754. Bell. Gall. v. 21. Caesar stormed it, and had therefore good means of knowing what it was. His further information was probably derived from his British ally Comius. Strabo gives a very similar account: πόλεις δ’ αὐτων εἰσιν οἱ δρυμοι’· περιφράξαντες γὰρ δένδρεσι καταβεβλημένοις εὐρυχωρῆ κύκλον καλυβοποιοῦνται, καὶ τὰ βοσκήματα κατκσταθμέυουσιν, οὐ πρὸς πολὺν χρόνον. lib. iv.
754. Bell. Gall. v. 21. Caesar stormed it, and had therefore good means of knowing what it was. His further information was probably derived from his British ally Comius. Strabo gives a very similar account: πόλεις δ’ αὐτων εἰσιν οἱ δρυμοι’· περιφράξαντες γὰρ δένδρεσι καταβεβλημένοις εὐρυχωρῆ κύκλον καλυβοποιοῦνται, καὶ τὰ βοσκήματα κατκσταθμέυουσιν, οὐ πρὸς πολὺν χρόνον. lib. iv.
755. “Hominum est infinita multitudo.” Bell. Gall. v. 12. Εἶναι δὲ καὶ πολυάνθρωπον τὴν νῆσον ... βασιλεῖς τε καὶ δυνάστας πολλοὺς ἔχειν, καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους κατὰ τὸ πλεῖστον εἰρηνικῶς διακεῖσθαι. Diodor. Sicul. v. 21.
755. “Hominum est infinita multitudo.” Bell. Gall. v. 12. Εἶναι δὲ καὶ πολυάνθρωπον τὴν νῆσον ... βασιλεῖς τε καὶ δυνάστας πολλοὺς ἔχειν, καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους κατὰ τὸ πλεῖστον εἰρηνικῶς διακεῖσθαι. Diodor. Sicul. v. 21.
756. Οὐενέτοι ... χρώμενοι τῷ ἐμπορίῳ. Strabo, lib. iv.
756. Οὐενέτοι ... χρώμενοι τῷ ἐμπορίῳ. Strabo, lib. iv.
757. “Creberrima aedificia, fere Gallicis consimilia.” Bell. Gall. v. 12.
757. “Creberrima aedificia, fere Gallicis consimilia.” Bell. Gall. v. 12.
758. Ptolemy at the commencement of the second century (i. e.aboutA.D.120) mentions the following πόλεις, which surely aretowns:—District.Towns.District.Towns.NovantaeLoucopibia.ParisiPetuaria.Rhetigonium.OrdovicesMediolanium.SelgovaeCarbantorigum.Brannogenium.Uxelum.CornabiiDeuana.Corda.Viroconium.Trimontium.CoritaviLindum.DamniiColania.Rhage.Vanduara.CatyeuchlaniSalenae.Coria.Urolanium.Alauna.SimeniVenta.Lindum.TrinoantesCamudolanum.Victoria.DemetaeLuentinium.OtadeniCuria.Maridunum.Bremenium.SiluresBullaeum.VacomagiBanatia.DobuniCorinium.Tameia.AtrebatiiNalkua.The Winged Camp.CantiiLondinium.Tuesis.Darvenum.VenicontesOrrhea.Rhutupiae.TexaliDevana.RhegniNaeomagus.BrigantesEpeiacum.BelgaeIschalis.Vinnovium.The Hot Springs.Caturhactonium.Venta.Calatum.DurotrigesDunium.Isurium.DumnoniiVoliba.Rhigodunum.Uxela.Olicana.Tamare.Eboracum.Isca.Camunlodunum.
758. Ptolemy at the commencement of the second century (i. e.aboutA.D.120) mentions the following πόλεις, which surely aretowns:—
759. It is clear that Caesar was not greatly harassed in his march towards the ford of the Thames near Chertsey; and if, as is probable, his advance disarmed the Cantii generally, or compelled the more warlike of their body to retire upon the force of Cassivelaunus, concentrated on the left bank of the river, we can understand what would otherwise seem a very dangerous movement,—a march into Surrey, leaving London unoccupied on the right flank. Thus it seems to me that the fact of Caesar’s not noticing the city may be more readily explained by its not lying within the scope of his manœuvres, than by its not existing in his time. And indeed it is probable that just here some portion of his memoirs has been lost: for in the nineteenth chapter of the fifth book, he distinctly says: “Cassivelaunus,ut supra demonstravimus, omni deposita spe contentionis,” etc.; but nothing now remains in what we possess, to which these words can possibly be referred. Caesar’s Commentaries were the private literary occupation of the great soldier in peaceful times, and we cannot attribute this contradiction in his finished work to carelessness.
759. It is clear that Caesar was not greatly harassed in his march towards the ford of the Thames near Chertsey; and if, as is probable, his advance disarmed the Cantii generally, or compelled the more warlike of their body to retire upon the force of Cassivelaunus, concentrated on the left bank of the river, we can understand what would otherwise seem a very dangerous movement,—a march into Surrey, leaving London unoccupied on the right flank. Thus it seems to me that the fact of Caesar’s not noticing the city may be more readily explained by its not lying within the scope of his manœuvres, than by its not existing in his time. And indeed it is probable that just here some portion of his memoirs has been lost: for in the nineteenth chapter of the fifth book, he distinctly says: “Cassivelaunus,ut supra demonstravimus, omni deposita spe contentionis,” etc.; but nothing now remains in what we possess, to which these words can possibly be referred. Caesar’s Commentaries were the private literary occupation of the great soldier in peaceful times, and we cannot attribute this contradiction in his finished work to carelessness.
760. “At Suetonius mira constantia medios inter hostes Londinium perrexit, cognomento quidem coloniae non insigne, sed copia negotiatorum et commeatuum maxime celebre.” Tacit. Ann. xiv. 33. “Not a colonia,” seems to me equivalent to saying, a British city.—Twenty years after the return of the Romans to Britain,seventy thousandcitizens and allies perished during Boadicea’s rebellion in London, Verulam and Colchester. (Ibid.)
760. “At Suetonius mira constantia medios inter hostes Londinium perrexit, cognomento quidem coloniae non insigne, sed copia negotiatorum et commeatuum maxime celebre.” Tacit. Ann. xiv. 33. “Not a colonia,” seems to me equivalent to saying, a British city.—Twenty years after the return of the Romans to Britain,seventy thousandcitizens and allies perished during Boadicea’s rebellion in London, Verulam and Colchester. (Ibid.)
761. This was long supposed to be Maldon, but it seems difficult to resist Mannert’s reasoning in favour of Colchester. See Geograph. der Griech. u. Röm. p. 157.
761. This was long supposed to be Maldon, but it seems difficult to resist Mannert’s reasoning in favour of Colchester. See Geograph. der Griech. u. Röm. p. 157.
762. In the third century Marcianus reckons, unfortunately without naming them, fifty-nine celebrated cities in Britain: ἔχει δὲ ἐν αὐτῇ ἔθνη λγ, πόλεις ἐπισήμους νθ, ποτάμους ἐπισήμους μ, ἀκρωτήρια ἐπίσημα ιδ, χερσόνησον ἐπίσημον ἕνα, κόλπους ἐπισήμους ε, λίμενας ἐπισήμους γ. Marcian. Heracleot. lib. i. Nor will this surprise us when we bear in mind that about this period the Britons enjoyed such a reputation for building as to find employment in Gaul. “Civitas Aeduorum ... plurimos, quibus illae provinciae redundabant, accepit artifices,” etc. Eumen. Const. Paneg. c. 21.
