FENLAND BIBLIOGRAPHY.

The following Works relate to the History and Geography of the Fen-district, (Those marked thus † apply entirely to the district.)

Anon.†The Visitor’s Guide to and History of Crowland Abbey with an appendix on the Triangular Bridge, and a Plan of the Abbey. Crowland, 1839.
Anon. †History of Stamford. Published by J. Drakard. 4to. Stamford, 1822.
Armstrong, Col. J.†History of the Ancient and Present state of the Navigation of the Port of King’s Lynn, &c. 1725.
Babington, C. C.†Ancient Cambridgeshire; an account of Roman and other ancient roads, &c.
Babington, C. C.Cambridge Antiquarian Society’s Publications, No. 3.
Benedict of Peterboro’†Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi (1162-92) edited by William Stubbs, M.A., &c. London, 1867.
Bentham, J.†The History and Antiquities of the Conventual and Cathedral Church at Ely, from the foundation of the monastery A.D. 673 to the year 1771. 4to Cambridge, 1771.
Birch, W. de GrayMemorials of St. Guthlac. 8vo. Wisbech, 1881.
Birch, W. de Grayhe Chronicles of Croyland Abbey, by Ingulph. 8vo. Wisbech, 1883.
Boyne, WilliamTokens of the 17th century. London, 1858.
Brittan, J.The Beauties of England and Wales. 1801.
Britton, John†History of Peterborough Cathedral.
Brogden, J. E.Lincolnshire Provincial Words.
[Calver, Capt. E. K., R.N.†Chart of the Wash from Skegness to Blakeney. Published at the Admiralty, January, 1873.]
Camden, WilliamBritannia (1607 A.D.) Translation by Richard Gough, F.A. and R.G.S. 3 vols., fol. London, 1789.
Cammack, T. †On the Antiquities of Spalding. Proc. Lincolnsh. Arch. Soc. London, 1851.
Clarke, J. A. †Fen Sketches. Sm. 8vo. Wisbech, 1851.
Creasey History of New and Old Sleaford. 8vo. Sleaford, 1825.
Dugdale, Sir W. History of Imbanking and Draining of Rivers, Fens, and Marshes. Fol. London, 1722.
Dugdale, Sir W. The Monasticon.
Elstobb, W. †An Historical Account of the Great Level of the Fens. 8vo. Lynn, 1793.
English, H. S. Crowland and Burgh. 1871.
Evans, John Ancient Stone Implements of Great Britain. 8vo. London, 1872.
Evans, JohnAncient British Coins.
Forby, Robert Vocabulary of East-Anglia. London, 1839.
Freeman, E. A. History of the Norman Conquest. 6 vols. 8vo. Oxford, 1870.
Freeman, E. A. “Lindum Colonia,” a paper in Macmillan’s Magazine, for 1875.
Gunton, Rev. Prebendary. †The History of the Church of Peterborough. Set forth by Symon Patrick, D.D., Dean of Peterboro’. Printed for Richard Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul’s Churchyard, 1686.
Heathcote, J. M. †Reminiscences of Fen and Mere. 8vo. London, 1876.
Henry of Huntingdon. History of the English. Translation in Bohn’s series.
Ingulphus †Chronicle of the Abbey of Croyland. Translated by H. T. Riley, B.A. London, 1854.
Jenyns, Rev. L. †Observation in Meteorology in Cambs. 8vo. Van Voorst, 1858.
Kemble, J. M. The Saxons in England. London, 1849.
Kingsley, Canon †Hereward the Wake. Macmillan, London.
Leland Collectanea ex libro Hugonis Monachi Petroburgensis.
Lubbock Pre-historic Times.
Mackerell, B. †History and Antiquities of the flourishing Corporation of King’s Lynn. London, 1738.
Marshall, W. †On some ancient Court Rolls of the Manor of Littleport. Cambridge Antiquarian Society’s Communications, vol. IV.
Marshall, W. On an ancient Canoe found imbedded in the Fen Peat near Magdalen Bend on the river Ouse. Ditto, vol. IV., 1878.
Marrat, W. The History of Lincolnshire. 3 vols. 4to. Boston, 1814-16.
Michel, Francisque Chroniques Anglo-Normandes. 3 vols. Rouen, 1836.
Miller, S. H., and Skertchly, S. B. J. †The Fenland, Past and Present. 8vo. Wisbech, 1878.
Miller, S. H. (Editor.) Fenland Meteorological Circular, 1874 to 1877. 2 vols. Wisbech.
Miller, S. H. “The Great Fen.” English Illustrated Magazine. Macmillan, 1885.
Miller, S. H. “Alleged Idolatry in the Fens.” Cambridge Antiquarian Society, 1886-7.
Nall, J. G. Glossary of the Dialect and Provincialisms of East-Anglia. Longmans, 1866.
Nevinson, Rev C., M.A. History of Stamford. Demy 8vo. Johnson, Stamford, 1879.
Oldfield †History of Wainfleet.
Oliphant, T. L. K. The Sources of Standard English. London, 1873.
Oliver, Dr. G. †Religious Houses on the Witham. 1846.
Ordericus Vitalis The Original Text (published in 1838 by the French Historical Society, and edited by August le Provost. Translation of above by T. Forester, M.A. Bohn’s series, 1853.)
Richards, W. †The History of Lynn, civil, ecclesiastical, &c. 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1812.
Stewart, Rev. D. J. (Editor.) †Liber Eliensis, ad fidem codicam variorum. London, 1848.
Skertchly, S. B. J. †The Geology of the Fenland. (Memoir of the Geological Survey.) London, 1877.
Stukely, William Itinerarium Curiosum. 2 vols, fol., 1724.
Stukely, William Palæographica Britannica. 3 numbers, 4to., Stamford, 1746 and 1752.
Thierry, J. N. A. History of the Norman Conquest. English Edition, Bohn, 1856.
Thompson, P. †History and Antiquities of Boston. 4to. London, 1856.
Trollope, Rev. E. †Hereward the Saxon Patriot. Paper read before the Associated Architectural Societies at Bourne in June, 1861.
Turner, Sharon History of the Anglo-Saxons. London, 1799.
Vermuyden, Sir C. †Discourse touching the drainage of the great Fennes. An Appendix in Wells’ History of the Bedford Level.
Walker, N., and Craddock, T. †The History of Wisbech and the Fens. 8vo. Wisbech, 1849.
Warner, Rev. R. H. Legends of St. Chad. 8vo. Wisbech, 1870.
Warner, Rev. R. H. History of Thorney Abbey. 8vo. Wisbech, 1879.
Watson, H. †Historical Account of Wisbech. 1827.
Wells, S. †History of the Drainage of the Bedford Level. 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1830.
Wheeler, W. H. †History of the Fens of South Lincolnshire. 8vo. Boston, 1868.
William of Malmesbury De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum. Edited by N. E. S. A. Hamilton. London, 1870.
Wise, John Ramsey Abbey, its rise and fall. Huntingdon, 1881.
Wright, Thomas †Gesta Herewardi Saxonis. Appendix in Geoffrey Gaimar’s Anglo-Norman Metrical Chronicle. Caxton Society’s Publications. London, 1850.
(Various Authors) Fen and Marshland Churches. 3 vols. 4to., Wisbech, 1873-6. Report of British Archæological Society’s visit in 1878. Vol. 35.
[1] For Notes on Crowland Abbey, Spalding cell, and other religious houses, see Appendix.
[2] Fen-poles like that described in the text are not in use now, in this fourth quarter of the 19th century. Sportsmen use poles, as they do in most meadowy districts intersected by ditches; but the fen ditches are often dry in summer and early autumn and the boggy grounds are rare in these days. From Crowland to Spalding is eight miles in a straight line, but on such a route the Welland must be twice crossed. Now-a-days the traveller finds a good road from Crowland by Cowbit to Spalding,—the Saxon novice however had a devious course through Deeping Fen.
[3] For a description and list of Birds of the Fens, see “The Fenland, Past and Present.”
[4] This manor house was then held by a Norman, Ivo Taille-Bois, a nephew of William the Conqueror, one who figures greatly in this tale and in “Hereward the Wake;” the manor had belonged to Earl Leofric. According to Domesday book (350-351 B.) Ivo had large estates in Holland (South Lincolnshire.)
