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 EW
N

Trace the turbulent history of Britain's monarchy from 1066 to the present day

DISCOVER
BRITAIN’S
HEROES &
VILLAINS
Edition
Digital
FOURTEENTH
EDITION

WILLIAM I KING JOHN MARY I JAMES I ELIZABETH II

fvfddfbfdbf
 Welcome to
Book of

BRITISH
ROYALS
The date is 14 October 1066, and the battlefield at Hastings lies
bloodied, littered with the remains of Harold II’s ruined army,
with Harold himself defeated by an arrow to the eye. William the
Conqueror has just earned his famous title, and with it, the crown
of England. This is where our story begins – the fascinating tale of
Britain’s monarchy. In this new edition of Book of British Royals,
you’ll discover incredible facts about every king and queen of
Britain from 1066 to the present day, and uncover the truth
behind royal scandals, conflicts and triumphs. From the bloody
battles of Hastings, Bosworth and Agincourt, to the treacherous
political courts of the Tudors and Stuarts, trace the turbulent
history of Britain’s royal bloodline from its beginnings right up to
the present, with the 2022 accession of Charles III.
vxvdgd
 BOOK OF
BRITISH ROYALS Future PLC Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA

Editorial
Group Editor Philippa Grafton
Senior Designer Briony Duguid
Compiled by April Madden & Steve Dacombe
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Head of Art & Design Greg Whitaker
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Managing Director Grainne McKenna
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Getty Images & Wikimedia Commons
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Part of the

bookazine series
 British Royals 96

Contents
8 The birth of 52 Henry IV
the British How the Battle of Shrewsbury
finally cemented Henry’s reign
monarchy
How the union of England and
Scotland shaped the monarchy 54 Henry V
Why the Battle of Agincourt was
a defining moment for this king
12 William I
18 32
The famous conqueror, and the
story of his momentous reign 60 Henry VI
A shy, charitable king, who was
never destined for greatness
16 William II
Discover the story of this hard-
hearted soldier-king 64 Edward IV
Stylish and promiscuous, the king
who began the War of the Roses
18 Henry I
A king who was keen to rule
66 Edward V
A ‘Prince in the Tower’ whose fate
20 King Stephen has never been discovered
The unfortunate king’s history of
usurpation and civil war
68 Richard III
A notoriously ruthless king, and
22 Henry II the last of the Plantagenets
Kicking off the Plantagenet
dynasty with style
74 Henry VII
24 Richard I
The tale of Lionheart’s reign
Bosworth’s victor, Henry laid the
foundations of the Tudor dynasty 146 68
32 King John 80 Henry VIII
The tale of a warrior king with a
The controversial king with a bone to pick with the church
strong legacy – the Magna Carta

38 Henry III 88 Edward VI

Henry VIII’s precious only son,
A boy-king who grew into one of who died all too early
the longest-reigning monarchs

40 Edward I 90 Lady Jane Grey

The tragic tale of the young
A tale of conquest that led to the queen of just nine days
consolidation of democracy

42 Edward II 92 Mary I
How the first Tudor queen gained
One of history’s most unpopular her ‘Bloody Mary’ moniker
kings, and his murderous end

44 Edward III 96 Elizabeth I

A turbulent reign from one of
A mightily successful ruler and history’s great women
military leader

46 Richard II 106 James I

The King of England and
Immortalised by Shakespeare, but Scotland, subject to a failed
consumed by revenge murder attempt

6
 118
112 Charles I
How the first king to be convicted
of treason met his end
116 Charles II
A controversial ruler with
mistresses and disastrous wars
118 James II
The ruler whose beliefs meant he
was ousted by his own family
120 William III &
Mary II
The dynamic duo who took the
throne from the Catholic king
124 Queen Anne
A queen who longed for power
beyond her own capability
128 George I
The king that couldn’t speak
English and warred with the Scots
132 George II
Disliked by his family, George II
sought approval from the people
Contents
170
136 George III
A British-born patriot with good
intentions, but poor results
140 George IV
How ‘Georgie Porgie’ followed
the tumultuous reign of his
king father
144 William IV
The true rebel king of Britain’s
history, and his fascinating story
146 Queen Victoria
The fearsome queen who
consolidated the Empire
154 Edward VII
Victoria may not have approved
of him, but the population did
156 George V
A monarch whose reign was
defined by the conflict of WWI
162 Edward VIII
The king known better for his
abdication than his short reign
166 George VI
A king who famously conquered
problems with speech
170 Elizabeth II
The record-breaking rule of the
longest-reigning British monarch
176 Charles III
The current monarch acceded to
the throne in 2022
7
 British Royals
Discover how the union of England and Scotland
shaped the line of succession and the modern
British monarchy
T
he United Kingdom of Great Britain has
not always been united, or known as Great
Britain for that matter. Prior to 1707, this
seemingly small island in the North Atlantic
had been divided for centuries. England
(including Wales) and Scotland were in fact two
independent countries, and it wasn’t until the
passing of the Treaty of Union through both
Parliaments in 1707 that the two kingdoms united,
officially marking the birth of Great Britain, and as
a result, its monarchy.
The first sovereign to rule over Great Britain was
Queen Anne. Officially she had reigned as queen of
both countries for five years prior to the Treaty, as
both the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of
Scotland had shared a monarch since 1603, when
King James VI of Scotland inherited the English
throne from Queen Elizabeth I through relation.
This was known officially as the Union of Crowns.
It was the Treaty of Union, however, that united the
monarchy under one crown, and then eventually
one government.
Due to the treaty, Queen Anne was the first and
last monarch from the House of Stuart dynasty
to rule over the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
Six years prior to 1707, in 1701, it had been decided
8
through the Act of Settlement that Catholics
were to be prohibited from inheriting the throne,
and so Sophia of Hanover, a Protestant and the
granddaughter of James VI and I, would become
Queen Anne’s heir. Although Anne had many
direct Catholic descendants, she had no surviving
children. Sophia of Hanover was her closest
protestant relative, which meant in 1714, when
Queen Anne died, the House of Stuart dynasty
came to an end as the House of Hanover succeeded
the throne.
By this time, however, Sophia of Hanover
had died aged 83, and so her eldest son George
inherited the crown and became King George I of
Great Britain. George’s succession was controversial,
as many people hadn’t agreed with the protestant
succession that had been outlined in the Act of
Settlement, and as a result riots were documented
across England in opposition to his coronation.
Despite the initial hostility, George I reigned as king
up until his death in 1727. During his reign, Britain
began to modernise and a cabinet government was
formed, which meant that the monarchy held less Queen Elizabeth II, the current
power over political affairs. monarch of Great Britain,
leaving Westminster Abbey as
George’s son and heir George II succeeded to part of a procession after her
coronation on 3 June 1953
the throne in October 1727 after his father’s death.
The birth of the British monarchy

Treaty
of Union
How England and Scotland
united to form Great Britain
and the British monarchy
The United Kingdom of Great Britain
was officially formed in 1707, when the
Parliaments of England and Scotland
passed the Treaty of Union agreement.
Prior to this date, England (including
Wales) and Scotland were independent
countries that had two separate
governments. The Treaty of Union was
designed to merge the Kingdoms of
England and Scotland together, creating
the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
Negotiations to unite the countries
began in 1705 under the reign of the
English and Scottish monarch Queen
Anne, although there had been several
failed tempts prior to this date. 31
commissioners were appointed by each
Parliament to negotiate the terms, and
talks began on 16 April 1706 at the
Cockpit-in-Court in London. After a
few days, the Treaty was finalised on
22 July 1706, and two separate acts of
union were to be passed through each
government before it was put into effect.
The first act of union, known as the
Union with Scotland Act, was passed
by the Parliament of England in 1706,
with the second, the Union with England
Act, being passed by the Parliament of
Scotland shortly after in 1707.
The treaty itself consisted of 25
articles, with two stating that one
monarch was to rule over Great Britain
and a single unified Parliament of Great
Britain was to be formed. In addition
to this, agreements regarding trading
between England and Scotland were
set, alongside the decision to introduce
a common currency. On 1 May 1707,
England and Scotland officially united.
The union between Great Britain
and Ireland, however, did not occur for
another 93 years. It was during the reign
of King George III that in 1800, Great
Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland united
to form what is now known as the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
To signify the union, the Union Flag
incorporated the St Patrick’s Cross.

The official copy of the Treaty of

Union, ratified by the parliaments of
England and Scotland in 1707

9
 British Royals

Crowned golden lion

George II’s own son and heir apparent, Frederick Royal coat of arms Tying the royal coat of arms altogether at the top is the royal helm,
Louis, Prince of Wales, was next in line to become How the royal coat of arms crest and mantling, which appear directly above the shield. A
crowned golden lion faces sideways, looking out, at the very top.
king. Frederick, however, died unexpectedly in represents the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and its monarchy
1751. This mean that in 1760, after King George II’s The shield
death, Frederick’s eldest son inherited the crown, The central shield represents the different parts of the United
Kingdom. The two opposite quarters that bear three lions stand
becoming George III. for England. The second quarter, which features a roaring red lion,
It was during George III’s reign that Great Britain details the arms of Scotland. And the third, which features a golden
harp, represents the arms of Ireland.
and Ireland united, changing his official title to
King George III of the United Kingdom of Great Arms of Dominion
The royal coat of arms is officially
Britain and Ireland. George III was also the first known as the Arms of Dominion,
monarch of Great Britain since its formation in and is used to identify the current
British monarch. The imagery reflects
1707 to be born and raised in the country he ruled. the history of the country and the
monarchy it represents.
While sovereign, George saw Britain through many
military conflicts, including the Battle of Waterloo
The supporters
in 1815. His early reign was considered successful. The English lion that
appears on the left-hand
However, he is often remembered through history side of the shield is known
for the mental illness that plagued him in later as the Dexter supporter,
while the Scottish unicorn
life, which as a result earned him his nickname on the right is known as
‘Mad George’. During his illness, his son and heir the Sinister supporter. Both
stand on top of the green
apparent, George the Prince of Wales, served as compartment, which shows
Prince Regent – a position that enabled him to the Scottish thistle, Irish
shamrock and English rose.
exercise full power as king while his father was
incapacitated. This period is known as the Regency Mottos
in British history, and Regent’s Park, as well as Below the compartment
appears the sovereign’s
Regent Street in London, was named after him. motto ‘Dieu et mon droit’,
which stands for ‘God and
Upon George III’s death in 1820, his son, the Prince my right’. And around the
of Wales, inherited the throne and was titled King shield, along the blue belt
reads, ‘Honi Soit qui mal y
George IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain pense’ (‘Evil to him who evil
and Ireland. thinks’), which symbolises
the ancient Knighthood, the
George IV reigned as king for ten years, and Order of the Garter.
upon his own passing, had no legitimate issue to
inherit the throne. His younger brother, William IV,
who was third in line to the throne during George Scottish royal coat of arms
III’s reign, became King. William himself reigned Scotland has its own version of the lion, as opposed to a gold one, appears on
for a relatively short period of time (1830-1837), and royal coat of arms. This features two top holding a banner that reads ‘In Defens’
also had no surviving legitimate children at the representations of Scotland as apposed to (‘In defence’). The motto of the Order of
one, and the unicorn appears as the Dexter the Thistle sits along the compartment and
time of his death. He was succeeded by his young
holding the Scottish flag, while the lion is reads ‘Nemo me immune lacessit’ (‘No one
niece Victoria, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and the Sinister holding the English flag. A red attacks me with impunity’).
Strathearn’s daughter, who was only 18 at the time.

Anne George III William IV

Name: Anne
Birth/death: 6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714
Reign: 1 May 1707 – 1 August 1714
Dynasty: House of Stuart
Queen Anne had reigned as Queen of England and
Scotland since 1702. However, the signing of the
Treaty of Union in 1707 meant she became the first
monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
Name: George William Frederick Name: William Henry
Birth/death: 4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820 Birth/death: 21 August 1765 –
Reign: 25 October 1760 – 29 January 1820 20 June 1837
Dynasty: House of Hanover Reign: 26 June 1830 – 20 June 1837
George III became King of Great Britain in 1760, after Dynasty: House of Hanover
inheriting the throne from his grandfather King George King William IV was the third son of King
II. During his reign, Great Britain and Ireland united to George III; he inherited the throne from
officially form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and his eldest brother, King George IV, who
Ireland, and in 1815, Britain defeated Napoleon at the had no legitimate issue at the time of
Battle of Waterloo. his death. Upon William’s death in 1837,
his 18-year-old niece Victoria inherited
the throne.

Monarchs of a united Great Britain

1707
George I
Name: George Louis
Birth/death: 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727
Reign: 1 August 1714 – 11 June 1727
Dynasty: House of Hanover
King George I was the first monarch from the House of
Hanover. He inherited the throne from Queen Anne, due to
the Act of Settlement in 1701, which stated only Protestants
could reign. By the time of Queen Anne’s passing in 1714,
George I was her closest protestant relative.
George II
Name: George Augustus
Birth/death: 30 October 1683 – 25 October 1760
Reign: 11 June 1727 – 25 October 1760
Dynasty: House of Hanover
George II was the last British monarch to be born
outside of Great Britain. He ascended the throne
upon the death of his father George I. His eldest
son and heir apparent Frederick died, leading to his
grandson George III inheriting the throne.
George IV
Name: George Augustus Frederick
Birth/death: 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830
Reign: 29 January 1820 – 26 June 1830
Dynasty: House of Hanover
King George IV inherited the throne from his
father George III after serving as Prince Regent
for nine years previously, due to his father’s
mental illness. George IV’s only legitimate issue,
Princess Charlotte of Wales, died in 1817.