762. In the third century Marcianus reckons, unfortunately without naming them, fifty-nine celebrated cities in Britain: ἔχει δὲ ἐν αὐτῇ ἔθνη λγ, πόλεις ἐπισήμους νθ, ποτάμους ἐπισήμους μ, ἀκρωτήρια ἐπίσημα ιδ, χερσόνησον ἐπίσημον ἕνα, κόλπους ἐπισήμους ε, λίμενας ἐπισήμους γ. Marcian. Heracleot. lib. i. Nor will this surprise us when we bear in mind that about this period the Britons enjoyed such a reputation for building as to find employment in Gaul. “Civitas Aeduorum ... plurimos, quibus illae provinciae redundabant, accepit artifices,” etc. Eumen. Const. Paneg. c. 21.
763. Henry of Huntingdon copies Nennius and aids in the identification. Asser adds to the list Nottingham, in British Tinguobauc, and Cair Wisc now Exeter. The Saxon Chronicle records Anderida, Bath, Bedford, Leighton, Aylesbury, Bensington and Eynesham. Among the places unquestionably Roman may be named Londinium, Verulamium, Colonia, Glevum (Gloucester), Venta Belgarum (Winchester), Venta Icenorum (Norwich), Venta Silurum (Cair Gwint), Durocornovium or Corinium (Cirencester), Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester), Eboracum (York), Uxella (Exeter), Aquæ Solis (Bath), Durnovaria (Dorchester), Regnum (Chichester), Durocovernum (Canterbury), Uriconium (Wroxeter) and Lindum (Lincoln).
763. Henry of Huntingdon copies Nennius and aids in the identification. Asser adds to the list Nottingham, in British Tinguobauc, and Cair Wisc now Exeter. The Saxon Chronicle records Anderida, Bath, Bedford, Leighton, Aylesbury, Bensington and Eynesham. Among the places unquestionably Roman may be named Londinium, Verulamium, Colonia, Glevum (Gloucester), Venta Belgarum (Winchester), Venta Icenorum (Norwich), Venta Silurum (Cair Gwint), Durocornovium or Corinium (Cirencester), Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester), Eboracum (York), Uxella (Exeter), Aquæ Solis (Bath), Durnovaria (Dorchester), Regnum (Chichester), Durocovernum (Canterbury), Uriconium (Wroxeter) and Lindum (Lincoln).
764. The walls of Chichester still offer an admirable example in very perfect condition. The remains at Lincoln and Old Verulam enable us to trace the ancient sites with precision, and in the immediate neighbourhood of the latter town the foundations of a large theatre are yet preserved. The plough still brings to light the remains of Roman villas and the details of Roman cultivation throughout the valley of the Severn. It is impossible here to enumerate all the places where the discovery of coins, inscriptions, works of art and utility or ruins of buildings attest a continued occupation of the site and a peaceful settlement. Many archæological works, the result of modern industry, may be beneficially consulted; and among these I would call particular attention to the Map of Roman Yorkshire, published by Mr. Newton, with the approbation of the Archæological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.
764. The walls of Chichester still offer an admirable example in very perfect condition. The remains at Lincoln and Old Verulam enable us to trace the ancient sites with precision, and in the immediate neighbourhood of the latter town the foundations of a large theatre are yet preserved. The plough still brings to light the remains of Roman villas and the details of Roman cultivation throughout the valley of the Severn. It is impossible here to enumerate all the places where the discovery of coins, inscriptions, works of art and utility or ruins of buildings attest a continued occupation of the site and a peaceful settlement. Many archæological works, the result of modern industry, may be beneficially consulted; and among these I would call particular attention to the Map of Roman Yorkshire, published by Mr. Newton, with the approbation of the Archæological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.
765. The following lines contain a very slight sketch of the municipal institutions of a Roman city. It is not necessary to burthen the reader’s attention with the deeper details of this special subject. A general reference may be given to Savigny’sGeschichte des Römischen Rechts, the leading authority on all such points.
765. The following lines contain a very slight sketch of the municipal institutions of a Roman city. It is not necessary to burthen the reader’s attention with the deeper details of this special subject. A general reference may be given to Savigny’sGeschichte des Römischen Rechts, the leading authority on all such points.
766. If we adopt an old legal phrase, the Decuriones werecives optimo iure, or full burghers; the rest of the citizens werenon optimo iure, not full burghers, not having a share in the advantages possessed by the members of the corporation.
766. If we adopt an old legal phrase, the Decuriones werecives optimo iure, or full burghers; the rest of the citizens werenon optimo iure, not full burghers, not having a share in the advantages possessed by the members of the corporation.
767. Tacitus gives us an insight into some of the gratuitous insults and vexations inflicted upon the British provincials, while he describes the reforms introduced by Agricola into these branches of the public service. “Ceterum animorum provinciae prudens, simulque doctus per aliena experimenta, parum profici armis, si iniuriae sequerentur, causas bellorum statuit excidere.... Frumenti et tributorum exactionem aequalitate munerum mollire, circumcisis, quae in quaestum reperta, ipso tributo gravius tolerabantur: namque per ludibrium adsidere clausis horreis, et emere ultro frumenta, ac vendere pretio cogebantur: devortia itinerum et longinquitas regionum indicebatur, ut civitates a proximis hybernis in remota et avia deferrent, donec, quod omnibus in promtu erat, paucis lucrosum fieret.” Tac. Agric. xix. The same grave historian attributes the fierce insurrection under Boadicea to the tyrannous conduct of the Legati and Procuratores of the province, and the insolent conduct of their subordinates. “Britanni agitare inter se mala servitutis, conferre iniurias et interpretando accendere:‘nihil‘nihilprofici patientia, nisi ut graviora, tanquam ex facili tolerantibus, imperentur: singulos sibi olim reges fuisse, nunc binos imponi: e quibus Legatus in sanguinem, Procurator in bona saeviret. Aeque discordiam Praepositorum, aeque concordiam subiectis exitiosam, alterius manus, centuriones alterius, vim et contumelias miscere. Nihil iam cupiditati, nihil libidini exceptum.” Tac. Agric. xv. It is obviously with reference to the same facts that he describes the Britons as peaceable and well disposed to discharge the duties laid uponthemthem, if they are only spared insult. Tac. Agric. xiii. Xiphilinus, who though a late writer is valuable inasmuch as he represents Dio Cassius, describes some of the intolerable atrocities which drove the Iceni into rebellion, destroyed Camelodunum and Verulamium, and led in those cities and in London to the slaughter of nearly seventy thousand citizens and allies. Deep as was the wrong done to the family of Prasutagus, he is no doubt right in attributing the general exasperation mainly to the confiscation of the lands which Claudius Caesar had granted to the chiefs, and which the procurator Catus Decianus attempted to call in. Πρόφασις δὲ τοῦ πολέμου ἑγένετο ἡ δήμευσις τῶν χρημάτων (publicatio bonorum), ἅ Κλαύδιος τοῖς πρώτοις αὐτῶν ἐδεδώκει· καὶ ἔδει καὶ ἐκεῖνα, ὥς γε Δεκιανὸς Κάτος ὁ τῆς νήσου ἐπιτροπεύων ἔλεγεν, ἀναπόμπιμα γενέσθαι. Boadicea is made to declare that they were charged with a poll-tax, so severely exacted that an account was required even of the dead: οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸ τελευτῆσαι παρ’ αὐτοῖς ἀζήμιόν ἐστιν, ἀλλ’ ἴστε ὅσον καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν νεκρῶν τελεοῦμεν· παρὰ μὲν γὰρ τοῖς ἄλλοις ανθρώποις καὶ τοὺς δουλεύοντας τισιν ὁ θάνατος ἐλευθεροῖ, Ῥωμαίοις δὲ δὴ μόνοις καὶ οἱ νεκροὶ ζῶσι πρὸς τὰ λήμματα. These accusations put into the mouths of the personages themselves, must not be taken to be exaggerated statements without foundation: they are the confessions of the historians, which sometimes perhaps they lacked courage to make in another form. The sudden and violent calling in of large sums which Seneca had forced upon the British chiefs in expectation of enormous interest, was another cause of the war: διά τε οὖν τοῦτο, καὶ ὅτι ὁ Σενέκας χιλίας σφίσι μυριάδας ἄκουσιν ἐπὶ χρησταῖς ἐλπίσι τόκων δανείσας, ἔπειτ’ ἀθρόας τε ἅμα αὐτὰς καὶ βιαίως εἰσέπρασσεν. The Roman mortgages in Britain were enormous, yet easily explained. The procurator made an extravagant demand: the native state could not pay it; but the procurator had a Roman friend who would advance it upon good security, etc. Similar things have taken place inZemindariesof later date than the British. For the references above see Joan. Xiphil. Epitome Dionis,Nerovi.