[5] Trust me! truly! surely! may we praise the Lord! are mild asseverations, but it is implied that in those days restraints on profanity were necessary. It has been asserted that profane swearing is coeval with Christianity, rather, perhaps with canonization—men called upon their patron saints to witness, and went beyond them. In Demosthenes’ oath— “By earth, by all her fountains, streams and floods!” there was no profanity.
[6] St. Etheldreda (or Æthelthryth) was the foundress and first abbess of Ely monastery (A.D. 673). See Appendix, [Note A].
[7] This is not the Lucia of Mercian fame; but St. Lucia, whose day in the old calendars was 13th December. See Appendix, [Note B].
[8] St. Ovin was steward to St. Etheldreda. His cross, erected by himself or to his memory, is still seen in Ely Cathedral. See pp. [45] and [57], and [Note C].
[9] This reference to standing upon piles appears indefinite—the idea seems to have been suggested by Ingulph’s assertion that the first abbey of Crowland was built on piles, which is not at all probable seeing that all traces of the abbey buildings are found on gravel—and the probabilities are that the site for the ancient monastery was there selected for that very reason. The gravel ridge runs south-west towards Peakirk. (See [map].)
[10] In Dugdale’s Monasticon a plan shewing the site of the Priory is given; it was south of the market place, west of the Welland, and not half-way between that river and Westlode. The refectory still exists: it is divided into seven dwellings, called “Abbey Buildings.” See Appendix, [Note D].
[11] There was an abbot of Malmsbury, named Elfric, in 974. (Gesta. Pont. Ang.)
[12] St. Chad was first bishop of Lichfield (669-672). “Here perished, according to the tradition, in the fiery persecution of Diocletian, a thousand British Christians with Amphibalus at their head.” (Life and Legends of St. Chad.) But this Saint was more than Bishop of Lichfield—he was bishop of the Mercians; (this diocese included about seventeen counties) hence the force of Elfric’s appeal. St. Ovin had made a pilgrimage from the Fens into Yorkshire and joined St. Chad, at that time abbot of Lastingham.
[13] Thurstan was then abbot of Ely, but more of him hereafter.
[14] The writer of the text does not profess to be strictly historical, and as there does not appear to be any record of the names of the early priors of Spalding, he borrows one in vogue at the time about which he writes. One Aldhelm or Aldelm was abbot of Malmsbury or bishop of Sherborne (715-719). Spalding cell was founded in 1052, and the first recorded name of a prior was Herbertus, 1149.
[15] This was really Ulfcytel, not Ingulphus.
[16] For “Old Fisheries,” see “Fenland, Past and Present.”
[17] According to Ingulph, the king confirmed to the monastery the charter of Ædred.
[18] We may assume there were no spectacles in those days.
[19] The Pike has been a noted fish in the Fen-waters.
[20] It is noteable that the old monks experienced that mental worry retarded digestion.
[21] Archbishop Stigand suffered deprivation in April, 1070, through the influence of the Conqueror, and Lanfranc, Abbot of Caen, became Metropolitan in August of the same year. “Lanfranc yielded to the combined prayers and commands of all Normandy. With a heavy heart, as he himself tells us, he forsook the monastic life which he loved above all other lives.” (Norm. Conq., vol. iv., p. 346.) We wonder which of the two felt the greater “deprivation?”
[22] William had conquered the north of England before the elevation of Lanfranc, but the news may not have reached the Fen country for some months. Chester had fallen—the counties south of that stronghold were devastated, and many thousands of refugees found their way as far south as Evesham Abbey, where they received succour at the hands of Abbot Æthelwig. There, too, was one bearing the name of the novice (Elfric, in the text)—Prior Ælfric who cared for the dying fugitives.
[23] See [note] on Lady Lucia, [chapter II]., p. [22].
[24] The Fen people of old often eluded their enemies by taking to the reeds and rushes which grew luxuriantly in the fens, towering above a man’s head: and willows grew abundantly by the water-courses as they do now in some parts of the Fens.
[25] It was customary, in olden times, to place a “Salt Vat” in the centre of the dinner table. This vessel was often highly ornamented like Archbishop’s Parker’s Salt Vat, still preserved in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Appendix, [Note E]. Persons of rank sat between the Salt Vat and the head of the table—while dependents or inferior persons sat below it. An old English Ballad says— “Thou art a carle of mean degree, The salt it doth stand between me and thee.” And in Bishop Hall’s Satires— ... “That he do, on no default, Even presume to sit above the salt.”
[26] Venerable brothers.
[27] There was a general ejection of the Saxon Abbots and Priors—save some few like the Abbot of Evesham who made submission.
[28] Aldred had placed the crown on the head of William (as he had done on that of Harold) and was faithful to William’s cause. The tales of Aldred rebuking the conqueror for wrong doing are well told in Freeman’s Norm. Conquest, vol. IV., p. 260. Aldred succumbed to the stress of sorrow and died 11th Sept., 1069.
[29] The accounts of Stigand fleeing to the Camp of Refuge rest upon no good authority. Mr. Freeman thinks that from authentic narratives it is conclusive that Stigand was imprisoned at Winchester from the time of his deposition till his death.
[30] Morcar (or Morkere) appears to have gone to the camp after the death of his brother Edwin, who on making his way to Scotland was slain by traitors. The idea of Edwin’s having taken refuge there probably arose from the fact that the boss of a shield bearing a name similar to his was found in the Isle. (See the figure of this in “The Fenland Past and Present;” also a reference to it in the note on St. Godric, p. 436.)
[31] The people were terrified.
[32] The history of Abbot Frithric (Fredericus) appears to be largely mythical. He became Abbot of St. Albans in 1064 and was a favorite with Edward the Confessor. The tale of blocking the road with trees is told by Thierry. Frithric may have sought refuge at Ely—but Mr. Freeman remarks “all that certain history has to say about Frithric is that he was Abbot of St. Albans, and that he died or was deposed some time between 1075 and 1077.” Paul, a Norman monk, then became Abbot. Paul, aided by Lanfranc reared the great church of St. Albans, and the ruins of Verulam, the Roman city, were used in the construction of this wondrous pile—548 feet long—in the transept of which may still be seen Roman bricks in the arches. The restoration of this Abbey church is now complete; but the reader must visit it in order to realize the solemn grandeur of the pile. He will see that there was artistic beauty in the work but will regret that “Goths” as well as time made ravages upon it. (See Appendix, [Note F].)
[33] Lady Lucia was daughter of Algar; Leofric, Earl of Mercia (who died in 1057), and Lady Godiva were the parents of Algar, and Hereward is thought to have been the second son of the same parents, and, therefore, uncle of Lucia. Kingsley (Hereward the Wake, p. 426) assumes that Ivo Taille-Bois wedded this Lucia, and says he “rode forth through Spalding and Bourne having announced to Lucia, his bride, that he was going to slay her remaining relative; and when she wept, cursed and kicked her, as he did once a week.” That Ivo married the sister of Edwin and Morcar is not veritable history—but “he really had a wife, who on Norman lips was spoken of as Lucy.”
[34] The Priory was dedicated to St. Mary.
[35] “In these islands, at the time of the Norman conquest, the average of man was doubtless superior, both in body and mind, to the average of man now, simply because the weaklings could not have lived at all; and the rich and delicate beauty, in which the women of the Eastern Counties still surpass all other races in these isles, was doubtless far more common in proportion to the numbers of the population.”—Kingsley. Is it a fact that the English of eight centuries ago were both mentally superior and more robust than ourselves? If the Spartans gained in physique by the destruction of their weaklings, many a genius in embryo may have perished on Mount Taygetus. “The survival of the fittest” is a physical principle only. Of old—as even now—the weak died of indigence. Sir D. Brewster says of Newton, “That frail tenement which seemed scarcely able to imprison its immortal mind, was destined to enjoy a vigorous maturity, and to survive even the average term of human existence.”
[36] Lay-brothers and underlings.
[37] Fainéant—idling.
[38] And without permission.
[39] The Gregorian Music is coming into more general favour at the present day. The Gregorian Chants are Choral Music arranged according to the celebrated Church modes by Pope Gregory I.
