and ordered his tents to be pitched on a wide heath on the bank of the river Huisne. On the morrow, he took severe revenge for his wrongs with fire and sword. But before the king could reach the enemy's strongholds and give them to the flames, they set them on fire with their own hands, and laid waste all the country round, lest the freebooters of the royal party should find anything to pillage, or even a house where they might make their beds and take repose. Thus the castles of Vaux and Oustilli were burnt, and many other villages and hamlets entirely ruined. However Robert de Montfort, the commander of the royal army, pushing forward at the head of 500 cavalry, extinguished the fire at the castle of Vaux, and strengthened the fortifications for the king's service. 19. THE CHARTER OF LIBERTIES (1100). "The He The Saxon Chronicle says of William the Conqueror : rich complained and the poor murmured, but he was so sturdy that he recked nought of them ". Henry I. could not act in this high-handed fashion at the moment of seizing the crown. had to collect a band of adherents who would check rebellious barons, and maintain him on the throne against probable rivals. He accordingly issued a charter which was intended to conciliate clergy, nobles and people. It is the most important constitutional act of the reign, besides standing halfway between the laws of Edward the Confessor, to which it appeals, and Magna Carta, which looks back to it. In some respects it resembles the programme of a modern political party. Henry promises not to extort money from the church during vacancies, and to deal fairly with the nobles in questions of wardship, marriage, forfeiture, etc., and he enjoins peace. This charter is an excellent comment on the social system of the day, showing how feudalism pervaded common domestic relations. SOURCE.-Charter of Liberties. Henry I. (1068-1135). Original text in Stubbs' Select Charters. Oxford, 1888. P. 100. translation is (with slight changes) that of J. A. text given in Robert of Wendover. London, 1849. The present Giles from the Vol. ii., p. 276. 1. Know that I, by the Lord's mercy, have been crowned king by common consent of the barons of the kingdom of England; and because the kingdom has been oppressed by unjust exactions, I, out of respect to God, and the love which I feel towards you, in the first place constitute the holy church of God a free church, so that I will not sell it, nor farm it out, nor will I, on the death of any archbishop, bishop, or abbot, take anything from the domain of the church or its people, until his successor takes his place. And I from this time do away with all the evil practices . . . I here in part mention. 2. If any baron, earl or other vassal of mine, who holds possession from me, shall die, his heir shall not redeem his land, as was the custom in my father's time, but shall pay a just and lawful relief for the same; and in like manner, too, the dependants of my barons shall pay a like relief for their land to their lords. 3. And if any baron or other vassal of mine shall wish to give his daughter, his sister, his niece, or other female relative, in marriage, let him ask my permission on the matter; but I will not take any of his property for granting my permission, nor will I forbid his giving her in marriage except he wishes to give her to an enemy of mine; and if on the death of a baron or other vassal of mine, the daughter is left an heiress, I, by the advice of my barons, will give her in marriage together with her land; and if on the death of a husband the wife is surviving and is childless, she shall have her dowry for a marriage portion, and I will not give her away to another husband unless with her consent. 4. But if a wife survives, having children, she shall have her dowry as a marriage portion, as long as she shall keep herself according to law, and I will not give her to a husband unless with her consent; and the guardian of the children's land shall be either the wife or some other nearer relation, who ought more rightly to be so; and I enjoin on my barons to act in the same way towards the sons and daughters and wives of their dependants. Moreover the common mintage,1 as taken throughout the cities and counties, such as was not in use in king Edward's time, is hereby forbidden; and if any one, whether a coiner or any other person, be taken with false money, let strict justice be done to him for it. 5. All pleas and all debts, which were due to the king my brother, I forgive, except my farms, and those debts which 2 1"A payment by the moneyers for the privilege of coining; otherwise explained as a payment by the subjects to prevent loss by the depreciation or change of coinage."--Stubbs. 2"The profits of the county jurisdictions let at fixed sums to the sheriffs," Stubbs, were contracted for the inheritances of others, or for those things which more justly belong to others. And if any one shall have covenanted anything for his inheritance, I forgive it, and all reliefs which were contracted for just inheritances. 6. And if any baron or vassal of mine shall be ill, I hereby ratify all such disposition as he shall have made of his money; but if through service in war or sickness he shall have made no disposition of his money, his wife, or children, or parents, and legitimate dependants, shall distribute it for the good of his soul, as shall seem best to them. 7. If any baron or other vassal of mine shall have made forfeiture, he shall not give bail to save his money, as was done in the time of my father and my brother, but according to the degree of the forfeiture; nor shall he make amends for his fault as he did in the time of my father or of my other ancestors; and if any one shall be convicted of treason or other crime, his punishment shall be according to his fault. 