767. Tacitus gives us an insight into some of the gratuitous insults and vexations inflicted upon the British provincials, while he describes the reforms introduced by Agricola into these branches of the public service. “Ceterum animorum provinciae prudens, simulque doctus per aliena experimenta, parum profici armis, si iniuriae sequerentur, causas bellorum statuit excidere.... Frumenti et tributorum exactionem aequalitate munerum mollire, circumcisis, quae in quaestum reperta, ipso tributo gravius tolerabantur: namque per ludibrium adsidere clausis horreis, et emere ultro frumenta, ac vendere pretio cogebantur: devortia itinerum et longinquitas regionum indicebatur, ut civitates a proximis hybernis in remota et avia deferrent, donec, quod omnibus in promtu erat, paucis lucrosum fieret.” Tac. Agric. xix. The same grave historian attributes the fierce insurrection under Boadicea to the tyrannous conduct of the Legati and Procuratores of the province, and the insolent conduct of their subordinates. “Britanni agitare inter se mala servitutis, conferre iniurias et interpretando accendere:‘nihil‘nihilprofici patientia, nisi ut graviora, tanquam ex facili tolerantibus, imperentur: singulos sibi olim reges fuisse, nunc binos imponi: e quibus Legatus in sanguinem, Procurator in bona saeviret. Aeque discordiam Praepositorum, aeque concordiam subiectis exitiosam, alterius manus, centuriones alterius, vim et contumelias miscere. Nihil iam cupiditati, nihil libidini exceptum.” Tac. Agric. xv. It is obviously with reference to the same facts that he describes the Britons as peaceable and well disposed to discharge the duties laid uponthemthem, if they are only spared insult. Tac. Agric. xiii. Xiphilinus, who though a late writer is valuable inasmuch as he represents Dio Cassius, describes some of the intolerable atrocities which drove the Iceni into rebellion, destroyed Camelodunum and Verulamium, and led in those cities and in London to the slaughter of nearly seventy thousand citizens and allies. Deep as was the wrong done to the family of Prasutagus, he is no doubt right in attributing the general exasperation mainly to the confiscation of the lands which Claudius Caesar had granted to the chiefs, and which the procurator Catus Decianus attempted to call in. Πρόφασις δὲ τοῦ πολέμου ἑγένετο ἡ δήμευσις τῶν χρημάτων (publicatio bonorum), ἅ Κλαύδιος τοῖς πρώτοις αὐτῶν ἐδεδώκει· καὶ ἔδει καὶ ἐκεῖνα, ὥς γε Δεκιανὸς Κάτος ὁ τῆς νήσου ἐπιτροπεύων ἔλεγεν, ἀναπόμπιμα γενέσθαι. Boadicea is made to declare that they were charged with a poll-tax, so severely exacted that an account was required even of the dead: οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸ τελευτῆσαι παρ’ αὐτοῖς ἀζήμιόν ἐστιν, ἀλλ’ ἴστε ὅσον καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν νεκρῶν τελεοῦμεν· παρὰ μὲν γὰρ τοῖς ἄλλοις ανθρώποις καὶ τοὺς δουλεύοντας τισιν ὁ θάνατος ἐλευθεροῖ, Ῥωμαίοις δὲ δὴ μόνοις καὶ οἱ νεκροὶ ζῶσι πρὸς τὰ λήμματα. These accusations put into the mouths of the personages themselves, must not be taken to be exaggerated statements without foundation: they are the confessions of the historians, which sometimes perhaps they lacked courage to make in another form. The sudden and violent calling in of large sums which Seneca had forced upon the British chiefs in expectation of enormous interest, was another cause of the war: διά τε οὖν τοῦτο, καὶ ὅτι ὁ Σενέκας χιλίας σφίσι μυριάδας ἄκουσιν ἐπὶ χρησταῖς ἐλπίσι τόκων δανείσας, ἔπειτ’ ἀθρόας τε ἅμα αὐτὰς καὶ βιαίως εἰσέπρασσεν. The Roman mortgages in Britain were enormous, yet easily explained. The procurator made an extravagant demand: the native state could not pay it; but the procurator had a Roman friend who would advance it upon good security, etc. Similar things have taken place inZemindariesof later date than the British. For the references above see Joan. Xiphil. Epitome Dionis,Nerovi.
768. This not only appears from the digests, but from numerous merely incidental notices in the authors of the time. The population were crowded into cities, and the country was deserted. This was not the result of a healthy manufacturing or commercial movement, but of a state of universal distraction and insecurity. Had the cultivation of the land ceased through a prudent calculation of political economy, we should not have heard of compulsory tillage.
768. This not only appears from the digests, but from numerous merely incidental notices in the authors of the time. The population were crowded into cities, and the country was deserted. This was not the result of a healthy manufacturing or commercial movement, but of a state of universal distraction and insecurity. Had the cultivation of the land ceased through a prudent calculation of political economy, we should not have heard of compulsory tillage.
769. Savigny, Röm. Recht. i. 23seq.
769. Savigny, Röm. Recht. i. 23seq.
770.Cives optimo iure, optimates, senatus, patricii, rachinburgi, boni homines,—these are all more or less equivalent terms.
770.Cives optimo iure, optimates, senatus, patricii, rachinburgi, boni homines,—these are all more or less equivalent terms.
771. Savigny, Röm. Recht. i. 53.
771. Savigny, Röm. Recht. i. 53.
772. The Bishops were the most valuable allies of Clovis in his aggressive wars. Without their co-operation that savage Merwing would perhaps never have established the Frankish pre-eminence in the Gauls.
772. The Bishops were the most valuable allies of Clovis in his aggressive wars. Without their co-operation that savage Merwing would perhaps never have established the Frankish pre-eminence in the Gauls.
773. “Consularium primus Aulus Plautius praepositus, ac subinde Ostorius Scapula, uterque bello egregius: redactaque paulatim in formam provinciae proxima pars Britanniae.” Tac. Agric. xiv.
773. “Consularium primus Aulus Plautius praepositus, ac subinde Ostorius Scapula, uterque bello egregius: redactaque paulatim in formam provinciae proxima pars Britanniae.” Tac. Agric. xiv.
774. Agric. xiii. Offices under the Empire werehonoresormunera: the former, places of dignity and some power, duumvirates and the like: the latter, places of much labour and great responsibility, coupled with but little distinction. The condition of a decurion already described will give some notion of amunus; and it is a painful thing to find Tacitus implying that themunerawere troublesome and repulsive offices at so early a period; for this is clearly his meaning: he evidently intends to compliment the Keltic population on a disposition to behave well, if their Roman task-masters will only be content not to add insult to injury. The case would be nearly parallel if we made Heki a petty constable, and then held him responsible when a New-Zealand outlaw stole a sheep or burnt out a missionary.
