HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

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of preventing any attack from foreign foes, by the establishment of a navy,,which, if the romantic representations of the ancient chronicles, and those ofhistorians living at periods less remote from the events which they have re-corded, were to be credited, must have far exceeded that of Persia itself, whenXerxes, in all the pride of eastern dignity and magnificence, sent forth hisfleets, in the vain, but, as he imagined, the certain hope of an almost undis-puted victory. Hoveden, and others, are extravagant enough to assert thatthe fleet of Edgar amounted to three thousand, or three thousand six hundredsail of vessels. Brompton is still more enormous in his account, and raises itto four thousand. But the improbability of these relations is too apparent toengage the attention of a moment. Thorne more modestly reduces his accountwithin the bounds of probability, stating it at no more than three hundred ;and reason may, without any violence to itself, assent to its authenticity, evenwere the report in some degree extended.

This monarch is said to have divided his navy into three squadrons or divi-sions, which were constantly employed in circumnavigating the kingdom, andthereby preventing the attack, and even the approach of any hostile fleet. Wil-liam of Malmesbury, Hoveden, and Huntingdon, all recount the well knownanecdote of this monarch having caused eight tributary princes to row him inhis royal barge, of which he himself managed the helm, on the river Dee *, acircumstance which certainly proves this monarch to have considerably sur-passed in power the greater part, or perhaps any, of his predecessors. Edward,surnamed the Martyr, son and successor to this great prince, who died in thevery prime of life, being only thirty-three years old, during sixteen of whichhe had sat on the throne, reigned only four years, and was then treacherously-murdered by order of Elfrida, his stepmother. During the whole of his short

* All historians, even those of other countries, agree precisely in their account of this event:—11 Edgar was rowed in the river Dee by eight tributary kings. Every summer,” says William ofMalmsbury, “ immediately after Easter, Edgar commanded his ships on every shore to be broughtinto a body, sailing usually with the eastern fleet to the west part of the island ; and then, sending ithack, he sailed with the western fleet into the northern ; and then with the northern he returned tothe eastern. In short, if this account, which is likewise given by Florentius Wigorn, is to be credited,he sailed round his sea every year.” Selden Mar. Claus, fol. 258 .

Each of the fleets above mentioned are said to have consisted of twelve hundred, (some say more)and very stout ones ; but stout is merely a comparative term. Others add a fourth fleet of twelve hun-tlred, which increases the whole naval force to four thousand eight hundred sail; a number whichsufficiently proves the insignificancy of the vessels individually.

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