[40] Pieces of armour that protect the throat, (Fr. gorge, the gullet.)
[41] Properly weasand, from Saxon wæsend, the windpipe.
[42] Ingulphus was introduced to court at the time of the interview of Edward the Confessor and William Duke of Normandy, 1051, and went with the latter to Normandy. He is said to have been consecrated by Lanfranc, and installed at Crowland in 1076. This is the general reading of the Monasticon, but we shall be more accurate by regarding Wulketul (or Ulfcytel) as Abbot of Crowland at the time of the expulsion of the monks of Spalding.
[43] The crown formed on the head of the Roman Catholic clergy by clipping the hair (from Fr. tonsurer.)
[44] The most effectual drainage belongs to a very recent period. At the present day a stranger could not realize, while passing through the Fen district, that it once was what is described in the text.
[45] The abandoned cell was given by Ivo to the abbey of St. Nicholas of Angiers in Normandy. “The charter of licence for this purpose will be found in the Appendix of instruments, together with the substance of a charter from Ivo Taille-Bois, dated in 1085.” This last date was really the time of the deposition of Ulfcytel of Crowland. A second charter of Ivo’s, granted to the Abbot of Angiers the tithes of toll, salt, sea-fish and the fishery of Westlode for the monks’ support.
[46] The writer seems to have held the sentiment—that human attachment, even among devout men, has a vein of selfishness in it. Love devoid of selfishness is pure indeed!
[47] Names ending in ea as Manea, and some modified into ey as Thorney.
[48] This appears to be a reference to “Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi”—the chronicle of the reigns of Henry II. and Richard I. (1169-92), by Benedict of Peterborough. The student will find this in the series of chronicles published under the authority of the Master of the Rolls. (Longmans.)
[49] The only piece of real old Fen, at the present day, is found near Burwell, south of Ely and east of the Cam. A stranger riding through the Fen district would merely consider himself a traveller in a fertile plain—he would not realize that it was once Fen.
[50] This etymology is not correct. Ely means eel-island; æl, Saxon for eel; ig, Saxon for island; and Elig became modified into Ely. See “The book of Ely” (Liber Eliensis), also “The Fenland.”
[51] This refers to Akeman Street, which ran from Cambridge to Ely, Littleport, across the Little Ouse near Brandon and on to Lynn—most likely a British road originally. (See [map].)
[52] Etheldreda was first married to Tonbert, a prince of the South Gyrwians, in 652, and it was through him she gained her title to the Isle of Ely, which retained the privilege of a principality after a bishopric was erected there.
[53] Ecgfrith was son of Oswin (Oswy) king of Northumbria; at his death the supremacy of Northumbria declined.
[54] In Liber Eliensis he is thus spoken of—“Venerant cum ea nonnulli nobiles (? fideles) viri ac feminæ de provincia Orientalium Anglorium, inter quos præcipuæ auctoritatis vir magnificus erat Oswinus nomine.”
[55] Stukely writing to Bentham says, “Ovin is a Welsh name ... the Isle of Ely was possessed by the Britons long after the Saxons had taken hold of England.”
[56] Withburga founded a nunnery at East Dereham. On the west side of East Dereham Church may still be seen the ruins of a tomb (there is a well near)—the whole being inclosed. A stone bears this inscription— “The Ruins of a tomb which contained the remains of Withburga, Youngest daughter of Annas, King of the East-Angles, Who died A.D. 654. The Abbot and Monks of Ely stole this precious Relique and translated it to Ely Cathedral where it was interred near her three Royal sisters, A.D. 974.”
[57] This Thurstan was a Saxon Abbot but it may be well to note there were two other “superiors” of religious houses, bearing that name—one Thurstan a Norman of Glastonbury appointed in 1082; this Abbot got into conflict with his monks as he wished to abandon the Gregorian duets—foul deeds followed. Another Norman Thurstan (or Toustain) was Abbot of Pershore in 1085.
[58] Harold was Earl of East-Anglia from 1045 till his temporary banishment 1051-52. Ælfgar ruled during that time.
[59] Stigand appears rather to have continued a prisoner at Winchester—[Note] p. [19].
[60] This may refer to Thurstan named in [note] on page [48].
[61] See [note] page [20].
[62] The Shrine of Albanus has recently been disentombed at St. Alban’s Cathedral—and reconstructed as far as the materials allowed on the spot where it stood originally. The martyrdom of St. Alban is figured on it.
[63] “Sweetly sang the monks in Ely,” As king Canute was rowed hard by.
[64] The novice must have travelled some 40 to 50 miles, and by a difficult route.
[65] Haddenham is 5 miles south-west of Ely, as the crow flies, Grunty fen lies between the two. The distance by rail is about 6 miles. St. Ovin’s Cross was removed from Haddenham to Ely, by Bentham, in 1770. Here is the inscription— LVCEM TVAM OVINO DA DEVS ET REQVIĒ AMEN The translation is—Thy light to Ovin give, O Lord, and rest. Amen. See, also, Appendix, [Note C].
[66] The frequent reference to “eels,” strengthens the view taken as to the origin of the word Ely. In these parts, rent was often taken in a supply of eels. Abbot Brithnoth endowed Ely with two fisheries. It had a grant of 10,000 eels annually from Well. No wonder that the monks grew fat in Lent. Generally, the monks of Ely were “good living folks,” as will be seen presently.
[67] Elfric is represented as a valiant youth, although he was in training for a sacred vow, and a saintly life,—and not for “carnal warfare.” The conflict in which he was engaged, was not even one where Christian resisted Pagan: it was the struggle of “a house divided against itself”—among Saxons and Normans, men professing a common faith. The novice however was of a spirit fitted for those boisterous times; and in the sequel we shall find that he may never have intended to pass beyond the novitiate. Ælfric was a favourite name. In the tenth century an Archbishop of Canterbury (Ælfric) wrote homilies still in use by learners of the Anglo-Saxon language. (See quotation on p. [278].)
[68] See [note] on page [37].
[69] This seems to refer to the generally received opinion that Ingulphus was Abbot; he is supposed to have gone to London, and carried with him the charters granted to Crowland by the Saxon kings. “They were read, he states, before the king and council; and although the earlier grants, which were written in the Saxon hand, down to the last Mercian king, were treated with contempt, yet the charters of Edred, Edgar and the succeeding kings, being written wholly or in part in the Gallican hand, they were allowed: the king confirming to the monastery the charter of Edred. The same success, however, did not attend his solicitation to have Spalding restored; the interest of Ivo Taille-Bois prevailed against him.”—Monasticon. See Appendix [Note G].
[70] Edgelwin, alias Æthelwine, bishop of Durham, fell under the displeasure of William I. Some Norman Soldiers had committed sacrilege at Durham. William commanded the Bishop and Chapter to excommunicate them. Æthelwine failed to do so; the Conqueror outlawed him, and he fled. He set sail for the Continent, but was driven back to Scotland; thence he fled to Ely; after the surrender of the Isle, 1071, Æthelwine was imprisoned at Abingdon and died there in 1072.
[71] Ramsey mere is 16 miles N.W. of Ely, and Thorney is 9 miles N. of that mere. Ramsey Abbey, Appendix Note H. Thorney Abbey, Appendix Note I.
[72] Eadmund, the last king of East-Anglia, was tied to an oak tree, and shot by the arrows of the Northmen, on 20th Nov., 870. Ely appears to have been included in that kingdom; but Crowland and Spalding in Mercia.
[73] Withburga or Werburga was the fourth abbess of Ely. She was the last whose name was recorded, though the monastery was under abbesses for nearly 200 years, that is, till the Danish havoc in 870. The “holy well” is in East Dereham Church Yard—see [note] p. [45].
[74] From what has been said already, the reader will be led to regard the story of Frithric as largely mythical, but he will view the words here put into the saint’s dying utterance, as prophetic of the ultimate supremacy of the Saxon race. The narrative is finely solemn, for as this “swan-song,” was being sung, the Crowland fugitives were wading through the deep fens on a November night, just near enough to hear the distant passing knell. We are still ruled by the laws of King Eadward the Confessor—laws which owe something to Godwine and Harold. The Norman Conquest, however, had the effect, when the scathing had passed over, of developing the old principles of the Saxons—and thus “England was a gainer by the conquest.” This subject is ably discussed in Vol. V. of Freeman’s Norman Conquest.
