of them he obtained a fignal victory over the Norwegians, and the unhappy iffue of the laft was never attributed to his want of courage or conduct. In fine, he was as far, perhaps as the nature and perplexity of his affairs permitted, well difpofed with refpect to religion, always liberal to the church, and the friend of the clergy: but in the focial and relative virtues few exceeded him; he was humane, mild, affable, and generous, such as made his character amiable, as a husband, a parent, and a friend.

Thus ended the Anglo-Saxons fovereignty in England; which Hengift, firft King of Kent, began above 600 years before *.

As the laws and conftitution of Great Britain owe their origin to the principal transactions and revolutions of the Saxon heptarchy, &c. the following review of the most interesting periods relative hereto may not be unacceptable to the reader.

When the Picts and Scots had jointly invaded the Britons, who had not spirit to ftand up in their own defence, but applied for affiftance to the Saxons, who had rendered themselves a formidable people, and took the Britons under their protection, only to gratify their ambition and increase their power and intereft; the Saxons invaded Gaul, and established the kingdom of France in 420; after which they came over to Britain, and founded the kingdom of England in 445.

When the English and French came from Germany to people Britain and Gaul, they tranfplanted with them the moderate fway and liberty of the Germans. They were at this time Pagans; but they were soon converted to chriftianity, and established that excellent government, which, under feveral improvements, has been conveyed down to the prefent age: but they met with fome difficulties in forming their fettlements, nor could they find any footing, without firft clearing their way, and driving the Britons up by themfelves into a Rapin's Hift. vol. I. p. 167.

*

corner

corner of the island, where they continued till the year 1212, before they were incorporated with England.

The Saxon form of government was rather aristocratical than monarchical, and they were diftinguished into the three ranks of noblemen, freemen, and slaves. Hengift established the kingdom of Kent in 455; and the heptarchy, after fome confufion, was formed in 582. These feven kingdoms were confidered as one grand ftate or confederacy; and the command of their armies was given to one prince, chofen out of the rest, on whom some hiftorians have peculiarly bestowed the title of monarch, as having the precedence and fome fuperiority over the others. The Saxon revolution was entire, as far as it extended: they introduced their language with their government; and thefe together with their cuftoms have defcended to their posterity, increased by other engraftments on the original ftock. Their Wittenagemot was like our parliament, of which it is the fource, where they deliberated upon the common affairs of the feven kingdoms; and every kingdom was fubject to the refolutions of the general affembly. But it is hard to trace how regularly they moved as to civil affairs, how clofely they followed their country-customs, or where they innovated or varied from their German forms and policy. Some footsteps are however difcoverable, which have remained to posterity; as the divifions of the country into hundreds; the appointing of fheriffs, and electing annual magiftrates by the people; as alfo the jurifdiction and power of life and death by juries. The whole fabric of this government was folid and magnificent, equally conducive to the honour of the prince, and the fecurity of the fubjects but it is in England only that this antient generous manly government of Europe furvives, and continues in its original perfection.

After the formation of the heptarchy, the monarchs of the different kingdoms, each in their turn, afpired at the government of the whole, which occa

fioned feveral wars among the Saxons, who freely fhed their bloods, but carefully preferved their liberties. It is remarkable, that the Saxons who fettled in Britain acknowledged an hereditary right in the female line; while thofe who fettled in France, abolished it there by the Salique law: but Pharamond fubdued Gaul by conquest, and Hengift planted himself in Britain by policy.

The kingdom of the Weft Saxons was the most confiderable among the heptarchy, and was founded by Cerdic in 495. Sexburgha, an excellent princefs, governed this kingdom in 672; and Ina began his reign in 690, who published a body of laws, intitled, West Saxon Lege, or the laws of Weft Saxons, whereby he diftinguished himself as the firft Saxon prince, who regularly fummoned a great council or parliament, tą enact laws for the better government of his kingdom; for none of their Kings had the power of making laws, without the confent of the general affembly of the nation, compofed of the chief nobility. It then confifted of nine articles, and ferved for the foundation of the laws published in the next century by Alfred. His fucceffor, Sigebert, fhewed himself a tyrant; and hẹ was dethroned by his fubjects, who were a free people; while the Saxon heptarchy was foon after diffolved, and the English monarchy founded by Egbert.

