could publish such rules of virtue, as no person of common modesty could endure to read*. Egbert, king of Wessex, or the West Saxons, had been forced to retire in his youth to the court of France, where he derived great advantages from the learned men, whom Charlemagne had gathered round him. He returned to show that knowledge is power; for he soon made himself supreme monarch, and gave to his kingdom the name of Anglesland, or England. But his reign was disturbed by the irruptions of the Danes, who were yet savage Pagans. These marauders, the refuse of all the nations which bordered on the Baltic, having once ravaged the isle of Sheppey with impunity, they tasted enough of the sweets of Britain to determine on the conquest of a country which now seemed to trust for its defence to the crucifix instead of the swordt. Their rage was principally directed against the monasteries, which they levelled with the ground, and almost extinguished the religious orders. King Edmund, whom they vanquished, refusing to deny the Saviour, they tied him to a tree, and pierced him with arrows till he died. The place of his sepulchre was, in honour to his memory, called St. Edmund's Bury. Ethel, wolph, the son and successor of Egbert, full of the superstition of the times, gave, by a solemn charter, the tithes of all the kingdom to the clergy, because, according to his own confession, he was alarmed by the Pagan Danes, and wished, by this act of piety, to procure the pardon of his sins, and the salvation of his soul. * Fuller, book II. p. 107. Miller's Propagation of Christianity. But if the son of Solomon was a fool, the son of Ethelwolph was the renowned Alfred. After a long and bloody conflict with the Danes, he succeeded in establishing himself on the throne, which was filled by him with as much honour, as it had been acquired with valour. For gentleness of disposition, improvement of time, and purity of manners, he is highly extolled. To him has been attributed that palladium of our liberties, trial by jury; and when a king writes an invective against unjust judges, may we not hope, that in his own government he would imitate " the King eternal, immortal, invisible, who sitteth on the throne judging righteously? *" At this time, John Scotus, surnamed Erigena, to mark him a Scot, or an Irishman, is mentioned as the most learned man of his age and nation. He appears to have thought common sense no heretic, *From the thickest shades of darkness, he emerged as the morning star, for he was twelve years of age before a master could be found to undertake his education; and he complained, that south of the Thames he had none who could read English. But he invited over learned men, who delivered lectures at Oxford, of which university he is considered the founder. In proof of this, Fuller appeals to Alfred's arms in University College, with an inscription which informs us that he built that edifice. Nobilis Alfredi sunt hæc insignia cujus, Primum constructa est hæc pietate domus. Fuller's Ch. Hist. b. ii. 217. Spanheim. His literary works are sufficient to procure him reputation as an author, though he had not worn a crown. A manual of pious meditations, a version of the Psalms of David, and a translation (from the Vulgate we suppose) of the Old and New Testament, are attributed to his pen. Viewed in every light, where can we find so good evidence of true religion on a throne? He died the twenty-eighth of October, nine hundred, and was buried at Hyde Abbey, Winchester, and opposed the increasing infatuation of the times, by declaring, that in the Lord's Supper we have not the body and blood of our Lord, but a memorial and sign. We might pass over the tenth century as an abso lute blank in the history of real religion in England. Ethelstan, however, is said to have laboured to promote the translation of the Scriptures in his dominions. But the most prominent character of the age, is Dunstan, who, from a monk, contrived, through various fortunes, to raise himself to the see of Canterbury. His conflict with the devil, is akin to other lying miracles by which he supported his power; reminding us of the inspired prediction of antichrist, "whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders.*" Dunstan assisted Edgar to usurp his brother's throne; and both king and priest (the former of whom had all the vices of the beast, and the latter of the demon) persecuted the married clergy, in order to fill all the benefices with monks+. The Danes, allured by rich monasteries, and cowardly priests, cruelly ravaged the country through all this age. The eleventh century opens with a view of Danish kings upon the British throne. Canute is represented as at first a sacriligeous murderer, who afterwards attempted to expiate his crimes by prodigal superstitions. One instance of it was, that renouncing the use of his crown, he sent it to Winchester, to be placed on the image of Jesus. Edward, who is surnamed the confessor, is the Fuller, 128. * 2 Thess. ii. 9. favourite king with the monkish historians. From him the British monarchs derive all the power they possess to cure the king's evil. William the Conqueror introduced a new dynasty, checked the pope's encroachments on the regal powers, and when called upon to own himself a vassal of the holy see, replied, "I hold my kingdom from none but God, and my sword." The rude soldier seems to have achieved more for the cause of religion, than the sainted Confessor; for he introduced a more manly independent tone, and allowed men to think of religion for themselves. He was such a promoter of learning, which the Danish ravages had reduced to the lowest ebb, that Mosheim styles him the Mecenas of the age*. Of William Rufus, who succeeded the Conqueror, ecclesiastics have given a hideous picture; for he seems to have viewed them in their true light, and to have felt himself authorised to wrest from them by force, what they had gained from the people by fraud. we Should the reader say, "all this is the history of kings and monks, where were the Christians?" reply, buried in obscurity so profound, that they have eluded our utmost research. Alfric, archbishop of Canterbury, is celebrated as the author of homilies to be read in churches, which breathe more of the evangelical spirit than the times would have led us to expect†. Elpheg, his successor, displayed the true spirit of a primitive martyr, in his refusal to betray what he thought the interests of the church to the fierce persecuting Danes. Shall I be afraid, says he, to go to heaven, because a violent death lies in * Mosheim, 337. † Mosheim, 366. ' the way? I have given the enemy no just occasion to use me ill. It is true, I have converted some of the most considerable of them to Christianity; but if this be a fault, I shall be happy in suffering for it. If you think the Danes are particularly enraged against me for reproving them for their immorality and injustice, I cannot help it. I am bound to these remonstrances by my commission; and unless I give the wicked man warning, his blood will be upon my head. Shall I flee, and desert my worthy countrymen? What can I be less than a hireling, if when I see the wolf ready to devour my sheep, I presently run away, and leave them to shift for themselves? I am resolved, therefore, to stand the shock, and submit to the order of providence." He was cruelly murdered by the Danes, and we would hope now wears the martyr's crown 1 The glimpse of religion which we behold in this passage, induces us to hope, that there were a few witnesses for the truth, who knew "a more excellent way" than the gross superstitions then in vogue. Some of the monasteries, it is probable, contained men who, with pure motives, devoted themselves to prayer and the study of the Scriptures, whence they learned to sigh in secret over the ignorance and pollution which reigned around them. Henry, surnamed Beauclerc, or the learned, summoned a council, in which canons were decreed against the infamous crimes of priests, and especially against their marriages. The prelates, most famed for sanctity, were the greatest enemies to the priests' wives; but many of the clergy, particularly those of * Warner's Eccl. Hist. of England, vol. I. p. 223. |