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A.D. 1097. William makes a campaign in Wales, from Midsummer to August, without effect. The Norman lords build castles on the border.

William builds a wall around the Tower, a bridge over the Thames, and a great hall at Westminster; "and men were grievously oppressed. . . . and many perished thereby."

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Robert de Belesme, as William's general, makes war on the French, and endeavours to drive them from the Vexin ".

Anselm retires to Rome in October.

A.D. 1098. Edgar Atheling, with English aid, establishes his nephew Edgar on the throne in Scotland.

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Magnus III. of Norway conquers the Orkneys, the Hebrides, and the Isle of Man, and ravages Anglesey and other parts of Wales. On his death, a few years after, his conquests fell under the ecclesiastical influence of England".

A.D. 1099. William holds his first court in the new palace at Westminster at Pentecost.

Ranulph Flambard, the justiciary, is made bishop of Durham, in May, and consecrated June 5.

This small district lies on the right bank of the Seine, and was a frequent source of contention between France and Normandy. The strong fortress of Gisors was built in it by Robert of Belesme, who was a skilful engineer. * At Anglesey he was encountered by Hugh Montgomery earl of Shrewsbury, and Hugh of Avranches earl of Chester, who had re-captured the island. The death of the former, as recorded in the Heimskringla, affords an instance of clever marksmanship, which it is to be presumed could not often be paralleled :

King Magnus shot with the bow; but Hugo the Brave was all over in armour, so that nothing was bare about him excepting one eye. King Magnus let fly an arrow at him, as also did a man who was beside the king. They both struck him at once. The one shaft hit the nose-screen of the helmet, which was bent by it on one side, and the other arrow hit the earl's eye, and went through his head, and that was found to be the king's. Earl Hugo fell, and the English fled, with the loss of many people." The story is also told by Giraldus Cambrensis. The Normans withdrew, having conferred the government on Owen ap Edwin, who is said to have been the son of the widow of Edmund Ironside.

u The see of Sodor (or the Isles) and Man is of remote antiquity, being ascribed by some writers to the time of the Diocletian persecution. Reymund, or Wymund, a monk of the abbey of Seez, in Normandy, was consecrated to the see by Thomas, archbishop of York, between 1109 and 1114.

William passes into France, and subdues Maine*. A.D. 1100. William is killed in the New Forest, Aug. 2. He is buried in Winchester cathedral, “attended by many of the nobility," says William of Malmesbury, "though lamented by few."

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* Elias, the dispossessed count, was the grandfather of Geoffrey of Anjou,

the founder of the House of Plantagenet.

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HENRY, the youngest son of William I., was born at Selby, in Yorkshire, in 1068. He received a more liberal education than was then usual with princes, and hence has the name of Beauclerc. He sided alternately with his brothers Robert and William, but on one occasion when they united against him he was driven into exile. On William's death, being on the spot, he secured the English throne, and gained Normandy a few years after. His reign was marked by frequent quarrels with the king of France, and the partisans of his brother, and his latter years were devoted to a vain endeavour to secure his crown for his daughter Maud. He died in Normandy, after a considerable absence from England, Dec. 1, 1135.

Henry was twice married; first to the "good Queen Maud," the niece of Edgar Atheling, and secondly to Adelais of Louvain, who survived him. His only legitimate offspring were,

1. William, duke of Normandy, who perished at sea, in 1120; and

2. Maud, married first to Henry V. the emperor, and

She had been brought up in the nunnery of Romsey by her aunt, the abbess Christina, and she left it unwillingly to become a queen. Her name was Edith, but as Saxon appellations were discountenanced, it had been changed to Matilda (or Maud).

secondly to Geoffrey of Anjou. She long contested Stephen's possession of the throne, and died Sept. 10, 1167.

Two of Henry's numerous illegitimate issue were the firm friends of his daughter Maud; these were, Robert of Caen, created earl of Gloucester, and Reginald earl of Cornwall. One named Richard was drowned with Prince William; of another Robert, of Gilbert, Henry, and William, nothing particular is recorded. Of two daughters named Maud, one became countess of Britanny, the other countess of Perche; Juliana was married to Eustace de Pacie, lord of Breteuil; Constance to the viscount of Beaumont ; Elizabeth to Alexander of Scott; land; and of two other daughters, whose names have not been preserved, one was the wife of the lord of Montmorency, the other of William of Goet.

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The arms ascribed to Henry, as to his two immediate predecessors, are the arms of Normandy, Gules, two lions passant gardant in pale, or."

Henry shewed himself, throughout his career, treacherous, rapacious, and cruel; but as he suffered no other tyranny than his own, the Saxon Chronicler awards to him the merit of making "good peace ;" and adds that on his death "there was soon tribulation in the land, for every man that could, soon robbed another."

A.D. 1100. Henry, who had been chosen king at Winchester Aug. 3, is crowned at London Aug. 5a, by Maurice bishop of London. He grants a charter re-establish

b He was born in 1109. His mother was Nesta, styled a princess of Wales, in consequence of which he had great influence in that country, which he used for the support of his sister's cause. He was a learned man, and a most skilful general, and on his death in 1145 the contest ceased. By his wife Mabel, the daughter of Roger Fitz Hamon, he had a large family, and one of his granddaughters became the queen of John, but was divorced by him, that he might marry Isabel of Angouleme.

Whether his brother Robert was blinded by his order is not certain, but such barbarity was not unusual among the Normans; and it is known that Luke de Barri, a knightly poet, was thus treated by his positive command; his offence was some rhymes which he had composed against the king.

The years of his reign are reckoned from this day.

ing the laws ascribed to Edward the Confessor, and renews his grant at the following Whitsuntide *.

Ranulph, bishop of Durham, is imprisoned in the Tower, Sept. 14.

Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, is recalled.

ROBERT returns from the crusade to Normandy; "and he was joyfully received by all his people, except where the castles were held by King Henry's men."

Henry marries Maud, the orphan daughter of Malcolm of Scotland, Nov. 11.

A.D. 1101. Ranulph the bishop escapes from the Tower, Feb. 4.

Robert prepares to invade England; some of Henry's ships join him.

Robert lands at Portsmouth, July 19. He is very generally joined by the Normans, whilst the English support Henry. Robert proposes to put his claim to the issue of single combat, when Henry promises him the payment of 3,000 marks of silver yearly, and the pardon of his adherents. Robert withdraws to Normandy after Michaelmas.

A.D. 1102. ROBERT OF BELESME, earl of Shrewsbury, a partisan of Robert, fortifies his castles, but is defeated, stripped of his lands, and driven from England. Part of his lands granted to Jorwerth, prince of South Wales.

Olaf, son of Godred Cronan, obtains possession of Man and the Hebrides.

A.D. 1103. Magnus III. of Norway invades Ireland. He is killed at Moycoba, August 24%.

e Certain laws exist called those of Henry I., but they contain many mat. ters which shew they were compiled, or at least added to, after his time. The above charter in general terms promises a reformation of all abuses, and that only the lawful reliefs (see p. 155) shall be taken, while full freedom in regard to marriage is allowed to both wards and widows.

f In order to gain them over, Henry affected their manners and language. This greatly enraged the Normans, who styled him and his queen, Godric

and Godiva.

He is mentioned in the Heimskringla as Magnus Barbeen (Magnus the Barelegged), from having usually worn the Scottish kilt after his return from

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