The great Egbert was of the blood royal of the line of Cerdic; but the crown was granted to him by the election of the people, who, in the language of the best hiftorian, William of Malmesbury, commanded him to reign in the year 800. He found the Saxon ftrength was degenerated, and their common liberty endangered by the potency of Charlemagne, who had caufed himself to be crowned Emperor of the Weft. But in 829, Egbert became the føle monarch of all the heptarchy, and was crowned King of Britain by the con

*Rapin, vol. I. p. 175.

fent

fent of both clergy and laity, affembled in a general council at Winchefter; after which all the Saxon kingdoms were ordered to pafs under the common name of England; and it is obfervable, that Egbert was not only the father of the English monarchy, but also the auguft ancestor in the female line of the illuftrious houfe of Hanover.

About this time the Danes and Normans became terrible to England and France; nor were their depredations abated, till they made fettlements in both countries indeed they were another fwarm of the old northern hive, and were only a remoter branch of the Saxons. The Danes were formidable at fea, and the naval glory of the Saxons had fubfided; but Alfred revived it in 882, and Edgar compleated it in 959; which for many years preferved the liberty of England. Alfred was juftly called the father of the English conftitution; but he could not prevent the Danes from settling in his dominions, while he was forming the origin of thofe laws which have preferved the glory of England, and the liberties of Englishmen; befides, he founded, or at leaft greatly augmented, the university of Oxford, and the fciences flourished under his pro tection.

The fucceffors of Alfred bravely oppofed the incurfions of the Danes till the reign of Ethelred II. who gave his enemies an opportunity of rendering themfelves more formidable than ever; and notwithstanding the bravery of his fucceffor Edmund Ironfide, the Danes fucceeded in their attempts; for on his death Canute became the firft Danish King of England in 1016.

The Danish conqueror governed England like a Saxon monarch: the Danes, in a courfe of two hundred years, had intermarried with the English families, and were fo much incorporated as to become one people. The Saxon laws were confirmed, and the Danes fubmitted to them. But the two fucceeding monarchs be

haved like tyrants, which renewed the English fpirit, and recovered the liberty of England; for the Saxon line was restored in 1041, in the perfon of Edward the Confeffor, who reduced the Weft Saxon, Mercian andDanish laws into one body, which are still in force as the common law of the land.

Harold II. was an ufurper, but was deprived both of his crown and life by an invader. This was William the Conqueror, who defeated Harold in 1066, and afcended the throne which he claimed by the testament of Edward the Confeffor, without any mention of conqueft, as he was confcious that the English were tenacious of their liberty.

The Normans very probably had the fame original with the Danes, and established themselves under Rollo, in 876, in that part of France to which he gave the name of Normandy. A potent kingdom was now enslaved by a small dukedom; for, after the battle of Haftings, the English thought no more of ftriving for their liberties, because the Conqueror accepted the crown on the pretence of election, instead of afferting his right by conqueft; he fwore to obferve the ancient laws of the kingdom, promised to protect the liberties of the people; but he foon attempted to make England a land of flavery, while the English poffeffions became the property of Normans, and a new race of people fpread themfelves over the nations. William introduced the feodal law, and fome Norman cuftoms, which he engrafted on thofe of the Saxons. The introduction of military tenures was a violent blow upon English liberty, and all public acts were made in the Norman tongue; fo that England feemed as if fhe was going to be deprived of every thing precious and valuable. But the union of the Norman and Saxon lines under Henry I. promised better days to England; for this prince, in 1100, confirmed his coronation-oath by his charter, which confined the royal authority within its ancient bounds, and

guarded