774. Agric. xiii. Offices under the Empire werehonoresormunera: the former, places of dignity and some power, duumvirates and the like: the latter, places of much labour and great responsibility, coupled with but little distinction. The condition of a decurion already described will give some notion of amunus; and it is a painful thing to find Tacitus implying that themunerawere troublesome and repulsive offices at so early a period; for this is clearly his meaning: he evidently intends to compliment the Keltic population on a disposition to behave well, if their Roman task-masters will only be content not to add insult to injury. The case would be nearly parallel if we made Heki a petty constable, and then held him responsible when a New-Zealand outlaw stole a sheep or burnt out a missionary.
775. “Sequens hyems saluberrimis consiliis absumpta: namque, ut homines dispersi ac rudes, eoque in bella faciles, quieti et otio per voluptates adsuescerent, hortari privatim, adiuvare publice, ut templa, fora, domus exstruerent, laudando promtos et castigando segnes: ita honoris aemulatio pro necessitate erat. Iam vero principum filios liberalibus artibus erudire, et ingenia Britannorum studiis Gallorum anteferre, ut qui modo linguam Romanam abnuebant, eloquentiam concupiscerent. Inde etiam habitus nostri honor et frequens toga: paullatimque discessum ad delinimenta vitiorum, porticus et balnea et conviviorum elegantiam: idque apud imperitos humanitas vocabatur, cum pars servitutis esset.” Tac. Agric. xxi. “Quaedam civitates Cogidumno regi donatae ... vetere ac iam pridem recepta populi Romani consuetudine, ut haberet instrumenta servitutis et reges.” Agric. xiv.
775. “Sequens hyems saluberrimis consiliis absumpta: namque, ut homines dispersi ac rudes, eoque in bella faciles, quieti et otio per voluptates adsuescerent, hortari privatim, adiuvare publice, ut templa, fora, domus exstruerent, laudando promtos et castigando segnes: ita honoris aemulatio pro necessitate erat. Iam vero principum filios liberalibus artibus erudire, et ingenia Britannorum studiis Gallorum anteferre, ut qui modo linguam Romanam abnuebant, eloquentiam concupiscerent. Inde etiam habitus nostri honor et frequens toga: paullatimque discessum ad delinimenta vitiorum, porticus et balnea et conviviorum elegantiam: idque apud imperitos humanitas vocabatur, cum pars servitutis esset.” Tac. Agric. xxi. “Quaedam civitates Cogidumno regi donatae ... vetere ac iam pridem recepta populi Romani consuetudine, ut haberet instrumenta servitutis et reges.” Agric. xiv.
776. Strabo calculated it at not less than one legion, the cost of which establishment could hardly fail to swallow up all the profit. Νυνὶ μέντοι τῶν δυναστῶν τινες τῶν αὐτόθι, πρεσβεύσεσι καὶ θεραπείαις κατασκευασάμενοι τὴν πρὸς Καίσαρα τὸν Σεβαστὸν Φιλίαν, ἀναθήματα τε ἀνέθηκαν ἐν τῷ Καπετωλίῷ, καὶ οἰκείαν σχεδόν τι παρεσκεύασαν τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ὅλην τὴν νῆσον· τέλη τε οὔπως ὑπομένουσι βαρέα τῶν τε εἰσαγομένων εἰς τὴν Κελτικὴν ἐκεῖθεν καὶ τῶν ἐξαγομένων ἐνθένδε (ταῦτα δ’ ἐστὶν ἐλεφάντινα ψάλια, καὶ περιαυχένια, καὶ λυγγούρια, καὶ ὑαλᾶ σκεύη, καὶ ἄλλος ῥῶπος τοιοῦτος) ὥστε μηδὲν δεῖν φροιρᾶς τῆς νήσου· τοὐλάχιστον μὲν γὰρ ἑνὸς τάγματος χρήζοι ἂν καὶ ἱππικοῦ τινος, ὥστε καὶ φόρους ἀπάγεσθαι παρ’ αὐτῶν· εἰς ἴσον δὲ καθίστατο πᾶν τὸ ἀνάλωμα τῆ στρατιᾷ τοῖς προσφερομένοις χρήμασιν· ἀνάγκη γὰρ μειοῦσθαι τὰ τέλη φόρων ἐπιβαλλομένων, ἅμα δὲ καὶ κινδύνους ἀπαντᾶν τινας, βιὰς ἐπαγομένης. Geogr. lib. iv. cap. 5, § 3.
776. Strabo calculated it at not less than one legion, the cost of which establishment could hardly fail to swallow up all the profit. Νυνὶ μέντοι τῶν δυναστῶν τινες τῶν αὐτόθι, πρεσβεύσεσι καὶ θεραπείαις κατασκευασάμενοι τὴν πρὸς Καίσαρα τὸν Σεβαστὸν Φιλίαν, ἀναθήματα τε ἀνέθηκαν ἐν τῷ Καπετωλίῷ, καὶ οἰκείαν σχεδόν τι παρεσκεύασαν τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ὅλην τὴν νῆσον· τέλη τε οὔπως ὑπομένουσι βαρέα τῶν τε εἰσαγομένων εἰς τὴν Κελτικὴν ἐκεῖθεν καὶ τῶν ἐξαγομένων ἐνθένδε (ταῦτα δ’ ἐστὶν ἐλεφάντινα ψάλια, καὶ περιαυχένια, καὶ λυγγούρια, καὶ ὑαλᾶ σκεύη, καὶ ἄλλος ῥῶπος τοιοῦτος) ὥστε μηδὲν δεῖν φροιρᾶς τῆς νήσου· τοὐλάχιστον μὲν γὰρ ἑνὸς τάγματος χρήζοι ἂν καὶ ἱππικοῦ τινος, ὥστε καὶ φόρους ἀπάγεσθαι παρ’ αὐτῶν· εἰς ἴσον δὲ καθίστατο πᾶν τὸ ἀνάλωμα τῆ στρατιᾷ τοῖς προσφερομένοις χρήμασιν· ἀνάγκη γὰρ μειοῦσθαι τὰ τέλη φόρων ἐπιβαλλομένων, ἅμα δὲ καὶ κινδύνους ἀπαντᾶν τινας, βιὰς ἐπαγομένης. Geogr. lib. iv. cap. 5, § 3.
777. “Augendi propagandique imperii neque voluntate ulla neque spe motus unquam, etiam ex Britannia deducere exercitum cogitavit: nec nisi verecundia, ne obtrectare parentis gloriae videretur, destitit.” Sueton. vi. 18.
777. “Augendi propagandique imperii neque voluntate ulla neque spe motus unquam, etiam ex Britannia deducere exercitum cogitavit: nec nisi verecundia, ne obtrectare parentis gloriae videretur, destitit.” Sueton. vi. 18.
778. We may leave those, if any such there be, who still think Geoffrey of Monmouth an authority, to cite his proofs that Dynwall Moelmwd flourished four centuries before Christ; and that the Mercian laws of Offa, quoted by Ælfred, were those of the British, princess Marcia.
778. We may leave those, if any such there be, who still think Geoffrey of Monmouth an authority, to cite his proofs that Dynwall Moelmwd flourished four centuries before Christ; and that the Mercian laws of Offa, quoted by Ælfred, were those of the British, princess Marcia.
779. Gildas probably wrote within two centuries of the time when the Romans left Britain. Two hundred years it is true offer a large margin for imagination, especially when it is Keltic, and employed about national history: but Gildas’s report, credible in itself, is confirmed by other evidence.
