mation, that he might have seized the adventurous spy. But the soldier told him that, as he had once sworn fealty to Anlaf, he could never have forgiven himself the treachery of betraying his ancient master; and that had he done so, his present sovereign might, after such an instance of perfidious conduct, have had equal reason to distrust his allegiance. He ventured, however, to counsel his majesty to remove his tent to another quarter,—an advice which it was thought prudent to comply with. The station thus left vacant by the king's removal was occupied by the bishop of Sherburn, who arrived in the evening with his reinforcement of soldiers: for, in those turbulent ages, the ecclesiastical and civil authorities were no less warlike than the regular professors of the military art. The event showed the wisdom of this precaution; for no sooner had darkness fallen than Anlaf, with a select band broke into the camp, and hastening directly to the spot where he had left the royal tent, cut the bishop and his retinue to pieces before they had time to prepare for their defence.3 But this triumph was of short duration. Athelstan hearing of the disaster, united and arranged all his forces for a decisive engagement. They were divided into two bodies, the first consisting of West Saxons, commanded by himself, which charged Anlaf,-the second, comprehending the warriors of Mercia and London, were conducted by the valiant Turketul, the chancellor, and opposed to the Scots and Cumbrians under Constantine. The conflict raged with great obstinacy. Whole ranks were mowed down, and their loss as quickly supplied by others hastening to become victims. The fortune of the day was determined by the valiant chancellor; having formed a compact body of chosen veterans from the citizens of London and the men of Worcestershire, he placed his huge muscular figure at their head, and rushed on the enemy with resistless impetuosity, heedless of the arrows and spears that fastened in his armour. The Scots made a gallant defence, but they were at length compelled to give way. Constantine, their king, succeeded in effecting his escape, but he lost his eldest son, a circumstance which has led some writers erroneously to assert that he himself fell in this memorable battle. The overthrow of their confederates so disheartened Anlaf's division that they also fled, charged in the rear by the victorious Turketul. This famous engagement, admitted to have been one of the bloodiest ever fought in the island, is celebrated in most of the annals of the time, both English and foreign. Among the AngloSaxons it excited such rejoicings, that not only their poets aspired to commemorate it, but the songs were so popular, that one of them is inserted in the Saxon Chronicle as the best memorial of the event. It states the battle to have lasted from sunrise till sunset,-mentions the death of five kings, and seven dukes or earls,—the flight of Constantine and Anlaf, and the noble valour of the Saxon warriors. Nor are the monks and miracle-workers silent on this subject, some of whom, though little deserving of credit, may not be unworthy of notice. We are gravely assured that wher Athelstan had dropped his sword in the field, another fell from heaven into the scabbard, at the prayer of Otho, archbishop of Canterbury; and with this celestial instrument he fought during the remainder of the day. He had, moreover, a visionary pre

Malm. 26.

sage of this conquest, four years before, when he invaded and defeated the Scots. In that expedition he had met on the road many pilgrims returning from the shrine of St John of Beverley, where the lame, the blind, and the sick, used then to resort for the cure of their respective diseases. The king ordering his army to march forward, went himself on a pilgrimage to this miraculous tomb; and, having besought the saint to give him assistance in the war which he had undertaken, he left his dagger as a pledge for the faithful performance of the vows he had there made. St John duly discharged his part of the agreement, for, in a vision, he promised him his aid, by which means Constantine and the Scots were completely discomfited. But not satisfied with merely gaining a victory, Athelstan ventured to request another favour from the saint: that he would be pleased to give some sign that might convince the Scots their kingdom depended jure divino on that of England. In consequence of this prayer, his arm was endowed with such supernatural strength that he cut with a stroke of his sword an ell deep into a solid rock near his camp at Dunbar, and left that chasm as an indubitable mark of his sovereignty over the country. The legend is abundantly absurd, but it is not unworthy of being recorded, and derives some importance from the historical fact that this cleft stone at Dunbar is actually insisted on by Edward I. in his letter to Pope Boniface, wherein he states his right over the king and kingdom of Scotland.

