Hereward; the Saxon patriot: a history of his life and character; with a record of his ancestors and descendants, AD445 to AD1896 . rne him well, as of so litel space,In hope to stonden in hys ladies grace. Chaucer—Canterbury Talcs. Right faithful, true he was in deeds and word ;But of his cheere did seem too solemn nothing did he dread but ever was ydrad. Spenser—Faerie Queen, Bk. i., canto i., st. 2. IVIDING the personal narrative of Herewardinto three tableaux, we at once enter uponparticulars of his birth and parentage ; andhere on the very threshold of his history wefind conflicti
Hereward; the Saxon patriot: a history of his life and character; with a record of his ancestors and descendants, AD445 to AD1896 . rne him well, as of so litel space,In hope to stonden in hys ladies grace. Chaucer—Canterbury Talcs. Right faithful, true he was in deeds and word ;But of his cheere did seem too solemn nothing did he dread but ever was ydrad. Spenser—Faerie Queen, Bk. i., canto i., st. 2. IVIDING the personal narrative of Herewardinto three tableaux, we at once enter uponparticulars of his birth and parentage ; andhere on the very threshold of his history wefind conflicting authorities. One writer de-clares that * Herewardus vir strenuissimus,used by Florence of Worcester, is our wholeauthentic description of him. The fact is, that from theeleventh century to the present day timid writers and hostileinfluences have been careful to enshroud the entity of Here-ward in a cloudy mist, to serve as a foil to the successfulNorman victor and his descendants. From Professor Free-man we might have expected deeper research, more impartialityand juster sympathy with the Saxon people of England at the. Early History, 17 time of the Norman Conquest, instead of a mere fulsomeglorification of the Conqueror. At that time, notwithstandingthe repeated massacres of the defenceless peasantry by thelawless robber chiefs of William, the population must havenumbered one hundred of Saxon birth to one Norman. Professor Freeman, besides what he calls his only reliablesources of information^ of that period, acknowledges theimportance of the Domesday record ; yet he never tries todraw any practical inference from the entries respectingHereward in connection with the Earl of Mercias family,Alfgar, Edwin, Morcar and others. Very obscure light, orimpartial opinion of Hereward, can be obtained from thelatest History of the Xorman Conquest. Modern romances afford little trace of patient investigation,and it is only by the clues afforded by the ancient chronicles,the facts o
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