 ferling.

l hyd==40 acrcs= 33i Saxon.1terl. 21acres: 211, Saxon.

Itwillnow beseenwhy I havegivena columninwhich thewholeacreage was measured by a calculationof forty acres to the hid .

Thatthis resultis a near approximationto the truth appearsfrom

where arable land bore a very small proportionto the markland,

forestand pasture,) there are a greatnumber of estates, valued atone ager or acre. These are generally said to pay geld for half aferling. Thus inTreuum inet, one ager paid geld forhalf a ferling

': so inPenquaro9, inTrelemar’, inLandmatin‘, inChilon

goret’, inRosletfi, inPeugelli’, inTelbricga inKarsalaii i’, inDimelhesc ‘o

; and similarly 111Widewot, two agri paid geld forone ferling“. Now throughoutDomesday there are innumerableexamples of land being rated at less thanits real value, or even

Exon. D. f. 227. vol. iii. 206. lbid. f. 233. vol. iii. 212 .

lbid. f. 234 . vol. iii. 213. lbid. f. 235. v01. iii. 21-1.

Ibid. f. 236. vol. iii. 216. ibid. f. 239, b. vol. iii.

7 Ibid. 246. vol. iii. 9 lbid. f. 245, b. vol. iii . 225.

lbid. f. 253, b. vol. iii. 233. lbid. f. 254, b. vol. iii. 234.

lbid. f. 254 , b. vol. iii. 234 .

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492 APPENDIX B .

are equivalent terms appears from their being used interchangeably ia various entriesof Domesday. N or is there any good rea

sonto suppose thatthe N ormansmade any violentchange inth e

more convenientsubdivisions of the larger sums. They did justthe same thing inrespectto the Saxonmoney. Beaides, as itwas

from the Saxons thatthey derived the informationwhich the Survey contains, itis reasonable to believe thatthe Saxonvaluesweregenerally adopted, atleastas far as the hid was concerned . The

minute subdivisionof land consequentuponthe Conquestprobablyrendered itnecessary to pay especial attentionto the smallerunits,and I canconceive nothing more likely thana slight change inthe value of the acre, while the hid and virgate remained unaltered . Thenwhere anestate comprised only one Saxonacre, itmightreadily be considered equal to half a ferling, or 1} N ormanmea»

sure, for itwould have beendifficult and complicated to express

itinother terms. Infactwhere small fractional parcels of land

were to be subtracted, the Commissioners were generally glad to

avoid details, and enter “ A . has so much indemesne, and the

Villani have aliam terram, the restqf the load .

”If the Saxon

ager paid for half a ferling inthe time of the Confessor, itwaslikely to be takenat thatvalue inthe Survey ; for the law, qua :

de minimisnoncarat, could hardly notice so trifling a deviation.

The approximate value of the Saxonacre, however, I have given;itwas one day’s work for a plough and oxen, inotherwords very

Thatthe value of the hide became gradually indistinct, whenreckonings ceased to be made init, and the calculationwas takenuponknights

’

fees, is very intelligible. We consequently findsurprising variations inthe amountof hides counted to a knight’8fee, as well as the acres contained inthis lastmeasure. Inthe

time of Edward theThird itwas computed thattherewereknight’s fees inEngland, which taking the present acreage of

gives rathermore than527 acresto a fee : hencethosewho believed a hide to contain100 acres, calculated five hides to

a knight’s fee, inaccordance with the Saxonlaw which made that

THE H i’

D. 493

amountthemirflnum of a thane’s estate, and also to the entries

inDomesday, from which it appeared that one miles went from

five hides: buthere itwas overlooked thatthe hide was exclusivelyarable land . To such erroneous modes of calculationwe owe

such entries as the following :

tuorvirgatae faciunthydam, quatuorhydne faciuntuuum feodum.

MS . Harl. 464 . fol. 17, b .

where 1fardel 10 acres.

4 farda1s= 40 acres= l virgate.

lfi fardels= 160 acrea= 4 virgatea= l hide.

64 fardels= 640 acres a lti virgates=4 hidcs= 1lmight

’

s fee.

Quinque feoda fuerunt antiquitus una baronia ; et quinquehydneunum feodum ; etquinque virgates terrae una hyds, quaelibetvirgata de viginti acris.

”

l virgate 2oam

5 virgatea= 100 acres== l hide.

25 virgatesa 500 screen 5 hides a l knight's fee.

125 virgatcs==2500 acres= 25 hidesa b fees- 1barony.which results neither coincide with the last, nor with those of

Domesday, nor with those derived from Saxonauthorities.

of the hidage inthe shires ; nor does whatwe have coincide withthe conclusions arrived atinthe course of the fourth chapter.

Inthe Cotton. MS . Claud . B . vii. ( fol. 204 , which appearsto have beenwritteninthe time of Henry IlI., we have the fol

494 APPENDIX B .

Hid”

2400

1200

InHerefordcscyre sunt 1500

InWarewycscyre sunt 1200

InOxenefordscyre sunt 2400

InSalopescyre sunt 2300

InCesterscyre aunt 1300

InStafi'

ordescyre sunt 500

The CottonMS . Vesp . A . xviii . fol. 112, b . , writteninthe reignof Edward I ., gives a differentlistof counties, among which the

If we pursue the planheretofore adopted, we shall have theseresults

Wilts. . 868 ,060

Camb. . 530,313Hunt.t m 3200 -77Glouc. .

-25Wore. . 459,710 1:11o75

,

1:s-5

Heref. . 543,soo

Warw“ 1200 -75-5-5

-8

N ow either these figures cannotbe relied on, or we mustcarrythe hide inthis calculationto a very difi’

erent amount. If we

take itat100 acres, we shallfind thewhole hidage ofthese thirteencounties amountsto x 100 or while the whole

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A P PEN D IX C .

MAN UMISS ION OF SERFS .

Tm: following examples of Manumissionare illustrative

assertions inthe text.

And hewylle liestmanfreoge

sefter his drege é lcne witefiestne

man he onhis timanforgylt

996—1006 .

ssw bustheowyln: beMore

gepafunga first manfreoge on

telcum tlinaa é lcue witepedwnte

mann"15a:under hirae gepedwud

wres.—QuecnE ffgyfu. 1012 .

Dart is terest, thet ic geann

58stmangefreoge ailcne witc

fsestne man, he ic on sprees

(mm- fi el der: Amt-ling .

And beduheom mannfrige

refter heora beira de ge

Durstan, 1049.

And itis hiswill thatye shallmanumitafierhislife, every convict who has been ruined by

No. 716.

Except that she wills, with

farms, every convict who was

reduced to slavery under her.

shall free every convictwhom I

got insuits.- Cod . Dipl. No.

722 .

And let their serfs be free,

Dip l. N o. 788 .

Dimidiam vero partem hominum qui inmemorata terra sub

servitute deguntlibertate donavimus.-Cod . Dip l. No. 919.

