In the Saxon dialogues, a merchant is introduced, who tells us, " I bring from over the sea, skins, silks, costly gems, and gold, various garments, pigment, wine, oil, ivory, orichalchus, copper and tin, silver, glass, and such like."t Edward the Elder followed the steps of his father Alfred, in promoting commerce ; and Athelstan re warded adventurous voyagers with nobility itself. In the days of Edward the Peaceable, the ships of England are described as incredibly numerous. The monkish writers rate the fleet of Edgar at 3000 ships; a number so vast, that Dr Henry supposes they must have added a cipher, because, as the learned historian adds, it is impossible to suppose less than 100 men for the com plement of each ship, and equally impossible to conceive the mariners of England to have amounted to 300,000 men. That the fighting fleet of England contained a tenth part of this number of men is scarcely to be sup posed ; but the monks probably meant all the vessels of every description which Edgar could muster from his subjects in a case of emergency ; and that there were 3000 vessels in the kingdom, including the petty craft, is not incredible, even though the monks have related it. But we must not presume to equip these three thousand ships, (as they are pompously called) with the complement which mans a large East Indianian in time of peace. Even of the three hundred which Dr Henry, supposes admissible as the number, it is probable that not one half had an hundred men on board.
Under the reign of Ethelred the Unready, miserable as that reign was, external trade was still encouraged and increasing. A company of German merchants, called the emperor's men, resided at that time in Lon don, and paid a yearly tribute to the king for his pro tection. When Ethelred forsook his throne, the seamen of London took an active part with the other citizens of London, in the disposal of the crown. As it is often better for a nation to be entirely than partially conquer ed, so we find the reign of Canute was favourable to the peace of England, and of consequence to its com mercial prosperity. Canute enlarged the trade of the country by favourable treaties with the pope, the empe ror, and other powers of the continent, with whom he negociated in person, and afterwards despatched a let ter in his own hand to acquaint the nobility of England with his success. His command over Denmark made a large fleet for the protection of England unnecessary ; but he maintained a navy of 16 ships on a respectable footing, giving each mariner onboard eight mancuses a year for pay and provisions ; a sum nominally amount ing to 56 shillings, and in effect surely to more than 56 pounds of modern money. The flourishing state of our commerce and navy continued uninterrupted to the Norman conquest. It would make this scanty notice of Anglo-Saxon commerce still more imperfect, if we omitted the mention of one article of their exports, which is very important though unpleasant to record. The exportation of slaves continued from this country to the very end of the Anglo-Saxon period: the beau tiful women and children of a people the most saga cious in the world in their political institutions, (of a people not reduced by slavery, but tempted by avarice, to exhibit this ignominy,) were sold like cattle in all the markets of Europe. On the western coasts, and particularly at Bristol, this abominable traffic was kept up. The young women (says an author who witnessed the enormity) were commonly got with child by their salesmen, and brought to market in their pregnancy to fetch a better price. Persons of both sexes were tied together with ropes, and exposed to the highest bidder. These ancient men-traders thought nothing of selling their nearest relations, and even their own children, into slavery ! We are apt to exclaim, how barbarous the peo ple of England must have been in those days ; but we must recollect, that this is not the only slave-trade our history has to record.
13. Besides their living money, consisting of slaves and cattle, the Anglo-Saxons made use of coins as early as the middle of the 6th century. Their pound and
mark were not coins, but denominations of money. Whether the ora was a real or imaginary money still remains doubtful. Their shilling greater and lesser, their thrimsa, their penny, halfpenny, and feorthling, were real silver coins ; and the styca, their meanest currency, was a brass coin.
The following is a Table of the names of the Anglo Saxon denominations of money and of real coins, with the weight of each of them in troy grains.
The respective value of cattle, Sze. in the 10th and 11 th centuries, seems to have been not one 20th part of their present price. An ox was sold for is. a cow for 5s. 6d. a hog for Is. 102d. and a sheep for Is. 2d. A hyde of land, or 120 acres, might be bought for 100 shillings, but the title might not be so easily made good.
14. In the manners of a people, the solemnity alafg. importance which they attach to marriage is a strong characteristic of their virtue; and, in this particular, the ample protection afforded by their laws to the weaker sex, is an honourable trait in the manners of the Anglo Saxons. The marriage-contracts of this people were indeed begirt with many precautions, which make its history more interesting as a process of law than of sentiment, but still there was a spirit of equity in those precautions, which atones for some other mercenary traits. An unmarried woman was always supposed to have a guardian or owner.* She was supposed to be long to her father, brother, uncle, or nearest male rela tion, and in a state of widowhood, she returned to the same protection. Il the wooer unadvisedly wedded her without the mund-bora's consent, her goods were still the property of that guardian, and if an injury was of fered to her, the atonement was made to him, not to the spouse. But when the parties had been legally betrothed, the bridegroom, or his friends, were made responsible for a settlement, most humanely and considerately re quired : this was the foster-lean, or money requisite for nourishing the children. At the wedding the mund bora, or guardian, delivered up his ward to the spouse, after the latter had found a friend to become security for a proper provision for the bride, in case of his death. At the feast, which followed, the customary presents of gold, arms, clothes, household stuffs, and other articles, formed the portion of the bride, who had besides, from custom immemorial, a right to ask of her mate, on the day after her nuptials, a morgaen-gift, or morning-gift, to serve her as pin-money. The morgaen-gift was bar gained for before marriage, but the ceremony of vesting it did not take place till after consummation. In these manners of our ancestors, we may trace no distant re semblance to our modern jointure, our trustees to set tlement, and to the custom of giving away the bride, as well as of the bridegroom having a best man. By the laws of Ethelbert it was enjoined, that if a wife brought forth children alive, and survived her husband, she was to have half his property. She was allowed the same privilege if she chose to live with her children ; but if she was childless, the deceased husband's paternal rela tions were to have his possessions, and the morgaen gift was to be restored to them. The punishment for adultery, inflicted on the female, was different at diffe rent periods of the Anglo-Saxon laws. In the education of their children, the Anglo-Saxons were more atten tive to fortify their hearts and constitutions, than to cultivate their understandings. The most important occupations of their future lives were to be hunting and battle, and to make them expert in the exercises con ducive to excellence in these, was the grand object of their instructions and example. Even Asser, the his torian of Alfred, seems to think it a wonderful thing, that the king taught his youngest son, prince Ethel ward, to read, before he had instructed the boy in hunt ing. It was their usual trial of a child's courage, to place him on the sloping roof of a building, and if lie held fast without betraying terror, they commended him as a " stout herce,", or brave boy.