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of Westminster, furnish many useful additions to these works, of which sufficient summaries are to be found in Lappenberg's "England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings," and Kemble's "Saxons in England." For the latter part of the period the best book is the "History of the Norman Conquest" by Freeman, who has also produced a small, but most useful work on "Old English History."

III. For the Norman Era the authorities are abundant. The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" extends through the whole period, and to it a number of writers are to be added, who, generally, give a more favourable picture of the Norman rule. Among them are William of Poitou, Orderic Vitalis, Eadmer, and the author of the Gesta Stephani. With them should be read the Chroniclers already named, and the later volumes of Freeman's "Norman Conquest." For both the Saxon and the Norman eras, the works of Sir Francis Palgrave ("The English Commonwealth," and "History of England and Normandy") should be consulted; and Stubbs' "Constitutional History" is essential to a right understanding of the gradual progress of the country from the comparatively rude institutions of the Saxons, to the orderly though severe government introduced by their Norman invaders.

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INTRODUCTION.

HE Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, following the Venerable Bede, the earliest English writer who deserves the name of historian, commences its narrative with a brief description of Britain, and a legend of its first peopling.

"The island of Britain is eight hundred miles long, and two hundred miles broad: and here in this island are five tongues, English, British, Scottish, Pictish, and Latin. The first inhabitants of this land were Britons; they came from Armenia (Armorica, now Brittany), and first settled in the south of Britain. Then befel it that Picts came from the south, from Scythia, with long ships, not many, and first landed in North Hibernia, and they entreated the Scots that they might there abide. But they would not permit them, for they said that they could not all abide there together. And then the Scots said, 'We may nevertheless give you counsel. We know another island eastward of this, where ye may dwell, if ye will, and if any one withstand you, we will assist you, so that you may subdue it.' Then went the Picts, and subdued this land northwards; the southern part the Britons had,

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as we before have said. And the Picts obtained wives for themselves of the Scots, on this condition, that they should always choose their royal lineage on the woman's side; which they have held ever since. And then befel it in the course of years, that some part of the Scots departed from Hibernia into Britain, and conquered some portion of the land. And their leader was called Reoda, from whom they are named Dalreodi "."

That Britain was inhabited in pre-historic times has been abundantly proved, by the opening of the burialplaces of people to whom the use of metals was unknown, on the moors of Cleveland for instance; but it is only after the coming of the Belgæ and other tribes, in a comparatively advanced state of civilization, from the continent of Europe that the history of our island can be said to begin. This, the research of modern writers has failed to carry beyond the year 57 before the Christian era, when, as we are informed by Cæsar, Divitiacus, a Gaulish king, exercised a kind of feudal superiority not only over the north-eastern part of modern France, but also over at least a portion of Britain. Thus connected with the affairs of the Gauls, and in part, as we learn from Tacitus, of kindred race, the islanders were easily led to afford succour to them when assailed by the Romans; and this succour, added to the report of pearls and other riches to be acquired, sufficed to attract to Britain the legions of the conqueror.

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In narrating his two campaigns, Cæsar asserts that he was the first to carry the arms of Rome into an unknown world, which is merely a vain-glorious boast that admits of easy disproof. Four centuries before his time, Herodotus had made mention of the Cassiterides and

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Properly Dal-Riada, the tribe or tribe-land of Riada. From Irish historians it appears that the chief's appellation was Carbry Riada (Carbry of the long arm), and that the settlement was made in the region now called Argyle, a name corrupted from Airer Gaedhil, (pronounced Gaeil,) land of the foreigner." The date given is about A.D. 250.

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