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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of A History of England, by J. Franck Bright
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
-
-
-Title: A History of England
- Period I, Mediaeval Monarchy
-
-Author: J. Franck Bright
-
-Release Date: February 9, 2020 [EBook #61358]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF ENGLAND ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Jane Robins, John Campbell and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
-file was produced from images generously made available
-by The Internet Archive)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
-
- Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
-
- Bold text is denoted by =equal signs=.
-
- Footnote anchors are denoted by [number], and the footnotes have been
- placed at the end of the book.
-
- The 3-star asterism symbol is displayed as ⁂.
-
- Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.
-
-
-
-
- A HISTORY OF ENGLAND
-
- _MEDIÆVAL MONARCHY_
-
- 449-1485
-
-
-
-
-_A HISTORY OF ENGLAND._
-
- _By the_ Rev. J. FRANCK BRIGHT, M.A., _Fellow of University
- College, and Historical Lecturer in Balliol, New, and University
- Colleges, Oxford; late Master of the Modern School in Marlborough
- College_.
-
- With numerous Maps and Plans. Crown 8vo.
-
- This work is divided into three Periods of convenient and handy
- size, especially adapted for use in Schools, as well as for
- Students reading special portions of History for local and other
- Examinations.
-
-
- Period I.--MEDIÆVAL MONARCHY: The Departure of the Romans, to
- Richard III. From A.D. 449 to A.D. 1485. 4_s._ 6_d._
-
- Period II.--PERSONAL MONARCHY: Henry VII. to James II. From A.D.
- 1485 to A.D. 1688. 5_s._
-
- Period III.--CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY: William and Mary to the
- Present Time. From A.D. 1689 to A.D. 1837. 7_s._ 6_d._
-
-
- [_All rights reserved._]
-
-
-
-
- A
-
- HISTORY OF ENGLAND
-
- BY THE REV.
-
- J. FRANCK BRIGHT, M.A.
-
- FELLOW OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, AND HISTORICAL LECTURER IN BALLIOL,
- NEW, AND UNIVERSITY COLLEGES, OXFORD; LATE MASTER OF THE MODERN
- SCHOOL IN MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE
-
-
- _PERIOD I._
-
- MEDIÆVAL MONARCHY
-
- From the Departure of the Romans to Richard III.
-
- 449-1485
-
-
- With Maps and Plans
-
-
- RIVINGTONS
- _WATERLOO PLACE, LONDON_
- Oxford, and Cambridge
- MDCCCLXXVII
-
- [_Second Edition, Revised_]
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE.
-
-
-The object of this book is expressed in the title. It is intended
-to be a useful book for school teaching, and advances no higher
-pretensions. Some years ago, at a meeting of Public School Masters,
-the want of such a book was spoken of, and at the suggestion of
-his friends, the Author determined to attempt to supply this
-want. The objections raised to the school histories ordinarily
-used were--first, the absence of historical perspective, produced
-by the unconnected manner in which the facts were narrated, and
-the inadequate mention of the foreign relations of the country;
-secondly, the omission of many important points of constitutional
-history; thirdly, the limitation of the history to the political
-relations of the nation, to the exclusion of its social growth.
-It was at first intended to approach the history almost entirely
-on the social and constitutional side; but a very short trial
-proved that this method required a too constant employment of
-allusions, and presupposed too much knowledge in the reader, to
-be suitable for a book intended primarily for schools. It was
-therefore resolved to limit the description of the growth of
-society to a few comprehensive chapters and passages, and to
-follow the general course of history in such a way as to bring out
-as clearly as possible the connection of the events, and their
-relative importance in the general national growth. This decision,
-though taken against his inclinations, the Author can no longer
-regret, as the social side of our history has been so adequately
-treated by Mr. Green in his _History of the English People_, of the
-approaching publication of which he was at the time quite ignorant.
-On the same grounds of practical utility, it has been thought
-better to retain the old and well-known divisions into reigns,
-rather than to disturb the knowledge boys have already gained by
-the introduction of a new though more scientific division.
-
-The Author has not scrupled to avail himself of the works of modern
-authors, though, in most cases, he has verified their views by
-reference to original authorities. In the earlier period the works
-of Professor STUBBS, Mr. FREEMAN, and Dr. PAULI; in the Tudor and
-Stuart period those of FROUDE, RANKE, and MACAULAY; in the later
-period the histories of Miss MARTINEAU and Lord STANHOPE have been
-of the greatest assistance. Greater stress has been laid upon the
-later than the earlier periods, as is indeed obvious from the
-divisions of the work. With regard to the starting-point chosen,
-it may be well to explain that the English invasion was fixed
-upon, because it so thoroughly obliterated all remnants of the
-Roman rule, that they have exerted little or no influence upon
-the development of the nation--the real point of interest in a
-national history. It is hoped that the genealogies of the great
-families will assist in the comprehension of mediæval times in
-the history of which they played so large a part, and that the
-maps supplied will suffice to enable the reader to follow pretty
-accurately, without reference to another atlas, the military and
-political events mentioned. A brief and rapid summary for the use
-of beginners was originally projected to preface the work, but the
-brevity required by a book of this description rendered such an
-addition impossible without injury to the more important part. An
-attempt has been made to replace it by a very full analysis, which,
-in the hands of a careful teacher, has been proved by experience a
-useful method of teaching the main facts of history.
-
- OXFORD, 1875.
-
-
-
-
-A LIST OF SOME USEFUL AUTHORITIES.
-
-
-BEFORE THE CONQUEST.
-
-GENERAL HISTORIES.
-
- Lappenberg’s _England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings_. Lingard’s
- _History of England_. Sharon Turner’s _History of the
- Anglo-Saxons_. Freeman and Palgrave have each published short
- books for the young on the period.
-
-CONSTITUTIONAL.
-
- All that is necessary to be known is to be found in Stubbs’
- _Constitutional History_. Treated more at length in Kemble’s
- _Saxons in England_, and Sir F. Palgrave’s _History of the
- English Commonwealth_. An excellent sketch in Freeman’s _Norman
- Conquest_. All the ancient laws are collected in Thorpe’s
- _Ancient Laws_; sufficient extracts to be found in Stubbs’
- _Illustrative Documents_. The whole history, including literature
- and society, is given in Green’s _History of the English People_
- in a brief and very interesting form.
-
-GENERAL AUTHORITIES.
-
- Bæda’s _Ecclesiastical History_, for a century and a half after
- the landing of Augustin. _The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_, which
- becomes very important after the time of Alfred. Milman’s _Latin
- Christianity_.
-
-THE ENGLISH CONQUEST.
-
- Gildas, and the earlier part of the _Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_.
-
-ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH.
-
- Kemble’s _Saxons_. Stubbs’ _Constitutional History_.
-
-ALFRED.
-
- Asser’s _Life_. Dr. Pauli’s _Life_.
-
-DUNSTAN.
-
- Stubbs’ Preface to _Life of Dunstan_ (Master of the Rolls’
- series). E. W. Robertson’s _Essay on Dunstan_.
-
-EADWARD THE CONFESSOR AND FAMILY OF GODWINE.
-
- _Lives of Eadward_, edited by Luard (Rolls’ series). Freeman’s
- _Norman Conquest_, vol. ii.
-
-NORMANDY.
-
- Palgrave’s _History of Normandy and England_. Freeman’s _Norman
- Conquest_. William de Jumièges. Orderic Vitalis. William of
- Poitiers.
-
-
-NORMAN AND PLANTAGENET KINGS.
-
-GENERAL HISTORIES.
-
- Lingard. Lappenberg. Pearson’s _Early and Middle Ages of
- England_. Hook’s _Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury_.
- Campbell’s _Lives of the Chancellors_. Foss’s _Judges of England_.
-
-CONSTITUTIONAL.
-
- Stubbs’ _Constitutional History_ and _Illustrative Documents_.
-
-GENERAL AUTHORITIES.
-
- Orderic Vitalis. _Anglo-Saxon Chronicle._
-
-WILLIAM I.
-
- Eadmer’s _Historia Novorum_. Domesday-Book with Ellis’
- Introduction.
-
-WILLIAM II.
-
- Palgrave’s _William Rufus_. Eadmer’s _Life of Anselm_. Church’s
- _Life of Anselm_.
-
-HENRY I.
-
- William of Malmesbury. Henry of Huntingdon (Surtees Society).
-
-STEPHEN.
-
- Gesta Stephani (Surtees Society).
-
-HENRY II. and BECKET.
-
- Dr. Giles’ _Collection of the Letters of Becket, Foliot, and John
- of Salisbury_. Gervais of Canterbury till 1200 (_Twisden’s Decem
- Scriptores_). Benedict of Peterborough, 1169-1192, and Roger of
- Hoveden to 1201, with Stubbs’ Prefaces in the Rolls’ series.
- William of Newbury, to 1198 (English Historical Society). Lord
- Lyttleton’s _Life of Henry II._
-
-IRELAND.
-
- Geraldus Cambrensis’ _Conquest of Ireland_ (Rolls’ series,
- translated in Bohn).
-
-RICHARD I.
-
- _Itinerarium Regis Ricardi_ (Rolls’ series). Richard of Devizes
- (English Historical Society). Ralph of Diceto, 1200 (Twisden).
- Several chronicles are translated in Bohn as _Chronicles of the
- Crusades_.
-
-JOHN AND THE GREAT CHARTER.
-
- Roger of Wendover, who was continued by Matthew of Paris, and
- William Rishanger (Rolls’ series). Chronicles of various abbeys,
- such as Waverley and Dunstable. For the English reader, Stubbs’
- _Illustrative Documents_.
-
-HENRY III.
-
- Matthew of Paris. Rishanger. _The Royal Letters_ (edited by
- Shirley in the Rolls’ series). _The Rhyming Chronicle_ of
- Robert of Gloucester to 1270. Blaauw’s _Barons’ War_. Wright’s
- _Political Songs_ (Camden Society). Brewer’s _Monumenta
- Franciscana_ (Rolls’ series).
-
-
-LATER PLANTAGENETS.
-
-GENERAL HISTORIES.
-
- Sharon Turner’s _Middle Ages_. Lingard. Dr. Pauli’s _Geschichte
- von England_. Hook’s _Archbishops_. Campbell’s _Chancellors_.
-
-CONSTITUTIONAL.
-
- Stubbs. Hallam.
-
-GENERAL AUTHORITIES.
-
- Rymer’s _Fœdera_. Public Documents published chiefly by
- the Record Commission. Various Rolls, especially _Rolls of
- Parliament_, _Statutes of the Realm_, _Proceedings and Ordinances
- of the Privy Council_. Walter of Hemingburgh, to 1346. Thomas of
- Walsingham, a compilation from the Annals of St. Albans Abbey
- (Rolls’ series).
-
-FOR SCOTCH HISTORY.
-
- Hill Burton’s _History of Scotland_.
-
-FOR FRENCH HISTORY.
-
- Martin or Sismondi’s _History_.
-
-EDWARD I.
-
- Trivet (English Historical Society). Rishanger. Palgrave’s
- _Documents and Records illustrating History of Scotland_.
- Freeman’s _Essay on Edward I._ Modus tenendi Parliamentum
- (Stubbs’ _Documents_). _Rotuli Scotiæ_ (Record Commission).
-
-TOWNS.
-
- _Ordinances of the English Guilds_ (Early English Text Society),
- with Brentano’s Preface.
-
-EDWARD II.
-
- Trokelowe, to 1323 (Rolls’ series). Anonymous Monk of Malmesbury,
- to 1327. Thomas de la Moor (Camden Society). Adam of Murimuth
- (English Historical Society).
-
-EDWARD III.
-
- Froissart. John le Bel. Robert of Avesbury, to 1356 (Hearne).
- Knyghton (Twisden’s _Decem Scriptores_). Longman’s _History of
- Edward III._
-
-WICLIFFE.
-
- Shirley’s Preface to _Fasciculi Zizaniorum_. Vaughan’s _Life of
- Wicliffe_.
-
-BLACK DEATH.
-
- Seebohm’s Essays in the _Fortnightly Review_ for 1865.
-
-CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE.
-
- Rogers’ _History of Prices_.
-
-RICHARD II.
-
- Walsingham. _Annales Ricardi Secundi et Henrici Quinti_ (Rolls’
- series). _Chronique de la Traison et Mort de Richard_ (English
- Historical Society). M. Wallon’s _Richard II._ is said to be
- the best modern book on the subject. Wright’s _Political Songs_
- (Rolls’ series).
-
-
-HOUSES OF LANCASTER AND YORK.
-
-GENERAL HISTORIES.
-
- As before, with Brougham’s _History of England under the House of
- Lancaster_.
-
-OLD HISTORIES.
-
- Fabyan, died 1512 (edited by Sir Henry Ellis). Hall, _Henry
- IV._ to _Henry VIII._ Polydore Vergil (Camden Society).
- Stowe, published 1592. Ellis’ _Collection of Original Letters
- illustrative of English History_.
-
-HENRY IV.
-
- Walsingham (Rolls’ series). Knyghton. _Royal Historical Letters_
- (Rolls’ series).
-
-HENRY V.
-
- Walsingham. _Memorials of Henry V._ (Rolls’ series). Titus Livius
- _Vita Henrici Quinti_ (copied in part in the _Gesta_). _Gesta
- Henrici Quinti_ (Historical Society). Monstrelet.
-
-HENRY VI.
-
- William of Worcester to 1491 (completed by his son). _English
- Chronicle_ (Richard II. to 1471) (Camden Society). Continuator
- of Croyland, 1459-1485. John of Westhampstead (Hearne). _Paston
- Letters_, 1434-1485 (E. D. Gairdner). _Memoir of John Carpenter._
- _Wars of the English in France_ (Rolls’ series). _Procès de
- Jeanne d’Arc_ (Historical Society of France).
-
-EDWARD IV.
-
- _Arrival of Edward IV._ (Camden Society). Warkworth, 1461-1474.
-
-EDWARD V.
-
- _Life_, by Sir Thomas More.
-
-RICHARD III.
-
- _History_, by Sir Thomas More. Miss Halsted’s _Life_. _Letters of
- Richard III. and Henry VII._ (Gairdner, Rolls’ series).
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
- ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 449-1066.
-
- PAGE
-
- =Departure of the Romans=, 1
- =Settlement of the various English tribes=, 1
-
- 449 The Jutes, 1
-
- 477 The Saxons, 2
-
- 520 The Angles, 2
-
- 597 =Conversion to Christianity=, 3
- =Struggle for supremacy among the Saxon kingdoms=, 3
- Supremacy of Northumbria, 3
-
- 716-819 Supremacy of Mercia, 4
-
- 800 _Ecgberht_, 5
- Supremacy of the West Saxons, 5
- =Period of Danish Invasion=, 5
-
- 836 _Æthelwulf_, 6
-
- 858 _Æthelbald_, 6
-
- 860 _Æthelberht_, 6
-
- 866 _Æthelred_, 6
-
- 870 =Danish Conquest of East Anglia=, 7
-
- 871 _Alfred_, 7
- Appreciation of Alfred’s character, 8
- Continued superiority of Wessex, 10
-
- 901 _Eadward the Elder_, 10
-
- 925 _Æthelstan_, 11
-
- 940 _Eadmund_, 11
-
- 946 _Eadred_, 11
- Rise of Dunstan, 12
-
- 955 _Edwy_, 13
-
- 957 _Eadgar_, 13
- Dunstan’s government, 13
- Division of Northumbria, 14
-
- 975 _Eadward the Martyr_, 15
- Fall of Dunstan, 15
-
- 979 _Æthelred the Unready_, 15
- =Third Period of Danish Invasion=, 15
-
- 991 Battle of Maldon, 16
-
- 994 First Danegelt, 16
- Æthelred’s Marriage with Emma, 17
-
- 1002 Massacre of St. Brice, 17
- Pernicious influence of Eadric Streona, 17
-
- 1008 Thurkill’s invasion, 17
-
- 1013 Swegen’s Great Invasion, 18
- England submits to Swegen, 18
-
- 1014 Restoration of Æthelred, 18
-
- 1016 _Edmund Ironside_, 19
- Five great battles, 19
- Division of the Kingdom, 19
-
- 1017 =Cnut King of all England=, 19
- His patriotic government, 20
- Disputed succession, 21
- Importance of Earl Godwine, 21
-
- 1037 _Harold_, 21
-
- 1040 _Harthacnut_, 21
- =Restoration of the English Line=, 21
-
- 1042 _Eadward the Confessor_, 21
- Rivalry of Godwine and the French Party, 22
-
- 1051 Godwine banished, 22
-
- 1052 His return and death, 23
-
- 1053 Harold succeeds to his influence, 23
- He subdues Wales, 24
-
- 1066 =Harold made King=, 24
- Claims of his rivals, Tostig and William of Normandy, 24
- William’s preparations, 25
- Tostig’s invasion, 26
- William lands, 26
- =Battle of Hastings or Senlac=, 26
- Death of Harold, 27
-
-
- STATE OF SOCIETY AT THE CONQUEST.
-
-
- THE CONQUEST.
-
- WILLIAM I. 1066-1087.
-
- 1066 =Intended resistance of the English=, 40
- Election of Eadgar, 41
- William marches to London, 41
- =William is crowned=, 41
- His position as King, 42
- Transfer of Property, 43
- The form of Law retained, 43
- Castles built, 43
- Appointment of Earls, 43
-
- 1067 William revisits Normandy, 44
- Misgovernment by his Viceroys, 44
- Consequent rebellion, 44
- =Insurrections= call him home, 44
-
- 1068 His position in the North and West, 45
-
- 1096 His devastations in Yorkshire, 47
-
- 1070 =Complete subjugation of the North=, 47
- =William’s legislation=, 48
- His reform of the Church, 48
- Appointment of foreign Bishops, 48
- Stigand deposed, 48
- Lanfranc Archbishop, 49
- His Legislation, 49
- He connects the Church with Rome, 49
- But William still Head of the Church, 49
-
- 1071 =Final Struggle of the English under Hereward=, 50
- Wales held in check by the Counts Palatine, 51
- Savage invasions from Scotland, 51
-
- 1072 Malcolm swears fealty, 52
-
- 1075 =Troubles in Normandy=, 52
-
- 1076 Conspiracy of Norman nobles suppressed, 52
- Waltheof executed, 53
- Quarrel between William and his Sons, 53
-
- 1079 Reconciliation at Gerberoi, 54
- Odo’s oppressive government, 54
-
- 1084 =Cnut’s threatened invasion=, 54
-
- 1085 =The Domesday Book=, 55
-
- 1087 William’s death and burial, 55
-
-
- CONQUEST OF NORMANDY AND ORGANIZATION OF ENGLAND.
-
- WILLIAM II. 1087-1100.
-
- 1087 William crowned by Lanfranc, 56
- Appeases the English, 56
- Checks Norman opposition, 57
-
- 1089 Lanfranc dies, 57
- Flambard succeeds him, 57
-
- 1090 =William’s quarrels with his Brothers=, 57
-
- 1091 War with Scotland, 58
-
- 1094 Continued War with Wales, 59
- Troubles in Normandy, 59
-
- 1095 =Conspiracy of Mowbray=, 59
-
- 1100 Size of his Dominions at his death, 60
- Causes of his inferiority to his Father, 60
-
- 1089 Disputes with the Church, 61
- Bishoprics left vacant, 61
-
- 1093 Anselm made Archbishop, 61
- William opposes his reforms, 62
-
-
- HENRY I. 1100-1135.
-
- 1100 =Henry secures the crown=, 63
- Conciliates all classes, 63
- His policy, 64
- His opponents, 65
-
- 1101 =Robert seeks the crown=, 65
- Withdraws without bloodshed, 65
- Henry attacks his partisans, 65
-
- 1102 =Defeat of Belesme and Norman Barons=, 66
- Establishment of royal power, 66
- Belesme received in Normandy, 66
-
- 1105 Consequent invasion of the Duchy, 66
-
- 1106 =Battle of Tenchebray, defeat of Robert=, 66
-
- 1107 =War with France=, 67
- Louis supports William Clito, 67
- End of the War, 67
-
- 1113 Treaty of Gisors, 67
- Prince William acknowledged heir, 68
-
- 1115 Renewed War with France and Anjou, 68
-
- 1119 =Battle of Brenneville=, 68
- =Complete prosperity=, 68
-
- 1120 =Death of Prince William, and its consequences=, 68
-
- 1124 War with Anjou, 69
-
- 1128 Death of William Clito, 69
- Attempt to secure the succession to Matilda, 69
-
- 1135 Death of Henry, 70
- Wales held in check by colonies of Flemings, 70
- Constant insurrections, 70
- =Henry’s Church policy=, 70
-
- 1100 Anselm refuses fealty, 71
- He has to leave England, 71
-
- 1106 Unsupported by the Pope, 71
- Makes a compromise at Bec, 71
-
- 1102 Synod of Westminster, 71
- Frequent bad Church appointments, 72
- Henry corrects them when possible, 72
- =Wretched condition of the People=, 72
- Their chief complaints, 73
- Baronial tyranny, 73
- Heavy taxation, 73
- Henry cures what evils he can, 74
- His strict Police, 74
- =Administrative machinery=, 74
- Local Courts, 75
- Curia Regis, 75
- Its political effect, 76
- The National Assembly, 76
-
-
- FEUDAL OUTBREAK.
-
- STEPHEN. 1135-1154.
-
- 1135 Strange character of the Reign, 77
- Great power of the Church, 78
- Stephen’s Charter, 78
- Affairs in Wales, 78
- Early signs of disturbance, 79
-
- 1137 War with Scotland, 79
- Last national effort of the English, 79
-
- 1138 Battle of the Standard, 80
- =Growth of Anarchy in England=, 80
- Creation of Earldoms and castles, 80
- Robert of Gloucester renounces his fealty, 81
- Stephen’s mercenaries, 81
- Jealousy between the old and new Administrations, 81
- =Stephen’s quarrel with the Church=, 82
-
- 1139 Consequent arrival of Matilda, 82
- Civil War, 82
- Continued quarrel with the Church, 82
-
- 1141 =Robert of Gloucester, to bring matters to a crisis,
- fights the Battle of Lincoln=, 83
- =Matilda seeks help from the Church and becomes Queen=, 83
- Importance of the Londoners, 83
- =Matilda offends both Church and Londoners=, 84
- Consequent revolution of affairs, 84
-
- 1142 Gloucester taken prisoner and exchanged for Stephen, 84
-
- 1146 Renewal of the old anarchy, 84
-
- 1147 =Appearance of Prince Henry=, 84
-
- 1148 Death of Robert of Gloucester, 85
-
- 1152 Henry’s marriage and increased power, 85
- =The Church sides with him=, 85
-
- 1153 Meeting of the armies at Wallingford, 85
- =The Church mediates a Compromise=, 86
-
- 1154 Death of Stephen, 86
- Quotations from Chroniclers showing the miseries of the
- Reign, 86
-
-
- RECONSTITUTION OF THE MONARCHY--FORMATION OF THE NATION.
-
- HENRY II. 1154-1189.
-
- 1154 =Main Objects of Henry’s Reign=, 89
- =He restores order in the State=, 90
- Friendship with Adrian IV., 90
-
- 1157 Master of England, Henry attacks Wales, 91
- Rise of Thomas à Becket, 92
-
- 1158 He is employed in foreign negotiations, 92
-
- 1159 Nevertheless there is war with France, 92
- Interesting points in it, 92
- The Scotch King serves Henry, 93
- =Introduction of Scutage=, 93
- =Having reduced the State to order, Henry turns to the
- Church=, 93
- General friendship of England and France with the Pope, 94
-
- 1161 Election of Becket to Archbishopric, 95
- He upholds the Encroachments of the Church, 95
-
- 1164 =Quarrel with Becket, and Constitutions of Clarendon=, 95
- Becket refuses them, 96
- Lukewarmness of Alexander III., 96
- The quarrel takes a legal form, 97
- Comes before the Council, 97
- Henry presses him with charges, 97
- Becket leaves the Court before judgment is given, 98
-
- 1165 He is received by the Pope, 98
- But Henry refuses to oppose Alexander, 99
-
- 1166 Meanwhile he attacks Wales, and secures Brittany, 99
- Becket excommunicates his enemies, 99
-
- 1167 The Pope temporizes, 99
- Critical position of Henry, 100
-
- 1170 =Coronation of young Henry=, 100
- Finding this step unpopular, 101
- =Henry submits=, 101
- Becket ventures to return to England, 101
- Becket’s death, 101
- =Henry retires to the Invasion of Ireland=, 102
- Condition of Ireland, 102
-
- 1169 Invasion by Strongbow, 102
-
- 1171 Henry himself invades Ireland, 102
- Irish Church adopts Romish discipline, 102
- Henry’s reconciliation with Rome, 103
-
- 1174 =Great Insurrection=, 103
- Crisis of the danger, 104
- Henry’s penance at Canterbury, 104
- Capture of the Scotch King at Alnwick, 104
- =Henry’s complete success=, 105
- Small diminution of Henry’s power, either temporal or
- ecclesiastical, 105
- =Henry’s Judicial and Constitutional changes=, 106
- The Curia Regis, 106
- Itinerant Justices, 106
- Origin of the Jury, 108
- Assize of Arms, Scutage, 109
- =Closing troubles with his Sons and with France=, 109
- The causes of these troubles, 109
-
- 1183 First War, against Young Henry, 110
-
- 1184 Second War, against Richard, 111
-
- 1187 Third War, 111
-
- 1188 Saladin Tax, 111
-
- 1189 Last War, with Richard and Philip, 112
- Henry’s ill success, 112
- Disastrous Peace and Death, 112
- Importance of the Reign, 113
-
-
- RICHARD I. 1189-1199.
-
- 1189 Persecution of the Jews, 115
- All Offices put up for sale, 116
-
- 1190 =Richard starts for the Crusade=, 110
- Leaving England to Longchamp, 116
- Richard quarrels with Philip in Sicily, 117
-
- 1191 He conquers Cyprus, 118
- Miserable condition of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 119
-
- 1187 Jerusalem taken by Saladin, 119
-
- 1189 Acre besieged, 119
-
- 1191 Arrival of the Crusaders, 119
- Richard saves Acre, 120
- Philip goes home, 120
- Richard quarrels with Austria, 120
-
- 1192 Truce with Saladin, 121
-
- 1191 =John’s Behaviour in England=, 121
- Return of Philip, 122
- Need of Richard’s return, 122
-
- 1192 His imprisonment in Germany, 122
- John and Philip combine against him, 122
- England ransoms him, 123
-
- 1194 =Richard’s return, John’s defeat=, 123
- War with France, 123
-
- 1199 Richard’s death at Chaluz, 124
- Development of the Administrative System, 124
-
-
- STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE CROWN AND THE NATION.
-
- JOHN. 1199-1216.
-
- 1199 =John secures the crown=, 126
- His strong position, 127
-
- 1200 His danger from France, 127
- Peace with Philip, and marriage treaty, 127
- =Marriage with Isabella de la Marche=, 128
-
- 1201 Homage of Scotland, 128
- Outbreak in Poitou, 128
-
- 1202 =John’s French Provinces forfeited=, 128
-
- 1203 Death of Arthur, 129
-
- 1205 =Loss of Normandy=, 129
-
- 1206 Peace with Philip, 129
-
- 1205 =Election of the Archbishop of Canterbury=, 130
- Stephen Langton, 131
-
- 1207 Consecration at Viterbo, and John’s violence, 131
-
- 1208 Interdict and flight of Bishops, 131
-
- 1209 Excommunication, 131
-
- 1210 Attack on Scotland, Ireland and Wales, 132
- Disaffection of the Northern Barons, 133
- The King’s rapacity, 133
-
- 1211 European crisis, 133
- League with Northern Princes, 133
-
- 1213 John’s deposition, 133
- =Surrender of the Crown to the Pope=, 134
- John’s improved position, 134
-
- 1214 Renewed difficulties with Stephen Langton, 135
-
- 1215 =John hopes to secure his position by victory in
- France=, 135
-
- 1214 =Battle of Bouvines=, 136
-
- 1215 =Insurrection in England on his return=, 136
- Meeting at Brackley, 136
- Capture of London, 137
- Runnymede, 137
- Political position of England, 137
- =Terms of Magna Charta=, 138
- John attempts to break loose from it, 139
-
- 1216 =Louis is summoned=, 139
- John’s death, 140
-
-
- HENRY III. 1216-1272.
