"The Sconce-bearer, who held wax tapers when the king fat in the hall, and carried them before him when he retired to his chamber. "The Steward to the Queen; this officer was also her tafter. He fuperintended her domeftics, and was entertained at her table.

"The Queen's Chaplain, who was also her fecretary, and received a fee for every grant or inftrument which bore her feal. He was alfo entertained in her dining apartment, and fat oppofite to her at table. He was entitled by his office to the penitential robes which the queen wore during Lent. He lodged together with the king's chaplain, in the sacriftan's house.

The Master of the Horfe to the Queen, was in several respects upon the fame footing with the king's officer of the fame name.

The Queen's Chamberlain, tranfacted every bufinefs between her apartment and the hall, and kept her wardrobe. His lodging was near the royal chamber, that he might be at hand whenever he

was wanted.

"The Woman of the Queen's chamber, whose office it was to fleep fo near her miftrefs as to be able to hear her speak though in a whifper. She was entitled to the queen's linen, hair-laces, fhoes, bridles, and faddles, when they were laid afide.

"The Door-keeper to the queen, lodged in the gate-house. "The Queen's Cook. "The Queen's Sconce bearer. "The Groom of the Rein, who when the mafter of the horse was abfent, fupplicd his place. He led the king's horfe to and from the fables, brought out his arms, held his ftirrup when he mounted or difmounted, and ran by his fide as his page,

"An officer to fupport the king's feet at banquet's: he was the foot-itool of his throne; and the guard of his perion. There was one in every cantred.

"The Bailiff of the King's Demefne. It was his province to judge and to punish the king's private vaffals, and to him their heriots and amercements were paid. The fervants of the chancellor and the officers of revenue drove into his cuftody the tribute cattle, and by him the king's household was fupplied with provifion.

"The Apparitor, as an officer of the household, ftood between the two pillars in the hall, and had the charge of the palace during entertainments, that it might not faffer any damage by fire or otherwise. He appeared likewife in another capacity, conveying the fummonfes and citations of the principal court of justice. He carried a rod or wand as the badge of his office, and claimed entertainment at every houfe to which he was fent: when the judges were fitting, it was the apparitor's duty to filence, or take into cuftody, those offenders who disturbed the court.

"The Gate-keeper claimed by custom a fhare of feveral things carried through the gate-houfe to the palace. State prifoners were committed to his cuftody. He acted as apparitor in the king's demefne. He provided ftraw for the beds and other uses of the household, and took care that the fires were lighted.

"The Watch-man of the palace was a gentleman who guarded the king's perfon while he flept. To him were given, as fymbols of his duty, the eyes of all animals flaughtered for the ufe of the palace kitchen. When the king and the household retired to reft, a horn

was

was founded which was a fignal to the watchman to go upon duty. In the morning, when the palace gate was opened, he was relieved. From that time till the horn was founded again at night, he' was permitted to fleep, and was under no neceffity of performing any other fervice, unless he voluntarily undertook it for a reward. If he was found negligent or afleep during his watch, he was fubject to heavy punishments.

"The Wood-man procured fuel for the ufes of the household. He alfo flaughtered the cattle for the royal kitchen with his axe.

"The Baker Woman. "The Palace-fmith was obliged to work without a reward for the household, except when he made a boiling pot, the point of a fpear, the wood-man's axe, the iron work of the gate of the palace, or royal caftle, and the iron work of the mill. It was his duty to frike off the fhackles of prifoners relcafed by the court of justice, and he received a fee for that fervice. No other fmith was allowed to exercife his trade in the fame commot with himself without his permiffion.

"The Laundrefs.

