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When men had committed crimes they fled to a church, and there they could not be taken, because the law forbade to violate the sanctuary. This afforded impunity to many violent acts. Sir John Holland would have been hanged for the murder, had he not taken refuge in the sanctuary of St. John of Beverley. The king was exceedingly angry with him, and refused to pardon him; and his mother, the widow of the Black Prince, was so miserable that she died of grief. He afterwards obtained the king's pardon, and was made duke of Exeter, and married John of Gaunt's youngest daughter.

If the preceding instance exhibits lawless and inhuman manners, the history of that age will show that virtuous men manifested themselves in the midst of crime. The following example of self-denial is extraordinary, and is a proper sequel to the anecdote of sir John Holland: Sir Ralph was a very accomplished young man, and the only son of an old lord Stafford, who was then with the royal army. Lord Stafford, as soon as he had recovered from the first burst of grief at his son's shocking murder, went to the king and told him, that as he was on his road to fight the Scots, he would not let his grief prevent him from serving his country in the hour of need. And," added he, "during this expedition, I shall not think of my affliction; for I like not that the Scots be rejoiced at the misery of the earl of Stafford."

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The afflicted old man accordingly accompanied the army into Scotland, and performed all the duties of a soldier and commander, as if he had had a heart free from sorrow: but as soon as the expedition was ended, he went to the Holy Land, on account of his son's death, and did not live

to return.

The fourteenth century, in relation to England, was a

Why was not sir John Holland punished for killing sir R. Stafford?

Did many virtues flourish among the crimes of the fourteenth century? How did lord Stafford bear his son's murder, and where did he die? What was the intellectual character of the fourteenth century in England?

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period of ignorance, slavery, and superstition; but ignorance in this period obviously gave way to progressive knowledge; slavery to political liberty; and superstition to the influences of true religion.

A great improvement in the English language was attained in this century. The language used under the Saxons in England was the Anglo-Saxon; that introduced by the Normans, and afterwards extensively written and spoken, was the Norman-French; and that used in the prayers of the churches was the Latin. Anglo-Saxon, Norman, and Latin make up the present English.

The first histories and poems known in England were written in these primitive languages, but in the latter end of the fourteenth century there had been formed a proper English language. The laws were written in it, the scriptures were also translated into it, and poetry was written in English.

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Liberty of thought is a right which all men have, to examine, each for himself, what is right and wrong, and what is true or false. Most persons believe what those who are older than themselves say; but when we are grown to be men and women, it is proper to inquire what is right and wrong, true and false, as if we had never been informed, and then each man will gain wisdom for himself.

In rude ages, poor and very ignorant people are not al lowed to determine what is right and wrong, and what is true and false-the powerful determine for them. Thus it was in the fourteenth century. The barons told their vassals they had no rights of their own, and the priests told all people they could not understand the scriptures without their explanations, and the vassals and people submitted.

But in that very age, liberty of thought began to assert itself: the poor people said, We are men and not brutes— we ought not to be bought and sold like cattle; and Wickliffe and his followers said to the people, The Roman Ca

What was the progress of language in England?

What was first written in English?

What is liberty of thought, and how should it be used?

Who restrained the poor people of England from improving their minds?

How were the poor gradually enlightened?

tholic priests deceive you-you can understand the Scriptures if you will read them. You must be taught to read. Here is the Bible in your own English language.

Those who claimed freedom from Richard II. only demanded their natural rights. They exerted natural and political liberty not known before in England. Wickliffe demanded a still more valuable liberty-the liberty to seek and to declare truth, which makes men free from ignorance and prejudice.

The poets of this age were reformers, and enlightened men. The first poem of any considerable length in the English language was written by Robert Langlande, a priest. It describes the christian life, and the abuses of religion under the popes. Geoffrey Chaucer was another poet of that age who reproved the vices of the clergy.

John of Gaunt, though he undertook some unjust wars, was a great man, a lover of religious freedom, and a companion of wise men: he honored Wickliffe, and was the friend of Chaucer. He married for his last wife, Catharine Swynford, a sister-in-law of Chaucer. Chaucer is called the father of English poetry-he died in 1400.

What were the just demands of the English people during the reign of Richard II.?

Who were the first English poets?

Was John of Gaunt an enlightened man?

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Henry IV., only a few months before he obtained the crown, was wandering about, a banished man, in a foreign land. His success was the more surprising, because he had no personal qualities, except the kingly quality of courage, to attach the people to him. Nor had he, even after Richard, the next right of inheritance; for the undoubted heir was Edmund Mortimer, earl of March, whose grandmother was daughter of Lionel, duke of Clarence, elder brother of John of Gaunt. Mortimer was at this time a child of seven years old: and though the parliament passed him by, and settled the crown on Bolingbroke and his heirs, yet Henry thought him too dangerous a rival to be at large, and kept him a prisoner at Windsor.

The king himself was in no enviable condition. His life was made miserable by continual apprehensions of plots

Was Henry IV. the hereditary successor to the crown of England? What disturbed the tranquillity of Henry IV., and how did his reign

commence?

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and conspiracies, apprehensions not without cause. had possessed the crown only a few months, when a very dangerous conspiracy against him was entered into by some nobles attached to Richard, which soon after broke out into an open war; but a division ensuing between the leaders of the party, it was soon and easily crushed. All the nobles who were taken in arms were beheaded, and thus a bloody beginning was made to this distracted reign.

In the year 1401, the king had a very narrow escape. One night he perceived concealed in his bed, just as he was stepping into it, a steel instrument with three sharp points, which would either have killed him, or wounded him severely, had he lain down on it. The author of this attempt was never discovered.

Besides his secret enemies, Henry had a very formidable open foe in Owen Glendower, a Welsh gentlemen of high spirit and courage. Glendower proclaimed himself prince of Wales, and his countrymen crowded to his standard. Favored by the mountainous nature of the country, he was able to maintain himself for seven years against all the endeavors of Henry to subdue him, and frequently made incursions into the English border, and plundered

and killed the inhabitants.

The Scots commanded by earl Douglas, A. D. 1402. entered England with 10,000 men. They were defeated at Homildon Hill by the earl of Northumberland and his son, Henry Hotspur. Douglas, with many others, was taken. Immediately on the news of this victory, Henry sent to prohibit Northumberland from ransoming any of the prisoners; a command the Percies resented violently, and the more so, as it was chiefly by their means that Henry had been enabled to ascend the throne.

Northumberland, with his brother the earl of Westmoreland, and his son Hotspur, in talking over this business together, more and more inflamed their mutual resentments; and Hotspur, who had that name from his fiery temper, urged on his father and uncle till they resolved to dethrone

Were any attempts made to kill Henry IV.?

Who rebelled against Henry in Wales?

What occurred in 1402?

With whom did the Percies conspire against Henry IV. ?

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