received a powerful impulse from the riches which had accumulated in monastic establishments, and which found employment in the erection of many monasteries, cathedrals, and other edifices.
Anglo-Saxon Vessel.
Gold and silver, of which our ancestors seem to have possessed a great deal, were used for cups and bowls, and other tensils, and also to adorn their sword-hilts, saddles, bridles, and banners. Their gold rings contained gems; and even their garments, saddles, and bridles were sometimes jewelled.
Spices were a great luxury, and came from India through Italy. Four ounces of cinnamon were sent from one church dignitary to another as a rare present.
The progress of the Anglo-Saxons in the art of painting appears to have been very limited; but few specimens of their illuminated books, however, remain. In one of these there is a representation of the building of the Tower of Babel, out of all rule of perspective; the workmen being represented in the costume of the time in which the design was executed.
Of their jewel work we have scarcely any specimens of consequence. One found in the island of Athelney, supposed to have belonged to Alfred the Great, proves, however, that the art of engraving on metals had been carried to a certain degree of excellence amongst them.
Their arms consisted chiefly of the helmet, sword, spear, shield, and battle-axe—some of them singularly well designed.
CHAPTER XXV.
Accession of Harold—His Brother Tostig—William of Normandy sends an Embassy.
When it is recollected how much England had endured from invasion and the government of foreign kings, it is little to be wondered that Harold's accession to the throne, for which he had so long prepared the way, was hailed with enthusiasm by the majority of the native nobles as well as the people. The city of London showed itself most zealous in his cause. The Saxon clergy, who recollected the intrusion of the Norman prelates into various sees at the commencement of the late king's reign, adopted his party; and the great nobility, most of whom were connected with him by blood or friendship, gave him their support.
The title of Edward Atheling, who was the undoubted heir of the Saxon line, was passed over in silence, and the claims of the Duke of Normandy treated with contempt. In an assembly which he had convened, Harold received the crown, and was proclaimed on January 6th, 1066.
If any—and there were doubtless some who objected to his reigning over England—felt aggrieved at his elevation, they carefully concealed their disaffection; and the new king was crowned by Aldred, Archbishop of York, the very day after Edward the Confessor's decease.
The first danger which threatened the new government arose from the discontent of Tostig, who considered himself to have been unjustly treated by his brother, of whose accession he heard with feelings of rage and indignation. He complained loudly to the Court of Flanders, where he was then residing, of the wrongs he had suffered, and endeavoured to arouse the anger of the count against Harold. Not content with this, he dispatched messengers to Norway to engage the fierce and warlike people of that kingdom in his interests, pointed out the unsettled state of England in consequence of the new reign, and the wide field for plunder which it afforded. Had it been requisite to justify his having been deprived of his government and driven into exile, these last proceedings would have afforded the means of doing so.
With the restless ambition and thirst for vengeance which appear to have been the characteristics of this selfish noble, he made a journey into Normandy, in the hope of exciting his brother-in-law, William, who had married his wife's sister—both daughters of Baldwin, Count of Flanders—against Harold; his object was to counsel him to undertake the invasion of England.
When William heard the news of Harold's accession, he gave way to the most violent indignation; but not having yet matured his designs, for the event had occurred unexpectedly, he sent an embassy to his rival, to reproach him for his perjury, and summon him instantly to resign the crown to him.
To this demand the new king replied that the oath had been extorted from him by the dread of violence, and, for that reason, could not be regarded as binding upon his conscience; and added, that at the time he took it, he had no authority, either from his predecessor or the estates of the kingdom—who alone possessed the right of disposing of the crown—to make an offer of it to the Duke of Normandy, who could not possibly possess any hereditary claims to it. He further argued that if he, as a private person, had even sworn voluntarily to support their master's pretensions, the oath would have been an unlawful one, and that it would have been his duty to break it; that he had been raised to the throne by the voice of the people, and should hold himself a coward if he did not do his best to maintain the national liberties; and if the Duke of Normandy should attempt, by force of arms, to wrest the crown from him, he would experience the power of a mighty nation, headed by a prince who well knew the obligations imposed on him by his royal dignity, and who was resolved that the same moment should end his life and reign.
This was no other than the answer which William expected his ambassadors would bring him, and he at once set about making his preparations for a descent upon England; in which he was encouraged, not more by his own ambition, than the personal feelings of his wife, Matilda, whose love having been rejected by the English Earl of Gloucester, had caused her enmity to the entire nation.
