[20]. Cod. Dipl. No. 1110. “Ongolsaxna cyning ⁊ brytænwalda ealles ðyses iglandæs;” and, in the corresponding Latin, “Rex et rector totius huius Britanniae insulae.” an. 34.
[21]. The following words compounded with Bryten will explain my meaning to the Saxon scholar: Bryten-cyning (exactly equivalent to bryten-wealda), a powerful king. Cod. Exon. p. 331. Bryten-grund, the wide expense of earth. Ibid. p. 22. Bryten-ríce, a spacious realm. Ibid. p. 192. Bryten-wong, the spacious plain of earth. Ibid. p. 24. The adjective is used in the same sense, but uncompounded, thus; breotone bold, a spacious dwelling. Cædm. p. 308.
[22]. I allude more particularly to the introduction of Christianity, the enactment of laws, the establishment of dioceses, and military measures against the Britons. In two late publications, Mr. Hallam has bestowed his attention upon the same subject, and with much the same result. His acute and well-balanced mind seems to have been struck by the historical difficulties which lie in the way of the Bretwalda theory, though he does not attach so much force as I think we ought, to its total inconsistency with the general social state of Anglosaxon England in the sixth and seventh centuries, or as seems justly due to the philological argument. He cites from Adamnan a passage in these words: “(Oswald) totius Britanniae imperator ordinatus a deo.” But these words only prove at the utmost that Adamnan attributed a certain power to Oswald, connected in fact with conquest, and implying anything but consent, election or appointment, by his fellow-kings. And Mr. Hallam himself inclines to the belief that the title may have been one given to Oswald by his own subjects, rather than the assertion of a fact that he truly ruled over all Britain. He conceives that the three Northumbrian kings, having been victorious in war and paramount over the minor kingdoms, were really designated, at least among their own subjects, by the name Bretwalda, or ruler of Britain, and “totius Britanniae imperator,”—an assumption of pompous titles characteristic of the vaunting tone which continued to increase down to the Conquest. (Supplemental Notes to the View of the Middle Ages, p. 199 seq.) This however is hardly consistent with Beda and the Chronicle. The only passage in its favour is that of Adamnan, and this is confined to one prince. Adamnan however was a Kelt, and on this account I should be cautious respecting any language he used. Again, I am not prepared to admit the probability of a territorial title, at a time when kings were kings of the people, not of the land. But most of all do I demur to the reading Bretwalda itself, which rests upon the authority neither of coins nor inscriptions, and is supported only by one passage of a very bad manuscript; while it is refuted by five much better copies of the same work, and a charter: I therefore do not scruple to say that there is no authority for the word. In all but this I concur with Mr. Hallam, whose opinion is a most welcome support to my own.
[23]. See Schrödl, Erste Jahrhund. der Angl. Kirche, 1840, p. 2, notes. If the assertion of Prosper Tyro is to be trusted, that Celestine sent Germanus into Britain as his vicar, vice sua, the relation must have been an intimate one. See also Nennius, Hist. cap. 54. Neander however declares against the dependence of the British church upon Rome, and derives it from Asia Minor. Alg. Geschichte der Christ. Relig. u. Kirche, vol. i. pt. 1. p. 121. The question has been treated in late times as one of bitter controversy.
[24]. This may be inferred from Gregory’s letters to Theódríc and Theódbert and to Brunichildis. “Atque ideo pervenit ad nos Anglorum gentem ad fidem Christianam, Deo miserante, desideranter velle converti, sed sacerdotes e vicino negligere,” etc.; again: “Indicamus ad nos pervenisse Anglorum gentem, Deo annuente, velle fieri Christianam; sed sacerdotes, qui in vicino sunt, pastoralem erga eos sollicitudinem non habere.” Bed. Op. Minora, ii. 234, 235.
[25]. Theodore of Tarsus.
[26]. Æðelberht of Kent married a Frankish princess, so did Æðelwulf of Wessex. Offa of Mercia was engaged in negotiations for a nuptial alliance with the house of Charlemagne, and several Anglosaxon ladies of royal blood found husbands among the sovereign families of the Continent.
CHAPTER II.
THE REGALIA, OR RIGHTS OF ROYALTY.
In the strict theory of the Anglosaxon constitution the King was only one of the people[[27]], dependent upon their election for his royalty, and upon their support for its maintenance. But he was nevertheless the noblest of the people, and at the head of the state, as long as his reign was felt to be for the general good, the keystone and completion of the social arch. Accordingly he was invested with various dignities and privileges, enabling him to exercise public functions necessary to the weal of the whole state, and to fill such a position in society as belonged to its chief magistrate. Although his life, like that of every other man, was assessed at a fixed price,—the price of an æðeling or person of royal blood,—it was further guarded by an equal amount, to be levied under the name of cynebót, the price of his royalty; and the true character of these distinctions is clear from the fact of the first sum belonging to the family, the second to the people[[28]].
His personal rights, or royalties, consisted in the possession of large domains which went with the crown[[29]], a sort of τεμενος, which were his own property only while he reigned, and totally distinct from such private estates as he might purchase for himself; in short his Woods and Forests, which the Crown held under the guarantee and supervision of the Witena gemót. Also, in the right to receive naturalia, or voluntary contributions in kind from the free men, which gradually became depraved into compulsory payments. Of these the earliest mention is by Tacitus[[30]], who tells us that it was the custom, voluntarily and according to the power of the people, to present their princes with cattle and corn, which was not only a mark of honour but a substantial means of support; and the annals of the Frankish kings abound with instances of these presentations, which generally took place at the great meetings of the people, or Campus Madius[[31]]. His further privileges consisted in the right to receive a portion of the fines payable for various offences, and the confiscation of offenders’ estates and chattels; in various distinctions of dress, dwelling, and the like; above all, in the maintenance of a standing army of comrades, called at a late period Húscarlas or household troops. It was for him to call together the Witena gemót or great council of the realm, whenever occasion demanded, and to lay before them propositions touching the general welfare of the state; in concurrence also with them, to extend or amend the existing legislation. At the same time I do not find that he possessed the power of dismissing these counsellors when he thought he had had enough of their advice, or of preventing them from meeting without his special summons: in which two rights, when injudiciously exercised, the historian finds the key to the downfall of so many monarchies. As general conservator of the public peace, both against foreign and domestic disturbers, the king could call out the fyrd, an armed levy or militia of the freemen, proclaim his peace upon the high-roads, and exact the cumulative fines by which the breach of it was punished. He was also the proper guardian of the coinage; and, in some respects, the fountain of justice, seeing that he might be resorted to, if justice could not be obtained elsewhere. We may also look upon him as, at least to a certain degree, the fountain of honour, since he could promote his comrades, thanes or ministers to higher rank, or to posts of dignity and power. All these various rights and privileges he possessed and exercised, by and with the advice, consent and licence of his Witena gemót or Parliament. It is desirable to consider the various details connected with this subject, in succession, and to illustrate them by examples from Anglosaxon authorities.