10

Victoria
Name: Alexandrina Victoria
Birth/death: 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901
Reign: 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901
Dynasty: House of Hanover
Reigning for over 63 years up until her death
in 1901, Queen Victoria was the longest-
reigning monarch until Elizabeth II. Victoria
was known as the ‘Grandmother of Europe’
after most of her children were married off
into European royal families.
Edward VII
Name: Albert Edward
Birth/death: 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910
Reign: 22 January 1901 – 6 May 1910
Dynasty: House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Queen Victoria’s eldest son and heir inherited the
throne after her death, becoming King Edward VII.
Due to his mother’s long reign, he was the longest
serving heir apparent in British history, until 2011
when Charles, Prince of Wales, surpassed it.
The birth of the British monarchy
A portrait of King George III. He reigned from
1760-1820, but suffered from mental illness,
resulting in a regency being established in 1811
Edward VIII
Name: Edward Albert Christian George
Andrew Patrick David
Birth/death: 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972
Reign: 20 January 1936 – 11 December
1936
Dynasty: House of Windsor
Edward VIII was the only British monarch
to abdicate, after Parliament opposed his
intent to marry Wallis Simpson.
George V
Name: George Frederick Ernest Albert
Birth/death: 3rd June 1865 – 20th January
1936
Reign: 6th May 1910 – 20th January 1936
Dynasty: House of Windsor
During George V’s reign, the First World War
broke out. While other empires fell, he was
able to expand the British one. In 1917, due to
ill feeling as a result of the war, he changed the
Queen Elizabeth II became the longest reigning
British monarch in September 2015 when she
surpassed the previous record, held by Queen
Victoria. Victoria inherited the throne in 1837 and
reigned for 63 years until her death in 1901. She
remains one of the most famous British monarchs
in history. During her reign, also known as the
Victorian era, Great Britain modernised, thanks to
the industrial revolution and changes to politics,
the military, science and culture. Victoria was
also the last monarch to reign from the House of
Hanover. Her son and successor King Edward VII
reigned (1901-1910) customarily under his father’s
dynastic name, the House of Saxe-Coburg and
Gotha. In 1917, however, seven years after Edward
VII’s son George V inherited the throne, the house
name was changed to Windsor as result of World
War I (1914-1918) and anti-German sentiment.
The current British monarchy still reigns under
the House of Windsor name today, and it was
first inherited by George V’s son and successor,
Edward VIII, in 1936. As the only monarch since
the union of Great Britain in 1707 to abdicate the
throne, Edward VIII reigned for less than a year.
His decision to abdicate was a result of his wish
to marry the divorced American socialite, Wallis
Simpson, which at the time caused outcry and
conflicted with his role as the Head of the Church
of England. Upon Edward’s abdication, his brother
Albert ascended to the throne, and was formally
styled King George VI.
Due to George VI’s succession, his eldest
daughter Elizabeth became heir apparent to the
throne. In 1952, she became Queen Elizabeth II
upon her father’s death. Elizabeth II is the current
monarch of Great Britain and the longest reigning
sovereign in British history. In 2012 she celebrated
her Diamond Jubilee, after 60 years as Queen, and
she celebrated her 90th birthday in 2016.
George VI
Name: Albert, Frederick Arthur George
Birth/death: 14 December 1895 –
6 February 1952
Reign: 11 December 1936 –
6 February 1952
Dynasty: House of Windsor
George VI reigned as King of Great Britain
until his death in 1952. During his reign, Great
Britain went to war with Nazi Germany, Ireland
declared itself a republic, and the British
Empire transitioned into the Commonwealth
of Nations.
NOW
Elizabeth II
Name: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
Birth/death: 21 April 1926 – present day
Reign: 1952 – present day
Dynasty: House of Windsor
Queen Elizabeth II is the current
monarch of Great Britain and Head of
the Commonwealth. She is the longest
reigning monarch of the United Kingdom,
© Corbis
after over 65 years on the throne.
11
 British Royals

1066-1087

From the illegitimate son of a duke to the holder of

the English crown, William I conquered detractors,
kings and even the odds to become one of Britain’s
most memorable rulers

I
n 1028, William was born into a period rife with to two considerably powerful supporters – namely
violence and disorder. Despite every nobleman his great-uncle Archbishop Robert and the king
owing fealty to the King of France, many duchies of France, Henry I. Such influential allies enabled
and fiefdoms were in constant flux as political William to retain the fealty over the Norman nobles
alliances chopped and changed at a moment’s he’d inherited from his father, but such support
notice. France itself had been at war with its rival was not meant to last. With the king preoccupied
Flanders for years, creating an intense air of with the costly conflict with Flanders, and
conflict across much of Western Europe. Archbishop Robert passing away in
William’s social status was also of March 1037, William’s duchy soon
some contention. His father, Robert Blood ties were descended into chaos.
I, Duke of Normandy, never Eventually a group of William’s
married his mother, Herleva of
common in the detractors formed an uneasy
Falaise, so the young Norman royalty at the time. alliance and led a revolt against
was born a bastard. However, Edward the Confessor him. Led by his cousin, Guy
William would be Robert’s of Burgundy, the revolters
was William’s first
only child, so the presence of attempted to capture the duke
his father’s blood was strong cousin, once at Valognes, a commune in WILLIAM OF NORMANDY
enough for the duke to name him removed northwestern France – however, Normandy, 1028–1087
as his heir. So serious was he about the duke escaped and sought refuge
it that he gathered a group of Norman with the French king. The duke may Whether he’s
magnates in January 1034 to swear fealty have been young, but the title of king was remembered as
to William as Robert’s true successor. Soon after, quite the trump card to play.
Brief William the Conqueror,
Bio or by the lesser-known
Robert left on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Over a William returned to Normandy in the early moniker William the
year later, Robert fell ill on his return from the Holy months of 1047 with King Henry at his side and Bastard, he was one of Britain’s
most influential monarchs. With
Land and died in Nicaea, Greece. And so, at the age their armies consolidated into one considerable Viking blood in his veins, he
of eight, William inherited one of the most powerful force. The rebel army outnumbered William’s, but united his Norman homeland
political positions in France. it lacked the leadership provided by the king’s own with the feudal fiefdoms of
England, but faced a battle to
The first few years of William’s tenure as Duke of elite. The Battle of Val-ès-Dunes descended into maintain his new crown.
Normandy were surprisingly smooth, mostly due a number of skirmishes, but the rebel army soon

12
 William I

Despite
his influential
position in the history
of the monarchy, no
authentic portrait
of William is in
existence

During his reign, William crossed

the Channel about 19 times

13
 British Royals
The White Tower is the central structure
of the Tower of London and was started by
William the Conqueror
Life in the time
of William I
A nation divided
When William became king, he discovered
a government far more complicated than
Normandy’s own. The country was divided
into shires and counties, with these territories
further divided into wapentakes (an old Norse
word that refers to small meeting places).
Strength in stone
During his early reign, William commissioned
a number of castles, keeps and mottes (a
wooden or stone structure erected on raised
earth). One of the most memorable of these
was the White Tower, which remains the
central structure of the Tower of London.
The hunting king
According to the medieval chronicler William
of Malmesbury, William depopulated large
swathes of land in the south of England in
1079 (36 parishes to be precise), to create the
royal New Forest for hunting.
Forging ties
With his alliances and political standing in
Normandy, William forged long-lasting ties
between England and France that lasted for
much of the Middle Ages (despite political and
military clashes). His Viking roots also created
a closer bond with Scandinavia.
The royal family
William had nine legitimate children with
his wife, Matilda of Flanders. His sons were
Robert, Richard, William and Henry, his
daughters were Adeliza, Cecilia, Matilda,
Constance, Adela and Agatha.
Timeline
1028
O William is born
While the exact date
of his birth remains
an issue of contention
among historians, we
do know that he was
born in Falaise. He
was the only son of
Robert I and Herleva
of Falaise.
1028
14
“William’s forces were able to rout
Harold’s men like cattle. And after nine
or so hours of battle, the fight was over”
broke apart and William finally established his Harold had just returned from repelling another
authority over the Duchy of Normandy. invasion by the King of Norway, Harold Hardrada,
When William finally turned his attention to and had rushed back to the capital after hearing
the kingdom across the Channel, his claim held of the Norman incursion. William told Harold that
more merit than most. The English monarch at his claim to the throne was invalid and that he
the time, King Edward I, had named William as should relinquish the throne immediately or allow
his successor (they were, in fact, distant cousins) the pope to make an absolute decision. Harold,
and a chance meeting with the most powerful earl unsurprisingly, declined and the two leaders met
in England, Harold Godwinson, in 1064/5 also
secured his support should the duke
in Hastings on 14 October 1066.
The Battle of Hastings was a bloody
move to inherit the throne. According affair. Reports and speculations
to William of Poitiers, a French from historians differ on the size
priest who served as the official of Harold’s army but a majority
chronicler of William’s invasion,
Reports state that agree that it was roughly the
the duke had the backing of William was around same size as William’s. The only
almost all the lords and earls 5’10”, which was real differences? Diversity and
in Normandy as well as the exhaustion. Despite a brief stop
incredibly tall for a
backing of the Holy Roman in London, Harold had marched
Emperor, Henry VI. He even had
man of this time a great deal of the army he used
the support of the pope, if Politer’s to defeat Harold Hardrada in the
claims are to be believed. Either way, north down to the south in just two
over a period of around seven months, weeks. Despite their training, the men
he gathered a fleet of 600 ships with roughly were fatigued and in no state to face a fresh
7,000 men (2,000-3,000 of these were cavalry). It Norman contingent. Harold’s forces were almost
was an impressive force designed for one thing: to entirely made up of infantryman, which was likely
conquer a kingdom. the deciding factor in the battle. With plenty of
William finally made landfall on 28 September archers and cavalry, William’s forces were able to
1066. They had arrived at Pevensey in the south rout Harold’s men like cattle. And after nine or so
of England, but William soon sent an envoy to hours of battle, the fight was over. Harold was dead
London to speak with the Anglo-Saxon king. and William was now the de facto King of England.
Defining moment
William is double-crossed
January 1066
In the years leading to his death, Edward the Confessor
named William, the Duke of Normandy, as his future
successor. However, although William did visit England
a couple of times in Edward’s final years, it was difficult
for him to leave the delicate political ecosystem back
in Normandy. When the king died, Harold Godwinson
(sometimes simply referred to as Henry Godwin) took
advantage of William’s absence and, against the late king’s
wishes, claimed the crown for himself. The Godwins were
one of, if not the, most powerful and influential families in
England at the time. Henry would be the last Anglo-Saxon
king of England.
O Inheriting the duchy O William and O The invasion begins
When he was round Godwinson meet After assuring his
the age of seven Harold Godwinson, who later affairs were in order
or eight, William’s became King Harold II of in Normandy, William
father Robert passed England, was shipwrecked arrived at Pevensey in the
away. With his off the coast of Normandy. South of England with
death, the title of William and Henry met a large invasion force.
duke and its political during this time and Henry Once all of his troops had
responsibilities fell to endorsed William’s claim to disembarked, William led
the young boy. the English throne. his force into Hastings.
1035 1064 28 September 1066
 William I

Following his coronation on 25 December 1066,
William discovered that presiding over a duchy
was a world away from ruling a kingdom. Defeating
Harold at Hastings and taking the capital should
have cemented his position, but William’s arrival
was more than just the ascension of a new king – it
was the end of the Anglo-Saxon era.
William was careful not to upend the social
equilibrium of England’s nobility, but a backlash
was inevitable. William fought to contain a series
of revolts in Dover, Exeter, Hereford, Nottingham,
Durham and York, but it was the revolt led by
Edgar the Atheling that was the most severe –
not only in its potential threat, but also for how
aggressively William dealt with it.
The revolt centred on Edgar the Atheling, the
only remaining individual with a legitimate claim
to William’s seat of power. And when Sweyn II,
King of Denmark, offered his support in 1070, the
Norman grip on the north was broken. The region
began to destabilise with revolts and civil unrest,
and Edgar and Sweyn’s forces soon took the key
stronghold of York. William immediately marched
from Nottingham with his own forces to settle the
rebellion, but by the time he got there the revolt
had all but dissolved. Edgar fled to Scotland and
Sweyn left suitably paid off by the king. However,
William was far from a mood to grant clemency.
He and his troops scoured the land from York
to the borders of Scotland in Northumbria. So
severe was the devastation that William enacted
on the north that the Domesday Book (which was
conducted in 1086) revealed that around 100,000
people died from starvation alone following
William’s ‘harrowing’. Considering the census
revealed the population to be 2.5 million, such a
figure shows just how far the new king would go to
burn his legacy into England’s history books.
The Harrowing of the North, as it came to be
known, was just one of the many conflicts William
had to deal with throughout his 21-year reign.
He was continually dealing with issues with his
neighbours (such as his clashes with the king
of Scotland in 1072), rebellions among his own
gentry (namely the Revolt of the Earls in 1075) and
even quarrels with his own children. Between his
native duties as Duke of Normandy, and as King of
England, William was forced to solidify his legacy
with political marriages, truces and military force.
By the time of his death on 9 September 1087,
William had maintained his authority over both
Normandy and England for over two decades. He
built over 50 castles and fortifications during his
reign, determined not only to remind the people
The Domesday
of the land who their monarch was, but to protect Book
the nation from the very act he’d taken the throne In the years that followed the taking of
with. While his acts of domestic growth and the English crown, it became clear that
official records relating to population and
merciless violence have been largely overshadowed
landholding were nearly nonexistent.
by his invasion, the man himself remains a Almost 19 years after his invasion, while
defining figure on those storied pages. spending Christmas in Gloucester with his
advisors, William decided a census was
needed. It seems likely it was planned as a
way to determine how to restructure taxes
across the nation. The Domesday Book (or
The Great Survey as it was known then)
was split into two documents; the ‘Little
Domesday’ (which covered Suffolk, Essex
and Norfolk) and the ‘Great Domesday’
(a larger document that covered the
rest of the country). Interestingly, these
documents did not cover the entire
nation. This was for many reasons – for
example, Westmorland and Cumberland
were absent as both formed part of the
Even though King Harold’s forces had defeated Kingdom of Strathclyde until they were
one invasion and marched hundreds of miles from conquered by his son, William II, in 1092.
Newcastle to the south, they still fought valiantly in the Elsewhere, London and Winchester were
face of William’s superior cavalry and archers
left out because of their special tax status,
while the County of Durham was omitted
because the Bishop of Durham held
ecclesiastical rights to tax that county.

