Famous Men of The Middle Ages

by John Henry Haaren

  He is known in history as Edward the Confessor. He was a man of holy life and after his death was made a saint by the Church, with the title of "the Confessor." Though born in England , he passed the greater part of his life in Normandy as an exile from his native land. He was thirty-eight years old when he returned from Normandy to become king.

  As he had lived so long in Normandy he always seemed more like a Norman than one of English birth. He generally spoke the French language and he chose Normans to fill many of the highest offices in his kingdom.

  For the first eight years of his reign there was perfect peace in his kingdom, except in the counties of Kent and Essex, where pirates from the North Sea made occasional attacks.

  These pirates were mostly Norwegians, whose leader was a barbarian named Kerdric. They would come sweeping down upon the Kentish coast in many ships, make a landing where there were no soldiers, and fall upon the towns and plunder them. Then, as swiftly and suddenly as they had come, they would sail away homeward, before they could be captured.

  One day Kerdic's fleet arrived off the coast, and as no opposing force was visible, the pirates landed and started toward the nearest town to plunder it.

  By a quick march a body of English soldiers reached the town before the pirates, and when the latter arrived they found a strong force drawn up to give them battle. A short struggle took place. More than half of the pirates were slain and the remainder were taken prisoners.

  After the prisoners had been secured the English ships that were stationed on the coast attacked the pirate fleet and destroyed it.

  II

  Edward took part in the events upon which Shakespeare, five hundred years later, founded his famous tragedy of "Macbeth."

  There lived in Scotland during his reign an ambitious nobleman named Macbeth, who invited Duncan, the King of Scotland, to his castle and murdered him. He tried to make it appear that the murder had been committed by Duncan 's attendants and he caused the king's son and heir, Prince Malcolm, to flee from the land. He then made himself king of Scotland .

  Malcolm hastened to England and appealed to King Edward for help.

  When the king was told the number of soldiers Malcolm would probably need he gave orders for double that number to march into Scotland . Malcolm with this support attacked Macbeth, and after several well-fought battles drove the usurper from Scotland and took possession of the throne.

  Edward did a great deal during his reign to aid the cause of Christianity. He rebuilt the ancient Westminster Abbey in London and erected churches and monasteries in different parts of England .

  Edward was long supposed to have made many just laws, and years after his death the English people, when suffering from bad government, would exclaim, "Oh, for the good laws and customs of Edward the Confessor!" What he really did was to have the old laws faithfully carried out.

  He died in 1066 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

  William the Conqueror King from 1066-1087

  I

  On the death of Edward the Confessor the throne of England was claimed by William, Duke of Normandy.

  When Edward took refuge in Normandy after the Danes conquered England , he stayed at the palace of William . He was very kindly treated there, and William said that Edward had promised in gratitude that William should succeed him as king of England .

  One day in the year 1066 when William was hunting with a party of his courtiers in the woods near Rouen, a noble came riding rapidly toward him shouting, "Your Highness, a messenger has just arrived from England, bearing the news that King Edward is dead and that Harold, the son of Earl Godwin, has been placed on the English throne."

  William at once called his nobles together and said to them, "I must have your consent that I enforce my claim to England 's throne by arms."

  The barons gave their consent. So an army of sixty thousand men was collected and a large fleet of ships was built to carry this force across the channel.

  During the months of preparation William sent an embassy to the English court to demand of Harold that he give up the throne. Harold refused.

  Soon all England was startled by the news that William had landed on the English coast at the port of Hastings with a large force.

  Harold immediately marched as quickly as possible from the north to the southern coast. In a week or so he arrived at a place called Senlac nine miles from Hastings , in the neighborhood of which town the Norman army was encamped. He took his position on a low range of hills and awaited the attack of William. His men were tired with their march, but he encouraged them and bade them prepare for battle.

  On the morning of October 14, 1066 , the two armies met. The Norman foot-soldiers opened the battle by charging on the English stockades. They ran over the plain to the low hills, singing a war-song at the top of their voices; but they could not carry the stockades although they tried again and again. They therefore attacked another part of the English forces.

  William, clad in complete armor, was in the very front of the fight, urging on his troops. At one time a cry arose in his army that he was slain and a panic began. William drew off his helmet and rode along the lines, shouting, "I live! I live! Fight on! We shall conquer yet!"

  The battle raged from morning till night. Harold himself fought on foot at the head of his army and behaved most valiantly. His men, tired as they were from their forced march, bravely struggled on hour after hour.

  But at last William turned their lines and threw them into confusion. As the sun went down Harold was killed and his men gave up the fight.

