obfervation of the Lord's day; enjoin the clergy to attend conftantly at their devotion; forbid the priests changing their cures. It enjoins every prieft to learn fome employment, to prevent indigence in cafe of misfortune; it ftrictly requires parents to inftruct their children in the Chriftian faith; orders that no perfons be buried in a church, excepting perfons of known probity; forbids the eating of blood: laftly, the priest is to prefs the people, under his cure, to confeffion, penance, and fatisfaction; laftly, to the use of oil in baptism, and for the anointing of the fick *. After these canons there follows a form of confef fion, wherein are directions for the confeffarians; and here the priests are obliged to a thorough examination of the penitent, and the penance to be proportioned to the nature and degree of the crime, and the condition, temper, age, and capacity of the perfon. And in cafe of infirmity, or weakness of conftitution, the rigour of fafting was to be difpenfed with. And it is fomewhat remarkable, that where the Pater nofter is enjoined to be faid threefcore times a day, there is not the least mention of one Ave Maria, which is an argument that the modern applications to the Blessed Virgin were unpractifed by the church. A.controverfy arofe, between the monks and the fecular clergy, about the lawfulness of priests marrying, in which both parties appeared in earneft, and produced perhaps the beft arguments on each fide, but conclufive in the affirmative; which we may fee, with a variety of teftimonies, in Collier's hiftory before cited. EDWARD the Martyr, A. D. 975. Immediately after the deceafe of Edgar, Elfser, Duke of Mercia, fworn enemy to the monks, expelled them from all the benefices in his country, which he filled again with fecular priefts. Some other noblemen followed his example in different parts of the • Collier's Ecclef. Hift. vol. I. b. xi. p. 187. kingdom; kingdom; but the Duke of Eaft-Anglia, and many other perfons of the first rank, adhered to Dunftan and his party, which was likewife efpoufed by almost the whole body of the commons, who looked upon that prelate as a faint and an apoftle. This diverfity of fentiments produced a conteft concerning the fucceffion. Elfrida, their queen-dowager, a woman of an ambitious fpirit, had, by her emiffaries, circulated fome doubts about the validity of Edgar's marriage with the mother of Edward, in hopes of raifing her own fon, Ethelred, to the throne, and as the other was fupported by Dunftan, all that prelate's enemies declared for the fon of Elfrida. Though by these means there was a very powerful faction formed in his favour, the archbishop, confiding in his great popula rity, arose from the affembly of the ftates, while they were deliberating upon the choice of a fucceffor to Edgar, and taking prince Edward by the hand, conducted him to the church, where he was anointed and confecrated, in the twelfth year of his age, amidst a vaft concourse of people, who teftified their joy in loud acclamations. Whatever inclinations the oppofite party felt to controvert this irregular way of proceeding, they would not run the risk of difobliging the multitude, but left Edward in quiet poffeffion of the throne; while his stepmother, Elfrida, retired to Corf-Caftle, in Dorfetshire, which was affigned her dowry, and there in fecret hatched schemes for his deftruction. Dunftan having thus fecured the continuance of his own power, exerted all his endeavours to maintain the monks in the benefices they had acquired in the preceding reign, which he endeavoured to fupport by pretended miracles. Edward however called a fynod at Amesbury, in Wiltshire, in which feveral canons were made with a design to bring the province to a nearer conformity with the Roman church. Befides thefe ecclefiaftical affairs, affairs, no tranfaction of confequence diftinguifhed the reign of Edward, which lafted but four years, and was concluded in a very tragical manner. The King returning one day from the chace in Dorsetshire, rode up to the gate of Corf-Caftle, to pay a compliment to his step-mother Elfrida, who invited him to alight; but being in a hurry to be gone, fhe prevailed with him to drink a glass of wine on horfeback, and while he was fwallowing the liquor was ftabbed in the back by one of her domeftics. ETHELRED II. A. D. 978. Such was the difpofition and inexperience of this prince, that we find the reins of government were greatly relaxed, and all the neceffary precautions for the fecu. rity of the kingdom entirely neglected: the principal nobility