779. Gildas probably wrote within two centuries of the time when the Romans left Britain. Two hundred years it is true offer a large margin for imagination, especially when it is Keltic, and employed about national history: but Gildas’s report, credible in itself, is confirmed by other evidence.
780. Gild. Hist. xiv.
780. Gild. Hist. xiv.
781. Ibid. xxii.
781. Ibid. xxii.
782. Gild. Hist. xxvi. Foreign wars, those of the Britons and Saxons;—Civil wars, those of the Britons among themselves; perhaps those of the Saxon kings.
782. Gild. Hist. xxvi. Foreign wars, those of the Britons and Saxons;—Civil wars, those of the Britons among themselves; perhaps those of the Saxon kings.
783. “Nam laniant seipsos mutuo, nec pro exigui victus brevi sustentaculo miserrimorum civium latrocinando temperabant: et augebantur extraneae clades domesticis motibus, quo et huiusmodi crebris direptionibus vacuaretur omnis regio totius cibi baculo, excepto venatoriae artis solatio.” Gild. xix. Half a century in an unexhausted soil is ample time to convert the most nourishing district into thick brushwood and imperviousbush. Beech and fir, which, though said by Strabo to be not indigenous, must have been plentiful in the fifth century, do not require fifty years to become large trees: the elm, alder and even oak are well-sized growths at that age. Even thorn, maple and bramble with such a course before them are very capable of making an imposing wilderness of underwood.
783. “Nam laniant seipsos mutuo, nec pro exigui victus brevi sustentaculo miserrimorum civium latrocinando temperabant: et augebantur extraneae clades domesticis motibus, quo et huiusmodi crebris direptionibus vacuaretur omnis regio totius cibi baculo, excepto venatoriae artis solatio.” Gild. xix. Half a century in an unexhausted soil is ample time to convert the most nourishing district into thick brushwood and imperviousbush. Beech and fir, which, though said by Strabo to be not indigenous, must have been plentiful in the fifth century, do not require fifty years to become large trees: the elm, alder and even oak are well-sized growths at that age. Even thorn, maple and bramble with such a course before them are very capable of making an imposing wilderness of underwood.
784. Æðelweard says of the Romans: “Urbes etiam atque castella, necnon pontes plateasque mirabili ingenio condiderunt, quae usque in hodiernam diem videntur.” Chron. lib. i. And William of Malmesbury argues how greatly the Romans valued Britain from the vast remains of their buildings extant when he wrote. “Romani Britanniam ... magna dignatione coluere; ut et in annalibus legere, et in veterum aedificiorum vestigiis est videre.” Gest. Reg. lib. i. cp. 1. The following is his account of the state in which the island was left: “Ita cum tyranni nullum in agris praeter semibarbaros, nullum in urbibus praeter ventri deditos reliquissent, Britannia omni patrocinio iuvenilis vigoris viduata, omni exercitio artium exinanita, conterminarum gentium inhiationi diu obnoxia fuit. Siquidem, e vestigio, Scottorum et Pictorum incursione multi mortales caesi, villae succensae, urbes sub-rutae, prorsus omnia ferro incendioque vastata; turbati insulani, qui omnia tutiora putarent quam praelio decernere, partim pedibus salutem quaerentes fuga in montana contendunt, partim sepultis thesauris, quorum plerique in hac aetate defodiuntur, Romam ad petendas suppetias intendunt.” Gest. Reg. lib. i. cap. 2, 3. But Rome had then enough to do to defend herself, for those were the days of Alaric and Attila. The emptying the island of all the fighting men by Maximus is a very ancient fiction. Archbishop Usher makes him carry over to the continent thirty thousand soldiers, and one hundred thousandplebeii, which have settled in Armorica. Antiq. Eccles. Brittan. pp. 107, 108. We may admit the number of the soldiery; the Roman force, with the levies, probably amounted to as many. But who were theplebeii? Beda gives a similar account of the condition of Britain: “Exin Brittania,in parteBrittonum, omni armato milite, militaribus copiis universis, tota floridae iuventutis alacritate, spoliata, quae tyrannorum temeritate abducta nusquam ultra domum rediit, praedae tantum patuit, utpote omnis bellici usus prorsus ignara.” Hist. Eccl. i. 12. cf. Gild. xiv.
784. Æðelweard says of the Romans: “Urbes etiam atque castella, necnon pontes plateasque mirabili ingenio condiderunt, quae usque in hodiernam diem videntur.” Chron. lib. i. And William of Malmesbury argues how greatly the Romans valued Britain from the vast remains of their buildings extant when he wrote. “Romani Britanniam ... magna dignatione coluere; ut et in annalibus legere, et in veterum aedificiorum vestigiis est videre.” Gest. Reg. lib. i. cp. 1. The following is his account of the state in which the island was left: “Ita cum tyranni nullum in agris praeter semibarbaros, nullum in urbibus praeter ventri deditos reliquissent, Britannia omni patrocinio iuvenilis vigoris viduata, omni exercitio artium exinanita, conterminarum gentium inhiationi diu obnoxia fuit. Siquidem, e vestigio, Scottorum et Pictorum incursione multi mortales caesi, villae succensae, urbes sub-rutae, prorsus omnia ferro incendioque vastata; turbati insulani, qui omnia tutiora putarent quam praelio decernere, partim pedibus salutem quaerentes fuga in montana contendunt, partim sepultis thesauris, quorum plerique in hac aetate defodiuntur, Romam ad petendas suppetias intendunt.” Gest. Reg. lib. i. cap. 2, 3. But Rome had then enough to do to defend herself, for those were the days of Alaric and Attila. The emptying the island of all the fighting men by Maximus is a very ancient fiction. Archbishop Usher makes him carry over to the continent thirty thousand soldiers, and one hundred thousandplebeii, which have settled in Armorica. Antiq. Eccles. Brittan. pp. 107, 108. We may admit the number of the soldiery; the Roman force, with the levies, probably amounted to as many. But who were theplebeii? Beda gives a similar account of the condition of Britain: “Exin Brittania,in parteBrittonum, omni armato milite, militaribus copiis universis, tota floridae iuventutis alacritate, spoliata, quae tyrannorum temeritate abducta nusquam ultra domum rediit, praedae tantum patuit, utpote omnis bellici usus prorsus ignara.” Hist. Eccl. i. 12. cf. Gild. xiv.
785. According to him, the Britons suffered the Picts to pull them off the wall with long-hooks. “Statuitur ad haec in edito arcis acies, segnis ad pugnam, inhabilis ad fugam, trementibus praecordiis inepta, quae diebus ac noctibus stupido sedili marcebat. Interea non cessant uncinata nudorum tela, quibus miserrimi cives de muris tracti solo allidebantur.” Gild. xix. Beda copies this statement almost verbatim. Hist. Eccl. i. 12.
785. According to him, the Britons suffered the Picts to pull them off the wall with long-hooks. “Statuitur ad haec in edito arcis acies, segnis ad pugnam, inhabilis ad fugam, trementibus praecordiis inepta, quae diebus ac noctibus stupido sedili marcebat. Interea non cessant uncinata nudorum tela, quibus miserrimi cives de muris tracti solo allidebantur.” Gild. xix. Beda copies this statement almost verbatim. Hist. Eccl. i. 12.
786. Britain was at last, even as at first,fertilis tyrannorum: and in the agony which preceded her dissolution more so than ever. Aurelius Ambrosius, if a Briton at all, is said to have been born of parentspurpura induti: and this is possible at a period when it was unknown to contemporary writers whether a partizan wereimperatoror onlylatrunculus. But I suspect that there were not many Britons of rank, or importance in any way, in the fifth century, in those parts of the island where the Romans held sway.