-
- 1216 =Henry’s authority gradually established=, 141
- Difficulties at his accession, 142
- Pembroke’s measures of conciliation, 142
-
- 1217 Fair of Lincoln, 112
- Louis leaves England, 142
- Renewal of the Charter, 142
-
- 1218 =Papal attempt to govern by Legates=, 143
- Pandulf’s government, 143
-
- 1221 His fall, 143
- =Triumph of national party under Hubert de Burgh=, 143
- Parties in England, 144
-
- 1223 Opposition Barons at Leicester, 144
- Resumption of royal castles, 145
-
- 1224 Destruction of Faukes de Breauté, 145
- Danger from France, 145
-
- 1223 Death of Philip, 145
-
- 1226 Death of Louis VIII., 145
- English neglect this opportunity, 146
- Poitou remains French, 146
-
- 1227 Hubert’s continued power, 146
- Langton supports his policy, 146
- Change of Popes--increased exactions, 147
-
- 1228 Death of Langton, 147
- =Quarrel of Henry and De Burgh=, 147
-
- 1229 Henry’s false foreign policy, 147
-
- 1231 Return of Des Roches, 148
-
- 1232 Twenge’s riots, 148
- Fall of De Burgh, 148
-
- 1233 =Revolution under Des Roches=, 149
- Earl of Pembroke upholds De Burgh, 149
-
- 1234 Edmund of Canterbury causes Des Roches’ fall, 150
-
- 1235 =Henry becomes his own minister=, 151
-
- 1236 Henry’s marriage, 151
-
- 1237 =Influence of the Queen’s uncles=, 151
-
- 1238 =Formation of a national party under Simon de
- Montfort=, 152
- Revival in the Church, 152
- Grostête, 153
-
- 1243 Loss of Poitou, 153
- Prince Richard joins the foreign party, 154
-
- 1244 Exactions in Church and State, 154
-
- 1247 =Inroad of Poitevin favourites=, 155
-
- 1248 Discontent of the Barons, 155
- Continued misgovernment, 155
-
- 1249 Tallages on the cities, 155
-
- 1250 Diversion of the Crusade, 156
- De Montfort’s government of Gascony, 156
- His quarrel with the King, 156
-
- 1253 By his aid Gascony is saved, 156
- The King’s money difficulties, 157
-
- 1254 =The Pope offers Edmund the Kingdom of Sicily=, 157
- Henry accepts it on ruinous terms, 157
-
- 1256 Consequent exactions, 158
-
- 1257 Terrible famine, 158
- =Parliament at length roused to resistance=, 158
- Parliament at Westminster, 158
-
- 1258 =The “Mad Parliament,”= 159
- Provisions of Oxford, 159
- Opposition to the surrender of Castles, 160
- Exile of aliens, 160
- Proclamation of the Provisions, 160
- Government of the Barons, 160
-
- 1259 Final treaty with France, 161
- =Henry thinks of breaking the Provisions=, 161
-
- 1261 The Pope’s absolution arrives, 161
- Quarrel between De Clare and De Montfort, 161
-
- 1262 Return of De Montfort, 162
-
- 1263 =Outbreak of hostilities=, 162
-
- 1264 The Award of Amiens fails, 163
- =War--Battle of Lewes=, 163
- The Mise of Lewes, 163
- Appointment of revolutionary government, 163
- The exiles assemble at Damme, 164
- De Montfort desires final settlement, 164
- Royalist movements on the Welsh Marches, 164
-
- 1265 Parliament assembles, 165
- Conditions of Prince Edward’s liberation, 165
- =De Clare forsakes the Barons=, 166
- He joins the Marchers, 166
- =Escape of Edward=, 166
- Leicester opposes Edward in Wales, 166
- Defeat at Kenilworth, 166
- =Battle of Evesham=, 167
-
- 1266 Dictum of Kenilworth, 168
-
- 1267 De Clare compels more moderate government, 168
- =Constitutional end of the reign=, 168
- =Views of the people on the war=, 168
-
-
- SETTLEMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION.
-
- EDWARD I. 1272-1307.
-
- 1272 =Edward’s accession and character=, 171
- The first English King, 172
- His political views, 173
- His legal mind, 173
- His success, 173
- His enforced concessions, 174
-
- 1275 His first Parliament, 174
- Statute of Westminster, 174
- Establishment of Customs, 174
-
- 1278 =Edward’s restorative measures=, 174
- New coinage, 175
-
- 1279 Statute of Mortmain, 175
- =Affairs in Wales=, 175
-
- 1275 Llewellyn’s suspicious conduct, 175
-
- 1277 War breaks out, 176
- Llewellyn submits, and is mercifully treated, 176
-
- 1282 Second rising in Wales, 176
- Death of Llewellyn, 176
-
- 1288 Execution of David, 176
-
- 1284 Statute of Wales, 177
- =Annexation of Wales=, 177
-
- 1282 Foreign affairs call Edward abroad, 177
-
- 1284 The Sicilian Vespers, 177
-
- 1286 Edward acts as mediator between France and Aragon, 178
-
- 1288 His award is repudiated, 178
-
- 1289 Disturbances in England during his absence, 178
- He returns, punishes corrupt judges, banishes the Jews, 179
- =Second period of the reign=, 179
- =Relations with Scotland=, 180
-
- 1290 Extinction of the Scotch royal family, 181
- Proposed marriage of the Maid and Prince Edward, 181
- Invitation to Edward to settle the Succession, 182
- Death of the Maid, 182
-
- 1291 Meeting at Norham, 182
- Edward’s supremacy allowed, 182
- The claimants to the Scotch throne, 182
-
- 1292 Edward gives a just verdict, 183
- Balliol accepts the throne as a vassal, 183
-
- 1293 Scotland appeals therefore to the English Courts, 183
- The appeals not pressed to extremities, 184
- =Quarrel with France=, 184
- Edward is outwitted, Gascony occupied, 184
- Balliol in alliance with France, 184
-
- 1295 =First True Parliament=, 183
-
- 1296 Edward marches into Scotland, 185
- Defeat of the Scotch at Dunbar, 185
- Submission of Balliol and Scotland, 186
- =Constitutional opposition of Clergy and Barons=, 186
-
- 1296 Refusal of the Clergy to grant subsidies, 186
-
- 1297 The Clergy outlawed, 187
- The Barons refuse to assist Edward, 187
- Compromise with the Clergy, 187
- Edward secures an illegal grant, 187
- The Earls demand the confirmation of the Charters, 188
- They are granted with reservations, 188
- =Scotch insurrection under Wallace=, 189
-
- 1299 English Treaty with France, 189
- Edward invades Scotland, 190
- =Defeats Wallace at Falkirk=, 190
- Comyn’s Regency, 190
-
- 1301 =Parliament of Lincoln=, 190
- The Pope’s claims rejected, 191
-
- 1303 =Third invasion and conquest of Scotland=, 191
-
- 1306 Bruce murders Comyn and rebels, 192
- =Preparations for a fourth invasion=, 192
-
- 1307 Edward’s death near Carlisle, 192
- =Constitutional importance of the reign=, 193
-
-
- RENEWAL OF THE STRUGGLE OF THE NATION AGAINST THE CROWN.
-
- EDWARD II. 1307-1327.
-
- 1307 =Edward’s friendship for Gaveston=, 198
-
- 1308 The Barons demand his dismissal, 198
-
- 1309 Gaveston’s return, 199
- General discontent, 199
- Statute of Stamford, 200
-
- 1310 =Appointment of the Lords Ordainers=, 200
-
- 1311 Useless assault on Scotland, 200
- The Ordinances published, 201
- Policy of the Opposition, 201
- Gaveston banished, 201
-
- 1312 He reappears with the King, 202
- He is beheaded at Warwick, 202
-
- 1314 =Renewal of the War with Scotland=, 203
- Battle of Bannockburn, 203
- Edward refuses to treat, 204
- Consequent disasters, 204
-
- 1315 Wars in Wales and Ireland, 204
- Bruce’s invasion of Ireland, 204
-
- 1316 He is crowned King, 205
-
- 1318 He is killed at Dundalk, 205
-
- 1316 Distress in England, 205
- =Lancaster temporary Minister=, 205
- =Power of the Despensers=, 205
-
- 1318 Temporary reconciliation, 206
-
- 1320 Truce with Scotland, 206
- The Welsh Marchers quarrel with the Despensers, 206
- Edward supports his favourites, 206
-
- 1321 Hereford and Lancaster combine, 206
- =The Despensers are banished=, 206
- An insult to the Queen rouses the King to energy, 207
- =Edward recalls the Despensers=, 207
-
- 1322 Pacifies the Marches, 207
- Attacks Lancaster, 207
- =Battle of Boroughbridge=, 207
- Lancaster worshipped as a Saint, 207
- =Triumph of the Despensers=, 208
- Renewal of war with Scotland, 208
-
- 1323 =Peace for thirteen years with Scotland=, 208
- Dangers surrounding the King, 208
-
- 1324 Difficulties with France, 209
-
- 1325 =The Queen and Prince in France=, 209
-
- 1326 =She lands in England=, 210
- Her party gathers strength, 210
- The King is taken, 210
-
- 1327 The Prince of Wales made King, 210
- Murder of Edward, 211
-
-
- BEGINNING OF HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR, AND CONSTITUTIONAL
- PROGRESS.
-
- EDWARD III. 1327-1377.
-
- 1327 Measures of reform, 214
- =Mortimer’s misgovernment=, 214
- Fruitless campaign against Scotland, 214
- Opposition to Mortimer, 214
-
- 1330 Conspiracy and death of Kent, 215
- =Edward overthrows Mortimer=, 215
- Edward’s healing measures, 216
-
- 1332 =Balliol invades Scotland=, 216
- Edward supports him, 216
- Siege of Berwick, 217
-
- 1333 Battle of Halidon Hill, 217
-
- 1334 =Temporary Submission of Scotland=, 217
- =Edward’s claims on France=, 218
- =The Scotch, with Philip’s help, renew the War=, 218
-
- 1337 Edward therefore produces his claims, 218
- =Edward attacks France=, 218
-
- 1338 His alliances on the North-east, 219
- He is made Imperial Vicar, 219
- Great taxation, 219
- He lands in Flanders, 220
-
- 1339 Deserted by his allies, he returns home, 220
-
- 1340 Returns, and wins the Battle of Sluys, 220
- Fruitless expedition to Tournay, 220
- Sudden visit to England, 221
- Displacement of the Ministry, 221
-
- 1341 =His dispute with Stratford=, 221
- Edward yields, 221
-
- 1342 Loss of all his allies, 222
- =New opening in Brittany=, 222
-
- 1343 Mediation of the Pope offered, 223
- Decay of Papal influence, 223
-
- 1344 His mediation accepted conditionally, it fails, 224
- Edward’s commercial difficulties, 224
-
- 1345 =War breaks out again=, 224
- Derby hard pressed in Guienne, 224
-
- 1346 Edward, to relieve him, lands in Normandy, 225
- Marches towards Calais, 225
- Battle of Cressy, 227
- Battle of Neville’s Cross, 228
-
- 1347 Siege of Calais, 228
- =Truce=, 229
-
- 1349 =The Black Death=, 229
-
- 1355 =Renewal of the War=, 229
- Destructive March of the Black Prince southwards, 229
- The “Burnt Candlemas,” 231
-
- 1356 The Black Prince’s expedition northwards, 231
- Battle of Poitiers, 231
- Release of King David, 232
-
- 1357 =Peace with Scotland=, 232
- Terrible condition of France, 232
-
- 1359 Reviving power of the Dauphin, 232
- =Edward again invades France=, 233
-
- 1360 Want of permanent results induce Edward to make =The
- Peace of Brétigny=, 233
- The Treaty is not carried out, 234
-
- 1364 The War in Brittany continues, 234
-
- 1365 Affairs of Castile, 234
-
- 1366 France and England support the rival claimants, 234
-
- 1367 Battle of Navarette, 235
-
- 1368 Taxation in Aquitaine, 235
- The Barons appeal to Charles, 235
-
- 1369 =Renewal of French War=, 235
- =Gradual Defeat of the English=, 236
-
- 1370 The Black Prince takes Limoges, 236
- His final return to England, 236
-
- 1374 Loss of Aquitaine, 236
-
- 1372 Naval victory of the Spaniards, 236
-
- 1375 Discontent in England, 236
- =Politics of the Time=, 237
-
- 1376 The Good Parliament, 239
- Death of the Black Prince, 240
- Lancaster regains power, 240
-
- 1377 The Lancastrian Parliament, 240
- Trial of Wicliffe, 240
- Uproar in London, 240
- Death of the King, 240
-
-
- BEGINNING OF THE FACTION FIGHT AMONG THE NOBILITY.
-
- RICHARD II. 1377-1399.
-
- 1377 Difficulties of the new reign, 242
- =Regency and administration of Lancaster=, 242
- Patriotic government, 243
-
- 1380 Money wanted for the War in Brittany, 243
- The Poll Tax, 243
-
- 1381 =Insurrection of the Villeins=, 244
- Death of Wat Tyler, 244
- The insurrection suppressed, 245
- Parliament rejects the Villeins’ claims, 245
-
- 1383 Suspicions of Lancaster’s objects, 245
- He deserts Wicliffe, 245
- He is charged with the failure in Flanders, 246
-
- 1385 Jealousy of him thwarts the Scotch invasion, 246
- He is glad of the excuse to leave England to support
- his claims in Castile, 246
- =Gloucester takes Lancaster’s place=, 246
- =The King’s Favourites=, 247
-
- 1386 =Gloucester heads an opposition=, 247
- Change of Ministry demanded, 247
- Impeachment of Suffolk, 247
- =Commission of Government=, 247
-
- 1387 The King prepares a counterblow, 248
- The Five Lords Appellant, 248
- They impeach the King’s friends, 248
- Affair of Radcot, 248
-
- 1388 =The Wonderful Parliament=, 248
-
- 1389 Gloucester’s unimportant Government, 249
- =Richard assumes authority=, 249
-
- 1393 =Final Statute of Provisors=, 250
-
- 1394 Expedition to Ireland, 250
-
- 1397 Marriage with Isabella of France, 251
- =Richard’s vengeance after seven years’ peace=, 251
-
- 1398 Hereford and Norfolk banished, 252
- His arbitrary rule alienates the people, 253
-
- 1399 During his absence in Ireland, 253
- =Hereford returns and is triumphantly received=, 253
- He captures Richard, 254
- Makes him resign the Kingdom, 254
-
-
- STATE OF SOCIETY.
-
-
- MONARCHY BY PARLIAMENTARY TITLE.
-
- HENRY IV. 1399-1413.
-
- 1399 =Henry’s position in English History=, 275
- Reversal of the Acts of the late King, 276
- Tumultuous scene in the First Parliament, 276
- =The King’s insecure position for nine years=, 276
-
- 1400 Insurrection of the late Lords Appellant, 277
- Imprisonment and secret death of Richard, 277
- Hostile attitude of France and Scotland, 278
- Useless and impolitic march into Scotland, 278
-
- 1401 Insurrection Wales, 278
- Owen Glendower, 278
-
- 1402 Quarrel with the Percies, 278
- The pretended Richard, 279
- Causes of the quarrel with Northumberland, 279
-
- 1403 The Percies combine with Glendower, 279
- Battle of Shrewsbury, 280
-
- 1404 Submission of Northumberland, 280
- Widespread Conspiracy, 280
-
- 1405 Flight of the young Earl of March, 280
- Renewed activity of Northumberland, Scrope and Mowbray, 281
- Events which secured Henry’s triumph, 281
- Capture of James of Scotland, 281
-
- 1407 Murder of Orleans, 282
-
- 1408 Final defeat and death of Northumberland, 282
- =Henry’s improved position=, 282
- His enforced respect for the Commons, 282
- Climax of their power, 283
- Explained by the King’s failing health, 283
-
- 1412 Renewed vigour at the end of his reign, 283
- =Henry’s foreign policy=, 283
- =His alliance with the Church=, 284
- His persecuting Statute, 285
- Views of the nation with regard to the Church, 285
- =Henry’s jealousy of the Prince of Wales=, 285
-
-
- RENEWAL OF THE HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR.
-
- HENRY V. 1413-1422.
-
- 1413 Fortunate opening of his reign, 287
- General amnesty and release of prisoners, 288
-
- 1414 Signs of slumbering discontent, 288
- The Lollards, 288
- =Henry’s reason for the impolitic French War=, 289
- State of France, 290
- Expulsion of the Burgundians from Paris, 290
- Attempt at national government, 290
- Henry’s double diplomacy and outrageous claims, 291
- His preparations, 291
-
- 1415 =He lands in France=, 292
- Conspiracy of Cambridge, 292
- Capture of Harfleur, 292
- Henry compelled to retire upon Calais, 293
- =Battle of Agincourt=, 295
- The French Government falls into the hands of the
- Armagnacs, 296
-
- 1416 Visit of Sigismund, 297
- His position in Europe, 297
- His close union with Henry, 297
- Failure of his mediation, 298
-
- 1417 Armagnac attacks Queen Isabella, 298
- She allies herself with Burgundy, 298
- =Henry’s second Invasion=, 298
-
- 1418 The Parisians, anxious for peace, admit the
- Burgundians, 298
-
- 1419 Fall of Rouen, 299
- Negotiations for peace, 300
- Attempted reconciliation of the French parties, 300
- Murder of Burgundy, 300
- Young Burgundy joins England, 300
-
- 1420 =Treaty of Troyes=, 300
-
- 1421 English defeat at Beaugé, 301
- Henry hurries to Paris, 301
-
- 1422 =While re-establishing his affairs he dies=, 301
- Death of Charles VI., 302
-
-
- LOSS OF FRANCE AND DESTRUCTION OF THE BARONAGE.
-
- HENRY VI. 1422-1461.
-
- 1422 =Arrangements of the Kingdom=, 303
- =Position of affairs in France=, 304
-
- 1423 Bedford’s marriage, 304
- Release of the Scotch King, 304
-
- 1424 Battle of Verneuil, 305
- Consequent strength of the English position in France, 305
- It is disturbed by the consequences of Gloucester’s
- marriage, 305
- =The first blow to the Burgundian alliance=, 305
-
- 1425 Rivalry of Beaufort and Gloucester, 306
-
- 1426 Gloucester’s marriage with Eleanor Cobham, 307
- Bedford again secures Burgundy, 307
-
- 1428 And attacks Orleans, 307
-
- 1429 Battle of the Herrings, 308
- Danger of Orleans, 308
- =Joan of Arc=, 308
- Causes of her success, 310
- The siege is raised, 310
- March to Rheims to crown the Dauphin, 310
- Unsuccessful attack on Paris, 311
-
- 1430 Capture of Joan of Arc, 311
- Coronation of King Henry, 311
-
- 1431 Joan’s death, 311
-
- 1432 Increasing difficulties of the English, 312
- State of England, 312
- Conduct of Gloucester, 312
- Death of the Duchess of Bedford, 312
- =Bedford re-marries. Second blow to the Burgundian
- alliance=, 312
-
- 1433 =Efforts at peace, and= 313
-
- 1434 =Rise of a War party under Gloucester=, 313
-
- 1435 Great Peace Congress at Arras, 314
- =Bedford’s death=, 314
- =Consequent defection of Burgundy=, 314
-
- 1436 Obstinacy of the War party, 314
- Continued ill success, 315
- Danger from Scotland, 315
-
- 1437 James’s death, 315
-
- 1440 Peace party procures the liberation of Orleans, 316
-
- 1442 =Peace becomes necessary=, 316
- =Rise of Suffolk=, 316
-
- 1445 Marriage of Henry with Margaret of Anjou, 316
-
- 1446 Pre-eminence of Suffolk, 317
-
- 1447 Gloucester’s death, 317
- York takes his place, 317
-
- 1448 =Ministry of Suffolk=, 318
- His unpopularity, 318
- Renewal of the War, 318
-
- 1449 =Fall of Rouen=, 319
- Popular outbreak against Suffolk, 319
-
- 1450 =Murder of Suffolk=, 319
- Continued discontent, 320
- Jack Cade, 320
-
- 1452 =York’s appearance in arms; Civil War begins=, 320
- He is duped into submission, 321
-
- 1453 Imbecility of the King, 321
-
- 1454 Prince of Wales born, 321
- York’s First Protectorate, 322
- Recovery of the King, 322
-
- 1455 York again appears in arms, 322
- First Battle of St. Albans, 322
- Character of the two parties, 323
-
- 1456 York’s Second Protectorate, 324
-
- 1457 With the Nevilles he retires from Court, 324
-
- 1458 Hollow reconciliation of parties, 325
-
- 1459 Renewed hostilities, 325
- Battle of Blore Heath, 325
- =Flight of the Yorkists from Ludlow=, 325
- =Lancastrian Parliament at Coventry=, 325
-
- 1460 =Fresh attack of the Yorkists=, 325
- Battle of Northampton, 326
- =Yorkist Parliament in London=, 326
- =York at last advances claims to the throne=, 326
- The Lords agree on a compromise, 326
- =York is defeated and killed at Wakefield=, 326
-
- 1461 The young Duke of York wins the Battle of Mortimer’s
- Cross, 327
- The Queen, advancing to London, wins second Battle
- of St. Albans, 327
- Sudden rising of the Home Counties, 327
- =Triumphant entry of Edward=, 327
-
-
- HEREDITARY ROYALTY WITHOUT CONSTITUTIONAL CHECKS.
-
- EDWARD IV. 1461-1483.
-
- 1461 Edward secures the crown, 328
- Battle of Towton, 328
- Yorkist Parliament, 328
-
- 1462 With French help Margaret keeps up the War, 328
-
- 1464 Battle of Hedgeley Moor, 328
- Battle of Hexham, 328
-
- 1465 =Edward’s triumph and popular Government=, 329
- =Apparent security of his Throne=, 330
- =Destroyed by his marriage, and the rise of the
- Woodvilles=, 330
-
- 1466 Power of the Nevilles, 331
- Their French policy, 331
- Edward’s Burgundian policy, 331
-
- 1467 =Defection of the Nevilles=, 332
-
- 1469 Popular risings inspired by them, 332
- Clarence’s weakness drives them to the Lancastrians, 333
-
- 1470 Wells’ rebellion, 333
- =Flight of Warwick=, 333
- =He returns and re-crowns Henry=, 334
-
- 1471 =Edward gets help from Burgundy=, 334
- Clarence joins him, 335
- Battle of Barnet, 335
- Margaret lands in England, 335
- Battle of Tewkesbury, 335
- =Edward’s triumphant return to power=, 335
- Murder of Henry, 335
- Clarence’s quarrels, 336
-
- 1476 With Richard, 336
-
- 1477 With Edward, 336
-
- 1478 His trial and death, 337
-
- 1475 Edward joins Burgundy against France, 337
- Failure of his expedition, 337
- Treaty of Pecquigni, 338
- Ambitious projects of marriage for his daughters, 338
-
- 1482 Affairs in Scotland, 338
- Edward supports Albany, 339
- He gains Berwick, 339
-
- 1483 =His death and character=, 339
-
-
- EDWARD V. 1483.
-
- 1483 State of parties at Edward IV.’s death, 340
- =Richard overthrows the Queen’s party=, 340
- He is made Protector, 340
- He quarrels with the new nobles, 340
- =Hastings’ death, and fall of his party=, 341
- Richard, with Buckingham’s help, secures the crown, 341
-
-
- RICHARD III. 1483-1485.
-
- 1483 =Richard’s position, and policy of conciliation=, 345
- His strong position, 345
- Weak points in it, 346
- Disaffection in the South, 346
- Death of the Princes, 346
- Projected marriage of Elizabeth and Richmond, 346
- =Defection of Buckingham=, 347
- Richmond’s first Invasion, 347
- Death of Buckingham, 347
- =Failure of the Conspiracy=, 347
-
- 1484 The great Act of Confiscation, 347
- Richmond’s continued schemes, 348
- Richard’s efforts to oppose him, 348
- Attempts to win the Queen, 348
- Death of the Prince of Wales, 348
- Lincoln declared heir, 348
-
- 1485 General uneasiness in England, 348
- Richard has recourse to benevolences, 349
- =Richmond lands at Milford=, 349
- Conduct of the Stanleys, 349
- =Battle of Bosworth=, 349
- Richard’s character and laws, 350
-
-
-
-
-LIST OF MAPS.
-
-
- 1. SAXON ENGLAND At end of Book
-
- 2. CRUSADES ” ”
-
- 3. FRANCE ” ”
-
- 4. ENGLISH POSSESSIONS IN FRANCE ” ”
-
- 5. NORTH OF FRANCE ” ”
-
- 6. ENGLAND AND WALES ” ”
-
-
-
-
-INTRODUCTION.
-
-
-The history of civilization can be traced in great lines which have
-more or less followed a similar direction throughout all Europe.
-The interest of a national history is to observe the course which
-these lines have followed in a particular instance; for, examined
-in detail, their course has never been identical. The period
-occupied by what we speak of as English history is that, speaking
-broadly, during which the great mediæval systems--feudalism and
-the Church--have by degrees given place to modern society, of
-which the moving-springs are freedom of the individual, government
-in accordance with the popular will, and freedom of thought. The
-object of a History of England is therefore to trace that change as
-it worked itself out amid all the various influences which affected
-it in our own nation. The peculiar circumstances of the Norman
-conquest prevented the complete development in England of either of
-the great Continental systems. Neither the feudal system nor the
-system of the Roman Church are to be found in their completeness
-in England. The separation of England from the Empire, the entire
-destruction of the Roman occupation by the German invaders,
-prevented that contact between German and Roman civilization from
-which Continental feudalism sprang. And though, if left to itself,
-the civilization of the early English would have ripened into some
-form of feudalism, it was caught by the Conquest before the process
-was completed. The Normans brought with them, indeed, the external
-apparatus of the completed system; but in the hands of their great
-leader, and grafted upon the existing institutions of the country,
-it assumed a new form. The power of the King was always maintained
-and the power of the barons suppressed, while room was left under
-the shadow of a strong monarchy for the growth of the lower classes
-of the nation. In the same way, the Church was always kept from
-assuming a position of supremacy, and its subordinate relations
-to the State maintained. The establishment of this new form of
-government may be held to occupy the first period of our history
-since the Conquest, lasting till the reign of John. During that
-time the barons, who had more than once attempted to establish the
-same virtual independence as was enjoyed by their fellows abroad,
-were taught to recognize the power of the Crown. The legislation of
-Henry I. and Henry II., and the establishment under the latter of
-a new nobility dependent for their status upon their ministerial
-services, coupled with the incorporation of the national system
-of justice with the feudal system of the conquerors, united all
-classes of Englishmen and consolidated the nation, but in so doing
-raised to an alarming degree the power of the Crown. The miserable
-reign of John, and the tyrannical use he made of the power thus
-placed in his hands, called attention to the dangers which beset
-the administrative arrangements of his father. The total severance
-of England from France, which took place in his reign, and his
-rash quarrel with the Church, completed the work of national
-consolidation, but placed the united nation in antagonism to the
-throne. The nobility, which in other countries were the natural
-enemies of all classes below them, were thus forced to assume the
-lead of all who desired a reasonable amount of national freedom.
-
-The struggle to harmonize the relations which should exist
-between the Crown and the subject occupies the second period of
-our history. It assumes several forms; sometimes the dislike of
-foreigners, sometimes a desire for self-taxation, sometimes it
-seems little more than an outbreak of an over-strong nobility. But
-whatever its form, the fruits of the struggle were lasting. The
-rival claims of King and nation, acknowledged and regulated by the
-wisdom of Edward I., gave rise to that balanced constitution which
-in its latest development still exists among us. But it would seem
-that this great advance in government had been somewhat premature.
-In other nations institutions resembling our Parliament sprang
-into existence, and faded away before the power of the Crown, an
-effect which can be traced chiefly to the strong line of division
-separating the commonalty from the nobles. Without support from
-the nobility, and in all its interests in direct antagonism to it,
-the commonalty, after supporting the Crown in the destruction of
-the baronage, found itself in presence of a power to which it was
-unable to offer any resistance. Several causes already mentioned
-had in England weakened the sharp definition of classes, but there
-was a great risk even there of a similar failure of constitutional
-monarchy. It was as the leader of the nobility that Henry IV. first
-rose into importance in the reign of Richard II., and subsequently
-obtained the crown. The limitation of the franchise in the reign
-of Henry VI., and the consequent subserviency of Parliament,
-were steps towards the elevation of an aristocratical influence,
-which, had it grown till its suppression by the Crown was rendered
-necessary, would have reproduced in England the historical
-phenomena visible in France. Fortunately the nobility were not at
-one among themselves. The various sources from which they derived
-their origin, the close family connections, and personal interests,
-split them into factions, which, taking advantage of a disputed
-succession, brought their quarrel to the trial of the sword
-with such animosity that the nobility of England was virtually
-extinguished.