Geatfieda geaf freolsforGodes Geatflaad freed forGod’

s sake

lufa j forheora stiwla pearfe, best and for her soul’s need, namelyis Ecceard smili, 3 3 his Ecceard the smith and E lfstanwif,

“

Jeall heora ofsprinc boren and his wife and all their oil‘

MANUMISS ION OF SERFS . 497

j nuhoren; j Arcil “

1Cole, 3

Ecgferii Eddhiines dohter,ealle 5a menos hednouheorahedfod for byra mete, onhim

yfium dugum . Swri hwa swa

Sis awande j hyre sawla hises

beredfie, beretifige hine God

rim ; J 87 he isversed defid‘

J

cwic aa ondenyase. And eac

bed bafaii gefreéd15a meniieheo

pingede setCmespatrike, heat is

E lfwald, j Colbraud, E lsie,Gamal his suns, Eadred Tredewode “

J Uhtred his steopsunu,

Aculf j Durkylj E laige. Hwfi

5e heom Sises beredfie God tel

and E lsige. Whoso depriveththem of this, may he have thewrath of Almighty God and

Saint Cuthbert.~—Cod . Dip l.

N o. 925.

And ic wille Stet alle mine And illthatallmy serfsbe

menbén fré onbirds and on free, both inmanor and farm,

him forme and for 86 5e me for my sake and the sake of

them that begot me.—Cod .

DipL N o . 931.

Herswutelaii onBisse Cristea Here witnesseth inthis hookbéc limt Ledfenob, E gelno

‘

lies ofgospels, thatLeofenoii, {libelsunuset H eorstnine, haai

‘o ge nofi’

s son of Harston, hathbohthine 3 his ofspring titmt boughtout himself and his oil

'

B lfsige abbod ‘

j set eallouhi spring, from abbot :Elfsige and

reds onBabon, mid fif orauand all the brotherhood at Bath ,mid xii heafdonsocapa, onLedf w ith five ores and twelve head

v on. 1. 2 1c

spring born and unborn; and

Aroiland Cole and Ecgferii Eddhun’sdaughter, and all themenwho benttheir heads for food inthe evil days. Whoso shall setthis aside and deprive her soul

of this, may Almighty God de

prive him both of this life andof the k ingdom of heaven; and

beheaccursed, quick ordead, forever and ever. And she hathalso freed the men for whomshe interceded w ith Cospatrick,namely (Elfwald, and Colbraud,E lfsige and Gamalhisson, Ead

red Tredewood and Uhtred his

498 APPENDIX C.

cildes gewitnesse portgeréfan,

and oncalre there burhware on eild the portreeve, and all the

Babou. Crist hine dbleude behis mfrs “mode—Conceal ofB a th . aside l—C’od . Dip l. No. 933.

H er swutelafi onhisse Cristea Here witnesseth inthis bookbéc

“

beetnelsige set Linttinne

ha th gebohtWilsige his sunu ton hath bought out Wilsige

titsatJElfsige abbod onBahon, his sonfrom E lfsige abbot at

and set eallonhirede to écean Bath, and all the brotherhood ,

N o. 934 .

Her swutelali onSisse Cristes

béc beetE gelsige Byttices sunu

hrei‘

li gebohtHildesige hissum:

( itsetE lfsige abbod onBaiSon,

gonpenegoh toéceanfredte.

Her swutelaflonbisseCristesbéc 58stGodwig se bucca haafo

geboht Ledfgife 5a dfigeanwt

N orbstoce hyre ofspring mid

healfanpunde setE lfsige abbod

tti eosanfredte, onealles flees

Crist hine :iblende lie 51:

dwende.—C¢mccntqf

'

B ath.

Her swutclali on(SisseCristes Here witnesseth inthis bookbéc Beet fElsige abbod hsefli ge of gospels, that abbot Ailfsige

Here witnesseth inthis bookof gospels, thatB fielsige, Byttic

’

s son, hath bought outHildesige his son from E lfsige,

abbotatBath and all the bro

therhood, with sixty pence, thathemay be free for even—Cod .

Dip l. No. 935.

H ere witnesseth inthis bookof gospels, that Godwig the

buck hath boughtLeofgifuthe

doc atNorthstock, and all her

offspring,with half a pound fromabbotE lfsige, thatshe may befree for ever, by witness of all

thebrotherhood inBath . Christblind him who ever setteth thisaside—Cod . Dip l. No. 936.

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500 APPENDIX C .

ham, the other half to the bi

alleminemenfré, and ilk hazbbe sh0p: and allmy serfs free, and

histoitj-hismetecfi ‘

Jhismete let each have his toit, and hiscorn—Durcytel. meatcow and his meatoorn.

Cod . Dip l. No. 959.

Her swutelaii onhisum ge

write bmtE gelsi onWuldeham

haeflSgeléned be Siwordes dmgebiscopes his dohter j beoredohter tit of Totteles cynne, 1hm 65m maennBaéringeddn,

onHroueceaster j be ealle bees

biscopes geferan.—zE6elciye.

No. 975.

And alle ‘

50 menfré forunket And allthe serfs free, forboth

sofaland sd forb sdwitit(Swen,alterunker booer day, 3

‘

60 men

half fré, pedwe‘

J lisingas.

Darcytel.

the property of St. Petroc’

s, are selected from amuch largernumber found inthe Codex Dipl. N o . 981. The British names whichoccur inthem are of greatinterest.

Des ys Seas manes nama be This istheman’sname whomByrhsie gefreAde et Petrocys Byrhtsige freed atSt. Petroc

’

s,

stowe, Byhstan hate Bluntan lit he was called Blunta'

s

borrowed for the life of t op

Sigew ard, his daughter and her

daughteroutof Tottles kin, andhath replaced them by otherserfs, by witness of all the com

monalty of Rochester, and the

Thurkill and ZESeIgio grantWigorham to St. Edmund, as

full and as forth as we two

owned it, after both our lives,

and letthem free half the men,both peows and “sings—Cod .

Dip l. N o. 980.

MANUM ISSION OF SERFS . 501

soon, on [Eoelhide gew itnyse son, by witness of E fielhio his

hys rig-enwif, and onByrhisiys ownw ife, and Byrrhtsige the

meesepreostes, and onBiol, and mass priest, and Biol, Myrmen,Myrmen, and Wunsie, Mor Wynsige, Morhasooo and Gyn

sige the priest.

Wuenumon and hire team, Wnenumonand heroffspring,Mdruifi hire swuster and hire Moruifi her sister and her oil

'

team, and Wurgustel and his spring, and Wnrgustel and his

tune for Bridryde cynigc and inthe town, forEadred thekingfor E bel[geard] bisoop anBaa and E oelgeard the bishop, byhirydes gewitnesse Be hér on witness of all the brotherhoodtune syndun. here inthe town.

Marh gefreode Lefielt and

ealle hire team for Eadwig cy

ningc onhisrégenreliquias: andhe hie hétlxédanhider tomynstere, and hér gefreogianonPe

troeya reliqnias, onbees hirydes

H ér kyb onbissere béc fiset This book witnesseth that

gyne‘

oel hatte and hire sunn

Gy‘

lsicctelt urcildemid healfe

punde, set fi re ciricandura on

Bodmine, and sealde E ileige

portgeréna and Maccosse hun

dredes mann .rur. pengas to

tolle ; as ferde E ilsig usBe onmenbohte, and 1mm big and

freddeupp anPetrocysweofede,zefre sacles, ongewitnesse oissa

Marh freedLebeltand allher

progeny for Eadwig the king,uponhis ownreliques : and hecaused her to be led hither totheminster, and hereto be freedonPetroc’s reliques, by witnessof the brotherhood .

