that, as long as there were two persons fighting for the crown, they themselves could do as they pleased. 6 6 2. Tyranny of the Nobles. What they pleased to do was ruinous for the English people. They built strong castles and filled them with armed men. From these they rode out as robbers, as a wild beast goes forth from its den. They fought among themselves with deadly hatred, they spoiled the fairest lands with fire and rapine; in what had been the most fertile of counties they destroyed almost all the provision of bread.' Whatever money or valuable goods they found they carried off. They burnt houses and sacked towns. If they suspected any one of concealing his wealth they carried him off to their castle, and there they tortured him to make him confess where his money was. They hanged up men by their feet and smoked them with foul smoke. Some were hanged up by their thumbs, others by the head, and burning things were hung on to their feet. They put knotted strings about men's heads, and twisted them till they went to the brain. They put men into prisons where adders and snakes and toads were crawling, and so they tormented them. Some they put into a chest short and narrow and not deep, and that had sharp stones within, and forced men therein so that they broke all their limbs. In many of the castles were hateful and grim things called rachenteges, which two or three men had enough to do to carry. It was thus made; it was fastened to a beam and had a sharp iron to go about a man's neck and throat, so that he might noways sit or lie or sleep, but he bore all the iron. Many thousands they starved with hunger.' The unhappy sufferers had no one to help them. Stephen and Matilda were too busy with their own quarrel to do justice to their subjects. Poor men cried to heaven, but they got no answer. Men said openly that Christ and his saints were asleep.' came KING HENRY II. 3. Henry II. restores Order.-At last a change In 1154, after a reign-if reign it can be called-of nineteen years, Stephen died. He was that, as long as there were two persons fighting for the crown, they themselves could do as they pleased. 6 2. Tyranny of the Nobles. What they pleased to do was ruinous for the English people. They built strong castles and filled them with armed men. From these they rode out as robbers, as a wild beast goes forth from its den. They fought among themselves with deadly hatred, they spoiled the fairest lands with fire and rapine; in what had been the most fertile of counties they destroyed almost all the provision of bread.' Whatever money or valuable goods they found they carried off. They burnt houses and sacked towns. If they suspected any one of concealing his wealth they carried him off to their castle, and there they tortured him to make him confess where his money was. 'They hanged up men by their feet and smoked them with foul smoke. Some were hanged up by their thumbs, others by the head, and burning things were hung on to their feet. They put knotted strings about men's heads, and twisted them till they went to the brain. They put men into prisons where adders and snakes and toads were crawling, and so they tormented them. Some they put into a chest short and narrow and not deep, and that had sharp stones within, and forced men therein so that they broke all their limbs. In many of the castles were hateful and grim things called rachenteges, which two or three men had enough to do to carry. It was thus made; it was fastened to a beam and had a sharp iron to go about a man's neck and throat, so that he might noways sit or lie or sleep, but he bore all the iron. Many thousands they starved with hunger.' The unhappy sufferers had no one to help them. Stephen and Matilda were too busy with their own quarrel to do justice to their subjects. Poor men cried to heaven, but they got no answer. 'Men said openly that Christ and his saints were asleep.' KING HENRY II. 3. Henry II. restores Order.-At last a change In 1154, after a reign-if reign it can be called-of nineteen years, Stephen died. He was came succeeded by Matilda's son, Henry II. Like his grandfather Henry I., this king was a strong mannot gentle or merciful, but understanding clearly that if he wanted to be strong he must gain the good will of the people, and must put down the cruel tyrants who were his enemies as much as theirs. He set himself at once to pull down the castles. This was enough to restore order, because when the barons had no longer any strong place to which they could carry off their victims and their plunder, they no longer dared to ill-treat their neighbours. 4. Military reforms of Henry II.-When this was done, Henry set to work to prevent anything of the kind happening again. There was no army then as there is now, composed of men who leave their homes for several years to become soldiers. The fighting force was composed partly of the great landowners, who had their lands from the king on condition of fighting for him on horseback, and partly of the men who had only small estates, who were bound to come out and defend their own homes if an invader landed in the country or a rebellion took place. Henry wanted to weaken the great landowners, and offered to excuse them from serving him as soldiers if they would pay him money. They were glad enough to be saved the trouble of fighting for the king, and were well pleased to pay money instead. In this way they grew less accustomed to fight, and so less dangerous to the king. On the other hand, Henry encouraged the men with little land, and arranged that they should always have |