MATILDA ATHELING, Sarnamed the Good, First Queen of Beury the First. CHAPTER I. Imbecility of Edgar Atheling-Together with his mother and sisters, he resolves to seek refuge in Germany-Driven into Scotland-Malcolm obtains the hand of Margaret Atheling in marriage-Birth of Matilda Atheling-Robert of Normandy stands godfather to her-Her excellent virtues-Her aunt Christina anxious that she should take the veil-Places the conventual adornments upon her-Malcolm in a rage tears them off, and refuses to permit her to become a nun—Matilda yields to her father's wishes-Her youth when her parents die-The manner of Malcolm's death-Legend respecting-Death of Margaret-Donald Bane usurps the Scottish throne-Matilda and her sister Mary placed in the convent at Romsey-Her disquietude while there—The Duke of Brittany offers her his hand in marriage, which she refuses-The Earl of Surrey also refused-The poverty of Prince HenryKing William's dying address to him—Literally fulfilled-At the period of his adversity, Matilda accepts Henry as her lover. HEN the royal house of Normandy seized upon the throne of England, the last descendants of the great King Alfred, the family of the Athelings, were too weak to clutch the golden circlet from the iron grasp of the victorious Conqueror. In fact, Edgar Atheling, the heir of the Saxon kings, possessed neither the prestige, talents, wealth, nor energy to assert his rights by force of arms against the powerful Norman Duke William. the vessel in which they embarked been providentially driven, by stress of weather, into the Frith of Forth, in Scotland, it is probable that the throne of Britain would never again have been filled by the lineage of the Anglo-Saxon dynasty. The royal fugitives had scarcely reached the Scottish court, when Malcolm the Third of Scotland, who, a short time previously, had wrested his kingdom from the usurping grasp of the murderer of his father, the black-hearted Macbeth, whose deeds of hell the Bard of Avon has pourtrayed with a more than mortal power, gave them a right royal welcome; and soon afterwards, became so enamoured with the gentle-hearted graceful Margaret Atheling, that he requested and obtained her hand in marriage. In 1068, but two years after the overthrow of Harold at Hastings, Edgar Atheling, together with his mother Agatha, and his sisters Margaret and Christina, resolved to seek refuge from the The first-born of the royal Malcolm perils that threatened them in England, and the Saxon princess was the subject at the court of Agatha's father, Henry of the present memoir, Matilda Athethe Second, of Germany; and had not | ling, fondly termed by her contempora ries "Maud the Good," and by some | to the ennobling example of our court, historians styled Matilda of Scotland. for then, sister, I think my efforts have We cannot much err in naming 1077 as not been vain; although, on the point the year of her birth; as in that year it you are urging, I fear Malcolm will never was, that Robert of Normandy, whom be ruled." William the Conqueror had dispatched to the North, to drive the invading Scotch over the border, on finding his forces unequal to his task, wisely made peace with the Scottish King, paid a friendly visit to the court of Scotland, and stood godfather to the infant Matilda. The early years of Matilda the Good were passed with her parents in Scotland, and her preceptor was her mother's confessor, the pious and learned Turgot. It was from the excellent precepts and worthy examples of her illustrious mother, Margaret, and of the good Turgot, that she received those early lessons of piety and virtue, which so imbued her heart with christian charity, that in womanhood she became a sister of kindness to the rich, and a mother of mercy and affection to the poor, giving alms to the needy, affording consolation to the afflicted, and shielding the weak and the oppressed from the tyranny of the power-shoulders." ful and the overbearing. Whilst Matilda was yet but a child, her aunt, Christina Atheling, abbess of Rumsey, in Hampshire, became extremely anxious that she should be consecrated to the church. But the pious Queen of Scotland told Christina that Malcolm would never sanction Matilda's taking the veil. "I am not so sure of that," said the Abbess, drily; "for rude and unlearned though he be, his will is ruled by his heart-deep love for you. Margaret, he is your slave, and durst not refuse what you firmly demand. Behold, already you have converted him and his attendants from Paganism to Christianity, and by discountenancing the excesses and low carousings in which he and his lords were wont to indulge, you have driven barbarism from the court, introduced civilization into the land, and established order and decorum in the royal castle. 