-
-But while this faction fight, and the great French war which
-preceded it, attract the attention chiefly during the third period
-of the history, a quiet advance of great importance had been going
-on, sheltered by the more obvious movements of the time. The same
-spirit which had found its expression in the establishment of the
-Constitution, had indirectly, if not directly, influenced every
-class of the nation. The exclusive merchant guild had given place
-to the craftsman’s guild. The wars in France, the alienation of
-property fostered by the legislation of Edward I., the Black
-Death, which had robbed the country of at least a third of its
-labouring hands, had sealed the fate of serfdom, and established
-in England the great class of free wage labourers. The same
-alienation, the gradual increase and importance of trade, and the
-formation and introduction of capital, had formed a middle class
-of gentry, from which the successful merchant was not excluded.
-Nor had this political growth been unaccompanied by an advance of
-thought. The failure of the crusades, the last great exhibition
-of material religion; the Franciscan revival; the philosophy of
-Bacon and his successors; the bold declaration of independence on
-the part of Wicliffe, and the grasping and repellent character of
-the Roman Court, had shaken the Church to its foundations. The
-storm which had shaken the surface of English society had left its
-depths unmoved and undisturbed by the great work of extermination
-proceeding overhead; these processes of growth had been gradually
-continuing their course during the whole of the third period. Thus,
-then, when Edward IV. emerged from the troubles of the Wars of the
-Roses as King of England, his position, though it might seem very
-similar to that of a king who had triumphed over his nobility, was
-yet considerably modified. The nobility were no doubt gone, but
-it was not the Crown which had crushed them. The Church, indeed,
-threw all its influence on the side of the Crown, but it was in the
-consciousness of the insecurity of its position in the hearts of
-the people that it did so. The King and his Commons stood face to
-face, with no intermediate class to check their mutual action, but
-the Commons were already free, and headed by a rapidly rising body
-of wealthy secondary landowners or merchants. Nevertheless, the
-immediate effect of the destruction of the nobility was completely
-to check constitutional growth, and to establish a government which
-was little short of arbitrary.
-
-The Italian statecraft, which the influence of the Renaissance
-rendered paramount, for the moment increased the tendency to
-absolutism; and in the reign of Henry VIII., though a shadow of
-popular government yet remained, the will of the king was little
-short of absolute. What may be called the fourth period of our
-history is occupied by the establishment of this arbitrary power,
-and the gradual awakening of national life, under the influences
-of the Renaissance, and of the circumstances which accompanied the
-Reformation, which tended to modify it in the reign of Elizabeth.
-When Protestantism and the vigorous young thought of the reawakened
-nation became linked indissolubly with the fortunes of the
-sovereign in her national war against Spain, the mere necessity of
-the union tended much to put a practical limit to the arbitrary
-character of the new monarchy. It was the miscomprehension of the
-necessity of this union between king and people which produced the
-contests which occupy our history during the reign of the Stuarts.
-
-Bred in the theory of monarchy by Divine right, the logical
-offspring of feudalism, when separated from the Empire and the
-Church, the Stuarts were willing to accept the arbitrary power
-of their predecessors, but would not acknowledge the necessity
-of harmonious action with the people, on which alone, as things
-then were, such arbitrary authority could rest. The middle class
-of gentry had been increasing in power and influence till they
-were now in a position to assume that leadership in the nation
-which the destruction of the nobles had left vacant. And behind
-them there was the bulk of the people, whose Protestantism, the
-religious character of the late national struggle, and the love of
-truth engendered by the Renaissance, had raised to enthusiastic
-Puritanism. The constitutional life, checked for a time by the
-Tudor monarchy, again sprang into existence. In the struggle which
-ensued it was the enthusiastic party which ultimately triumphed,
-and its leader, Cromwell, is seen mingling his conscientious
-efforts at the establishment of constitutional government with a
-religious fervour too great to be sustained.
-
-But his rule, freed from those parts for which, as yet, the
-gentry at all events were unprepared, established, definitely
-and for ever, the necessity of recurring sooner or later to the
-constitutional principles of the fourteenth century. In the
-Revolution of 1688 those principles triumphed. But they triumphed
-in the hands no longer of a great enthusiastic leader, but of a
-party, which found its chief supporters in a limited number of
-noble houses, whose aristocratic pride was injured by the arbitrary
-power of the sovereign, and whose influence in the formation
-of Parliament promised them political superiority under the
-establishment of parliamentary government. From that time till the
-present the scene of the contest has been changed. A party struggle
-of some thirty years gave place to the unchecked predominance of
-parliamentary rule. And the last period of our history has been
-occupied by the efforts of the excluded nation to make their voice
-heard above that of a nominal representation, consisting in reality
-of the representatives of a dominant class, under the influence
-either of the great Whig families or of the Crown.
-
-
-
-
-GENEALOGIES OF THE LEADING FAMILIES
-
-
-(_The founder of the family a kinsman of William I._)
-
-DE BOHUNS (HEREFORD, ESSEX, NORTHAMPTON).
-
- Henry de Bohun = Maud, daughter of Geoffrey
- | Fitz-Peter, Earl of Essex.
- 1st Earl of Hereford. |
- Hereditary Constable of England. |
- One of the Guardians of the |
- Charter. Taken prisoner at |
- battle of Lincoln. Died 1220. |
- |
- +---------------+
- |
- Humphrey, 2nd Earl of = Maud, daughter of Earl of Ewe.
- Hereford. Made also |
- Earl of Essex by Henry |
- III. Godfather to Prince |
- Edward. On Barons’ |
- side. Taken prisoner |
- at Evesham. Restored |
- to favour. |
- Humphrey = Eleanor, daughter of
- Commanded on | Eve and William de Braose.
- Barons’ side |
- at Lewes. |
- Taken prisoner |
- at Evesham. |
- Died 1266. |
- |
- Humphrey, 3rd Earl of Hereford = Maud, daughter of
- and Essex. Restored to favour | Ingelram de Fines.
- by Edward I. Fought in Scotland. |
- Refused to fight for |
- Edward I. Compelled him to |
- ratify the Charter. Died 1298. |
- |
- Humphrey, 4th Earl of Hereford = Elizabeth, daughter
- and Essex. Fought for | of Edward I.
- Edward I. and II. in |
- Scotland. Taken prisoner at |
- Stryvelin; exchanged for |
- Bruce’s wife. Refused to |
- obey Edward’s order not to |
- fight Despenser. Joined |
- Lancaster’s insurrection. |
- Killed at battle of |
- Boroughbridge, 1322. |
- |
- 1 2 3 |
- +--------------------------+---------------+------+
- | | |
- John = Alice Fitz-Alan, Humphrey William = Elizabeth, daughter
- 5th Earl daughter of 6th Earl Fought at | of Badlesmere,
- of Hereford Earl of of Hereford Cressy. Made | widow of Edmund
- and Essex. Arundel. and Essex. Earl of | Mortimer.
- Died 1335. Northampton, |
- 1337. |
- Died 1360. |
- |
- +---------------+
- |
- Humphrey = Joan, daughter of
- 7th Earl of Hereford, | Richard, 9th Earl
- Essex, and Northampton. | of Arundel.
- Died 1372. |
- |
- +-------------------------------+----------+
- | |
- Eleanor = Thomas of Woodstock, Mary = Henry IV., who thus became
- sixth son of Edward Earl of Hereford, Essex,
- III., who thus became and Northampton.
- Constable.
-
-
-(_Family founded at the Conquest._)
-
-
-BEAUCHAMP
-
-(WARWICK).
-
- Walter de Beauchamp = Bertha de Braose.
- Fought against John. |
- Made peace with |
- Henry III. One of |
- the Barons-Marchers. |
- Died 1235. |
- |
- Walcheline = Joan, daughter of
- Died 1235. | Roger Mortimer,
- | who died 1215.
- |
- William = Isabel, sister and
- Fought in Gascony. | heiress of
- and in Scotland. | William Maudit,
- Died 1268. | Earl of Warwick.
- |
- William = Maud Fitz-John,
- 1st Earl of Warwick. | widow of Girard
- Distinguished in | de Furnival.
- Edward I.’s wars. |
- Died 1298. |
- |
- Guy = Alice de Toni.
- 2nd Earl, “The Black |
- Dog of Ardenne.” |
- Caused Gaveston |
- to be beheaded. |
- Died 1315. |
- |
- Thomas = Catherine, daughter
- 3rd Earl. Fought | of Roger Mortimer,
- at Cressy and | 1st Earl of March.
- Poitiers. Died |
- of the plague |
- at Calais, |
- 1369. |
- |
- Thomas = Margaret Ferrars.
- 4th Earl. Governor of Richard |
- II. Joined Thomas of |
- Gloucester. Condemned to |
- death. Banished to Isle of |
- Man. Kept in the Tower. |
- Restored by Henry IV. Died |
- 1401. |
- |
- Richard = 1. Eliz. de Lisle.
- 5th Earl. Fought against the = 2. Isabel Despenser,
- Percies at Shrewsbury. | daughter of Earl
- Governor of Henry VI. | of Gloucester,
- Lieutenant-General of | widow of Richard
- France. Died 1439. | Beauchamp, Earl
- | of Worcester.
- |
- +--------------------------------------+---+
- | |
- Henry = Cicely Neville. Anne = Richard Neville,
- 6th Earl, Premier | Became heiress | “The Kingmaker.”
- Earl of England. | on her niece’s |
- Duke of Warwick | death. |
- (married at ten | |
- years old). Died | |
- 1445. | |
- | |
- | +-------------------------+
- | | |
- Ann. Isabel = George, Ann = Prince Edward.
- Died 1449. Duke of = Richard III.
- Clarence.
-
-
-(_Family founded at the Conquest._)
-
-MOWBRAY (NOTTINGHAM, NORFOLK).
-
-
- William de Mowbray = Agnes, daughter of Earl of Arundel.
- Strong against John. One of the |
- 25 Guardians of the Charter. |
- Taken prisoner at battle of |
- Lincoln. Made peace with |
- Henry III. Lands restored. |
- Died 1222. |
- Roger = Maud, daughter of Beauchamp
- Died 1266. | of Bedford.
- |
- Roger = Rose, daughter of Richard de
- Fought in Wales | Clare, Earl of Gloucester.
- and Gascony. |
- Died 1298. |
- |
- John = Aliva de Braose.
- Fought in Scotland. |
- Warden of the |
- Marches towards |
- Scotland, 1314. |
- Joined Lancaster. |
- Hanged at |
- York 1322. |
- |
- John = Joan, daughter of Henry,
- In favour with | Earl of Lancaster.
- Edward III. |
- Fought in |
- France. |
- Died 1361. |
- |
- John = Elizabeth, granddaughter
- Died fighting against | and heiress of Thomas
- the Turks at | de Brotherton, Earl
- Constantinople, | Marshall, and Earl of
- 1368. | Norfolk.
- |
- +----------------------------------------------+
- | |
- John, made Earl of Thomas = Elizabeth, daughter
- Nottingham, Earl of Nottingham, 1383. Earl | of Richard, Earl
- 1377. Died Marshall, 1386. Governor | of Arundel.
- 1379. of Calais. Helped to execute |
- Arundel, his father-in-law, |
- and Thomas of Woodstock. |
- Had the lands of Arundel |
- and of Thomas Beauchamp, |
- Earl of Warwick. Duel with |
- Hereford. Banished for |
- life. Died at Venice, 1400. |
- |
- +-------------------------+-----------------+----+
- | | |
- Thomas = Constance, John = Kate Margaret = Robert
- Earl Marshall. daughter Earl of | Neville. | Howard.
- Joined Scrope. of Holland, Nottingham, | |
- Beheaded 1405. Duke of Duke of | John, became Duke of
- Exeter. Norfolk. | Norfolk, and Earl
- Died 1432. | Marshall after
- | Anne’s death, 1483.
- |
- John = Eleanor Bouchier.
- 3rd Duke of |
- Norfolk, |
- Died 1461. |
- |
- +----------------+
- |
- |
- John = Elizabeth, daughter of Talbot,
- Earl of Warrenne | Earl of Shrewsbury.
- and Surrey 1451, |
- 4th Duke of |
- Norfolk. Died |
- 1475. |
- Anne = Betrothed to Richard,
- son of Edward IV.
-
-
-MORTIMERS (MARCH).
-
- Roger, related to William I.
- |
- Ralph, fought at Hastings for William. Conquered
- | and succeeded Edric at Wigmore.
- |
- Hugh, opposed accession of Henry II. Conquered
- | by him. Died 1185.
- |
- Roger, constantly fighting the Welsh. Died 1215.
- |
- +-----------------+-----------+
- | |
- Hugh--Strong partisan Ralph = Gladuse, daughter of Llewellyn,
- of John. Strong | widow of Reginald de Braose.
- Died 1227. against Welsh. |
- |
- Roger = Maud de Braose.
- Fought in Gascony and against Wales. |
- On Henry III.’s side against the |
- Barons. Escaped to Wales after |
- battle of Lewes. Planned Edward’s |
- escape. Commanded 3rd division at |
- Evesham. As reward was made Earl |
- of Oxford. Sheriff of Hereford. |
- Died 1282. |
- |
- +------+
- |
- Edmund = Margaret, a Spaniard,
- Wedding at Edward I.’s expense.| related to Queen Eleanor.
- Died fighting against the |
- Welsh, 1303. |
- |
- Roger = Joan of Genevil, daughter of
- Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. | Lord of Trim in Ireland.
- Paramour of Queen Isabella. |
- 1st Earl of March, 1327. |
- Hanged at Smithfield, 1330. |
- |
- Edmund = Elizabeth, daughter of
- Lord Mortimer. | Lord Badlesmere.
- Died 1331. |
- |
- Roger = Philippa, daughter of
- Went to France with Edward III. | Montague, 1st Earl
- Knighted there. Restored | of Salisbury.
- to his Earldom of March, |
- 1355. Died 1360. |
- |
- Edmund = Philippa, daughter of
- 3rd Earl of March. Treated for | Lionel Plantagenet,
- peace with France when only | Duke of Clarence.
- 18. Lord-Lieutenant of |
- Ireland, 1380. Died 1381. |
- |
- Roger = Eleanor Holland,
- 4th Earl of March, ward to | daughter of Earl
- Richard, Earl of Arundel. | of Kent.
- Lieutenant of Ireland. |
- Made heir-apparent, 1386. |
- Died 1398. |
- |
- +-----------------------------+----------+
- | |
- Edmund = Ann, daughter of Ann = Richard Plantagenet, son
- 5th Earl of March. Earl of Stafford. | of Edmund of York, 5th
- Ward to Henry IV. | son of Edward III.
- Fought in France. | Beheaded 1415.
- Lord-Lieutenant of |
- Ireland. Died 1424. |
- Richard = Cicely Neville,
- Baron Mortimer, | daughter of the
- Duke of York, | 1st Earl of
- killed at | Westmoreland.
- Wakefield, 1460. |
- |
- Edward IV.
-
-
-(_Family founded at the Conquest._)
-
-NEVILLES (WESTMORELAND, WARWICK).
-
- Ralph de Neville = Alice de Audley.
- Commissioner to Scotland 1334. |
- Warden of the West Marches, |
- conjointly with Henry |
- de Percy. Died 1367. |
- |
- +---------------------------------+---------+
- | |
- John Lord Neville = Maud, daughter of Margaret = Henry Percy,
- Lieutenant of Aquitaine | Lord Percy. 1st Earl of
- 1379. Died 1388. | Northumber-
- | land.
- |
- Ralph de Neville = 1. Margaret, daughter of Hugh, 2nd Earl
- Guardian of the West Marches of Stafford, by whom he had nine
- 1386. 1st Earl of children. Ralph his grandson by
- Westmoreland 1399. For this wife became 2nd Earl of
- assisting Henry IV., was made Westmoreland.
- Earl Marshal of England.
- Fought against the Percies
- 1403. Died 1425. = 2. Joan Beaufort, daughter of
- | John of Gaunt.
- |
- +-----------------------+------------------+-----------------+
- | | | |
- Richard = Alice, William = Joan of George = Elizabeth |
- Earl of | daughter Lord of Lord Beauchamp |
- Salisbury. | and Falcon- Falcon- Latimer. daughter |
- Warden of | heiress bridge, bridge. Died of 5th |
- the | of the Earl of 1649. Earl of |
- Marches. | Earl of Kent. Warwick. |
- Beheaded | Salisbury. Died 1462. |
- after | |
- Wakefield, | |
- 1460. | |
- | |
- +----------------+ |
- | |
- | |
- | +----------------------+-------+----------------+----------+------+--+
- | | | | | |
- | Edward = Elizabeth Robert, Kate = Duke of Eleanor = Lord |
- | Lord Beauchamp Bishop Norfolk. Spencer |
- | Abergav- heiress of of = Sir John = Henry |
- | enny. the Durham. Woodville. Percy |
- | Despensers. 2nd Earl |
- | of North- |
- | umberland. |
- | |
- | +------------------------+
- | |
- | +---------------+
- | | | (& 4 others.)
- | Anne = 1st Cicely = Richard
- | | Duke | Duke of
- | | of | York.
- | | Buck- |
- | | ingham. |
- | | |
- | | Edward IV.
- | |
- | +--------------+------------+
- | | |
- | Humphrey = Margaret Henry = Margaret
- | of Somerset. Tudor.
- |
- |
- +-------------+
- |
- |
- |
- +-------+-----------------+-----------+-------------------+---------+
- | | | | |
- Richard = Anne Beauchamp, Thomas. John = Isabel George, |
- Earl of | heiress of the Killed at Lord Ingolds- Arch- |
- Warwick. | 6th Earl of Wakefield, Montague. thorp. bishop |
- “The King | Warwick. On the 1460. Killed at of York, |
- Maker.” | death of her Barnet Chancellor. |
- Killed at | daughters her 1471. |
- Barnet, | inheritance was |
- 1471. | restored to her, |
- | and by her |
- | transferred to |
- | Henry VII. |
- | |
- +---+--------------------+ |
- | | |
- Isabel = George, Duke Anne = Edward, Prince of Wales. |
- of Clarence. = Richard III. |
- |
- +------------------------------+
- |
- +--------------+-------------------+----+----------+-------------------+
- | | | | |
- Joan = Fitz- Cicely = Henry Alice = Lord Eleanor = Thomas |
- Alan, Beauchamp, Fitz- | Stanley, |
- 16th Duke of Hugh. | who |
- Earl of Warwick. | afterwards |
- Arundel. = Earl of | married |
- Worcester, | Margaret |
- beheaded, | Tudor. |
- 1470. | |
- | |
- Lord Strange. |
- |
- +------------------------+------------------------------+
- | |
- Kate = Lord Margaret = De Vere, Earl of Oxford.
- Bonville. = Lord Hastings.
-
-
-MARSHALLS AND BIGODS.
-
- William Marshall = Isabel de Clare, heiress
- Governor while Richard at | of Strongbow, Earl of
- at Crusade. Made Earl of | Pembroke.
- Pembroke 1199. John gave him |
- Leinster 1208. Guardian of |
- Henry III. Died 1219. |
- |
- 1 | 2
- +----------------------------------+-----+---------------+
- | | |
- William, 2nd Earl of = 1. Alice, Richard, 3rd Earl |
- Pembroke, one of the daughter of Pembroke. |
- 25 Guardians of the of Earl of Fought against |
- Charter. Fought Albermarle. Henry III. for |
- against Llewellyn. 2. Eleanor, his castles in |
- Captain-General in sister of Ireland. Killed |
- Brittany. Died 1231. Henry III. in Ireland 1234. |
- |
- +------------------------------------+
- |
- 3 | 4
- +-----------------------+---------+--------------------------+
- | | |
- Gilbert, 4th Earl = Margaret, Walter, 5th Earl = Margaret, |
- of Pembroke. daughter of Pembroke. daughter |
- Opposed to of Acknowledged by of |
- Henry III. William, Henry III. in Robert |
- Killed at a King of in spite of the de |
- tournament Scotland. family politics. Quincy. |
- 1241. Died 1245. |
- |
- +---------------------------------------+
- |
- 5 | 6
- +------------------------+--------+------------------------------+
- | | |
- Ansolm, 6th = Maud de Maud = 1. Hugh Bigod, 3rd |
- Earl of Bohun, Obtained | Earl of Norfolk. |
- Pembroke daughter of office of | One of the 25 |
- for eighteen Humphrey, Marshall on| Guardians of the |
- days only. 2nd Earl of Anselm’s | Charta. Died 1225. |
- Died 1245. Hereford. death. | 2. William of Warrenne, |
- | Earl of Surrey. |
- | 3. Walter of |
- | Dunstanville. |
- | |
- +-------------------------------------------+ |
- | |
- | +------------------------------------+
- | |
- | |
- | 7 8 | 9 10
- | +----------------+----------+-----------+-----------------+
- | | | | |
- | Joan = Warine Isabel = 1. Gilbert Sybil = William de Eve = William
- | de Mont- Had de Clare. Had Ferrars, de Braose
- | chensy. Kilkenny 2. Richard, Kildare Earl of of
- | for her Earl of for her Derby. Brecknock.
- | portion. Cornwall. portion.
- |
- +--------------------------------------+
- |
- +-----------------------+-------------+
- | |
- Roger Bigod = Isabel, sister of Hugh Bigod = Joan Burnet.
- 4th Earl of Alexander, Made Chief |
- Norfolk. A hot King of Justice by |
- partisan of the Scotland. the Barons |
- Barons. Made 1257. |
- Governor of Orford |
- Castle by the |
- Barons after Lewes. |
- Inherited the |
- Marshallship |
- through his mother. |
- |
- +-----------------------------+
- |
- Roger Bigod = 1. Alice Basset, widow of Despenser.
- 5th Earl of Norfolk. 2. Joan, daughter of Earl of Bayonne.
- Compelled Edward to
- ratify the Charter.
- Made him his heir.
- [Edward made his son
- Thomas (de Brotherton)
- Marshall and Earl of
- Norfolk.]
-
-
-(_Family founded at the Conquest._)
-
-FITZ-ALAN (ARUNDEL).
-
- John Fitz-Alan = Isabel, heiress of Albini,
- Fought against John. | 4th Earl of Arundel.
- Died 1239. |
- |
- John, 5th Earl = Maud de Verdun.
- of Arundel. |
- Died 1270. |
- |
- John, 6th Earl = Isabel de Mortimer.
- Died 1272. |
- |
- Richard, 7th Earl = Alice de Saluce.
- Died 1301. |
- |
- Edmund, 8th Earl = Alice Plantagenet, heiress of the
- Received the confiscated lands of | Earl of Warrenne and Surrey.
- Mortimer. Fought in Scotland. |
- Beheaded by Mortimer 1326. |
- |
- Richard, 9th Earl = Eleanor, daughter of Henry
- Restored by Edward III. | Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster.
- Died 1375. |
- |
- +-----------------------------+-----+-------+
- | | |
- Richard = Elizabeth, daughter Thomas John = Eleanor Maltravers.
- 10th Earl. | of William de Arundel, |
- Fought in | Bohun, Earl of Archbishop |
- France. | Northampton. of Canterbury. |
- Beheaded | Chancellor. |
- 1398. | Died 1413. |
- | |
- +------+--------+ John, 12th Earl = Eleanor Berkeley.
- | | Lord Maltravers. |
- Thomas Elizabeth = William, Died 1421. |
- Restored by son of the |
- Henry IV. 2nd Earl of John, 13th Earl = Maud Lovel.
- 11th Earl. Salisbury. Fought in France |
- Died 1415. = Thomas Mowbray. Died 1434. |
- [See Mowbray.] |
- |
- +------------------------------+----+
- | |
- William = Joan Neville, Humphrey
- 15th Earl. | daughter of Earl 14th Earl.
- Died 1487. | of Salisbury.
- |
- Thomas, 16th Earl = Margaret Woodville.
- Died 1524. |
- |
- William, 17th Earl = Anne, sister of
- Died 1543. | the Earl of
- | orthumberland.
- |
- Henry, 18th Earl = Catherine Grey,
- Imprisoned in | daughter of 2nd
- Edward VI.’s reign. | Marquis of Dorset.
- Died 1579. |
- |
- Mary = Thomas Howard,
- who became Earl
- of Arundel.
-
-
-(_Family founded in Henry I.’s reign._)
-
-DESPENSERS.
-
- Hugh = Aliva Basset of Wycombe,
- Joined Barons against | widow of Roger Bigod,
- Henry III. Made | Earl of Norfolk.
- Justiciary 1260. Had |
- custody of the King |
- after Lewes. Killed |
- at Evesham, 1265. |
- Hugh = Isabel, daughter of Beauchamp,
- Fought at Dunbar, 1296. | 1st Earl of Warwick,
- In favour with Edward | widow of Patrick Chaworth.
- I. Favourite of Edward |
- II. Banished by |
- Parliament. Recalled. |
- One of Lancaster’s |
- judges. Earl of |
- Winchester. Seized by |
- Isabella. Hanged, |
- aged 90, 1326. |
- |
- Hugh = Eleanor, daughter of Gilbert de Clare,
- The favourite of Edward | Earl of Gloucester.
- II. Excited the enmity |
- of the Barons. |
- Impeached and hanged, |
- 1327. |
- +--------------+-----------+
- | |
- Hugh, Baron in Edward = Anne Ferrars.
- Parliament, 1338. Died 1342. |
- Fought in France and |
- Scotland. Died 1349. |
- |
- Edward = Elizabeth de Burghersh.
- Fought at |
- Poitiers. |
- Died 1375. |
- |
- Thomas = Constance, daughter
- Made Earl of Gloucester, | of Edmund, 5th son
- 1398. Degraded by | of Edward III.
- Henry IV. Beheaded, 1400.|
- |
- +------------------------+-----+
- | |
- 2. | 1. |
- Richard Beauchamp = Isabel = Richard Beauchamp, Richard = Eliz.,
- 5th Earl of Warwick, | | Lord Abergavenny, daughter of
- nephew of Earl of | | Earl of Worcester. Ralph, Earl
- Worcester. | | of West-
- | | moreland.
- | |
- Cicely Neville = Henry Elizabeth = Edward Neville, son of Ralph,
- d. of Earl 1st Earl of Westmoreland,
- of Salisbury. who thus obtained the
- Baronies of Despenser and
- Abergavenny.
-
-
-LANCASTERS.
-
- HENRY III.
- |
- +---------------+--------------+
- | |
- Edward I. Edmund = Blanche, daughter of Robert
- Proposed King of Sicilies. | of Artois, third son of
- was Earl of Chester, 1246, | Louis VIII., widow of King
- was given the land of | of Navarre.
- Simon de Montfort. Made |
- Earl of Leicester. Fought |
- in Scotland, Wales, |
- Gascony. Crusade, |
- 1270-1272. Died 1295. |
- |
- +----------------------------+---------------+
- | |
- Thomas = Alice, daughter Henry = Maud, daughter
- Earl of Lancaster, of de Lacy, Earl of Leicester, | and heiress of
- Lincoln, Earl of 1324. Helped to | Sir Patrick
- Salisbury, Lincoln depose Edward II. | Chaworth.
- Leicester, and and Guardian to Edward |
- Derby. Fought Salisbury. III. Restored to his |
- in Scotland. brother’s Earldoms, |
- Headed the 1327. Captain-General|
- party against in Scotland. Died |
- both Gaveston 1345. |
- and the |
- Despensers. |
- Taken prisoner |
- at Boroughbridge. |
- Beheaded at |
- Pontefract, 1321. +--------------------+
- |
- +----------------------+----------+
- | |
- Henry = Isabel, d. 2. Ralph = Maud = 1. William de Burgh,
- Captain-General | of Lord de Ufford | | Earl of Ulster.
- in Scotland. Earl | Beaumont. | |
- of Derby, 1338. | Thomas = Maud. Elizabeth = Lionel,
- Fought in Flanders | de Vere, | Duke of
- and Sluys. Earl | 8th Earl | Clarence.
- of Lancaster and | of Oxford. |
- Leicester, 1345. | Died 1371. Philippa = Edmund
- Steward of | Mortimer
- England. Duke of | (see
- Lancaster and Earl | Mortimer).
- of Lincoln, 1350. |
- Died 1360. |
- |
- +--------------+-----------+
- | |
- Maud = Lord Stafford. Blanche = John of Gaunt, Earl of Richmond,
- = Duke of Zeeland. | who thus became Duke of Lancaster,
- No children. | Earl of Derby, Lincoln and
- | Leicester.
- |
- Henry IV. (Earl of Hereford, Derby,
- Lincoln and Leicester,
- and Duke of Lancaster.)
-
-
-DE LA POLES.
-
- William de la Pole = Catherine, daughter of
- Great Merchant at Kingston, | Sir John Norwich.
- advanced £1000 to Edward |
- III., for which he was |
- made a Banneret. |
- |
- Michael de la Pole = Katherine Wingfield.
- Earl of Suffolk 1385. |
- Impeached and exiled. |
- Died at Paris 1388. |
- |
- Sir Michael = Katherine, daughter of
- Restored to his Earldom | the Earl of Stafford.