Ongynebel and her sonGyfiic

csel from Durcild for half a

pound, at the church~door in

Bodmin, and gave E lfsige the

portreeve and Maceos the hun

dred-man, four pence as toll

thenwentE lfsige, who boughtthe serfs, and freed them atPe

troc'

s altar, eversacked , bywit»

ness of the following goodmen:

502 APPEND IX C.

godera manna : Beetwms, Isaac namely, Isaac the masspriest,

messepredst, and Bleocufmm

predst, and Wanning messe

preosganq lfgérmessepreost, the masspriest, Grifiuo the

and Grifiub messepreost, and

Noemessepreost, and Wurfiicio

fi lfsige the deacon, and Macoos,

and Maccos, and TeoionMo and TefiionModred’

s son, and

dredis soon, and Kynilm, and

Beorhif, and Dirling, and Gratcant, and Talan. And gif hwa

this freotabrece, hebbe him wits settle itwith Christ! Amen.

Criste geméne. Amen.

Her kyfi onbissere béc first

E lfric E lfwines sunu wolde E lfric the sonof E lfw ine wanb

ed to enslave Putrael as a need

peowetlinge. Da cum Putrael serf. Theu oame Putrael to

td Boia and bed his forespece Boia and begged his interces

to{Elfrice his bréoere : 66 sette sionwith his brother E lfric :Boia Bea specewi

‘

5E lfricc ; that

wa s StetPutracl sealde E lfrioe w ith ZElfric ; namely that Pu.vrlr. oxa set here ciricandnra tracl gave E lfric viii oxenat

setBodmine, and gefBoia sistig the church-door inBodmin, and

penga for Mrs forspwce, and gave Boia sixty pence for the

didehine sylfne andhisofsprengmfrs freols and saccles from56m

and meters from thatday forth,as to E lfric, Boia, and all /Elf

and heora ofspreng, onSissere wine’s children and their oil'

and Wunning presbyter, and the masspriest, Wunning the

Séwulf presbyter, and Godric presbyter, Séwnlf the presbydiacon, and Cufure prauost, and ter, Godric the deacon, Cufure

Wincuf, and Wulfwerd, and the‘

provost, Wincnf, Wulfwerd,

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504 APPEN DIX C.

Dys sindunliars manna na These are the names of the

man be Wunsie gefreode at serfs whom Wunsige freed at

Petrocys stowe, [for] Eadgtir St. Petroc’

s, for king Eadgar,einig, onea lle bees hiredys ge by witness of all the brotherwitnesse :Conmonoc,Iarnwallon, hood : Conmonoc, Iarnwallon,

and Vl’enwmrblonand M seiloc. Wenwaerolonand Mseiloc.

Hilfred by his will manumitted all hisunfree dependents, and

with greatcare provided for their enjoyment of this liberty : hesays'

And ic bidde ongodesm ama

and onhis haligra, beet minra

mags min né yrfewearda ne

geswence nannténig cyreliftiara

be ic foregeald, 3 me West

seaxena witanté rihte gerehton,

seat ic htmst ltetanm i frco

swapedwe, swaoer ic wille ; ac

ic for Godeslufanand forminre

sawle pearfe, wylle firstby syn

heora freolses wyrbe, hyrecyres ; and ic onGodes lifiendes

namanbedde, beetbymin

ne brocie, némid feosmanunge,né mid nréningum pingnm, beet

hie ne mdtancéosan swylcne

mannswylce hie wyllan.

And ray inthe name of

God and of hissaints, thatnone

ofmy kinsmenor heirs Oppress

any ofmy dependents forwhomI paid, and whom the witanof

theWestsaxons legally adjudgedto me, that I might leave themfree orpedw, whichever I chose ;butI forGod

’

s love andmy own

soul’sneed, will thatthey shallenjoy their freedom and theirchoice ; and I command inthe

name of the living God, thatnoone disquietthem, either by demand ofmoney, or inany otherway, ao thattheymaynotchoosewhomsoever they please [as a

protector] .

Cyrelif is a personwho has a rightof choice, or who has exercised a choice thesemusthavebeenpoormen, free orunfree, whohad attached themselves personally to E lfred, voluntarily ornot.

H e prov ides thatthese as well ashis serfs may have full libertyto selectany other lord, without disquiet through demands of

Cod . Dipl. No. 314 .

MANUM ISSION OF SERFS . 605

arrears or any other claims. This is confirmatory of the view

takeninthe text, that the manumitted serf was obliged to findhimself a lord, and so did notbecome fully free.

And freoge manWulfware, And letWulfwarube free, and

folgige baim be hyre le6fo[stsy,] follow whom she bestpleases,

ealswa, and freoge man and also and let lflé d

Wulflséde onbeetgerad beetbed

and bed becwzeb Eédgyfe ane

crencestran 3 due semestran,ober hétte Eadgyfu, ober hatteE belgyfu; j freoge manGeroburg j N iacin, 3 his el,

3 Bnrhnlfes ddhtnr mtCinnnc,j E lfsige j his wif j his yldrandohter, j Cedlstanes wlf ; wt

Eadwyne, j

3 set Faccancumbe freoge man

E belm ‘

J Man3 Iohannan, jSprow 3 his wif, j Ene fe tte,j Gersande ‘

J Suel ; 3 setCollee

hylle freoge manE belgy‘be j

Biccanwif, 3 B drm j Bedan,Gurhannes wif, j freoge manWulfwareswystorBryhsigeswif,

bianewyrhtan, j Wulfgybe E lfswybe debtor : j gifbrer hwylc witepedwman sfblitonbyson, be hed gepedwede,hed gelyfb tohyre beamonbret

hi hine wyllonlihtanfor hyre

his and Burhwulf'sdaugh

ter atCinnnc, and E lfsige and

follow E belfiaéd and Edith and

she bequeathed to Edith one

weaving womanand one semp

stress, the one called Edith, theother E belgifu; and let them

Ceolstan’swife ; and atCharlton

letthem free Pifus and Eadwyn,and wife; and atFacoombe

letthem free E belm, andMan,and Johanna, and Sprow andhis

wife, and Ene the fat, and Ger

sand and Sue] ; and atColeshilllet them free B belgyb and

and Gurhan’swife, and letthemfreeWulfware’

ssisterByrhsiges

wife and thiswright, andWulfgyb iElfswyb

’

s daughterand if there be any other con

v ictsbesidesthese, whom she re

duced to slavery, she trusts thather childrenwill give them thisalleviation for her soul

'

s sake

506 A PPEND IX C .

Deane anhidbda hiwumbdra Thenshe grants the convent

geblira beonbdmgafollandesitt theboorswho sitonrent-payingab, j béra pedwra manna hid an land, and the serfs she gives to

hyre syna ddhterd gyfe j bms herson’sdaughterEdith, anda.lso

yrfes, blitanbrim sziulsceatte be thechattels, exceptthe sonl-shotmantd Gifie ayllansceal ; 1hid which they are to pay to Gifle.

wylle beet man lasts on brim And itisherwillthatthey shalllande standanvi oxanj iiii cy leave onthe land six oxenand

mid iiii cealfnm ;“

J of brim

pedwanmannansetCinnuc bed of the serfs at Cinnuc she be

becwib Eddwolde, 060a Ed. queaths to Eddwold, Cdolstdn

shines sunu, j JEfi'

ansunu; Eastdn’s son, and Aide’s son;and to Bnrhwynshe givesMar

] hid becwib Eddgyfe bsér tinand his wife ; and she be

angeanE lfsige bene cdc 3 Ted

Wareburganddhtor, j Herestdn the cook, and Ted, Weerburge’

s

j his wiflj Ecelm 3 his wiflj daughter, d erestdnand hisheora cild, j Cynestdn‘

JWyn wife, Eghelm and his wife and

sige, “

J Bryhtrices soon, “

1Ead their child, CynestdnandWynwynne, j Btmeles sunu E lf sige and Brihtric

’

s son, and

werea ddhtor ; and hid becwib Eddwyn, and Bunel’s son, and

E belflséde Elhhelmes déhter E lfweres daughter ; and she

be gedngran.—Wynfi¢ed, about bequeaths to E belflé d Ealh

995. helmsyoungerdaughter.—Cod .