[75] The Abbey of St. Edmund’s-bury too had the right of a fishery in a fen mere, just west of Upwell, granted by King Canute.
[76] As to abundance of water-fowl in the Fens, and the method of taking them, see “Decoy” in “Fenland, Past and Present.”
[77] The same source of information may be consulted respecting the fish in the Fen rivers and in the Wash.
[78] In the neighbourhood of the Fen rivers there are “Wash-lands,” (the word must not be confounded with The Wash which is a bay), that is, lands liable to be overflowed in winter or in wet seasons. They relieve the river banks from undue pressure of the water which must necessarily pass slowly to sea. The largest “Wash-land” in the fens is between the Old and New Bedford rivers, some 20 miles long and 3⁄4 wide in some parts, containing nearly 6000 acres; this “Wash” is generally overflowed in winter; the water does not overflow the banks, but is let into the Wash through a sluice near Earith. This shallow water is frozen over during hard winters, like that of 1878-9, and forms a firm skating ground for the “Welney skaters,” unsurpassed in speed. If the spring is dry the waters retire, and in early summer the grass is abundant, and upon it may be seen vast numbers of cattle grazing.
[79] On the wash-lands of the rivers great numbers of wild birds have been taken. For two centuries previous to the thorough drainage of the Fens, decoying was a means of capturing many thousands of birds annually, and in the “Washes” netting was practised.
[80] King’s Lynn had a considerable trade in wine, a century ago, and in the first year of the 19th century, 1280 tuns were imported, but since that time its wine trade has declined. See Appendix, [Note J].
[81] Porpoises are still common in the Wash.
[82] It must not be supposed that flowers did not grow in the Fens—the Flora was abundant and beautiful, but at the season of which the writer speaks, wild flowers would be scarce. (For ancient Flora, see “Fenland” p. 295.) Eight hundred years ago the monks may not have taken to floriculture.
[83] Seasonably.
[84] Harold was Earl of Eastangle and Essex about 1045, and was deservedly popular.
[85] The Monks of Ely still clung to the idea that Harold was alive and that the report of his death was merely a ruse.
[86] Here lies Harold the unhappy.
[87] The first prior of Ely was Vincentius; his successors were mitred priors, they held the title Dominus, and in some reigns were summoned to parliament.
[88] The Abbot and some of his monks are said eventually to have made submission to the Conqueror, and to have actually betrayed the defenders of the Camp. The Book of Ely (Liber Eliensis) is quoted, on this point, in the Appendix. [Note K].
[89] The successor of Thurstan was Theodwin, a Norman monk of Jumièges.
[90] The religious, (like the Roman vestals) who broke their vows, were immured in a niche,—hence we have in Marmion (Canto II, “The Convent”) this verse— “And now that blind old Abbot rose, To speak the Chapter’s doom, On those the wall was to inclose, Alive, within the tomb.”
[91] This Lord of Brunn (Bourn) was Morcard who, with Tolli and Algar, Earl of Holland, (S. Lincolnshire) fought against the Danes; these invaders, under Hubba, had entered Kesteven (the central division of Lincolnshire) in the Autumn of 870. There is a Hubba’s or Hubbard Bridge 4 miles south of Boston.
[92] We have no record of a Lord of Brunn fighting at Ely; in the repulse of the Danes at Ely several English noblemen were engaged. (For account of the invasion under Hubba, the Danish attack of the Isle and the burning of Ely monastery, see Lib. Elien., lib. I., pp. 78-82.)
[93] Ralph, the Timid, (a son of Drogo, Count of Mantes and of Eadward’s sister), was Earl of Worcestershire and also of Herefordshire in about 1050-1055. Ralph’s mother (Goda) after the death of her first husband, was married to Count Eustace; he visited the English Court in Sept., 1051. Eustace came to enrich himself out of English wealth and he was not disappointed—neither were his followers.
[94] It is not at all probable that Hereward was ever devout enough to make such a pilgrimage to Canterbury, but the hero of a tale must come to the front in all the great valourous acts of his time. The man who first resisted the outrage of Eustace and his followers, was a burgher of Dover—whose name is unknown—a general conflict ensued, twenty of the people of Dover were killed, and nineteen of the Normans, (others wounded no doubt), but Eustace appears to have found it necessary to retire,—he returned to Eadward, then at Gloucester, and told the tale to his own advantage; this affair caused a rupture between the king and Earl Godwine and led to the fall of the latter.
[95] Harold was Earl of East Anglia in about 1045, and was translated to the Earldom of Wessex, in 1053, when Ælfgar son of Leofric, became Earl of East-Anglia. Leofric died in 1057, then Ælfgar took the Earldom of Mercia, and Gurth the fourth son of Godwine, was made Earl of East-Anglia. Now Harold’s final campaign against the Welsh took place in 1063, when Harold’s brother—not himself—was ruler of East-Anglia. The Griffith mentioned in the text was King of North Wales. (This Gruffydd was a son of Llywelyn—he had slain, in 1055, another Gruffydd, King of S. Wales.) There was terrible slaughter before the Welsh were subdued, but it is thought that Griffith was slain by his own people. It was the beak of Griffith’s ship, and also Griffith’s head that were brought as trophies to Eadward.
[96] The Northumbrians deposed Tostig in Oct., 1065, and elected Morkere, the younger son of Ælfgar as their Earl. (Eadwine was Earl of Mercia.) Tostig took refuge in Flanders late in the same year, and he became one of the first of William of Normandy’s allies. Before the middle of 1066, he was in possession of such forces as enabled him to make a raid; he landed on the Isle of Wight, ravaged part of Sussex, he then attacked the N. of Lincolnshire, but was repulsed by Eadwine and Morkere and found refuge with Malcolm in Scotland. Tostig obtained the help of Harold Hardrada, the King of Norway named in the text, with him invaded Yorkshire and encamped at Stamford-bridge, some 8 miles east of York—the battle in which they both fell, was fought 25th Sept., 1066. History knows nothing of Hereward’s being either at the battle of Stamford-bridge nor at Hastings.
[97] The march to London occupied little more than a week—it was early in October, and Harold collected forces on his way.
[98] If Hereward’s father was then living, he was not Leofric of Mercia,—(he died in 1057). There may have been a Leofric lord of Brunn, father of Hereward, at whose instigation he was outlawed by Eadward the Confessor; in that case Hereward was in Flanders at the beginning of the conquest. Hereward was no doubt banished but the evidence as to its cause is as doubtful as that respecting his parentage. (See [note] p. [22]).
[99] The reader may find in Kingsley’s Hereward the Wake, a glowing account of Hereward’s deeds in Flanders—deeds worthy of a Hero, but yet mythical.
[100] There is not even a hint here that Hereward was married in the Netherlands, nor is anything said on this point when, further on in the council, the name of Alftrude is introduced—so the writer of the text looks upon her as Hereward’s first and only love.
[101] This evidently refers to Æthelwine, Bishop of Durham—A bishopric originated on the Isle of Lindisfarne by the action of Scotch Missionaries, early in the 7th century,—it was rendered famous by St. Cuthbert and was permanently fixed at Durham by Ealdhun in 995; hence the writer of the text adopted the original name.
[102] Ey or Eye (the name for island—being modified from Sax. ea) is situated about 3 miles N.E. of Peterborough. It is now “Eye Green” in railway tables, to distinguish it from Eye in Suffolk.
[103] Defamed.
[104] The Sisters of Ætheldreda.
[105] The delights of heaven.
[106] The writer brings the noted characters of the time into his own tale, and here we find interwoven several names of persons who had no direct connexion with the fen district or its heroes. The Guiscard of the text was the Robert Guiscard (or Wiscard) who acquired the Dukedom of Apulia—crossed over into Epeiros (1081), threatening the Eastern Empire; a great battle was fought at Durazzo, in which banished or adventurous English distinguished themselves. It is notable that Englishmen, then as now, defended Constantinople.
[107] Stephen.
[108] We know of no other Drogo than the one already named ([note] page [82])—he had gone on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with Duke Robert, the Conqueror’s father, and both died on their journey homeward in 1035.