- 1399. In the French |
- wars. Died at Harfleur |
- 1415. |
- |
- +-----------------------+----+
- | |
- Michael William, 4th Earl = Alice, grand-
- 3rd Earl of Suffolk. Commanded at Verneuil and | daughter of
- Died at Agincourt Orleans. Brought Margaret | Chaucer.
- 1415. of Anjou over. Duke of |
- Suffolk 1448. Impeached, |
- banished, murdered in the |
- boat, 1450. |
- |
- +-------------------+
- |
- John de la Pole = Elizabeth, sister
- Duke of Suffolk 1463. | of Edward IV.
- Died 1491. |
- |
- +---------------------------+------------+------------+
- | | |
- John, Earl of Lincoln. Edmund. Fought at Richard. Fought
- Lord Lieutenant of first for Henry VII. for the French.
- Ireland. Declared heir- Subsequently took Died at Pavia 1525.
- apparent by Richard III. offence and withdrew His dukedom of
- Joined Lambert Simnel. to his aunt Margaret Suffolk given to
- Died at Battle of of Burgundy. Was given Charles Brandon.
- Stoke 1487. up. Imprisoned in the
- Tower. Executed as
- a Yorkist 1513.
-
-
-BEAUFORT (SOMERSETS), AND STAFFORD (BUCKINGHAMS).
-
- John of Gaunt = Catherine Swinford.
- |
- 1 | 2
- +--------------------------------+------------------+-----------+
- | | |
- John, Earl of Somerset = Margaret, daughter of Henry Beaufort, |
- One of the accusers | Sir Thomas Holland, Cardinal Bishop |
- of Gloucester, 1397. | Earl of Kent. of Winchester. |
- Died 1410. | |
- | |
- +--------------------+ |
- | 3 4 |
- | +------------------+--------------------+
- | | |
- | Thomas = Margaret Joan = Sir Ralph Neville,
- | Earl of Dorset and Neville. first Earl of
- | Exeter. Admiral 1404. Westmoreland.
- | Chancellor. Fought at
- | Agincourt. Died 1426.
- |
- |
- +---------------------------------+
- |
- |
- 1 2 |
- +-----------------+-------+------------------------+
- | | |
- Henry. John = Margaret, daughter of |
- Died Lieut.-Gen. in | Sir John Beauchamp. |
- young. France. Killed | |
- himself, 1444. | |
- | |
- Margaret = 1. Edmund Tudor, |
- | Earl of Richmond. |
- | 2. Sir Henry Stafford, |
- | son of 1st Duke |
- | of Buckingham. |
- | 3. Thomas, Lord |
- | Stanley. |
- | |
- Henry VII. |
- |
- +--------------------+
- |
- 3 | 4
- +------------------------------+
- | |
- Edmund, = Eleanor Beauchamp, Jane = James I. of
- 1st Duke, 4th Earl | daughter of 5th Scotland.
- of Somerset, fought | Earl of Warwick.
- under Duke of Bedford. |
- Beseiged Harfleur. |
- Regent of France, |
- 1445. Killed at St. |
- Albans, 1455. |
- |
- +----------------+--------+------------+
- | | | |
- Henry, Duke of Edmund John, Margaret = Humphrey, Earl of
- Somerset, Beaufort, killed at | Stafford (son of 1st
- beheaded after beheaded Tewkesbury. | Duke of Buckingham,
- Hexham, 1464. after | who died at battle
- Tewkesbury, | of Northampton).
- 1471. | Killed at St. Albans
- | 1455. [See genealogy
- | of Edward III.]
- |
- +--------------------------------------------+
- |
- Henry, 2nd Duke of Buckingham = Catherine Woodville.
- Helped Richard III. Joined |
- Richmond. Beheaded 1483. |
- |
- +-------------+
- |
- Edward, Duke of Buckingham = Eleanor, daughter of Percy,
- Restored by Henry VII. High | Earl of Northumberland.
- Constable. Offended Wolsey. |
- Beheaded 1521. |
- |
- +----------------------+
- |
- Henry, Lord Stafford = Ursula, daughter of
- restored in blood by | Sir Richard Pole
- Edward VI., 1547. | and Margaret
- Died 1562. | Plantagenet.
- |
- +-----------------------------+
- | |
- Edward, Baron Stafford. Richard, whose grandson
- became a cobbler.
-
-
-WOODVILLES
-
-(COURTENAYS. GREYS.)
-
- Richard de Widvile = Jacquetta of Luxembourg,
- Seneschal of Normandy. | widow of Duke of Bedford.
- Earl Rivers 1466. |
- Beheaded 1469. |
- |
- +-----------------------+-----------+-----------+----------+
- | | | | |
- Anthony = Elizabeth, John, Lionel, Richard, |
- Lord heiress of Beheaded Bishop of 2nd Earl |
- Scales. Lord Scales. 1469. Salisbury. Rivers. |
- Earl Rivers. |
- Guardian |
- of Edward V. |
- Beheaded |
- 1483. |
- |
- +-----------------------------------+
- |
- +----------+------------+----------------------+
- | | |
- 2. Edward IV. = Elizabeth = 1. Sir John Margaret = Fitz-Alan, |
- | | Grey a Earl of |
- | | Lancastrian. Arundel. |
- | | Died at St. |
- +----------------+ | Albans 1455. |
- | | |
- | +-----------------------+ |
- | + +--------------------------+
- | | |
- | | |
- | | +---------------------+--------+------------+
- | | | | |
- | | Mary = Earl of Katherine = 2d Duke of Anne = Lord Bouchier.
- | | Huntingdon. Buckingham. = Earl of Kent.
- | | = Jaspar Tudor. = Sir Anthony
- | | = Sir Richard Wingfield.
- | | Wingfield.
- | |
- | +----------------------------+
- | |
- | +------------+--------------+
- | | |
- | Thomas, 1st = Cecily Sir Richard Grey
- | Marquis of | Bonvile. Beheaded 1483.
- | Dorset, |
- | escaped to |
- | Brittany |
- | 1483. Restored |
- | by Henry VII. |
- | Died 1501. |
- | |
- | |
- | Thomas Grey = Margaret Wotton.
- | 2nd Marquis of Dorset. |
- | A great General under |
- | Henry VIII. Died 1530. |
- | |
- | Henry Grey = Lady Frances Brandon,
- | 3rd Marquis of | daughter of Henry
- | Dorset. Duke | VII.’s daughter Mary.
- | of Suffolk. |
- | Beheaded 1554. |
- | |
- | +--------------------+-------+
- | | |
- | Lady Jane Grey = Guildford Katherine = Edward
- | Dudley. Seymour.
- |
- +----------------------------+
- |
- |
- +------+-----+----------+-------+----------------------+
- | | | | |
- Edward V. | Elizabeth = Henry VII. | |
- | | |
- | Katherine = Sir William Anne = Duke of
- Richard, | Courteney, Norfolk.
- Duke of | Earl of Devon.
- York. | Suspected of
- | treasonable
- | intercourse with
- | Edmund de la Pole.
- | Imprisoned till
- | 1509. Died 1512.
- |
- Edward Courtenay. Marquis = Gertrude Blount,
- of Exeter. Involved in | daughter of
- Henry Pole’s conspiracy. | Lord Mountjoy.
- Beheaded 1539. |
- |
- Edward Courtenay,
- Imprisoned from 1539 to 1553.
- Proposed as a husband for
- Elizabeth, 1554. In Wyatt’s
- rebellion. Died at Padua 1566.
-
-
-
-
-ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST.
-
-
-[Sidenote: Departure of the Romans.]
-
-The dominion of the Romans in Britain had been complete. The
-country, as far as the Frith of Forth, had been brought under Roman
-civilization. But in England, as elsewhere, the continuance of that
-form of civilization had produced weakness; and the unconquered
-Britons of the North, known by the name of Picts, broke into the
-Romanized districts, and pushed their incursions far into the
-centre of the country. On all sides, the nations outside the Empire
-were breaking through its limits and threatening its existence.
-The danger which threatened the very heart of the Empire, from the
-advance of the Goths into Italy, compelled the Romans in 411 to
-withdraw their legions from Britain, and leave the inhabitants of
-the island to fight their own battles with the Picts. When these
-enemies formed an alliance with the pirates of Ireland, known by
-the name of the Scots, and with the German pirates of the North
-Sea, known as English or Saxons, the civilized Britons were unable
-to make head against them, and found it necessary to seek for aid
-among the invaders themselves They therefore made an arrangement
-with two Jutish chiefs or Ealdormen, Hengist and Horsa, to come to
-their assistance. The German rovers consisted of three nations--the
-Saxons, the inhabitants of Holstein, who had advanced along the
-coast of Friesland; to the north of them the Angles or English, who
-inhabited Sleswig; and still further to the north, the Jutes, whose
-name is still perpetuated in the promontory of Jutland.
-
-[Sidenote: The Jutish settlement in Kent. 449.]
-
-[Sidenote: The Saxons in Sussex. 477-495.]
-
-[Sidenote: The Angles in East Anglia. 520.]
-
-The first landing-place of the Jutish allies of the Britons was in
-the Isle of Thanet, separated at that time by a considerable inlet
-from the British mainland. Their aid enabled the Britons to drive
-back the Pictish invaders. But their success, and the settlement
-they had formed, enticed many of their brethren to join them,
-and their numbers were constantly increasing. Increase of numbers
-implied increased demand in the way of payment and provisions.
-Quarrels arose between the new-comers and their British allies.
-War was determined on. The inlet which divided Thanet from the
-mainland was passed, and at Aylesford, on the Medway, a battle was
-fought, which, though it cost Horsa his life, put the conquering
-Barbarians into possession of much of the east of Kent. The victory
-was followed by the extermination of the inhabitants; against the
-clergy especially the anger of the conquerors was directed. The
-country was thus cleared of the inhabitants, and the new-comers
-settled down, bringing with them their goods and families and
-national institutions. This process was repeated at every stage of
-the conquest of the country, which thus became not only a conquest
-but a re-settlement. The Jutish conquest of Kent was followed,
-in 477, by an invasion of the Saxons, who, under Ella, overran
-the south of Sussex, and captured the fortress of Anderida near
-Pevensey; and in 495, by a fresh Saxon invasion under Cerdic and
-Cymric, who passed up the Southampton water and established the
-kingdom of the West Saxons. A momentary check was given to the
-advance of the conquerors, in 520, at the battle of Mount Badon.
-But almost immediately fresh hordes of Angles began conquering
-and settling the East of England, where they established the East
-Anglian kingdom, with its two great divisions of Northfolk and
-Southfolk. Between that time and 577, the date of a victory at
-Deorham, in Gloucestershire, the West Saxons had overrun what
-are now Hampshire and Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and the
-valley of the Severn, reaching almost as far as Chester; while the
-Angles, entering the Humber and working up the rivers, established
-themselves on the Trent, where they were known as Mercians or
-Border men, and formed two Northern kingdoms, that of Deira in
-Yorkshire, and that of Bernicia, extending as far as the Forth. The
-capital of this last-named kingdom was Bamborough, founded by Ida,
-and called after his wife Bebba, Bebbanburgh, or Bamborough.
-
-The junction of these two kingdoms under Æthelfrith, about 600,
-established the Kingdom of Northumbria; thus was begun the process
-of consolidating the several divided English kingdoms. This
-tendency to consolidation is marked by the title of Bretwalda,
-which is given to the chief of the nation dominant for the time
-being. The name had been applied to Ella of Sussex, to Ceawlin
-of Wessex, and was held at the time of the establishment of the
-Northumbrian power by Æthelberht of Kent. There were thus two
-pre-eminent powers among the English--Northumbria, under its
-king Æthelfrith, claiming supremacy over the middle districts of
-England, including the Mercians and Middle English; and Kent, under
-Æthelberht, paramount over Middlesex, Essex, and East Anglia;
-while a third kingdom, that of Wessex, though large in extent and
-destined to become the dominant power, was as yet occupied chiefly
-in improving its position towards the west. Beyond these lay the
-district still in the possession of the Britons. The possessions of
-this people were now divided by the conquest of the English into
-three--West Wales, or Cornwall; North Wales, which we now call
-Wales; and Strathclyde, a district stretching from the Clyde along
-the west of the Pennine chain, and separated from Wales by Chester,
-in the hands of the Mercians, and a piece of Lancashire in the
-hands of the Northumbrians.
-
-[Sidenote: Conversion of the English. 597.]
-
-It was while the kingdoms of Northumbria and Kent were thus in
-the balance that the conversion of the English to the Christian
-faith began. Æthelberht of Kent had married Bercta, the daughter
-of the Frankish King of Paris. She was a Christian; and Gregory
-the Great at that time occupying the Roman See, which was rapidly
-rising to the position of supremacy in the Christian Church, took
-advantage of the opening thus afforded, and despatched a band of
-missionaries under a monk named Augustine to convert the people.
-In 597 they landed in Thanet. By the influence of the Queen they
-were well received, and established themselves at Canterbury,
-which has ever since retained its position as the seat of the
-Primacy. The Kings of Essex and East Anglia followed the example
-of their superior Lord, and became Christians. The Northern
-kingdom was still heathen. But Eadwine, who succeeded Æthelfrith
-on the Northumbrian throne, surpassed his predecessor in power.
-On Æthelberht’s death, he received the submission of the East
-Anglians and men of Essex, and conquered even the West Saxons.
-Kent alone remained independent, but was compelled to purchase
-security by a close alliance with Eadwine, who married a Kentish
-princess. With her went a priest, Paulinus; and priest and Queen
-together succeeded in converting Eadwine, and bringing the Northern
-kingdom to Christianity. Heathenism was however not extinct. It
-found a champion, Penda, King of the Mercians. In alliance with
-the Welsh king he attacked and defeated Eadwine, in 633, at the
-battle of Heathfield, and united under his power those who were
-properly called Mercians and the other English tribes south of
-the Humber. He also conquered the West Saxon districts along
-the Severn, and thus established what is generally known as the
-Kingdom of Mercia. Paulinus had fled from York after the battle
-of Heathfield. But the contest between heathen and Christian was
-renewed by Oswald, Eadwine’s successor; for Paulinus’ place was
-taken by Bishop Aidan, a missionary from Columba’s Irish monastery
-in Iona, who had established an Episcopal See in the Island of
-Lindisfarne. From thence missionaries issued, who continued the
-work of conversion, to which Oswald chiefly devoted his life.
-Birinus, sent from Rome, with the support of Oswald, succeeded
-in converting even Wessex, and establishing a Christian church
-at Dorchester. Penda still continued in the centre of England to
-uphold the cause of heathendom. At the battle of Maserfield he
-conquered and slew Oswald, and re-established his religion for
-a time in Wessex. But at length, in 655, he succumbed to Oswi,
-Oswald’s successor, and with him fell the power of heathendom. It
-seemed as though Irish Christianity, and not Roman, would thus be
-the religion of England. But Rome did not suffer her conquests
-to slip from her hand. A struggle arose between the adherents of
-the two Churches. The matter was brought to an issue in 664 at a
-Council at Whitby. The Roman Church there proved predominant. And
-this victory was followed by the appointment of Theodore of Tarsus,
-an Eastern divine, to the See of Canterbury. Under him the English
-Church was organized. Fresh sees were added to the old ones, which
-had usually followed the limits of the old English kingdoms.
-Canterbury was established as the centre of Church authority.
-Theodore’s ecclesiastical work tended much both to the growth of
-national unity and to the close connection of Church and State
-which existed during the Saxon period. The unity of the people was
-expressed in the single archiepiscopal See of Canterbury and in the
-Synods; while the arrangement of bishoprics and parishes according
-to existing territorial divisions connected them closely with the
-State.
-
-[Sidenote: Supremacy of Mercia. 716-819.]
-
-The contest for supremacy between Mercia and Northumbria still
-continued. After the fall of Penda, the supremacy of the Northern
-kingdom was for some time unquestioned. But sixty years later,
-during the reign of three Christian kings, Ethelbald, Offa, and
-Cenwulf (716-819), Mercia again rose to great power. Offa indeed
-came nearer to consolidating an empire than any of the preceding
-kings, although he is not mentioned among the Bretwaldas. It is
-said that he corresponded on terms of something like equality
-with Charlemagne; and the great dyke between the Severn and the
-Wye which bears his name is supposed to mark the limits of his
-conquests over the Britons.
-
-[Sidenote: Ecgberht. 800-836.]
-
-[Sidenote: Consolidation under the West Saxons.]
-
-With these princes the supremacy of Mercia closed, for a great
-king had in the year 800 ascended the throne of Wessex. Ecgberht
-had lived as an exile in his youth at the court of Charlemagne,
-and there probably imbibed imperial notions. During his reign of
-thirty-six years he gradually brought under his power all the
-kingdoms of the English, whether Anglian or Saxon. In 823, at the
-great battle of Ellandune, he defeated the Mercians so completely
-that their subject kingdoms passed into his power. Four years later
-Mercia owned his overlordship, and Northumbria immediately after
-yielded without a struggle. These great kingdoms retained their
-own line of sovereigns as subordinate kings. Ecgberht continued
-the hereditary struggle against the British populations, with the
-West Welsh or Cornish, and the North Welsh or Welsh, and in each
-instance succeeded in establishing his supremacy over them. North
-of the Dee, however, his power over the British population did
-not spread. Thus the kingdom of the West Saxons absorbed all its
-rivals, and established a permanent superiority in England.
-
-[Sidenote: Period of Danish invasion. 790-1013.]
-
-Already, however, a new enemy, before which the rising kingdom
-was finally to succumb, had made its appearance; a year before
-his death, Ecgberht was called upon to defend his country from
-the Danes. This people, issuing from the Scandinavian kingdoms in
-the North of Europe, had begun to land in England, to harry the
-country, and to carry off their spoil. At first as robbers, then
-as settlers, and finally as conquerors, for two centuries they
-occupy English history. Their first appearance in this reign was
-at Charmouth in Dorsetshire. Subsequently, in junction with the
-British, they advanced westward from Cornwall. This led to the
-great battle of Hengestesdun, or Hengston, where the invaders were
-defeated (835). It seems not unnatural to trace the appearance
-of the Northern rovers in England to the state of the Continent.
-Driven from their own country by want of room, obliged to seek new
-settlements, they found themselves checked by the organized power
-of Charlemagne’s empire. They were thus compelled to find their new
-home in countries they had not yet visited. The reign closed with
-the capture of Chester, the capital of Gwynedd, the British kingdom
-of North Wales.
-
-[Sidenote: Æthelwulf. 836-857.]
-
-The reign of Æthelwulf, the successor of Ecgberht, was chiefly
-occupied in constant war with the Danes. Various success attended
-his efforts. The great battle at Ockley (851), where they were
-heavily defeated, for a time kept them in check; but, on the whole,
-the invaders constantly gained ground, and at last, in 855, for
-the first time so far changed their predatory habits as to winter
-in the Isle of Thanet. Another characteristic of Æthelwulf’s
-reign is the connection with Rome which he established. When his
-youngest son Alfred was still a child, he sent him to Rome, where
-the young prince was anointed; and two years afterwards he himself
-took the same journey, was received on the road by Charles the
-Bald, King of France, and spent a whole year in Italy. He there
-re-established the Saxon College, and by his engagement to supply
-funds for its support seems to have originated the well-known
-Peter’s Pence. His connection with Charles the Bald was further
-cemented by his marriage with Judith, daughter of that king. After
-Æthelwulf’s death she married her stepson Æthelbald, was divorced
-by him, returned to France, married Baldwin of Flanders, and was
-the ancestress of Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror. These
-connections show the rising importance of England, and the entrance
-of the country into the general politics of Europe. Something in
-Æthelwulf’s government, perhaps his lengthened absence abroad,
-or the step he had taken in getting Alfred anointed, excited
-discontent. His eldest surviving son, Æthelbald, conspired with
-other nobles to exclude him from the country, and he was forced to
-consent to a compromise, accepting as his own kingdom, Kent and the
-Eastern dependencies of Wessex, while his son ruled over the rest
-of the kingdom.
-
-[Sidenote: Æthelbald. 858-860.]
-
-[Sidenote: Æthelberht. 860-866.]
-
-On his death he bequeathed his own dominions to Æthelberht, his
-second son, while Wessex was, upon the death of Æthelbald, to pass
-in succession to his two sons, Æthelred and Alfred. In spite of
-this will, on the death of Æthelbald five years later, Æthelberht
-of Kent succeeded in making good his claims to Wessex also, and
-upon Æthelberht’s death, after a reign of five years, marked only
-by renewed attacks of the Danes, both kingdoms passed without
-question to Æthelred.
-
-[Sidenote: Æthelred. 866-871.]
-
-[Sidenote: Danish conquest of East Anglia. 870.]
-
-It was during the reign of Æthelred that the Danes first
-established themselves permanently in the country. In 867 Ingvar
-and Hubba, said to be the sons of Ragner Lodbrog, a great
-Scandinavian hero, invaded England. Legend says that this invasion
-was intended to exact vengeance for the death of their father,
-who had been cruelly put to death by Ella of Northumberland.
-There are chronological difficulties in the way of accepting this
-story, which are increased by the fact that the Danish landing
-was really in East Anglia. Thence, in 867, they advanced into
-Northumbria and took York. The anarchy in which Northumbria lay,
-caused by the rival claims of Osberht and Ella to the throne,
-rendered its conquest easy. In 868, they marched towards Mercia,
-and took Nottingham. Burhred, the King of Mercia, then implored
-the aid of Æthelred and his brother Alfred, who so far succeeded
-that they drove the Danes back to Northumbria. From thence, in
-870, an invasion, under many leaders, whose connection is not very
-clear, was directed against East Anglia. They were there joined by
-Guthrum, another Danish leader, and their combined forces pressed
-victoriously onwards through Croyland, to Peterborough, Huntingdon,
-and Ely. After defeating the English at Thetford, they took Edmund,
-the Saxon King of East Anglia, prisoner, and, upon his refusal to
-accept the pagan religion, put him to death. For his constancy he
-was honoured with the title of Saint Edmund. East Anglia was thus
-completely in possession of the Danes, and Guthrum took to himself
-the title of king. East Anglia became henceforward for some time
-the principal point of Danish settlement in England. From thence
-the invaders passed into Wessex, under the command of Bagsecg
-and Halfdene. They were vigorously met by Æthelred. They pushed
-on, however, as far up the Thames as Reading, near which town a
-series of battles was fought,--at Englefield, where the Danes were
-beaten; at Reading, where the fortune of the day was changed; and
-subsequently at the great battle of Ashdown, where the victory of
-the English was regarded as being due to Alfred, who, being in
-command of half the army, attacked and defeated the enemy, while
-his brother was losing the precious moments in prayer for success.
-Though the victory of Ashdown was complete, it did not close the
-war. Almost immediately afterwards we hear of battles at Basing and
-at Merton, in which the Danes were again successful. These battles
-took place just before the death of Æthelred.
-
-[Sidenote: Alfred. 871-901.]
-
-[Sidenote: Treaty of Wedmore.]
-
-He was succeeded at once by his brother Alfred. Another victory
-of the Danes at Wilton compelled Alfred to make peace. For a
-time the Danes withdrew from Wessex, and employed their energy
-in subjugating Mercia. Burhred, who had married Alfred’s sister,
-was driven from the throne, and retired to Rome to die. A Danish
-agent, named Ceolwulf, was put in his place, and the country laid
-under heavy contribution. But Ceolwulf in his turn was displaced,
-and the Danes took possession of much of the country themselves,
-conquering among other places the five great towns, Lincoln,
-Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, and Stamford, known as the five
-Danish Burghs, or, with the addition of York and Chester, the seven
-Burghs. They also carried their invasions northward, and Cumberland
-and part of Strathclyde were overrun and peopled by them, under the
-command of Halfdene. Nor was the treaty with the East Anglian Danes
-permanent. Guthrum sailed round the coast and captured Wareham and
-Exeter. To oppose them on their own element, Alfred introduced a
-new form of ship, of greater size and length than had hitherto been
-used, and succeeded in winning a great naval victory in Swanage
-Bay. But the Danish forces were gradually closing round him. London
-and Essex had been taken, and a colony of Danes had conquered South
-Wales. At length, attacked in all directions, his kingdom of Wessex
-was practically limited to the country of the Somersœtas; and,
-unable to make head against his enemies, the King took refuge among
-the impassable morasses of the river Parret. It is during this
-time of his exile that the well-known story of the burnt cakes is
-told. But while apparently completely beaten, Alfred succeeded in
-gathering a new army, issued from his seclusion, and attacking the
-Danes at Edington (878), near Westbury, completely defeated them.
-The consequence of this battle was the Treaty of Wedmore. By this
-treaty the kingdom of East Anglia was surrendered to the Danes, and
-a line was drawn to separate their kingdom from that of Wessex.
-This line from the Thames ran along the Lea to Bedford, then along
-the Ouse till it struck Watling Street, and then followed Watling
-Street to the Welsh Border. The greater part of Mercia was thus
-restored to Wessex. In exchange, Anglia and Mercia beyond this
-line were ceded to the Danes, who were to hold them as vassals of
-the West Saxon king, and who were to become Christians. The limits
-of their occupation are still to be traced by the occurrence of
-the termination “by” in the names of the towns; it was in many
-instances appended to the name of the Danish holder of the manor.
-Guthrum, on his baptism, took the name of Æthelstan, and many
-difficulties in the chronology of the legends of the time may
-be solved by supposing that the Æthelstan mentioned in them is
-Guthrum, and not the Æthelstan who reigned in the year 925. This
-treaty, although it curtailed the supremacy of Wessex, made the
-kingdom in fact stronger, and secured a temporary rest for the
-whole of England. Mercia, that part of it at least which remained
-English, was governed by its Alderman Æthelred, and by the King’s
-daughter Æthelflæd, known as the Lady of the Mercians. On the death
-of Gutred, the Danish King of Northumbria, Alfred re-established
-his power there, and the peace and prosperity of England were
-further increased by the fact that the energy of the Danes was for
-the present chiefly directed against France and Belgium. Guthrum
-died in 890, and though the treaty was confirmed by his successors,
-the defeat of the Danes in Belgium threw fresh invaders into the
-kingdom. In 893, Hasting, a well-known sea-rover, in alliance
-with the Anglians and Northumbrians, committed fresh ravages in
-all directions; but at last, having ventured up the Lea, Alfred
-hit upon the expedient of draining the river, and leaving their
-ships aground. After this they were glad to retreat, but lesser
-expeditions were constantly vexing the coast. The reign of Alfred
-is thus divided into two periods of Danish war, between which, and
-at the close of his life, there occurred intervals of peace.
-
-[Sidenote: Appreciation of Alfred’s character.]
-
-It has been usual to attribute to Alfred most of the marked
-peculiarities of English civilization, the formation of shires,
-the establishment of juries, and so on. Such assertions will not
-bear examination. As a lawgiver, he collected the laws of the
-three principal states over which he ruled--Kent, Mercia, and
-Wessex--which had been already recorded by the Kings Æthelberht,
-Offa, and Ine. As a warrior he was on the whole victorious, and
-understood the necessity of establishing a fleet, which he appears
-to have constructed on a different principle from that of the
-Danes, the ships being longer, and serving less as mere stages on
-which to fight. As a governor he was impartial and strict; his
-police was severe, the system of mutual responsibility became
-universal, and under him the idea of morality began to mingle with
-the idea of injury to the commonwealth, which had been the Saxon
-notion of crime. His son Eadward, who succeeded him, was probably
-as great as his father, but he had not the love of literature which
-forms the marked characteristic of Alfred’s public life. It has
-been questioned whether Alfred could himself read; however this
-may have been, he was so conscious of the necessity of literature
-for the people that he set himself to work to make translations
-for them. “The History of the World on Christian Principles,” by
-Orosius, Bede’s “History of the Anglo-Saxon Church,” and Boethius’
-“Consolation of Philosophy,” were the works he translated.
-Besides his own literary work, he established conventual schools
-at Shaftesbury and Athelney, and probably a more general one at
-Oxford. The love of the people, whom his indefatigable energy saved
-from their barbarous and pagan invaders, has attributed to their
-hero an original genius of which there are no distinct proofs.
-What is really known of him is, that he was an able, honest,
-persevering governor, gifted with that power and habit of method
-and organization which is perhaps more useful in advancing early
-civilization than greater and more splendid gifts. Upon Alfred’s
-death, though England, as a whole, had suffered by the loss of the
-country granted to the Danes, or, as it was called, the Danelagu,
-Wessex had assumed a position of superiority, and was regarded
-as the representative state of the English. This position it
-fully vindicated during the reigns of Eadward, Alfred’s son, who
-succeeded him, and of the four next kings, till the kingdom of
-Wessex grew to be the kingdom of England, and exerted an imperial
-supremacy over the whole island.