786. Britain was at last, even as at first,fertilis tyrannorum: and in the agony which preceded her dissolution more so than ever. Aurelius Ambrosius, if a Briton at all, is said to have been born of parentspurpura induti: and this is possible at a period when it was unknown to contemporary writers whether a partizan wereimperatoror onlylatrunculus. But I suspect that there were not many Britons of rank, or importance in any way, in the fifth century, in those parts of the island where the Romans held sway.
787. Athens, though shut up within her walls, felt little inconvenience from the loss of her corn-fields and vegetable gardens, while her fleet still swept the Ægean. She fell only when she lost the dominion of the sea, and with it the means of feeding her population.
787. Athens, though shut up within her walls, felt little inconvenience from the loss of her corn-fields and vegetable gardens, while her fleet still swept the Ægean. She fell only when she lost the dominion of the sea, and with it the means of feeding her population.
788. “Sic enim et hic agente impio victore, immo disponente iusto iudice, proximas quasque civitates agrosque depopulans, ab orientali mari usque ad occidentale, nullo prohibente, suum continuavit incendium, totamque prope insulae pereuntis superficiem obtexit. Ruebant aedificia publica simul et privata, passim sacerdotes inter altaria trucidabantur, praesules cum populis, sine ullo respectu honoris, ferro pariter et flammis absumebantur; nec erat qui crudeliter interemptos sepulturae traderet. Itaque nonnulli de miserandis reliquiis, in montibus comprehensi acervatim iugulabantur; alii fame confecti procedentes manus hostibus dabant, pro accipiendis alimentorum subsidiis aeternum subituri servitium, si tamen non continuo trucidarentur: ali transmarinas regiones dolentes petebant; alii perstantes in patria pauperem vitam in montibus, silvis vel rupibus arduis, suspecta semper mente, agebant.” Beda, Hist. Eccl. i. 15. See also Gildas, xxiv. xxv.
788. “Sic enim et hic agente impio victore, immo disponente iusto iudice, proximas quasque civitates agrosque depopulans, ab orientali mari usque ad occidentale, nullo prohibente, suum continuavit incendium, totamque prope insulae pereuntis superficiem obtexit. Ruebant aedificia publica simul et privata, passim sacerdotes inter altaria trucidabantur, praesules cum populis, sine ullo respectu honoris, ferro pariter et flammis absumebantur; nec erat qui crudeliter interemptos sepulturae traderet. Itaque nonnulli de miserandis reliquiis, in montibus comprehensi acervatim iugulabantur; alii fame confecti procedentes manus hostibus dabant, pro accipiendis alimentorum subsidiis aeternum subituri servitium, si tamen non continuo trucidarentur: ali transmarinas regiones dolentes petebant; alii perstantes in patria pauperem vitam in montibus, silvis vel rupibus arduis, suspecta semper mente, agebant.” Beda, Hist. Eccl. i. 15. See also Gildas, xxiv. xxv.
789. “Mit géru scal man geba infahan,” with the spear shall men win gifts. Hiltibrants Lied.
789. “Mit géru scal man geba infahan,” with the spear shall men win gifts. Hiltibrants Lied.
790. Chron. Sax.
790. Chron. Sax.
791. It seems difficult to take these statementsau pied de la lettre. How could Cúðwulf possibly have manœuvred such a force as he commanded, so as to fight at Bedford, if, as we must suppose, he marched from Hampshire or Surrey? How in fact could he ever reach Bedford, leaving Aylesbury in his rear, Bensington and Ensham on his left flank, if those places were capable of offering any kind of resistance? If they were so, we must admit that the Britons richly merited their overthrow.
791. It seems difficult to take these statementsau pied de la lettre. How could Cúðwulf possibly have manœuvred such a force as he commanded, so as to fight at Bedford, if, as we must suppose, he marched from Hampshire or Surrey? How in fact could he ever reach Bedford, leaving Aylesbury in his rear, Bensington and Ensham on his left flank, if those places were capable of offering any kind of resistance? If they were so, we must admit that the Britons richly merited their overthrow.
792. Chron. Sax. an. 577.
792. Chron. Sax. an. 577.
793. Müller, in his treatise on the Law of the Salic Franks, expresses the opinion that the German conquerors always destroyed the cities which they found. But the arguments which he adduces appear to me insufficient in themselves, and to be refuted by the obvious facts of the case. See his Der Lex Salica alter und Heimath, p. 160. The passages in Tacitus (Germ. xvi.) and Ammianus (xvi. 2) only prove that the Germans did not themselves like living in cities, which no one disputes.
793. Müller, in his treatise on the Law of the Salic Franks, expresses the opinion that the German conquerors always destroyed the cities which they found. But the arguments which he adduces appear to me insufficient in themselves, and to be refuted by the obvious facts of the case. See his Der Lex Salica alter und Heimath, p. 160. The passages in Tacitus (Germ. xvi.) and Ammianus (xvi. 2) only prove that the Germans did not themselves like living in cities, which no one disputes.
794. This was left for later and more civilized times; witness St. Alban’s massive abbey, one of the largest buildings in England, constructed almost entirely of bond-tiles from ancient Verulam. Caen stone would probably have been easier got and cheaper: but labour-rents must never be suffered to fall in arrear. It is the only rent which cannot be fetched up. Old Verulam was first dismantled because Ealdred, a Saxon abbot, in the tenth century found its cellars and ruined houses offered an asylum to bad characters of either sex: so runs the story.
794. This was left for later and more civilized times; witness St. Alban’s massive abbey, one of the largest buildings in England, constructed almost entirely of bond-tiles from ancient Verulam. Caen stone would probably have been easier got and cheaper: but labour-rents must never be suffered to fall in arrear. It is the only rent which cannot be fetched up. Old Verulam was first dismantled because Ealdred, a Saxon abbot, in the tenth century found its cellars and ruined houses offered an asylum to bad characters of either sex: so runs the story.
795. We know that it was not the case in Canterbury. Queen Beorhte’s bishop and chaplain, Liuthart, had restored a ruined church, and officiated there before the arrival of Augustine.
795. We know that it was not the case in Canterbury. Queen Beorhte’s bishop and chaplain, Liuthart, had restored a ruined church, and officiated there before the arrival of Augustine.
796. York supplies a striking example of the facts stated in this chapter. In the ninth century a Danish army pressed by the Saxons took refuge within its entrenchments. The Saxons determined to attack them, seeing the weakness of the wall: as Asser says, “Murum frangere instituunt, quod et fecerunt; non enim tunc adhuc illa civitas firmos et stabilitos muros illis temporibus habebat.” An. 867. It seems quite impossible that this should refer to the Roman city of York.
796. York supplies a striking example of the facts stated in this chapter. In the ninth century a Danish army pressed by the Saxons took refuge within its entrenchments. The Saxons determined to attack them, seeing the weakness of the wall: as Asser says, “Murum frangere instituunt, quod et fecerunt; non enim tunc adhuc illa civitas firmos et stabilitos muros illis temporibus habebat.” An. 867. It seems quite impossible that this should refer to the Roman city of York.
797. Ida built Bebbanburh, Bamborough, which was at first enclosed by a hedge, and afterwards by a wall. Chron. Sax. an. 547.
797. Ida built Bebbanburh, Bamborough, which was at first enclosed by a hedge, and afterwards by a wall. Chron. Sax. an. 547.
