1171. Henry's ministers, who soon after arrived, besides CHAP. asserting their Prince's innocence, made oath before VIII. the whole consistory, that he would stand to the Pope's judgment in the affair, and make every submission that should be required of him. The terrible blow was thus artfully eluded; the Cardinals Albert and Theodin were appointed Legates to examine the cause, and were ordered to proceed to Normandy for that purpose; and though Henry's foreign dominions were already laid under an interdict by the Archbishop of Sens, Becket's great partisan, and the Pope's Legate in France, the general expectation, that the Monarch would easily exculpate himself from any concurrence in the guilt, kept every one in suspense, and prevented all the bad consequences which might be dreaded from that sentence. THE clergy, meanwhile, though their rage was happily diverted from falling on the King, were not idle in magnifying the sanctity of Becket; in extolling the merits of his martyrdom; and in exalting him above all that devoted tribe who in several ages had, by their blood, cemented the fabric of the temple. Other saints had only borne testimony by their sufferings to the general doctrines of christianity; but Becket had sacrificed his life to the power and privileges of the clergy; and this peculiar merit challenged, and not in vain, a suitable acknowledgment to his memory. Endless were the panegyrics on his virtues; and the miracles wrought by his reliques were more numerous, more nonsensical, and more impudently attested, than those which ever filled the legend of any confessor or martyr. Two years after his death he was canonized by Pope Alexander; a solemn jubilee was established for celebrating his merits; his body was removed to a magnificent shrine, enriched with presents from all parts of Christendom; pilgrimages were performed to obtain his intercession with heaven; and it was computed, EE 3 1171. CHAP. computed, that in one year above a hundred thouVIII. sand pilgrims arrived in Canterbury, and paid their devotions at his tomb. It is indeed a mortifying reflection to those who are actuated by the love of fame, so justly denominated the last infirmity of noble minds, that the wisest legislator, and most exalted genius that ever reformed or enlightened the world, can never expect such tributes of praise as are lavished on the memory of pretended saints, whose whole conduct was probably to the last degree odious or contemptible, and whose industry was entirely directed to the pursuit of objects pernicious to mankind. It is only a conqueror, å personage no less entitled to our hatred, who can pretend to the attainment of equal renown and glory. a Ir may not be amiss to remark, before we conclude the subject of Thomas à Becket, that the King, during his controversy with that Prelate, was on every occasion more anxious than usual to express his zeal for religion, and to avoid all appearance of a profane negligence on that head. He gave his consent to the imposing of a tax on all his dominions for the delivery of the Holy Land, now threatened by the famous Saladine: This tax amounted to two pence a pound for one year, and a penny a pound for the four subsequent. Almost all the Princes of Europe laid a like imposition on their subjects, which received the name of Saladine's tax. During this period, there came over from Germany about thirty heretics of both sexes, under the direction of one Gerard; simple ignorant people, who could give no account of their faith, but declared themselves ready to suffer for the tenets of their master. They made only one convert in England, a woman as ignorant as themselves; yet they gave such umbrage to the clergy, that they were delivered over to the secular arm, and were • Chron. Gervase, p. 1399. M. Paris, p. 74. punished VIII. 1171. punished by being burned on the forehead, and CHAP. then whipped through the streets. They seemed to exult in their sufferings, and as they went along, sung the beatitude, Blessed are ye, when men hate you and persecute you". After they were whipped, they were thrust out almost naked in the midst of winter, and perished through cold and hunger; no one daring or being willing to give them the least relief. We are ignorant of the particular tenets of these people: For it would be imprudent to rely on the representations left of them by the clergy, who affirm that they denied the efficacy of the sacraments, and the unity of the church. It is probable that their departure from the standard of orthodoxy was still more subtle and minute. They seem to have been the first that ever suffered for heresy in England. As soon as Henry found that he was in no immediate danger from the thunders of the Vatican, he undertook an expedition against Ireland; a design which he had long projected, and by which he hoped to recover his credit, somewhat impaired by his late transactions with the Hierarchy. ⚫ Neubr. 391. M. Paris, p. 74. Heming. p. 494. E E 4 CHAP. IX. CHAP. IX. 1172. State of Ireland. HENRY II. Conquest of that Island. The King's Accommodation with the Court of Rome. — Revolt of young Henry and his Brothers.-Wars and Insurrections. War with Scotland.-Penance of Henry for Becket's Murder. William, King of Scotland, defeated and taken Prisoner. - The King's Accommodation with his Sons. - The King's equitable Administration. Crusades. - Revolt of Prince Richard. - Death and Character of Henry. Miscellaneous Transactions of his Reign. S Britain was first peopled from Gaul, so was As Ireland probably from Britain; and the inha bitants of all these countries seem to have been so State of many tribes of the Celta, who derive their origin Ireland. from an antiquity that lies far beyond the records of any history or tradition. The Irish from the beginning of time had been buried in the most profound barbarism and ignorance, and as they were never conquered, or even invaded by the Romans, from whom all the western world derived its civility, they continued still in the most rude state of society, and were distinguished by those vices alone to which human nature, not tamed by education, or restrained by laws, is for ever subject. The small principalities into which they were divided, exercised perpetual rapine and violence against each other; the uncertain succession of their Princes was a continual source of domestic convulsions; the usual IX. 425. usual title of each petty Sovereign was the murder CHAP. of his predecessor; courage and force, though exercised in the commission of crimes, were more honoured than any pacific virtues; and the most simple arts of life, even tillage and agriculture, were almost wholly unknown among them. They had felt the invasions of the Danes and the other northern tribes; but these inroads, which had spread barbarism in other parts of Europe, tended rather to improve the Irish; and the only towns which were to be found in the island, had been planted along the coast by the freebooters of Norway and Denmark. The other inhabitants exercised pasturage in the open country; sought protection from any danger in their forests and morasses; and being divided by the fiercest animosities against each other, were still more intent on the means of mutual injury, than on the expedients for common or even for private interest. BESIDES many small tribes, there were in the age of Henry II. five principal sovereignties in the island, Munster, Leinster, Meath, Ulster, and Connaught; and as it had been usual for the one or the other of these to take the lead in their wars, there was commonly some Prince, who seemed, for the time, to act as Monarch of Ireland. Roderic O'Connor, King of Connaught, was then advanced to this dignity; but his government, ill obeyed even within his own territory, could not unite the people in any measures either for the establishment of order, or for defence against foreigners. The ambition of Henry had, very early in his reign, been moved by the prospect of these advantages, to attempt the subjecting of Ireland; and a pretence was only wanting to invade a people who, being always confined to their own island, had never given any reason of complaint to any of their neigh • Hoveden, p. 527. 1172. bours. |