  From Hastings William marched toward London . On the way he received the surrender of some towns and burned others that would not surrender. London submitted and some of the nobles and citizens came forth and offered the English crown to the Norman duke. On the 25th of December, 1066 , the "Conqueror, " as he is always called, was crowned in Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Ealdred. Both English and Norman people were present. When the question was asked by the Archbishop, "Will you have William, Duke of Normandy, for your king?" all present answered, "We will."

  II

  At first William ruled England with moderation. The laws and customs were not changed, and in a few months after the battle of Hastings the kingdom was so peaceful that William left it in charge of his brother and went to Normandy for a visit.

  While he was gone many of the English nobles rebelled against him, and on his return he made very severe laws and did some very harsh things. He laid waste an extensive territory, destroying all the houses upon it and causing thousands of persons to die from lack of food and shelter, because the people there had not sworn allegiance to him.

  He made a law that all lights should be put out and fires covered with ashes at eight o'clock every evening, so that the people would have to go to bed then. A bell was rung in all cities and towns throughout England to warn the people of the hour. The bell was called the "curfew, " from the French words "couvre feu, " meaning "to cover fire."

  To find out about the lands of England and their owners, so that everybody might be made to pay taxes, he appointed officers in all the towns to report what estates there were, who owned them, and what they were worth. The reports were copied into two volumes, called the "Domesday Book." This book showed that England at that time had a population of a little more than a million.

  William made war on Scotland , and conquered it. During a war with the king of France the city of Mantes ( mont ) was burned by William's soldiers. As William rode over the ruins his horse stumbled and the king was thrown to the ground and injured. He was borne to Rouen , where he lay ill for six weeks. His sons and even his attendants abandoned him in his last hours. It is said that in his death struggle he fell from his bed to the floor, where his body was found by his servants.

  Peter the Hermit About 1050-1115

  I

  During the Middle Ages the Christians of Europe used to go to the Holy Land for the purpose of visiting the tomb of Christ and other sacred p
laces. Those who made such a journey were called "pilgrims."

  Every year thousands of pilgrims — kings, nobles and people of humbler rank — went to the Holy Land .

  While Jerusalem was in the hands of the Arabian caliphs who reigned at Bagdad , the Christian pilgrims were generally well treated. After about 1070, when the Turks took possession of the city, outrages became so frequent that it seemed as if it would not be safe for Christians to visit the Savior's tomb at all.

  About the year 1095 there lived at Amiens (a-me-an') France, a monk named Peter the Hermit.

  Peter was present at a council of clergy and people held at Clermont in France when his Holiness, Pope Urban II, made a stirring speech. He begged the people to rescue the Holy Sepulchre and other sacred sites from the Mohammedans.

  The council was so roused by his words that they broke forth into loud cries, "God wills it! God wills it!"

  "It is, indeed, His will, " said the Pope, "and let these words be your war-cry when you meet the enemy."

  Peter listened with deep attention. Immediately after the council he began to preach in favor of a war against the Turks. With head and feet bare, and clothed in a long, coarse robe tied at the waist with a rope, he went through Italy from city to city, riding on a donkey. He preached in churches, on the streets — wherever he could secure an audience.

  When Peter had gone over Italy he crossed the Alps and preached to the people of France , Germany , and neighboring countries. Everywhere he kindled the zeal of the people, and multitudes enlisted as champions of the cross.

  Thus began the first of seven wars known as the "Crusades" or "Wars of the Cross, " waged to rescue the Holy Land from the Mohammedans.

  It is said that more than 100, 000 men, women and children went on the first Crusade. Each wore on the right shoulder the emblem of the cross.

  Peter was in command of one portion of this great multitude. His followers began their journey with shouts of joy and praise.

  But they had no proper supply of provisions. So when passing through Hungary they plundered the towns and compelled the inhabitants to support them. This roused the anger of the Hungarians. They attacked the Crusaders and killed a great many of them.

  After long delays about seven thousand of those who had started on the Crusade reached Constantinople . They were still enthusiastic and sounded their war-cry, "God wills it!" with as much fervor as when they first joined Peter's standard.

  Leaving Constantinople , they went eastward into the land of the Turks. A powerful army led by the sultan met them. The Crusaders fought heroically all day long but at length were badly beaten. Only a few escaped and found their way back to Constantinople .

  Peter the Hermit had left the Crusaders before the battle and returned to Constantinople . He afterwards joined the army of Godfrey of Bouillon.

  Godfrey's army was composed of six divisions, each commanded by a soldier of high rank and distinction. It was a well organized and disciplined force and numbered about half a million men.

  It started only a few weeks after the irregular multitude which followed Peter the Hermit, and was really the first Crusading army, for Peter's undisciplined throng could hardly be called an army.

  After a long march Godfrey reached Antioch and laid siege to it.