"The Chief Mufician was chosen into and feated in the chair of mufic, for his fuperior fkill in that fcience, by the feffion of the bards at the end of every third year. When his term expired, if he had maintained his fuperiority he was re-chofen. He was the only perfon, except the domeftic bard, who was allowed to perform in the king's prefence. He was lodged in one of the apartments belonging to the heir apparent. In the hall he fat

next to the judge of the palace. When the king defired to hear mufic, the chief mufician fung to the harp two poems; one in praife of the Almighty, the other in honour of princes and of their exploits; after which a third poem was fung by the domeftic bard. His emoluments arofe out of fees given by brides on their nuptials, and from thofe of novices in mufic, when they were admitted to the practice of their art. The Welsh bards accompanied their fongs with the harp, the crwth and the flute. They frequently addreffed poems to their princes and lords, in which they asked for prefents, fuch as a horie, a bull, a fword, or a gar ment, and they were feldom, if ever, refused. The controller of the revenues had the privilege of bringing three guefts to banquets in the palace. This officer and the chancellor received all the honey, the fith, and wild creatures, which were paid as tributes, or forfeited to the king. They also received a third part of the income arifing to the king from his tenants in villanage.

"These were the different officers, of whom the royal household was compofed. They were freeholders by their offices, and in confequence of this they all enjoyed the right of protection, by which they granted criminals a temporary fafety. On the heads of thefe perfons, and on all their members, a price was fixed by the laws. They received for their wearing apparel woollen cloth from the king, and linen from the queen. They were all called together by a horn,"

MILITARY

"In forming their armies the following regulations were obferv. ed: all fuch as were qualified to bear arms in one family, were led to the field by the head of that family. Every ten families made a tything, which was commanded by the borfholder in his military capacity ftiled conductor. Ten tythings conftituted an hundred; the foldiers of each hundred were led by the chief magiftrate of the hundred, fometimes called the hunaredary. Several hundreds formed a trything, which was commanded by the officer, called a trything. man; and the force of the country or fhire, was commanded by the hertoch, dux, or duke, and he by the king, or an officer called the kynings hold, i. e. the king's lieutenant or general, which office lafted only during the war. In times of peace, or when the king did not think it neceffary to have a general, the militia remained under the command of the dukes of each county.

to keep armour and weapons according to his rank and poffeffions; thefe he might neither fell, lend, nor pledge, nor even alienate from his heirs. In order to inftruct them in the ufe of arms, they had their ftated times for performing their military exercife; and once in a year, ufually in the fpring, there was a general review of arms, throughout each county.

"The clergy were exempted from perfonal military fervices, not only as being contrary to their profellion, but likewife that they might the better attend to their religious duties. Their eftates, though held in franc almoigne, were however chargeable to the trinoda nece!litas, the only impofition to which they were liable.

"The greater part of the Anglo Saxon forces confifted of infantry; the cavalry was chiefly compofed of the Thanes, and fuch men of property as kept horses.

"The Saxon cavalry are frequently delineated in ancient illuminations as riding without fir-, rups, with no other defensive armour than a helmet; their wea pon a fpear. It is nevertheless certain, that defenfive armour was worn by their officers and great men about the time of the Norman conquest.

"Their infantry feem to have been of two forts, the heavy and light-armed. The first are reprefented with helmets made of the fkins of beasts, the hair outwards, large oval convex fhields, with fpikes projecting from the boffes, long and very broad fwords, and fpears, The light-infantry with

fpears

fpears only, and fome no other weapon than a fword, befides which, different hiftories relate that they alfo ufed clubs, battle-axes, or bills, and javelins, the latter they darted with great dexterity, and then inftantly came to clofe fight. The drefs of both horfe and foot, was a tunic with fleeves, the skirts reaching down to the knees, the horfemen wore fpurs with only one point.

"The kings commonly wore their crowns in battle, which alfo in fome measure answered the purpose of a helmet.

"The Anglo-Saxon mode of drawing up their armies, was in one large denfe body, furrounding their ftandard, and placing their foot with their heavy battle-axes in

the front.

"By the laws of king Edward the Confeffor, any man who from cowardice abandoned his lord, or fellow-foldiers, whilst under the command of the hertoch, in any expedition by land or fea, forfeited both his life and property, and his lord might refume any lands he had formerly granted him. He who was flain in war fighting before his lord, either at home or abroad, all payments due for reliefs on his eftates were remitted to his heirs, who were to enjoy his lands and money without any diminution, and might divide it among them.