[109] If the reader will consult a Chart of the Wash—such as Capt. E. K. Calver’s, published by the Admiralty in 1873,—he will see how strictly accurate is the description in the text. The channels are tortuous, intricate, and variable.
[110] The waters of the Wash spread for miles over the flat shores and leave a deposit thereon; this accretion is assisted by “jetties” made of stakes, thrown out from the permanent shore; the flats are thus raised above ordinary tides and on them a coarse herbage grows; sheep are fed on this and as the tide-time approaches these animals may be seen retiring to ground beyond the reach of the waters—numerous are the streamlets or runlets which intersect these flats of the Wash.
[111] The sand bank here called “Dreadful” is we presume the “Dudgeon” (a name allied to Welsh Dygen, malice, ill-will), some 15 miles east of the “Inner Dousing”; the latter lies 10 miles to the east of Sutton-le-Marsh, and runs parallel to the Lincolnshire coast. From the Inner Dousing to Boston Deeps is a south-westerly course. (See [Map] showing distances and direction of these sands from Gibraltar Point.)
[112] Probably means Chapel on Lincolnshire coast. (See [Map].)
[113] Perhaps Heacham in Norfolk is intended (see [Map]); there is no place called Stone’s end between Heacham and Castle Rising—perhaps the name is borrowed from “Stone-ends” the name given to the embankments at the outfall of the river Nene. In other respects the paragraph is geographically correct.
[114] On 23rd December, 1069.
[115] In the Saxon fashion.
[116] The Stoke or Wissey enters the Ouse near Hilgay, or about a mile above Denver Sluice. (See [map].)
[117] They still fondly clung to the idea that Harold was not slain, but only hidden from his enemies.
[118] Hight, called—(a perfect form of Sax. Hatan, to call).
[119] The Guiscards had conquered (1059) Calabria and conciliated the Holy See by granting to it Benevento. It may be noted that the influence of this invasion of the Norman adventurers was felt till a very recent period in Italy—as the contention between the Papal and Neapolitan governments about the possession of Benevento lasted till the present century—the dispute, in fact, gave Napoleon I. a pretext for seizing the duchy, which he did in 1806, and conferred it upon Talleyrand.
[120] This refers to Ætna, which is called Monte Gibello by the Sicilians.
[121] Latin, a hood.
[122] Italian, cámice, properly, a priest’s garment of white linen, but camicia was the shirt.
[123] See [Note] page [33].
[124] Bourn is 10 miles west of Spalding; the river Glen runs mid-way, (this is a tributary of the Welland which it enters 5 miles below Spalding)—Bourn Fen lies to the West of this river.
[125] The site of this manor house of Bourn is shown in an engraving in the “Fenland Past and Present.”
[126] Elsey Wood is one mile south of Bourn and just west of the Car-dyke. It is marked on the Ordnance Map.
[127] This may refer to the Car-dyke which is nearly filled up and consequently “dry” at the present day. (See [Map].)
[128] This town, 9 or 10 miles south-south-west of Bourn, is situate near the Fen boundary, on the river Welland.
[129] The writer says “isle of Crowland,” and so it is marked in our map, and called “a gravel ridge,” from this it is evident there was no necessity to drive piles for building the Abbey upon, for the religious house was established before the town was built.
[130] The legend of the Crowland devils had its origin, no doubt, in the “cramps and rheums and shivering agues and burning fevers” or in the hallucination caused by these ailments. The impure vapours from the swamps, where fresh and salt waters met and deposited animal and vegetable remains—not from the peat bogs—produced those terrible diseases which are almost unknown to the present fen-dwellers. Was it not St. Guthlac and other fen hermits who conjured up those marvellous tales about satanic legions? Those hermits were not the eradicators of malaria nor did St. Guthlac enter upon any great scheme of fen drainage. The “horrible blue lights,” the “Will-o’-the-wisps,” were not banished by the pious action of “the saints,” but by effectual drainage and culture—it is true those lights have “ceased to be seen of men;” for a peep at Jack-o’-lantern would be a rare treat to the young fenners of these days.
[131] The writer of the text has given a Latin termination to the name Guthlac, which word is purely Saxon. This name is derived from two Saxon words, i.e. Guth (Guð), war, and lac, an offering, or sacrifice. Guthlac means simply warfare, but as applied to this anchorite it must be regarded as a compound expressive of the character or deeds of the man. He was the son of a Mercian noble and a soldier, but he may have acquired the name after becoming a monk, if so, Guthlac signifies “an offering in (Christian?) warfare,” i.e., in the conflict of Christianity against Paganism.
[132] The ground of Ely Cathedral is 511⁄2 feet above sea level (Ordnance datum.) Crowland is perhaps 12 or 15 feet (the lowest part of the fens being between Peterboro’ and Wisbech, about 5 feet.) Crowland Abbey was not built upon piles but on solid gravel which runs some way north-east of the structure—the peaty soil lies north-east and south of this. (See “The Fenland past and present,” p. 141.)
[133] The gravel ridge runs south-west of Crowland, and that would afford the best means of access to the monastery; we imagine that the bogs lay in old times to the north-west and south-east of the ridge,—warp or silt is found to the north-east—a roadway was constructed on the peat to the northward towards the Welland and then followed the bend of the river.
[134] A fine Decoy near Crowland is still worked in the season. (See “The Fenland”).
[135] This stone still stands and bears an inscription signifying “Guthlac has placed this stone for a boundary mark.” It is represented by an engraving in “The Fenland.”
[136] Three streams flowed under the “triangular bridge” which still stands, the streams however are tunnelled, and persons may walk or drive under the arches of this antique and curious structure.
[137] Shaggy or rough and hairy.
[138] Incubuses and succubuses, imaginary beings who are supposed to be the cause of nightmare or the sense of suffocation and other painful sensations during sleep. The demon is really indigestion, which, in its effects, is hideous enough no doubt.
[139] Witlaf was King of Mercia, 826-839 A.D.
[140] Lism, contracted from lissom, supple, nimble, or lithesome.
[141] Alfric probably refers to Æthelric who, once bishop of Durham, retired to Peterborough—he was imprisoned at Westminster by William. Siward Beorn, called also Barn (Siwardus cognomento Barn, Lib. Elien.) a Northumbrian Thegn and a son of Æthelgar, was undoubtedly with Hereward at the Camp of Refuge.
[142] From Bourn to Eye is about 14 miles in a straight line; but from Stamford to Eye, 121⁄2 miles. By road, however, the difference is much greater.
[143] The writer of “The Camp of Refuge” knows of no other bride than Alftrude. The reader of Kingsley’s “Hereward the Wake” will however be a little puzzled, when he remembers the tale of Torfrida who became “an Englishwoman of the English, as she proved by strange deeds and sufferings for many a year.” The stories of Hereward’s wives are simply legendary. Hereward may have received overtures from Turfrida in Flanders and married her—she may have accompanied him to England. Alftrude also may have made advances in a similar manner and been married to Hereward, and if any probability deserves acceptance it is that Turfrida died before Hereward’s marriage to Ælfthryth. (This is the correct Saxon form for Alftrude and is derived from Ælf, a fairy, Þryð, strength; hence Ælfthryth means Fairy-strength, just as Ælf-scieno means Elfin beauty.)
[144] That is, with a linen garment or kirtle (Sax. cyrtel), fitted with tight sleeves down to the wrists, and over that a wide loose robe or gown (gown is a Keltic word retained from ancient times—Welsh, gŵn,) long enough to reach to the feet—this robe was kept close to the body by a girdle at the waist. The upper class of women wore a mantle over the above dress—this was somewhat like a chasuble or priest’s habit,—they had also gold ornaments and bracelets. The head-covering (Sax. wæfels), was a long veil of linen or silk wrapped round the head and neck. The feet were covered with a woollen wrapper or sock (Sax. socc); shoes (sceós) tied with thongs. (Saxons never went bare-footed except as an act of penance.)
[145] There are no such foul quagmires or pools near Crowland in these days. The old Abbey is surrounded by fine arable and pasture ground.
[146] This river, so called, may have been the car-dyke, seeing Ivo came from Stamford. The Catts-water, the old water-course between Peterborough, Spalding, and S. Holland, lay a mile or more to the east of Eye. (See [Map].)