who had been entrusted with the government of different counties, perpetuated the adminiftration in their families, affumed the name of dukes, exercised an independent authority in their own diftricts, and difregarded that union, upon which alone the fafety and welfare of the nation could depend. The Danes took advantage of it to renew their depredations on the kingdom, and Ethelred feeing his realm reduced to a miferable fituation, obeyed the dectates of his fears and defpondence, and fubmitted to pay thirty thoufand pounds to thofe invaders; upon which many of the Danes retired to their own country. But a good number of them chofe to fix their habitation in England; where being fupported by the natives of the fame race, they became extremely infolent and oppreffive. In short, we find nothing interefting in the reign of this prince of a civil or religious nature; for at the beginning of it he found a rich and flourishing kingdom, which he left in extreme poverty. He died after a fhort illness, in the thirty-feventh year of his reign, A. D. 1016. EDMUND, EDMUND II. furnamed Ironfide, A. D. 1016. On the death of Ethelred, the citizens of London immediately proclaimed Edmund, his eldest fon, by Ethelgiva, his firft wife. This young prince was of a conftitution fo remarkably ftrong, that he acquired the furname of Ironfide. The many fignal proofs of his courage and conduct contributed to his election at this juncture. And Livignus, archbishop of Canterbury, crowned him foon after. But the rest of the bishops and nobility being fummoned by Canute to Southampton, declared for him, and folemnly renounced the race of Ethelred. After the Dane had taken an oath, that he would govern them faithfully in matters, both fecular and religious, after many contefts and struggles for the crown, Edmund was induced to open a conference on the fubject of peace, in order to prevent any farther effufion of blood. This propofal being eagerly embraced by both parties, a treaty was concluded, in which this kingdom was divided between the two competitors; all the country to the fouth of the Thames and part of Weffex was affigned to Edmund, and all the rest of the inland ceded to Canute. After the ratification of the treaty, by the perfidy of Edric, or fome other perfon, in which hiftorians are not agreed, Edmund was affaffinated before he had opportunity to difplay his virtues. However, he appears to have been a perfon of ftrict juftice, great benevolence, fublime generofity, intrepid courage, and invincible patience; though thefe virtues were obfcured by the weakness he fhewed in admitting Edric into favour, notwithstanding he had been the ruin of his father by his treachery. CANUTE CANUTE the GREAT, A. D. 1017. As foon as Canute heard of the murder of Edmund, he convened a general council of all the nobility and clergy at London, in order to fecure the fucceffion of the whole kingdom. When the affembly was met, he artfully availed himself of the laft treaty he had made with the late King, and it was not without much difficulty he preferved his kingly authority. We shall not enter upon the civil part of his hiftory and character; it is acknowledged by fome hiftorians, that no King ever deferved a more contradictory character, nor that any adminiftration produced a greater variety of conduct he difcovered an ambition that regarded nothing but the accomplishments of his wifhes: even the acts of fuperftition, which he performed to atone for his former cruelties, may be fufpected to be incited by policy, and tinctured with ambition. The grandeur of his expedition to Rome, and the large fums he expended there, may be charged with oftentation, if not with profufion. Yet, with all his faults, it must be confeffed he was poffeffed of great virtues, and was certainly a perfon of great abilities. He feemed to have been well acquainted with mankind, and able to turn the various difpofitions of his fubjects to his advantage. Scarce any monarch ever raised popular odium fo high, or allayed it fo effectually as Canute; but in the latter part of his reign he paid a much greater regard to the intereft and to the esteem of his fubjects. The variety of his victories did not fo entitle him to the epithet of Great, as the virtues which he practifed during the peaceable interval of his administration. It was in that period that he manifefted his piety, his charity, and his equity: his continence was great, his addrefs engaging, his affability remarkable, his mercy extenfive: his love of peace manifested itself in his encouragement of thofe who were |