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A
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
BY
CHARLES OMAN,
FELLOW OF ALL SOULS' COLLEGE,
AND DEPUTY-PROFESSOR OF MODERN HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD;
AUTHOR OF
"WARWICK THE KINGMAKER;" "ENGLAND IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY;
"A HISTORY OF GREECE;" "THE ART OF WAR IN THE MIDDLE AGES;"
"THE HISTORY OF THE PENINSULAR WAR," ETC.
ELEVENTH EDITION.
LONDON:
EDWARD ARNOLD.
1904.
PRINTED BY
WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
LONDON AND BECCLES.
PREFACE
When adding one more to the numerous histories ofEngland which have appeared of late years, the author feelsthat he must justify his conduct. Ten years of teaching inthe Honour School of Modern History in the University ofOxford have convinced him that there may still be room fora single-volume history of moderate compass, which neithercramps the earlier annals of our island into a few pages, norexpands the last two centuries into unmanageable bulk.He trusts that his book may be useful to the higher formsof schools, and for the pass examinations of the Universities.The kindly reception which his History of Greece has metboth here and in America, leads him to hope that a volumeconstructed on the same scale and the same lines may benot less fortunate.
He has to explain one or two points which may lead tocriticism. In Old-English names he has followed thecorrect and original forms, save in some few cases, such asEdward and Alfred, where a close adherence to correctnessmight savour of pedantry. He wishes the maps to betaken, not as superseding the use of an atlas, but as givingboundaries, local details, and sites in which many atlaseswill be found wanting.
Finally, he has to give his best thanks to friends whoPg ivwere good enough to correct certain sections of the book—especiallyto Sir William Anson, Warden of All Souls'College, Mr. C. H. Turner of Magdalen College, and Mr.F. Haverfield of Christ Church. But most of all does heowe gratitude to the indefatigable compiler of the Index,whose hands made a burden into a pleasure.
Oxford,
January 25, 1895.
The fact that this book has passed through nine editions inseven years seems to show that it was not altogether writtenin vain, and has answered the purpose for which it waswritten.
The first edition carried the history of Great Britain tothe year 1885. I have now p