Wager of Battle: A Tale of Saxon Slavery in Sherwood Forest Read online

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  WAGER OF BATTLE;

  A TALE OF SAXON SLAVERY IN SHERWOOD FOREST.

  BY HENRY W. HERBERT,

  AUTHOR OF "HENRY VIII AND HIS SIX WIVES," "THE CAPTAINS OF THE GREEKAND ROMAN REPUBLICS," "THE ROMAN TRAITOR," "MARMADUKE WYVIL," "OLIVERCROMWELL," ETC. ETC. ETC.

  NEW YORK:PUBLISHED BY MASON BROTHERS,23 PARK ROW.1855.

  Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, byMASON BROTHERS,In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern Districtof New York.

  STEREOTYPED BYTHOMAS B. SMITH,82 & 84 Beekman St.

  PRINTED BYJOHN A. GRAY,79 Cliff St.

  TO

  ISRAEL DE WOLF ANDREWS, ESQ.,

  OF EASTPORT, MAINE,

  THIS HISTORICAL ROMANCE,

  "Wager of Battle,"

  Descriptive of the manners, customs and institutions of our mutualancestry, Saxon and Norman, at the period of their fusion into thegreat race, speaking the English tongue, by whatever name, in distantand widely severed isles and continents, it is destined to be known,and illustrative of the nature of Saxon serfdom in the twelfth centuryof our era, is dedicated, as a slight token of great esteem, ofgratitude for many good offices, and of friendship, which, he hopesand wishes, will stand all tests of time and change, unaltered,

  By his sincere friend and servant,

  HENRY WM. HERBERT.

  THE CEDARS, July 20, 1855.

  PREFACE.

  It is, perhaps, unfortunate that the period and, in some degree, thescene of my present work, coincide nearly with those of the mostmagnificent and gorgeous of historical romances, Sir Walter Scott'sIvanhoe.

  It is hoped, however, that--notwithstanding this similarity, and thefact that in both works the interest turns in some degree on thecontrast between the manners of the Saxon and Norman inhabitants of theisle, and the state of things preceding the fusion of the two racesinto one--notwithstanding, also, that in each a portion of the effectdepends on the introduction of a judicial combat, or "Wager ofBattle"--the resemblance will be found to be external and incidentalonly, and that, neither in matter, manner, nor subject, is there anyreal similarity between the books, much less any imitation or absurdattempt, on my part, at rivalry with that which is admitted to beincomparable. It will be seen, at once, by those who have the patienceto peruse the following pages, that I have aimed at something more thana mere delineation of outward habits, customs, and details of martialor pacific life; that I have entered largely into the condition ofclasses, the peculiar institution of Serfdom, or White Slavery, as itexisted among our own ancestors--that portion of whom, from which ourblood is in the largest degree descended, being the servile populationof the island--in the twelfth century, and the steps which led to itsgradual abolition.

  In doing this, I have been unavoidably led into the necessity ofdealing with the ancient jurisprudence of our race, the common law ofthe land, the institution of Trial by Jury, and that singular featurein our old judicial system, the reference of cases to the directdecision of the Almighty by Wager of Battle, or, as it was also called,"the Judgment of God."

  I will here merely observe that, while the gist of my tale lies in theadventures and escape of a fugitive Saxon Slave from the tyranny of hisNorman Lord, my work contains no reference to the peculiar institutionof any portion of this country, nor conceals any oblique insinuationagainst, or covert attack upon, any part of the inhabitants of theContinent, or any interest guaranteed to them by the Constitution.Nevertheless, I would recommend no person to open a page of thisvolume, who is prepared to deny that slavery _per se_ is an evil and awrong, and its effects deteriorating to all who are influenced by itscontact, governors alike and governed, since they will find nothingagreeable, but much adverse to their way of thinking.

  That it is an evil and a wrong, in itself, and a source of seriousdetriment to all parties concerned, I can not but believe; and that,like all other wrongs and evils, it will in the end, by God's wisdom,be provided for and pass away, without violence or greater indirectwrong and evil, I both believe and hope.

  But I neither arrogate to myself the wisdom of imagining how this is tobe peacefully brought about in the lapse of ages, nor hesitate todissent from the intemperance of those who would cut the Gordian knot,like Alexander, with the sword, reckless if the same blow should severthe sacred bonds that consolidate the fabric of the Union.

  HENRY WM. HERBERT.

  THE CEDARS, September, 1st., 1855.