The battle of Brunsbury secured to Athelstan the undisputed enjoyment of his crown. Its successful result was of such consequence as to raise him to a most venerated dignity in the eyes of all Europe. The kings of the continent sought his friendship, and England began to assume a majestic attitude among the nations of the West. It was the fame of his exploits that induced Henry the Fowler, then emperor of Germany, to demand one of his sisters in marriage for his son Otho. Hugo, king of the Franks, solicited another of them for his son; and Lewis, prince of Aquitain, sent an embassy to desire a third for himself. On this occasion greater presents were sent into England than had ever been seen before, and the glory of Athelstan's court far surpassed that of any of his predecessors. In pursuance of his favourite design of rendering himself supreme master of the whole island, he led his victorious army immediately against the Welsh, or more properly the ancient Britons, and in this expedition he was equally fortunate; for, having beaten them in the field, he caused Ludwald, king of Wales, with all his petty princes, to meet him at Hereford, where they did him homage, and promised to pay him an yearly tribute of twenty pounds of gold, three hundred pounds of silver, one hunred pounds of wool, and twenty-five thousand head of cattle, with as many hawks and hounds as he should demand. He likewise expelled the Britons who had hitherto dwelt conjointly with the English at Exeter, and forced them to retire into Cornwall; making the river Tamar the boundary of his dominions on this side, as he had fixed the Wye on the other. So decisive was his subjugation of the AngloDanes, that he has received the fame of being the founder of the English monarchy, an honour generally ascribed to Egbert. The

The language of the ancient Britons was preserved in Cornwall until the reign of Henry VIII.

competition for this distinction can only rest between Alfred and Athelstan; but the Danish kings divided the island with the former; and it was not till his grandson had completely subjected those foreign invaders that the English monarchy was indisputably established. The defeat of Anlaf left him no competitor, and gave him the unquestionable title of being the immediate sovereign of all England.

Besides his good understanding with France and Germany, Athelstan was on intimate terms with Harold of Norway, who sent his son Haco to be educated at the English court, and to learn the customs of that nation who stood much higher in the scale of refinement than the Norwegians then just emerging from their original barbarism. The young prince was carefully instructed in every becoming accomplishment, and received a sword from his royal guardian which he kept till his death Harold on this occasion sent a present of a magnificent ship, with a golden prow, and purple sails surrounded with shields gilt internally. When disturbance at home recalled Haco to assist in expelling Eric, who had usurped the sole dominion of Norway at the expense of murdering his brother, Athelstan equipped and manned a fleet for his pupil, who by his aid succeeded in establishing himself on his father's throne in place of the cruel Eric. These generous actions have beer: passed in silence by most English writers, and thus has their monarch been robbed of part of his fame, but they are attested by the chronicles of the countries benefitted by his liberality. The remainder of his reign elapsed in peace and glory until the period of his death, which hap pened at Gloucester in the year 941.6

As to the person of Athelstan, we are told that he was of the middle size, of a pleasant countenance, somewhat bent in the shoulders, with hair of a bright yellow, twisted with golden threads. It does not appear that he was ever married, though the fabulous writers of the life of Guy of Warwick speak of a natural daughter of his, whom they name Leonada. His people loved him for his bravery and his beneficence; and he certainly ranks as one of the most admired princes of the age in which he lived, on account of his wisdom, his wealth, and the extent of his dominions, for he was not only monarch of England, but nominal lord of Wales and Scotland, which he had subdued as far as Dunbar, having ravaged the coasts with his fleets to the extremity of Caithness. He had received a liberal education, and was a great promoter of learning, though his subsequent attainments in knowledge have not been transmitted to us. There is however a small catalogue of his books extant; and if we may credit Tindal and Bale, he ordered the Bible to be translated from the Hebrew into the Saxon tongue for the use of his subjects, a task which they suppose to have been done by certain Jews converted to the Christian faith. Leland says that he found in the library of the monastery at Bath some books which had been given by this prince to the monks there; one of which, a treatise De Synodis Pontificiis, he brought from thence and placed in the library of king Henry VIII. It has an inscription of six lines, the first of which fixed its ownership.

"He was extolled, and deservedly, for his good government. And the laws of Haco 'the foster-son of Athelstan,' are the earliest written specimens of the legislation of Scandinavia, and the best proof of the advantages derived by the Norwegian prince from his education at the court of the Anglo Saxon king." Palgrave, vol. I. p. 211.

Chron. Sax 114.

On me great Ethelstan was wont to look,

And still his mark declares me once his book, &c.