Dipl. N o. 1290.

Thenextpassage which I have to cite is unhappily very cor

rupt, butas the sense is obvious I have givensuch corrections aswere required : the readings of the MS . may be seeninthe copy

printed Cod . Dipl. No. 1339.

And ic wille be tmine men And l willthatmy serfsshall

bednealle freo And icwillebeetealle ba menba ic anfreo, the mento whom I grant freebzethi hazbbenealle ping ba by domshallhave everythingwhichundef hande habhab, blitanbeet isunder their hand, exceptthe

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608 APPENDlX C.

Gunnilde, pmkilles d6hter, let bought Gunhild, Thnrkil’s

daughter, fromGode LeofenAS ’

s

ness of allthe convent. Christhis gewrit awende. And he blind him who setteth thiswritharmhi betébt Criste j sancte aside ! And he hath givenherPetre for hismoder sawle. to Christ and St. Peter for his

mother’s soul.

Herswntelab onbissere Cristea Here witnesseth onthis bookbée, StetSaéwi flags setWide of gospels, thatSaéwig B ag of

cumbehas“geddnfithistwegen Widcomb hath done outhistwosuna set(Elfsige abbude, onealles sons fromE lfsige the abbot, by

witness of all the convent.

Herswntelab onbissere Cristes H ere witnesseth onthis bookbéc, beet E gylrné r bohte Sé ofgospels, thatE fielmé rboughtbry

‘

lse setSé wolde abbude, mid Séfirj‘

b from Sé wold the abbot

.ui . maxan on ealles hiredes for two mancuses, by witness

gewitnysse ; and ofer his daag of all the convent; and afterhis

and his wifes daag beose man and his wife’s life let the serf

freoh . Crist hine ablende, be be free. Christblind him who

his gewritawende. setteth this writaside !

Herswutelafi onbissereCristeabéc, Beet Wnlfw ine Hi reberd

bohte mtE lfsige abbnde, E lf

gyfiemid healfanpnnde onealles

hine ablende Be bis gewrit

awende.

H erswntelafi onbissere Cristes H ere witnesseth onthis book

ofgospels, thatE belsigeboughtsetE lfsige abbndemid anonyre Wynric from abbotE lfsige for

goldes. Dyssesystogew itnysse anore of gold . Thew itnessesof

Here witnesseth onthis bookofgospels, thatWulfwine Hoar

beard boughtE lfgyb from ah

botE lfsige for half a pound, bywitness of all the convent and

Christ blind him who setteththis writaside !

MANUMISSlON OF SERFS . 509

531d portgeréna and eal so this are E lfred the portreeve

and all the convent at Bath .

ablende be bis gewritswende. Christ blind him who setteth

Herswutelab onbissereCristes Here witnesseth onthis bookbéc, beet Siwine Leofwies sunu of gospels, that Sigew ine Leofat incnmbehafab gebohtSyde wige

’

s son of Linoomb hathflé de litmid fif scyllingam and bought Sydefizéd out with five

penegam mt Iohanne bi

scope and a teallonbarnhirede bishop Johnand allthe convent

onBaiSontoecum fredte: andher at Bath , to be free for ever

to is gewitnesse Godric Ladda and witness thereof are Godricand Séwold and his twegensu Ladda, and Sé wold and his two

nanScirewold and Brihtwold . sons Scirewold and Brihtwold .

H er swutelaflonbisse Cristeabee, be tLifgib setFords is gefredd, and hire t i eild, forbonebiscop Jchanne and for ealne

Bone hired onBaton, onE lf

redes gewitnesse A spania .

H er eyb onbisse béc beet

gebohteWulfgjfbe

tat ZElfrice E belstanes su[na]

witnisseeald-portgeréfan, and on

Godrices hismum, and onE lf

winesMannansuns, and onLeo

frices cildesmtHymed, and on

E lfrices E ithelmes suns geon

gan: and Brfinhydel nam beet

toll on E lfstanes gewitnisse

Winemines suns, and on ma

l[iéweda j gehadodra j

Here witnesseth onthis bookof gospels, that Lifgib atFordis freed, with her two children,for bishop John and all the

convent at Bath, by witness of

E lfred Aspania .

Here witnesseth inthis bookthat Hunflé d boughtWulfgy

‘

b

fromRlfric thesonofE fielstan

the sonof E belm, by witness

ofWinemine the old portreeve,and of Godric his son, and E li

'

wine Manna’

s son, and Leofric

the child atHymed, and E lfi ic

E lfhelm’

s son, the young : andBrunthe beadle took the toll

by witness of E lfstanthe mass

priest, of Leofric Winemine’s

son, and more persons both layand ordained—Cod . Dip l. No.

1353 .

510 APPENDIX C .

These examples, so numerous and varied, supply a very clear

view of the mode of emancipation, and its objects, inthe Anglosaxontime. Itis to be regretted thatwe havenotmore of them,

and from other places : butstill, as itis probable thatthe system

serve as a very satisfactory specimenof the usual course ontheseoccasions,—both as to the form of manumissionand the methodof providing for the emancipated serf.

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512 APPENDIX D.

ship and every other advantage of the guild . And let him thatintroduceth more guests thanhe ought, withoutleave of the stew

ard and the caterers, forfeithis entrance. And if any of our fel

lowship should pass away from us, leteach brother contribute a

penny over the corpse for the soul'shele or pay bro

there : and if any one ofusshould be afflicted with sickness within

and if he be dead, thirty, and they shall bring him to the place

which he desired to go to, while he lived . And if he die inthis

present place, let the steward have warning to what place thecorpse is to go ; and letthe steward warnthebrethren, the greatestnumberthathe canride orsend to, thatthey shallcomethitherandworthily accompany the corpse and bear it to the minster, and

earnestly pray there for the soul. It is rightly ordained a guild

ship if we do thus, and well fitting it is both toward God and

man: for we know notwhich ofus shall firstdepart.N ow we have faith, through God

'

s assistance, thatthe afore

said ordinance, if we rightly maintainit, shallbe to the benefitofus all. Letus earnestly from the bottom of our hearts beseechAlmighty God to have mercy uponus, and also his holy apostleSt. Peter to make intercessionforus, and take ourwayunto eter

nal rest, because forhis sakewe have gathered thisguild togetherhe hath the power inheavento admit into heavenwhom so he

will, and to exclude whom so he will not, evenas Christhimselfspakeunto him inhis gospel: Peter, I give to thee the keys of

heaven, and whatsoever thouwilt have bound onearth, the sameshall be bound inheaven, and whatsoever thouwilthaveunboundonearth, the same shall be unbound inheaven. Letus havehope and trust inhim, thathe will guide us here inthis world,and afler death he a help to our souls. May he bring us to eternalrest! Amenl

THE GUILD AT EXETER.