8. I forgive all murders committed previous to the day on which I was crowned king; but those which have been since committed shall be justly punished, according to the law of king Edward. 9. By the common advice of my barons, I have retained the forests in my possession as my father held them. 10. All knights, moreover, who hold their lands by service, are hereby allowed to have their domains free from all amercements and from all peculiar service, that as they are thus relieved from a great burden, they may provide themselves properly with horses and arms, so that they may be fit and ready for my service and for the defence of my kingdom. 11. I bestow confirmed peace in all my kingdom, and I order it to be preserved from henceforth. 12. I restore to you the law of king Edward, with the amendments which my father, by the advice of his barons, made in it. 13. If any one has taken anything of mine, or of any one else's property, since the death of my brother king William, let it all be soon restored without alteration; and if any one shall retain anything of it, he shall, on being discovered, atone to me for it heavily. Witness Maurice bishop of London, William elect of Winchester, Gerard of Hereford, Earl Henry, Earl Simon, Earl Walter Gifford, Robert de Montfort, Roger Bigod, and many others. 20. THE WRECK OF THE WHITE SHIP (1120). Had Prince William not been drowned in the wreck of the White Ship, England might have escaped the carnage caused by a disputed succession. Ordericus Vitalis states that he investigated the accident with great care, and his story deserves attention for several reasons. It has so often been garbled that the original text can justly claim a hearing; it is a fine instance of the manner in which Ordericus approaches a striking episode; and the compassion which it arouses, will help to bridge over a space of nearly 800 years. SOURCE.-Historia Ecclesiastica. Ordericus Vitalis (1075 ?-1143). Trans. T. Forester. London, 1854. Vol. iv., p. 33. In this voyage a sad disaster happened which caused much lamentation and innumerable tears to flow. Thomas, the son of Stephen, had obtained an audience of the king, and offering him a gold mark, said to him, "Stephen, the son of Airard, was my father, and during his whole life he was in your father's service as a mariner. He it was who conveyed your father to England in his own ship, when he crossed the sea to make war on Harold. He was employed by your father in services of this description as long as he lived, and gave him such satisfaction that he honoured him with liberal rewards, so that he lived in great credit and prosperity among those of his own class. My lord king, I ask you to employ me in the same service, having a vessel called the Blanche-Nef, which is fitted out in the best manner, and perfectly adapted to receive a royal retinue." The king replied: "I grant your request; but I have already selected a ship which suits me, and I shall not change; however, I entrust to you my sons, William and Richard, whom I love as myself, with many of the nobility of my realm ". The mariners were in great glee at hearing this, and greeting the king's son with fair words asked him to give them something to drink. The prince gave orders that they should have three muids.1 No sooner was the wine delivered to them than they had a great drinking bout, and pledging their comrades 1 A large measure both of liquids and solids. Its capacity varied in different parts of France, but sometimes reached 730 litres. Vide Littré, sub voce. D By in full cups, indulged too much and became intoxicated. Qui maris immodicas moderatur, et aeris, iras! They even drove away with contempt, amidst shouts of laughter, the priests who came to bless them, with the other ministers who carried the holy water; but they were speedily punished for their mockery. Besides the king's treasure and some casks of wine, there was no cargo in Thomas's ship, which was full of passengers; and they urged him to use his utmost endeavours to overtake the royal fleet which was already ploughing the waves. In his drunken folly, Thomas, confident in his seamanship and the skill of his crew, rashly boasted that he would soon leave behind him all the ships that had started before them. At last he gave the signal for departure; the sailors seized the oars without a moment's delay, and, unconscious of the fate which was imminently impending, joyously handled the ropes and sails, and made the ship rush through the water at a great rate. But as the drunken rowers exerted themselves to the utmost in pulling the oars, and the luckless pilot steered at random and got the ship out of its due course; the starboard bow of the Blanche-Nef struck violently on a huge rock, which is left dry every day when the tide is out, and covered by the waves at high water. Two planks having been shattered by the crash, the ship, alas! filled and went down. At this fearful moment, the passengers and crew raised cries of distress, but their mouths were soon stopped by the swelling waves, and all perished together, except two who seized hold of the yard from which the sail was set. They hung on to it the greater part of the night, in earnest hope that they would |