-
-[Sidenote: Supremacy of Wessex.]
-
-[Sidenote: Eadward the Elder. 901-925.]
-
-Eadward’s first difficulty was with his cousin Æthelwulf, the
-son of Alfred’s elder brother Æthelred. This prince claimed the
-throne. He landed in England, was driven to Northumbria, where he
-was chosen king, and then, in company with Eohric, the King of
-East Anglia, marched up the Thames to Cricklade. He was however
-defeated, and with his ally killed by a portion of the English
-army near the Ouse. The consequence was the renewal of the
-acknowledgment of the supremacy of Wessex by Guthrum II. of East
-Anglia. In conjunction with his sister, the Lady of the Mercians,
-Eadward attempted to secure himself from further molestation by the
-erection of numerous stone castles. These castles, which seem to
-have been built on a new and better plan than any before erected,
-became also in many instances the origin from which towns sprang;
-for laws were passed creating them into markets, and forbidding
-bargains to be made without the walls. Some sort of monopoly
-of trade was thus secured for fortified posts. On the death of
-Æthelflæd, Mercia, both Anglian and Danish, submitted to Eadward’s
-authority. He continued the active government of his sister, and
-went on with her work of fortress-building. An invasion by the
-Danes of Northumbria in conjunction with the Welsh, who hoped to
-find Mercia unguarded, was signally defeated. The Welsh kings
-swore alliance to Eadward, and the Danes of Northumbria, and even
-the Kings of Scotland and Strathclyde, acknowledged him as their
-“father and lord.” Eadward was thus in fact master of the whole of
-England, and had completed more thoroughly the work of Ecgberht.
-The greatness of his position is clearly marked by the marriages
-of his children with the greatest Princes of the Continent. One
-married Charles the Simple of France, a second Hugh the Great,
-Count of Paris, a third Otto I., Emperor of Germany.
-
-[Sidenote: Æthelstan. 925-940.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Brunanburh. 943.]
-
-The greatness Eadward had thus secured descended to his son
-Æthelstan, with whom the grandeur of the Saxon monarchy reached
-its highest point. He married one of his sisters to a Northumbrian
-prince, Cytric, receiving his allegiance for Benicia from the Tees
-to Edinburgh, and, on the death of Cytric, incorporated the country
-with his own dominions. Cytric’s two sons fled, the one to Ireland,
-where the Danes received him willingly, the other (Guthrith) to
-Constantine, King of Scotland. The consequence of the escape of
-these princes became evident in after years. In 934, Constantine
-and his heir Eorca, Owen or Eugenius, King of Cumberland, made
-war upon England, but were defeated and compelled to acknowledge
-the supremacy of Æthelstan. The attention of the English King
-was subsequently drawn abroad, where he upheld the cause of his
-nephew, Louis de Outre-Mer, son of Charles the Simple, against the
-attacks of his brothers-in-law, the German Otto and Hugh of Paris.
-It was while thus employed that the Scotch kingdoms again rose in
-insurrection. A great conspiracy against Æthelstan appears to have
-been formed, at the head of which were Anlath, son of that Guthrith
-who had fled to Scotland, Constantine, Owen, and several princes
-of the Danes from Ireland. Their object was the re-establishment
-of the Danish power in Northumbria. The attempt was completely
-thwarted by the great battle of Brunanburh, near Beverley, in
-Yorkshire. Not long after this decisive victory Æthelstan died. His
-splendid reign is further marked by legislation of a more original
-description than that of his predecessors. He ordered, among other
-things, that every man should have a lord who should be answerable
-for him to justice, and rendered more systematic the arrangement
-of mutual responsibility, which appears to have been one of the
-principles of Saxon police.
-
-[Sidenote: Eadmund. 940-946.]
-
-[Sidenote: Eadred. 946-955.]
-
-His younger brothers, Eadmund and Eadred, followed in his
-footsteps, defeating the Northumbrian rebels, who from time to
-time elected kings of their own, but were completely conquered by
-Eadred. He so thoroughly incorporated the country with his own,
-that its ruler could no longer claim the title of king. Both
-Bernicia and Deira were bestowed as an earldom on Osulf, who had
-assisted in the conquest of the rebels, and remained in the hands
-of his family till the Norman Conquest. Eadmund also maintained
-his supremacy over Scotland, with which country his relations were
-of a very friendly nature, as he granted a part of the kingdom
-of Strathclyde, consisting of Cumberland and Galloway, to King
-Malcolm, to be held by military service.
-
-[Sidenote: Rise of Dunstan.]
-
-The policy of Eadred and of his successors seems so closely
-connected with the rise of Dunstan, that it may be justly
-attributed to him. The monkish historians, to whom we owe our
-knowledge of this great man, have overlaid his history with
-mythical stories, and have given him a character and policy to
-suit their own purposes. In their eagerness to secure the name of
-the greatest statesman of the age in support of their pretensions
-against the secular clergy, they have drawn him as a youth of
-miraculous gifts, of severe monkish asceticism, whose claim to
-greatness consisted in the establishment of the Benedictine rule.
-In the same way they have painted his opponent King Edwy [Eadwig]
-in the blackest colours. The common story tells us that, after a
-childhood passed in learning, so deep as to excite a suspicion
-of magic, illness drove Dunstan to the cloister at Glastonbury;
-that he there established the Benedictine rule, entering with
-such vehemence into its spirit that his asceticism almost turned
-his brain. On the accession of Edwy, the young king, it is said,
-deserted the assembly of the nobles, to pass his time in the
-company of the beautiful Ælfgyfu [Elgiva], his mistress. Dunstan
-is represented as violently dragging the unworthy king back to
-his proper place, as securing the banishment of Ælfgyfu, and with
-his partisans cruelly putting her to death upon her return. Edwy
-is then described as raging fiercely against all the monks in his
-kingdom. In truth, it is in politics rather than in ecclesiastical
-discipline that Dunstan’s greatness must be sought, and he must
-take his place in history rather as a conciliatory and patriotic
-governor than as an ascetic and violent churchman.
-
-Born at the beginning of King Æthelstan’s reign, and trained
-partly at Glastonbury, where he found and studied books left by
-wandering Irish scholars, and partly at the King’s Court like
-other young nobles of the time, an illness induced him to devote
-himself to the Church. His interest secured him the Abbey of
-Glastonbury at the early age of seventeen. He shortly returned
-to the Court, became the King’s treasurer, and as an influential
-minister joined himself to the party which he found pre-eminent
-during the reign of Eadred. That king was a constant invalid, the
-influence of the Queen Mother was paramount, and she was supported
-by the chiefs of East Anglia and those whose views were national
-rather than provincial. The kingdom of Northumbria was in a state
-of ceaseless confusion. Again and again the Danes and Ostmen
-raised insurrections there. Wulstan, the Archbishop of York, with
-constantly shifting policy, at one time supported the insurgents,
-at another persuaded the Northern Witan to submit to Eadred. At
-length, in a final insurrection, he was overcome and imprisoned.
-The affairs in Northumbria had to be settled. It is here that the
-national policy of the dominant party made itself felt. Contrary
-to the views of the Wessex nobles, who would have wished for
-active interference of the government, the kingdom was reduced to
-the condition of an earldom under Osulf. But English supremacy
-being thus established, Wulstan was released, and self-government
-both in Church and State permitted. This conciliatory policy was
-interrupted by the death of Eadred.
-
-[Sidenote: Edwy. 955-957.]
-
-[Sidenote: Eadgar. 957-975.]
-
-The new King Edwy, nephew of Eadred, was a mere child, and a
-palace intrigue, headed by Æthelgyfu and her daughter Ælfgyfu,
-who had obtained influence over the lad, drove the Queen Mother
-Eadgyfu from the Court, and established the power of the Wessex
-party. Unpopular among the Wessex nobles and in his own monastery,
-Dunstan was driven abroad, and took refuge in Ghent. But his party
-was still strong in England. Indignant probably at a violent
-resumption of grants from the Folkland, the nobles of England,
-with the exception of Wessex, set up Edwy’s younger brother Eadgar
-as a rival king, and were sufficiently powerful to oblige Edwy to
-divide the kingdom and content himself with the territories of
-Wessex south of the Thames. Dunstan was recalled by his partisans.
-He received from King Eadgar the sees of Rochester and of London;
-and when, on the death of Edwy, Eadgar succeeded to the undivided
-sovereignty of the kingdom, Dunstan rose with him, and became his
-chief minister and Archbishop of Canterbury.
-
-[Sidenote: Dunstan’s government.]
-
-[Sidenote: Division of Northumbria.]
-
-As minister, Dunstan had both Church and State to reform. In
-both, decay had made great progress. The increased importance
-of the English King had raised him to a position very different
-from that of the tribal monarch. Along with the King had risen
-his dependants, the old members of the Comitatus. His Thegns or
-servants, rendered rich by grants of the public land, had gradually
-succeeded the old nobility by birth, of the German races. The
-troubled situation of the country had driven the freeholders more
-and more to seek safety by placing themselves and their land in a
-state of dependence on the Thegns. Even as early as Alfred every
-man was obliged to have a lord. At the same time the spirit of
-provincialism was strong, each district which had been a separate
-kingdom wishing to maintain its own independence. Dunstan seems
-to have understood that a change in the character of the monarchy
-was inevitable, and that national unity could only be secured by
-upholding that change, placing the monarch in what may be regarded
-as an imperial position over the subject kingdoms, and allowing
-the separate districts as much self-government as possible. Within
-the kingdom of Wessex itself, and perhaps of Mercia also, he
-established a strict police, and suppressed disorder with a strong
-hand. Beyond that, the largest freedom was permitted. Thus, the
-subordination of Northumbria was further secured by its division
-into three parts. The district between the Tees and the Humber was
-intrusted to Oslac. From the Tees to the Tweed remained in the
-hands of Osulf, while the Lothians between the Tweed and the Forth
-were given out on military service to the King of Scotland; and in
-subsequent history it was this district, peopled with English and
-Danes, which formed the civilized centre of the Scottish kingdom.
-But, when the supremacy of Wessex was thus secured, the Danes of
-the North were allowed to keep their own customs and make their
-own laws. Similarly, friendship with the Northmen of Ireland was
-maintained, and through their friendship the King was enabled
-to keep up a powerful fleet, which constantly sailed round the
-coasts, and kept them free from foreign invasion. The tradition
-that Eadgar was rowed upon the Dee to Chester by eight tributary
-kings, whether the fact be true or not, points to the imperial
-position which Dunstan had secured for him. In the Church the same
-policy was pursued. The great disturbances of the kingdom had
-thrown much power into the hands of the Church, the most permanent
-element of society. This increase of influence had been followed
-by an increase of secularity. The bishops became statesmen, and
-even commanders of armies. The older form of monasticism died out.
-Marriage of priests was constant. Livings began to be handed on
-from father to son. There was some chance of the establishment
-of an hereditary priestly caste. In Ghent, Dunstan had become
-acquainted with the Benedictine rule lately established there.
-He saw its efficiency for securing discipline among the clergy.
-Like other strong rulers, he regarded anarchy with aversion,
-and was therefore anxious to introduce the rule into England. He
-intrusted the work to his friend Æthelwold, whom he made Bishop of
-Winchester, and to Oswald, whom he raised to the See of Worcester.
-In Wessex and Mercia he carried out his reform with vigour, even
-with violence: but, as in his secular government, he kept himself
-under the restraints of prudence. Thus, when Oswald was appointed
-Archbishop of York, he made no efforts to restrain the marriage of
-the clergy, and in Dunstan’s own See he yielded to the prejudices
-of the people, and allowed the abbeys to continue in the hands
-of secular clerks. The title of Eadgar the Peaceful, and a reign
-of seventeen years unbroken by any great foreign war, attest the
-success of Dunstan’s policy.
-
-[Sidenote: Eadward the Martyr 975-979.]
-
-[Sidenote: Fall of Dunstan.]
-
-But with Eadgar’s death, and the accession of his son Eadward,
-this prosperous state of things ended. For a time Dunstan held his
-own, but not without strong opposition. Again and again he had
-to plead his cause before the Witan. And at one synod, at Calne,
-it was intended to bring the matter to a crisis. Beornhelm, a
-Bishop of the Scottish Church, was brought forward as a champion
-by his enemies. His eloquence was carrying the assembly with him,
-and Dunstan could only appeal to heaven for assistance. Nor was
-that assistance denied; by accident or design, the floor of the
-upper chamber where the meeting was held gave way in that part
-where Beornhelm and his friends were seated, and they were hurried
-to swift destruction, while Dunstan’s triumphant party remained
-uninjured on the floor above. But even miraculous interferences did
-not suppress the enemies of the Prelate. A conspiracy, in which
-Ælfthryth [Elfrida], the mother of Ethelred, seems to have been
-chiefly engaged, was formed; and Eadward, returning from the chase,
-was killed at her castle at Corfe.
-
-[Sidenote: Æthelred the Unready. 979-1016.]
-
-[Sidenote: Third Period of Danish invasion.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Maldon. 991.]
-
-[Sidenote: The first Danegelt. 994.]
-
-[Sidenote: Æthelred’s marriage with Emma.]
-
-[Sidenote: Massacre of St. Brice. 1002.]
-
-[Sidenote: Pernicious influence of Eadric Streona.]
-
-Eadward the Martyr, as his monkish chroniclers call him, being
-thus disposed of, his brother, Æthelred the Unready, ascended the
-throne. Dunstan, compelled to assist at the coronation, did so
-only to denounce curses on the new king He had to withdraw from
-Court. His policy was at an end. Mercia and the North fell away
-from Wessex. The King’s own character, at once weak and cruel, was
-not such as to inspire confidence; and we accordingly enter upon
-a period of almost inexplicable treasons, weakness, and disorder.
-The Danes reappear on the coast, and what has been spoken of as
-the third period of Danish invasion begins. The fleets were no
-longer merely piratical expeditions, but were commanded by kings
-of whole countries, and towards the end of the period the object
-was no longer plunder, or even settlement, but national conquest.
-The change was closely connected with the gradual consolidation
-of the three Northern kingdoms of Europe--Norway, Sweden, and
-Denmark, in each of which, as in England, one sovereign had now
-become paramount. The chief personage in these invasions is Swegen
-or Swend, son of the King of Denmark. In the year 982 he made
-his appearance on the English coasts, and Southampton, Chester,
-and London were either taken or destroyed. The kingdom was in no
-condition to offer a firm resistance. Internal dissensions had
-already begun. The King was at enmity with the whole of Dunstan’s
-party. We hear of a fierce quarrel with the Bishop of Rochester.
-The allegiance of Mercia and Northumbria was more than doubtful.
-East Anglia, where resistance to a kindred people might have been
-least expected, alone succeeded in checking the Danes. There, under
-Brihtnoth, the great battle of Maldon was fought, which forms the
-subject of one of the greatest of the Anglo-Saxon poems. Such
-single instances of resistance were of no real avail. Sigeric of
-Canterbury, who had succeeded to Dunstan’s position and policy,
-and was therefore by no means unfriendly to the Danes as the
-opponents of Wessex, induced the King to entertain a fatal plan
-of buying off the invaders. With the consent of his Witan, he
-raised £10,000, with which he bribed the Danish hosts. This was
-the origin of the tax known as Danegelt, which became permanent,
-and lasted till the reign of Henry II. The effect of such a bribe
-was naturally only to excite the Northern robbers to further
-efforts. Accordingly, in 994, Swegen and Olaf of Norway made their
-appearance, and England was assaulted by the national fleets of
-Denmark and Norway. Divided by faction, undermined by treason,
-and without a leader, the English knew no expedient but the
-repetition of bribes. Olaf, as a Christian, was indeed induced to
-return to his own country, but Swegen’s invasions were continuous.
-Supported by the disloyal chiefs of the North, he ravaged in turn
-Dorsetshire, Hampshire, Sussex, and Kent. And when, in the year
-1000, a temporary lull occurred, Æthelred, with a madness which
-seems almost inconceivable, insisted on quarrelling, first with the
-King of Cumberland, who is said to have refused the disgraceful
-tribute demanded of him, though willing to serve with his forces
-against the Danes, and afterwards with the Normans in France.
-An expedition undertaken against this people with ridiculous
-ostentation was easily defeated. A peace was made, and hostility
-changed into alliance, cemented by the marriage of the King with
-Emma, a Norman Princess. In her train came certain followers, who
-obtained high office and military commands, and added a fresh
-element of weakness to already weakened England. But though
-contemptible in the field, with the craft and cruelty of a weak
-mind Æthelred planned the massacre of all the Danes in Wessex. Many
-of these were settled quietly in different parts of the country,
-or billeted and living on friendly terms with their landlords.
-On the 13th of November 1002, on the festival of St. Brice, the
-cruel plan was carried out. Among other victims was a sister of
-Swegen’s who had become a Christian; she was put to death with
-circumstances of unusual barbarity, it is said, at the instigation
-of Eadric _Streona_, or _the Gainer_. This man henceforward plays
-a prominent part in the history. Though of low birth, he had
-contrived to make himself the favourite of the King, whose daughter
-he subsequently married. Selfish, unscrupulous, and treacherous,
-his influence as the King’s adviser was most pernicious; while, if
-it suited his own ends, he never hesitated to betray his master.
-So completely is he identified with the disasters of England, that
-there is scarcely any criminal act of the reign that is not traced
-to him. But his repeated treasons do not seem to have destroyed
-the trust which Æthelred and his nobler son Edmund placed in him.
-After the massacre of St. Brice the Danes naturally sought revenge.
-Exeter was taken by the treachery of Hugh the Frenchman, one of
-Emma’s followers. Wiltshire and Salisbury were deserted by the
-traitor Ælfric. Again East Anglia, under Ulfcytel the Ealdorman,
-made the only show of resistance; but here too, treason, not of
-the commander but of the soldiers, themselves of Danish origin,
-proved fatal. Famine and civil quarrels added to the misery of
-the English. Again Eadric is visible, ruining rival Thegns, and
-advising still further use of bribes. In 1006, he had succeeded in
-getting made Ealdorman of the Mercians. His family rose with him,
-and in 1008, when at last a great national fleet was collected, the
-quarrels of his brother Brihtric and his nephew Wulfnoth destroyed
-its utility.
-
-[Sidenote: Thurkill’s invasions.]
-
-[Sidenote: Swegen’s invasion.]
-
-[Sidenote: England submits to Swegen. 1013.]
-
-In the same year, a fresh host, one division of which was commanded
-by Thurkill or Thurcytel, one of the most formidable of the
-Danish sea kings, made its appearance In 1010, the English were
-again defeated at the battle of Ipswich, and the country was in
-a condition of absolute collapse. Mercia and Wessex itself were
-overrun. The cause of Æthelred looked so hopeless, that Eadric
-the Gainer thought it time to change sides, and after the capture
-of Canterbury and the death of the Archbishop St. Alphege, the
-Witan was collected under Eadric, without the participation of the
-King, and a further large tribute paid, while by some arrangement,
-probably the cession of East Anglia, Thurkill was drawn to the
-English side. This step of Thurkill seems to have opened Swegen’s
-eyes at once to the inutility of single invasions, and to the
-possibility of himself effecting some similar arrangement. He felt
-confident of the support of Northumbria and Mercia against Wessex.
-He therefore moved his fleet to the Humber, and advanced to York.
-He had not miscalculated. The whole of the Danelagu joined him, and
-with this assistance, leaving his son Cnut behind him in command of
-the fleet in the Humber, he advanced into Wessex. His success was
-constant. Oxford was taken, and the royal town of Winchester. At
-Bath the Danish conqueror received the submission of the Thegns of
-the West. London, which we find constantly rising in importance,
-alone held out, nor was it till Æthelred deserted the city that it
-surrendered. But then, there being no longer any opposition, Swegen
-was, in fact, King of England. Æthelred sought and obtained an
-asylum in Normandy, till recalled by Swegen’s death the following
-year.
-
-[Sidenote: Restoration of Æthelred. 1014.]
-
-The Danes acknowledged Cnut as King, but the bulk of the English
-wished to retain the House of Cerdic, if Æthelred would pledge
-himself to rule better. This he promised to do, and his cause
-for a time was successful. Cnut had to retreat to his ships.
-Nevertheless, we hear of another large tribute, but it was paid
-probably to a fleet of Danish auxiliaries serving upon the English
-side. Eadric had of course again joined the victorious party; but
-again his persistent treachery was the destruction of the country.
-He enticed Sigeferth and Morkere, Thegns of the Five Danish Burghs,
-to Oxford, and there murdered them. Sigeferth’s widow was kept a
-prisoner, and taken in marriage by Edmund Ironside, Æthelred’s
-son. This prince thus acquired possession of the Five Burghs, and
-secured an influence which enabled him to take up a position in
-opposition to Eadric. On the renewal of the invasion by Cnut both
-Eadric and Edmund collected their forces; but, angry at the new
-rivalry he was experiencing, Eadric led his troops to join Cnut.
-Wessex was thus thrown open, and by a strange inversion of affairs,
-Edmund, with Utred of Northumberland, occupied the northern part of
-England, while the Danes, under Cnut and Eadric, held Wessex and
-the South. In 1016, Æthelred died.
-
-[Sidenote: Edmund Ironside. April to Nov. 1016.]
-
-[Sidenote: Five great battles.]
-
-[Sidenote: Division of England.]
-
-The Witan of the South immediately, under the influence of the
-conquerors, elected Cnut as his successor, but London and the
-rest of the Witan chose Edmund. It was plain that Wessex could
-acknowledge Cnut only through fear, and thither Edmund betook
-himself, and collected troops. As if to prove what the English
-could do if well commanded, in a few weeks he fought, on the whole
-successfully, five great battles. At Pen Selwood in Somerset; at
-Sherstone, where the English were only prevented from winning
-by a trick of Eadric’s, who, raising the head of another man,
-declared it was the head of the slain English king; at Brentford;
-and afterwards, when Eadric had again changed sides, at Otford in
-Kent; and Assandun in Essex. In this last battle the whole forces
-of England were arrayed. The sudden withdrawal of Eadric, who was
-commanding the Magesætas, or men of Hereford, secured a victory
-for the Danes, and Edmund had to retreat across England into the
-country of the Hwiccas, or Gloucestershire. Not yet wholly beaten,
-he was preparing for a sixth battle, when he was persuaded to make
-an arrangement similar, though not identical, with that which
-Alfred had made with Guthrum. He surrendered to Cnut Northumberland
-and Mercia, retaining for himself Wessex, Essex, East Anglia, and
-London. On St. Andrew’s Day of the same year, Edmund Ironside
-died, a misfortune, like most other acts of villainy of the time,
-attributed to Eadric. With him fell the hope of the English. The
-treachery of Eadric, the folly of Æthelred, met with their reward,
-and Cnut was acknowledged King of England.
-
-[Sidenote: Cnut. 1017.]
-
-[Sidenote: The four Earldoms.]
-
-[Sidenote: Cnut’s patriotic government.]
-
-Indeed, Edmund’s sons were so young that it was not probable that
-the Witan would elect them. The only other claimant was Edwy,
-Edmund’s brother. To secure himself against him, Cnut is said to
-have employed Eadric to put him to death; and though he escaped on
-that occasion, he was certainly outlawed, and all the old members
-of the royal family were kept abroad. The children of Æthelred and
-Emma, Edward and Alfred, were in Normandy with their mother. The
-children of Edmund Ironside, Edward and Edmund, were sent first to
-Sweden, and then to Hungary, where Edward married Agatha, niece of
-the Emperor Henry II. Cnut’s object, on finding himself King of
-England, appears to have been to obliterate, as far as possible,
-the idea of conquest, to rule England as an English king, and
-making that country the centre of his government, to form a great
-Scandinavian Empire. To this end, pursuing the policy of Dunstan,
-he divided England into four great earldoms, representing the old
-kingdoms. Northumberland and East Anglia were intrusted to Danes;
-Mercia was given to Eadric; Wessex he kept in his own hands.
-Eadric’s influence had compelled Cnut thus to promote him, but he
-so mistrusted him, that within a year he caused him to be put to
-death. In the same year he sent for Queen Emma from Normandy, and
-married her, though she must have been much older than himself,
-with the object apparently either of connecting himself with the
-late dynasty, or of securing the friendship of the Normans. The
-next year the Danish fleet was sent home. Englishmen were again put
-in high office. Thus Leofric was made Earl of the Mercians, and
-Godwine, of whom we now first hear, and whose origin and rise is
-variously related, was made Earl of Wessex, presumably the second
-man in the country. Thus, too, Cnut flattered the feelings of the
-English by moving the body of St. Alphege, who had been killed by
-the Danes twelve years before, with all honour to his own Church at
-Canterbury; and thus, too, he did not scruple to fill the English
-bishoprics with Englishmen, and even to promote them to high office
-in Denmark. During his reign England was at peace within its
-own borders, while Scotland was brought to submission. In 1031,
-Malcolm, King of the Scotch, and two under-kings, did homage to the
-English King. A strong, well-ordered government was established,
-supported for the first time by a standing body of troops, known as
-the House-carls. Early in the reign Eadgar’s law had been renewed
-with the advice of the Witan, and, in 1028, Cnut promulgated a code
-of his own, which is little else than repetition of former laws
-and customs. But the proof of his good government is this, that
-just as the law of the great Eadgar was looked on as typical, and
-demanded by Cnut’s Witan, and as after the Conquest the Confessor’s
-law was demanded, so we find the people of the North demanding
-Cnut’s law,--in each case law meaning system of government. His
-importance as a king is marked by the respect shown him on his
-pilgrimage to Rome in the year 1027. There, as he tells his people
-in a letter which he sent them, he negotiated with the Pope, the
-Emperor, and King Rudolph of Burgundy, for the free passage of
-English pilgrims and merchants; he received large gifts from the
-Emperor, and made the Pope promise to lessen his extortions upon
-granting the Pallium or Archiepiscopal cloak. His daughter by Queen
-Emma, Gunhild, was, moreover, thought a fitting wife for Henry,
-afterwards the Emperor Henry III. Cnut died still young in 1035.
-
-[Sidenote: Disputed succession.]
-
-[Sidenote: Importance of Earl Godwine.]
-
-[Sidenote: Harold. 1037.]
-
-[Sidenote: Harthacnut. 1040.]
-
-With him fell his plans, both of the Scandinavian Empire and of
-good government in England. His sons, Harold and Harthacnut, in
-no way inherited his greatness; they appear to have been little
-better than savage barbarians. The succession was disputed between
-them. Godwine and the West Saxons obtained the South of England for
-Harthacnut, while Harold reigned in the North. But as Harthacnut
-did not come to England, but remained in his kingdom of Denmark,
-Godwine was the practical ruler. This great Earl, whose sympathies
-were wholly national, was accused of putting to death Alfred, the
-son of Æthelred and Emma, who seems to have taken advantage of
-the absence of Harthacnut to aim at re-establishing himself in
-Wessex. But as the actual murderers were the men of Harold whom
-Godwine had opposed, it would seem that the charge was a false one.
-The continued absence of Harthacnut enabled Harold to secure the
-whole of the kingdom, over which he reigned for two years. On his
-death, in 1040, Harthacnut stepped unopposed into his position. His
-short reign was marked by no great events. Godwine, having cleared
-himself by oath and by compurgation (in which a large number
-of Earls and Thegns joined) of the charge of murdering Alfred,
-remained in power. A tyrannical use of the King’s House-carls in
-collecting a tax produced an outbreak in Worcester, which was
-punished with brutal severity. And when the King fell dead, while
-drinking at a bridal feast, the English were glad to be rid of a
-line of such barbarous sovereigns, and to restore the House of
-Cerdic in the person of the late king’s half-brother Edward, who,
-in the absence of direct descendants of the Danish house, entered
-almost unopposed on the kingdom.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward the Confessor. 1042.]
-
-[Sidenote: Rivalry between Godwine and the French party.]
-
-[Sidenote: Godwine banished. 1051.]
-
-[Sidenote: Return and death of Godwine. 1052.]
-
-It was the eloquence of Godwine which overcame the slight
-opposition offered to Edward’s election, and secured him the
-throne. This nobleman thus reached the summit of his power, and
-two years afterwards his daughter Edith became the King’s wife.
-Edward’s education and training had rendered his tastes and policy
-as decidedly French as those of Godwine were national. There thence
-arose, and continued throughout the reign, a constant enmity
-between the two parties--the Frenchmen, whom Edward brought over
-in great numbers and employed particularly as bishops, and the
-national party, headed by Godwine and his sons. It is the progress
-of this quarrel which forms the history of the reign, side by side
-with the efforts of Godwine to push his family prominently forward
-in opposition to the family of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. On the
-one hand, the King lavished favours upon his foreign followers.