66 True," ," answered Margaret, "what you say may be correct, and it delights me to hear the country's advancement in religion, morals, and learning attributed "Dear Queen," interrupted the Abbess, who was annoyed at Margareťs misgivings, "in you Malcolm reposes unbounded confidence. You are the domestic ruler of his realms. You have introduced the arts and learning into his very household. Nay, at your bidding, virtue has been exalted and vice crushed, and yet, now you bow to the whims of your uncouth lord, and scruple to dedicate your fair daughter to the service of the Most High. Oh Margaret! Margaret! whither has your courage fled? Come hither, dear niece," she murmured, in tones of affection, addressed to the Princess, "by my hands the holy deed shall be done." When, having placed the scapulary on Matilda, she triumphantly shouted, "There, darling, wear it to the day of your death, and may the curses of the holy cross rest on him who dares to remove it from thy virgin At this instant Malcolm entered the hall, accompanied by the Duke of Brittany, who was there on a visit to the Scottish monarch. On beholding Matilda attired as a nun, he, in a fit of fury, snatched the conventual adornments from her person, tore them into shreds, and turning to the Duke of Brittany, said, "Ah, my lord, that child is far too beautiful for a nun; she shall one day become the queen of a mighty realm." Margaret and her pious sister used their every exertions to gain their end, but, at least in this case, Malcolm was not to be overcome. Entreaties and threats were alike vain, and in the height of his rage, he swore that whoever dared to broach the subject again in his presence, should feel the weight of his resentment. He then took the sobbing Princess in his arms, tenderly kissed her, and told her she must not think of leaving her father, to be a nun. The little Matilda, fearing punishment if her mother or aunt heard her reply, pressed her lips to Malcolm's ear, and whispered that nothing on earth should make her take the veil, a pledge which she ever | enter the next world more fully purified afterwards religiously kept. Matilda was only about sixteen years of age, when both her parents were conveyed to their last home. The kingdoms of England and Scotland had enjoyed the blessings of peace for several years; when, in 1093, Malcolm, taking advantage of the unpopularity, and the dangerous illness of William Rufus, proceeded, for the fifth time, to ravage Northumberland with fire and sword. After several encounters, he laid siege to Alnwick Castle, where the besieged, being reduced to extremities, offered to surrender, on condition that the Scottish King should receive the keys in person. This request being acceded to, a knight, in complete armour, stood within the walls, and on bended knees presented the keys on the top of a lance. But when Malcolm put out his arm to reach them, the knight thrust the point of the lance through the bars of his helmet into his eye, and inflicted a wound in his brain, of which he instantly died. On beholding this treachery, the Scotch rushed forward to avenge their king, but they were beaten back with great slaughter, and in the melée, Malcolm's eldest son, Henry, was slain. There is a legend extant, that the knight, who so treacherously murdered Malcolm, was afterwards named Pierceeye, and that he is the progenitor of the Northumberland family of Pierceeye, since corrupted into that of Percy. Margaret lay on the couch of death, when her youthful son Edgar arrived in breathless haste with the sad news of the defeat and death of his royal sire and brother. The widowed queen bore the shock with Christian fortitude and resignation. As she nobly braved the agonies of body, she pressed to her lips the celebrated black cross, the most precious relic of her royal Saxon ancestors, and committed her daughters to the spiritual care of her religious confessor, Turgot, with a request that he would place them in the convent of which her sister Christina was abbess. When, after thanking God for afflicting her with mental as well as bodily suffering in the hour of death, as thereby she trusted to from the corruption of this, she addressed a short eloquent prayer to the Saviour of the world, and expired. Behind her, she left a character so illustrious for piety and benevolence, that the church of Rome canonized her; and although her greatly revered shrine was destroyed at the Reformation, so dear was her memory to the