Defining moment Defining moment O The Great Survey

In order to determine
The Battle of Hastings 14 October 1066 Harrowing of the North 1070 the true worth of his
Prior to the main battles with the invading Normans, King Harold had already William had defeated or outlived most of the legitimate English kingdom (and
exhausted his military forces defeating another invading force led by Norwegian claimants to the English throne, but one still remained. to unravel the holdings
monarch Harold Hardrada at Stamford Bridge. Interestingly, King Harold Edgar the Atheling had a great deal of support in the north and lands of his earls)
knew that William was coming before Hardrada’s Scandinavian force arrived, of England and when Sweyn II of Denmark landed in 1069, William commissioned a
however, the Norman forces remained moored off the coast for almost seven Edgar’s claim became a real threat. In 1070, he paid the countrywide consensus.
months before disembarking. Accounts relating to the size both forces differ Danes to leave and began to attack the land around Edgar’s While not every part of
the nation was covered,
greatly, but it’s assumed they were leading armies of between 7,000 and 10,000 supporters. Over the next few months he destroyed
it still serves as the
men. William’s forces are ultimately successful, using the considerable number livestock and farmland, and killed (according to reports) most detailed record
of cavalrymen and archers to wear down the English contingent. King Harold thousands of men, women and children. William’s aim from the Middle Ages.
died on the battlefield after taking an arrow to the eye. was to ensure they would never, ever revolt again. 1086

O William takes London
Despite defeating the king and
the remainder of his standing
army, England was far from
won. Earls and lords loyal to the
English king barred William’s
entry into Winchester and
London but the Norman usurper
soon overwhelmed them and
took control of the royal treasury.
October-November 1066
O Crowning a new king O Returning to Normandy
With most of Harold’s
supporters either dead
or in flight, William was
crowned King William I of
England. One of his first
actions was to reaffirm
the titles and lands of
many earls but strip those
of Harold’s supporters.
25 December 1066
O Hereward the Wake
After his coronation, William Despite promising to leave
returned to Normandy to England for good, Sweyn II of
ensure his lands were intact. Denmark returned a few months
While there, he had a number later and joined the growing
of new monasteries built. uprising led by northern theign
He also met with most of his Hereward the Wake. William
nobles and earls, all of whom forced Sweyn to leave yet again
were eager to learn of possible and soon brought this, the last of
new wealth and holdings. the northern revolts, to an end.
1067 1070
1087
Death of a king O
Despite the relative
military success of his
reign, his final days were
remarkably uneventful.
While on a military
expedition against France,
William either fell from his
horse or became ill and
died soon after.
9 September 1087

15
 British Royals

Although
not the eldest
heir of William
I, William II was
the Conqueror’s
favourite and as such
bequeathed
England

WILLIAM II OF ENGLAND
Normandy, 1056-1100

William II, third son

of William I, was
Brief known as William
Bio Rufus, William the
Red and the Red King,
due to his ruddy complexion.
An outspoken king, he used
force to influence Scotland and
control Normandy. Heavy taxes
and a turbulent relationship
with the church led to
resentment within his kingdom.

1087-1100

The ruddy-cheeked king who history remembers

as a forcible soldier, a hard-hearted ruler and loathed
by his highly-taxed subjects

B
londe, red-cheeked and well-set, William II,
born in Normandy in 1056, was the third
son of William I (William the Conqueror) and
Matilda of Flanders. His ruddy complexion
was the focus of the various nicknames
inspired during his 13-year reign, most notably
William Rufus, William the Red and the Red King.
William II’s ascent to power in 1087 is perhaps
one of the most flagrant displays of favouritism ever
practised by a sovereign, as before his father William
I (William the Conqueror) died, he arranged for his
third and favourite son, William II, to succeed him as
King of England. This was a decision the Conqueror
felt was his right as he had won the country by war.
William I’s eldest son and William II’s only surviving
older brother, Robert, who’d previously rebelled
against his father, was bequeathed the Duchy of
Normandy as tradition dictated.
William I’s decision to effectively divide his
kingdom in two might have seemed like a good
idea at the time, but it troubled many nobles who
owned land on both sides of the channel. They
were all too aware of the bitter rivalry between the
brothers, which began in, and had snowballed since,
childhood. Knowing it impossible to keep favour
with both rulers, the lords followed the leadership of
Bishop Odo of Bayeux (half-brother of William I) and
sided with Robert, who was the more amiable and
perceived weaker of the two, in the hope of uniting
the kingdom once again. The rebellion collapsed in

16
 William II

assortment of other barons to depose the king in

place of Stephen of Aumale. Robert was defeated and
imprisoned, whereas his co-lead conspirator, William
of Eu, was castrated and blinded.
As well as his conflicts with his brother and
nobles, as well as France and Scotland, William was
also vilified for his discord with the church. Among
other quarrels, he left bishop positions vacant so
that he might take the revenues for himself, and his
turbulent relationship with the very popular Anselm
Archbishop of Canterbury, who was considered one
of the greatest theologians of his generation, led to
The nicknames Red King and Rufus referred
a long period of animosity between the church and to William’s ruddy complexion and red
state, souring public opinion against the king. cheeks, not his hair, which was blonde

The Rufus Stone in the New Forest Resentment continued to fester across William’s
marks the place of William’s death kingdom, a problem he seemed not too bothered
about. In 1096, he remained unaffected as he made
Life in the time
1088, less than a year into their respective reigns, it a whole lot worse. The king’s brother Robert had of William II
when Robert failed to show up to support the become inspired to join the First Crusade, a military
English rebels, so William won them over with silver expedition by Roman Catholic Europe to regain the Fabulously flamboyant
The court of the Red King, who was rumoured
and promises of a better government. William, ever Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the
to be homosexual, was described by 12th
the firebrand, laid claim to Normandy in 1091 and Levant (632-661). Finding himself without the funds Century historian William of Malmesbury
waged war against the sibling who he defeated, to raise an army, Robert mortgaged the Duchy of (1095-1143) as being ”filled with ’effeminate‘
forcing him to cede a portion of his land. After the Normandy to his bemused younger brother, who young men in extravagant clothes mincing
conflict, the pair were able to kiss and make up, and became regent in Robert’s absence. To pay for this about in ’shoes with curved points‘“. As well
William even agreed to help Robert regain control of exchange, William levelled a heavy and much- as curved-toe shoes, fur-lined cloaks and long,
areas of his land lost to France. resented tax on his English subjects, helping ornamented and embroidered tunics were
popular among men of money at this time.
It wasn’t only in the south that William to cement his legacy as a cruel and
was forced to engage in battle unpopular leader.
during that year, as later in 1091 he The king, who was a huge fan
Take him to the Tower
In 1078 the White Tower, (at the Tower of
successfully stopped a Scottish William died of hunting and feasting, met his London), was built. Commissioned by William
invasion led by King Malcolm III, in mysterious end on 2 August 1100 (aged the Conqueror, the monument was seen as a
who was then finally forced to 43/44). While out hunting deer symbol of oppression by London’s residents,
circumstances, when a and acted as a constant visual reminder of
pay homage to the English King in the New Forest, a rogue arrow
and accept his overlordship. A rogue arrow killed him pierced his chest. It is claimed their country’s defeat to the Normans.
year later William decided to while out hunting in that his body was abandoned by
Learning and literacy in
annex Cumbria from Scotland and the New Forest the nobles in his hunting party,
the 12th Century
ordered the construction of Carlisle and was later stumbled upon
While the majority of people living in England
Castle. In 1093 Malcolm retaliated by peasants who took it by cart to
during William II’s reign were illiterate,
by invading and ravaging Northumbria, Winchester Cathedral, where it would go education took a dramatic leap forward at
but met his end, along with his son Edward, on to be buried. this time. Although Oxford University has no
at the Battle of Alnwick after being overpowered by It was accepted as an accident, but some theorised known date of foundation, there is evidence
William’s stronger and better organised army. William of an assignation as Sir Walter Tyrrell, who was that shows teaching took place at Oxford
was then free to wield his influence in Scotland considered an accomplished bowman, immediately in some form during 1096. This makes
the institution the oldest English-speaking
unrestricted by using the succession of subordinated fled to France. William’s younger brother Henry
university and the second-oldest surviving
Scottish kings as vassals. In 1095 Robert de Mowbray, was also with the hunting party and rode straight university in the world.
the man who had helped lead William to victory to Winchester to seize the treasury. He had himself
against the Scots, sparked a rebellion with an elected the following day. Medieval yellow pages
The first widespread compilation of land and
property took place across England after
William the Conqueror’s successful invasion,
The curse of the New Forest resulting in the 1086 Domesday Book. It was
The curse of the New Forest didn’t just claim William II’s commissioned so the new ruler could astutely
life; in fact, three descendents of the New Forest’s ‘creator’ assess all his new possessions. Interestingly,
William the Conqueror died in its leafy glades. The first was some towns, such as London and Winchester,
his second eldest son Richard who is said to have become were not included in the Domesday Book due
sick from the foggy ‘pestilent’ air. The next was William II in a to their tax-exempt status.
hunting “accident”. The third was Richard, William I’s grandson,
who accidently hanged himself when his horse ran under a It’s all about the Crusades
low hanging tree branch. At the time many suggested it was Anyone who was anyone with a burning
a form of karmic retribution or curse, as the king had razed loyalty to the Roman Catholic church joined
entire villages across Hampshire to create his new hunting the First Crusade. This was a widespread
forest “Nova Foresta” at the expense of more than 36 parish pilgrimage that saw tens of thousands of
churches, 20 small hamlets and several isolated farmsteads, William was killed Europeans travel to the Middle East to regain
in the New Forest
leaving hundreds of people homeless. the Holy lands taken by the Muslim conquests
of Levant some 400 years earlier.

17
 British Royals

Henry was
one of the most
well-educated kings
England had ever
known, earning him
the ‘Beauclerc’
HENRY I ‘BEAUCLERC’ nickname
England, 1068-1135

Henry I, fourth and

youngest son of
Brief William I, is celebrated
Bio as the most effective
of all the Conqueror’s
sons. He righted the wrongs of
his brother by strengthening
the crown’s executive
powers, modernising royal
administration and establishing
a professional bureaucracy on
both sides of the channel.

1100-1135

Despite proclaiming himself king while his brother’s body

was still warm, Henry I proved himself a worthy monarch

W
hether King William II died as the result
of a mistimed or a well-timed hunting
arrow is a mystery. What we know is
that just moments after it happened,
his younger brother Henry raced to
Winchester to seize the treasury and declare
himself king, over his oldest brother Robert.
The Norman brothers Robert, William and Henry
were renowned for their rivalry, but the real trouble
began when their father, William the Conqueror,
died and left Normandy to his oldest son, Robert,
and England to his next surviving son, William.
Henry, the fourth and only other remaining son,
was simply given money to buy land and he
chose Cotentin in Western Normandy, where he
established himself as the count.
When Robert decided to challenge William’s
claim to the English throne, he neutralised further
threat by imprisoning Henry. After the conflict
Henry was released and allowed to return home –
albeit stripped of his title. So when William
invaded Normandy in 1091, Henry made sure he
pledged allegiance to Robert, but later lost his
favour when he out-shadowed him in combat.
Consequently, both sovereign brothers overlooked
Henry when they reconciled and drew up a treaty
that saw the other as their rightful heir of their
respective kingdoms. Deciding he was better off
on his own, Henry fought against both brothers in
the years that followed, taking land for himself in
Normandy. Sensing an opportunity for conspiracy,
William sent money to his younger brother to
strengthen his campaign against Robert. Henry
visited William often at court and fortuitously was
present when he died, making him able to claim
the throne for himself.