798. The growth of a city round a monastery is well instanced in the case of Bury St. Edmund’s. The following passage is cited from Domesday (371, b) in the notes to Mr. Rokewode’s edition of Jocelyn de Brakelonde. “In the town where the glorious king and martyr St. Edmund lies buried, in the time of king Edward, Baldwin the abbot held for the sustenance of the monks one hundred and eighteen men; and they can sell and give their land; and under them fifty-twobordarii, from whom the abbot can have help; fifty-four freemen poor enough; forty-three living upon alms; each of them has onebordarius. There are now two mills and two store-ponds or fish-ponds. This town was then worth ten pounds, now twenty. It has in length one leuga and a half, and in breadth as much. And it pays to the geld, when payable in the hundred, one pound. And then the issues therefrom are sixty pence towards the sustenance of the monks; but this is to be understood of the town as it was in the time of king Edward, if it so remains; for now it contains a greater circuit of land, the which was then ploughed and sown; where, one with another, there are thirty priests, deacons and clerks, twenty-eight nuns and poor brethren who pray daily for the king and all Christian people; eighty less five bakers, brewers, seamsters, fullers, shoemakers, tailors, cooks, porters, serving-men; and these all daily minister to the saint, and abbot and brethren. Besides whom there are thirteen upon the land of the reeve, who have their dwellings in the same town, and under them fivebordarii. Now there are thirty-four persons owing military service, taking French and English together, and under them twenty-twobordarii. Now in the whole there are three hundred and forty-two dwellings in the demesne of the land of St. Edmund, which was arable in the time of king Edward.” Chron. Joc. de Brakelonde, pp. 148, 149 (Camden Society). Similarly Durham and other towns grew up around cathedrals.
798. The growth of a city round a monastery is well instanced in the case of Bury St. Edmund’s. The following passage is cited from Domesday (371, b) in the notes to Mr. Rokewode’s edition of Jocelyn de Brakelonde. “In the town where the glorious king and martyr St. Edmund lies buried, in the time of king Edward, Baldwin the abbot held for the sustenance of the monks one hundred and eighteen men; and they can sell and give their land; and under them fifty-twobordarii, from whom the abbot can have help; fifty-four freemen poor enough; forty-three living upon alms; each of them has onebordarius. There are now two mills and two store-ponds or fish-ponds. This town was then worth ten pounds, now twenty. It has in length one leuga and a half, and in breadth as much. And it pays to the geld, when payable in the hundred, one pound. And then the issues therefrom are sixty pence towards the sustenance of the monks; but this is to be understood of the town as it was in the time of king Edward, if it so remains; for now it contains a greater circuit of land, the which was then ploughed and sown; where, one with another, there are thirty priests, deacons and clerks, twenty-eight nuns and poor brethren who pray daily for the king and all Christian people; eighty less five bakers, brewers, seamsters, fullers, shoemakers, tailors, cooks, porters, serving-men; and these all daily minister to the saint, and abbot and brethren. Besides whom there are thirteen upon the land of the reeve, who have their dwellings in the same town, and under them fivebordarii. Now there are thirty-four persons owing military service, taking French and English together, and under them twenty-twobordarii. Now in the whole there are three hundred and forty-two dwellings in the demesne of the land of St. Edmund, which was arable in the time of king Edward.” Chron. Joc. de Brakelonde, pp. 148, 149 (Camden Society). Similarly Durham and other towns grew up around cathedrals.
799. The “Ingang burhware” may possibly be only a selected portion of the population; as, for example, the richer inhabitants, a special burgher’s club. The argument in the text is no way affected by the pre-eminence of some particular association among the rest, and an “Ingang burhware,” even if a distinct thing, only proves the existence of a “burhwaru” besides. However it is probable that there was a general disposition to admit as many members as possible into associations whose security and influence would greatly depend upon their numbers.
799. The “Ingang burhware” may possibly be only a selected portion of the population; as, for example, the richer inhabitants, a special burgher’s club. The argument in the text is no way affected by the pre-eminence of some particular association among the rest, and an “Ingang burhware,” even if a distinct thing, only proves the existence of a “burhwaru” besides. However it is probable that there was a general disposition to admit as many members as possible into associations whose security and influence would greatly depend upon their numbers.
800. The wordcommunaoccurs at almost every page of the ‘Liber de antiquis Legibus,’ to express the whole commonalty of the city of London. Glanville himself usescommunaandgyldaeas equivalent terms. “Item si quis nativus quiete per unum annum et unum diem in aliquâ villâ privilegiatâ manserit, ita quod in eorumcommuniam, scilicetgyldam, tanquam civis receptus fuerit, eo ipso a villenagio liberabitur.” Lib. v. cap. 5. The reader may consult with advantage Thierry’s history of the Communes in France, in his ‘Lettres sur l’histoire de France,’ a work which has not received in this country an attention at all commensurate to its merits, or comparable to that bestowed upon his far less sound production the ‘Conquête de l’Angleterre par les Normands.’ At the same time it would be an error to apply the example of the French Communes to our own or those of Flanders, which had frequently a very different origin. See Warnkönig,Hist. de Flandre, par Gheldolf: Bruxelles, 1835, particularly vol. ii. with its valuable appendixes.
800. The wordcommunaoccurs at almost every page of the ‘Liber de antiquis Legibus,’ to express the whole commonalty of the city of London. Glanville himself usescommunaandgyldaeas equivalent terms. “Item si quis nativus quiete per unum annum et unum diem in aliquâ villâ privilegiatâ manserit, ita quod in eorumcommuniam, scilicetgyldam, tanquam civis receptus fuerit, eo ipso a villenagio liberabitur.” Lib. v. cap. 5. The reader may consult with advantage Thierry’s history of the Communes in France, in his ‘Lettres sur l’histoire de France,’ a work which has not received in this country an attention at all commensurate to its merits, or comparable to that bestowed upon his far less sound production the ‘Conquête de l’Angleterre par les Normands.’ At the same time it would be an error to apply the example of the French Communes to our own or those of Flanders, which had frequently a very different origin. See Warnkönig,Hist. de Flandre, par Gheldolf: Bruxelles, 1835, particularly vol. ii. with its valuable appendixes.
801. This truly interesting and important document will be found in an appendix to this Book. In fact the principle of all society during the Saxon period is that of free association upon terms of mutual benefit,—a noble and a grand principle, to the recognition of which our own enlightened period is as yet but slowly returning.
801. This truly interesting and important document will be found in an appendix to this Book. In fact the principle of all society during the Saxon period is that of free association upon terms of mutual benefit,—a noble and a grand principle, to the recognition of which our own enlightened period is as yet but slowly returning.
802. “Ealdredesgate et Cripelesgate,i. e.portas illas, observabant custodes.” Inst. London. § 1. Thorpe, i. 300.
802. “Ealdredesgate et Cripelesgate,i. e.portas illas, observabant custodes.” Inst. London. § 1. Thorpe, i. 300.
803. In the cities of the Roman empire with Jus Italicum a statute of Marsyas or Silenus was erected in the forum. Servius ad Æneid. iv. 58. “Patrique Lyæo.—Urbibus libertatis est deus, unde etiam Marsyas, minister eius, per civitates in foro positus, libertatis indicium est; qui erecta manu testatur nihil urbi deesse.” So also Æneid, iii. 20. The reader of Horace will remember the Marsyas in the Forum as symbolizing the magistrate’s jurisdiction. Whether the Germanic populations derived their pillar, figure or statue from the Roman custom seems uncertain: certain however it is that the Rolandseule, the pillar or figure of Orlando, (and, as is sometimes said, of Charlemagne) denotes equally “nihil urbi deesse.”