[147] An is frequently used in the text as the equivalent of if or and if (in sentences expressing condition or purpose), so in this passage from Shakespeare:— “He can’t flatter, he! An honest mind and plain he must speak truth, An they will take it so; if not, he’s plain.” The two lines show a nice distinction in the use of the article and of the conjunction by the older writers.
[148] Æthelstan and Eadmund gained a great victory over the Danes and Scots (in all five kings and seven earls leagued) at Brunanburh (supposed to be in the north of Lincolnshire), in 937.
[149] Here are the first few lines of “Æthelstan’s Song of Victory.” Æthelstan cyning Æthelstan king eorla drihten of earls the lord beorna beah-gyfa rewarder of heroes, and his brothor eac and his brother eke, Eadmund Ætheling Eadmund Ætheling ealdor langyne tyr, elder of ancient race, geslogon æt secce slew in the fight sweorda ecgum with the edge of their swords ymbe Brunan-burh the foe at Brunanburh.
Æthelstan cyningÆthelstan king
eorla drihtenof earls the lord
beorna beah-gyfarewarder of heroes,
and his brothor eacand his brother eke,
Eadmund ÆthelingEadmund Ætheling
ealdor langyne tyr,elder of ancient race,
geslogon æt secceslew in the fight
sweorda ecgumwith the edge of their swords
ymbe Brunan-burhthe foe at Brunanburh.
[150] Afterwards, in 941, Eadmund recovered “the five boroughs” from Danish rule, i.e., Lincoln, Stamford, Leicester, Nottingham, and Derby.
[151] Will what remains of the un-Saxon laws yet be repealed or modified in the interest of declining agriculture?
[152] In [note], page [62], the laws of Eadward are referred to, but as the assemblage of the Witan is here specially named in the text, we may remark that the Norman Conquest checked the growing power of the eorldermen and prevented them from forming such a distinct and powerful order as might have crippled the rights and liberties of the people. The Norman invasion threw the nobles back upon the aid of the people, which could not have been obtained without the promise of political and social concessions.
[153] Dooms, see [note] p. [214].
[154] According to the Anglo-Saxon chronicle, Knut went to Rome in 1031, returned the same year and wrote a letter to the clergy and magnates of the land; Egelnoth (or Æthelnoth) was Abp. of Canterbury from 1020 to 1038; (Ælfric was Abp. from 995 to 1006, the same as referred to in [Note] p. [58]). The Ælfric coupled with Egelnoth, above, was Abp. of York from 1023 to 1052. Knut’s letter is in Chron. Florence of Worcester, I, p. 185, ed. Eng. His. Soc.
[155] Over-worked, from Sax. swincan, to toil.
[156] Dooms (from Sax. dom, trial, sentence, &c.; verb, doeman, to judge,) used in the sense of decrees, laws, or precedents in law. Knut’s Laws (found in Thorpe’s Laws and Institutes, vol. i.) were enacted by the Witan. “A.D. 1016-1020.—Probably between these years was the great gemót at Winchester, in which Cnut promulgated his laws.”—Kemble’s Saxons in England, ii. 259. See also p. 209 above.
[157] If Abbat Brand of Peterborough knighted Hereward there is some discrepancy of dates, for Brand died 27th Nov., 1069, and Hereward must then have landed earlier than Dec., 1069, (page 109). It was not Dec., 1068, as this was the year of William’s first campaign in the north—the Conqueror spent Christmas, 1069, at York, and the revolt of the fen country took place in May, 1070,—that is, after Brand’s successor, Torold, was appointed. Ingulph asserts that Hereward came over to be knighted by Brand, and then returned to Flanders to fetch his wife Torfrida. The matter is so far important that knighthood was essential to Hereward’s being a leader of men, and to conceive the ceremony done by Brand was more grateful than if it had been at the hand of the Abbat of Crowland. Further on the reader will find the 24th April, 1071, as the date assigned to Hereward’s arrival with his forces at Ely. Peterborough Abbey, Appendix, [Note L].
[158] Leofric fought at the battle of Hastings (Oct. 14th, 1066,) and died at Peterborough in November. The monks choose their Provost Brand, and he was confirmed in the Abbacy by Eadgar Ætheling.
[159] The Gift of Brand, Appendix, [Note M].
[160] “The story of the sunbeam belongs of course to the realm of pure fable. But myths have an origin as well as a meaning, and it would not be surprising if this same story should hereafter be traced, as many others have been, to the cradle of Aryan mythology, and the miracle of Saint Chad prove to have been performed by some far more ancient seer at the foot of the Himalayas, or on the banks of the Ganges.”—See p. 108, Legends of St. Chad, by Rev. R. H. Warner. Wisbech: Leach and Son.
[161] South Lincolnshire. The spelling Hoiland often occurs in the text. Dugdale sometimes wrote Holand and Hoyland. The word Holland means hollow land—the Hol is allied to German hohl. Was not the Hoi or Hoy in Hoiland derived from the low German holig? See “The Fenland,” note, page 27.
[162] Boys mounted on stilts may occasionally be seen at the present day. This stilt-walking, however, is merely boyish amusement.
[163] The Cross or Crucifix. The holy rood was generally a life size figure of the Saviour on the Cross.
[164] The Danish and Saxon languages came from the same branch—that is, from the Teutonic branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Indic, Hellenic, Italic, Teutonic, Celtic, are all members of this family. But this again came from a parent speech, called the Aryan, which originated in central Asia. There are no literary monuments of this parent left.
[165] The editor has elsewhere maintained that our country was not ruled in Saxon times by a precise Heptarchy nor even by an Octarchy; but the reader may find in Sharon Turner’s Hist. of the Anglo-Saxons, first edition published in 1799, page 253, a chapter devoted to “The History of the Anglo-Saxon Octarchy to the Victory of Oswald over Cadwallon, A.D. 634.”
[166] Sigebert was the fifth King of the East-Angles. Edward the Elder is said to have erected halls for students—a regular system of academical education may not, however, have been introduced till the 12th century. The university received special privileges from Edward III., 1333, and it renounced the supremacy of the Pope in 1534.
[167] “Cambridge is the Caer Graunt of Nennius.... The position of this fortified town was well chosen, for it is situated on one of the most commanding spots to be found in the district. Its site is the projecting extremity of a low range of hills, backed by a slight depression or broad and shallow valley. On at least two of its sides the ground fell away rather rapidly from the foot of the ramparts, and the river defended the fourth. “It is highly probable that the Saxon town of Grantabrigge stood upon the same site as the Roman Camboritum.” Babington’s Ancient Cambridgeshire, 1853.
[168] “It must however be added that the Castle Hill at Cambridge, which is situated within the walls of Camboritum, is manifestly one of the Ancient British tumuli, so often found to occupy commanding posts and to have been fortified in after times. The lower part of the hill is natural, but the upper half in all probability artificial.” Ibid.
[169] Not Ermine Street, but Akeman Street. See [Map]. Also Babington’s Map in “Ancient Cambridgeshire.”
[170] “The quinquaine of Pasche” is intended for the fifth day of Easter. Pascha, the Jewish Passover, is here put as the equivalent of Easter.
[171] On the approach of Sulla (87 B.C.) Marius fled from Rome to Ostia, thence by the sea coast to Minturnæ and hid himself in the marshes in the south of Latium.
[172] See note, page [218].
[173] “His rule at Malmesbury was tyrannical, and the story runs that William picked him out, as being more of a soldier than a monk, as the fittest man to rule the great house of Peterborough, now that it was threatened by Hereward and his fellow outlaws in the fens.” Freeman’s Norm. Conq., Vol. IV., page 458.
[174] A twelfth part of a sous.
[175] June 1st, 1070 is the date assigned by history, and the “Peterborough Chronicle” says that Danes took part in the plunder when Hereward entered the monastery on the 2nd June.
[176] Probably this building was near the west entrance to the minster yard; that which bears the name of “King’s Lodgings.” It has been used by Judges of Assize, but is now a place of business.
[177] Grith is a special privilege or security; frith, a general peace.
[178] It had been called the Golden Borough, but was now bereft of its gold.
[179] Some Danes are said to have taken part in plundering Peterborough—some who belonged to a fleet under Osbeorn—a Danish earl that had approached Ely just before. The fleet soon left with some of the plunder—a storm shattered this fleet and many of the golden treasures of Peterborough were never to be returned.
