joined, instead of studying the real models of style, were chiefly trained in systematic manuals of these sciences, filled with unprofitable definitions, and unnecessary distinctions; and that, in learning the arts of elegance, they acquired the barbarous improprieties of diction which those arts were intended to remove and reform.' "27 It is also well known that, when Dean Colet founded Saint Paul's school, such was the prejudice entertained by some of the heads of the church against the study of the classics, that a bishop declared that the place deserved to be styled a house of pagan idolatry. But both the bad taste, and the prejudices which had so long prevailed, gradually vanished as the communication with foreign countries for literary purposes became more frequent; as greater facilities were afforded for the perusal of the ancient writers, and the nation obtained sufficient repose to indulge in the pursuits of peace. The study of Greek was commenced in Oxford at the instigation of two of the most distinguished scholars of the period, Grocyn and Linacer. They were, however, violently opposed in their endeavours to impart to England the means of improvement which had already begun to operate so beneficially in Italy and France. For a long time the university was divided into two parties; those who favoured the new study taking to themselves the name of Grecians,— and its opponents as naturally assuming the appellation of Trojans. But too many circumstances operated on the side of the more erudite party to allow of its being exposed to a defeat, and besides the advantages it enjoyed from the better state of the nation, it derived no slight assistance from the character of the monarch himself. Bacon has beautifully as well as forcibly delineated the peculiarities of Henry's disposition. "He was," says he, "a prince, sad, serious, and full of thoughts and secret observations, and full of notes and memorials of his own hand, especially touching persons, as whom to employ, whom to reward, whom to inquire of, whom to beware of, what were the dependencies, what were the factions, and the like,-keeping, as it were, a journal of his thoughts."28 Of his pursuits, he remarks, that he was more studious than learned;' and, of his natural ability, that the sight of his mind was like some sights of eyes, rather strong at hand, than to carry afar off."29 Under a sovereign of this character men of learning and ability, especially if those qualities appeared conjoined with prudence, were more likely to find their talents duly appreciated than under one of a less cautious disposition. His acquirements, however, were sufficient to inspire him with a respect for letters; while the prosperity and calm which distinguished the latter years of his reign, left him at leisure to observe and examine the best methods of promoting both commerce and the arts. By his politic treatment of the nobles, the middle classes rose into wealth and consideration; and, though some of his regulations were founded perhaps on contracted views of government, and his love of accumulation induced him to encourage his ministers in an unworthy system of peculation, the nation found itself at the conclusion of his reign, surrounded with better prospects, and possessed of more numerous means of acquiring opulence, and securing its privileges than it had ever before enjoyed. The progress of improvement corresponded to these auspicious circumstances. More than one Hist. Sa. xvii. vol. ii. 6 29 Id. 191. A species of popular amusement exhibited signs of advancing intelligence. The drama, though still in swathing clothes, and devoted to religious shows, began to be attended to with some care and taste. Grammar schools were erected in almost every quarter of the kingdom; and a community was now in existence capable of foreseeing the advantages which would result to the next generation from such institutions. great change, in fact, was on the eve of taking place, and the country seemed to feel conscious of its approach. A new order of things was about to call forth the whole strength of the national spirit, and it seemed to be already gathering together and preparing its forces for the better enjoyment of truth and liberty. I. POLITICAL SERIES Edward F. BORN A. D. 1238.-Died A. D. 1307. It is impossible to enter on the details and discussions connected with the biography, whether personal or political, of this distinguished monarch, without a conviction that we are treading new ground. Circumstances had occurred during the troubled reign of his father, which gave a determination to the course of events, not thereafter to be controlled, however it might be resisted or modified, by the ablest or most powerful rulers. The regency-ingenious, indeed, but still liable to the inherent infirmities of an imperfect authority-of Pembroke; the popular measures of de Montfort; and the fluctuating temper of Henry, had given to the people-plebs, as contradistinguished from populus— a feeling, with which it was perilous to trifle, of their weight and importance in all political calculations, and in every estimate of the national strength: nor was it among the least remarkable circumstances of the time, that the individual who was, in virtue of his rank, called to take the lead in this novel and critical state of things, was also eminently gifted in all the qualities necessary for the maintenance of his authority and influence amid doubtful claims and dangerous responsibilities. His personal advantages were not less conspicuous than his mental endowments. His