-A Frenchman, Robert of Jumièges, became Bishop of London, and
-afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury; Ulf, another Norman, became
-Bishop of Dorchester in Oxfordshire; Ralph, the son of Edward’s
-sister and the Count of Mantes, was made an Earl; and Eustace of
-Boulogne, her second husband, was loaded with honours. On the other
-hand, Godwine succeeded in securing for members of his own family
-the earldoms of Somersetshire and Herefordshire, and of the East
-and Middle Angles. The crisis of the rivalry at length arrived. It
-arose from an outrage committed by the followers of Eustace on the
-citizens of Dover. The townsmen rose against the insolent Normans
-and drove them from the city; and when Godwine, as Earl, was called
-upon to punish the citizens, he positively refused unless they were
-fairly tried before the Witan. Both sides took up arms,--Godwine
-and his sons on one side; the King, with Siward of Northumberland,
-Leofric of Mercia, and his own French partisans on the other. The
-armies faced each other in Gloucestershire; but Godwine, unwilling
-to press matters to extremity, accepted the proposal of Leofric
-that the question should be referred to the Witan. When the Witan
-assembled, the King was there with a great army. Overawed by this
-force, the Witan, recurring to the old charge against Godwine and
-to a late act of violence on the part of his son Swend, ordered
-Godwine and his sons to appear before them as criminals. This they
-refused to do unless hostages were given, and as this demand was
-refused, they would not appear, and were outlawed. Godwine and
-three sons retired to Baldwin of Bruges, Leofwine and Harold to
-Ireland. The French party were triumphant. Robert, as we have seen,
-was made Archbishop, William, another Frenchman, succeeded him as
-Bishop of London, and Odda, probably an Englishman in the French
-interest, was given the western part of Godwine’s earldom. Harold’s
-earldom was given to Ælfgar, son of Leofric. At the same time, to
-complete the French influence, William of Normandy came over to
-England, and, as he always declared, received a promise of the
-succession from his cousin Edward.
-
-The administration of foreigners was so unpopular and so
-unsuccessful, that Godwine and his family thought that an
-opportunity had arisen for their return. Unable to procure their
-restoration by peaceful means, they determined upon using force;
-and after various expeditions, but feebly opposed by the English,
-who at heart wished them well, Godwine found himself strong enough
-to sail up the Thames; and so preponderating was the feeling of
-the country in his favour, that, as the King refused justice, it
-was agreed that the matter should be referred to the Witan. What
-their decision would be was not doubtful, so the French prelates
-and earls and knights, who had been building feudal castles, at
-once fled, and Godwine and his sons came back in triumph. Stigand,
-a priest, who had been originally appointed by Cnut to an abbey
-raised at Assandun in memory of the Danish victory over Edmund
-Ironside, and who had acted as principal mediator, was elected
-to the Archbishopric of Canterbury, left vacant by the flight of
-Robert. The next year Earl Godwine died suddenly, while at dinner
-with the King.[1] His death restored the balance between the two
-great families. While Harold succeeded to the earldom of the West
-Saxons, and the vacant earldom of Northumbria was given to his
-brother Tostig, East Anglia was restored to Leofric’s son Ælfgar.
-Earl Siward of Northumbria had died in 1055.[2]
-
-[Sidenote: Importance of Earl Harold.]
-
-[Sidenote: Death of Edward. 1066.]
-
-The succeeding years are marked by the gradual increase of the
-power of Harold and his family. In 1055 Earl Ælfgar was outlawed,
-and his earldom given to Gurth, Harold’s brother. The exiled Earl,
-making common cause with Griffith [Gryffydd] of Wales, defeated
-Ralph, the French Earl of Herefordshire. To repair this disaster
-the war was intrusted to Harold; he prosecuted it with success,
-and Herefordshire, which he had thus rescued, was added to his
-earldom. The death of Leofric still further increased the power of
-the House of Godwine, although Ælfgar, the late Earl, was allowed
-to succeed him; and finally, Essex and Kent were formed into an
-earldom for Leofwine, the remaining brother of Harold. Godwine’s
-sons now possessed all England, with the exception of Mercia. The
-last probable heir to the throne--the Ætheling Edward, the son of
-Edmund Ironside--had been brought over from Hungary, but had died
-almost immediately after reaching England. And when, in 1063,
-Harold, by employing his men as light troops, succeeded in the
-final subjugation of Wales, his greatness was such that he must
-almost certainly have been regarded as the next king. Three years
-afterwards, in January 1066, King Edward, the last male descendant
-of Cerdic who reigned in England, died. His last year had been
-troubled by a great insurrection of the Northern counties against
-the rule of Tostig. The house of Leofric had had a stronghold in
-the North, and Tostig’s injudicious vigour in attempting to reduce
-the barbarous population to order had excited great discontent.
-His energy seems more than once to have led him into murder. The
-Northumbrian therefore deposed him, and elected Morcar [Morkere],
-the grandson of Leofric, in his place. His brother, Edwin of
-Mercia, who had succeeded his father Ælfgar, made common cause
-with him; and Harold, whose policy was always conciliatory, found
-it necessary to persuade the King to confirm Edwin and Morkere in
-their possessions. Tostig retired as an exile to Bruges. While
-England was thus troubled, the King died--a good man, devoted to
-the Church and the monks, and therefore afterwards canonized, but
-as a king unfitted by his pliant character, and more especially
-by his love of foreign favourites, to rule over England at such a
-difficult crisis.
-
-[Sidenote: Harold elected king. 1066.]
-
-[Sidenote: Claims of William of Normandy.]
-
-The Witan at once assembled, and used its power of election. This
-power was usually exercised within the limits of the royal family;
-but on this occasion, as there was no claimant of the royal house
-but Edmund Ironside’s grandson, the child Eadgar, the Witan looked
-beyond their usual limit, and elected almost unanimously the great
-Earl Harold. Though thus King of England by the most perfect
-title, he found himself opposed by two enemies. On the one hand
-was his brother Tostig, the exiled Earl of Northumberland, who
-had been a favourite of the late king, and had perhaps himself
-hoped to be elected; and upon the other Duke William, who, out of
-a variety of small and insufficient pretexts, had constructed a
-very formidable claim to the crown of England. He asserted that the
-Confessor had promised him the kingdom, that he was the nearest of
-kin, and that Harold had himself sworn to him to be his man, to
-marry his daughter, and to own him allegiance. The circumstances
-under which this last event had taken place are not very certain;
-but it seems to be true that Harold, on some occasion, had been
-shipwrecked on the coast of France and taken prisoner, and held to
-ransom, according to the barbarous custom of that day, by Guy,
-Count of Ponthieu, lord of the country. The intervention of William
-as superior lord rescued him from his disgraceful position. He
-spent some time in friendly intercourse at William’s court, and
-there probably, as was not unusual, made himself the Duke’s man,
-and did homage. Such an act could be only personal, and could
-have nothing to do with the kingdom of England, and even as a
-personal tie was not very binding. It was his knowledge of this
-which induced William to play the well-known trick upon Harold.
-When the Earl had taken what he believed to be only a common oath
-of homage, the cover of the table on which his hands had been
-placed was withdrawn, and he found he had been swearing upon most
-sacred relics. With regard to the other claims, it may be said
-that Edward the Confessor, in accordance with the constitution of
-England, could not promise the crown to any one, and, moreover,
-had nominated Harold on his deathbed; while, although William was
-the cousin of the late king, it was only through Edward’s Norman
-mother, Emma, that he was so. But when put forward artfully,
-and mingled with coloured accounts of the injuries suffered by
-the French in England at the return of Godwine, these claims
-seemed very plausible to the French, especially when backed by
-the influence of the Papal See wielded by Archdeacon Hildebrand,
-afterwards Pope Gregory VII. The Papal support was won partly by
-representing Harold as a perjured man, partly because the Normans
-in Italy were regarded as the great champions of the Papal See,
-but chiefly because Godwine and Harold had throughout sided rather
-with the party of the secular clergy in England than with that of
-the monks,[3] and had been national in their views with regard to
-the Church as well as in other matters. The Pope, Alexander II.,
-was led by Hildebrand to see the opportunity offered, and expressed
-his approbation of the expedition by sending a consecrated ring and
-banner.
-
-[Sidenote: William’s preparations.]
-
-[Sidenote: Tostig’s invasion.]
-
-William, immediately after the death of the Confessor, sent to
-demand the crown, which was of course refused. He then proceeded to
-collect troops, not only his own Norman feudatories, but also large
-bodies of adventurers from other parts of France. Aware of the
-intended invasion, Harold collected his forces, and occupied the
-Southern coast. But William was so long in coming, that Harold’s
-militia army, anxious to return to their agricultural works, and
-straitened for food, could not be kept together. He was left
-with his immediate followers, his House-carls and Thegns. Just
-then, when his great host had disappeared, news was brought to him
-that Tostig had invaded the North of England. Foiled in a weak
-attempt upon the South near Sandwich, and refused aid by William of
-Normandy, Tostig had fallen in with the fleet of Harold Hardrada,
-King of Norway. This king was a great warrior, who had served
-in the armies of the Byzantine Empire, and fought in Africa and
-Sicily. He was easily persuaded to join Tostig, and reinforced by
-the Earls of Orkney, they together sailed up the Ouse, and reached
-Fulford on the way to York. Edwin and Morkere, the sons of Ælfgar,
-whose sister Harold had lately married, honestly opposed them,
-but after a severe battle they were beaten. Arrangements by which
-the North was to join Harold Hardrada were being made at Stamford
-Bridge upon the Derwent, when Harold, who had hastened with extreme
-rapidity from the South, fell upon the invaders. They were taken
-by surprise, and some, but slightly armed, were overcome; but the
-bridge over the Derwent was held with determination, and a fierce
-battle was fought on the other side. The English were entirely
-triumphant, both Tostig and Harold Hardrada being slain. The
-Norwegian fleet was forced to withdraw. This was on the 25th of
-September.
-
-[Sidenote: Landing of William.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Hastings. Oct. 14.]
-
-[Sidenote: Death of Harold.]
-
-On the 28th King William landed at Pevensey. Harold was still at
-York when the news reached him. He hastily gathered what troops he
-could round the nucleus of his own immediate followers who had been
-with him at Stamford Bridge. All the South of England joined him
-gladly, both from Wessex and East Anglia. But Edwin and Morkere,
-in their jealousy of the rival house, forgot their patriotism and
-Harold’s good deeds to themselves, and deserted him. With such
-an army as he had, Harold took up his position upon the hill of
-Senlac, where Battle Abbey now stands. This hill runs out from the
-North Sussex hills southward like a peninsula. There Harold erected
-palisades, and arranged his men with a view to defensive action
-only. This step was rendered necessary by the difference of the
-armies; the English fought all on foot, a large proportion were
-irregularly armed militia, and the hand javelin--not the bow and
-arrow--was their national missile. The Normans, on the other hand,
-fought as chivalry on horseback, and had many archers. Once in the
-plain Harold’s army might have been crushed by the charge of the
-mailed cavalry. But repeated charges uphill against an entrenched
-foe, stubborn and heavily armed, could not but wear out the
-mounted knight. Our descriptions are all from Norman sources, and
-the contrast between the religious Norman and the jovial Englishman
-is fully brought out. On the one side, the night is said to have
-been passed in prayer, and on the other in revelry. There were
-certainly, however, priests and monks upon the side of the English,
-and probably this story is a monkish exaggeration. Harold drew up
-his forces with his own picked troops upon the front of the hill,
-between the dragon banner of Wessex and his own banner adorned with
-a fighting man. The backward curves of the hill were occupied by
-his worse armed troops. He himself, with his brothers Gyrth and
-Leofwine, took their place beside the standard. The French advanced
-in three divisions,--the Bretons, under Alan, on the left; the
-Normans, under their Duke and his two brothers, Robert and Odo,
-Bishop of Bayeux, in the centre; the adventurers, under Roger
-of Montgomery, on the right. They galloped forward, preceded by
-Taillefer, a minstrel, tossing his sword aloft and singing songs
-of Charlemagne. But their efforts were vain. The heavy axe of the
-English hewed down man and horse if any reached the barricade,
-and the French had to draw back. The Bretons began the flight,
-and the Normans soon followed, but the English militia were not
-steady enough to withstand the excitement of victory. The veteran
-centre stood firm, but the troops opposed to the Bretons broke from
-their position in pursuit. William saw his advantage, rallied his
-troops, drove back the pursuers, and made a second vehement assault
-upon the barricade. The Earls Gyrth and Leofwine were killed, the
-barricade in part removed, but still Harold held his ground, and
-William had to have recourse to stratagem before he could secure
-a victory. His present comparative success had been caused by the
-accidental over-eagerness of the English. He determined to try
-whether he could not again induce them to break their line. The
-Normans turned in apparent flight, the English, heated by the
-long fight, rushed forward in pursuit. The Norman cavalry turned
-round and rode down their pursuers, and, driving them before them,
-again charged up the hill; while the archers, whose skill had been
-somewhat foiled by the shields of the English, were ordered to drop
-a flight of arrows upon the heads of Harold and his men. The plan
-was fatally successful; the battle was still stubbornly contested,
-though no longer in serried ranks, when Harold fell, pierced in the
-eye by an arrow. With him disappeared all hope of English success.
-His body was found, and buried under a cairn by the sea, till
-afterwards removed to his minster of Waltham.
-
-
-
-
-STATE OF SOCIETY
-
-449-1066
-
-
-[Sidenote: The Mark system.]
-
-The chief interest in the Conquest is the change that it is always
-said to have exercised in the character of the institutions
-of England. It used to be asserted that the feudal system was
-introduced, and completed as a wholly new system to the English,
-after the Conquest; and Hume speaks of the division of the kingdom
-into so many knights’ fiefs, into so many baronies, as if there
-were complete reorganization of the whole constitution. Modern
-inquiry tends to confirm what would naturally have been supposed,
-that the whole of the elements of the feudal system existed in
-England as in other Teutonic countries before the arrival of the
-Normans. The form which the civilization of the Scandinavian and
-Teutonic nations took seems to have been that of a collection of
-village communities, such as may be seen at work at present in
-India. The district occupied by such community was called the Mark,
-and was divided into three parts, in each of which every free
-member of the community had his share, but which were cultivated in
-strict accordance with the customary system of agriculture which no
-one might break. There was first the village, then the arable mark
-(cultivated land), then the common pasture, and beyond that the
-waste. Every freeman had a share in the arable and in the common
-pasture, but he was bound to sow the same crops as his neighbours,
-and to follow the same arrangement, which appears to have been
-simple and barbarous. The common fields, or mixed lands as they
-are called, were divided into three strips by broad grassy mounds;
-one was sown with autumn crops, one with spring crops, and the
-third left fallow. In the same way, though under somewhat varying
-rules, the grass mark was partitioned. Frequently all enclosures
-were removed at the close of the hay harvest, and the cattle grazed
-in common, as they were allowed to do also in the stubble of the
-arable mark. Lands were probably redistributed at certain intervals
-of time, and the power of devising hereditary property by will was
-strictly restrained. Traces of common fields cultivated on the
-threefold system, and of customary cultivation, are still to be
-found in England, and were plentiful in the last century.
-
-[Sidenote: German institutions.]
-
-[Sidenote: Division of ranks.]
-
-[Sidenote: The Comitatus.]
-
-[Sidenote: Growth of feudalism.]
-
-But though this system would appear to have been common in
-nations of Germanic origin, it can be gathered from the Germania
-of Tacitus that other political institutions existed in Germany.
-Thus, the subdivisions of the Tribe were called Pagi, which seem
-to answer to the English Hundred. The Pagus was under the official
-chieftainship of an elective head called the Princeps, answering
-to the Saxon Ealdorman. This Pagus, which may perhaps have been
-originally a division of a hundred heads of families, supplied a
-hundred warriors to the host, a hundred assessors at the Judicial
-Court of the Princeps. Below this we come to the Vicus or township,
-which was probably organized upon the Mark system above described,
-or on some modification of it. The commanders in war, or Duces,
-were elected, probably from among the Principes, for each special
-occasion. It is, moreover, clear that private property had begun to
-exist. In pastoral life, where the common right of grazing would
-be the chief common privilege, there would be no difficulty in
-one man possessing more cattle than another. Neither would it be
-a great step to grant to such wealthier men, upon the redivision
-of the common arable mark, extra shares for the support of slaves
-or dependent freemen whom his wealth had attracted around him.
-There also existed a variety of ranks, which may be roughly
-divided into three classes,--the noble or _eorl_, who must have
-owed his nobility to birth; the freeman or _ceorl_, possessing his
-own homestead, his own share in the common land, and dependent
-on no man; and the _læt_ or dependent workman, cultivating his
-lord’s land. Besides these, there were actual slaves or _theows_,
-consisting of men who had lost their liberty either as captives,
-or for debt, or for some other easily conceivable causes. It does
-not appear that nobility of birth gave any additional political
-rights, although personal consideration was awarded to the noble.
-It was the possession of free land which made a man a full member
-of the tribe. The læts, however, were probably dependent only
-as regarded their lord, in every other respect free. Thus, like
-other members of the community, their death had to be atoned for
-by the payment of a sum of money or _weregild_, although the sum
-was smaller than in the case of freemen. They probably formed a
-considerable part of the armed force of the nation. The class may
-have consisted originally of a conquered population of kindred
-blood, or of men who voluntarily put themselves into a state of
-dependency upon their richer neighbours for security, or because
-for some reason they had become landless. Side by side with this
-democratic constitution, there was a peculiar institution known as
-the _Comitatus_. Each Princeps was allowed to collect around him,
-under a tie of personal dependence, a body of professed warriors,
-who were bound to him by the closest ties of honour; and the
-importance of each chief must have depended in a great degree upon
-this following. In case of conquest, it would naturally be the duty
-of the conquering chief to see to the welfare of his followers, and
-to give them grants, which might either be grants in perpetuity,
-or only the right of present possession, and which would be drawn
-from the conquered land remaining over after its distribution among
-the body of freemen. To cultivate these grants, the comrades of
-the king would have had to employ their own dependants, and these
-dependants would settle in villages, which took the form of village
-communities, except that the rights, which in the free communities
-would be vested in the whole body of the freemen, were in this case
-vested in the lord. We here have the germ of the relation between
-vassal and lord. But this element of feudalism soon acquired
-greater strength. The conquering chief would take upon himself
-the title of king, claim descent from the gods, and make his line
-hereditary. As the position of the king advanced, the position of
-the comrade or Gesith would advance also. As the king of a tribe
-became the king of a nation his dignity would greatly increase,
-and with his that of his followers, who, as the court became more
-formal, would accept as honours duties about the household, and the
-word _Gesith_, comrade, changed into _Thegn_ or servant. In times
-of war such nobles by service became natural leaders of the people,
-and the position of the chief men of the village proportionately
-sunk. So that there arose a class of nobles in immediate connection
-with the crown, possessing property not belonging to a village
-community, and exercising rights of lordship over its inhabitants.
-It is not difficult to see in what a superior position they were
-thus placed; what powers of encroachment they might have; and
-how willingly, in times of danger, village communities would put
-themselves in the same position with regard to them, as that
-occupied by those settlers on the Thegn’s lands, who had always
-acknowledged them as their lords. We have therefore two sources
-from which feudalism might have arisen; the village headman, in
-accordance with what seems to be a general law, as his powers came
-to be legally defined (especially in the matter of collecting the
-king’s taxes), would be regarded as the hereditary lord of the
-village, and would obtain the right of permanently enclosing his
-share of the common land; while the king’s Thegn, side by side with
-him, would plant his own subject villages, and accept by what is
-called _commendation_ the supremacy of such villages as might offer
-it to him.
-
-[Sidenote: Saxon institutions introduced into England.]
-
-[Sidenote: Land.]
-
-The Saxons then brought with them, in their invasion of England,
-their threefold division of rank, their association or township,
-their Pagus or Hundred, the Mark system, the principle of election
-to public functions, and the Comitatus or personal following of
-their chiefs. The conquering Principes or Ealdormen became kings.
-The country in all probability was divided out with some degree
-of regularity between villages, similar in constitution with
-those of Continental Germany. There was no necessity for these
-apportionments being equal. But a certain number of villages,
-whatever their property was, were divided into Pagi or Hundreds.
-This explains the inequality of those divisions. The unoccupied
-land was left in the king’s hands to reward his chief followers.
-On these demesnes, and on the public lands, the _læts_ found their
-homes, with such of the conquered race as remained; and from time
-to time fresh estates were granted as fresh conquests increased the
-surplus land. From this land also the monasteries were endowed.
-The portion allotted to each free household was called the _Hide_.
-Land held by hereditary possession or by original allotment was
-called the _Ethel_. That held by grant from the public land and by
-charter was called _Bocland_ (_i.e._ book-land). The land neither
-partitioned nor granted was the common property of the nation, and
-was called _Folcland_. As all land, whether bocland or folcland,
-could be let out, and was so treated on various conditions, there
-was much variety in the tenures of that class of people who did not
-possess free land of their own.
-
-[Sidenote: Judicial organization.]
-
-Whether the mark system prevailed to any great extent or not,
-(and this is a somewhat uncertain point,) practically it was the
-township which formed the lowest part of the general organization.
-The hundred was a collection of townships, the shire a collection
-of hundreds. The chief officer of the township, the town reeve,
-was elected by the freeholders of the township, and with four of
-their number represented that township in the Court of the Hundred,
-of which the township was a subordinate division. Townships
-established upon the lands of lords also had their reeve, but
-probably he was appointed by the lord. Their constitution was
-the same, but the proprietor of the soil took the duties and
-privileges which in a free township belonged to the freeholders.
-Such townships formed manors. It was from the township also that
-the burghs or towns arose. The Saxons had a natural dislike for
-town life, and we must not look for the arrangements of the borough
-to the remnants of Roman civilization. But when the village grew
-very large the same constitution as existed in the township was
-employed, the freeholders within the limits of the borough forming
-the municipal body. Such boroughs may also frequently have arisen
-from an agglomeration of townships. They would then be analogous
-to the hundred. The existence of two or three parishes in most
-boroughs leads to the same conclusion; for, ecclesiastically,
-the limits of the township and the parish were the same. Such
-towns, growing up naturally round the dwellings of wealthy men
-or of the king, would generally be either on folcland, and as
-such, dependent upon the crown, or upon the land of some lord
-on whom they would then depend. When the national system became
-organized, there would thus be the Court of the Township, with its
-counterpart in the dependent Township of the Manor Court. Above
-that, the Hundred Court, presided over by the Hundred-man, while
-the township were represented by their Reeve and four members. And
-above that there was the Shire Court or Gemot. The shires were not,
-properly speaking, part of the original organization. They seem to
-be in most cases the old sub-kingdoms. The Court, therefore, of
-the Shire represented the National Court. Over these sub-kingdoms
-or shires was appointed a royal officer, shire-reeve or sheriff,
-representative of the king for judicial and fiscal purposes. There
-is no proof that he was an elective officer. Beside the sheriff,
-who represented the central authority, was the Ealdorman, who had
-the command of the military force of the shire and the third of the
-fines levied. He was the representative of the old sub-king. He
-was a national officer, appointed by the king and by the central
-assembly of the nation, the Witana-Gemot. He sat with the sheriff
-in the Shire Court, but it would seem that the sheriff was the
-official whose presence constituted the court. In all the courts it
-was a principle that the suitors of the court, those, that is, who
-were liable to its jurisdiction, were also the judges; that is to
-say, the courts were essentially popular. The whole body present
-settled the disputes or judged the crimes of the individuals, the
-chief officer being, in fact, the chairman. Practically, in the
-Shire Court, twelve chief Thegns or chief freeholders sat with the
-sheriff as judges, representatives of the whole body. It was also a
-principle, at all events originally, that no superior court should
-have jurisdiction till the inferior courts had done their best
-towards the settlement of the disputed point.
-
-Ecclesiastically, the parishes were co-extensive with the
-townships, the bishoprics in a great degree co-extensive with the
-shires or ancient kingdoms.
-
-[Sidenote: Growth of territorial jurisdiction.]
-
-In process of time, the position of the king somewhat changed. He
-began to be regarded as the one lord of the land. From being the
-King of the Saxons he gradually became the King of England. His
-personal relation became territorial. The folcland became royal
-demesne, and the king came to be regarded as the origin of justice.
-This change, among other causes, tended much to the growth of a
-system which was in fact incipient feudalism. The national courts
-constantly became more the private courts of great lords. The
-connection between the possession of land and the judicial power
-grew constantly stronger. It had early been the custom to establish
-in the favour of lords to whom grants were made Liberties, or
-_Soken_, as they were called; that is, land was granted exempted
-from the jurisdiction of the Hundred. The judicial rights of the
-Hundred, together with the payments accruing from them, were vested
-in the lord who received the grant. These rights are implied in the
-words _sac_ and _soc_. As townships on a lord’s land became manors,
-so these Liberties, on which there were many townships, became
-private Hundreds. They were probably, before the Conquest, not
-exempted from the jurisdiction of the Shire. It has been already
-mentioned that, either by commendation or by the encroachment of
-local magnates, freemen (allodial proprietors as they were called)
-took in many cases the position of dependants. Their property then
-assumed the character of bocland, or land held by charter, instead
-of hereditary freehold. By commending themselves to a lord they
-would free themselves from the burden of military duty, which would
-then fall upon the lord as proprietor of the land. Justice would
-be more easily obtained from the neighbouring court of the lord
-than from the distant court of the Hundred or county. Protection
-from invasion or from the violence of neighbours would be gained.
-Again, the police regulation, by which all landless men were
-obliged to seek a lord, would strengthen the idea of the necessity
-of dependence.
-
-Meanwhile, the Franchises and territorial jurisdictions went on
-increasing till the ideas of possession of land and jurisdiction
-began to go constantly together. The Thegn, who only possessed five
-Hides, had his court. In the time of Cnut a further step was taken.
-The wealthy landowner, under the name of Landrica, represented
-the king in his district, and had jurisdiction over the lesser
-freeholders. While, to crown all, the new position of the king gave
-him the sole jurisdiction over the holders of bocland, to which,
-as we have seen, allodial property was gradually assimilating
-itself. In all these ways private and territorial jurisdictions
-were strengthened, and enabled very largely to encroach upon the
-national and popular courts. The position of the Landrica was
-little else than that of a feudal baron, and the independence
-of the great hereditary official, so marked a characteristic of
-Continental feudalism, was almost reproduced in England, when Cnut
-divided the kingdom into four great Earldoms.
-
-[Sidenote: Central government. The Witan.]
-
-[Sidenote: Increased power of the King.]
-
-[Sidenote: Finance.]
-
-To pass from the local government to the central. It has been
-seen that justice and municipal law were carried on through a
-series of free assemblies or Gemots; so too the general meeting,
-or Gemot of the nation, constituted the chief legislative and
-judicial assembly. This was called the Witan or wise men, or the
-Witana-Gemot or assembly of wise men. It was doubtless originally
-the National Assembly of all free men, but by an easy change which
-befalls all such assemblies, attendance on it grew awkward to
-the multitude, and was shortly confined to those who bore office
-about the court, the king’s Thegns and bishops. The principle
-of representation was not understood, and the freemen, although
-they possessed an inherent right to be present, were not in fact
-represented, except in so far as the presence of friendly and
-neighbouring Thegns might be held to represent them. The power
-of the Witan was great and various, being in theory the power
-of a free nation. They could elect and discrown a king, and
-practically did elect him, though usually from among the nearest
-relatives of the late king. A remnant of this elective form of
-the monarchy still exists in our form of coronation. Peace and
-war were discussed in the Witan. The co-operation of the Witan
-was necessary to authorize alienation of public land; and to them
-ultimate judicial appeals were made. Early in the eleventh century,
-however, the king had so far improved his position that he was able
-to grant land without their leave, and also to call to his court
-cases not yet completed in the lower courts. The same change in
-the character of the king, which has been already mentioned, shows
-itself here also. He was originally the leader of a free tribe,
-perhaps of a clan, but gradually as his dominion extended his power
-rose also; and his personal influence, though somewhat undefined,
-was paramount. The great king could always wield the Witan as he
-pleased. His office was, as has been said, elective, but under
-certain restrictions. It seems to have been regarded as necessary
-that he should be an Ætheling (or born in legitimate wedlock), and
-in England. With this limit, and with a certain preference allowed
-to the eldest son, and to the one whom the dying king nominated,
-the choice of the Witan was free; and, practically, the prince
-of the royal house best fitted for the immediate circumstances
-of the kingdom was chosen. Thus the king’s brother was sometimes
-chosen instead of his son, who, in his turn, might succeed his
-uncle to the exclusion of his uncle’s children. This preference
-for the best man over the nearest relative continued after the
-Conquest, and renders erroneous the appellation of usurper when
-applied to the early Norman kings. The arrangements of finance,
-as far as they can be understood, were very simple. Upon every
-citizen, whether agricultural or urban, there was laid a _trinoda
-necessitas_, that is to say, the duty of serving in war, the repair
-of bridges and public roads, and the maintenance of fortifications.
