Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1910-11-18

the sutilaa VINO stole ana Made tns,sad


the eufiiaa VINO Stole ana Made England
On a hillside (near Hastings En-
gland, on Oct. IA, i06el was massed a
travel stained army, led by a yellow
hatred giant. The army was made up
OF Saxons- from ill-arm ed peasants 10
the full-armed "Hus-CarlesH OF the
royal bodyguard. The leader was Hair
old, Saxon King of England. He has
rushed his troops by long marches 10
this spot, TO check the advance OF a
Norman invader.
| In the plain below, toward the hill
side, marched the invading host. Far
in advance OF their line rede the Nor.
man minstrel, Taillefer. gaudils dress
cd, throwing his sword into the air
and catching u, singing loudly the
death Chant of Roland 1t was
this minstrel who struck the first
| GLOW in the battle OF Hastings and
who WAS first To fall.
| TIC Normans flung themselves
upon the saxons, only to be sent reel
lag back. Again and again they charg-
| ed vainIy against thar solid battle line,
The Saxons hurled them Off, shouting;
"Outl Outw
At last the willy Norman leader,
Duke William, tried craft where force
had failed. lie drew of his soldiers in
seeming retreat. The headstrong sax
ons, disobeying Haroldis orders, broke
their own line to dash in diserderly
pursuit of the fleeing foe. The Nor
mans suddenly turned and charged
through the broken line. gainiAg the
hilltop, scattering the Saxons, Staying
Harold winning England
1t was big day with Destiny: 1t
was also a day wherein Might cor
quered Right; and where, out of crush.
ing defeat, England made her first
step toward greatness.
Norway, Sweden and Denmark
were ipeopled by wild, bloodthirsty
searoveTs. Uuable to prosper in their
own bleak lands, these "Northmen'
Tor "Norsemen) had for centuries
made raids on the rich coasts Of En-
gland and France. SO dreaded were
these raids that the only English pray
err book contained the petition; "From
the Fury of the Mortimer, Good Lord,
Deliver Us.p A band % Morse pirates
had swooped down on France and had
settled in rich district Of that eouu-
try. They called themselves "Nor-
mans and their province norman
dy.p
William the Couquerer was the son
OF Duke Robert of Normandy tsRob-
ert the DeviI9) and tanners daugh-
ter. He was born in 1927. From early
hoy hood he led a life Of constant war
fare, peril and treachery. In order to
save his dukedom and his life from
the greed of neighboriDg potentates he
was forced to nets of brutality end
crime. AT length he was safely IN his
own realm and looked about him for
further conquests. His eye tell on En-
gland.
The English King, Edward "The
Confessor,n was childless William per-
suaded or bribed Edward 10 bequeath
to him the throne of England.
Edward died early IN 1865. The En-
glish decided, rightfully, that no King
could legally bequeath his crown to
any one. So they elected Harold their
King. At once William demanded the
crown. Harold refused to give it up.
William stirred up an invasion of En-
gland by the Norwegions and Tended
Norman host on the British shores
at about the same time Harold thrash
ed the .Norwegians, then hurried his
tired army to Hastings TO meet VIII.
liam. The Normans were victorious;
and IN London, on Christmas Day,
1865, William was crowned King OF
England. There he built fortress
that later became the famed "rower Of
London"
His conquest Of England was q
piece of bare highway robbery, with