Bretwalda, A.D. 656. Mercia became even more powerful under Ethelbald (716-755), who, in his wars against the Britons, united under his standard the kingdoms of East Anglia, Kent, Essex, and, for a while, also Wessex. At one time his power extended over all England south of the Humber, and he signs himself "King of Britain in a charter of the year 736. His still greater successor, Offa. curbed the Britons of Cambria by a rampart drawn from the Dee to the Wye, called Offa's Dyke; and he enjoyed the friendship and alliance of Charlemagne. But he brought a stain upon his famo by treacherously murdering Ethelbert king of East Anglia in 792, and seizing his kingdom, a crime for which he sought to atone by liberality to the Church and the institution of "Peter's pence." After his death, in 796, the kingdom declined; but in 823 Beornwulf invaded Wessex, hoping to strike a fatal blow at the rising power of Egbert, who had till now been engaged in regulating his kingdom and making war upon the Britons in Cornwall and Wales. Egbert defeated the invaders, and wrested from Mercia the tributary kingdoms of Kent and Sussex. The East Angles revolted from Mercia, and placed themselves under Egbert's protection. Both to them and Mercia he granted the power of electing kings subject and tributary to himself; and he soon afterwards received the submission of Northumbria, which he placed on the same footing. Thus England was virtually united in 827 under Egbert as the eighth Bretwalda; but the title of "King of the English" was first adopted by Edward the Elder son of Alfred the Great.

Anglo-Saxon Females.

II

Saxon Church. From Cotton MS.

CHAPTER III.

THE ANGLO-SAXONS, FROM THE UNION OF ENGLAND UNDER EGBERT TO CANUTE THE DANE. A.D. 827-1016.

SCARCELY had the first fruits of the union of Saxon England been shown by a successful expedition made by Egbert into Northumbria, when the kingdom was threatened by a new enemy of kindred race, and from regions bordering on the old homes of the Angles and Saxons. The people known by the name of NORTHMEN came from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, which were then included under the general name of Scandinavia. They retained, with the worship of Odin, the savage character and piratical habits which the Saxons had brought into Britain four centuries earlier: and their blood-red

flag, bearing a black raven, which they used in divination, was the signal of fire and bloodshed. These Vikings (that is, in Danish, pirates) wasted all the coasts of the Baltic and North Sea. They had already begun to take up winter quarters on the coasts of England, when Egbert died in A.D. 836.

His son ETHELWULF (836-858), a feeble devotee, divided his kingdom with his eldest son Athelstane, who reigned over Essex, Kent, and Sussex. Athelstane having died before his father, the kingdom was divided, on the death of Ethelwulf, between his next two sons, ETHELBALD and ETHELBERT (A.D. 858-866), but reunited under his fourth son ETHELRED (A.D. 866-871). The last year of Ethelred was signalized by the martyrdom of ST. EDMUND, king of East Anglia, by the Danes. The place of his burial is still marked by the town of Bury St. Edmund's, in Suffolk, with the ruins of the splendid monastery dedicated to the royal saint and martyr. But the same year witnessed the accession of Alfred, to save his country then, and to be honoured by her for ever :

"The pious Alfred, king to justice dear,

Lord of the harp and liberating spear."

ALFRED THE GREAT (A.D. 871-901) was the fifth son of Ethelwulf, and the grandson of Egbert. He was born at Wantage, in Berkshire, in 849. To his devoted mother, Osburga, he owed, besides a training in every virtue, the excitement of a spirit of patriotism and the love of learning through the knowledge of the Anglo-Saxon poems. When only six years old he was taken by his father to Rome; and he was not too young to receive lasting impressions from the visit. Amidst his studies he obeyed the call to arms; and at the age of twenty he shared in his brother's victory over the Danes at Ashdune (probably Ashton) in Berkshire. He succeeded to the crown of Wessex in 871 under his father's will, and by the public voice, in preference to Ethelred's children. For seven years he fought against the Danes, who had penetrated as far as Wiltshire; often defeating them, and then again reduced to extremity by the swarms of fresh invaders.

On such an occasion he had dismissed his followers, and taken refuge in the cottage of his own neat-herd, whose wife, not knowing the king, desired him to mind some cakes that were baking on the hearth. While busying himself with his weapons Alfred neglected to turn the cakes, and bore the reproof of the dame, when she saw them burnt, with the same grace with which he forgave her when she learnt his dignity.

In 876 Alfred made a peace with Guthrum and his Danes, who swore on their holy ring to leave the island; but they instantly ENG.