-It is plain, therefore, that the wants of the crown were chiefly
-personal, that what we consider the chief expenses of government,
-justice, maintenance of public works, and military expenditure,
-were supported by the people themselves, without the interposition
-of government. The expenses of the crown would be discharged very
-largely from the public property or folcland reserved to the
-nation, and from such taxes as were rendered necessary from time
-to time to support the grandeur and hospitality of the king as
-national representative.
-
-[Sidenote: Police.]
-
-The system of police was based on the idea of mutual
-responsibility. Frankpledge or _frithbohr_, by which is meant
-the division of the country into sections of ten men mutually
-responsible for one another, cannot be proved to have existed
-before the Conquest. On the other hand, its principle no doubt
-existed. Every man, by the law of Cnut, was bound to be in a
-Hundred and a _tithing_. This latter term cannot be accurately
-defined, but it was a subdivision of the Hundred. By the laws of
-Æthelstan and Eadgar every landless man was compelled to have a
-lord to answer for him in the courts, and every man a surety to
-answer for him if he were absent when legally required.
-
-From this sketch it will be seen that, with regard to classes,
-there must have been at the time of the Conquest _Thegns_, who
-were to all intents and purposes feudal barons; _Sokmen_, those
-freemen who owed suit to the lord’s soke or court; a certain number
-of _Eorls_ or nobles by birth, who would most likely have become
-assimilated to the Thegns; _freeholders_, holding land in common
-where it had not yet come under the suzerainty of a lord (this same
-class of freemen degenerated under various circumstances and with
-varying tenures into villeins, or dependent cultivators, under
-lords); and absolute slaves, consisting originally probably of the
-conquered race, and added to by criminals and outlaws, or others
-who had lost their rights as freemen.
-
-There was here every element of the feudal system. Even the tenure
-of land upon military service existed. The main distinction between
-the condition of England and that of the Continent, where the
-feudal system had been fully established, lay in this,--there still
-existed a certain number of freemen whose land was their own. They
-were indeed obliged to acknowledge the jurisdiction of a lord,
-but they were free to choose their own lord. They were suitors to
-his court, but he did not possess their land. The feudal system
-in its completed form may be regarded as exhibiting two peculiar
-features:--jurisdiction was in the hand of large landowners; and
-the lord was regarded as the possessor of the land over which he
-exercised jurisdiction. In England, one feature alone had become
-prominent. The judicial power was in the hand of large landowners;
-but their jurisdiction extended over men whose land they did not
-possess, but who were owners of their own property, and able to
-attach themselves to any lord they liked. With the Conquest, while
-the judicial power was restrained, the connection between that
-power and the possession of land over which it was exercised became
-absolute.
-
-[Sidenote: The Church.]
-
-The Church occupied a position of very great importance. It was the
-guardian of the morality of the country, and as such had a share
-in all secular jurisdictions; but it was the remnant of a national
-Church, not closely united to the Roman See. It was therefore
-inclined to be somewhat disorderly. Its bishops were appointed
-properly by the king and the Witan, but latterly the power had
-practically been with the king alone. These bishops obtained their
-license from the Pope. But the case of Archbishop Stigand, to whom
-the Pope had not sent the Pallium, shows how little weight was
-given to this proceeding. Similarly, the lower clergy had formed
-the habit of marrying, contrary to Papal laws, and although there
-was a growing feeling that this was wrong, the practice still
-continued while the monks were constantly attempting to break free
-from their rules and establish themselves as canons.
-
-[Sidenote: Effects of the Conquest.]
-
-[Sidenote: Restraints upon feudalism.]
-
-To such a civilization came William, who had seen the evils of
-Continental feudalism in his own country, and had secured his
-position only after long struggles. He claimed England, not as a
-conqueror, but as the legitimate sovereign, nominated by Edward
-the Confessor, and as such was accepted by the Witan, and crowned
-in London after the battle of Senlac. His natural policy was,
-therefore, to continue such institutions as were not yet feudal,
-and thus his arrival checked that natural growth of feudalism which
-was running its course in England as in other Teutonic countries.
-On the other hand, it was impossible from his position that he
-should do otherwise than introduce many feudal institutions. He had
-brought with him many of his vassals, who held from him in feudal
-tenure; and it was necessary, when, from the confiscated lands of
-Harold and his family and of the other nobles who either opposed
-his entrance into England or afterwards revolted against him,
-he made large grants to reward the adventurers of whom his army
-mainly consisted, he should make those grants in accordance with
-the system with which he was acquainted in exchange for military
-service, and saddled with the usual feudal burdens. While he thus,
-on the one hand, was the national English sovereign, on the other
-he was the supreme landowner and feudal lord. Under this double
-influence, the tenure of land, following the universal tendency
-of Europe, became wholly feudal and military. But the other side
-of feudalism--with its isolation, the virtual independence of
-the feudatories (among whom the king was but the first among his
-peers), and the suppression of national jurisdiction, which were
-the chief characteristics of French feudalism--was kept in careful
-restraint. Thus, the whole machinery of justice, the Hundred
-Court and the Shire Gemot were retained under presidency of the
-sheriff, side by side with that territorial jurisdiction which
-he could not refuse to his feudal vassals. The police system of
-mutual responsibility was kept up and systematized under the name
-of _frankpledge_, and on the whole nation still lay the _trinoda
-necessitas_. The Witan remained, although its members were now
-feudal vassals; the laws as they existed were for the most part
-perpetuated, though certain emendations were made, such as the law
-of Englishry,[4] for the protection of his Norman subjects, and
-the liberty allowed to the different nationalities to be tried
-according to their own law. At the same time, the further to
-restrain the independent power of the great feudatories, the great
-earldoms which Cnut had created were broken up, with the exception
-of three border counties, Chester, Durham, and Kent; the business
-of the counties was transacted by the sheriff, who was a royal
-officer, and the earldoms were either of one county only, or if of
-more than one, of counties far apart. As a final court of appeal,
-he established the Curia Regis, formed of the Justiciary (who was
-the king’s representative and regent when he left the country),
-with a staff of justices, consisting originally of the officers of
-the household, but tending gradually to consist of new nobility
-appointed by the king for the purpose. This was the final court of
-appeal, and could draw to it any suit from the county court. But
-the chief restriction upon military feudalism, which rendered its
-appearance in England impossible, was, that each freeholder swore
-allegiance, not to his immediate lord, but to the king. Abroad, if
-a great noble went to war with the king, his vassals were doing
-right in following him; in England, they were committing treason.
-
-[Sidenote: William’s position.]
-
-This oath was exacted after the great work of the Domesday Book
-was completed. This book consisted of a registration of all the
-lands in the kingdom, made by commissioners, after inquiry upon
-oath of the chief men and lesser freeholders of each district.
-By it not only were the limits of property settled, but the king
-knew what resources he could rely upon both in men and money. The
-king’s power was nominally limited by the “counsel and consent”
-of the National Council, which was at once the old English Witan
-and a feudal assembly, but its power was really nominal. The taxes
-seldom called for interference, as they were derived principally
-either from the old national dues, the _ferm_ of the shire (a fixed
-rent of the old public lands and royal domains), the danegelt, and
-the proceeds of fines or feudal aids. The army was also completely
-in the king’s hands; as national sovereign, the old national
-militia was at his command; as feudal sovereign, he could claim
-the military service of his vassals, which was defined in every
-case by the Domesday Book, while the whole people were bound to him
-by oath. We thus see William the Conqueror occupying the position
-of a practically irresponsible monarch, with a mixed monarchy of
-national and feudal character, but, with the exception of some
-parts of the administration of justice, carried on wholly under
-feudal forms.
-
-[Sidenote: The Church.]
-
-As regards the Church, two important changes were made. As the
-champion of orthodoxy, William, by means of his Archbishop,
-Lanfranc, restored the Roman discipline to the Church, and
-connected it closely with the See of Rome. And, secondly, he
-separated the ecclesiastical jurisdiction from the secular.
-The bishops withdrew from the county court (perhaps finding
-their position there useless now that those courts had sunk in
-importance), and established courts of their own. During William’s
-reign no inconvenience arose from this, but the inherent defects
-of the step became obvious when Henry II. attempted to reorganize
-the kingdom after the disorder of Stephen’s reign. The Conqueror’s
-police was unusually strict. It became the common saying that
-a man laden with gold could pass unharmed through the country.
-He abolished the penalty of death (which was, however, speedily
-resumed), and substituted mutilations of various kinds. He also
-repressed the right which the Saxon laws had allowed of killing the
-murderer or the thief when taken red-handed. It has been suggested
-that the great forests he created, and the care with which they
-were maintained, is to be attributed as much to the king’s desire
-to maintain an efficient staff of police always ready as to his
-great love of hunting.
-
-
-
-
-WILLIAM I.
-
-1066-1087.
-
-
- Born 1027 = Matilda of Flanders.
- |
- +---------------+-----+------+----------+
- | | | |
- Robert, Duke William II. Henry I. Adela = Stephen, Earl
- of Normandy. | of Blois.
- d. 1134. |
- +-----------+-----------+
- | | |
- Theobold Stephen Henry, Bishop of
- Winchester.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- Malcolm III., | Philip I., | Henry IV., | Sancho II., 1065.
- 1057. | 1060. | 1056. | Alphonso VI., 1072.
-
- POPES.--Alexander II., 1061. Gregory VII., 1073. Vacancy one year.
- Victor III., 1086.
-
- _Archbishops._ | _Chief-Justices._ | _Chancellors._
- | |
- Stigand, | Odo of Bayeux, and William | Herfast, afterwards Bishop
- 1052-1070. | Fitz-Osbern, 1067. | of Elmham, 1068.
- Lanfranc, | William de Warenne, and | Osbern, afterwards Bishop
- 1070-1089. | Richard Fitz-Gilbert, | of Exeter, 1070.
- | 1073. | Osmund, afterwards Bishop
- | Lanfranc, Geoffrey of | of Salisbury, 1074.
- | Coutances, and Robert, | Maurice, afterwards Bishop
- | Count of Mortain, 1078. | of London, 1078.
- | | William de Beaufeu, Bishop
- | | of Thetford, 1083.
- | | William Giffard, 1086.
-
-
-[Sidenote: Intended resistance of the English.]
-
-[Sidenote: Election of Eadgar.]
-
-The death of Harold left England without a king. As yet, although
-William had expected the immediate submission of the whole country,
-no such course was thought of. The idea which occupied men’s minds
-was the election of a new king, who might continue the defence
-of the country. The two sons of Ælfgar, the great northern Earls
-Edwin and Morkere, whose jealousy of Harold had been one of the
-chief causes of his disaster, found themselves, now that the House
-of Godwine was practically destroyed, the most prominent leaders
-of the English. They came to London, and there, collecting about
-them such nobles and important people as they could readily find,
-they held an assembly which in some sort represented the Witan.
-They probably expected that the crown would be given to one of
-themselves, and that the hour for the triumph of the Mercian house
-had arrived. They were disappointed in their hopes. Of properly
-qualified candidates there were none, but the Southern Witan
-preferred to place the crown upon the head of the grandson of
-Ironside, the heir of the old royal house, and elected the Ætheling
-Eadgar, young though he was.[5] It does not seem however that he
-was actually crowned, that ceremony being postponed till the feast
-of Christmas.
-
-After the slaughters of the late battles, the means of resistance
-in the Southern counties must have been much diminished, and
-when Edwin and Morkere completed their treasonable conduct by
-again withdrawing their troops, and, though they had accepted the
-election, refused to give practical support to the defence of
-Wessex, immediate opposition to the Conqueror became hopeless. No
-further combined action was possible and no other great battle was
-fought.
-
-[Sidenote: William’s march to London.]
-
-[Sidenote: Receives the crown at Berkhampstead.]
-
-[Sidenote: Coronation of William.]
-
-Meanwhile William, disappointed in his hopes, proceeded with
-his own foreign forces to make good his conquest. He determined
-to subdue the South-eastern counties before he advanced against
-London. He marched eastward, took Romney, and captured the castle
-and town of Dover, and had reached Canterbury, when he was seized
-with an illness which kept him inactive during the whole month of
-November. Thence he sent an embassy which secured the great town of
-Winchester, and thence in December he moved to attack the capital,
-but contented himself with burning the suburb of Southwark, and
-passed on westward on the southern side of the Thames, which he did
-not cross till he reached Wallingford, intending to pass northward
-and thus cut the city off from the unconquered country. With this
-view he marched to Berkhampstead in Hertfordshire. But his progress
-had broken the spirit of the Londoners, and he was there met by
-Eadgar, Ealdred the Archbishop of York, and others, who submitted
-to him, and offered him the crown. After a feigned rejection of it,
-till he had further secured the kingdom, he accepted it at the
-earnest request of his followers, and marching into London, was
-crowned at Christmas. The ceremony was performed by Ealdred of York
-in the place of Stigand of Canterbury, whose appointment to the See
-had not been strictly canonical; it was impossible that William,
-one of whose professed objects was the reform of the uncanonical
-Church of England, should receive his crown from the hands of a
-schismatic. Stigand’s importance as the chief official of the
-English prevented William from taking immediate steps against him.
-He was therefore present at the ceremony, but though William thus,
-and for some time afterwards, temporized with him, his ruin was
-already determined. The coronation was performed with the usual
-English ceremonies; the name of the King was proposed for election
-to those who were present, and the shout of acquiescence excited
-the alarm of the Norman troops outside the church. They proceeded
-to set fire to buildings in the neighbourhood; the assembled
-multitude rushed from the church to extinguish the flames, and
-William was left almost alone with the officiating ecclesiastics.
-But the ceremony was completed in the midst of fears and misgivings
-of those within the Cathedral, and of uproar and confusion without.
-
-[Sidenote: William’s position as king.]
-
-William was thus crowned King of England, having received the crown
-from the hands of the Witan, and having been nominally elected
-by the popular voice. His position was in strict accordance with
-the claims he had raised, and he proceeded to pursue a policy in
-harmony with it. He had come to claim his rights against a usurper,
-he had obtained those rights, and would henceforth make them good
-while strictly following the forms of law. As crowned King of
-England, opposition to him was treasonable, and the property of
-traitors legally confiscated. It is clear that this position gave
-him great advantages, and would induce many a weak-hearted or
-peaceful Englishman to accept without opposition the _de facto_
-king, while it enabled William to hide the harsh character of the
-conqueror under the milder form of a monarch at war with rebellious
-subjects.
-
-In pursuance of this policy, no sudden change was made in the
-constitution or social arrangements of the country. In the first
-period of his rule, William merely stepped into the place and
-exercised the rights of his predecessor; but those rights he found
-sufficient to secure his own position and to reward his followers.
-For these purposes it was necessary for him to give to Normans much
-of the conquered land, by which means he would spread as it were a
-garrison throughout the country, and at the same time gratify his
-adherents.
-
-[Sidenote: Transfer of property. The form of law retained.]
-
-[Sidenote: Castles built.]
-
-He started from the legal fiction that the whole of the land, as
-the land of traitors, was confiscated. The folcland he made crown
-property, thus completing a change which had been long in progress.
-The large domains of the House of Godwine were by the destruction
-of that house naturally at his disposal, as was also the property
-of those who had fallen in arms against him at Hastings or been
-prominent in opposition. The land thus gained he granted to his
-followers, not making a new partition of it, but putting a Norman
-in the place of the dead or outlawed Englishman who was legally
-regarded as his ancestor. To complete this process, and appropriate
-all the conquered land, would obviously have been impolitic; and
-very shortly after his coronation he appears to have allowed a
-general redemption of property. Proprietors submitted, paid a sum
-of money, and received their lands back as fresh grants from the
-Conqueror. In addition to this, many of the smaller Thegns and
-free Ceorls were too insignificant to be disturbed, and in many
-instances some little fragment of their dead husband’s property
-was given in contemptuous pity to the widows, saddled frequently
-with some ignoble tenure. Still further to complete the subjection
-of the country, in every conquered town of importance a castle was
-erected.
-
-[Sidenote: Appointment of Earls.]
-
-In addition to his grants of land, William had the government
-of the country to attend to, and the vacant earldoms to fill.
-In doing this he was guided by his past experience, and in the
-fully conquered parts of England was careful not to put any earl
-into the position occupied by the great earls of the last days
-of the Anglo-Saxon monarchy. In this respect, as in some others,
-the spirit of feudalism had been making rapid strides in England,
-and the great earls, as well as the great cities, were bidding
-fair to assume the position of the feudatories and free cities of
-the Continent. William was careful to return to older precedent,
-and to confine his earldoms to one shire. The importance of this
-in English history is great, as it obliged the nobility to work
-in alliance with the commonalty, and secured national rather
-than aristocratic progress. Thus his two most trusted servants,
-to whom in his absence he left the vice-regency of the kingdom,
-William Fitz-Osbern and his brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, were
-respectively but Earls of Hereford and of Kent. William thus
-arranged that part of England which he had really conquered. In the
-North he as yet continued the existing state of things. Edwin and
-Morkere did homage and received their Earldoms back again. Waltheof
-remained Earl of Nottingham, and Copsige (Copsi or Coxo) was given
-the earldom of the Northern province of Northumberland. To secure
-the allegiance of these great unconquered Earls, William took them
-with him when in March he went to revisit his native duchy. The
-kingdom he left in charge, the South to Odo of Bayeux, the North to
-William Fitz-Osbern.
-
-[Sidenote: William revisits Normandy.]
-
-[Sidenote: Misgovernment by his viceroys and consequent rebellion.]
-
-His retirement from England has sometimes been traced to an
-evil intention of enticing his new subjects into a more serious
-rebellion, that he might conquer them more completely. His natural
-desire to display his triumph in his own country would seem to
-supply a sufficient reason, without attributing to him such
-double dealing. The effect of his absence, however, was in fact
-to produce such an insurrection. In the midst of his conquests
-and confiscations he had always kept a strong hand upon his
-followers, and his police was good. The case was different under
-the government of his viceroys. The rapacity and licentiousness
-of the conquerors made itself heavily felt. Discontent began to
-show itself in the North, in the West, and in the South; and the
-native English, despairing of their unaided efforts, began to seek
-assistance from abroad. The news of this danger brought William
-back to England in the December of 1067. But already a revolt in
-Bernicia, as the Northern division of Northumberland was called,
-had produced the death of the newly-made Earl Copsige. Eadric the
-Forester in the West of England, in union with the Welsh, had
-ravaged Herefordshire, and the men of Kent had obtained assistance
-from Eustace of Boulogne in a fruitless attack upon Dover. It was
-the dread of more important foreign allies which brought William
-back. The English efforts to get aid from Henry IV. of Germany, or
-from the Prince of Norway, had been frustrated either by William’s
-intrigues or by the character of the Princes to whom they applied,
-but Swend of Denmark seemed likely to embrace their cause.
-
-[Sidenote: William returns.]
-
-[Sidenote: Insurrection in the West. Taking of Exeter.]
-
-On his return, William found that although his lieutenants had
-repressed actual insurrections, the unconquered districts both of
-the North and West of England were gloomy and threatening. Want
-of union was still the bane of the English; the insurrection of
-Exeter and the West had been suppressed before York and the North
-moved. The party of Harold and his family was strong in Exeter
-and the Western shires. At Exeter, indeed, it is probable that
-what remained of the family of Godwine was at this time collected.
-William marched against the city, harrying Dorset as he passed.
-The position of Exeter was characteristic. As in the case of the
-great earldoms, so in that of the great cities, the feeling of
-local independence had been rising, and the chief men of Exeter
-seem to have had some thought of making their city a free town.
-They offered to own the King’s supremacy and to pay his taxes,
-but refused to admit him within their walls. The one point of
-William’s policy which is most prominent is his determination to
-establish the strength of the monarchy, as against local interests.
-He therefore rejected the proposition, and marched upon the city.
-The civic chiefs offered to submit, but the people repudiated
-their arrangements, and stood the siege. The city was captured by
-means of a mine. Harold’s family fled--Gytha, his mother, to the
-islands in the Bristol Channel, his sons to Ireland. As usual, a
-castle was built in the city; the tribute of the town considerably
-increased; both Devonshire and Cornwall completely subdued, and the
-same process of partial confiscation which had marked the first
-steps of the Conqueror carried out there. The earldom of Cornwall,
-and a large quantity of property, was given to Robert of Mortain,
-William’s half-brother. The conquest of the West was completed by
-the subjugation of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.
-
-[Sidenote: Insurrection in the North.]
-
-[Sidenote: William’s position in the North and West.]
-
-This insurrection was hardly over when a general confederation
-against the Conqueror was set on foot in the North. Edwin and
-Morkere, and Eadgar, the nominal king, combined with Eadric the
-Forester, and had good hopes of assistance from the Welsh, from
-Malcolm Canmore of Scotland, and from Swend of Denmark. This help
-was not forthcoming; civil war hindered the Welsh, and Malcolm and
-Swend were not ready. The feeling against the Normans was, however,
-very strong, many of the inhabitants of Yorkshire taking to the
-woods rather than submit. The insurrection was a failure. Again
-Edwin and Morkere showed complete want of energy, submitted, and
-were received into favour. Such a desertion destroyed all unity of
-action; their armies dispersed to their own homes. A certain number
-of the insurgents retired and held Durham, others took refuge in
-Scotland, but William found no opposition; York submitted, and the
-usual castle, the constant badge of conquest, was built there.
-On his homeward march through Lincolnshire, the town of Lincoln
-and that part of England was also subjugated, while, at the same
-time, Malcolm of Scotland sent an embassy, and commended himself
-to William. At the close of 1068 William was actual possessor of
-England as far northward as the Tees; but Cheshire, Shropshire,
-Staffordshire, and part of Herefordshire were still unconquered;
-Durham, Northumberland, and Scotland were his only by the tie of
-homage.
-
-At this time it is said that a considerable number of his Norman
-followers, disliking to leave their homes so long, returned to
-Normandy, throwing up their estates in England. This movement has
-been exaggerated, as Hugh de Grantmesnil, who is mentioned as the
-leader of the returning Normans, undoubtedly held property in
-England afterwards. It is, however, probable that some returned,
-for William at this time discharged many of his mercenaries, acting
-henceforward more completely as English king.
-
-[Sidenote: Revolt in the North.]
-
-At the midwinter meeting of the Witan he proceeded to act as though
-the North was completely conquered, and granted the earldom of
-Northumberland, vacant by the flight of Gospatric, to his follower
-Robert de Comines. But the reception of this new earl showed how
-unsubdued as yet the northern earldom was. He reached Durham, and
-was received by the Bishop Æthelwine; but when his troops treated
-the city as though they had conquered it, the inhabitants rose and
-put him and his men to death. The spirit of insurrection spread,
-and the citizens of York at once also rose and slew one of the
-commanders there, Robert Fitz-Richard. This blow, which seems
-to have been concerted, was immediately followed by the return
-of Eadgar and the other exiles from Scotland. William hurried
-thither in person, re-established his authority, and built a second
-castle, which he put into the hands of William Fitz-Osbern. He
-then withdrew into the West of England, conscious probably that
-the Northern insurrection was only one of his dangers, for Swend
-of Denmark had at length sent a fleet to the assistance of the
-English, the sons of Harold were landing in Devonshire, and Eadric
-the Wild was threatening the north-west of his dominions. In fact,
-we have in this year the great final struggle of the English, and
-the Norman dominions were assaulted upon all sides.
-
-[Sidenote: Futile insurrections against the Normans.]
-
-[Sidenote: William’s devastation in Yorkshire.]
-
-[Sidenote: Complete subjugation of the North. 1070]
-
-As usual, however, the want of proper concert and of any
-acknowledged and heroic leader rendered the English efforts futile.
-The sons of Harold were disastrously defeated by Count Brian of
-Brittany, their wandering and ill-disciplined troops conquered in
-two battles in one day, and they themselves, escaping to Ireland,
-are heard of no more. This was in July. In September the Danish
-fleet approached. It touched, but was beaten off, both in Kent
-and in East Anglia, and finally entered the Humber, where it was
-joined by the great English exiles. Thence the combined English
-and Danish army moved upon York, while Eadric, in Staffordshire
-and the Welsh border, moved forward and besieged Shrewsbury, and
-the men of the West, though unaided by the sons of Harold, rose
-and besieged the castle of Montacute in Somersetshire. These
-two lesser insurrections William could afford to leave to his
-lieutenants; Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances relieved Montacute,
-and William Fitz-Osbern and Earl Brian apparently completed the
-subjugation of the West, compelling Eadric the Forester to retire
-after he had destroyed Shrewsbury, and re-establishing the Norman
-influence in Devonshire. William himself hastened to the scene
-of greatest danger. Already the castles of York were taken, as
-the story tells us chiefly by the prowess of Waltheof; but having
-completed this object the army had foolishly dispersed, and the
-Danes, lying in the Humber, were occupying Lindesey and the north
-of Lincolnshire. There William’s sudden march surprised them, and
-they were compelled to withdraw to the other side of the Humber.
-William then set quietly to work, with his army, which had now
-joined him, at the reconquest of Yorkshire. Staffordshire and
-Nottingham were secured, and after a lengthened delay at the
-passage of the Aire, during which he was probably engaged in
-negotiations with the Danes, he moved on practically unopposed to
-York. He there re-established his two castles, and proceeded to
-give the inhabitants of the country a lesson they were not likely
-to forget. He set to work systematically to lay waste the whole
-of the territory from the Humber to the Tees. Every house, every
-store of food, the very cattle themselves were included in the
-great burning. The completeness of the destruction is marked by the
-entries of “Waste,” following each other in unbroken succession in
-the Domesday Book. For nine years the country was left untilled,
-the towns wholly uninhabited, and the few survivors lived like
-beasts of the field, feeding upon unclean animals, and reduced
-even, in their utter want, to eat human flesh. Having completed
-this terrible work, William kept his Christmas in state at York. He
-pursued his advantage further, and, as the winter went on, advanced
-and secured the hitherto unconquered town of Durham. The North of
-England was at length completely conquered.
-
-But the North-west, the counties of Cheshire and Shropshire, was
-still unsubdued, and in the dead of the winter William made his
-way, in the midst of unspeakable difficulties, through the wild
-moorland and hill country which joins the Peak district with the
-higher mountains of the Pennine range. The conquest of Chester, and
-the ravaging of the neighbouring counties, completed his work. And
-when, early in the year Osbern, the commander of Swend’s fleet,
-yielding to the diplomacy and bribes of William, sailed away to his
-own land, the conquest of England may be said to have been finished.
-
-[Sidenote: William’s legislation.]
-
-For the moment free from military difficulties, William proceeded
-to the regulation of his Conquest. He is said now to have
-re-enacted the laws of Edward, and although it is probably a legend
-that he issued a complete code of laws, it is likely that he took
-the opportunity of declaring the re-enactment of existing laws,
-with such changes as he chose to introduce. Two ordinances which
-seem to belong to this period exist. One, ordaining that peace and
-security should be kept between English and Normans, and the laws
-of Edward, with regard to land and other matters, upheld, with the
-addition of such as the King had added for the advantage of the
-English people. The second, enacting a heavy fine for the death
-of any one of his soldiers, which fine is to be made good by the
-Hundred in which the murder was committed; this was for the defence
-of his troops against lawless patriotism, and grew into the law of
-Englishry, by which an unknown corpse was always presumed to be
-that of a Frenchman, and the fine inflicted, unless the English
-nationality of the murdered man was proved.
-
-[Sidenote: His reform of the Church. Appointment of foreign Bishops.]
-
-[Sidenote: Stigand deposed.]
-
-But William had always kept before him, as an object, the change
-and reform of the English Church, which till this time had been
-strictly national, its laws having been enacted by the mixed
-secular and ecclesiastical Witan, and the bishop having presided
-side by side with the secular judges in the shire gemot. The
-intention of William, whose enterprise had been undertaken with
-the full concurrence of the Roman See, whose interests he, as
-well as the Normans of Sicily, had much at heart, was to Romanize
-this national Church. For carrying out that scheme he looked
-to the gradual displacement of bishops of English birth, whose
-places could be filled with foreigners. This connection with Rome
-is marked by the re-coronation of the King in 1070 by the Papal
-Legates, immediately after which the attack upon the English Church
-began. The Primate Stigand was the first victim. With him the King
-had hitherto temporized; when he was charged with holding the See
-of Winchester with his own archbishopric, with having obtained the
-Pallium from the false Pope Benedict X., and with having accepted
-his bishopric during the lifetime of his predecessor Robert. He was
-deprived of both his bishoprics, and kept a prisoner at Winchester.