803. In the cities of the Roman empire with Jus Italicum a statute of Marsyas or Silenus was erected in the forum. Servius ad Æneid. iv. 58. “Patrique Lyæo.—Urbibus libertatis est deus, unde etiam Marsyas, minister eius, per civitates in foro positus, libertatis indicium est; qui erecta manu testatur nihil urbi deesse.” So also Æneid, iii. 20. The reader of Horace will remember the Marsyas in the Forum as symbolizing the magistrate’s jurisdiction. Whether the Germanic populations derived their pillar, figure or statue from the Roman custom seems uncertain: certain however it is that the Rolandseule, the pillar or figure of Orlando, (and, as is sometimes said, of Charlemagne) denotes equally “nihil urbi deesse.”
804. “Die Luft macht eigen.”
804. “Die Luft macht eigen.”
805.Banlieu, banni leuca, or according to some etymologists, banni locus.
805.Banlieu, banni leuca, or according to some etymologists, banni locus.
806. Slight as this sketch is, it may serve to throw some light upon the fortunes of the Flemish and Italian cities. Dönniges gives a most interesting and instructive account of Regensburg in very early times, with its three fortified quarters,—the Count’s (Palatium, Pfalz or Imperialbanlieu), the Bishop’s, and the Burghers’ or Merchants’ quarter. Deut. Staatsr. p. 250,seq.
806. Slight as this sketch is, it may serve to throw some light upon the fortunes of the Flemish and Italian cities. Dönniges gives a most interesting and instructive account of Regensburg in very early times, with its three fortified quarters,—the Count’s (Palatium, Pfalz or Imperialbanlieu), the Bishop’s, and the Burghers’ or Merchants’ quarter. Deut. Staatsr. p. 250,seq.
807. The “Five Burghs” were Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Stamford. Chester and York could only be joined in a more distant alliance, but still when there was a common action among them, they were called the “Seven Burghs.”
807. The “Five Burghs” were Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Stamford. Chester and York could only be joined in a more distant alliance, but still when there was a common action among them, they were called the “Seven Burghs.”
808. These statements are taken from the Saxon Chronicle, Florence of Worcester, Simeon, and other authorities, under the years quoted. For the sake of illustration I have added in the Appendix a list of Anglosaxon towns, whose origin we have some means of tracing.
808. These statements are taken from the Saxon Chronicle, Florence of Worcester, Simeon, and other authorities, under the years quoted. For the sake of illustration I have added in the Appendix a list of Anglosaxon towns, whose origin we have some means of tracing.
809. History furnishes notable instances of what has been put here merely hypothetically. The earls of Flanders were honourably distinguished among all the European potentates by the liberal manner in which they treated their subjects. The appendix to this chapter contains some of the earliest charters which they granted to their towns, and these fully explain the wealth, power and happiness of Flanders in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. And notwithstanding what I have said in the text, and which is justified by the conduct of the bishops in some parts of Europe, it must be admitted that the clergy were generally just and merciful lords, as far as the material well-being of their dependents was concerned. The German proverb says: “’Tis good to live under the crozier.”
809. History furnishes notable instances of what has been put here merely hypothetically. The earls of Flanders were honourably distinguished among all the European potentates by the liberal manner in which they treated their subjects. The appendix to this chapter contains some of the earliest charters which they granted to their towns, and these fully explain the wealth, power and happiness of Flanders in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. And notwithstanding what I have said in the text, and which is justified by the conduct of the bishops in some parts of Europe, it must be admitted that the clergy were generally just and merciful lords, as far as the material well-being of their dependents was concerned. The German proverb says: “’Tis good to live under the crozier.”
810. Even under the Norman kings, the condition of this country seems to have been comparatively easy. Its darkest moments were during the wars of Stephen and Henry Plantagenet. The position then assumed by the seigneurs or castellans and its results are thus well described by an old chronicler:—“Sane inter partes diu certatum est, alternante fortuna; sed tunc quodammodo remissiores motus esse coeperunt: quod tamen Angliae non cessit in bonum, eo quod tot erant reges quot domini castellorum, habentes singuli numisma proprium et more regis subditos iudicantes. Et quia magnates terrae sic invicem excellere satagebant, eo quod nullus in alterum habebat imperium, mox inter se disceptantes rapinis et incendiis clarissimas regiones corruperunt, in tantum quod omne robur panis fere deperiit.” Walt. Hemingburh, vulgo Gisseburne, i. 74. “Castella quippe studio partium per singulas provincias surrexerant crebra; erantque in Anglia tot quodammodo reges, vel potius tyranni, quot castellorum domini, habentes singuli percussuram proprii numismatis, et potestatem dicendi subditis regio more iura.” Annal. Trivet. 1147, p. 25. The contemporary Saxon chronicler gives the most frightful account of the tyrannous exactions of the castellans, and the tortures they inflicted on the defenceless cultivators. And this miserable condition of the country is only too obvious in the words with which the contemporary author of the life of Stephen commences his work. Gest. Stephani, p. 1seq.Nor can this surprise us, when we learn that at this period not less than eleven hundred and fifteen castles had been built in England. Rog. Wendov. an. 1153, Coxe’s edit. ii. 256.
810. Even under the Norman kings, the condition of this country seems to have been comparatively easy. Its darkest moments were during the wars of Stephen and Henry Plantagenet. The position then assumed by the seigneurs or castellans and its results are thus well described by an old chronicler:—“Sane inter partes diu certatum est, alternante fortuna; sed tunc quodammodo remissiores motus esse coeperunt: quod tamen Angliae non cessit in bonum, eo quod tot erant reges quot domini castellorum, habentes singuli numisma proprium et more regis subditos iudicantes. Et quia magnates terrae sic invicem excellere satagebant, eo quod nullus in alterum habebat imperium, mox inter se disceptantes rapinis et incendiis clarissimas regiones corruperunt, in tantum quod omne robur panis fere deperiit.” Walt. Hemingburh, vulgo Gisseburne, i. 74. “Castella quippe studio partium per singulas provincias surrexerant crebra; erantque in Anglia tot quodammodo reges, vel potius tyranni, quot castellorum domini, habentes singuli percussuram proprii numismatis, et potestatem dicendi subditis regio more iura.” Annal. Trivet. 1147, p. 25. The contemporary Saxon chronicler gives the most frightful account of the tyrannous exactions of the castellans, and the tortures they inflicted on the defenceless cultivators. And this miserable condition of the country is only too obvious in the words with which the contemporary author of the life of Stephen commences his work. Gest. Stephani, p. 1seq.Nor can this surprise us, when we learn that at this period not less than eleven hundred and fifteen castles had been built in England. Rog. Wendov. an. 1153, Coxe’s edit. ii. 256.
811. Cod. Dipl. No. 1075.
811. Cod. Dipl. No. 1075.
812. There can be no doubt thatWǽnscilling, written erroneously in the MS.þægnsilling, is what is meant bystatioetinoneratio plaustrorumin another charter. Cod. Dipl. No. 1066. It is custom or toll upon the standing and loading of the salt-waggons. See p. 71 of this volume.
812. There can be no doubt thatWǽnscilling, written erroneously in the MS.þægnsilling, is what is meant bystatioetinoneratio plaustrorumin another charter. Cod. Dipl. No. 1066. It is custom or toll upon the standing and loading of the salt-waggons. See p. 71 of this volume.
813.Landfeoh, land-fee, probably a recognitory rent for land held under the burh or city.Fihtwíte, fine for brawling in the city.Stalu, fine or mulct for theft.Wohceápung, fine for buying or selling contrary to the rules of the market.
813.Landfeoh, land-fee, probably a recognitory rent for land held under the burh or city.Fihtwíte, fine for brawling in the city.Stalu, fine or mulct for theft.Wohceápung, fine for buying or selling contrary to the rules of the market.