98 HARBOURS OF THE COTENTIN. 996-1024 correspondence with the adverse shore of the Channel; for, could the Isle of Wight be towed across the water, the southern moiety of the rhomboid would drop into the opposite roads. Barfleurdangers of the port. All the layers of population, the successive occupants of this region, have endeavoured in their turn to render the advantageous locality more defensible. The earliest amongst these works, presenting a series commencing with the dawn of civilization, and prosecuted uninterruptedly until our times, is evidently the “Hogue Dyke," an entrenchment exhibiting the unskilled labour of the pre-historic age. The Dyke isolates the Cape of the Hogue, thereby converting the Head of the Promontory into a species of rude stronghold. Various examples of this device exist in Great Britain; and the Downs, all around the "Hogue Dyke," are dotted with sepulchral Tumuli, constituting the class which gladdens the merry heart of the Archæologist, when, as the Manager of the jovial desecrationthe savoury contents of the basket spread on the elastic turf,-he startles the ladies by wielding the carious thigh bone, or bowling the grinning skull. As to the name of the "Hogue Dyke," transmitted by the enchorial tradition, it is clearly Teutonic; but nothing more can be predicated concerning the etymology. 29. Only two harbours or waters of refuge are found in the Peninsula.-Barfleur, the one Port, though during the middle ages, the most ac IMPORTANCE OF THE COTENTIN. 99 1120Shipwreck the Atheling. customed, offers but a perilous entry or departure; 996-1024 haunted by the gloomy celebrity resulting from the shipwreck of the "Blanche nef," and the of William unhappy loss of that wayward child, not the less mourned by reason of his errors, the Atheling William, in whom the male line of the Conqueror became extinct, and after whose death the Royal father never smiled again. Barfleur as a com the excel Cherbourg. fortified by the Romans. A most ample compensation however is Danger of afforded for Barfleur's disadvantages, in the excel-pensated by lence of the harbour and the magnificent roadstead lence of for which Cherbourg, the other Port, lying, as nearly as possible, in the centre of the magnificent sweep of the northern bay, is renowned: and Cherbourg it was to this station that the Romans first directed their care. "Cæsaris Burgus" has continuously attracted the attention of the Rulers of the Gauls, of Normandy, and of France. The supposed etymon of the name may be a scholastic fancy, but it is very certain that Cherbourg's present defences replace the fortifications raised by the Masters of the World. Subsequently to the Imperial age, the more antient muniments were included in, or concealed by, a medieval fortress, the occasional residence of Harold Blaatand. The Norman Dukes, as English Kings, and the Capetian Kings of France, and the successors of the Capetian Kings, have constantly and steadily directed their vigilance to these quarters. The prudence of Louis Quatorze bestowed the additional strength which, 100 INHABITANTS OF THE COTENTIN. 996-1024 in his time, was necessary for the security of a position threatened by the most formidable amongst his maritime enemies. When the bastions of Vauban arose, the relics of classic antiquity disclosed how sagaciously the Cæsars had anticipated the great teacher of modern strategy. Whilst I am writing these lines, the Statesmen of the Tuilleries are hastening the works considered as imperatively demanded for the safety of the State. And the cyclopean constructions battling with the waves, will, ere long, complete the pride of Maritime France. Bravery of the inhabi tants of the Cotentin. The inhabitants of the Cotentin were congenerous with the natural citadel, of which, so to speak, they composed the garrison. When the region and the people first come under our cognizance, we find a race descended from the purest Danishry, retaining all the vigour of their progenitors conjoined to the lessons derived from civilization; soldiers and sailors, the bravest on land, the most skilful on the seas. Who so prompt for service, who so clever, who so agile, and who so stalwart, as the Cotentin Butsekarls, ever ready to affront their foes or defend their land? They inherited all the boldness, and all the skill of the antient Vikings. 30. The repartition of the country amongst Rollo's followers was prosecuted immediately after the conclusion of the treaty which recogOslac settled nized his domination. Here he fixed the brave in the Cotentin by and trusty Oslac, whom we have reverenced Rollo. BARONAGE OF THE COTENTIN. 101 as the grey-headed guardian of Richard Sans- 996-1024 peur. of Saint Sauveur Rollo. Another donee is known. Evidence concern- The barony ing the process adopted in settling the primary created by allotment of the Neustrian land amongst the Northmen is exceedingly rare; but the Seigneurs of Saint Sauveur long treasured amongst their archives, a copy of the grant by which the territory had been bestowed upon their ancestor, Richard, one of Rollo's principal commanders. The domain is described as principally consisting of wood and waste land. tances, consecrated the domestic chapel, and the instrument attesting the performance of the rite rehabilitates the primal concession, which, the example being solitary, we might otherwise be apt to reject altogether. Herbert, Bishop of Cou This circumstance, however, would not furnish an irrefragable reason for critical scepticism. It is certain that the donations made by the Conqueror in England required to be attested by his charter under seal, and yet, only one such charter, amongst the many hundreds that were granted, can now be found. The Castle of Saint Sauveur still exists; and it is possible that some portions of the primitive structure may be incorporated in the picturesque ruin. This same Barony of Saint Sauveur is of great importance in Norman history. The dotation in question, composing the premier Barony of 102 CASTLES OF THE COTENTIN. 999-1024 the Cotentin, descended to Richard's son Neel or Nigel, VI. Nigel, who was also appointed Vicomte of the Co Vi comte of the Cotentin. tentin; and the dignity continued hereditary in the The Cotentin The Coten tin the pecu Saint Sauveur family, till forfeited by rebellion. In Normandy, as in England, the Jurists held that the erection of a Castle, unless sanctioned by the Sovereign's licence, was an illegal act. But whether or no, the Cotentin Baronage freely assumed the power; and, within three generations and four, from the first settlement made by Rollo and his feres, the Cotentin bristled with the fortresses which the Baronage had raised. The massy quadrangular Keep, so impressive upon the imagination by its bulk and stately solidity, and commonly accepted as the normal type of a Norman Castle, was introduced into Normandy from Maine. Nevertheless, the Cotentin Castles, wide in their range, and richly varied in their architectural style, constitute the ornament of the landscape: and, after all the dilapidations, restorations, or destructions, which they sustained, whether occasioned by war, or consequent upon peace, effected by violence, or dictated by taste or necessity, more than one hundred of these structures still survive. - We read the history of the country on the face of the country Each of these Castles proclaims the lineage of the Con- to whom the stronghold whilom appertained. liar nursery querors of Sicily, and England. Apulia, No Baronage in France more pure in race, more active, more sturdy, or more needy. The popu |