nation, that, to this day, the name of Margaret is hallowed with fondness by the people of Scotland. Shortly after the death of Malcolm, his illegitimate brother, Donald Bane, usurped the throne, and ordered all the English exiles, including Malcolm's children, to quit Scotland on pain of death. Edgar Atheling conveyed the royal orphans to England, and in compliance with the dying wish of his sister Margaret, he placed his nieces Matilda and Mary in the convent at Rumsey, under the charge of their aunt Christina, who shortly afterwards removed to the abbey at Wilton, whither the sister princesses were at the same time conveyed. The abbeys both of Wilton and Rumsey were royal foundations, belonging to the order of Black Benedictines. Wilton Abbey was founded by Alfred the Great, and in it most of the Saxon princesses were afterwards educated. The abbey of Rumsey was built by Edward the Martyr in 972, and dedicated to the Virgin and St. Elfrida. Like that of Wilton, it was generally governed by an abbess of the royal Saxon line. The plan of instruction pursued in the conventual establishments in the eleventh century, appears to have been most excellent. Nor was the teaching confined to the inmates of the cloister, as nearly every high-born damsel received the lessons of her youth in the school of a convent. Besides reading in the vernacular, the Latin, and other tongues, the fair pupils were taught to excel in writing, drawing, vocal and instrumental music, both sacred and secular, fine needle work, and, above all, that important branch of conventual education, the theory and practice of medicine and surgery. During Matilda's residence in the English convents, she received an education befitting the consort of an Eu ropean monarch. But in this life of se- | the Red King. Like his kindred, he was clusion she appears to have enjoyed but passionately fond of hunting, and, for little happiness. Her aunt Christina's lack of a horse, pursued the game on unceasing efforts to induce her to take foot. From this circumstance, Warren, the veil, a measure which she had de- and other wealthy nobles, sarcastically termined not to adopt, greatly disquieted nicknamed him Deer's-foot, an insult her mind, and she was personally en- which he never forgave. Henry's podangered by the malice of a Norman verty, however, was not the effect of his knight, who told William Rufus that own extravagance, as his father, William Edgar had brought his sister's children the Conqueror, when he died, left him to England, only with a view to dispossess but five thousand pounds of silver, which, the Normans of the crown. But the says the chronicler Speed, so annoyed Red King, who, despite the viciousness of the young Beauclerc, that he remonhis character, had always treated both strated with his sire for bequeathing him Edgar Atheling and his adopted orphans such a paltry pittance. "What," said he, with kindness, disregarded the malicious "can I do with the silver, without castle report, and the officious mischief-maker or domain to support my dignity?" was for his foul scandal challenged and slain in single combat by Edgar's friend, Arthur Ethelbert. Whilst Matilda was an inmate of Wilton Abbey, the Duke of Brittany, then a widower, arrived in England, and after first obtaining the consent of his brother-in-law, William Rufus, proffered her his hand in marriage. But she rejected the offer of the "grandfather wooer," as she humorously styled the mature suitor, with scorn, and declared she would rather take the veil, abhorrent as it was to her, than consent to so unsuitable a match. Shortly afterwards, the Earl of Surrey, William Warren, a powerful baron, and a nephew to the Red King, became enamoured of her, and, singular to relate, young, handsome, and wealthy as he was, she no more favoured his suit than that of his grave predecessor, the Duke of Brittany; her excuse being, that she intended shortly to take the veil. It, however, appears probable that her real motive for rejecting the Earl's addresses, was the secret passion she entertained for the young Prince Henry of Normandy, a passion which doubtless was encouraged to the full by her priest and guardian, Turgot, who, being a deepthinking, clear-sighted Saxon, at once perceived the advantages that would accrue to his suffering countrymen, by the union upon the throne of the royal Saxon and Norman lines. At this period Henry was exceedingly poor; income he had none, and his sole dependence was on his capricious brother, "Trust in God, and patiently wait the events of time," answered the dying monarch; "for behold, thou most favoured of my