Chancellor of France with bands of gold on his shoulder. Sentence is being read by one of the officers of the law. On the King's left the lords of the Church are seated and below are the chief officers of the realm. Outside the barrier is the royal guard

  The Parliament of Edward I 73 The Archbishops of Canterbury and York are seated just below Alexander King of Scotland, and Llewelyn Prince of Wales. The two behind are supposed to be the Pope's ambassadors. There are 19 mitred Abbots, 8 Bishops and 20 Peers present. The Chancellor and Judges are seated on the woolsacks.   From Pinkerton, Iconographia Scotica. Probably drawn in the 16th century   Preparing the feast 88 From the Luttrell Psalter (14th century). In the British Museum   The feast 89 From the Luttrell Psalter (14th century). In the British Museum   A Christian of Constantinople borrowing money from a Jew and pledging his crucifix 96 From the Miracles de Notre Dame, collected by Jean Miélot, and finished on 10 April, 1456. In the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris   By arrangement with MM. Catala Frères, Paris   Miélot in his study 97 From the Miracles de Notre Dame, collected by Jean Miélot, and finished on 10 April, 1456. In the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris   By arrangement with MM. Catala Frères, Paris   A printing press 97 A mark of Josse Badius Ascensius. From De Sacramentis of Thomas Waldensis, 1521. In the University Library, Cambridge   The Twelve Months AT END From Les très riches heures de Jean de France, Duc le Berry, chiefly the work of Pol de Limbourg, painted between 1412 and 1416 and now in the Musée Condé, Chantilly   By kind permission of MM. Plon-Nourrit et Cie, Paris  

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CHAPTER I

BEFORE THE COMING OF THE ROMANS

The world is very old, and it has taken a long time to discover much of the ancient story of Britain. Scholars have found out many things because they are able now to read the signs on the rocks and under the soil. From the tools left behind, from the remains of dwellings and from treasures found in graves, we have learned about the ways of men in times before history was written down.

Once, it seems, Britain was a hot land. Great forests grew up everywhere. Strange wild creatures roamed about, and there were monsters in the waters.

Once, too, it was a very cold land, and the snow lay in the valleys and ice-glaciers came sliding down the mountains, making great river beds as they passed.

As it grew warmer, the ice melted and disappeared. The ice fields left pools of water behind them, the lakes that you find in the country still. The rivers, too, brimming over, flowed swiftly to the sea. Mighty rivers they must have been, broader and deeper than they are now.

When men came, they made their homes in the caves and in underground dwellings, and later they built mud huts. They hunted for their food, learned to weave clothes from the grasses, to make weapons from stone and to strike fire from the rocks. This is a very long story and we know little about it.

Of the Britons who dwelt here, we know something from those who had heard of them and wrote about them. Round about their villages, they made wattle-fences to keep away their enemies and the wild beasts that came out of the forests in winter nights.

They were shepherds and had many herds of sheep and cattle, and they grew a little corn. Sometimes, travellers from far-off lands came to visit them, to exchange their eastern coins for grain and skins.

The Britons loved beautiful things. They made cunning designs on their shields and helmets and with dainty tracings they ornamented their pots and jugs. They wove linen in fine patterns and knew how to make dyes. They were fond of music and told stories to one another of dragons and heroes and the great dreams of men.

When their chief died, they raised a mound over his grave; sometimes, too, great pillars of stone. They carried presents of corn and meat and fruit to put upon the grave, because they thought he might need them on his long journey. In some parts of the country, there are pillars of stone set up in circles. It is thought that perhaps the Britons used these as temples, praying and making their offerings under the sky, in sunshine and starshine.

The Romans said that the Britons loved riding wild horses, which they had tamed, and they were so skilful that however fast they galloped, the rider could make the horse stand quite still at any moment. They sometimes rode in chariots and drove furiously. When they went into battle they armed their chariots with sharp knives and cut the enemy down on both sides. But they did not use their chariots often, for they would rather tend flocks in the fields than go to war.

 

CHAPTER II

THE ROMANS

The best soldiers in the world were the Romans, who came from the great city of Rome, far away in Italy. Everybody had heard of their mighty deeds, for they had conquered nearly every land except Britain, and to them Britain seemed to be in the farthest corner of the world, just on the edge, a land, no doubt, of dragons and strange wild people. Now the Romans had heard that there was meat and corn in plenty in the land, that there were tin mines, and tin was very useful for mixing with copper to make armour. So they invaded Britain.

The great Roman army moved very slowly through the land, for there were few roads. Sometimes the soldiers had to cut down trees to make their way through the forests, sometimes they had to cross the dismal fenlands, sometimes to make a bridge over a flooded river, or to wade knee-deep through the swamps. As they marched, they had to fight with the Britons.

The Scots had heard of their coming and