This assembly was collected inExeter, forthe love ofGod, andfor our souls’ need, both inregard to our health of life here, andto the after days, which we desire for ourselves by God

’

s doom.

CORPORATE EXISTENCE . 513

N ow we have agreed thatourmeeting shallbe thrice inthe twelvemonths ; once atSt. Michael

'

sMass, secondly atSt. Mary'sMass,

aftermidwinter, and thirdly atAllhallowsMass afierEaster ; and

let each gildobrother have two sesters of malt, and each youngman'one sester, and a sceatof honey and letthemass~priestat

each ofourmeetings sing two masses, one for our living friends,the other for the dead : and leteach brotherof commonconditionsing two psalters of psalms, one for the living and one for the

dead ; and atthe death of a brother, each mansix masses, or six

psalters of psalms ; and ata death, each manfive pence ; and at

a houseburning each manone penny . And if any oneneglecttheday, for the firsttime threemasses, forthe second five, and at the

third time let him have no favour, unless hisneglectarose fromsickness or his lord

’

sneed . And if any oneneglecthis subscripc

tionatthe prOper day lethim pay double. And if any one ofthisbrotherhood misgreet another, let him make boot with thirty

pence. Now we pray for the love of God that every manholdthis meeting rightly, as we rightly have agreed uponit. God

help us thereunto .

THE GUILD AT CAMBRIDGE.

Inthiswritisthenotificationof the agreementwhich this brotherhood hath made inthe thanes’ gild of Grantabrycg. Thatisfirst, thateach gave oath Uponthe relics to the rest, thathewouldhold true brotherhood for God and for the world, and all the bro

therhood to support him that hath the bestright. If any gildbrother die, all the gildship is to bring him where he desired tolie ; and lethim thatcometh not thereto pay a sester of honey ;and letthe gildship inheritof the dead half a farm, and each gildbrother contribute two pence to the aims, and outof this sum letwhatisfitting be takento St. E ssays. And if any gild-brotherhaveneed of his fellows

’aid, and it be made knownto the reeve

nearestthe gild (unless the gild-brother himself benigh) and the

The meaning of with! is not certaininthis passage. Itmay imply a

servant, but I think it more likely thatmerely young freemenare intended ,who werenotfull citizens, and were thereforenotreckoned full gegyldan.

vnn r 2 L

514 APPENDIX D.

reeveneglectit, lethim pay one pound ; if the lord neglectit, let

him pay a ponnd, unless he be onhis lord’

sneed or confined to

his bed . And if any one steal from a gild-hrother, letthere be

boot, buteightpounds. But if the outlaw neglectthis boot, letall the gildship avenge their comrade ; and letall bear it, if one

misdo ; let all bear alike. And if any gild-brother slay a man,

and if he be a compelled avenger and compensate for his insult,and the slainmanbe a twelve-hundred man, let each gildbrother assist if the slainbe a ceorl, two

ores ; if he be a Welshman, one ore. But if the gild-brotherwith folly and deceitslay a man, lethim hear his owndeed ; and

if a comrade slay another comrade through his ownfolly, lethimbear his breach as regards the relatives of the slain; and let himbuy back his brotherhood inthe gild with eightpormds, or losefor ever our brotherhood and friendship. And if a gild-brothereator drink with him thatslew his comrade, save inthe presenceof the king, the bishop or the ealdorman, lethim pay a pound, nuless he canclear himselfwith two of his dependents, of any know

ledge of the fact. If any comrade misgreetanother, lethim paya sester of honey, except he canclear himself with his two de

pendents. If a servantdraw a weapon, lethis lord pay a pound,and recover whathe canfrom the servant, and letallthe companyaid him to recover hismoney . And if a servantwound another,letthe lord avenge it, and the company, so thatseek whathemayseek , he shallnothave his life. And if a servant sitwithinthe

spence, lethim pay a sester of honey, and if any one hath a footsitter let him do the same. And if any gild-brother die or lie

sick outof the country, let his gildh rethrenfetch him alive or

dead, to the place where he desired to lie,under the same penaltyas we have before said, incase of a comrade

’

s dying athome, anda gild-brotherneglecting to attend the corpse.

The following document, which seems justly referable to the

reignof Bridger, that is to the close of the tenth century, givesthe regulationsunderwhich the Hundred was constituted '.

Thorpe, i . 258, etc.

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516 APPENDIX D.

whenitshallbe fulfilled . And if any one break that term, un

less itbe through the lord’

s decree, lethim make amends with

thirty shillings, and ona setday fulfil thatwhich he should have

All oxesbell, and a dog’s collar, and a blasthorn, each of thesethree shall be worth a shilling, and each is reckoned aninformer.

Letthe ironfor the threefold ordealweigh three pounds ; and

APPENDIX E .

LAZ ’NLAND.

TH E following documents throw lightuponthe nature of Léu

land, and the conditionsunderwhich itwas held . The firstis a

detailed account givenby Oswald, bishop ofWorcester, to kingstage , of the planwhich he adopted inleasing the lands of hischurch : itis reprinted here from the sixth volume of the CodexDiplomaticus, N o. 1287 . The second is a statementof the wayinwhich anestate of six ploughlands atWouldham inKentbe

came the property of the Cathedral atRochester : itisN o. 1288

inthe same collection.

Dominomeo karissimo regi Anglorum Eadgaro, egoOsuualdusUuigornensisaecclesiae episcOpusomnium quaemihi peripsius clementiammunerum tradita sunt, apud deum etapud homines grotias ago. Igitur si dei misericordia suppeditet, coram deo ethominibuaperpetualiterci fidelispermanebo, reminiscenscumgratiarum

actione largitiuae benignitatis eius, quia permeos illud quod magnopera expetebammihi concessit internuntios, id estreverentissi

Uuintoniae episcopum etvirummagnificumBrihtnocum comitem,

relam suscepit, ct secundum consilium sapientum et principum

aunrum iuste emendavit, ad sustentamenaecclesiae quam mihibenigne etlibena regendam commisit. Quare quomodo fidosmihisubditos tellurihus quae meae traditae suntpotestati per spatium

temporis trium hominum, id estduorum post se haeredum, con

donarem, placuit tam mihi quam ipsis fautoribus et consiliariis

mcis, cum ipsiusdominimci regislicentia ctattestatione, utfratti

5l8 APPENDIX E .

