Edwy the Fair or the First Chronicle of Aescendune Part 10

For a moment they were both silent.

"And Edwy, the great grandson of Alfred, is king of England."

At first the young prince was deeply shocked at the sudden news of the death of his uncle, to whom, in spite of appearances, he was somewhat attached. He turned pale, and was again silent for some minutes; at last, he gulped down a cup of water, and asked--"But how did Dunstan know?"

"Why, it is a strange tale. Three days ago, at the very hour the king must have died, he says that he saw a bright light, and beheld a vision of angels, who said, 'Edred hath died in the Lord,' but he treated it as a dream, and last night a messenger came with the news of the sudden illness of the king, bidding Dunstan hasten to his side. He left everything, and started immediately, but in a few miles met another messenger, bearing the news of the death. He has gone on, but sent the messenger forward to the Bishop of London, who caused the great bell to be tolled.

"We must all die some day," said Edwy, musingly; "but it is very very sudden."

"And I trust he has obtained a better kingdom," added Redwald; "he must, you know, if the monks tell the truth, so why should we weep for him?"

"At least," said Edwy, looking up, "Elfric need not go home now."

"No, certainly not, but he had better disappear from court for a time.

The lady Ethelgiva might afford him hospitality, or he might stay at the royal palace at Kingston. I will tell the messenger to keep out of the way, and Dunstan may suppose that his orders have been obeyed to the letter."

"Why should we trouble what he may think or say?"

"Because the Witan has not yet met, and until it has gone through the form, the mere form, of recognising your t.i.tle, you are not actually king. Dunstan has some influence. Suppose he should use it for Edgar?"

"Edgar, the pale-faced little priestling!"

"All the better for that in Dunstan's eyes. Nay, be advised, my king; keep all things quiet until the coronation is over, then let Dunstan know who you are and who he is."

"Indeed I will. He shall have cause to rue his insolent behaviour the other night."

"Bide your time, my liege; and now the great officers of state require your presence below."

A few days later a sorrowful procession entered the old city of Winchester, the capital of Wess.e.x, and once a favourite residence of Edred, now to be his last earthly resting place. Much had the citizens loved him; and as the long train defiled into the open s.p.a.ce around the old minster--old, even then--the vast a.s.semblage, grouped beneath the trees around the sacred precincts, lifted up their voices and joined in the funeral hymn, while many wept tears of genuine sorrow. It was awe inspiring, that burst of tuneful wailing, as the monks entered the sacred pile, and it made men's hearts thrill with the sense of the unseen world into which their king had entered, and where, as they believed, their supplications might yet follow him.

There were the chief mourners--Edwy and Edgar--and they followed the royal corpse, the latter greatly afflicted, and shedding genuine tears of sorrow--and the royal household. All the n.o.bility of Wess.e.x, and many of the n.o.bles from Mercia and other provinces, were gathered together, and amidst the solemn silence of the vast crowd, Dunstan performed the last sad and solemn rites with a broken voice; while the archbishop--Odo the Good, as he was frequently called--a.s.sisted in the dread solemnity.

It was over; the coffin was lowered to the royal vaults to repose in peace, the incenses had ceased to float dreamily beneath the lofty roof,[xi] the various lights which had borne part in the ceremony were extinguished, the choral anthem had ceased, for Edred slept with his fathers.

And outside, the future king was welcomed with loud cries of "G.o.d save King Edwy, and make him just as Alfred, pious as Edred, and warlike as Athelstane!"

"Long live the heir of Cerdic's ancient line!"

Thus their cries antic.i.p.ated the decision of the Witan, and without all was noise and clamour; while within the sacred fane the ashes of him who had so lately ruled England rested in peace by the side of his royal father Edward, the son of Alfred, three of whose sons--Athelstane, Edmund, Edred--had now reigned in succession.

It must not be supposed that Edwy was as yet king by the law of the land. The early English writers all speak of their kings as elected; it was not until the Witan had recognised them, that they were crowned and a.s.sumed the royal prerogatives.

Edwy had followed Redwald's advice: he had kept Elfric out of the way, and meant to do so until his coronation day. And meanwhile he condescended to disguise his real feelings, and to affect sorrow for his past failings when in the presence of Dunstan.

Yet he took advantage of the greater liberty he now enjoyed to renew his visits to the mansion up the Thames, and to spend whole days in the society of Elgiva. In their simplicity and deep love they thought all the obstacles to their happy union now removed. Alas! ill-fated pair!

CHAPTER VIII. THE CORONATION.

Nothing could exceed in solemnity the "hallowing of the king," as the coronation ceremony was termed in Anglo-Saxon times. It was looked upon as an event of both civil and ecclesiastical importance, and therefore nothing was omitted which could lend dignity to the occasion.