[180] About 11⁄2 mile N.E. of Bourn. (See [Map].)
[181] A tributary of the Glen.
[182] French, “runaways.”
[183] See [note], page [260].
[184] Wite was a fine to the King or state for the violation of law. In case of murder another fine also was imposed, called the wér. The wite was satisfaction rendered to the state, and wér to the family of the deceased.
[185] Sáwl-sceat, soul tribute, formerly paid at the open grave for repose of the departed soul.
[186] See [Note], page [58] above.
[187] It is remarkable that the writer says nothing about the loss of the Peterborough booty.
[188] Perhaps Osbeorn was banished more because he had taken a bribe of William than for his misfortunes at sea. The bribe had bought off the Danish aid to the English. Swend had hoped that his fleet in conjunction with the defenders of the Camp of Refuge would gain him the crown of England.
[189] Svend, sometimes written Sweyn or Swegen, retained his mother’s name. He is called Estrithson. His mother Estrith was the sister of Canute—his father was Ulf a Danish Earl, and this Ulf was brother of Gytha the wife of the great Earl Godwine; hence the ground of Svend’s asserted claim.
[190] This remark applies to the former expedition in 1070, under Osbeorn. The resources of the country could not meet such a demand upon them as would now be made for a hasty outfit, and when we read further on that thousands “flocked from all parts,” we take it that this extraordinary effort belonged to the same preparation of 1070. There were plenty of plunderous adventurers around the Baltic shores—men who would give their services in the hope of rich booty, but we have to consider how long it would take to make known the proposed invasion and to collect recruits.
[191] It is stated in the Peterborough Chronicle that king Svend did come to the Humber with the expedition in 1070; but if he did he returned very quickly.
[192] Gyda was the daughter of Harold, Godwine’s son; she took refuge at Svend’s court and was married to king Waldemar.
[193] His son Cnut accompanied the fleet under Osbeorn—so did his son Harold. The latter became king of Denmark in 1076, the former in 1081. The two princes gained some experience with their uncle Osbeorn. Our author has separated the events from one expedition and added them to another. This fleet of 200 Danish ships under Cnut (and also earl Hakon) was not prepared till the year before Svend’s death, that is, in 1075. The Camp of Refuge had been assailed by William and the defenders dispersed; therefore no envoy could have gone from Lynn to the Danish court. The reader must put the two tales into one, and remember that the Danes under Cnut’s command came to our shores in 1075, went up the Humber, robbed or damaged York Minster, and retired.
[194] This is evidently placed too early for veritable history.
[195] Ralph, earl of Norfolk, revolted against William in 1075, and sought the aid of the Danes. He could not hold his own at Norwich, and went to Denmark to urge the coming of the fleet. So it was at Ralph’s instance that the fleet came; but, as before stated, it went to Humber not to Yare. Emma, Ralph’s wife, and her forces capitulated and were banished before Knut could arrive. But Norwich stands on the Wensum—not on the Yare. The former rises near Fakenham—the latter some miles S. of East Dereham. The Wensum runs into the Yare two miles below Norwich. The Waveney rises near the little Ouse—flows past Diss, Bungay, and Beccles, and has a sinuous course till it enters the Yare near Burgh Castle in Suffolk.
[196] The reader will understand that this fictitious narrative is intended to be a forcible illustration of impositions which the Danes did actually make upon the Saxons, and to meet which the Danegeld was from time to time augmented.
[197] This was too late for the disposal of the Peterborough treasure.
[198] This account of the gifts to Ely, by Canute and Emma, is related in the Liber Eliensis, lib. II., p. 196.
[199] It was the fleet under Osbeorn that had appeared in the Thames.
[200] See [note], page [260].
[201] This is true of what happened at Osbeorn’s return.
[202] See the position of this marked on the [Map].
[203] The legend of the witch finds place in Lib. Elien., book ii., pp. 234-7.
[204] Iceland.
[205] The Orkneys.
[206] Ivo himself suggested that the witch should be employed (Lib. Elien., p. 234) and if the king’s consent could be obtained, that the project should be carried out promptly; thus, “si rex adquiesceret, citius eam accessiri faceret.” Others besides Ivo would have rejoiced to see the Isle submit under the influence of sorcery—“Laudant hoc astantes”—it was an easy stratagem for valiant men, and however mythical the tale may appear, there is no doubt it originated in fact. William was not superior to the promptings of superstition for he had a soothsayer and conjurer with his first invading army. It is curious the writer of the text says nothing about Hereward’s going in disguise—the Gesta Herewardi, says as a potter; the Lib. Elien., “tonso crine et barba, ad Brandunam ... devenit.” William was at Brandon forming his plans for investing the Isle of Ely. Hereward discovered the project of Ivo—he went to the king’s camp and was nearly found out but he escaped and took refuge in Somersham wood. Then followed a most heroic defence of the Isle.
[207] Situated just north of Grunty Fen. Witcham, also, lies about 3 miles to the N.W. (See [Map].)
[208] See [note], [Chapter 26].
[209] There was no castle at Wisbech during the conquest of the Isle, but there was no doubt an entrenched station, a “turf” castle—which the Normans constructed to command the river. The stone castle, which subsequently took the place of the entrenchment, was begun in the last year of William’s reign and was dismantled by Henry II. A private dwelling now occupies the site—and the run of the moat may be traced around it, by the Wisbech Museum, the “Castle Lodge,” and “Love Lane.” “Castle Hereward” is of the writer’s own building.
[210] See the route of William’s approach sketched on a Map in “The Fenland,” p. 106.
[211] See [note], [Chapter 26].
[212] Chemistry.
[213] Mahomet.
[214] The earnest workers in the world have often been, in like manner, requited by the ignorant.
[215] See [note 3], on page [40]; also [note], page [148].
[216] Many parts of the Fen country are now well stocked with elm, ash, birch, poplar, oak, lime, and other forest trees, but where the peat is near the surface the trees are not abundant.
[217] And so in “Marmion”—(The Court)— “The Lady Abbess loud exclaimed—— . . . . . . . . . To martyr, saint and prophet prayed, Against Lord Marmion inveighed And called the Prioress to aid, To curse with candle, bell, and book.”
[218] Distracted.
[219] This is a fine exposition of cowardly, narrow-minded bigotry—it has many real counterparts.
[220] Girolamo was not magnanimous enough to be above the vulgar prejudice against the Jews, a people who have never escaped their avenging Nemesis.
[221] See p. [45].
[222] Eadgar bestowed the manor of Hatfield consisting of 2260 acres, as well as Dereham, upon the restored Abbey of Ely.
[223] De Dyrham, vide Liber Eliensis ii. p. 156. “Dyrham cum omnibus quæ ad eandem villam pertinebant....”
[224] This would be some 25 miles.
[225] From Brandon to Brandon Creek Bridge by the Little Ouse is about 13 or 14 miles, and thence up the Great Ouse by Littleport about 8 miles.
[226] There is a place called Turbetsea House, to the east of Ely and near Sandy’s cut.
[227] See [note] on page [45]. This well has never been known to be frozen over. Enquiries on the spot would warrant the assertion that this is correct as to its condition during a century past.
[228] French, check (chess-board.)
[229] The Little Ouse.
[230] Borh, security. The Borhman may mean the principal man, who took suretyship in the Hundred. Every free Saxon had to be in surety (borh.) See Kemble’s Saxons in England, under “Tithing and Hundred;” also Turner’s History of Anglo Saxons, “Let every lord have his household in his own borh.” Law of Edgar.
[231] Amalfi is an ancient city and seaport on the gulf of Salerno. It was one of the great Republics of Italy, and the rival of Venice and Genoa. The Amalfians traded to every known part of the world—among them were princely merchants. Of Amalfi it is said— “her coins, Silver and gold, circled from clime to clime; From Alexandria southward to Sennaar, And eastward, through Damascus and Cabul, And Samarcand, to thy great wall Cathay.”
[232] ? atrabilarious (melancholic.)
[233] See page [48].
