Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 1.djvu/172

158 he was afterwards called. In the name of the young prince, he entered into a league with the chiefs of some of the neighbouring states, among whom was the Earl of Flanders. Henry was attacked at various points along the frontiers of Normandy, and some of his fortresses and towns were taken. At the same time, many Norman barons, who were secretly attached to the cause of Duke Robert, engaged in a conspiracy against Henry. For several years the king never retired to bed without ordering a sword and buckler to be placed beside his pillow. At length he succeeded, by policy, in dissolving the league against him. A treaty was signed, by which the estates of Helie de St. Saen were given to Fulk of Anjou, to whose daughter, Matilda, Henry agreed to marry his own son, William. The contract of marriage between Sibylla and the son of Robert was broken off, and the cause of the latter was no longer to be supported by the Earl of Anjou. William of Normandy retired to the court of Baldwin, Earl of Flanders, who was one of the warmest supporters of his cause.

Having brought these negotiations satisfactorily to an end—for which purpose he had spent two years in Normandy—Henry returned to England. The sums which had been expended by the king in obtaining the submission of the friends of William, were obtained by heavy burdens and exactions from the people of England. Each year is described as being attended with its peculiar calamity, and in the year 1110 the sufferings of the people were heavy, "caused by the failure of the crops and the taxes demanded by the king for the dowry of his daughter."

This daughter, who bore her mother's name of Matilda, was at that time only five years old. By the feudal laws, the king was entitled to levy a tax on the marriage of his eldest daughter, and Matilda was betrothed to Henry V., Emperor of Germany, who had sent ambassadors to demand her hand. The nominal rank of the German emperor was high, but the country over which he ruled was poor, and the prince himself not unfrequently kept state with empty coffers. He demanded a large dowry, which, after some delay, was seized rather than collected from the English people, and the young princess was committed to the hands of the ambassadors, who conducted her "with all honour" to Germany, where she was to receive her education. Her embarkation was a splendid sight, and is described in glowing terms by contemporary historians, but the people could not forget "how dear all this had cost the English nation," and Matilda's unpopularity in after years might in some degree be traced to the circumstances which had attended her marriage.

About the year 1111, the Welsh made incursions into the English counties on their borders, and overran the whole of Cheshire, causing great distress and damage to the inhabitants. Henry advanced against them, and as they retreated before him he followed them to the fastnesses of the mountains, defeating them whenever he could find an opportunity of engaging them in battle. As had been the case with his father, the Conqueror, and his brother, Rufus, Henry found himself unable to subdue a people whose home was among trackless mountains and dangerous morasses, and he contented himself with building a chain of forts or castles a little further into the country than those erected by his predecessors. He also brought over a number of Fleming', to whom be gave a district of Pembrokeshire, with the town of Haverfordwest. These people were at once industrious and warlike, and they maintained themselves in prosperity in their new colony, in spite of repeated attacks made upon them by the Welsh.

On May 1, 1118, the Queen Matilda died, "with the sad reflection that she had sacrificed herself for her race in vain." Of this unhappy lady the historians of the time record no acts which were not gentle and womanly; and she appears to have merited the affection of the people, and that title of "the Good," which they conferred upon her. For the last twelve years of her life she was neglected by her husband, and lived in the palace of Westminster, surrounded by the pomp and state of royalty, but not the less friendless and alone. She passed much of her time engaged in exercises of devotion, and it is related of her that her chief recreation consisted in listening to the songs and the stories of minstrels, whom the spirit of chivalry prompted to offer their tribute to her virtues and misfortunes.

Meanwhile, a dangerous confederacy was forming on the Continent among the adherents of William of Normandy. Henry had neglected, in almost every instance, to perform the promises which he had made to the Norman barons; and he had refused to conclude the match which had been agreed upon between his son William and the daughter of Fulk, Earl of Anjou. Louis of France, who still extended his favour and support to the son of Robert, entered into a league with Fulk of Anjou and Baldwin of Flanders, for the purpose of wresting the dukedom of Normandy from the possession of Henry. The first campaign was favourable to the arms of the English king, who successfully defended his territory against the attacks of the allies. Louis then determined to demand the assistance of the ecclesiastical power. A council of the clergy was convoked at Rheims, at which the Pope, Calixtus II., was present; and thither the King of France carried the young prince, and presenting him to the council, craved its assistance on his behalf Louis addressed an eloquent speech to the Pope, in which he dwelt upon the unjust and merciless character of the King of England, who not only refused to his nephew those possessions which belonged to him of right, but who also retained his brother, the Duke of Normandy, in solitary and endless imprisonment. Henry, who had been apprised of the purpose of the council, sent costly presents to the Pope and the clergy, and subsequently had an interview with Calixtus, at which similar inducements were employed with success. The council looked with coldness on the suit of Louis, and refused him the assistance he demanded.

The friends of William of Normandy continued the war with vigour, and Henry experienced several reverses. At the siege of Eu, Baldwin, Earl of Flanders, the most energetic and determined of the allies, was killed; and finding himself thus freed from one formidable foe, Henry determined to get rid of another by means which, on a former occasion, had proved efficacious. He sent messengers to the Earl of Anjou, proposing that the marriage between his son and the earl's daughter should take place immediately; a bribe of money was also added. The earl accepted the terms, withdrew his forces from those of the King of France, and the marriage soon afterwards took place.