Excerpt from The Dukes of Normandy, From the Time of Rollo to the Expulsion of King John by Philip Augustus of FranceOn the death of this enlightened sovereign, the un happy divisions among his sons spread anarchy and discord in all directions; his defensive policy was abandoned, and the northern pirates, who had invaded Belgic Gaul so early as the year 286 of our era, but who had been held in check by the armed fleets sta tioned by Charlemagne at the mouths of rivers, again renewed their predatory incursions. Plunder alone' was the object of the early adventurers, with which they returned to their native country. After the lapse of several centuries, Rollo, the most distinguished of the Scandinavian chiefs, subdued one of the finest provinces of Gaul, and acquired a permanent home and sovereignty, by founding the duchy of Normandy. The object of this introduction is briefly and rapidly to trace the character and conduct of his predecessors, before he obtained full and independent possession of N custrin.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1839 edition. Excerpt: ... WILLIAM THE CONQUEKOK, SEVENTH DUKE OF NORMANDY. From his Accession in 1035 to the Death of Edward the Confessor. SECTION I. The old chroniclers were fond of mixing up fable with fact, and as they lived in superstitious times, their fictions were usually of a supernatural character. The conqueror of England was too illustrious a personage to be overlooked by the compilers of historical romance, and we accordingly find several prodigies accompanying his birth, which deserve to be recorded, as showing the spirit of the age. Of these we shall select a few of the most ingenious and striking. During her pregnancy, his mother had two remarkable dreams, both predicting the future greatness of her son. She imagined that a lofty tree issued from her loins, the branches of which overshadowed the whole of Normandy; and on another occasion, she fancied that her intestines were stretched over the whole of Normandy and England, both of which dreams received their solution when William was firmly seated on the ducal throne and had reaped the fruits of the victory at Hastings. Immediately after birth, the child was placed on a small heap of straw, which he clutched with his hands, on which the nurse observed, " This infant begins so early to collect and amass, that I know not what large possessions he will acquire, when arrived at manhood." When yet a child in the castle of Falaise, he was visited by William Talvas, Countof Bellesme, Alencon, and Sees, who, judgingfrom his features that he would quell the ambition of his house, exclaimed, " May the curse of Heaven light on you, since through you and your race my power will be laid low, and the fame of my posterity be obscured."1 William was eight years of age when his father died, having succeeded to the...