Cameos from English History, from Rollo to Edward II | Page 7

passed away from Normandy, the injured always called for justice.
This was for many centuries believed in Normandy, but in fact the
word Haro is only the same as our own "hurrah," the beginning of a
shout. There is no doubt, however, that the keen, unsophisticated vigor
of Rollo, directed by his new religion, did great good in Normandy, and
that his justice was sharp, his discipline impartial, so that of him is told
the famous old story bestowed upon other just princes, that a gold
bracelet was left for three years untouched upon a tree in a forest.
He had been married, as part of the treaty, to Gisèle, daughter of King
Charles the Simple, but he was an old grizzly warrior, and neither cared
for the other. A wife whom he had long before taken from Vermandois
had borne him a son, named William, to whom he left his dukedom in
932.
All this history of Rolf, or Rollo, is, however, very doubtful; and
nothing can be considered as absolutely established but that Neustria,
or Normandy, was by him and his Northmen settled under a grant from
the Frank king, Charles the Simple, and the French duke, Robert, Count
of Paris.

CAMEO II.
WILLIAM LONGSWORD AND RICHARD THE FEARLESS.
(932-996.)
Kings of England. 927. Athelstan. 940. Edmund I. 947. Edwy. 959.

Edward. 959. Ethelred II.
Kings of France. 936. Louis IV. 954. Lothaire III. 986. Louis V. 987
Hugh Capet.
Emperors of Germany. 936. Otho I. 973. Otho II. 983. Otho III.
The Norman character was strongly marked. Their whole nature was
strong and keen, full of energy, and with none of the sluggish dulness
that was always growing over the faculties of the Frank and Saxon; and
even to this day the same energy prevails among their descendants, a
certain portion of the English nobility, and the population of Normandy
and of Yorkshire.
There was a deep sense of religion, always showing itself in action,
though not always consistently, and therewith a grand sense of honor
and generosity, coupled, however, with a curious shrewd astuteness.
The high-minded Norman was the flower of chivalry and honor, the
low-minded Norman the most successful of villains--and there has
often been a curious compound of both elements in the character of
some of the most distinguished Normans whom history has to show.
Old Rollo caused his only son to be highly educated, and William of
the Long Sword grew up a prince to be proud of. His height was
majestic, his features beautiful, his complexion as pure and delicate as a
maiden's, his strength gigantic, his prowess with all the weapons on
foot and on horseback unrivalled, and his wit and capacity of the
brightest and most powerful. Born since his father's arrival in France,
the tales of Thor and Odin, the old giants, and the future Valhalla, wore
things of the dark old past to him, and he threw himself with his whole
heart into the new faith. So intensely devout was he, so fond of prayer
and of the rites of the Church, that Rollo called him fitter for a cloister
than a dukedom; but the choice was not open to him, an only son, with
the welfare of the Normans dependent on him; and while living in the
world, his saintly aspirations did not preserve him from a self-indulgent
life at home, or from unjust dealing abroad. But he had many fits of
devotion. Once when hunting on the banks of the Seine, he came on the
ruins of the Abbey of Jumièges; which had, many years before, been

destroyed by Hasting. Two old monks, who still survived, came forth to
meet him, told him their history, and invited him to partake of some of
their best fare. It was coarse barley bread, and the young duke, turning
from it in disgust, carelessly bestowed a rich alms upon them, and
eagerly pursued his sport. He had not ridden far before he roused a
huge wild boar, and, in the encounter with it, he broke his sword, was
thrown from his horse, and so severely injured, that his servants, on
coming up, found him stretched insensible upon the ground. Believing
this accident to be the just punishment of Heaven for his contempt for
the old brethren, William, as soon as he recovered his senses, desired to
be carried to Jumièges, and there humbly confessed his sinful feelings,
and entreated their pardon.
His first care, when his health was re-established, was for the
restoration of Jumièges, which he built with great splendor, and often
visited. His chief desire was to enter the abbey as a brother of the order,
but his wish was opposed by the excellent Abbot Martin, who pointed
out to him that he ought not to desert the