comely than that of his brothers; in look, in speech, and in manners he was more graceful than they. His noble nature implanted in him from his cradle a love of wisdom above all things, but, with shame be it spoken, by the unworthy neglect of his parents and nurses, he remained illiterate even till he was twelve years old or more, but he listened with serious attention to the Saxon poems which he often heard recited, and easily retained them in his docile memory. He was a zealous practiser of hunting in all its branches, and hunted with great assiduity and success, for skill and good fortune in this art, as in all others, are among the gifts of God, as we also have often witnessed.

On a certain day, therefore, his mother was showing him and his brother a Saxon book of poetry, which she held in her hand, and said, "Whichever of you shall the soonest learn this volume shall have it for his own." Stimulated by these words, or rather by the Divine inspiration, and allured by the beautifully illuminated letter at the beginning of the volume, he spoke before all his brothers, who, though his seniors in age, were not so in grace, and answered, "Will you really give that book to one of us, that is to say, to him who can first understand and repeat it to you?" At this his mother smiled with satisfaction, and confirmed what she had before said. Upon which the boy took the book out of her hand, and went to his master to read it, and in due time brought it to his mother and recited it.

After this he learned the daily course, that is, the celebration of the hours and afterwards certain psalms, and several prayers, contained in a certain book which he kept day and night in his bosom, as we ourselves have seen, and carried about with him to assist his prayers, amid all the bustle and business of this present life. But, sad to say! he could not gratify his most ardent wish to learn the liberal arts, because, as he said, there were no good readers at that time in all the kingdom of the West-Saxons,

23. OF PEOPLE'S RANK AND LAW

SOURCE: Thorpe, Ancient Laws and Institutes of England.

1. It was whilom,1 in the laws of the English, that people and law went by ranks, and then were the counsellors of the nation of worship worthy, each according to his condition "eorl," and "ceorl," "thegen" and "theoden."

2. And if a "ceorl" thrived, so that he had fully five hides 2 of his own land, church, and kitchen, bell-house. . and special duty in the king's hall, then was he thenceforth of thane-right worthy.

3. If a thane thrived, so that he served the king, and on his summons rode among his household; and if he then had a thane, who, in the king's hall served his lord and thrice with his errand went to the king; he might thenceforth, with his "fore-oath" his lord represent, at various needs, and his plaint lawfully conduct, wheresoever he ought.

4. And if a thane thrived so that he became an then was he henceforth of " eorl "-right worthy.

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eorl "

5. And if a merchant thrived so that he fared thrice over the wide sea by his own means, then was he thenceforth of thane-right worthy.

6. And if there a scholar were, who through learning thrived, so that he had holy orders, and served Christ; then was he thenceforth of rank and power so much more worthy.

24. WORKERS AND THEIR WORK

SOURCE: The Colloquies of Aelfric: adapted from the translation by Thorpe in Analecta Anglo-Saxonica.

[The plowman says:] "I work hard; I go out at day break, driving the oxen to the field, and I yoke them to the plow. Be it never so stark winter I dare not linger at home for fear of my lord; but having yoked my oxen, and fastened Approximately 100 acres.

1 Formerly.

share and coulter, every day I must plow a full acre or more. I have a boy driving the oxen with a goad-iron, who is hoarse with cold and shouting. And I do more also. I have to fill the oxen's bins with hay and water them, and take out their litter . . . mighty hard work it is, for I am not free."

[The shepherd says:] "In the first of the morning I drive my sheep to their pasture and stand over them, in heat and in cold with my dogs, lest the wolves swallow them up; and I lead them back to their folds and milk them twice a day; and their folds I move; and I make cheese and butter, and I am true to my lord."

[The Oxherd says:] "When the plowman unyokes the oxen, I lead them to pasture, and all night I stand over them, waking against thieves; and then again in the early morning I betake them, well filled and watered, to the plowman."

[The king's Hunter says:] "I braid me nets and set them in fit places, and set my hounds to follow up the wild game, till they come unsuspecting to the net and are caught therein; and I slay them in the net.. With swift hounds I hunt down wild game. I take harts and boars, and bucks and roes, and sometimes hares. I give the king what I take, because I am his hunter. He clothes me well, and feeds me, and sometimes gives me a horse as an arm-ring that I may pursue my craft the more merrily."

[The Fisher says:] "I go on board my boat and cast my net into the river, and cast my angle and baits, and what they catch I take. I cast the unclean fish away and take me the clean for meat. The citizens buy my fish. I cannot catch as many as I could sell. Eels and pike, minnows and eel-pout, trout and lampreys. . . . In the sea I catch herrings and lax [salmon] porpoises, and sturgeon, oysters and crabs, mussels, periwinkles, sea-cockles, plaice and fluke [flounder], and lobsters and many of the like. . . . It is a perilous thing to catch a whale. It is pleasanter for me to