18

With Normandy now under his control, Henry
was proving himself a powerful and decisive
leader on both sides of the channel. In England
he strengthened local government, sent judges
off around the country to reinforce the law and
created institutions such as the Royal Exchequer.
In Normandy, Henry governed through a growing
system of justices and an exchequer. His preference
to promote ‘new men’ who were intelligent and
had risen through the ranks, as opposed to those
of high status, proved the administration’s making.
Henry reversed many of William’s less popular
Henry knew that, while claiming it had been policies, making wide-ranging concessions in his
relatively straightforward, holding on to the Charter of Liberties and returning to the gentler
throne would be a great deal more challenging. customs of Edward the Confessor. He was able to
As the youngest son, Henry was not expected to soothe the wounds inflicted on the church by his
become ruler, so had been permitted time and older brother, restoring a sense of peace.
opportunity to invest in his education. Henry used While Henry’s professional life went from
his sharpened mind to secure the barons as allies strength to strength, his personal life suffered a
by granting favours, promising a better-orchestrated tragic blow. In 1118 his wife died, followed two
government and pledging to restore peace to
England. In a show of respect for his new people, a
years later by their son, William. Prince William
was on-board a vessel known as The White Ship,
few months after he came to power, Henry travelling back to England, when it hit
married the Saxon Princess Edith, some rocks outside a Norman harbour
daughter of King Malcolm III (who and sank. Some 300 crew members
was killed by his brother’s army and passengers, including an
Henry, the fourth
during the Scottish invasion in illegitimate son and daughter of
1093). The union also helped to and youngest son Henry’s, also drowned.
soothe tensions between the of William the Finding himself without a
two neighbouring countries. Conqueror, was the legitimate son, Henry’s thoughts
Edith became known as turned to the succession
Matilda, Henry’s mother’s name,
only heir to be born and he married Adelicia of
to please the Norman Barons, and in England Louvain. When the union proved
together the pair had two children, childless, Henry summoned his
Matilda in 1102 and William in 1103. only legitimate child, Matilda, and
In 1101, Robert resurfaced from the his grandson Henry (later Henry II) back
First Crusade and attempted to seize the crown to England and willed his barons to accept her as
yet again. The invasion was thwarted and the his heir. The problem wasn’t only that Matilda was
brothers compromised, signing the Treaty of Alton, a woman; those at court were upset that Matilda,
in which Robert recognised his younger sibling as who was the widow of Henry V, Holy Roman
the true King of England in exchange for Norman Emperor, had married George Plantagenet of the
territories. Peace didn’t last long and just five years House of Anjou, rivals of the house of Normandy.
later news of Robert’s chaotic reign reached Henry’s Although the barons swore their allegiance in 1131,
court, prompting him to invade. The war ended in they weren’t convinced. When Henry died after a
Henry’s favour at the Battle of Tinchebrai. Henry week of food poisoning in Normandy in 1135, the
decided to stop Robert once and for all, imprisoning throne was seized by Henry’s nephew, Stephen of
him in Cardiff Castle for the rest of his life, which Blois. This sparked a succession crisis and a civil
turned out to be nearly three decades. war known as The Anarchy.
William Clito: the true heir?
When Henry imprisoned his older brother Robert in
Cardiff Castle for attempting to take the English crown
for the umpteenth time, Robert’s son William Clito was
understandably resentful. So like father, like son, William
decided to rebel, once in 1116 and again in 1119, supported
by several Norman barons who disliked Henry’s ‘new men’
officials and high taxes. Henry proved victorious at the Battle
of Bremule and a peace settlement was agreed upon in
1120 with the French king’s backing, accepting Henry’s son,
William Adelin, as Duke of Normandy. Dispute over the throne
reignited when Prince William drowned, resulting in more
quarrels and rebellions. William Clito died without an heir when
William Clito, Count of Flanders, mortally
a wound he received from a foot soldier turned gangrenous. wounded during the siege of Alost
Henry I
Historical biographers refer to the
raven-haired king as short, stocky and
barrel-chested
Life in the time
of Henry I
A friendly Viking invasion
During the autumn and winter months of the
year 1107, Norwegian King Sigurd the Crusader
and his army travelled through, and stayed
in, England during their southward journey to
Palestine. They were on their way to join the
pilgrimage of Roman Catholic fighters in the
First Crusade.
Joined at the hip, literally
In 1100, supposedly the world’s first recorded
conjoined twins were born, sparking interest
in the pair. Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst, known
as the Biddenden Maids were joined at the
shoulder and the hip. According to legend
Mary died suddenly aged 34, followed by Eliza
six hours later after refusing to be separated.
Family of sinners
Throughout his reign, Henry I went to great
lengths to right the wrongs his family had
inflicted on the church, including ordering the
construction of new churches and abbeys. At
the founding of Reading Abbey in 1121 (which
was to become his final resting place), Henry
said “for the salvation of my soul, and the
souls of King William, my father, and of King
William, my brother.”
Best-selling novels
During this period, William of Malmesbury, the
most respected historian of the 12th Century,
finished his first version of his historical
accounts of England Gesta Regum Anglorum
(Deeds of the Kings of the English) and Gesta
Pontificum Anglorum (Deeds of the English
Bishops) in 1125.
Cathedral set backs
Work on St Paul’s Cathedral began at the end
of Henry’s father’s reign in 1087 and took over
200 years to complete. In 1136 a fire delayed
construction. The cathedral was formally
finished in 1314 but was completely gutted in
during The Great Fire of London in 1666.
19
 British Royals
Stephen
rebuked the slur
of ‘oath-breaker’ by
saying that he only
swore to protect the
stability of the
kingdom
1135-1154
King Stephen’s usurpation tore the country apart with a 19-year civil war.
But with little gained and Henry I’s succession restored, was it worth it?
B
orn in Blois, central France, at the end of
11th Century, Stephen was the fourth son
of the Count Stephen-Henry of Blois and
Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror.
Adela, who was incredibly politically astute,
allied with Henry I during his military campaign
in Normandy to quash their brother Robert’s son
William Clito and his rebellion. Stephen, who had
shown great promise as a swordsman, accompanied
his uncle in the ensuing battles. To reward his
courage, Henry later gave Stephen a knighthood
and invited him to the English court, where he
rose through the ranks at great pace, receiving
notable land and honours (estates). The king also
arranged a great marriage for Stephen with the
incredibly wealthy Matilda of Boulogne, which saw
him inherit yet more land in Kent and Boulogne,
20
KING STEPHEN (OF BLOIS)
France, 1097-1154
King Stephen’s reign
is a tale of one-
Brief upmanship, double-
Bio crossings, promises
and broken promises
that ultimately divided and
destroyed much of the kingdom
he had sworn to protect. The
Anarchy civil war, which became
synonymous with his time at
the helm, played out like a game
of chess against his powerful
opponent Empress Matilda,
daughter and heir of Henry I, for
nearly two decades.
making the couple one of the wealthiest in the
whole of England.
Before his death, Henry I made his nobles,
including Stephen, swear an oath to ensure that his
daughter Matilda, the former Holy Roman Empress,
succeeded him. It wasn’t just because Matilda
was a woman that they were reluctant to observe
this oath: the Anglo-Norman elite also resented
the Empress’s second marriage to Angevin ruler
Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, a long-standing enemy
whose lands bordered the Duchy of Normandy.
At the time of his death, Henry was deep in the
Duchy attempting to thwart an attack by rebels
supported by his daughter and her husband, who
resented not having the land prematurely. Henry’s
death put the empress in a tricky situation as she
was effectively now supporting rebels against her
 King Stephen

succession of bordering strongholds and territories.

Geoffrey of Anjou reignited his campaign to take
Normandy, and at home, many hard-done-by
barons began to play with the idea of defecting to
the empress’s side. The first of these was Robert,
Earl of Gloucester, one of Henry I’s illegitimate sons,
attributed with giving the civil war momentum, so
that when the empress landed in England in 1139,
she had fledgling support from a growing number
of allies. Stephen surrounded her at Arundel, but
foolishly escorted her to Bristol where she caught
Henry and Stephen agree a truce across the Thames up with her ally Robert. From there, they rallied
support and took control of western England.
own crown, which left her now scheming cousins The next chess-like move saw the empress
– Stephen, who was in Boulogne, and his older declared queen after her forces captured Stephen
brother Theobald, in southern Blois – to make a at the Battle of Lincoln in 1141, imprisoning him
play for the throne. in Bristol Castle. He was released in exchange for
Stephen, who was well liked and – perhaps more Robert of Gloucester, who was captured by the
importantly – incredibly wealthy, was the first to king’s wife and forces at the Rout of Winchester.
reach England. His younger brother Henry of Blois The war dragged on with more sieges and Stephen was imprisoned
in Bristol Castle in 1141
had become a powerful ecclesiastic in England rebellions in both England and Normandy, creating
thanks to his uncle, King Henry I, who had blessed long periods of stalemate, and it wasn’t until 1145
him with the richest abbey and bishopric.
This gift had made him one of the
that the empress was defeated at the
Battle of Faringdon, abandoning her
Life in the time
wealthiest men in the country. After cause and fleeing England. Two of King Stephen
Stephen, supported by Henry, was Stephen was freed years later her son Henry (later
therefore in a prime position to
from Bristol Castle by Henry II) took up the campaign The White Ship disaster
pay many powerful barons for but after running out of money In 1120, Stephen narrowly escaped death when
their fealty, get the church and his wife and William had to return home, paid for by he disembarked the doomed White Ship at
the last minute, reportedly due to concerns
eventually the Pope onside and of Ypres in 1141, he King Stephen. Far from giving
of overcrowding or illness on board. Moments
sway public support to proclaim threw himself a second up, he returned to England in later the vessel hit rocks outside the harbour,
himself king. Meanwhile, across 1149 and subsequently 1153, taking 300 people, including Henry I’s only
the Channel, the Normans were
coronation to capitalising on new support in legitimate son William, to a watery grave.
busy declaring Theobald king, celebrate north and east England. A truce
but when news came of Stephen’s was called during a bout of bad Two queens
coronation, support for the older brother weather, and Henry levied support in After Stephen was imprisoned in Bristol Castle
dissolved at the prospect of yet another divided the Midlands and Southwest. The two rivals later in 1141, England was effectively ruled by
and warring kingdom. met on opposite sides of the river Thames at two queens: Empress Matilda with the chief
support of Robert of Gloucester and, on the
The early years of Stephen’s reign were a relative Wallingford, but avoided engaging in open battle.
other side, King Stephen’s wife Matilda, Queen
success; he created a new royal charter confirming The sudden death of Stephen’s son and Consort of England, and her advisor William of
his earlier promises to church, and reversed some intended heir Eustace, later in the year, hastened Ypres. The two camps bargained relentlessly
of Henry’s less popular policies. He held good negotiations. Peace was restored when Stephen with nobles to strengthen their support.
relations with the church and his barons, stabilised agreed to the Treaty of Winchester, which allowed
the northern border (thereby halting an invasion him to remain as king for the rest of his life in For money, not love
by the Scottish King David I), contained Geoffrey exchange for acknowledging Henry as his rightful To help win his wars, Stephen paid an army of
Flemish mercenaries to campaign on his behalf
of Anjou’s attacks on Normandy, and made peace heir, renouncing his surviving son William’s claim.
in Normandy. Eventually, however, there was a
with France through Louis VI. Stephen had less than a year to finally enjoy being great deal of infighting between the supposed
Harmony was short-lived, however, and in 1136, king. He died in Dover of a stomach complaint, allied forces of the Flemish and Normans,
cracks started to show. First, Owain Gwynedd during a tour of England where he had been which caused the latter to defect, forcing him
of Wales defeated the English, rapidly taking a resolving conflicts caused by the civil war. to sign a truce with Geoffrey of Anjou.

Temper, temper
In 1152 during a lull in combat, Stephen,
Stephen’s early life and perhaps devastated by his wife Matilda’s
family members death, reached a low point with the church.
Stephen’s father died when he was a young boy, and had Stephen decided to imprison Archbishop
earned the reputation of being a coward during the First Theobald after he was refused permission by
Crusade, while his mother was considered a pious, strong, the Pope to crown his son Eustace early.
brave and intelligent woman. As well as one older sister,
Stephen had three older brothers: William who is thought So close, but so far
to have been intellectually disabled, Odo who died in his Despite finally gaining the upper hand in 1141
adolescence and Theobald. Five younger sisters, plus brothers when her forces captured Stephen, Empress
Philip and Henry followed Stephen. Breaking with tradition, the Matilda was never crowned Queen of England.
close-knit family were raised in their mother’s household rather On the way to her planned coronation, she
than being sent away to be mentored by relatives. faced a surprise uprising of citizens, forcing her
to flee to Oxford.

21
 British Royals

Henry
was the first
monarch from the
house Plantagenet.
The family would rule
the kingdom until the
death of Richard
III in 1485

HENRY PLANTAGENET
England, 1133-1189

The grandson of
Henry I, Henry II spent
Brief his entire 35-year
Bio reign hoping to rule
his kingdom with the
same political pragmatism as his
namesake. Ruthless and driven,
Henry II was one of the most
proactive monarchs in history.
He succeeded in re-establishing
royal administration in England
and Wales, gaining control
over large provinces in France
and making changes to the
legislation that would later form
the foundations of Common
English Law.

1154-1189

Fiery yet shrewd, the first of the Plantagenet kings helped rebuild a
tattered realm while defying rulers, popes and even his own heirs

B
orn in Le Mans, France, in the spring of 1133,
Henry was the eldest child of Geoffrey the
Fair, Count of Anjou, and Empress Matilda,
daughter of Henry I of England. Thanks
to her ties to the English crown (as well as
her former marriage to the Holy Roman Emperor,
Henry V of Germany), Henry’s mother was one of
the most powerful women in Europe. However,
when the English king’s eldest son and heir,
William Adelin, died at sea in 1120, it threw the
line of succession into turmoil. In the confusion,
Matilda’s cousin, Stephen of Blois, installed himself
as the sovereign, which succeeded in plunging the
country into a civil war.
While the conflict raged in England, the young
Henry was fast taking to the life of a French
nobleman. Tough and resilient, yet intelligent
and pragmatic, Henry had already gained a vital
understanding of building political relationships –
he was already on good terms with the normally
prickly bishops of Normandy and understood the
importance of paying homage to those in higher
positions of power (despite the fact that Anjou had
become almost entirely independent of France).
When his father passed away a few months
later, Henry became the Count of Anjou, a position
that was further bolstered by the lands of Eleanor
of Aquitaine, whom he married on 18 May 1152.