commanding stature, sinewy frame, majestic countenance, and active movements, fitted him for the chieftainship of a spirited nation, warlike in its habits, conscious of its strength, tenacious of its rights, and struggling resolutely against the depressing and enthralling domination of prejudice and prerogative. Irascible and fierce in his resentments, he was yet singularly placable, and although firm of purpose, he gave way with the pliability of a seasoned politician to urgent and immediate considerations. Never were the uses of adversity' more happily exemplified than in his instance: young as he was when first compelled to engage in the strifes of war and policy, he proved himself equal to the emergency, nor was he less the affectionate son than the enlightened and energetic prince. He was the stay of his father's throne; the sharer of his captivity; and he ulti mately rescued him from his enemies, and established his authority on a firm foundation. His early youth appears to have been of a vicious and turbulent character. He associated himself with riotous and lawless companions, and there are statements in the contemporary historians, which represent him as permitting, if not encouraging, in the retainers of his court, the most violent and licentious courses. From this cloud, however, he speedily broke forth, and held his after-journey along a brighter path. He was an accomplished knight, skilful and intrepid in the tourney; and when, on one remarkable occasion, at a tilting-match in foreign parts, it was sought to effect his defeat by fraud and force combined, his dexterity and coolness gave him signal victory. A powerful opponent finding it in vain to assail him with the lance or the sword, seized him at unawares in a strenuous grasp, and sought thus to bring him to the ground. Edward, whose length of limb gave him immoveable firmness in his seat, sat like a rock, and giving his horse the spur, forced his antagonist from the saddle, and easily shook him to the earth. He was little more than eighteen when he entered, under most difficult circumstances, on the practical part of government, nor was it possible to blend more of wisdom and dignity than was exhibited by him in a situation that might have made a veteran statesman doubtful of his course. When the mad parliament' had, by the provisions of Oxford, reduced the crown to a mere dependence on the aristocracy, the signature of the prince was insisted on as an essential particular of the contract between the king and the malcontent barons. Edward, young as he was, surrounded by dangers and left to his personal resources, hesitated long, and only yielded at last to the conviction that no alternative was left. Yet, when afterward he was urged to break through a compact imposed by force, and accepted from sheer necessity, and rendered null by the violence and bad faith of the other contracting party, he refused, although circumstances encouraged the attempt to avail himself of the occasion; nor did he draw the sword until events had rendered inevitable the appeal to arms. His military character was famed betimes. In his first battle, he missed the crisis of victory, by yielding to his impetuous courage; but, in the conduct of his second fight, he extorted the admiration of the most consummate commander of the age. Some time before his father's death, Edward had, in the language of one of our annalists, undertaken the crusado;' and a sufficiently interesting romance might be manufactured out of the apocryphal details which have been blended with his real adventures. The truth may be stated in brief space. He landed with 1000 soldiers at St John d'Acre, augmented his army to 7000 men; repelled the Saracens who assailed him on his march, and made himself master of Nazareth. With a small band of active warriors, he succeeded in surprising a large assemblage of natives in the celebration of one of their great festivals. The rout was complete, and the plunder immense; but the unresisted slaughter was savage and degrading: non-combatants were not spared,-men, women, and children, were unrelentingly butchered. Finding all efforts against him in the field unavailing, the dagger of the assassin was employed, but the activity and strength of the prince saved him from leath; and to this simple statement has been added an affecting but altogether poetical incident: his wife, Eleanora of Castile, is said to have applied her mouth to the wound, and to have drawn forth the poison with which the weapon had been anointed. That the poniard was envenomed is probable; and it appears certain that gangrene—the effect either of the unguent or of the climate-ensued; but as truth and gallantry are not always in alliance, for the lady's lips we must read the surgeon's knife, and, though it be not so set down, perhaps the actual cautery, in those days of rough chirurgery, was frequently applied to wounds. A truce with the soldan left Edward at liberty to return home, but his progress through the intervening countries was rather a continual ovation than a journey; and though he received at Sicily the intelligence of his father's death, it was nearly two years after that announcement, ere he entered his capital in pomp and glory, amid the acclamations of his people. The passionate and vindictive qualities of Edward's temper were nɔt permitted to interfere with his general policy, however their violent outbreak in the hour of success might tarnish the counsels or the actions of which they were the sequence. His intellect was vigorous and forecasting, calculating