bus meissuccessoribus, scilicetepiscopia, percyrographi cautionem

sportina enuclearem, utsciantquid ab eisextorquere iuste debeantsecundum conventionem cum eis faotam etsponsionem suam unde

et hanc epistolam ob cautelae causam componere studui, ne quismalignae cupiditatis instinctuhoc sequenti temporemutate volens

ahiurare a serv itio aecclesiae quent. Haec itaque conventio cum

eis faota est ipso domino meo rege annuente et sua attesw

tione munificentiae suae largitatem roborante et confirmante, om

nibusque ipsius regiminis sapientibus ctprincipibus attestantibus

et consentientibus. Hoe pacto eis terms sanctae aeoclesiae sub

me tenere concessi, hoc estutomnisequitandi lex ab eis impleatur

quae ad equites pertinet, etutpleuiter persolvant omnia quae ad

ins ipsius aecclesiae iuste competunt, scilicet ea quae Anglicedieuntur ciricsceattettoll id estthelon. ettaco. id estswinsceade

etcaetera iura aecclesiae, nisi episcopus quid alicui eorum perdo

nare voluerit, sescque quamdiuipsius terms tenent inmandatia

pontificis humiliter cum omni subiectione perseverare etiam iure

inrando afiirment. Super haec etiam ad omnis industrino episcopi

indigentiam semetipsos praesto impendant, equos praestent, ipsi

equitent, etad totum piramiticum Opus aecclesiae calcis atque ad

pontis aedificium ultro invenianturparati, sed ctvenationis sepem

domini episcopiultronei ad aedificandum reperiantur, suaque quandocumque domino episcopo libueritvenabula destinent venatnm ;

insuper ad multas alias indigentiaecauses quibus Opus estdomino

antistiti sepe fruuisci, sive ad suum servitium sive ad regale ex

plendum, semper illius archiductoris dominatui et voluntati qui

episcopatui praesidet, propterbeneficium quod illis praestitum est,

cum omni humilitate etsuhiectione subditi fiant, secundum ipvoluntatem etterrarum quas quisque possidetquantitatem. De

curso autem praefati temporiscurriculo, videlicetduorum postcos

qui easmodo possidenthaeredum vitae spatio, inipsius antistitis,sitarbitrio quid inde velit, etquomodo sui velle sitinde ita stet,

sive ad suum opus eas retinero, si sic sibiutile iudicaverit, sive eas

alieni dintias praestare, si sic sibi placuerit, velut ita dumtaxatut

semper aecclesiae servitia pleniter ut praefati sumus inde per

solvantur ; ast si quid pracfatorum delicti praevaricantis causa

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520

gebohte hitzElfstzin mund

inc mt ham cince mid hund

APPENDIX E .

then {Elfstan son of

HeahstAnboughtitof the kingtwelftiganmancesaugoldes and for a hundred and twenty man'

Brittiganpundan, and fleethimsealdemé steal fElfeh hisman.

JEfter Eadmunde cincge 5a ge;

bdcode hit Etidred cine E lf

shine onéce yrfe :assetterfElf

atliaca daage m s E lfeh his

stmuhis yrfew rerd ; and heathe

lose onbi ketungou, and ofteiih

fElfrice his brétier landes and

mhta, butanhe hweet eat him

gearnode. Dd forwere brdiior

sibbe gente be him Earhifies

and Crag-gen and E nesfordes

and Wuldahames his ding. Da

oferbsid Hilfeh his brdt‘lor and

feng tohisitenezashaefder’Elfricsuna Eadric hattc and {Elfeh

nténne. Dd gou’iie E lfeh hamEadrice Eiirhiiies and Craagan

and WuldahAmes, and haefde

him sylf E nesford . Dd gewzit

Eadric aérE lfeh cwideleas, and

fElféhfengtohislaene. Drihaefde

Eadric lafe and nanbearn; as

cusesof gold and thirty pounds,and Allfhefih his songave himnearly all the money . A lter

king Eadmund, king Eadred

booked it to zElfstanas anin

heritance fbr ever : now after

{Elfshin’sday, Ailfheah his son

was his heir, and thatheprovedwith a whole tongue, and de

prived E lfric his brother bothof land and chattels, butwhathe might deserve at his hands.

Now forbrotherly love he granted him Erith, Cray, E nesfordand Wouldham, for his life.

Then[Elfhedh survived hisbrother, and re-entered onhis léu

but zElfric had a son called

Eddric, and 1131t had none.

ThenE lfht‘ilh granted Eadric,Erith, Cray and Wouldham,

and keptE nesford for himself.N ow Ezidric died before E lf

hetih without making a w ill,

gentle E lfeh hire hire morgen and [ElfheAh re-entered onhis

gife zetCrsegan; andmid Earhifi lain. Eadric had a widow but

and Wuldaham and Lytlanbroc no child ; thenJElfheaih grantedonhislaéne. Ddhimettgehuhte,atnam he his feorme onWul

daham and oncam doranwolde,

achinegeyflade, and he751i asandeto ham arcebisceope Drinstzine,

her her morning-

gift, at Cray ;and Erith, Wouldham and Lit

tlebrook stoodonhislsén. Whenhe bethought him, he took his

feorm atWouldham, andmeant

LzE’NLAND.

and be com to Scylt'

e to him :

521

so to do atthe otherplaces, butand he cwaeb his cwide beforan he fell ill, and sent to arch~him, and he saette énne cwide

té Cristescyrican, and deeme té

sancteAndrea, and banepriddanscalde hisWe . Dd htwe sybbanLeéfsunupurh Stet w if be he

nam, EddricesWe, fla me cwide,a nd herewade bees arcebiscopes

gewitnesse, raid“

5a innon5a land

mid 56m wife bdtan witena

déme. Ddman512 1:56mbiscope

ciode, mi gehedde se biscop

ahnnnga ealles {Elfehes cw ides

té Edrhibe,'

ongewitnesse Hilf

strines biscopes on Lundene,and eallcs bees hiredes, and bees

mtCristea cyrican, and bees bi

scopcs {Elfstanes an Hrofece~

astre, andWulfsies predatesbees

scirigmannes, and Bryhtwaldes

onMaéreweoroe, and calm East

Cantw arena and WestCantwa

rena . And hitwaas gecnzéwe on

Sdfi-SeasanandonWest-Serbian

and onM iddel—Sedxanand on

Est-Sexism) , Stet se arcebisceOp

mid hisselfesategeahnodeGode

and sancte Andrea mid i5am hécanonCristea hrode, “

os land he

Leéfsunuhimtoteah . And Sa me

£ 6 nam Wulfsige se scirigman,

ashenoldeté 5m cingeshands:and there wees God edca ten

hundanmannan be Sane xiii

sealdan.

bishop a stan, and he came

to him at Scylf : and E lfhedh

declared his will before him,

and he deposited one will at

Christchurch, another at St.

Andrews, and the third copy hegave hiswidow . Butafterwards

Leofsunu broke through the

will, through the wife he map

and set at nought the archbishop

'

s testimony, and rode inuponthe land with the woman,without any judgement of the

witan. Now whenthis was re

ported to the bishop, he tool:all the claims of ownership under ZElfhedh

’

s will, to Erith, inwitness of (Elfsuin bt p of

London, and all the convent,and that atChristchurch, and

E lfstdn bishop of Rochester,

and Wulfsige the priest who

was sheriff, and Bryhtwald of

Mereworth, and all the menof

East Kent and of WestKent.

And itwas well known inSus

sex and Wessex, and Middlesexand Essex, that the archbishopwith his own oath upon the

cross of Christ, recovered the

land wh ich Leofsunu had iavaded, together with the books,for God and St. Andrew . And

522 APPENDIX E .

Dds wé ron5a seox

snlung set Wuldahdm sancte oath, since he wouldnotgo to

Andrea geseald intti

sceastre. a good additionof a thousand

Rubric.

’l‘

hus were the six

to St. Andrew atRochester.

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524 APPENDIX F.

And gitwiccanoboe wigleras, scincraeftiganoboe horcwenan,morlSwyrhtanoboe mansworanAhwar oncarde wurlSanagitene,fyse hi mangeorne tit of oysancarde ‘

J cltfinsige 66s pedde, oboe

onearde forfare himid ealle, bétonhi gesw ican Se dedpporgee

bétan -E 5e1r. vi . 7 . Thorp e, i . 315. Cnut, ii . 4 . Thorp e,

i . 378 .