22
 Henry II

“By the time of his death in 1189, Henry had

laid the groundwork for a new age of law”
Eleanor had been the wife of King Louis, but she taken lands outside their borders. With Henry now
had failed to provide any sons, so the zealous reaffirming his lands in England and Normandy,
French monarch had had the marriage annulled. those territories were soon returned.
Henry and Eleanor unified the houses of Aquitaine While Henry had enjoyed successes reaffirming
and Plantagenet eight weeks later, a move that sent his kingdom elsewhere, he faced a far more difficult
her ex-husband into fits of rage. challenge bringing the clergy to heel. With the
In retaliation, Louis organised an alliance death of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Henry Following clashes with his son Richard,
appointed his childhood friend Thomas Becket Henry eventually collapsed from fever and
between Stephen, Eustace, the Counts of was buried in Fontevraud Abbey in France
Champagne and Perche (both of whom saw in the role, intending to use this ally as a proxy in
the potential benefits of splitting Henry’s lands his relationship with the church. However, Becket
between them), as well as Henry’s own young had no intention of being Henry’s whipping boy Life in the
brother, Geoffrey (who believed that his older
sibling had cheated him out of rightful lands and
and refused to change ecclesiastical law to meet
the king’s will. Henry did not react well. In 1163, time of
titles). The borders of Normandy were suddenly
at war as Henry moved to defend his lands. The
Henry had charges of royal contempt drawn up
against him and Becket fled the country. When
Henry II
conflict could have been incredibly bloody, he returned in 1170, he sought to make Money, money, money
but Louis VII later withdrew from peace with the fiery king but ended Once Henry had ascended to the throne in
illness and the campaign fell to up being murdered soon after by 1154, he was determined to improve the dire
pieces soon after. four knights who wished to curry state of England’s finances. Decades prior, his
Back in England, King Much like future favour with Henry.
grandfather, Henry I, had helped invigorate
the kingdom with a fresh influx of trade and
Stephen had been fighting monarch Henry VIII, Despite such overwhelming commerce. While Henry II’s efforts weren’t
his own civil war for years, odds against him, Henry’s
Henry II was a redhead quite as successful, he did make a positive
a conflict that only served powerbase was stronger than impact on England’s financial welfare.
to diminish his position as with a hellish temper ever. The French king had
monarch. He was keen to bring to match been cowed and England was Church and crown
the conflict to a close, but would once again an imposing military Under the rule of his predecessor Stephen of
defend his own claim to the crown and political beast. But for his Blois, relationships between the crown and
to the bitter end. Upon landing on victories in rebuilding his kingdom, the papacy were at an all time low. In his early
years as a duchy in France, Henry enjoyed
English soil in 1153 intent on taking the Henry’s refusal to recognise his own
a relatively peaceful relationship with the
crown for himself, Henry wisely chose to form an children with titles of worth would finally be his bishops. However, his appointment of friend
alliance with Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester. undoing. His cold relationship with son Richard Thomas Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury
With Leicester’s considerable northern support saw the disgruntled heir form an alliance with would backfire causing an even greater divide.
– and the timely death of Stephen’s son, Eustace – Philip Augustus, the new French king. With a new
the two would eventually broker a truce that saw powerful ally at his side, Richard began claiming The effects of war
Stephen recognise Henry as his heir. Henry’s continental lands as his own. Henry When Henry took the throne in 1154,
Henry was crowned Henry II of England on 19 attempted to form a treaty with his disenfranchised England had suffered greatly from the civil
December 1154. With Queen Eleanor at his side, child, but the shock of his betrayal would prove too war between its usurping leader Stephen
of Blois and the supporters of his rival,
Henry set about repairing the damage of Stephen’s much for the aging monarch.
Empress Matilda (Henry’s mother). Known
six-year reign and the civil conflict that had By his death on 6 July 1189, Henry had laid the as The Anarchy, it had nearly bankrupted the
characterised it. He was also driven by a furious groundwork for a new age of law and the judicial economy and devastated much of the land.
desire to return his ancestral homeland to the glory process by having an army of sheriffs enforce the
days of his grandfather, so he began reclaiming king’s laws across the land. Legislation was drawn Public opinion
lands and castles lost during his predecessor’s up to provide greater clarification on ownership of Despite the reforms he ultimately made to
reign, destroying those erected by his enemies, and property and the punishment of civil crimes. And legislation and the positive position he left
reforming the political strength of the kingdom. while his son Richard would eventually ruin many England in on his death in 1189, Henry II
In the turmoil of the civil war, the Scottish king, of his father’s achievements, Henry II remains one proved to be a relatively unpopular king. This
was less of a reflection on him as an individual
Malcolm, and a number of the Princes in Wales had of history’s most progressive monarchs.
monarch, but of the civil unrest the country
had endured following the death of his
grandfather Henry I.
The Great Revolt
In 1153 King Henry faced one of the greatest threats to his entire reign: the Law of the land
Great Revolt of 1173-1174. It was masterminded by some of his own sons, his wife Under Henry II’s reign, the legal system saw
and a group of rebellious barons, as well as having the full support of Scotland, something of a renaissance. Henry was keen
Flanders and France. It saw invading forces clashing with Henry’s army, but it to resolve the disputes that remained from
would be an act of public humility that would finally dismantle the uprising. On The Anarchy and pushed through legislation
the grave of Thomas Becket, his once trusted ally, Henry proclaimed the revolt that gave more power to local courts. He
to be divine penance for his past actions. The forces attempting to invade both cracked down on crime and civil unrest, which
England and Normandy remarkably fell apart soon after and the kingdom was led to the creation of General Eyre, a group of
safe once more. justices who travelled each part of the country
to resolve cases.

23
 British Royals

1189-1199

Born to royalty but educated in the charnel gutter

of war, Richard embodied the religious fanaticism of
the time in his quest to claim the fabled Holy Land

F
or almost a year the mighty city of Acre held They call this one, this man-mountain stepping
firm. Despite wave after wave of Christian off his ship onto the dusty dry shore, the Lionheart,
knights pouring all their religious fervour and and he is here to kill them all in the name of his
military might into its ancient walls, it had god and glory. The passage had been long and
held back the tide and somehow halted the painful, featuring storms, shipwrecks and a mad
progress of the foreign hordes that now threatened despot who threatened to derail the Third Crusade
to overrun the entire Near East. before it had even begun. No matter, King Richard
More and more men came; the attacks the Lionheart and his army had survived
were relentless. When the first army the trip across the Mediterranean Sea
had been held at bay, the city’s and reached the Holy Land. After
inhabitants thought they were
Despite being months of pursuit and planning,
safe, that the invasion was King of England, they were primed to fulfil their
defeated. However, then yet it’s thought that mission, Richard’s mission,
another army landed and the Richard didn’t speak God’s mission, to take the Holy
city’s main artery, its port, was Land and cut a path to the
taken. The city’s defences were English, and only holiest of all cities, Jerusalem.
tested once more, with an even spent six months in To the disgrace of all of
more ferocious attack battering his nation Christendom, Jesus’s city had
at the doors and calling for blood. fallen four years previous to the
Luckily for those within, once more Saracen Ayyubid hordes, which was
the city held off the mass of warriors, its now not only ruled by Christianity’s arch-
infidel leaders repelled. nemesis Saladin, but also defiled by their very
Then, with the new year’s sailing season, another presence within its hallowed walls. The city, which
invader arrived by sea with a fresh bloodthirsty had been safely held in Christian hands for almost
army. He was followed in May by yet another, with 100 years since the First Crusade had established
tens of thousands of soldiers joining the infidels’ the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1099, had been
camp outside the walls, swelling their numbers. ordered to be retaken by none other than the Pope
They attacked again and the losses on both sides in Rome. Richard, a devout and deeply religious
were massive. The lack of food and supplies king, had heeded the call. Here he now stood,
in the city, and the spread of disease ready to do his duty to the one true god.
within the invaders’ camp drove Conquering Acre was merely the first
both sets of warriors to extremes, step in wrestling Jerusalem from
stoking the fires of faith that lay Saladin’s grip.
within their hearts to pursue After a particularly So far the city’s capture and
bolder acts of violence. fantastic feast, Richard wider crusade had been in the
Today is the eighth day of hands of a number of other
June 1191 and, as Acre slowly
impulsively knighted leaders. These included Guy
suffocates in the oppressive his cook of Lusignan – a proud Poitevin
heat of the Levant’s summer knight and the supposed rightful
months, yet another fleet is king of Jerusalem through his
landing in the city’s once-prosperous marriage to Sibylla of Jerusalem –
port, this time with one of the biggest and King Philip II of France, who had
forces the city has ever seen. If the ruler of helped raise the ‘Saladin tithe’ to pay for the
Acre, the great Saladin, doesn’t send meaningful crusade. The Duke of Austria, Leopold V, had
reinforcements soon, the city will fall and the gates overall command of the imperial forces. There had
to the Holy Land will be wrenched open. been yet more leaders at the siege’s instigation

24
 Richard I

RICHARD
THE LIONHEART
English, 1157-1199

King of England from

the 6 July 1189 until
Brief his death, Richard I
Bio was the third of five
sons of King Henry
II of England and Eleanor of
Aquitaine. At 16, Richard took
control of his own army and
thanks to a series of victories
over rebels threatening his
father’s throne, developed a
reputation as a great military
leader. Following his father’s
death and his own coronation
he launched the Third Crusade.

25
 British Royals

Crusaders Battle of Arsuf

NUMBER OF TROOPS: 7 September 1191
A major battle in the Third
Crusade, Arsuf saw Richard
and Saladin face off 10

01

01 The Wood of Arsuf

After taking Acre, Richard set out for his
next target, Arsuf. To get there, he had
to move south along the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea and then traverse the
Wood of Arsuf, one of the few forested
regions in all of the Levant. Saladin knew 02
this and after tracking and harassing
Richard’s slow-moving baggage train and
infantry, decided the woods would be the 06
LEADER ideal position to strike.

RICHARD THE LIONHEART 07

Excellent on the battlefield, Richard the
Lionheart was a brutal killer and a gifted
tactical thinker, leading an army of religious
fanatics with ruthless efficiency.
Strength Amazing warrior and powerful
military leader.
Weakness Politically and
economically reckless as king.
02 A narrow plain
Richard, wary of an assault on his convoy,
proceeded slowly through the Wood of Arsuf, 03 Scouts at dawn
Moving out of their camp at dawn on 7
making the first 10km (6mi) without incident.
Saladin had already identified a striking September 1191, Richard’s scouts reported
Saladin’s scouts could be seen. Richard
point however – a narrow clear plain in the

KEY UNIT forest approximately 9km (5.5mi) from Arsuf. realised that this meant Saladin’s full army
Saladin intended to engage in skirmishes was nearby and started to arrange his army.
Men were deployed at the fore and rear of the
TEMPLAR KNIGHT along the length of the convoy and then hit
its rear with a decisive attack. convoy column, with the van – the foremost
The most skilled division – made up of the Knights Templar
Christian fighting unit under the command of their 11th grand
to take part in the master, Robert de Sable.
Third Crusade, the
Knights Templar were
wealthy, well-trained
and fanatical fighters,
driven by a holy 04 Saladin attacks 05 Crusader flanks hold
purpose. As soon as Richard’s convoy reached the plain Saladin’s Saladin’s chief tactic was to break the flanks of the
Strength Well- forces attacked. At the front, Saladin sent a dense swarm crusader column and ordered incursions of javelin
equipped and of skirmishers, while behind them streamed squadrons of throwers and mounted archers to perform lightning
trained in hand-to- heavy cavalry and foot and horse archers, splitting so that strikes along their flanks and retreating before crusader
hand combat. the army attacked from the centre, left and right. crossbowmen could retaliate. The flanks held, though.
Weakness Few
in number and
fanatically religious,
leading to recklessness. the summer previous but illness and disease had and, when unleashed, brought the siege into a
claimed many over the winter months, with deadly endgame.
Frederick of Swabia and even the holy Colossal boulders rained down upon
KEY WEAPON Patriarch Heraclius of Jerusalem all
passing from this mortal world into
Acre’s walls, smashing against them
with thunderous brutality. Corpses of
BROADSWORD the next. animals and Muslim soldiers littered
The most popular hand-to-hand weapon
The siege itself had stalled, so the city’s streets, spreading disease
of all Christian knight orders, including
the Knights Templar and Knights every passing week threatened to and sapping the morale of the
Hospitaller, the broadsword was a well- allow Saladin to outmanoeuvre the terrified residents. Most fearsome of
balanced and deadly weapon capable of crusaders. Richard, being the honed all though, flaming balls and arrows
stabbing and cleaving.
and experienced military leader that of
set ablaze anything that wasn’t made
Strength Great all-round weapon that Cou nte r sea l (119 5)
also allowed shield use. he was, realised this and gave orders Richard I of England
out of stone, causing panic to quickly
Weakness Could be out-ranged with for vast siege engines to be built, ones that spread among Acre’s populace. The surviving
two-handed swords and spears. could bring down the city’s walls. These engines, Muslim soldiers defended bravely, but the sheer
once completed, towered over the Christian knights carnage and chaos the machines and men of war

26

10 Ayyubid army scatters
Its right wing smashed, the Ayyubid army soon routed, scattering
back into the hills and forests south of Arsuf. Richard, realising the
pursuing knights could be ambushed in a surprise counterattack, drew
the warriors back into an orderly formation at Arsuf and ordered them
to pitch camp at the now-secure fortress. Saladin was forced to retreat
with his reputation as an invincible leader tarnished.
04
05 09
08
03
06 Hospitallers come
under attack
Saladin shifted the focus point of his
army to the rear of column, engaging
the Knights Hospitaller. Saladin
joined the assault along with his
brother to inspire his men to make a
breakthrough. Richard held the convoy
together despite some losses and
edged them toward Arsuf.
now levied on the city was too much and, after
a month of death and destruction, the remaining
Muslim garrison within the city surrendered, which
was a direct violation of Saladin’s orders.
On receiving the news of Acre’s fall, Saladin
immediately set out for the city. On his way
he received news that Richard had taken the
surrendering Muslim garrison of 2,400 men captive
and was offering their return for a ransom. Saladin,
known for his loyalty to his men and his wisdom,
agreed to the ransom, which not only included
monetary compensation but also the release of all
of his Christian prisoners.
In Acre the banners of the Kingdom of
Jerusalem, France, England and the Duchy of
Richard I
09 Templars let loose Muslims
NUMBER OF TROOPS:
Freed from the tactical order to
defend and maintain discipline, the
crusader knights took the fight to the
Saracens, unleashing their hatred and
combat prowess in one brutal wave
of death. The right wing of Saladin’s
army couldn’t sustain the assault and
collapsed almost immediately, with
Richard himself weighing into the heart
of the fighting. As a bloody revenge
for the day’s attacks was complete, the
Knights Templar set off in pursuit of
the fleeing Saracens.
08 Counterattack
slams home
Garnier de Nablus disobeyed orders
in counterattacking, but with the
Hospitaller charging, Richard knew
they needed support and ordered his
army to engage with them. The full
weight of the crusader army therefore
suddenly switched emphasis from LEADER
defence to attack, ramming into the SALADIN
Ayyubid army with immense ferocity. He attained his exalted position as leader
of the Ayyubid army and founder of the
Ayyubid dynasty and was a wise and
experienced military commander.
Strength Respected tactical thinker and
powerful politician.
Weakness Hands-off leader with little
personal combat prowess.
07 Knights break rank
Richard reached Arsuf in the middle of the afternoon, KEY UNIT
with the besieged Hospitaller vanguard retreating into the MOUNTED ARCHER
fortress city. Line discipline was finally lost and a melee The light cavalry of Saladin was feared
began. Seeing his men in trouble, the grand master of the throughout the world due to its acute
Knights Hospitaller, Garnier de Nablus, broke ranks and ability to strike quickly and at range,
charged the Saracens. with skilled marksmen riding the world’s
fastest horses.
Strength Fast units that excelled in
ambush and hit-and-run attacks.
Austria fluttered in the light breeze. With Acre Weakness Easily cut down by knights in
down, Richard knew that only the city of Jaffa hand-to-hand combat.
to the south stood in their way of making a
direct assault on Jerusalem, so he began making
preparations for the continued crusade, as well
as for the reparation of the sacked city. These
KEY WEAPON
preparations were swiftly interrupted by an
SHORT BOW
Saladin’s mamluk infantry and his light
argument that developed between the conquering cavalry units excelled in bowmanship, with
leaders as to how the city should be divided up their short bows used to swarm arrows on
and to how the spoils of their victory should be crusader forces at every opportunity.
apportioned. This quarrelling led Richard to strike Strengths Fast to fire and reload with
good stopping power.
down the Austrian standard from above the city’s
Weakness Could be outranged by the
walls, slighting Leopold, as the king of England longbow and all-but-useless in hand-to-
sided with Guy of Lusignan rather than Philip hand combat.
and Leopold over who should become king of
27
 British Royals

Lionheart’s crusade
The Third Crusade faced challenges even before reaching the Holy Land

04 Battle of Arsuf
Arsuf – 7 September 1191
Richard and the crusaders move out to
Vezelay capture Jaffa. However, Saladin intercepts
Richard near the fortress city of Arsuf,
pursuing him right up to the city, but
Richard wins the engagement.
Genoa
05 Richard bows out
Jaffa – 8 August 1192
After taking Jaffa and then launching
two failed advances on Jerusalem,
the crusaders split in two, leaving
neither capable of taking the city.
Richard finds Jaffa back in Saladin’s
hand, but reclaims it in battle.