The Witan, or parliament, had already met and given its consent to the coronation of Edwy. It was not, as we have already remarked, a mere matter of course that the direct heir should occupy the throne. Edred had already ascended, while Edwy, the son of his elder brother, was an infant, not as regent, but as king; and in any case of unfitness on the part of the heir apparent, it was in the power of the Witan to pa.s.s him over, and to choose for the public good some other member of the royal house. The same Witan conferred upon Edgar the t.i.tle of sub-king of Mercia under his brother.

Solemn and imposing was the meeting of the Witenagemot, or "a.s.sembly of the wise." It was divided into three estates. The first consisted of the only cla.s.s who, as a rule, had any learning in those days--the clergy, represented by the bishop, abbot, and their princ.i.p.al officials: the second consisted of the va.s.sal kings of Scotland, c.u.mbria, Wales, Mona, the Hebrides, and other dependent states, the great earls, as of Mercia or East Anglia, and other mighty magnates: the third, of the lesser thanes, who were the especial va.s.sals of the king, or the great landholders, for the possession of land was an essential part of a t.i.tle to n.o.bility.

Amongst these sat Ella of Aescendune, who, in spite of his age, had come to the metropolis to testify his loyalty and fealty to the son of the murdered Edmund, his old friend and companion in arms, and to behold his own eldest son once more.

It was the morning of a beautiful day in early spring, one of those days of which the poet has written--

"Sweet day, so calm, so pure, so bright, The bridal of the earth and sky"

--when winter seems to have loosed its stern hold upon the frozen earth, and the songs of countless birds welcome the bright sunlight, the harbinger of approaching summer.

The roads leading to Kingston-on-Thames were thronged with travellers of every degree--the ealdorman or earl with his numerous attendants, the bishop with rude ecclesiastical pomp, the peasant in his rough jerkin-- all hastening to the approaching ceremony, which, as it had been definitely fixed, was to take place at that royal city.

There Athelstane had been crowned with great pomp and splendour, for it was peculiarly "_Cynges tun_" or the King's Town, and after the coronation it was customary for the newly-crowned monarch to take formal possession of his kingdom by standing on a great stone in the churchyard.

The previous night, Archbishop Odo had arrived from Canterbury, and his bosom friend and brother, Dunstan, from Glas...o...b..ry, as also Cynesige, Bishop of Lichfield, a man in every way like-minded with them; while nearly all the other prelates, abbots, and n.o.bles, arrived in the early morn of the eventful day.

The solemn service of the coronation ma.s.s was about to commence, and the people were a.s.sembling in the great church of St. Mary, filling every inch of available room. Every figure was bent forward in earnest gaze, and every heart seemed to beat more quickly, as the faint and distant sound of deep solemn music, the monastic choirs chanting the processional psalms, drew near.

Suddenly the jubilant strains filled the whole church, as the white-robed train entered the sacred building while they sang:

"_Quoniam praevenisti eum in benedictionibus dulcedinis, posuisti in capiti ejus coronam de lapide pretioso_." [xii]

Incense ascended in clouds to the lofty roof; torches were uplifted, banners floated in the air, every eye was now strained to catch a glimpse of the youthful monarch.

He came at last. Oh, how lovely the ill-fated boy looked that day! His beauty was of a somewhat fragile character, his complexion almost too fair, his hair shone around his shoulders in waves of gold, for men then wore their hair long, his eyes blue as the azure vault on that sweet spring morning: alas, that his spiritual being should not have been equally fair!

Elfric stood by his father, amidst the crowd of thanes, near the rood screen, for he had spent the last few days at Kingston, and there his father had found him, and had embraced him with joy, little dreaming of the change which had come over his darling boy.

"Look, father, is he not every inch a king?" Elfric could not help exclaiming, forgetting the place and the occasion in his pride in his king and his friend.

He would have been one of the four boys who bore the royal train, but it had not seemed advisable on such a day to offend Dunstan too seriously.

The ma.s.s proceeded after the royal party had all taken their places, and the coronation service was incorporated into the rite, following the Nicene Creed and preceding the canon.

Kneeling before the altar, the young prince might well tremble with emotion. Before him stood the archbishop, clad in full pontifical vestments; around were the most noted prelates and wisest abbots of England; behind him the n.o.bility, gentry, and commonalty of the whole country--all gazing upon him, as the archbishop dictated the solemn words of the oath, which Edwy repeated with trembling voice after him.

"In the name of the ever-blessed Trinity, I promise three things to the Christian people, my subjects:

"First, that the Church of G.o.d within my realm shall enjoy peace, free from any molestation."

"Second, that I will prevent, to the utmost of my power, theft and every fraud in all ranks of men."

"Thirdly, that I will preserve and maintain justice and mercy in all judicial proceedings, so that the good and merciful G.o.d may, according to His mercy, forgive us all our sins, Who liveth and reigneth for ever and ever. Amen."

Then followed a most solemn charge from "Odo the Good," setting forth all the deep responsibilities of the oath Edwy had taken, and of the awful account to be rendered to G.o.d of the flock committed to his youthful charge, at the great and awful day of judgment.