And we forbeodab eornostlice zelcne haéoenscipe. H xé‘oen

scipe bioBeet manidols weoriiige, Beet is fleetmanweor‘

liige hé

bone godas j sunnanoboe ménan, fyr oboeflod, wasterwyllas 055estauas oboe éniges cynnes wudntreowa, oboe wiccecm ftlufige,

oboe morbwerc gefremme, onnenige wisan, once onblote, oboe on

fyrhte, once onswylcra gedwimcra aénig ping dredge.—Cnut, n.

5. Thorp e, i . 378 .

Si quis veneno, vel sortilegio, vel invultuacione, senmaleficioaliquo, faciat homicidium , sive illi paratum sit, sive alii, nihil

refert, qninfactum mortiferum etnullomodo redimendam sit.”

Ll. Hm . I . lxxi. l .

The well and tree~worshipnoticed inthese laws continued tobe retained, though ina somewhat altered form, until a very late

period ; and especially itwas usual to perform religious ceremoa

nies atthe salt-springs, spots always looked uponas holy '

The confessional howeverwasmore likely to be inthe secretofthe popular heathendom thanthe civil legislator. Accordinglythe Poenitentials supply us w ith a variety of informationuponthissubject. The Poenitentialof T heodorhas a long chapter devotedto the heathenpractices of communicants

, and their appropriate

penances.

“xxvn. De Idolatria et Sacrilegio, et qui Angelos colunt, et

malcficos, Ariolos, Veneticos, Sortileges, Divinos, etvota reddentesnisi ad accelesiam Dei, et inKalendas Januarnincervnlo et in

vitula vadit, etMathematicos, etEmissores tempestei am.

”

Thorns, Anecd . and Traditions, p. 93. The holy character of the salt

springs isnoticed by Tacitus.

HEATHENDOM .

The pointsprincipallynoted here are, sacrificing to daemons, thatis, the ancientgods; eatingand drinkingnearheathentemples,flaw ,

inhonour ofthegod oftheplace oreating whathasbeensacrificedto daemons ; or celebrating festalmeals inthe abominable places

of the heathen'; seeking anguries by the flightof birds, making

philacteries or philtres. Other forms may be gathered from the

following heads:Si quis maleficio suo aliquem perdiderit vn. annos poeniteat.

Si quis pro amore v eneficus sit etneminem perdiderit, etc. Si

autem per hoc mulieris partum quis deceperit, etc. S i quis ariolos quaerit, quos divines vocant, v el aliquas divinationes fecerit,quia et hoc daemoniacnm est, etc . Si quis sortes habuerit, quasSanctorum contra rationem vocant, vel aliquas sortes habuerit,

vel qualicunque malo ingenio sortitus fuerit, vel divinaverit, etc.

Si qua mulier divinationes vel incantationes diabolicas feeerit, etc.

Si qua mulierfilium suum vel filiam super tectum pro sanitate po

snerit, vel infornace, etc. Qui grana arseritubimortnns esthomo,pro sanitate viventinm etdomus, etc. Si quis, pro sanitate filioli,

per foramenterrae exierit, illudque spinis post se concludit, etc.

Si quis ad arbores, vel ad fontes, vel ad lapides, sive ad caucellos,

velubicunque, excepto inaecclesia Dei, votum voveritantexsol

verit, etc et hoe sacrilegium est vel daemouiacum. Qui vero

ibidem ederitantbiberit, etc. Si quis inKalendas Jannarii incervnlo antretula vadit, id est, inferarum habitus se communicant9,etvestiuntnr pellibuspecudum, etassumuntcapita bestiarum ; qui

vero taliterm ferinas speciesse transformant, etc. , quia hoe daemoniacum est. Si quis mathematicns est, id est, per invocationem

daemonum hominismentemconverterit, etc. S i quisemissortem

pestatis fuerit, id est, maleficus, etc. Si quisligaturas fecerit, quoddetestabile est, etc. Qui auguria vel divinationes inconsuetudine

habuerit, etc. Qui observatdivinos, vel praecantatores, philacteria

etiam diabolica, etsomnia vel herbas, autquintam feriam honors

Referto Gregory’sletter. cited atp. 332 of this volume.

Probably commutant.”

526 APPENDIX F.

nore lunae pro aliqua sanitate ieiunat, etc.

Otherfragments ofTheodorcontainthisadditionalprovision

Archbishop Ecgberhthas further details : he says'

Quiconque grana combusserit inloco ubi mortuus esthomo, prosanitate viventium etdomus, etc. S i mnlier filiam suam super do

mum, vel inforuaceposuerit, cc quod cam a fehri sanarevelit,” etc.

The Saxonversioninthe MS . atBrussels, appliesthisto otherillness besides fever : “ Gif hwylc wif seteti hire bearnofer hrdfoboe onofen, for hwylcereuntrymoe haélo .vii. gear feaste.

”

The same prclate inhis Poenitential ordains"

Gif ténig mandeemsmid wiccecraefte fordti, fasste .vn. gear,

G if hwd drife stacanona’

migneman, feeste .iii . gear. and gif

as manforthere stacunge dead bio, boune feeste he .vii. gear, eal

This “atacandrifan or

“stacnng 18 the invultua tio which

hasbeenexplained inthe text, and of which anexample has been

Confusionale, 32, 33 ; see also his Poenitentiale, ii. 22 , 23. Thorpe, ii.

157, 190.

3 Poenit. iv. 16, 17 , 18, 19, 20. Thorpe, ii. 208, 210.

3 This is repeated inthe same words inthe collectioncalled Canons enactedunder king Eddgér, inthatportionentitled Modus impoueadi poenitentiam.

"

ButasDr. Konstman, anauthority of the highestcharacteronthis point, in.formsme, these Canons are founded uponand containportionsof the veryoucient Poenitential of Cummianm ; and we may suppose Ecgberht to haveadopted these passages from him.

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APPENDlX F.

and totally extinguish every heathenism and forbid well-worshipings, and necromancies, and divinations, and enchantments, andman-worshipings, and the vainpractices which are carried on

with various spells, and with ‘ frithsplots,’and with elders, and

also w ith various other trees, and w ith stones, and with manyvarious delusions, with which mendo much of whatthey shouldnot."

Many of these heathenpractices still continue to subsist, at

leastinthememory and traditions of the peasantry inremote partsof England . Devonshire, for ex ample, still offers anunexhaustedfield for the collector both of popular superstitions and popular

tales, counterpartsof wh ich are current inGermany . TheAnglosaxonherbals furnish various evidences of heathendom connected

with plants, butI pass over these inorder to give one or two detailed Saxonspells, which are of the utmost value, as bearing numistakeablemarksofAnglosaxonpaganism. The following spellsare takenfrom a MS . inthe Harleiancollection, No. 585.

1. WitsCymel. NeogonewaéranNofipeessweoster, pri wurdon

Ba nygone td viii. j pa viii. t6 vii . j pa vii. t6 vi . j pa vi. t6 v . j

pa v . t6 iiii. j pa iiii . t6 iii . j pa iii. ten.

‘

J pa n. t6 i. j pa i. t6

minum. pis pe libbe cyrnneles j scrofelles j weormes j séghwylcesvfeles. Sing benedicite nygonsipum ’

2 .