"The introduction of the feudal fyftem, which took place in this kingdom about the year 1086, gave a very confiderable change to the military establishment of the nation. This alteration in the conftitution, was not, it is faid, effected by the fole power of king William, but was adopted with the confent of the great council of the realm, affembled at Sarum, where all the principal landholders fub

jected their poffeffions to military fervices, became the king's vaffals, and did homage, and fwore fealty to his perfon for the lands held of him, as fuperior lord and original proprietor. But when it is confidered, that the great land-holders at that meeting were most of them Normans, the friends and followers of the king, on whom he had beftowed the eftates taken from the English; the fuffrage of fuch an affembly, though freely obtained, will fcarce juftify the measure being deemed a national choice.

"By this fyftem all the lands of the realm were confidered as divided into certain portions, each producing an annual revenue, ftyled a knight's fee. Our ancient lawyers are not agreed as to the quantity of land, or fum of money of which it confifted; it indeed feems to have varied at different periods: however, in the reigns of Henry II. and Edward II, a knight's fee was flated at 20l. per annum, the number of knight's fees in this kingdom was estimated at fixty thoufand.

"By the feudal law, every tenant in capite, that is every perfon holding immediately from the king, the quantity of land amounting to a knight's fee, was bound to hold himself in readiness, with horfe and arms to ferve the king in his wars, either at home or abroad, at his own expence, for a stated time, generally forty days in a year, to be reckoned from the time of joining the army. Perfons holding more or lefs, were bound to do duty in proportion to their tenures, thus one poffeffed of but half a fee, was to perform fervice for twenty days only. The lands of the church were not exempt, but ecclefiaftics were generally indulged with performing their fervice by deputies.

Although

Although fometimes their perfonal appearance was infifted on, poffibly from a fuppofition that their prefence with the army would give a confidence to the foldiers, and a fanction to the caufe, effects not unlikely in those days of fuperftition; or perhaps the inftance here particularly alluded to, was occaHoned by fome new contrivance of the clergy, to avoid the perform ance of their military fervices, by calling a convocation.

"The fervice being accomplish ed, the tenant was at liberty to return home; if he or his followers afterwards continued to ferve with the army, they were paid by the king: certificates from the conftable or marfhal were fometimes required, in proof that a knight had duly performed his fervice."

"If a tenant in capite, or knight, could not perform his fervice in perfon, through fickness, being a minor, or any other caufe, he obtained leave to fend fome able perfon in his ftead, an indulgence for which it was often neceffary to fine to the king, a fine being in the language of thofe days, not only an amercement for an offence, but alfo the price of a favour. Our records afford feveral inftances, wherein feudal tenants unable to bear arms, were by proclamation directed to find unexceptionable perfons to perform their fervices

for them.

"As a tenant who held feveral

knights fees, could not do the fervice of more than one in his perfon, he might difcharge the others, by able fubftitutes being knights, or by two efquires, fometimes ftiled fervients, in lieu of each knight.

Sometimes the king compounded with his tenants for particular fervices, and fometimes for those of the whole year, accepting in lieu thereof pecuniary payments, with which he hired ftipendiary troops : this is generally fuppofed to have introduced the practice of levying fcutages, firft begun by king Henry II. The punishment for nonattendance, when 'duly fummoned, was a heavy fine, or forfeiture of the tenure.

"The tenants in capite in order to find fubftitutes for thofe fees, for which they could not ferve themfelves, made under grants to their favourites and dependants, liable to the fame conditions as those, on which they held them from the crown, namely fealty and homage, and that their tenant fhould attend them to the wars, when they should be called upon by the king, there to ferve for a stated time at their own expence, properly armed and mounted: thefe again had their under tenants and vaffals. Men at arms, or knights, were generally attended by their tenants and varfals, both on horfeback, and on foot, thefe ferved in the infantry either as archers or bill men."