Marseilles
01 Rome

01 A papal decree
Rome – 29 October 1187
Pope Gregory VIII decrees the fall of the
Kingdom of Jerusalem is punishment
for Christian sins, before issuing a papal
bull calling for the Third Crusade. France
and England heed the call, imposing the
‘Saladin tithe’ to fund the mission.
02 Tripoli
02 The mad despot 03 Acre under siege Acre
Cyprus – 8 May 1189 Acre – 28 August 1189 03
On his way to the Holy Land,
Richard’s fleet is hit by a storm
The prolonged siege of the
Muslim-held city and port of Acre 04
and runs aground on Cyprus. sees thousands of crusaders and
Jerusalem
The island’s despot ruler seizes
the ships, cargo and occupants.
Saracen soldiers killed. Following
the Lionheart’s arrival at the 05
Richard takes Cyprus by force, siege on 8 June 1191, the city’s
freeing the enslaved subjects. prolonged defence falters.
The city of Acre as
it looks today

Jerusalem when the city was taken. Philip and leaving in late August for their European homes.
Leopold preferred fellow crusader and Italian For Richard, though, such betrayal of faith was
nobleman Conrad of Montferrat, with Phillip so unimaginable, and after calling on the Philip to do
angry he threatened to return to Europe. right in the eyes of god, managed to persuade him
This cauldron of scheming and disagreement to leave behind 10,000 French crusaders along
was tipped over the edge when Saladin delayed with the necessary funds to pay for their upkeep.
in paying the garrison’s ransom. An already irate The Lionheart was now the central remaining
and disgruntled Richard deemed the lateness a commander of over 20,000 crusaders, knights and
massive slight and ordered every single one of the soldiers alike and, burning with glorious purpose,
garrison to be executed. Saladin reached ordered the continuation of the crusade,
the city just as the decision was made, with the bulk of the crusading army
but could only watch as man after marching out of Acre in August’s
man was publicly executed, final days. This was no doubt
their heads lopped from their The number of who was now leading this
shoulders atop the city walls. Muslim prisoners holy crusade. The city also lay a mere 65 kilometres (40 miles)
Thousands died. The enraged Richard had executed The next city on the from Jerusalem, making it the ideal coastal base
Saladin replied like-for-like, crusaders’ relentless march for crusaders. Before it could be taken, though, the
in the city of Acre
executing the 1,000 Christian to Jerusalem was Jaffa, an crusaders needed to get there in one piece. Richard
prisoners in his custody. totalled around 2,700 important port that provided knew Saladin was somewhere in the nearby
Whatever deal could conceivably passage into the southern area and, aware of his enemy’s skill in arranging
have been reached between the Mediterranean Sea. As long as Jaffa ambushes, ordered his troops to march down the
rival leaders now lay in bitter ruins, remained untaken Saladin had a Mediterranean coastline, with the baggage train
seemingly as irrevocably dead as the natural avenue to pour more of his troops protected by being nearest to the coast. This tactic
unfortunate prisoners. into the region from his impregnable stronghold prevented Saladin from attacking on one flank, as
Angered and frustrated with Richard and Guy, of Egypt, but if it fell to the crusaders Saladin Richard also got his fleet to sail down the coast
Philip and Leopold finally decided that their would be forced to move men over land, a far less in parallel with them, shutting off the sea as an
participation in the Third Crusade was at an end, effective and more time-consuming proposition. avenue of possible attack.

28
 Richard I

However, to the north of Jaffa lay the Wood of

Arsuf, one of the only forested areas in all of the
Levant. The woods ran parallel to the coastline Anatomy of a Templar knight
for over 20 kilometres (12 miles) and had to be
The key kit and weapons carried by the most elite of Christian warriors
traversed by Richard’s army if they were to reach
Jaffa. After harassing Richard’s troops with small
hit-and-run attacks within the woods, Saladin Helmet Jerkin
sanctioned a full-scale assault on the crusaders, Decapitation resistance A guaranteed chafe-free experience
which led to the largest pitched battle of the Third The great helm was the Unseen, however often critical in keeping
mainstay of the Templar a Knight Templar breathing, was the
Crusade. Saladin knew the battle would be decisive,
Order and offered excellent haubergeon, a padded jerkin that sat against
but couldn’t possibly have foreseen how disastrous his skin. The jerkin extended over much
protection against blows,
for him it would be. As the Sun went down on 7 as did the sugarloaf of the upper body and was the last line
September 1191 the Saracen army had been routed helmet. Due to narrow of defence from enemy blows. In colder
in a decisive counterattack led by Richard’s Knights viewing corridors and high climates, it also helped keep the warrior
Hospitaller. Saladin retreated to regroup what was temperatures experienced warm – not an issue in the Holy Land.
left of his battered army and lick his wounds. in the Holy Land, many
opted for more lightweight
The crusaders made a beeline for Jaffa, swiftly
alternatives with open faces.
besieging and taking it. Despite some disagreement
with the other crusader leaders, Richard – with
Jerusalem almost in sight – decided to open
negotiations with his enemy. Saladin,
who was being questioned by some
of his subjects following the defeat
Around 8,000
at Arsuf, agreed to the negotiations
and sent his brother, Al-Adil to Jaffa English knights and
to lead the talks. Despite headway soldiers journeyed to
being made – at one time Richard’s the Holy Land for the
sister Joan was being talked about
as a potential bride for Al-Adil with
Crusades
Jerusalem as a wedding gift – the talks
ultimately broke down.
The breakdown of the talks caused unrest
in the crusader ranks, with arguments arising
about the best way to proceed toward their goal. Broadsword
Richard, growing tired of the constant in-fighting, Designed to hack and slash
acted decisively and ordered the army to move As standard for western Surcoat
on Jerusalem in November, first moving through knights, the typical Knight It ain’t half hot in
Templar was armed with a the Holy Land
Ascalon and then Latrun. The Christian army was Above the knight’s
broadsword, however when
soon at Beit Nuba, a mere 20 kilometres (12 miles) fighting on horseback spears chainmail sat the
from Jerusalem. The news quickly spread of the were also used. Sometimes, visible surcoat. This
crusaders’ progress and the morale in the Muslim two-handed broadswords white garment not
garrisons within the city crumbled. Saladin’s forces were opted for while only kept the Sun off
fighting on foot, but while their metal armour,
had been crushed, Acre, Arsuf and Jaffa taken and
they granted extra reach also displayed the
Jerusalem looked set to be next. Victory for the symbols of the Order.
and cleaving power, they left
Third Crusade seemed inevitable. the knight shieldless.
At this vital point hesitation crept into the
crusader ranks, though. Saladin had proven
himself a worthy and tricky foe and, not knowing
the extent to which his forces had been depleted,
Richard feared that a retaliation attack, most likely

“Saladin could only

watch as man after Chainmail
Thy enemy’s blade shall not pass
Shield
The first and best line of defence
man was publicly The primary form of defence against
enemy strikes, the hauberk, a long-
Adorned with the Christian cross of their
order, the Templar shield was large and
executed, their sleeved shirt of chainmail fitted with
chain covers for the hands and a
long, with a teardrop design protecting
their entire torso and upper legs. It was
heads lopped from chain coif hood for the head, was a
knight’s armour. The chainmail would
constructed from wood and had a metal
rim, the latter helping to protect against it

their shoulders atop be partnered with iron chausses to

protect their legs.
splitting under the weight of sword blows.
It had a leather handgrip at the rear.

the city walls’”

29
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
she was buried near the door of the same church, and a tomb was
erected over her sepulchre, from whence this record is taken.

XVIII.

The following account of reanimation is extracted

from the first volume of the Causes Célebres, and
was the subject of a serious law suit in Paris.
Two men in trade, who lived in the street, St. Honoré, in Paris,
nearly equal in circumstances, both following the same profession,
and united in the closest friendship, had each of them a child, much
about the same age. These children were brought up together, and
conceived a mutual attachment, which ripening with years into a
stronger and more lively sentiment, was approved by the parents on
both sides. This young couple was upon the point of being made
happy, by a more solid union, when a rich financier, conceiving a
passion for the young maiden, unfortunately crossed their
inclinations, by demanding her in marriage. The allurements of a
more brilliant fortune, seduced her father and mother,
notwithstanding their daughter’s repugnance to consent to the
change. To their entreaties, however, she was obliged to yield, and
sacrificed her affections, by becoming the wife of the financier. Like a
woman of virtue, she forbad her earlier lover the house. A fit of
melancholy, the consequence of this violence done to her
inclinations, by entering into an engagement of interest, brought on
her a malady, which so far benumbed her faculties, that she was
thought by all her friends to be dead, and was accordingly consigned
to the grave. The former lover conceiving, and hoping what he had
heard of her death, might only prove a syncope, or fit of lethargy, (as
she had been before subject to those complaints) bribed the grave-
digger, to convey the body to his house in the night time. He then
used every means recommended for restoring suspended animation;
and at length was overjoyed at finding his efforts prove effectual.
 It is not easy to conceive the surprise the young woman was in on
her resuscitation, when she found herself in a strange house, and as
it were in the arms of her lover, who informed her of what had taken
place, and the risk he had run on her account. She then
comprehended the extent of her obligation to her deliverer, and love,
more pathetic than all his persuasions to unite their destinies,
determined her, on her recovery to escape with him into England:
where they lived for some years in the closest union.
At the end of ten years, they conceived the natural wish of
revisiting their own country, and at length returned to Paris, where
they took no precaution whatever, of concealing themselves, being
persuaded that no suspicion would attend their arrival. It happened
however by chance, that the financier met his wife in one of the
public walks. The sight of her, made so strong an impression on him,
that the persuasion of her death could not efface it. He contrived it so
as to join her, and notwithstanding, the language which she used to
impose upon him, he left her with the conviction that he was not
deceived.
The strangeness of this event, gave more charms to the woman in
the eyes of her former husband, than she had for him before. He
acted with such address, that he discovered her abode,
notwithstanding all her precautions, and reclaimed her with all the
regular formalities of justice.
It was in vain that the lover maintained the right which his cares for
his mistress gave him to the possession of her: that he represented
her inevitable death, but for him: that he ought even to be accused of
homicide, for want of having taken proper precautions to assure
himself of her death, and a thousand other ingenious reasons which
love suggested to him, but without the desired effect. He found that
the judicial ear was against him, and not thinking it expedient to wait
the result of a definitive judgment, he fled with his mistress into a
foreign country, where they passed the remainder of their days,
without further molestation.
We have before observed that several persons reputed dead, had
exhibited signs of life under the blade of the Anatomist, and had
consequently deceived the judgment of the surgeon who regarded
them as defunct. Hence it follows, that apparent death often carries
with it the exterior characters of real death; that men of the faculty
may be deceived, and much more so those who are less instructed;
hence it follows likewise that for the good of humanity it is
indispensible that a regulation should be adopted, which would save
us from the dreadful horrors of so cruel an event.

XIX.
It is well known what happened to the celebrated Vesabe,
successive physician to Charles V. and to Philip II. of Spain, his son.
Being persuaded that a Spanish Nobleman whom he attended was
really dead, he asked the permission of opening him, which was
granted. But he had scarcely plunged the instrument into the body of
the unfortunate man, when he remarked some signs of returning life.
In effect, he found, on opening his bosom, the heart still palpitating.
The relations of the deceased, informed of the accident, were not
satisfied with pursuing him as a murderer; they dragged him, as a
man guilty of sacrilege, before the tribunal of the Inquisition.
As the fault was notorious, the judges of this tribunal were for
condemning him to the punishment attached to the impiety. But
fortunately for him, the King of Spain, by his authority and entreaties,
delivered him from this certain danger, on condition of his expiating
his crime by a voyage to the holy-land. But the unfortunate Vesabe
did not long enjoy the pardon which he thus obtained. The Venetian
senate having sent for him to fill the place of Falloppe, a violent
tempest overtook him on his passage, and cast him on the island of
Zante, where after wandering about for several days in the deserts,
and suffering all the rigours of hunger, he ended his life deplorably in
1564, at the age of fifty eight.

XX.
 We are informed in a treatise by Terilli, that a lady of distinction in
Spain, being attacked with hysteric suffocations, was regarded as
dead. Her relations applied to a celebrated Anatomist to open her,
and acquaint himself more particularly with the cause of her death.
At the second stroke of his knife she revived, and gave evident signs
of life, by the cries that were forced from her by this fatal instrument.
The dreadful spectacle excited such astonishment and horror in
those present, that this physician, who had hitherto enjoyed the
fairest reputation, abhorred now, and detested by every one, was
compelled to quit not only the city, where this tragedy was acted, but
even the very province itself, in order to withdraw himself from the
effects of public indignation.