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broke the oath and surprised Exeter. In 877 Alfred drove them into Mercia, but in 878 they returned, and compelled him to take refuge in Æthelingay (i.e. the Isle of Nobles, now Athelney), an island amidst morasses in Somerset. Here he maintained and exercised his followers by frequent sallies till he judged that the time had come for a new effort. He then ventured himself into the Danish camp, disguised as a harper, and gained by his music and wit the hospitality of Guthrum. Finding the Danes sunk in security, he secretly gathered an army, surprised their camp near Westbury, and defeated them with great slaughter. Guthrum, closely besieged with the remnant of his army, accepted peace on the condition that he should embrace Christianity and receive the kingdom of East Anglia, to which a large part of Mercia was soon added. The Danes were thus finally established in the East and centre of England, their western boundary being the line of Watling Street. They had already possessed themselves of the part of Mercia north of the Wash and of Northumbria.

Alfred now devoted himself to the military organization of his remaining dominions, and to every means of improving the condition of his subjects. He rebuilt the ruined cities, and among them London; established a militia; and gathered a fleet of 120 ships, built even better than the Danish. In 893 he had to meet a new invasion of the Danes under Hasting, whom he finally repulsed in 897. He died October 26th, 901, at the age of 52, and in the 30th year of his reign.

Few, if any kings, have so well deserved the epithet of GREAT. He possessed and cultivated every virtue, public and private, belonging to a man, a Christian, and a king, and suited to the times in which he lived and the work he had to do. He saved his people in war; ruled them firmly in peace; and gave them just laws and the light of learning. And all this he did chiefly by first training and governing himself. His time was divided into three equal portions: one for sleep and bodily exercise; one for business; and one for study and devotion. To measure his time, he invented the plan of burning candles of certain lengths in lanterns. By such self-discipline, the same man who gained, in 56 battles, the fame of Founder of the English Monarchy, became also the Founder of English Literature. He himself translated the Histories of Orosius and Bede, Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy,' and many other works; and he invited celebrated scholars from the Continent. He founded schools, and enjoined their use; but there is no sufficient authority for the tradition which makes him the founder, or restorer, of the University of Oxford. The arts of wealth and common life were equally

A.D. 901.

ANGLO-SAXON INSTITUTIONS.

19

promoted by him. He encouraged commerce and manufactures; devoted a seventh of his revenue to public works; and invited ingenious foreigners to settle in the country.

Alfred's fame as a civil governor has caused the institutions of other Anglo-Saxon legislators to be ascribed to him. But, at all events, his reign is the most convenient epoch for a brief review of the institutions of our Saxon forefathers, of which we still retain the essential spirit, together with many of the forms.

These institutions were derived from those of the Old Germans. Their leading principle was that of personal liberty, regulated for the common good by a discipline chiefly military. The form of government was an elective monarchy, which was generally retained in one family, but not in strict lineal succession. The chieftain (Heretoga, i. e. army-leader) became afterwards king (Cyning, probably son of the nation, from cyn, race, and ing, the patronymic suffix), and his sons and kindred were nobles (athelings, from Aethel or Ethel, i. e. noble). The rest of the people were divided into earls (eorls) and churls (ceorls), that is, gentle and simple. The Ealdormen (aldermen, i. e. elder-men) were originally the chief nobles, but afterwards persons of official rank, such as governors of shires. Next came the thanes (theyn, from thegnian, to serve), a kind of knights, whose rank depended on the possession of a certain estate, and who were liable to serve in war as cavalry. The churls (ceorls) were the rest of the freemen; and the serfs (theowas, or esnas) were slaves, chiefly of the conquered Celtic race. The clergy shared with the nobles in the government. There was a national council, called Witena-gemôt, that is, assembly of the witans, or wise men, whose assent was necessary before the king could enact a law. It was composed of bishops, abbots, aldermen, and perhaps the superior thanes.

The land was divided between the state (folcland), and individuals who held their property as freeholds in perpetuity (boc-land, from boc, the book or charter by which the title was conveyed): the latter was granted by the king, with consent of the witan. The division into Shires is much more ancient than Alfred: it arose in part from the smaller kingdoms and their subdivisions, as Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk; but the more general distribution is not explained. Yorkshire and Lincolnshire were subdivided into thirds (tredings, now corrupted into ridings). Each county held its court of justice twice a year, under the alderman and bishop; and the executive officer was the scir-gerefa (shirereeve, or sheriff).

The subdivision of counties into hundreds arose out of a very