all the probabilities, and providing against all casualties. His great political scheme, from the very outset, seems to have comprehended the complete subjugation of Great Britain; the reduction of the independent kingdoms of Scotland and Wales under his own sovereignty. And so much of power and subtlety did he employ, with such overpowering force and fierce determination did he make his inroad, that in one instance he succeeded, and in the other his exertions ceased only with his death: in both cases, whatever of success he might achieve, was in great part due to those internal dissensions and treacheries with which both countries were vexed, and which he maintained and promoted with most unscrupulous policy. While only prince, he had led an English army over the Severn; but now, when vested with regal power, he addressed himself to permanent conquest. The first campaign, aided by all the formalities of bell, book, and candle, and sanctioned by act of parliament, terminated in a hollow and transient truce. A second invasion, conducted on sound principles of strategy, placed the English army in the rear of Llewellyn's defences: that brave monarch fell in a reconnoissance, and the mountain-fastnesses of his people were stormed and destroyed. In a calmer period, and under a more liberal system, it awakens surprise and anger, that the valour of a patriotic king, dying in defence of his country, could not secure his remains from insult: his head, encircled with a mock diadem, was set upon a spike for the edification of the men of London.1 The hurdle and the gallows were his brother's fate. Cambria was annexed to England, and placed under English institutions; nor was it the least felicitous of political devices, that assigned a Welsh fortress as the birthplace of an expected son, and invested the young Cambro-Briton with the title of the Prince of Wales. It would be unjust to the memory of Edward, stained as it is with savage and revengeful perpetrations, not to add, that the imputed massacre of the Welsh bards rests on no adequate authority. Scotland was a higher prize, and its conquest a harder game. The 1 Heming, I. 13.-Dunst, 475. 6 Cwmri, notwithstanding the excellence of their bards, were little better than savages; and their half-armed militia, without leaders, were hunted down and dissipated after the deaths of David and Llewelyn. But the men of the North met the Southron on equal terms. Less refined, probably, because less commercial, there was no inferiority in aught that related to the science of government and the custom of political association. The Scottish horse was inferior both in number and equipment to the baronial chivalry of the south; but, though overwhelmed by England's arrow-flight,' while the battle was at a distance, the heavier weapons of the northern infantry seem to have had the advantage when the fight was hand to hand. Want of mutual confidence and co-operation was the bane of Scotland in the hour of her depression; but there never lacked leaders, brave and skilful, even to her failing cause. Wallace, Douglas, Randolph, the Bruces, were among the most accomplished officers of their day, and they might have dictated their own terms as the price of their submission; yet, though danger and a bloody death on the scaffold or the field menaced the holy insurrection, they put all to hazard for the independence of their country, and, after a long and doubtful struggle, effected their noble purpose. Edward's first measures for the union of the two countries had been wise and honourable. He negotiated a marriage between his son and the heiress of Scotland, and the treaty had been concluded on terms satisfactory to both nations, when the whole scheme was rendered vain by the death of the princess. Edward, however, was not content to have his favourite object thus defeated, and he pressed steadily and unscrupulously forward to its attainment. The power of England was not only physically and economically greater than that of Scotland, but her strength was concentrated under the command of an able and politic monarch, while the energies of the latter were exhausted in domestic broils, and misapplied by dishonest counsels. At least a dozen claimants were clamouring for the crown and in evil hour Edward was made the referee,---a measure which might have been the result of mere timidity, but which has marvellously the aspect of treacherous compact. It forms no part of our plan— assuredly it was none of Edward's-to settle the question of personal right, in the controversy of Bruce and Baliol; it is quite enough to observe, that when the sovereignty was awarded to the latter, the king of England exhibited a much more accurate knowledge of individual character, than disinterested regard for the well-being of the nation which had chosen him as umpire. He availed himself of the occasion to set up the most extravagant claims, and a large concession of feudal rights gave him a solemn investiture as seczerain of Caledonia.3 The parchment king took the oath of fealty, and kept it so long as there was no temptation to break it: but in 1295, an opportunity offering of alliance with France, he listened to bolder counsels, and forwarded to England a formal renunciation of his fealty. Edward received the document with stern contempt. "Does the senseless traitor play the fool after this fashion? If he come not to us, we will go to him." His general, the earl Warenne, gained the decisive battle of Dunbar; Baliol surrendered, and military possession was taken of Heming, I. 30. Rym. II. 512-580. |