But the great fame of this monarch arose from his laws, of which we have two editions, one by Lombard, and the other by Brompton. These are numerous and highly curious. One book consists of ancient laws, corrected, another of manners, and a third of constitutions for the government of the clergy. Mr Selden speaks of them very respectfully; and the perusal of them lets us into the knowledge of the Saxon antiquities, and thereby illustrates the history not only of those times, but also the grounds of our constitution as it still stands. Turner has mentioned the substance of some of these enactments, and they are useful in throwing light on the general policy of that reign. For the encouragement of commerce it was decreed that every merchant who should go three times beyond sea in trading-voyages on his own account, should be admitted to the rank of a thane or gentleman. A similar honour was connected with agriculture. Every ceorl who had five hides of his own land, a church, a kitchen, a bell-house, a seat at the city gate, and a separate office in the king's hall, was also to become a thane. But the possession of arms of honour, without land, would not exalt the proprietor. The prohibition to export horses, unless for presents, implies that the English steeds were valued abroad; and the law not to put sheep-skins as a cover upon shields, would seem to indicate that parchment was becoming more precious, and of course that literature was increasing. Amidst all his greatness Athelstan forgot not the rights of the poor. He ordered that each of his overseers should feed in all ways one indigent Englishman, if any such they either had or could find; and that from every two of his farms, one measure of meal, one gammon of bacon, or a ram, with four pennies, should be given monthly, and clothing for twelve months every year. He also commanded each of them annually to redeem one miserable being who had forfeited his liberty by a penal adjudication; and the consequence of disregarding any of these charitable precepts was a fine of thirty shillings. He is represented as having been a great benefactor to the church; he rebuilt several monasteries, and to most of them he was very liberal in books, ornaments, or endowments. It was a common saying of the AngloSaxons, that no prince more legally, or more learnedly, conducted a government; and, considering his character and acquirements, it is not surprising that he should have been beloved at home and admired abroad.

One incident yet remains to be stated, which has left an indelible stain on the memory and the virtues of this monarch,-the murder of his brother Edwin. Though the point is obscure, and the details contradictory, yet the fact is generally believed, and has been recorded by all the annalists of the times. The cause of the guilty deed was this. In the conspiracy of Alfred, Edwin, then a youth, was arraigned as an accomplice in the rebellion. The king, naturally suspicious, gave credit to the accusation, and notwithstanding the charge was denied on his oath, and the royal clemency implored by his friends, the innocence of the prince was not believed. Athelstan ordered him, with only one attendant, to be put on board a leaky boat without oars, and cast on the

sea. For some time they continued in sight of land, but a tempest arose, and drove them into the bosom of the deep. Without hope, and in danger of starvation, Edwin sprung from the shattered bark, and buried his despair in the waves. His body was afterwards thrown ashore between Dover and Whitsand. For seven years Athelstan in a cooler mood mourned his death with a penitence which could not obliterate the crime from his memory, and still less atone for it; though the monastery of Middleton in Dorsetshire was built in evidence of his contrition. The deed never could leave the conscience of the murderer, and an anecdote is related how keen his sensibilities were on this subject. The royal cup-bearer, who had been the prime instigator of this cruel action, happened while serving the king at table, to make a false step with one foot; but recovering himself with the other, "See," said he jocularly, "how one brother affords another help!" a remark which cost the unwary courtier his life, as being the cause of that fratricide which he now spoke of with so much levity. Except this foul olot-which is perhaps darkened by our ignorance of its true reasons— the testimony of history is in favour of Athelstan's uniform kindness to his brothers and sisters, for whose sake, it is said, he resolved to lead a life of celibacy.

Edmund the Elder.

BORN A. D. 922.-DIED A. D. 946.

EDMUND, sometimes called the Elder, son of Edward by his second wife, succeeded to the crown on the death of Athelstan. At the outset of his reign he met with renewed disturbance from Anlaf and the restless Northumbrians, who lay in wait for every opportunity of breaking into rebellion. Anlaf had been invited from Ireland, and being proclaimed king of Northumberland, he collected a large armament, and landing near York, marched into the heart of Mercia. Edmund was less able or less fortunate than his predecessor, for Anlaf defeated him at Tamworth; but the Anglo-Saxon government was now so well established that these partial disasters could not overturn it. At Leicester the king surrounded the rebel chief, with his friend Wolfstan the ambitious archbishop of York; but at night they made a sally from the town, and in the battle which ensued, the palm of victory after a day of conflict again fell to Anlaf. Edmund was now glad to listen to negotiations, and a peace was concluded much less honourable to him than his rival, to whom he agreed to surrender all that part of England which extended north of Watling street, reserving to himself the southern regions. To the treaty this most humiliating condition was annexed, that whoever survived the other should be sole monarch of the whole. The death of Anlaf, the following year, relieved Edmund of a danger. ous competitor, who, by his talents and intrepidity, had raised himself to so near a possession of the English crown. The loss of their leader was followed by the submission of the rebels, and as a sure pledge of their obedience they offered to embrace Christianity,—a religion which

'A common mode of punishment in the middle ages.