1060-1006 Richard, the son of Scrub, Humphrey Cock'sfoot, and the Groom of the stirrup, were excepted from this proscription: obscure, mean men, whom Godwin could not fear. Robert, the monk of Jumièges, who had been promoted to the Archbishopric of Canterbury, was just able to escape with his life, so highly were the people incensed against him. He and Ulf, Bishop of Dorchester, after scouring the country, broke out through the East-gate of Canterbury, and killing and wounding those who attempted to stop them, they betook themselves to the coast, and got out to sea. Other of the Frenchmen retired to the Castles of their countrymen. And the restoration of the Queen to her former rank, completed the triumph of the Godwin family.

Edward tries

to settle the Crown in the

§ 21. Old age was now rapidly advancing Saxon family upon Edward. He was childless. He saw the increasing power of Harold, and that the kingdom which he had been called to govern would be exposed to the greatest confusion. He recalled "Edward the Outlaw," [sole surviving descendant to Edmund Ironside,] from Hungary, with the intention of proclaiming him as heir to the crown.

1057

Edmund Ironside had been much beloved, and greatly did England rejoice when Edward, no longer the Outlaw, but the Atheling, arrived here, accompanied by his wife Agatha, the emperor's kinswoman, and his three fair children, -Edgar, Christina, and Margaret. But the

Death of
Edward the

people's gladness was speedily turned to sorrow. 1060-1066 Very shortly after the Atheling arrived in London, he sickened and died. He was buried in outlaw. St. Paul's Cathedral; and sad and ruthful were the forebodings of the English, when they saw him borne to his grave.-Harold gained exceedingly by this event. Did the Atheling die a natural death ?-the lamentations of the chroniclers seem to imply more than meets the ear.

sor reverts to

Edward's design having thus been frustrated, 1058-1065 he determined that William of Normandy should The Confessucceed him on the throne of England, and he William. executed, or, perhaps, re-executed a will to that effect, bequeathing the crown to his good cousin. This choice, disastrous as it afterwards appeared to be from its consequences, was not devoid of foresight and prudence. Edward, without doubt, viewed the nomination of the Norman as the surest mode of averting from his subjects the evils of foreign servitude or domestic war. The Danish Kings, the pirates of the north, were yearning to regain the realm, which their great Canute had ruled. At the very outset of Edward's reign, Magnus, the successor of Hardicanute, had claimed the English crown. A competitor at home had diverted Magnus from this enterprise; but it might at any time be resumed. And how much better would the wise and valiant William be able to resist the Danish invasions, than the infant Edgar? Harold was brave and experienced in war, but

1060-1066 his elevation to the throne might be productive of the greatest evil. The grandsons of Leofric, who ruled half England, would scarcely submit to the dominion of an equal; the obstacle arising from Harold's ancestry was, indeed, insuperable. No individual, who was not of an antient royal house, had ever been able to maintain himself upon an Anglo-Saxon throne.

William's claims.

William himself asserted that Edward had acted with the advice and consent of the great Earls, Siward, Leofric, and Godwin himself; consequently the bequest was made before the arrival of Edward the Outlaw. The son and nephew of Godwin, who were then in Normandy, had also been sent to him, as he maintained, in the characters of pledges or hostages, that the will should be carried into effect; or, as is most probable, that no opposition should be raised by the powerful earl. The three earls thus vouched were not living when William made this assertion; but if we do not distrust his veracity and honour, we may suppose that Edward, in the first instance, appointed William as his heir. As the king grew older, his affection for his own kindred awakened, and he recalled the Atheling, revoking his devise to the stranger; to which, however, he seems to have returned again, when his kinsman died.

The messenger by whom the intelligence of the bequest, thus made by Edward, reached William, was no other than Harold. There is

visit:

much contradiction as to the immediate cause 1060-1066 of Harold's journey; nor are we less in doubt Harold's concerning the minor incidents. [He is said to see p. 277. have been tempest-thrown on Ponthieu, seized in pursuance of local custom by the Count Guido, and liberated from him at William's order. The dramatic circumstances of Harold's oath on concealed relics, are totally unknown to the earlier and only trustworthy annalists.] Whether accident or design conducted him to the court of the Duke of Normandy, is uncertain; and the preceding account of the two wills in favour of William, is an hypothesis collected only from the general bearing of the narrations. William, well aware of Harold's influence, used every endeavour to ensure his future aid; and, in return, William agreed to bestow upon Harold the hand of his daughter, the fair Adela. The English earl promised that he would give up to the Norman duke the castle of Dover, a fortress belonging to him as part of the inheritance of Godwin, and considered as the key of England. He confirmed the engagement by oath, and became the "man," or vassal, of William, whom he acknowledged as his future sovereign.

in Wales.

§ 22. In the meanwhile Harold was rising 1063–1064 in repute. He invaded Wales, and desolated the Harold's war country. Griffith opposed him valiantly, but he was slain by the treachery of his own countrymen. His gory head was sent to the Confessor as a trophy of victory; his dominions were

1060-1066 bestowed upon his brothers Blethyn and Rhiwallon, who were accessary to the murder. And these princes became the vassals, not only of King Edward, but of Earl Harold, to whom they performed fealty and homage. As Earl of Wessex, Harold could have no claim to this obedience, and if enforced by him, the act can only be construed as an attempt to establish a sovereign power.

Jan. 5, 1066

Confessor.

Edward was now rapidly declining in health; he had rebuilt the ancient Abbey of Westminster, founded, as you will recollect, by Sebert, but which had been ruined during the Danish wars. And, holding his court, according to the antient custom, at Christmas, he caused the new fabric to be consecrated, in the presence of the nobles assembled during that solemn festival.

Edward felt that the hand of death was upon Death of the him. A little while before he expired, Harold and his kinsmen forced their way into the chamber of the Monarch, and exhorted him to name a successor, by whom the realm might be ruled in peace and security.-"Ye know full well, my lords," said Edward, "that I have bequeathed my kingdom to the Duke of Normandy, and are there not those here whose oaths have been given to secure his succession?"Harold stepped nearer, and interrupting the King, he asked of Edward, upon whom the crown should be bestowed.-" Harold! take it, if such be thy wish; but the gift will be thy