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DA 678 C95

1810

1198269-190.

HISTORICAL REMARKS

OF

LONDON AND WESTMINSTER.

EN

NGLAND in the time of the Saxons was divided into an Heptarchy, or seven kingdoms, in the year after Christ 527. One of these kingdoms contained Essex and Middlesex, and continued about 281 years, during the reign of fourteen kings, the third of whom was Sebert, who first built the cathedral of St. Paul, London, which had formerly been the temple of Diana. The ninth king was Sebba, who after thirty years peaceable reign, relinquished the Crown, and took upon him a religious habit in the monastery of St. Paul, London, where dying, his body was intombed in a coffin of grey marble, and stood in the north wall of the chancel of that Church, till the dreadful fire in 1666.

About the year 872, the Danes invaded this kingdom, and got into London, making great spoil, upon which King Alfred who then reigned, compounded with them, allowing them a great quantity of land to secure the rest from plunder, and ruin; for we find these words, in the end of the Laws published by this King, "Let the bounds of our dominions stretch. from the River Thames, and from thence to the Vale of Lea, even unto the head of the same Water, and so forth straight unto Bedford, and finally going along by the River of Ouse, let them end at Watling Street." But so far were the Danes from being satisfied, that they usurped daily upon other places, and infested all the country, insomuch that this undaunted King Alfred, was many times brought to such extremity, that he was forced to hide himself in the fens and marshes, and with his small company to live by fishing, fowling and hunting

B

of wild beasts for food; and being one time entertained alone in a countryman's house, disguised in a very mean attire, as he was sitting by the fire, a cake was baking on the hearth before him; but the King being very intent in trimming his bow and arrows, the countrywoman coming in, and seeing the cake burn, she furiously took the bow from him, and checking him as her slave, said, thou fellow, dost thou see the bread burn before thy face, and wilt thou not turn it, and yet mayest be glad to eat it before it be half baked? little suspecting him to be the man that used to be treated with more dainty food.

This worthy King Alfred more minding the benefit of his subjects than the majesty of state, disguised himself in the habit of a common harper, and went in person to the Dane's camp, who lay wallowing in wantoness and security; and being a very skilful musician, and poet, he added his voice thereto, singing songs of the valour of the Danes, whereby he had admittance into the company and banquets of their chief commanders and princes; and observing their carelessness and negligence, and understanding likewise their designs, he returns to his own poor soldiers, and tells them how easy it was to surprise their enemies, and thereby recover their ruined country: they being encouraged with the news, immediately fell upon the Danes in their camp, and made a very great slaughter; and pursuing their victory, they beat the Danes in all places, and at last followed them to London, from whence upon his approach, all the Danes fled like wolves before lions. The inhabitants were very glad to see the face of their King, and he restored the city to its former liberty and splendor again, the Dains making their escape by shipping into France.

In the year 982, the Danes again invade England, and destroyed all places near the shore. Etheldred was then King, whose elder brother (called the Martyr) was treacherously murdered by the procurement of his mother-in-law; for the King being a hunting in the Isle of Purbeck, went alone out of kindness to see his mother-in-law and brother, who dwelt hard by, where this cruel woman, out of ambition to bring her son to the crown, caused one to run him into the back with a knife, as he was drinking a cup of wine on horseback at his departing, who feeling himself hurt set spurs to his horse, thinking thereby to get to his company, but the wound being mortal, and he fainting through loss of much blood, fell from his horse; but one foot being entangled in the stirrup, he was thereby dragged up and down through woods, and lands, in a most lamentable manner, and `afterwards found dead, and was buried in the minster at Shaftesbury,

Etheldred was then crowned King by Dunstan Archbishop of Canterbury (though against his will.) For at his coronation, Dunstan in a prophetic spirit, denounced the wrath and indignation of God against the King in these words; because, saith he, thou hast aspired to the crown, by the death of thy brother, whom thy Mother hath murdered, therefore hear the word of the Lord. The sword shall not depart from thy house, but shall furiously rage all the days of thy life, killing thy seed till such times as thy kingdom shall be given to a people whose customs and language the nation thou now governest, know not. Neither shall thy sin, the sin of thy mother, nor the sins of those men who were partakers of her councils, and instruments of her wicked designs, be expiated and appeased, but by a long and most severe vengeance.

Which prediction was seconded by prodigies; for it is said, that a cloud of blood and fire appeared after his coronation; likewise by the disastrous and miserable calamities that fell upon him and his house. This King was neither forward in action, nor fortunate in any of his undertakings, so that he was called, The Unready; he spent his youth in debauchery and folly, his middle age in carelessness, and neglect of his Government, maintaining dissentions and quarrels amongst his own subjects; and his latter end in constant resistance of the blood-thirsty Danes, who made continual havoc and destruction of his people and country (who had been quiet for twenty-two years before,) and therefore all these calamities were imputed to the misgovernment of this unhappy Prince.

The Danes perceiving the hearts of the subjects to be drawn from their sovereign, take the advantage, and landed in Kent with seven ships, spoiling all the country in one part or other. This they continued for eleven years together, till at last the King, by advice of his lords, paid them ten thousand pounds, upon condition they should quit the realm: this served for the present, but they returned year after year, and still obliged the King to give them more money yearly, till at last it came to forty thousand pounds a year, which emptied the land of all the coin, and the English were forced to plough, and sow, while the Danes sat idle, and eat the fruit of their labours, abusing their wives and daughters, whereupon they were called Lord Danes, (now Lurdains, signifying a lazy lubber.)

In this distressed state, the King thought of this expedient to be rid of them he sent out several orders and commissions into every city in his dominions, that at an appointed time they should massacre all the Danes that were amongst them. The day was November 13,

1002. His command was accordingly performed, and that with such rigour, that in Oxford the fearful Dancs, for refuge took into the church of St. Frideswide, as into a sanctuary of venerable antiquity; but they in fury, regarding neither place nor person, set the church on fire, wherein many Danes were burnt with divers rich ornaments, and the library thereof utterly defaced.

At which time, it is said, King Etheldred himself was in Oxford, and had summoned a Parliament both of English and Danes to meet there, and he afterwards repaired the ruins the fire had made. In this massacre the Lady Gunhild, sister to the King of Denmark, and a continual friend to the English, with her husband and son were slain. Upon the news of this massacre, King Swain with a great navy of Danes, land in several parts of England, and carries all before him: and other Danes with ninty-four ships sailed up the River Thames, and besieged London, and gave it a brisk assault, but the Londoners made such a valiant resistance, that they forced them to retire; but however they fell very severely upon Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire.

These calamities were seconded with others as fearful; for about this time, the city of London was miserably destroyed, and defaced by fire whose beauty then chiefly extended from Ludgate, westward; for that within the walls, where the heart of the city now is, was then neither beautiful nor orderly built.

And to add to these miseries, there was a dreadful sickness raging in London, and most parts of England, which was hitherto unknown in this kingdom, which was a high burning fever, and the bloody flux; there was also great scarcity of victuals, by reason of an extraordinary murrain, and death of all sorts of cattle; and all these judgments were imputed to the King, and his abettors, Dunstan prophecying further woes to the land after his death. Through the King made great lamentation for the death of his brother King Edward, for which his Mother beat him so violently with a wax taper which stood before her, that he could never after well endure the sight of a taper.

In the year 1013, King Swain came again from Denmark, landing a great number of men in the River Humber, and conquered all before him till he came to London, and presently begirt the walls with a close siege (King Etheldred being within) though Swain doubted not of carrying the city, yet he was much mistaken; for the citizens, considering that they had the presence of their King with them, and that London was the eye of the land, grew thereupon very bold and

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