[234] Mereham probably means Ramsey, for which see account in Dugdale’s Imbanking, 2nd ed., p. 364. Livermere was west of Outwell, near the Old Nene river. The abbot of St. Edmundsbury had a right of fishery in that mere. There is a Livermere in Suffolk to the north of Bury St. Edmund’s—perhaps this formerly belonged to the same monastery and derived its name from the mere in the Fens.
[235] Wilfric conveys these estates to his brother. See Lib. Elien. II, p. 218. See Sharon Turner’s History of Anglo-Saxons, Vol. II., p. 22.
[236] “The treachery of the monks of Ely soon received its reward; forty men-at-arms occupied their convent as a military post, and lived there in free quarter. Every morning the cellarist was obliged to distribute among them their pay and provisions in the great hall of the chapter.”—Thierry’s Norm. Conq.
[237] See page [77].
[238] The monks may not have completed their treasonable designs at this juncture; however, Thierry says—“The offer of the monks was accepted; and two Norman barons, Gilbert de Clare and William de Warrenne, pledged their word for the execution of the treaty.”
[239] It does not appear from the History of Ely that the monks approached William till they went in company with Thurstan to make submission at Warwick. See [Appendix K].
[240] See this spot marked on the [Map].
[241] This is properly unaneled (Sax. æl, oil); so it is intended to mean that he had not received extreme unction—as in Shakespeare— “Cut off, ev’n in the blossoms of my sin, Unhousel’d, unanointed, unanel’d.”
[242] Hereward is said (in Vita Herewardi) to have made his way to the sea shore. Wells in Norfolk is supposed to be the spot where he embarked, and the supposition rests upon the phrase “Mare wide vocatum juxta Welle.” But Hereward could much more easily have reached Welle in the Fens—(there are now Upwell and Outwell in Norfolk); Welle in the Fens was not so far from the sea then as it is now, and if vessels were ready, Hereward could have entered the Wellestream which at that time ran past Lynn. The Ouse flowed past Wisbech then, and the Normans appear to have been in force at the “Turf Castle” in that town. If it were necessary to evade the Normans, supposing they were in force, off the mouth of the Ouse, in the Wash, he could take to the open sea—and if the course were open he could enter the Welland and approach Spalding or Bourn. Whatever may have been the course pursued, the fugitives could not have arrived at either place in so short a time as is represented at the commencement of Chap. XXVI. From Ely to Spalding by railway is some 36 miles.
[243] It is said to have been on 27th Oct., 1071, that William went to Ely.
[244] This act is recorded in Liber Eliensis (lib. secundus, p. 245) “Ad monasterium denique veniens longe a sancto corpore virginis stans marcam auri super altare projecit, propius accedere non ausus, verebatur sibi a Deo judicium inferri pro malis quæ sui in loco patraverant.” The reader will form his own judgment on this religious (?) act of a man who demanded 1000 marks from an almost destitute monastery and offered one at the shrine of the saint. But the writer oddly charges William with offering a clipped coin whereas it appears that it was because the 700 marks, which the conqueror at first demanded, were of light weight [“dolo nummulariorum (money-lenders) dragma fraudata minus recti ponderis examinata invenitur habuisse,”—Lib. Elien., 246] that he claimed 300 more as a punishment to the monks.
[245] See [note], p. [445].
[246] See [Note] page [404].
[247] Thurstan died in 1076 (Lib. Elien. p. 243.) The king thereupon seized the valuables that remained in the monastery.
[248] Theodwin, a monk of Jumièges, was then appointed, and he insisted upon the restoration of all the gold and silver jewels. “Hic abbas industria sua priusquam abbatiam intraret ad eam revocavit totum quod in auro et argento et lapidibus ante illius promotionem rex inde abstulerat, nolens eam ullo modo suscipere, nisi rex jusserat auferri juberet referri.” (Lib. Elien., II. 113.)
[249] See [Note] page [439].
[250] It is remarkable that in Geoffrey Gaimar’s Metrical Chronicle we have mention of only one wife, Alftrude, who is there represented as having sent to Hereward on several occasions inviting him to visit her (we suppose at Eye). She inherited her father’s domain which she promised to bestow upon Hereward if he would marry her. He would then be able to continue his contest against the French. But this marriage seems to have led to a peace with the king and to Hereward’s joining William in subduing the revolted province of Maine. Here is the passage from Gaimar:— “Co fu Alftrued ki co mandout A Hereward, ke mult amout; Par plusurs faiz tant le manda Ke Hereward s’en apresta. Vers li alat od mult grant gent, Triwes aveit tut veirement, Al rei se deveit acorder; Dedenz cel mais deveit passer La mer pur guerreier Mansels, Ki ont al rei toleit chastels.” Although the genealogists say that Alftrude had a daughter whose name was Turfrida, the date does not agree with Gaimar’s account.
[251] The genealogists say a daughter, not a son, who was named Turfrida, born 1063. The reader should consult a paper, entitled “Hereward the Saxon Patriot,” by the Rev. E. Trollope, M.A., in Associated Architectural Societies’ Reports and Papers, Vol. VI. 1871, which contains the Genealogy of the Wake family. The living representative is Sir Herewald Wake, Bart., Northamptonshire.
[252] In the year that the Isle of Ely was reduced, Malcolm III. of Scotland married Margaret the Saxon, that is in 1071. Malcolm had committed ravages in Northumbria and given shelter to Eadgar Ætheling, his wife’s brother. Here was sufficient cause for William to reduce Scotland to submission. It was not immediately after the conquest of the Isle, but in Aug., 1072, that the conqueror went to Scotland, for his presence was required in Normandy early in 1072; therefore, the soldiers and ships were not drawn immediately from the Fen district to the Scotch invasion.
[253] Supposed to have been missing from the Gesta Herewardi, before mentioned in [note] p. [439] as Vita Herewardi, in which MS. our hero is styled Inclytus Miles, as also on page 459 following.
[254] See [Note], page [410]; and Appendix, [Note K].
[255] He went in Aug., 1072.
[256] This, as has been shown, occurred before the invasion of Scotland.
[257] See Appendix for account of Cnut’s crossing the ice under the guidance of Brithmer (as given in Lib. Elien.) [Note N].
[258] The writer very ingeniously brings a religieux from the minster founded by Harold to reconcile Hereward to a submission to the Conqueror; he was not a monk however. Waltham was not then an Abbey. Harold rebuilt a church there, established a College of secular Canons, with a Dean at their head, and brought over from the continent a learned man, named Adelhard, as a lecturer in this college. (Here is an indication that Harold was a man of progress.) Now of course an appeal from one attached to Harold’s minster at Waltham would be as forcible as any that could be conceived, and especially when it was attended by the assurance that Harold’s dead body lay within the precincts of the church. Waltham was erected into an Abbey in the reign of Henry II. and it is notable that the body of Edward the First was buried by the side of that of Harold, in 1307—(though it was afterwards translated to Westminster Abbey); “the king with whom England fell might greet his first true successor in the king with whom she rose again.”—(Freeman.) The devastations of other centuries have swept away all traces of the tomb of Harold from Waltham—as they have also every vestige of the tomb of Waltheof or of Hereward at Crowland—or even the shrine of Ætheldreda at Ely.
[259] We learn from William of Malmesbury that it very early acquired considerable riches:—“Quantitatem possessionum antiquarum ex hoc conice, quod licet plura dempta, plura usurpata, is, qui modo rem regit, mille et. cccctas. libras marsupio suo quotannis annumeret.”—Gesta Pont. Ang., lib. IV., § 184.
[260] “Ramesiensis abbatiæ fuit edificator Sanctus Oswaldus, Eboracensis Archiepiscopus, cooperate Egelwine quodam Orientalium Anglorum comite.”—Gesta Pont. Ang. lib. IV. § 181.
[261] See Warner’s History of Thorney Abbey, p. 17.
[262] We can hardly agree with Mr. Warner when he says (on p. 12), “That any human being lived on so dreary a spot, at least till the 7th century, is highly improbable,” for we believe that the Kelts occupied the fen islands, and perhaps the hunting folks who peopled our land before the Kelts came did the same. Thorney may have been “a paradise” at other periods than in William of Malmesbury’s time.
[263] It may really have been begun by Paeda, king of Mercia, in 650, was called Medehamstede and was dedicated to St. Peter on its completion by Wolfhere in 656.

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THE FENLAND:

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