XXI.
Acilius Aviola was (according to Pliny) concluded dead, both by his
domestics and physicians; he was accordingly laid out upon the
ground for some time, and then carried forth to his funeral pile: but
as soon as the flames began to catch his body, he cried out that he
was alive, imploring the assistance of his schoolmaster, who was the
only person that had tarried by him: but it was too late; for
encompassed with flames, he was dead before he could be
succoured.

XXII.
Plato tells us of Erus Armenius being slain in battle, among many
others; when they came to take up the dead bodies upon the tenth
day after, they found, that though all the other carcases were putrid,
this of his was entire and uncorrupted; they therefore carried it home,
that it might have the just and due funeral rites performed to it. Two
days they kept it at home in that state, and on the twelfth day, he
was carried out to the funeral pile; and being ready to be laid upon it,
he returned to life, to the admiration of all that were present. He
declared several strange and prodigious things, which he had seen
and known, during all that time that he had remained in the state of
the dead.

XXIII.
One of the noble family of the Tatoreidi, being seized with the
plague in Burgundy, was supposed to die thereof, and was put into a
coffin to be carried to the sepulchres of his ancestor, which were
distant from that place some four German miles. Night coming on,
the corpse was disposed in a barn, and there attended by some
rustics. These perceived a great quantity of fresh blood to drain
through the chinks of the coffin; whereupon they opened it, and
found that the body was wounded by a nail that was driven into the
shoulder through the coffin; and that the wound was much torn by
the jogging of the chariot he was carried in; but withal, they
discovered that the natural heat had not left his breast. They took
him out, and laid him before the fire: he recovered as out of a deep
sleep, ignorant of all that had passed. He afterwards married a wife,
by whom he had a daughter; married afterwards to Huldericus a
Psirt; from his daughter came Sigismundus a Psirt, chief Pastor of
St. Mary’s Church in Basil.

XXIV.
In the year 1650 Anne Green was tried at Oxford, before Serjeant
Umpton Croke, for the murder of her bastard child, and by him
sentenced to be hanged; which sentence was accordingly executed
on the fourteenth day of December, in the Castle-Yard, Oxford,
where she hung about half an hour, being pulled by the legs, and,
after all, had several strokes given her on the stomach with the butt
end of a musket. Being cut down, she was put into a coffin, and
carried to a house to be dissected; where when they opened the
coffin, notwithstanding the rope remained fast jammed round her
neck, they perceived her breast to rise: whereupon one Mason, a
tailor, intending an act of humanity, stamped on her breast and belly;
and one Oran, a soldier, struck her with the butt end of his musket.
After all this, when Sir William Patty, Dr. Willis, and Mr. Clarke, came
to prepare the body for dissection, they perceived some small rattling
in her throat, which induced them to desist from their original design,
and began to use means for her recovery; in which they were so
successful, that within fourteen hours she began to speak, and the
next day talked and prayed very heartily. Nor did the humanity of the
Doctors stop, till by obtaining a pardon for her, they secured that life,
which their skill had restored. She was afterwards married, had three
children, lived in good repute among her neighbours, at Steeple-
Barton, and died in 1659. What was very remarkable, and
distinguished the hand of Providence in her recovery, she was found
to be innocent of the crime for which she suffered; and it appeared
the child had never been alive, but came from her spontaneously,
four months after conception.

XXV.
In the year 1658, Elizabeth, the servant of one Mrs. Cope, of
Magdalen parish, Oxford, was convicted of killing her bastard child,
and was according hanged at Green-ditch, where she hung so long,
that one of the by-standers said, if she was not dead, he would be
hanged for her. When cut down, the gallows being very high, she fell
with such violence to the ground, that seemed sufficient of itself to
have killed her. After this, she was put in a coffin, and carried to the
George Inn, in Magdalen parish; where signs of life being observed
in her, she was blooded, and put to bed to a young woman; by which
means she came to herself, and, to all appearance, might have lived
many years: but the next night, she was, by the order of one Mallony,
a bailiff of the city, barbarously dragged to Gloucester Green, and
there was hanged upon a tree, till she was dead.

XXVI.
In the year 1797, a fine boy, about nine years old, son of Mr.
Baldock, Surgeon and Apothecary, at Burwash, in Sussex, had the
misfortune to fall into a pond of water, about twenty roods from his
father’s house, wherein he soon sunk to the bottom, and there
remained at least a quarter of an hour, before any one went to his
assistance. By the time he was taken out, the father had arrived at
the spot, where he found his son to all appearance dead, his face
having turned quite black, and his pulsation totally left him; he,
however, took up the body, and carried it home, losing no time in
stripping off the wet cloaths, and getting it into a warm bed. He next
proceeded to wipe the skin quite dry with napkins, and afterwards to
rub the body well with hot cloths. Mr. and Mrs. B. continued the
stimulating process for a full hour, without the smallest prospect of
success; they nevertheless persevered, and soon afterwards had the
happiness to discover some small symptoms of returning life, from
the emission of a very feeble groan. This encouraged them to
redouble their exertions; and though they proved wholly ineffectual
for more than another hour; during which time the body appeared as
a corpse before them, they did not relax in their efforts; and, at the
expiration of two hours and an half, they brought the vital functions
into more visible action, which first appeared by a sort of convulsive
motion in one hand. The next favourable symptoms discovered,
were a little motion in one foot, an inward crying, and a very languid
pulse. The return of animation was now more rapid, and apparently
very painful; for the poor boy first cried low, and presently after very
loud; his eyes, which were naturally prominent, on a sudden burst
wide open, and appeared very red and full of terror. After this, he
was taken out of bed, and put breast high, into water blood warm, in
which situation he appeared calm for about ten minutes, when he
again cried, but not so strong as before. Being taken out of the bath,
(where the friction was still kept up with the hand) wiped dry, and put
again into a warm bed, he was soon after perceived to breathe,
though very quick and feeble. Having in some degree recovered his
senses, he spoke a few words imperfectly; but his speech soon
became more perfect; and having swallowed a trifling potion his
father administered to him, he complained of great pain in his
stomach and bowels, which was soon relieved by an embrocation,
volatile, oily, and anodyne. The next night he got rest by the help of a
cordial anodyne; but it was a fortnight before he wholly recovered.
 We have been particular in stating the above facts, from an idea
that the knowledge of them may prove useful in similar accidents,
and indeed in all cases of suspended animation.

XXVII.
Doctor Tissot mentions an instance of a girl who was restored to
life, after she had been taken out of the water, swelled, bloated, and
to all appearance dead, by laying her naked body upon hot ashes,
covering her with others equally hot, putting a bonnet round her
head, and a stocking round her neck, stuffed with the same, and
heaping coverings over all. After she had remained half an hour in
this situation, her pulse returned, she recovered her speech, and
cried out, I freeze, I freeze; a little cherry brandy was given her, and
she remained buried, as it were, under the ashes for eight hours.
Afterwards she was taken out, without any other complaint, except
that of lassitude or weariness, which went off in a few days. The
Doctor mentions likewise an instance of a man who was restored to
life, after he had remained six hours under water, by the heat of a
dung-hill.

XXVIII.
Doctor Alexander mentions an instance of a man, who was to all
appearance killed by a blow on the breast, but recovered on being
immersed for some time in warm water. These, and many other
instances of a similar nature, amount to a full proof of this fact, that
many of those unhappy persons who lose their lives, by falls, blows,
and other accidents, might be saved by the use of proper means
duly persisted in.

XXIX.
Mr. Tossach, Surgeon at Alloa, relates the case of a man
suffocated by the steam of burning coal, who he recovered by
blowing his breath into the patient’s mouth, bleeding him in the arm,
and causing him to be well rubbed and tossed about.
And Doctor Frewen, of Sussex, mentions the case of a young man
who was stupified by the smoke of sea coal, but was recovered by
being plunged into cold water, and afterwards laid in a warm bed.

XXX.
Even in old age, when life seems to have been gradually drawing
to a close, the appearances of death are often fallacious.
A Lady in Cornwall, more than eighty years of age, who had been
a considerable time declining, took to her bed, and in a few days
seemingly expired in the morning. As she had often desired not to be
buried till she had been two days dead, her request was to have
been regularly complied with by her relations. All that saw her looked
upon her as dead, and the report was current through the whole
place; nay, a gentleman of the town actually wrote to his friend in the
island of Scilly, that she was deceased. But one of those who were
paying the last kind office of humanity to her remains, perceived
some warmth about the middle of the back; and acquainting her
friends with it, they applied a mirror to her mouth; but, after repeated
trials, could not observe it in the least stained; her under jaw was
likewise fallen, as the common phrase is; and, in short, she had the
appearance of a dead person. All this time she had not been
stripped or dressed; but the windows were opened as is usual in the
chambers of the deceased. In the evening the heat seemed to
increase, and at length she was perceived to breathe.

XXXI.
Monsieur Janin, of the Royal College of Surgery at Paris, relates,
that a Nurse having had the misfortune to overlay a child, he was
called in, and found the infant without any signs of life; no pulsation
in the arteries, no respiration, the face livid, the eyes open, dull, and
tarnished, the nose full of snivel, the mouth gaping, in short, it was
almost cold. Whilst some linen clothes and a parcel of ashes were
warming, he had the boy unswathed, and laid him in a warm bed,
and on the right side. He was there rubbed all over with fine linen, for
fear of fretting his tender and delicate skin. As soon as the ashes
had received their due degree of heat, Mr. Janin buried him in them,
except the face, placed him on the side opposite to that on which he
had been at first laid, and covered him with a blanket. He had a
bottle of Eau de luce in his pocket, which he presented to his nose
from time to time; and between whiles some puffs of tobacco were
blown up his nostrils: to these succeeded the blowing into his mouth,
and squeezing tight his nose. Animal heat began thus to be excited
gradually: the pulsations of the temporal artery were soon felt, the
breathing became more frequent and free, and the eyes closed and
opened alternately. At length the child fetched some cries expressive
of his want of the breast, which being applied to his mouth, he
catched at it with avidity, and sucked, as if nothing had happened to
him. Though the pulsations of the arteries were by this time very well
re-established, and it was hot weather, yet Monsieur Janin thought it
adviseable to leave his little patient three quarters of an hour longer
under the ashes. He was afterwards taken out, cleaned and dressed
as usual; to which a gentle sleep succeeded, and he continued
perfectly well.

XXXII.
Mr. Glover, Surgeon in Doctor’s Commons, London, relates the
case of a person who was restored to life after twenty nine minutes
hanging, and continued in good health for many years after.
The principal means used to restore this man to life were opening
the temporal artery and the external jugular; rubbing the back,
mouth, and neck, with a quantity of volatile spirits and oil;
administering the tobacco clyster by means of lighted pipes, and
strong frictions of the legs and arms. This course had been
continued for about four hours, when an incission was made into the
wind pipe, and air blown strongly through a canula into the lungs.
About twenty minutes after this the blood at the artery began to run
down the face, and a slow pulse was just perceptible at the wrist.
The frictions were continued for some time longer; his pulse became
more frequent, and his mouth and nose being irritated with spirit of
salammoniac, he opened his eyes. Warm cordials were then
administered to him, and in two days he was so well as to be able to
walk eight miles.

XXXIII.
In the parish of St. Clements in Colchester, a child of six months
old, lying upon its mother’s lap, having had the breast, was seized
with a strong convulsion fit, which lasted so long, and ended with so
total a privation of motion in the body, lungs, and pulse, that it was
deemed absolutely dead. It was accordingly stripped, laid out, the
passing bell, ordered to be tolled, and a coffin to be made; but a
neighbouring gentlewoman who used to admire the child, hearing of
its sudden death, hastened to the house, and upon examining the
child, found it not cold, its joints limber, and fancied that a glass she
held to its mouth and nose was a little damped with the breath; upon
which, she took the child in her lap, sat down before the fire, rubbed
it, and kept it in gentle agitation. In a quarter of an hour she felt the
heart begin to beat faintly; she then put a little of the mother’s milk
into its mouth, continued to rub its palms and soles; found the child
begin to move, and the milk was swallowed; and in another quarter
of an hour, she had the satisfaction of restoring to its disconsolate
mother the babe quite recovered, eager to lay hold of the breast, and
able to suck again. The child throve, had no more fits, is grown up,
and at present alive, i. e. 1803.
These means, which are certainly in the power of every person,
were sufficient to restore to life an infant to all appearance dead, and
who in all probability, but for the use of these simple endeavours
would have remained so. There are however, many other things
which might be done in case the above should not succeed; as
rubbing the body with strong spirits, covering it with warm ashes or
salt, blowing air into the lungs, throwing up warm stimulating
clysters, or the smoke of tobacco into the intestines, and such like.
 When children are dead born, or expire soon after the birth, the
same means ought to be used for their recovery, as if they had
expired in circumstances similar to those mentioned above.
These directions may likewise be extended to adults, attention
being always paid to the age and other circumstances.

