Part 1 (1/2)

Legends of Longdendale.

by Thomas Middleton.

PREFACE.

Hitherto, the Legends of Longdendale--although popular with the country people of the extreme north-east corner of Ches.h.i.+re--have been scattered, and, to some extent, fragmentary. They are here re-told in what, I hope, is a more permanent and complete form. As far as possible I have carefully followed the original versions; but in one or two instances, it has been necessary to draw upon imagination. I have, therefore, introduced several characters and incidents for the purpose of giving local connection and completeness to those stories which were lacking in detail or were vague in location. The legends are here printed in chronological order. They were first published in the columns of the ”CHEs.h.i.+RE POST” during the winter of 1905-6; and it is to the kind encouragement and a.s.sistance of Mr. Frederick Higham, the proprietor and editor of that journal, that they owe their appearance in book form.

If further explanation as to the publication of these stories be considered necessary, I would refer the reader to the Preface to the first series of ”The Traditions of Lancas.h.i.+re.” In it Mr. Roby quotes the following pa.s.sage from a German writer:--”All genuine, popular tales, arranged with local and national reference, cannot fail to throw light upon contemporary events in history, upon the progressive cultivation of society, and upon the prevailing modes of thinking in every age. Though not consisting of a recital of bare facts, they are in most instances founded upon fact, and in so far connected with history, which occasionally, indeed, borrows from, and often reflects light upon, these familiar annals, these more private and interesting casualties of human life. It is thus that popular tradition connected with all that is most interesting in human history and human action upon a national scale, ... invariably possesses so deep a hold upon the affections, and offers so many instructive hints to the man of the world, to the statesman, the citizen, and the peasant.”

I may add to the above the fact that these wild and improbable tales have a fascination for me, and that I firmly believe it to be the duty of the people of the present to preserve from oblivion the traditions of the past. In the case of the County of Lancaster, this preservation has been admirably carried out by the late John Roby; and it is with the desire to perform a similar service for the County of Ches.h.i.+re--or at least one corner of it,--that I have ventured to write the stories which appear in this volume.

THOMAS MIDDLETON.

Manchester Road, Hyde.

1906.

I.

The Legend of Coombs Rocks.

For some time after the invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar (55 B.C.) no proper steps were taken by the Romans to reduce to submission the northern portion of the island. The civil war in Rome, which resulted in the establishment of a monarchy under Augustus, prevented the Romans from making further attempts upon Britain, for Augustus was unwilling to endanger the empire by extending its limits. At length, however, the Emperor Claudius, remembering the island, sent over an army which carried the Roman line beyond the Thames. Later in the same reign the Romans subdued an insurrection among the Brigantines--a nation which inhabited Lancas.h.i.+re, Yorks.h.i.+re and the other Northern counties. The kingdom of the Brigantines extended to Longdendale, where it was bounded by the territory of the Cornavii, another ancient British tribe who were masters of Ches.h.i.+re and several other counties to the south of the Brigantine line. These warlike tribes again rose in opposition to the Romans, but were finally subdued by Julius Agricola, who, coming to Britain about the year 79 A.D., took possession of Ches.h.i.+re, and occupied the county with his own legion.

He is supposed to have either led or sent a strong force of soldiers to overcome the inhabitants of Longdendale, and one outcome of this expedition was the series of incidents narrated in the following legend.

It would be about the year 80 A.D. when the Romans advanced up the north-east Horn of Ches.h.i.+re to attack the people of Longdendale.

Agricola heralded his coming by a summons to surrender, which was met by a defiant refusal from the haughty Britons. Proud of their country and her great traditions, the local Britons determined to fight for their freedom to the last, preferring death in battle to slavery beneath the yoke of Rome.

”Tell thy proud chief that the sons of Britain are warriors and free men. Free men will they live, and free men die. Never will they submit their necks to the yoke of the Eagle. Rather will they perish on the spears of the legionaires.”

Thus spoke Edas the son of Atli, the brave hill warrior, who was chief of the Britons in Longdendale. The Roman heard, and, proud and haughty though he was, could not help admiring the heroic audacity of the white, half naked savage who stood before him. Edas, son of Atli, was a finely built man, six feet and more in height, broad of chest and stout of limb, and standing thus, with no garment save a covering of wolf-skin about his loins, the beautiful proportions of his frame stood out with the clearness of a statue. His long hair hung loose about his shoulders, s.h.i.+ning golden in the sunlight, and truly was it said of him that no hero of the old time was more glorious to look upon.

For a moment the Roman paused. Then at length he spake.

”Why battle with the legions? Why fight against fate? Why not live as free men? To be a citizen of Rome is to be a free man indeed--a citizen of an empire which rules the world. Welcome the Eagles and live. But resist the legions, and--what then?”

”Then,” replied Edas, ”we shall at least preserve our honour; we shall at least remain free as our fathers were; we shall have the chance to emulate the deeds, and die deaths as glorious as those of the heroes of whom the bards sing, and we shall not live to see our wives and daughters dishonoured by the ruthless soldiers of Rome.”

He looked the Roman full in the face, and the emissary of Agricola flushed with anger at the implication contained in the chief's concluding words.

”Is that all?” he asked. ”Is that thy message to Agricola? Not peace but war?”

”War,” answered the chief fiercely. ”War to the death against the Romans.”

”So be it. The legions will surely come. Farewell.”

A short time only elapsed after the dispatch of this defiant declaration ere the British outposts brought news of the Roman advance. Perfect master of the art of war, Agricola left nothing to the last moment, and the same day which brought the message from the Britons, saw the Roman army in motion. The troops marched along the course of the Mersey, and halted for a s.p.a.ce at Stockport, where they afterwards built a strong station. Then they moved on, still following the stream, and pa.s.sed up the banks of the river Etherow, until the great basin of the Coombs Valley lay before them.