sons, thou inheritor of all my greatness, although to Robert and William I give the crowns of Normandy and England, thy brothers go before thee but for a brief period; soon will their reigns be over, and all my possessions and wealth become thine." Unsatisfactory as this short but solemn prediction appeared, at the time, to the landless Prince, it was actually fulfilled to the very letter. The rays of but twenty summer suns had kissed the Conqueror's tomb, when the triumphant Henry wore the crowns of the united dominions of England and Normandy. It is recorded that at the period of his adversity, Henry was Matilda's accepted lover. But when, or under what circumstances, the fair princess won his heart, history saith not. Probably he accompanied Edgar Atheling or the Duke of Brittany on their visits to her at Wilton Abbey, and thus was enabled to converse with her, and behold her without the veil, which she cast aside on every possible occasion. Be this as it may, we are told by a contemporary chronicler, that long before circumstances admitted of their union— "The royal pair loved speciallie, Then, Saxons-Normans, moan with me, CHAPTER II. Death of William Rufus-Henry hastens to Winchester-Breteuil, the royal treasurer, refuses to give up to him the keys of the treasury-Henry with his associates force them from him-Arrival of Robert's partisans-The populace declare for Henry, who is forthwith crowned-He announces his intention of marrying Matilda Atheling-The Abbess Christina opposes his marriage-Henry applies to Archbishop Anselm, who convokes a council, before which Matilda is examined--The council declares that she is free to marry the king-On leaving Wilton nunnery Matilda hears of Henry's amours, and hesitates joining her hand with him-Through the entreaties of the Saxon nobles, she lays aside her seruples-She is married, and immediately afterwards crowned Her noble conduct obtains for her the surname of the "Good"-Her great popularity. 育 Henry did the bidding of the generous noble on the instant, and without even turning aside to obtain a hasty glance at the remains of his brother Rufus, sped to the royal treasury with such swiftness, that when Breteuil arrived there, he had already planted himself at the door. "Many thanks," exclaimed Henry, glancing blandly at Breteuil, "we feel honoured by your kindly anticipating our desire; you have the keys of the royal treasury, I presume." ENRY was in the | Up, on to my saddle, and with lightning thirty-second or swiftness away to Winchester, and you thirty-third year of may yet out-Cæsar Breteuil, the royal his age, when the er- treasurer, who has declared for Robert, ring shaft of Sir and is already on his road thither, to Walter Tyrrel rid secure the crown and the royal wealth." the world of his brother, William Rufus, a monarch whose reign was one unbroken succession of tyrannies; and who was so little loved or respected even by his own attendants, that they unceremoniously threw his slaughtered body into the cart of a poor charcoal burner that chanced to be passing by; and in this manner, without regard even to common decency, was the royal corpse conveyed by the man of soot to the city of Winchester, where, on the following day, it was hastily buried, without any of the gorgeous ceremony which usually marks the obsequies of a powerful king. Henry was hunting on foot at a distant part of the forest, when the fatal accident befell his brother. But the boisterous breeze then blowing wafted the loud and clamorous shouts of the royal attendants to his quick ears, and overwhelmed him with surprise. "What," he musingly muttered, "is it so, or do 1 dream? Hark! again they cry, Rufus is dead! long live King Robert! long live King Henry! By the crucifixion! it is reality. "the keys of the royal treasury." At this instant a courtier swiftly gallopped up to Henry, and hastily dismounting, exclaimed, “Rufus is no more; quick, prince, and the crown is yours! "I have, prince," replied Breteuil boldly, "and mean to keep them till the arrival of our king, Robert of Normandy, from the Holy Land, for to no other than the rightful heir of the throne will I resign the crown and treasury of the late king." During this parley, noble after noble was arriving, and Henry, finding that his staunch friend Bellomonte and many other of his powerful partizans were around him, drew his sword, and loudly exclaimed, "William Breteuil, I, Henry of Normandy, demand of you, in my own right, Breteuil answered not, for as yet but few of Robert's friends had arrived, and he hoped by silence to gain time, and strengthen the number of his party. |