Charles Knight's school history of England, abridged from the Popular history of England. [With] Questions

CHARLES KNIGHT'S

SCHOOL

HISTORY OF ENGLAND;

FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO OUR OWN TIMES.

ABRIDGED FROM THE

POPULAR HISTORY OF ENGLAND,

UNDER

THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF ITS AUTHOR.

"The Flood

Of British Freedom, which to the open sea
Of the world's praise from dark antiquity
Hath flowed."

WORDSWORTH.

LONDON:

BRADBURY & EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET.

1865.

[The Right of Translation is reserved.]

22b. j. 20.

LONDON:

BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.

PREFACE.

THIS Volume is entitled "School History of England," to mark its character as a book of elementary instruction. It is an abridgment of my "Popular History of England" in eight octavo volumes, and is executed by a member of my family, under my general superintendence. In the Introduction to the "Popular History," speaking of Goldsmith's admission that "the very name of abridgment implies imperfection,” I said— "it is not the mere want of space that constitutes the inherent defect of an abridgment; it is that the scale of its composition is not uniform." This defect, I believe, will not be discovered in the present book. It has been the continuous labour of nearly three years, not accomplished by making entire extracts of the most striking passages of a larger history, and holding them together by short connecting threads of narrative; but by recasting the whole upon a scale of composition which, aiming at uniformity, enables the several parts to retain their just proportions.* Thus, I may venture to state that there is no important fact of our political and social progress therein omitted. Space is gained, without leaving awkward gaps in a story which has no long intervals in which the historian can say "all is barren."

The proper character of a "School History," condensed from one of greater proportions, has been thus defined :-To Boswell's remark that an abridgment of a work "was only cutting the horns and tail off the cow;" Johnson replied, "No sir, 'tis making the cow have a calf."

The "Popular History" was entitled a "History of Society and Government." The "School History" embraces, in the same way, the State History and the Domestic. In a few cases, there are separate chapters on the National Industry, on Literature, on the Arts; but in every period will be found some notice of these important characteristics of the advance of a people, politically and intellectually. The growth of our Constitution, through nineteen hundred years, in which the Roman, the Saxon, and the Norman institutions became blended in our system of representative government and municipal administration, was always accompanied, through many a struggle for personal liberty and security of property, by the general progress of the people in knowledge and industry.

In this "School History" there is no attempt to convey information in language (to use a phrase which I trust is growing obsolete) "adapted to the juvenile capacity." School instruction in History has ceased to mean the learning by rote the dates of prominent events, which fade from the memory in the absence of all interesting associations with the regnal periods to which they belong. For the boy or the girl, the young man or the young woman, whose training has been such as to make the history of their country something more than a dry catalogue of names, this Volume may suffice for the period of their pupilage. It perhaps may be sufficient as a preparatory book for the class-examination of young candidates for employment. But, whether for public or domestic instruction, it will open the way to the study of more elaborate works, on the subject upon which, of all others, it most behoves the youth of a free country to be well informed.

CHARLES KNIGHT.

February, 1865.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

B.C. 55-A.D. 409.-BRITONS-ROMANS.

The Druids-Cæsar's Invasions-Cassivelaunus-Cunobelin-Claudius in Britain-

Caractacus taken prisoner to Rome-Mona, or Anglesey, taken-Londinium,

Camalodunum, and Verulam destroyed-Queen Boadicea is defeated, and dies

by poison-Agricola defeats the Caledonians-Hadrian-Antoninus-Severus-

Carausius usurps the imperial authority-Constantine-Christianity in Britain

-Alban, the British proto-martyr-Picts and Scots-The Roman Prefects ex-

pelled.