The foregoing cases and observations afford sufficient proof of the

success which may attend the endeavours of persons totally
ignorant of medicine, in assisting those who are suddenly deprived
of life by any accident or disease. Many facts of a similar nature
might be adduced, were it necessary, but these, it is hoped, will be
sufficient to call up the attention of the public, and to excite the
humane and benevolent to exert their utmost endeavour for the
preservation of their fellow creatures.
In short, not only the ordinary signs are very uncertain, but we may
say the same of the stiffness of the limbs, which may be convulsive;
of the dilation of the pupil of the eye, which may proceed from the
same cause; of putrefaction, which may equally attack some parts of
a living body, and of several others. Haller, convinced of the
uncertainty of all these signs, proposes a new one, which he
considers as infallible.—“If the person (says he) be still in life, the
mouth will immediately shut of itself, because the contraction of the
muscles of the jaw will awaken their irritability.” The jaw however,
may be deprived of its irritability though a man may not be dead. Life
is preserved a long time in the passage of the intestines. The sign
pointed out by Dr. Fothergill appears to deserve more attention.—“If
the air blown into the mouth, (says this physician) passes freely
through all the alimentary channels, it affords a strong presumption,
that the irritability of the internal sphincters is destroyed, and
consequently that life is at an end.”—These signs, which deserve to
be confirmed by new experiments, are doubtless not known to
Undertakers.
 The difficulty of distinguishing a person apparently dead from one
who is really so, has, in all countries where bodies have been
interred too precipitately, rendered it necessary for the law to assist
humanity. Of several regulations made on this subject, we shall
quote only a few of the most recent; such as those of Arras, in 1772;
of Mantua, in 1774; of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, in 1775; of the
Senuhausée of Sivrai, in Poitore, in 1777; and of the Parliament of
Metz in the same year. To give an idea of the rest, it will be sufficient
to relate only that of Tuscany. By this edict, the Grand Duke forbids
the precipitate interment of persons who dies suddenly. He orders
the magistrates of health to be informed, that physicians and
surgeons may examine the body; that they may use every
endeavour to recal it to life, if possible, or to discover the cause of its
death; and that they shall make a report of their procedure to a
certain tribunal. On this occasion, the magistrate of health orders the
dead not to be covered until the moment they are about to be buried,
except so far as decency requires; observing always, that the body
be not closely confined, and that nothing may compress the jugular
veins and the carotid arteries. He forbids people to be interred
according to the ancient method; and requires that the arms, and the
hands, should be left extended, and that they should not be folded or
placed cross-wise upon the breast. He forbids, above all, to press
the jaws one against the other; or to fill the mouth and nostrils with
cotton, or other stuffing. And lastly, he recommends not to cover the
visage with any kind of cloth, until the body is deposited in its coffin.
We shall conclude this article by subjoining, from Dr. Hawes’s
Address to the Public on this subject, a few of the cases in which this
fallacious appearance of death is most likely to happen, together
with the respective modes of treatment which he recommends.
In apoplectic and fainting fits, and in those arising from any violent
agitation of mind, and also when opium or spirituous liquors have
been taken in too great a quantity, there is reason to believe that the
appearance of death has been frequently mistaken for the reality. In
these cases, the means recommended by the Humane Society for
the recovery of drowned persons, should be persevered in for
several hours; and bleeding, which in similar circumstances has
sometimes proved pernicious, should be used with great caution. In
the two latter instances, it will be highly expedient, with a view of
counteracting the soporific effects of opium and spirits, to convey
into the stomach, by a proper tube, a solution of tartar emetic, and by
various other means, to excite vomiting.
From the number of children carried off by convulsions, and the
certainty arising from undoubted facts, that some who have in
appearance died from that cause have been recovered; there is the
greatest reason for concluding, that many, in consequence of this
disease, have been prematurely numbered among the dead; and
that the fond parent, by neglecting the means of recalling life, has
often been the guiltless executioner of her own offspring. To prevent
the commission of such dreadful mistakes, no child, whose life has
been apparently extinguished by convulsions, should be consigned
to the grave, till the means of recovery above recommended in
apoplexies, &c. have been tried; and, if possible, under the direction
of some skilful practitioner of medicine, who may vary them as
circumstances shall require.
When fevers arise in weak habits, or when the cure of them has
been principally attempted by means of depletion, the consequent
debility is often very great, and the patient sometimes, sinks into a
state which bears so close an affinity to that of death, that there is
reason to suspect it has too often deceived the by-standers, and
induced them to send for the undertaker, when they should have had
recourse to medicine. In such cases, volatiles, eau de luce for
example, should be applied to the nose, rubbed on the temples, and
sprinkled often about the bed; hot flannels, moistened with a strong
solution of camphorated spirit may likewise be applied over the
breast, and renewed every quarter of an hour; and as soon as the
patient is able to swallow, a tea spoonful of the strongest cordial
should be given every five minutes.
The same methods may also be used with propriety, in the small
pox, when the pustules sink, and death apparently ensues; and
likewise in any other acute disease, when the vital functions are
suspended from a similar cause.
 ACCOUNT
Of the various
MODES OF BURYING THE DEAD,
ADOPTED BY DIFFERENT NATIONS.

The primitive Christians buried their dead after the manner of the
Jews. They first washed, then embalmed them, spending, (says
Tertullian,) more perfumes, and aromatic gums, upon such
occasions, than the heathens did in their sacrifices. They wrapt the
corpse in fine linen, or silk, and sometimes put them on rich habits.
They then laid them forth for the space of three days, during which
they constantly attended the dead body, and passed the time in
watching and praying by it. Then they carried it to the grave, with
torches and flambeaus, singing psalms and hymns to the praise of
God, and in testimony of their hopes of the resurrection. They
recommended the dead likewise in their prayers, received the
communion, and made their Agapæ, or love feasts, with the
distribution of other charities for the poor.
At the end of the year, they made a fresh commemoration for
them, and so from year to year; beside the standing commemoration
for the dead, always joined with the eucharist, they frequently put
into the grave several things, as marks of honour to the deceased, or
to preserve his memory; such as the badges of his dignity, the
instruments and acts of his martyrdom, an epitaph, or at least his
name: and sometimes they threw in medals, laurel leaves, some
crosses, and the gospel. And whereas the heathens, built stately
tombs for their dead, either by the sides of great roads, or in the
open fields; the Christians, on the contrary, disposed of their
deceased, either after the common way of interment, or laying them
in vaults under ground; such were the catacombs near Rome.—They
had anciently, a religious ambition to be buried near the bodies of
martyrs, and this is that which, at last, brought so many graves and
tombs into the churches; which were frequently erected over the
graves of martyrs: this was the occasion of burying in churches; for a
long time it was the custom to bury the dead no where but without
the walls of cities.
As to the old Greeks, after they had closed the eyes of the
deceased, they used to make a great noise with a sort of bell, done
as it is supposed either to scare away the furies and hobgoblins, or
else to wake the person, in case he was only in a lethargy or
apoplectic fit. Afterwards they put a piece of money into his mouth, to
pay his passage over the Styx, giving him likewise a piece of meat to
put Cerberus in good humour: they then put a bandage, or little scarf
over his eyes, and his face was covered to his chin with cloth. This
office was to be performed by the nearest relations, who were
likewise obliged to wash the body with warm water and anoint it. This
was properly the business of women. The corpse was likewise wrapt
in fresh linen, or new cloth, made into a sort of straight gown. The
body was afterwards crowned with chaplets, to intimate the
deceased had conquered the misfortunes of this life. They likewise
put some sweetmeats into his mouth, which was part of the
entertainment of the Olympionces. The funeral being thus far
prepared, they placed the corpse at the gate of the house, which
was a sort of laying in state.
The day after, before sun-rise, the Greeks used to carry the corpse
to the funeral pile. The expence upon this occasion, though
moderate at first, grew afterwards to a great excess; therefore Solon
made a sumptuary law, to oblige the Athenians to frugality. The
relations used to attend the corpse to the funeral pile; women under
three score years of age, unless pretty near related, were not
permitted to come into the house where the corpse lay; however all
of that sex were allowed to accompany the body to the place of
sepulchre: at the latter end of the solemnity the company had a treat
at the expence of the relations, at which time, if the deceased had
done any thing remarkable, it was set forth in a speech; which
privilege was afterwards granted to none but those who died in the
field, for their country, or such as were buried at the charge of the
state, which in such cases was done in the Ceramicus.
It was a custom among the Greeks, to bury persons of the best
quality in raised grounds, till, at last, there were two public burying
places appointed by the state, called Ceramici, one within, and the
other without the wall. In the first of which, those who died in the
field, were buried. If any person happened to die on their travels, or
in another country, their way was to anoint the corpse with honey, to
preserve it from putrefaction, till they could bring it home. And
sometimes they wrapt them alive, in cerecloth for the same purpose.
The Egyptians of which we shall speak more fully hereafter, used
to embalm their dead with a composition made of wine and
odoriferous drugs, such as myrrh, cinnamon, cedar, &c. This
embalming was a whole month in finishing, it being necessary to
repeat the aromatic gums under the corpse a great many times.
Herodotus observes, that the Egyptians used to dress the corpse in
the same habit that the person wore, and put it into a transparent
glass coffin.
The Romans paid the last offices to the dead, in the following
manner: after they had closed the eyes of the dead, they called out
to him several times, to see if he was not fallen into a swoon, or
lethargical distemper.—After this, they washed the corpse with warm
water, and rubbed it with perfumes. This being done, they put a sort
of white gown upon him, and brought him to the door with his feet to
the street, then they stuck branches of cypress before the house.
This ceremony continued seven days, and upon the eighth they
carried the corpse to the place where it was to be burnt: amongst
people of fortune, the bier, or coffin, was generally carried by
relations: and at the funerals of Emperors and Consuls; the
Senators, and Magistrates of the Republic did this office; but the
common people were carried by Vespillones, or common bearers.
When persons of high blood, or who were eminent for posts in
government, or remarkable actions, were brought to the pile, the
distinctions of their quality were carried before the coffin, as the
consular fasces, the sword and mace, their ancestors in wax work,
the plunder they had gained upon the enemy, the civic, mural, &c.
crowns which they had deserved, and every thing else that might
add to their figure. Servius observes, that in the beginning of the
Republic, they buried their dead in their houses: but by a law of the
twelve tables, it was forbidden either to bury, or burn any corpse
within the city of Rome; but afterwards, the vestal virgins, and
Emperors had a privilege of exception; as for other people they were
either interred in the highways, or in their ground, out of the town. At
the burning of the corpse, they laid it fast upon a pile of wood, of
pines, yew, and other resembling trees, which lay one upon another
in the figure of an altar. The corpse being dressed, and sprinkled
with rich liquors, lay in a coffin, made on purpose, with his face
upwards, and a piece of silver in his mouth to pay Charon for his
fare. The pile was surrounded with cypress, an embalm of grief and
death; after this some of the nearest relations, turning their back to
the pile, set fire to it with a torch, which they held behind them; and
the fire being lighted, they threw in the clothes, arms, and other rich
goods, which the deceased person had the greatest fancy for. When
the corpse was burnt, they wetted the bones and the ashes with milk
and wine, and then put them into an urn, which they buried in a
sepulchre for that purpose. Before this urn, they set a little altar,
where they burnt perfumes.
Their mourning lasted ten months, which was Romulus’s year; but
it was possible to shorten this term by some public success of the
state, or any extraordinary good fortune, which happened to a
private family.

Account of the opening of the Tomb of King

Edward I. in Westminster Abbey, 467 years after
its Interment.
The following interesting account of the effect produced by the
mode of preservation, which, for many centuries, has been made
use of upon the bodies of royal personages, will it is presumed, be
found not unacceptable to our readers. It is extracted from Sir
Joseph Ayloffe’s account of the opening of the Tomb of Edward the
First, in Westminster Abbey 467 years after its interment. After
describing the manner of opening the tomb and coffin, which was
done with the utmost care, in the presence of the Reverend Doctor
Thomas, then Dean of Westminster, two of the prebends, and the
President of the Antiquarian Society, the writer says,
“On lifting up the lid, the royal corpse was found wrapped up within
a large square mantle of strong, course, and thick linen cloth,
diapered, of a dull, pale, yellowish brown colour, and waxed on its
under side.”
The head and face were entirely covered with a sudarium, or face
cloth, of crimson sarsenet, the substance whereof was so much
perished, as to have a cobweb-like face, and the appearance of fine
lint. The sudarium was formed into three folds. When the folds of the
external wrapper were thrown back, and the sudarium removed, the
corpse was discovered, richly habited, adorned with ensigns of
royalty, and almost entire, notwithstanding the length of time that it
had been entombed. Its innermost covering seemed to have been a
very fine linen cerecloth, dressed close to every part of the body, and
superinduced with such accuracy and exactness, that the fingers
and thumbs of both the hands had each of them a separate and
distinct envelope of that material. The face, which had a similar
covering, closely fitted thereto, retained its exact form, although part
of the flesh appeared to be somewhat wasted. It was of a dark
brown, or chocolate colour, approaching to black, as were the hands
and fingers. The chin and lips were entire, but without any beard;
and a sinking or dip, between the chin and underlip, was very
conspicuous. Both the lips were prominent, the nose short, as if
shrunk; but the apertures of the nostrils were visible. There was an
unusual fall, or cavity, on that part of the bridge of the nose which
separates the orbits of the eyes; and some globular substance,
possibly the fleshy part of the eye-balls, was moveable in their
sockets, under the envelope. Below the chin, and under jaw, was
lodged a quantity of black dust, which had neither smell nor
coherence; but, whether the same had been flesh or spices, could
not be ascertained. One of the joints of the middle finger of the right
hand was loose, but those of the left hand were quite perfect. The
corpse, from the waist downward, was covered with a large piece of
rich figured cloth of gold, which was loose over the lower part of the
tunic, thighs, legs and feet, and tucked down behind the soles of the
latter. There did not remain any appearance of gloves; but, on the
back of each hand, and just below the knuckle of the middle finger,
lay a quatre-soil, of the same metal as those in the stole (i.e. of
fillagree work, in metal gilt, elegantly chased in figure.) The feet, with
their toes, soles, and heels, seemed to be perfectly entire; but,
whether they have sandals on them, or not, is uncertain, as the cloth
tucked over them was not removed. On measuring the body by a
rod, quadrated into inches, divided into quarters, it appeared to be
exactly six feet and two inches in length.

The following remarkable fact is translated from

the Imperial Gazette of Petersburg, dated
December 17th, 1798.
“In 1796, a coffin was found at the Convent of Sumovin, in the city
of Trotma, in the eparchy of Volgoda, containing a corpse, in the
habit of a Monk. It had been interred in 1568, yet was in a state of
perfect preservation, as were also the garments. From the letters
embroidered on them, it was found to be the body of the most
memorable Feodose Sumovin, founder and superior of the Convent,
and who had been acknowledged as a saint during his life, for the
miracles he had performed.”
The Emperor Paul, on hearing this report caused the following
proclamation to be issued.
“We Paul, &c. having been certified by a special report of the most
holy synod, of the discovery that has been made in the Convent of