lord heard that a great battle had been fought at Stamford Bridge, in
Yorkshire, in which their gallant King Harold had defeated his own
brother Tostig, aided by the King of Norway, Hardrada, and a large army.
Then the news reached them that William of Normandy had arrived, and
that Harold was marching night and day to meet him. Then they heard of
the fatal battle of Hastings; and when it was told them that their brave
King Harold was slain, and that William, the Norman, was the conqueror
of England and the acknowledged king of the country, all England groaned
to hear the fatal news. And then, after a few years, they found that
their old lord had been deprived of his estates, and a new, haughty,
proud Norman, who talked like a Frenchman, and laughed at their dear old
Saxon language, came and ruled over them. He brought Norman servants
with him, who took the best of the land, and made the Saxons do all the
hard work on the farm, treating them like slaves.

And now we must examine a most valuable document which throws a
wonderfully clear light on the condition of England just before and
after the Conquest. I refer to the _Domesday Book_, or survey of the
country which William caused to be made. The Anglo-Saxon chronicler
tells us that after a great Council at Gloucester the king "sent his men
over all England, into every shire, and caused to be ascertained how
many hundred hides were in the shire, or what land the king himself had,
and cattle within the land, or what dues he ought to have in twelve
months from the shire. Also he caused to be written how much land his
archbishops had, and his suffragan bishops, and abbots, and earls; and
though I may narrate somewhat prolixly, what or how much each man had
who was a holder of land in England, in land, or in cattle, and how much
money it might be worth. So very narrowly he caused it to be traced out,
that there was not one single hide, nor one yard of land, nor even, it
is shame to tell, though it seemed to him no shame to do, an ox, nor a