was founded which was a fignal to the watchman to go upon duty. la the morning, when the palace gate was opened, he was relieved. From that time till the horn was founded again at night, he was permitted to fleep, and was under no neceffity of performing any other fervice, unlefs he voluntarily undertook it for a reward. If he was found negligent or afleep dur. ing his watch, he was fubject to heavy punishments.

"The Wood-man procured fuel for the uses of the household. He alfo flaughtered the cattle for the royal kitchen with his axe.

"The Baker Woman. "The Palace-fmith was obliged to work without a reward for the houfehold, except when he made a boiling pot, the point of a fpear, the wood-man's axe, the iron work of the gate of the palace, or royal caftle, and the iron work of the mill. It was his duty to ftrike off the fhackles of prioners releafed by the court of justice, and he received a fee for that fervice. No other fmith was allowed to exercife his trade in the fame commot with himself without his permiffion.

"The Laundrefs.

"The Chief Mufician was chofen into and feated in the chair of mufic, for his fuperior skill in that fcience, by the feffion of the bards at the end of every third year. When his term expired, if he had maintained his fuperiority he was re-chofen. He was the only perfon, except the domeftic bard, who was allowed to perform in the king's prefence. He was lodged in one of the apartments belonging to the beir apparent. In the hall he fat

next to the judge of the palace. When the king defired to hear mufic, the chief mufician fung to the harp two poems; one in praite of the Almighty, the other in honour of princes and of their exploits ; after which a third poem was fung by the domeftic bard. His emoluments arofe out of fees given by brides on their nuptials, and from thofe of novices in mufic, when they were admitted to the practice of their art. The Welsh bards accompanied their fongs with the harp, the erwth and the flute. They frequently addreffed poems to their princes and lords, in which they asked for prefents, fuch as a horfe, a bull, a fword, or a garment, and they were feldom, if ever, refused. The controller of the revenues had the privilege of bringing three guests to banquets in the palace. I his qfficer and the chancellor received all the honey, the fith, and wild creatures, which were paid as tributes, or forfeited to the king. They alfo received a third part of the income arifing to the king from his tenants in villanage.

"Thefe were the different officers, of whom the royal household was compofed. They were freehelders by their offices, and in confequence of this they all enjoyed the right of protection, by which they granted criminals a temporary fafety. On the heads of thefe perfons, and on all their members, a price was fixed by the laws. They received for their wearing apparel woollen cloth from the king, and linen from the queen. They were all called together by a horn."

MILITARY

In forming their armies the following regulations were obferv. ed: all fuch as were qualified to bear arms in one family, were led to the field by the head of that family. Every ten families made a tything, which was commanded by the borfholder in his military capacity ftiled conductor. Ten tythings constituted an hundred; the foldiers of each hundred were led by the chief magiftrate of the hundred, fometimes called the hun dredary. Several hundreds formed a trything, which was commanded by the officer, called a trything. man; and the force of the country or fhire, was commanded by the hertoch, dux, or duke, and he by the king, or an officer called the kynings hold, i. e. the king s leutenant or general, which office lafted only during the war. In times of peace, or when the king did not think it neceffary to have a general, the militia rema ned under the command of the dukes of cach county.

Every landholder was obliged

to keep armour and weapons according to his rank and poffeffions; these he might neither fell, lend. nor pledge, nor even alienate from his heirs. In order to inftruct them in the ufe of arms, they had their ftated times for performing their military exercife; and once in a year, ufually in the fpring, there was a general review of arms, throughout each county.

"The clergy were exempted from perfonal military fervices, nor only as being contrary to their profeffion, but likewife that they might the better attend to their religious duties. Their eftates, though held in franc almoigne, were however chargeable to the tri-, noda neceffitas, the only impofition to which they were liable.

"The greater part of the Anglo Saxon forces confifted of infantry; the cavalry was chiefly compofed of the Thanes, and fuch men of property as kept hories.

The Saxon cavalry are frequently delineated in ancient illuminations as riding without firrups, with no other defenlive armour than a helmet; their weapon a fpear. It is never helef certain, that defenfive arm ur was worn by their officers and great men about the time of the Norman conquest.

Their infantry feem to have been of two forts, the heavy and light-armed. The fir are repiefented with helmets made of the fkins of beafts, the hair outwards,. large oval convex fhields, with fpikes projecting from the buffes, long and very broad fwords, and fpears. The light-infantry with

Spears

fpears only, and fome no other weapon than a fword, befides which, different histories relate that they alfo ufed clubs, battle-axes, or bills, and javelins, the latter they darted with great dexterity, and then inftantly came to clofe fight. The drefs of both horfe and foot, was a tunic with fleeves, the skirts reaching down to the knees, the horfemen wore fpurs with only one point.

"The kings commonly wore their crowns in battle, which alfo in fome measure answered the purpofe of a helmet.

"The Anglo-Saxon mode of drawing up their armies, was in one large denfe body, furrounding their standard, and placing their foot with their heavy battle-axes in the front.

"By the laws of king Edward the Confeffor, any man who from cowardice abandoned his lord, or fellow-foldiers, whilt under the command of the hertoch, in any expedition by land or fea, forfeited both his life and property, and his lord might refume any lands he had formerly granted him. He who was fin in war fighting before his lord, either at home or abroad, all payments due for reliefs on his eftates were remitted to his heirs, who were to enjoy his lands and money without any diminution, and might divide it among them.

"The introduction of the feudal fyftem, which took place in this kingdom about the year 1096, gave a very confiderable change to the military citablishment of the nation. This alteration in the conftitution, was not, it is faid, effected by the fole power of king William, but was adopted with the confent of the great council of the realm, affembled at Sarum, where all the principal landholders fub

jected their poffeffions to military fervices, became the king's vafals, and did homage, and fwore felty to his perfon for the lands held of him, as fuperiar lord and original proprietor. But when it is confidered, that the great land-holders at that meeting were most of them Normans, the friends and followers of the king, on whom he had beflowed the estates taken from the English; the fuffrage of fuch an affembly, though freely obtained, will fearce justify the measure being deemed a national choice.

"By this fyftem all the lands of the realm were confidered as divided into certain portions, each producing

an annual revenue, ftyled a knight's fee. Our ancient lawyers are not agreed as to the quantity of land, or fum of money of which it confifted; it indeed feems to have varied at different periods: however, in the reigns of Henry II. and Edward II. a knight's fee was ftated at zo!. per annum, the number of knight's fees in this kingdom was estimated at fixty thoufand.

"By the feudal law, every tenant in capite, that is every perfon holding immediately from the king, the quantity of land amounting to a knight's fee, was bound to hold himself in readiness, with horfe and arms to ferve the king in his wars, either at home or abroad at his own expence, for a stated time, generally forty days in a year, to be reckoned from the time of joining the army. Perfons holding more or lefs, were bound to do duty in proportion to their tenures, thus one poffeffed of but half a fee, was to perform fervice for twenty days only. The lands of the church were not exempt, but ecclefiaftics were generally indulged with performing their fervice by deputies.

Although