“ Se wifnmnse hire eild tifédannemaag, gauge té gewitenesmannes birgenne j steeppe {Sonne priwa ofer6a hyrgenne, j cweceBoone priwa thisword : Dis me tebdte there lafianlietbyrde : Bis

licwiglunga‘

j hwata‘

j geldra‘

j manweorliunga‘

j‘lia gemearh

‘lie mandrift?onmislicum gewiglungum,

‘

1onfriiisplottum,‘

j onellenum,

‘

1eat: on65mmmislicum treéwum, 1onstfiuum, 1 onwanagam mislicum gedwimerum

‘

Be

monondre6ga'5 fela lites ‘Uehi usue scoldon.

A variousreading adds treowwnreunga1 stanwurliunga 1"cone deoflcs

cra ft Sc'

r man‘5a eild purh“5a cortiantih'S , 1

‘5a gemw‘

lSe mandribfi on

gearesniht treeo worshipingsand stone-worshipings, and thatdevil'

scraft,

whereby childrenare drawnthrough the earth, and the vainpractices which

are carried ononthenightof the year.

”Thefi

-iiicp lol was a patch orplot

of ground sanctified , gqfi'ifiod , by some heathenceremony, a kind of Taboo.MS . Harl. 585. fol. 193.

HEATHENDOM . 529

me asbdtewere swseranswaertbyrde : Dis“me td bdte there lziiSan

lamhyrde. And bonne oset wif sed mid bearnc, 3 bed to hirehhiforde onreste git, Soune cweoe hed

Up ic gouge,

ofer lie staeppe,

mid cwicancilde,nalresmid cwellendum,

nalmsmid fxégan.

And tonne sed moder gefé'

le isletthet beam si cwic, gti Sonne to

cyrican,‘

JGonna heotoforansenweofode cume, cwe‘lie fionne,

his gecjfhed .

3 . Se wifmanse hyre beam efédanna maege, genime heosylfhyre agenes cildes gebyrgenne dé l, pry e fter tionor blace wulle,hebicge té cépemannum, j cwelSe Sonne

Io hithebicge

ge hitbebicgan,this sweartanwulle

4 . Se [witj manseiSe [na] msegebeam tifédan,nimetonneduesbleds cdmeoluc onhyre hands, 3 gestipetonne mid hyre mtiiie, 3gauge tonneusyrnendum wretere,

‘

JspiweM rin5a meole, hhide

Sonnemid M m ylcanhand ha s wseteres mtiia lne j forswelge.

Cwe‘lSe tonne thisword : Gehwér ferde icme hone maéranmaga~pihtan, mid iSyssemé ranmetepihtan, cone ic me wille habbanjbrim grin. Donne hed té Banbroce ga, tonne bescé hedno, né

eflSonne he6 fiananga,"

3 bone ga lied indeer hds 65st he6 lit

5.

“Witshors-oman‘

Jmannes, sing his priwa nygansioanon

safen‘

J onmorgen, onha s mannes heiifod ufan, horse onBret

MS . Harl. 585. fol. 196. 196 b.

VOL . 1.

530 APPENDIX F .

wynstre edre, onyrnendum we tere, j wend Bret hedfod ongean

stredm. Indomo mamosin. inchoma-mesti . stimi mesti . quod

alfa et0 initinm etfinis, dicit

6. Witsoman. Genim zine grenegyrde, 3 lastsittanconemanonmiddanhdscsfldre, j bestric hine ymbdtan, j owed : Opars etorelli Apars ctpars iniopia . é . alfa et0 .

7 . Gifwmnnaseglisuma maetM reheortan, gaugemaédenman

td wylle 5e riht edst yrne, j gehlade sue cuppanfulle fortsmid

oxim streéme, j singe haémnCredo Paternoster, j gedte Sonneondeer fa t,

‘

J hlade eft diire, j singe eftCredo j Paternoster, jdd swd Stet8d hwbbe preo . Do swai nygondagas sona him his

8 . Wit feerstice, Peferfuige, and sed reddenetele, 5courh aern

Hidde waéronhy hi hltide

lid hy ofer hone hlsew ridon;wé ronanmdde, 56 by

Scyld 56 be, mi ouSisnenitsgenesanmdte.

Utlytal spare,gif her inne sic !

under ledhtum scylde,

literoumihtiganwif

hyra maegenbertéddou,and by gjyllendc

géras sendonic him diSerne

citwille sendan,fiedgendethin

1us.um. No. 585. £01. 197. 3 Ibid. fol. 197. a ibid. fol. zoo.

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532 APPENDlX F .

ele and hunig and heorman, and é lces fees meolc, Be onthem

lande si, and é lces tredwcynnes dé l, Be onthem lande si gewexen,bdtanheardanbedman, and aélcre namcdiire wyrte dé l, bdtan

glappanduon and ddtonne bdlig waster oeémn, and drypetonne

priwa onBone staiSol Mira turfa, and cwelSe tonne This word ;

Crescite, waxe, ctmultiplicamini, and gemtenigfea lde, ctreplete,and gefylle, tern, lids cortan, innomine patris etfilc

’

i ctap in’

tus

sancti, sitbm da’

cti and p ater floater, awd oft swi ‘lSwt dber :

and here silSiSan5a turf td cyrcean, andmaessepreostdaingefeower

miessanofer Sinturfon, and wende mantactgréne td 56m wec

fode ; and silifiangehringe man5a turf Si r hi i t wséron, é r sun

nansetlgange ; and heebbe him geworht of cwicbedme feower

Cristea mé lo, and dwrite onaélconende Mathéus and Marcus,

Lucas and Johannes. Lege 6m Cristeamxél onbone pytneede

ufonon, and cwe‘

de Sonnenigonsitionthis word, Crescr’

te, and awd

oftP ater meter ; andwende tie tonneedstweard, and onldtnigon

bidde ic Bone meérandi e,bidde tone miclandrihten,bidde ic bone baligam

corona ic bidde

and upheofon,and 5a addan

sancta Marian,and heofonesmeaht

and hedhreced,hasticmdte his gealdor,

mid gife drihtnes,tdoum ontynan,linrh trumne gerano,

HEATHB NDOM . 533

dweccanods m tmas iis

wlitigiganedswangcturf

beetse hwfde tire oncordonse he aelmyssan

Wende8ctonne priwa sunganges, detrecce [Be] homeonand

sancta Marian, and been hdlgw rddq td lofemd td weorfiinga,and hdm [td] dre 5e 5mtland dge, and eallonodm he himunder

Donne Beet call sic geddn, tonne nime manuncdiS stéd act

mlmesmannum, and gegaderie ealle his sulhgetedgo tdgtedere

borige Boone on‘

Bdm beiime stdr and find and gehdlgode adpao ,

and gehdlgod scalt. N im sonnesmtssa seie onsm sulesbodig.

Erce, Erce, Erce,

geunne 5e se alwealdadoe drihten,

and wridendra

sceafta hen

se scire wtestma,

and issére hrtidau

here waastma,

534 APPENDIX F.

and calm

eorhanwrestma,

and his hdlige se

fednda gehwéne,and bed si geborgenwitsealra

beetne si ndntdflees cwidolwif,nd td hues craefligman,Bmtdwendannemtego

Donne manonsulh forbdrife and 5a forman

cweii lionne

Hailwee cd, Folde,

onGodes fieiSme,fddre gefylled,

firum tdnytte !

Nim eonne teloes cynnes melo, and dbace maninnewerdne

hands brddne hlaf, and gecned hine mid meolce and mid hdlig

Ful tecer fddres

lira cinne

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