The three sons of Harold, Godwin, Edmund, and who, atter the battle of Hastings, had retired to Ireland, encouraged by the general dissatisfaction of the English, made a descent with a considerable force on the coast of Devonshire.; but, being defeated in several actions, they were compelled to return to their ships. About the same time, the Northumbrians again took up arms, who being joined by Edgar Athe ling and the chief of the English exiles from Scotland, and assisted by a body of Danes, attacked the Norman garrisons of Durham and York, and put every man to the sword. The inhabitants of the southern counties had also risen, and a general effort seemed now to be made for the recovery of their liberties ; but it proved only the means of rivetting their chains more closely. William having bought off the Danes, and encouraged his followers with the hope of plunder, inflicted a sig nal punishment on the restless Northumbrians. He laid his desolating hand upon their fertile country be tween the Tecs and the Humber, for the extent of about 60 miles; burned their habitations ; destroyed their implements of husbandry; and drove away their cattle. The inhabitants were compelled to seek for subsistence in the 'southern counties of Scotland; but about 100,000 arc said to have perished miserably PI the woods, of cold and hunger. The other malcon tents had submitted to the conqueror, except Here ward, a nobleman in East Anglia, who took shelter in the Isle of Ely, and continued his inroads into the neigh bouring country.
William, however, to prevent any 'repetition of such disturbances in future, transferred almost the whole of the landed property in England into the hands of his Normans ; and for this injustice he considered it a suf ficient pretence, that most of the ancient proprietors had been involved in conspiracies and insurrections against his government. Alany noble families were thus reduced to beggary, and had the mortification of seeing the meanest and lowest of their enemies possess ing their castles and demesnes. He next divided the kingdom into baronies, which he exclusively conferred upon the most considerable of his followers, with the reservation of stated services and payments. These amounted to about '100, who again parcelled out their lands, with similar conditions, their vassals or knights; of which there were 60,215. As the Eng lish were totally excluded from the first rank, those who still retained any property were glad to be re ceived as knights, under the protection of some power ful Norman. The clergy also felt the effects of his re sentment. All Englishmen were expelled from the higher offices of the church, which were immediately filled by foreigners ; and the Bishop of Worcester was the only English prelate that was permitted to retain his dignity. He even extended the feudal laws to them ; and all bishops and abbots were obliged to furnish, du ring war, a number of knights, proportioned to the ex tent of the property possessed by each see or abbey.
William, as he had extinguished the very semblance of liberty among the English, now attempted to obli terate their name, by the destruction of their language. He ordered, that, in all the schools throughout the kingddm, the youth should be instructed in the French language. This was the language of the court, and of
all fashionable company; and all laws and deeds were composed in that idiom. The English now saw them selves beyond the reach of deliverance : they were treated with every mark of insolence and indignity by their conquerors ; and the plans of oppression which. the king formed, were wantonly executed by his fol lowers.
The two great earls, Morcar and Edwin, finding themselves despised, and without authority in the state, resolved to make another effort to recover their inde pendence. The former took shelter in the Isle of Ely with the brave Bereward, while Edwin proceeded to organize an insurrection in the north. But William frustrated their plans, by the c'apture of the Isle of Ely. He surrounded it with flat-bottomed boats, and com pelled the rebels to surrender at discretion. Het-mord alone forced his way through the enemy; and the king was so charmed with his bravery, that he received him into favour. Morcar was thrown into prison. Edwin, in attempting to escape into Scotland, was betrayed, and killed by a party of Normans ; and many of the prisoners were punished with the loss of their hands or their eyes, and were dispersed throughout the country as monu ments of the king's resentment.
A more formidable rebellion, however, soon follow ed. The Norman barons had also felt the arrogance of William's temper, and disdained to stoop to his arbi trary authority. At the lived of the discontents were the Earls of Hereford and Norfolk, and Waltheof, Earl of Northumberland, the only Englishman that retained any power in the kingdom. They embraced the op portunity of William's absence in Normandy, to throw off their allegiance ; and entered into a secret corres pondence with the king of Denmark, to assist them in their designs. Waltheof„ however, who had married Judith, the king's niece, reflecting on the improba bility of a successful overthrow of William's power, and fearing that, by changing one tyrant for many, it would be the means of increasing, rather than of al leviating the miseries of his countrymen, revealed the conspiracy to his wife. Judith had fixed her affec tions• upon another, and viewing this as a favourable opportunity of getting rid of her husband, conveyed the intelligence, with every exaggeration, to her uncle. \Valtheof, immediately after, passed over to Norman dy, to inform William of every circumstance, and to make some atonement for his treason, by an early con fession. His departure was no sooner known, than the conspirators flew to arms, before their plans were sufficiently matured, and before the promised assist ance from Denmark had arrived. They were conse quently soon suppressed ; and the king on his arrival, found order and tranquillity again restored. Many of the rebels were hanged ; others were punished with the loss of their eyes or bands; and Fitz-Auber, a noble Nor man, and Waltheof, the only two noblemen who suffered death on this occasion, were beheaded. The fate of Waltheof was greatly lamented by his countrymen ; and it was supposed that he owed his death to the instiga tions of his wife.