  It was believed that this Moslem stronghold could be taken in a short time; but the city resisted the attacks of the Christians for seven months. Then it surrendered.

  And now something happened that none of the Crusaders had dreamed of. An army of two hundred thousand Persians arrived to help the Moslems. They laid siege to Antioch and shut up the Crusaders within its walls for weeks. However, after a number of engagements in which there was great loss of life, the Turks and Persians were at last driven away.

  The way was now opened to Jerusalem . But out of the half million Crusaders who had marched from Europe less than fifty thousand were left. They had won their way at a fearful cost.

  Still onward they pushed with brave hearts, until on a bright summer morning they caught the first glimpse of the Holy City in the distance. For two whole years they had toiled and suffered in the hope of reaching Jerusalem . Now it lay before them.

  But it had yet to be taken. For more than five weeks the Crusaders carried on the siege. Finally, on the 15th of July, 1099 , the Turks surrendered. The Moslem flag was hauled down and the banner of the cross floated over the Holy City .

  A few days after the Christians had occupied Jerusalem Godfrey of Bouillon was chosen king of the Holy Land .

  "I will accept the office, " he said, "but no crown must be put on my head and I must never be called king. I cannot wear a crown of gold where Christ wore one of thorns nor will I be called king in the land where once lived the King of Kings."

  Peter the Hermit is said to have preached an eloquent sermon on the Mount of Olives. He did not, however, remain long in Jerusalem , but after the capture of the city returned to Europe . He founded a monastery in France and within its walls passed the rest of his life.

  Frederick Barbarossa Emperor from 1152-1190

  I

  Frederick I was one of the most famous of German emperors. He was a tall, stalwart man of majestic appearance. He had a long red beard and so the people called him Barbarossa, or Red-Beard. He came to the throne in 1152.

  At that time the province of Lombardy in northern Italy was a part of the German empire.

  In 1158 Milan (mi-lan'), the chief city of Lombardy , revolted. Then over the Alps came an army of a hundred thousand German soldiers, with Frederick at their head. After a long siege the city surrendered.

  But soon it revolted again. The emperor besieged it once more and once more it surrendered. Its fortifications were destroyed and many of its buildings ruined.

  But even then the spirit of the Lombards was not broken. Milan and the other cities of Lombardy united in a league and defied the emperor. He called upon the German dukes to bring their men to his aid. All responded except Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony , Frederick 's cousin, whom he had made duke of Bavaria also. Frederick is said to have knelt and implored Henry to do his duty, but in vain.

  In his campaign against the Lombards Frederick was unsuccessful. His army was completely defeated and he was compelled to grant freedom to the cities of Lombardy . Everybody blamed Henry the Lion. The other dukes charged him with treason and he was summoned to appear before a meeting of the nobles. He failed to come and the nobles thereupon declared him guilty and took from him everything that he had, except the lands he had inherited from his father.

  Frederick now devoted himself to making Germany a united nation. Two of his nobles had been quarreling for a long time and as a punishment for their conduct each was condemned, with ten of his counts and barons, to carry dogs on his shoulders from one country to another.

  Frederick finally succeeded in keeping the nobles in the different provinces of Germany at peace with one another, and persuaded them to work together for the good of the whole empire. He had no more trouble with them and for many years his reign was peaceful and prosperous.

  II

  After the Christians had held Jerusalem for eighty-eight years, it was recaptured by the Moslems under the lead of the famous Saladin (Sal'-a-din), in the year 1187. There was much excitement in Christendom, and the Pope proclaimed another Crusade.

  Frederick immediately raised an army of Crusaders in the German Empire and with one hundred and fifty thousand men started for Palestine .

  He marched into Asia Minor , attacked the Moslem forces, and defeated them in two great battles.

  But before the brave old warrior reached the Holy Land his career was suddenly brought to an end. One day his army was crossing a small bridge over a river in Asia Minor . At a moment when the bridge was crowded with troops Frederick rode up rapidly.

  He was impatient to join his son, who was leading the advance guard; and when he found that he could not cross immediately by the bridge, he plunged into the river to swim his horse
across. Both horse and rider were swept away by the current. Barbarossa's heavy armor made him helpless and he was drowned. His body was recovered and buried at Antioch .

  Barbarossa was so much loved by his people that it was said, " Germany and Frederick Barbarossa are one in the hearts of the Germans." His death caused the greatest grief among the German Crusaders. They had now little heart to fight the infidels and most of them at once returned to Germany .

  In the Empire the dead hero was long mourned and for many years the peasants believed that Frederick was not really dead, but was asleep in a cave in the mountains of Germany , with his gallant knights around him. He was supposed to be sitting in his chair of state, with the crown upon his head, his eyes half-closed in slumber, his beard as white as snow and so long that it reached the ground.