-His brother Æthelmær was removed from the bishopric of the East
-Angles. Æthelwine of Durham was also deprived and outlawed, and
-Ethelric, Bishop of Selsey, deposed. The Archbishopric of York,
-too, was vacant by the death of Ealdred, so that William had here
-a good opportunity for carrying out his plans.
-
-[Sidenote: Lanfranc made Archbishop.]
-
-[Sidenote: Lanfranc’s legislation connects the Church with Rome.]
-
-The most important appointments were the two archbishoprics. For
-his new Primate he selected Lanfranc, an Italian priest, at this
-time Abbot of the little monastery at Bec, whose learning and
-importance were such that he had already been offered and had
-refused the Primacy of Normandy. It was not without much show
-of opposition on his part that he accepted the Archbishopric of
-Canterbury; but, when once appointed, he proved himself a most
-efficient instrument in carrying out the plans of the King. To
-the other vacant bishoprics, in almost every case, chaplains of
-the King were appointed. The changes thus begun were carried out
-gradually during the whole reign, and were in fact an offshoot of
-the great movement for the revival of the Papacy being carried
-out in Europe by Hildebrand. Having first, for the purposes of
-centralization, established the supremacy of the See of Canterbury
-over that of York, Lanfranc set on foot the habit of holding
-separate ecclesiastical councils after the great National Meetings
-had been dissolved; the bishops withdrew from the county court, and
-established ecclesiastical courts of their own; as far as possible
-regular canons were put in the place of the secular canons, of whom
-many of the chapters consisted; and although the archbishop had
-sufficient sense to tolerate those of the clergy who were already
-married, for the future such marriages were strictly prohibited.
-
-[Sidenote: But William still head of the Church.]
-
-[Sidenote: The change good on the whole.]
-
-The effect of such legislation was to separate the clergy from
-the laity, and to connect the Church much more nearly with Rome.
-This policy, which in after times was the source of so much evil,
-was rendered harmless during the reign of William by his great
-power and decision. He always claimed the position of supreme head
-of the Church in England, nor would he suffer any encroachments
-from the Papal See. On more than one occasion he exhibited this
-determination. To the end of his reign he insisted upon giving
-the ring and staff to his bishops. He would not allow any of
-his soldiers to be excommunicated without his leave, and when
-Hildebrand, occupying the Papal throne as Gregory VII., demanded
-that he should both pay Peter’s pence and declare himself the
-Pope’s man, he replied, the money he would pay, as his predecessors
-had, that the homage he would refuse, as he had neither himself
-promised it, nor had his predecessors paid it. In many respects
-the change was doubtless for the better. The bishops were on the
-whole more learned men, and education was improved. The spirit
-of self-denial for the sake of the Church, and the consequent
-establishment of foundations and cathedrals, was revived, and the
-Church, brought into better discipline, was more able to play its
-proper part of mediator and peace-maker in an age of violence. The
-distribution of patronage was not, however, without its dark side.
-In many instances ecclesiastical position was given in reward of
-services to men qualified rather to be soldiers than clergymen;
-and complaints exist of the tyrannical manner in which these
-soldier-abbots or bishops behaved to their English inferiors.
-
-[Sidenote: Final struggle against the Normans under Hereward. 1070.]
-
-[Sidenote: William conquers him. 1071.]
-
-The conquest of England was completed, as we have seen, in 1070.
-But it was six years more before William enjoyed the throne in
-peace. The remnant of the conquered nation gathered around a
-national hero, called Hereward, in the Fen country. His origin
-is not certain, but he seems to have been a Lincolnshire man who
-had been deprived of his property by a Norman intruder. He first
-appears as assailing with a host of outlaws the monastery of
-Peterborough, where one of those soldier abbots just mentioned,
-Turold by name, had been lately appointed. He is next heard of
-when, in 1071, the Earls Edwin and Morkere, who had seen the
-destruction of their old earldoms, while living in inglorious ease,
-half prisoners half guests at the Norman court, at length awoke
-from their lethargy and attempted to renew the war. Edwin was
-killed as he fled, stopped by the flooding of some river; Morkere
-succeeded in joining the insurgents at Ely. Hereward’s fastness was
-known by the name of the Camp of Refuge. There were collected many
-of the noblest of the old English exiles; and legend speaks of the
-presence of several people who were undoubtedly not there; but, at
-all events, Æthelwine, the deposed Bishop of Durham, was with the
-patriots.
-
-The attack was intrusted to William of Warenne, Earl of Surrey, and
-Ivo of Taillebois, under the superintendence of William himself,
-who came to Cambridge. The difficulties of the situation were
-overcome by the building of a great causeway across the fens. The
-defence of the camp is described as lengthened and heroic, but
-before the end of the year it seems to have been captured, and
-Morkere and Æthelwine both prisoners. Hereward himself escaped, and
-in 1073 is mentioned as leading the English contingent in William’s
-attack on Maine. The legend describes how, while living in peace
-with the king, he was surprised at his meals by a band of Normans,
-and after a terrific combat, in which he slew fifteen or sixteen
-Frenchmen, was finally overpowered by numbers. In sober fact, his
-end seems to have been peaceful, as he appears in Domesday Book as
-holding property both in Worcester and Warwick.
-
-[Sidenote: Wales held in check by the Earls of Chester and
-Shrewsbury.]
-
-From the English William had no further trouble; with the
-neighbouring kingdoms he had still some difficulties. With the
-Britons in Wales, the old Earls of Mercia and the house of Leofric
-had had friendly connection; but all sign of this had ceased upon
-the Conquest. The wars carried on against them were however local
-in character; for, contrary to his usual practice, William had
-established upon the West March two palatine counties of Chester
-and Shrewsbury. In these counties the whole of the land belonged to
-the earl and his tenants, and the king had no domain. They were,
-therefore, like the great feudal holdings of France. Chester he
-at first placed in the hands of Gerbod the Fleming, his stepson,
-and, upon his withdrawal to the Continent, in those of Hugh of
-Avranches, surnamed Lupus, a man of whom the chroniclers speak
-much evil as at once licentious and tyrannical. Together with
-his lieutenant, Robert of Rhuddlan, he waged continual war with
-the Welsh. The same task fell to Roger of Montgomery, Earl of
-Shrewsbury, who took advantage of the disputes among the Welsh
-Princes, and succeeded so far as to build and hold, far in Wales,
-the castle of Montgomery, called after his own property in the
-neighbourhood of Lisieux in Normandy.
-
-[Sidenote: Scotland’s savage invasions.]
-
-Malcolm Canmore had throughout appeared as the supporter of the
-conquered English, and at his court the exiles had been constantly
-received. This did not prevent him from pushing his ravages
-into the Northern counties; nor did they cease when he received
-Eadgar Ætheling and his sisters on their flight to the North
-(1070). This was followed by acts of extraordinary barbarity.
-Gospatric, who had found favour with William, and accepted the
-Earldom of Northumberland, attempted a counter invasion into the
-Scotch district of Cumberland. In rage at this Malcolm gave
-orders to spare neither sex nor age. The old and the infants were
-slaughtered, the able-bodied men and maidens were carried off
-into slavery, so that there were few Scotch villages where there
-were not English slaves. Malcolm, however, grew milder under the
-influence of his wife Margaret, Eadgar’s sister, and the effect of
-the presence of the numerous English, either refugees or slaves,
-was such that the Lowlands became thoroughly Anglicised.
-
-[Sidenote: William makes Malcolm swear fealty. 1072.]
-
-In 1072, William himself revenged the inroad of the year 1070, by
-marching into Scotland and receiving the oath of fealty of Malcolm
-at Abernethy on the Tay. It is mentioned that the last great noble
-who had held out against him, Eadric the Wild, accompanied him on
-this expedition, which marks not only the Conquest of England, but
-the assumption on the part of William of that Imperial position in
-Great Britain which the great English kings had held.
-
-[Sidenote: Trouble in Normandy. 1075.]
-
-His foreign neighbours also gave William some trouble. The province
-of Maine, which he had conquered in 1063, threw off his allegiance.
-The citizens of Le Mans had risen in insurrection against their
-lords, and formed themselves into a free commune; but Geoffrey
-of Mayenne, a nobleman whose help they had sought, betrayed the
-burghers in their efforts to reduce one of the neighbouring
-nobility, and they were obliged to call in the assistance of
-Fulk of Anjou, who had claims upon the province. William reduced
-Le Mans, but was obliged to make a peace with Fulk, who had
-strengthened himself by an alliance with the Bretons; and, by the
-treaty of Blanchelande, William’s son Robert took the government of
-Maine, but did homage for it to Anjou.
-
-[Sidenote: Conspiracy of Norman nobles suppressed. 1076.]
-
-[Sidenote: Waltheof executed. 1076.]
-
-While affairs on the Continent were thus occupying his attention,
-in 1075 a conspiracy of his own nobles in England broke out. Ralph
-of Gwader (or Wader), the son of Ralph the Staller and a Breton
-lady, had been intrusted with the Earldom of Norfolk. Roger,
-the son of William Fitz-Osbern, had succeeded to the Earldom of
-Hereford. These two nobles sought to ally their houses, and,
-against the will of William, Ralph married Emma, Roger’s sister.
-At the bridal feast Waltheof of Nottingham, the one remaining
-English Earl, was present, and there a conspiracy was entered into,
-apparently on account of the strong hold which William kept over
-his nobles, and in the interests of more perfect feudalism. The
-kingdom was to be divided among the three earls, one of whom was to
-be king. Waltheof had been well treated by the King, and married
-to his niece Judith. His conscience seems to have pricked him, and
-he confessed all to Lanfranc, at that time governing England. The
-conspiracy was at once suppressed; Norwich alone, under Emma, the
-new married bride, made a brave defence. Ralph fled to Brittany.
-Roger was taken prisoner, and spent his life in captivity. Waltheof
-was at first received into favour, but afterwards, it is believed
-at the instigation of his wife, he was tried before the Witan
-and found guilty of death. The sentence was executed in secret
-outside the town of Winchester. During his imprisonment the Earl’s
-penitence had been deep, and it was while still on his knees
-uttering the Lord’s Prayer that the impatient executioner smote off
-his head. The national hero, dying in this religious state of mind,
-speedily became the national saint. His remains were removed to
-Crowland, which he had much benefited, and miracles were worked at
-his tomb. The confiscation of the property of these two earldoms,
-and the death of Queen Edith, the widow of the Confessor, threw
-great property into the hands of William, who did not reappoint to
-the earldoms.
-
-[Sidenote: Quarrels between William and his sons.]
-
-[Sidenote: Reconciliation at Gerberoi. 1079.]
-
-From this time onward William lived generally in Normandy, leaving
-England to the care of Lanfranc and Odo of Bayeux. The great
-success of his reign had indeed been reached, and the remaining
-years were disturbed by constant disputes with his sons and with
-his suzerain the King of France. Already, when pursuing Ralph of
-Gwader on his retreat into Brittany, and besieging him in the town
-of Dol, he had found himself checked by the union of Philip of
-France with Alan Fergant of Brittany, and had found it advisable
-to marry his daughter Constance to that nobleman as the price of
-peace. So, too, to lessen the jealousy the King of France might
-naturally have felt at his vassal’s great aggrandisement, he had
-made the Norman barons swear fealty to his son Robert as his heir,
-and had caused him to do homage in his place for Maine. Robert
-desired to make this nominal position real; and, as a part of the
-same feudal movement perhaps which produced the conspiracy of
-1075, he demanded Normandy and Maine of his father. His demand
-was refused; and when, during an expedition of William against
-the Count of Mortagne, an accidental quarrel arose between Robert
-and his brothers, in company with many of the younger nobility
-he broke into open rebellion. With these, after an unsuccessful
-attempt at Rouen, he fled to Hugh of Neufchâtel. Beaten thence,
-he wandered from court to court, assisted by his mother Matilda,
-against William’s will. At length he found an ally in Philip, who
-established him in 1079 in Gerberoi, near the borders of Normandy.
-It was there that father and son met face to face, and that William
-was unhorsed by Robert. The siege of Gerberoi had to be raised, and
-William underwent the humiliation of seeking a reconciliation with
-his son, a reconciliation which was of short duration, as in 1080
-Robert again fled from court.
-
-[Sidenote: Odo’s oppressive government.]
-
-In all directions ill success was attending William. He had been
-defeated at Dol and at Gerberoi; his son Robert in the period
-between his two quarrels had failed in an expedition against
-Scotland; he had just lost his son Richard in the New Forest;
-and in 1083 he lost his wife, to whom he was deeply attached.
-Meanwhile Odo had been ruling with extreme severity. In suppressing
-an insurrection in Northumberland he had been guilty of extortion
-and of cruel punishment even of the innocent. In his general
-government he seems to have been extremely avaricious. In the
-year 1082 his wealth and pride had risen to such a point that he
-thought of attaining to the Papacy. This he intended to secure by
-violent means. He purchased a magnificent palace in Rome to win the
-favour of the people, and even collected an army, in which Hugh
-of Chester took service, to cross the Apennines. William met him
-and apprehended him at the Isle of Wight; nor could the complaints
-of the Pope, which we cannot conceive to have been very earnest,
-produce any effect. He was seized, as the King affirmed, not as
-Bishop but as Earl of Kent, and remained in prison till the King’s
-death. Odo’s oppressions had been very severe, and the condition
-of England no doubt had become much worse since the complete
-subjugation of the country, and now, in addition to a famine which
-had just wasted the country, a heavy direct tax was laid on all
-land, and worse than that, a vast host of foreign mercenaries
-was quartered on all the King’s tenants, for a great danger was
-threatening.
-
-[Sidenote: Cnut’s threatened invasion. 1084.]
-
-[Sidenote: The Domesday Book. 1085.]
-
-Cnut was on the throne of Denmark. He had been one of the
-commanders in Swend’s disastrous expeditions; he had married
-Adela the daughter of Robert of Flanders, one of William’s chief
-Continental enemies, and had now determined to invade England. He
-had induced the King of Norway to join him, and their combined
-fleets were expected. William took ruthless precautions against his
-enemies. The old tax of the Danegelt was reimposed, and all the
-land along the coast was laid waste. The people were even ordered
-to shave and change their dresses, that the Danes might not easily
-recognize them. Disputes among the leaders, and the death of
-Cnut, prevented the invasion. But it was probably the difficulties
-which William had found in collecting his taxes and troops on this
-occasion which induced him to set on foot the great survey which
-produced the Domesday Book. For this purpose commissioners were
-appointed, who went through England, and in each shire inquired
-of the sheriff, priests, reeves, and representatives of the
-inhabitants, the condition of the land and its value, as compared
-with what it had been in the reign of the Confessor. The whole of
-this great work was completed in one year. On its completion a
-great assembly was held on Salisbury Plain. It was, in fact, a vast
-review, attended by no less than 60,000 persons. In this assembly
-was passed the important ordinance which ordered that every man
-should be not only the man of his immediate lord, but also the
-man of the king. This was in direct opposition to the usual rule
-in feudal countries. The whole assembly took the oath to William.
-This great piece of work, which rendered England one nation, was a
-fitting conclusion to William’s reign.
-
-[Sidenote: William’s death and burial. 1087. Sept. 9.]
-
-In the following year a war broke out for the possession of the
-Vexin claimed by the King of France. Angered by a coarse jest of
-that monarch, William entered the country and ruthlessly ravaged
-it, and at the destruction of the town of Mantes, his horse stepped
-upon a burning coal and threw him forward upon the pummel of the
-saddle; the bulk of the King aggravated the injury, which in a few
-days caused his death. Before he died he released his prisoners. No
-sooner had the breath left his body than his attendants are said
-to have fled. He owed his burial not to his son, but to the kind
-offices of a neighbouring knight, and when brought to his Church
-of St. Stephen’s at Caen, it was not till the clergy had paid the
-price of the grave that Anselm Fitz-Arthur, whose property had been
-seized to make room for the Church, would allow his body to be
-buried.
-
-
-
-
-WILLIAM II.
-
-1087-1100.
-
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- Malcolm III., 1057. | Philip I., | Henry IV., | Alphonso VI.,
- Donald Bane, 1093. | 1060. | 1056. | 1072.
- Duncan, 1094. |
- Donald Bane, 1094. |
- Edgar, 1097. |
-
- POPES.--Urban II., 1088. Pascal II., 1099.
-
- _Archbishops._ | _Chief-Justices._ | _Chancellors._
- | |
- Lanfranc, 1070-1089. | Odo of Bayeux, 1087. | William Giffard, 1087.
- Anselm, 1093-1109. | William de S. Carilepho, | Robert Bloett, 1090.
- | 1088. | Waldric, 1093.
- | Ranulf Flambard, 1094. | William Giffard, 1094.
-
-
-[Sidenote: 1087.]
-
-While the late King was on his deathbed, he had been induced to
-declare his wishes with regard to his kingdoms. In pursuance,
-perhaps, of a wise policy, and with the wish to keep up and
-increase the nationality of England, he gave his hereditary
-dominions to his son Robert, England to his second son William. He
-told his son Henry to bide his time, and gave him £5000 in money.
-
-[Sidenote: William is crowned by Lanfranc, and appeases the English.]
-
-[Sidenote: Opposition of the Normans checked. 1088.]
-
-William at once hurried to England to secure his succession, and,
-winning the support of Lanfranc, was in less than three weeks
-crowned by him. At Winchester he found the King’s treasure, from
-which he distributed gifts among the churches in England, and a sum
-of money for the poor in every shire. A promise of laws more just
-and mild than their forefathers had known, attached the English to
-him for a time. Thus supported by the Church and by the conquered
-people, who could not but rejoice at the separation of England from
-Normandy, it was only the Norman Baronage he had to fear.
-
-In Normandy the character of the new Duke Robert, who was a mere
-knight-errant, induced the great nobility to get rid of the royal
-garrisons from their castles, and otherwise to establish their
-feudal independence. A similar movement was begun in England,
-where Odo of Bayeux, liberated at the late King’s death, had
-returned to his county of Kent, and now found himself at the head
-of a strong party who disliked the separation of their conquered
-possessions from their hereditary property. Among the adherents of
-the party we find such names as the two great bishops, Geoffrey of
-Coutances and William of Durham, Robert, Count of Mortain, Roger of
-Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, his son Robert of Belesme, and Hugh
-of Grantmesnil, with others. Odo occupied the castle of Rochester,
-and against it William led a body of English, collected by a threat
-that all who had remained behind should be proclaimed “nithing,”
-or worthless. The efforts of the discontented barons in other
-parts of England were checked, and finally the castle of Rochester
-was captured. Odo of Bayeux and the Normans of the garrison were
-allowed to march out, which they did amid the revilings of the
-besiegers, and to retire to France. The King thus secured his
-position in England.
-
-[Sidenote: Lanfranc dies. Ralph Flambard succeeds him. 1089.]
-
-He had hitherto been kept in some restraint by the influence
-of Lanfranc; but when that prelate died in 1089, his coarse,
-licentious, sceptical and avaricious character began to display
-itself. His chief minister was Ralph Flambard, a Churchman, who,
-like many others, was of low parentage, but who seems to have
-recommended himself to William by his skill as a financier. One of
-the plans attributed to him was a more accurate completion of the
-Domesday survey, and the measurement of the hides of land there
-returned. This would have been harmless enough, but there must have
-been many other more flagrant exactions, though very likely covered
-by some form of law, to account for the hatred with which he was
-regarded. Although his office is not mentioned, he was probably
-justiciary.
-
-[Sidenote: William’s quarrels with his brothers in Normandy. 1090.]
-
-While England was groaning under the exactions of this man, so
-that “men would rather wish to die, than to live under his power,”
-the attention of the King was chiefly engaged in intrigues with
-the nobles of Normandy. The easy character of Duke Robert, and the
-rising anarchy among the nobles, afforded abundant opportunity. On
-one occasion it was the citizen Conan of Rouen with whom he was
-in correspondence; and when this plot was discovered, and Prince
-Henry, at that time acting with Duke Robert, had thrown the traitor
-from the cathedral tower, it was a quarrel between Grantmesnil
-and Curci on the one side, and Robert of Belesme on the other,
-which gave him an opportunity of mixing in the affairs of the
-duchy. In 1091, however, the brothers came to an agreement, and a
-treaty was made at Caen, by which they engaged that the survivor
-should succeed to the possessions of his brother; and meanwhile
-Eu, Fécamp, Mont S. Michel, Cherbourg, and some other territories,
-were given to William, who in return promised to conquer Maine for
-Robert. Twelve barons of either party swore to the observance of
-this treaty.
-
-[Sidenote: Feb. 1091.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry obtains Domfront.]
-
-Prince Henry, finding himself completely ignored by this
-arrangement, took possession of the rock of St. Michel, and bade
-defiance to his brothers. After a siege of some duration he was
-driven thence; but in the general anarchy of the duchy he found a
-home at Domfront, where the citizens begged him to be their lord,
-on the condition that he would not give them up to any other. It
-is doubtful whether he could have kept possession of this strong
-place, had not William’s attention been engaged by the affairs of
-Scotland.
-
-[Sidenote: War with Scotland. 1091.]
-
-[Sidenote: 1093.]
-
-Malcolm had renewed hostilities, and William found it necessary to
-march in person against him. His expedition was not successful.
-The weather destroyed a fleet which accompanied it, and, by its
-inclemency, caused much loss to his army. His presence, however,
-was sufficient in some degree to overawe Malcolm; a compromise
-was effected; Malcolm again did homage, and received back certain
-properties in England of which he had been deprived, and which
-were perhaps manors which had been given him as resting-places
-when he came to do homage to his suzerain. At the same time,
-William turned aside into the district of Cumberland, which was a
-dependency of the Scotch crown. He re-established Carlisle, and
-filled the county with peasants brought from the South of England
-from destroyed villages in the neighbourhood of Winchester. In this
-he disregarded the interests of the Scotch King, the immediate lord
-of the country, who therefore complained, and was invited to meet
-William at the next assembly at Gloucester. There, on the refusal
-of William to do him justice, a new quarrel broke out, and Malcolm
-was shortly afterwards killed, while invading England, at Alnwick,
-by Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland.
-
-[Sidenote: Continued war with Wales. 1094.]
-
-In the neighbourhood of Wales, too, fighting was almost perpetual.
-Not only did the great Earldoms of Shrewsbury and Chester increase
-their borders, but many knights took advantage of the frequent
-civil divisions of the Welsh to push westward and set up their
-castles. The course of the war had lately been in favour of the
-Welsh rather than of the Normans, and in 1095 William thought
-it necessary to lead an army against them. His attempt was not
-successful, nor was a repetition of it two years later more so. The
-nature of the ground was too difficult for the advance of a great
-army, and William, thus a second time repelled, had again to trust
-to the self-interest and courage of individual Norman settlers.
-This plan he strengthened by granting to Normans portions of land
-as yet unconquered. Thus two members of the house of Montgomery,
-brothers of Hugh, Earl of Shrewsbury, Roger and Arnulf, did homage
-for lands in Powys and Dyfed, and Hugh de Lacy for lands to the
-west of Herefordshire. This guerilla warfare was successful, and
-Hugh of Chester was just succeeding in winning back Anglesey, which
-had been taken from him, when an invasion of Magnus of Norway
-checked for the time the Norman success. The Earl of Shrewsbury,
-while assisting Hugh of Chester, lost his life, and was succeeded
-by Robert de Belesme, his brother. On the whole, the English
-frontier constantly advanced, and the border counties were thronged
-with castles either of the great Earls or of individual adventurers.
-
-[Sidenote: Troubles in Normandy. 1094.]
-
-[Sidenote: Conspiracy of Mowbray crushed.]
-
-[Sidenote: William obtains Normandy from Robert. 1096.]
-
-[Sidenote: Size of his dominions at his death, 1100.]
-
-Intrigues and irregular fighting had meanwhile been constant in
-Normandy. In 1094 King Philip of France had been called in by
-Robert, but nothing of importance arose from this. But it gave
-rise to a curious act of extortion on the part of William, who
-summoned 20,000 men from England, evidently the old English County
-Militia, and on their arrival at the coast dismissed them, taking
-from them the ten shillings a head, viaticum, or journey-money,
-they had received from their counties. In 1095 a great conspiracy
-of the nobles in England, headed by Mowbray of Northumberland,
-came to light. Mowbray threw himself into Bamborough castle, which
-could not itself be taken, but immediately opposite to it another
-castle, called Malvoisin, was raised, and the garrison of this
-“ill-neighbour” found means to decoy Mowbray out of his stronghold
-and to take him prisoner. The danger which threatened William was
-thus got over; while the following year the object of his wishes
-came into his hands, when Robert, eager to join a crusade which
-had just been preached, pledged Normandy to him for the sum of
-£6,666. His new situation as ruler of Normandy brought William into
-hostility with the neighbouring countries, and especially with
-Maine, where Hélie de la Fléche made head against him, and, with
-the assistance of Fulk IV. of Anjou, succeeded in beating him off
-from Le Mans. William’s power was now, in spite of this repulse,
-very great, and the King of France, with whom he became involved
-in war in 1097 on the old subject of the Vexin, looked with
-anxiety at the growth of his great vassal, especially when a close
-friendship arose between him and the Duke of Poitiers and Guienne.
-This conjunction, giving the English King a grasp of France all
-round the seaboard, made men believe that his ambition reached to
-the throne of France, especially as Philip had but one son, Louis.
-The strange death of William put an end to all such thoughts. He
-was hunting in the New Forest, whither he had been warned not to
-go, and there met his death; whether by an accidental arrow from
-the bow of Walter Tyrrel, or falling forward upon the point of an
-arrow as he stooped over his prey, or slain by the hands of some of
-those whom his cruelty and avarice had made his implacable enemies,
-is uncertain. The flight of his attendants, and the unceremonious
-treatment of his corpse, seemed to favour the last supposition.
-
-[Sidenote: Causes of William’s inferiority to his father.]
-
-In spite then of his unamiable character; of the difficulties
-which had beset him from his somewhat questionable title; of
-the natural impulse towards feudal isolation of his barons; of
-troublesome neighbours; and occasional want of success in his
-expeditions; Rufus had on the whole succeeded in his plans, as
-far as his external circumstances were concerned. It was in his
-domestic government, especially with regard to the Church, that
-his inferiority to his great father is most obvious. Unlike the
-Conqueror, he was unable to see, or if he saw, to care for the
-national advantages which sprung from a well-organized Church. With
-a similar determination to be a perfect king in his own dominions,
-he asserted that opinion by violent acts against the Church itself,
-by appointments of the worst description, and by a life from which
-all show of decency was banished. As long as Lanfranc lived, he
-kept some restraint upon himself, but upon his death he began to
-show his real temper.
-
-[Sidenote: Disputes with the Church.]
-
-[Sidenote: Bishoprics left vacant.]
-
-[Sidenote: Repenting after illness, he makes Anselm Archbishop.]
-
-[Sidenote: Anselm unwillingly accepts. 1093.]
-
-[Sidenote: Anselm’s reforms.]
-
-[Sidenote: William opposes him.]
-
-It was a critical time in the history of the Church. The quarrel
-about investitures was raging in Europe. The skill of Lanfranc
-and the power of the Conqueror had, as we have seen, prevented
-the quarrel from reaching England during that King’s reign; and
-to the end of Gregory’s life, 1085, he had kept up friendly, even
-flattering, relations with the English King. When Henry IV. had, in
-1080, raised the Anti-Pope Guibert to the Papal throne under the
-name of Clement III., Lanfranc had contrived not to commit himself
-to either party, but, on the whole, it is probable, that during his
-life the regular Popes, Victor III. and Urban II., who succeeded
-him in 1088, were acknowledged in England. On his death advantage
-was taken of the Schism practically to acknowledge neither Pope,
-and to leave the abbeys and bishoprics vacant. Indeed, we are told
-that it was openly asserted that it was a privilege of the King
-of England to acknowledge the Pope or not as he pleased. Thus for
-four years the archbishopric was unfilled, along with several other
-important ecclesiastical preferments, and the want of discipline in
-the Church grew worse and worse. Ralph Flambard, as administrator
-of the diocese of Lincoln, was unlimited in his extortions. The
-Norman Church dignitaries marched between lines of armed men to
-church. The Bishop of Wells demolished the houses of the canons to
-build his own palace, and even the religious and moral scruples of
-the English monks were laughed at by their licentious superiors.
-In 1093 the King fell very ill, and for the time became repentant
-and religious; he proceeded to listen to the wishes of his people
-and fill up the vacant appointments. The most important of these
-was the archbishopric. For this post he selected Anselm of Aosta,
-Abbot of Bec. This man was a Piedmontese, who had been attracted to
-Normandy by the fame of Lanfranc, and had entered the Abbey of Bec
-under him. Upon Lanfranc’s removal to Caen he was made Prior, and
-afterwards Abbot. Both his character and attainments commanded the
-veneration of the age; and at the present time he had been invited
-by Hugh the Fat, Earl of Chester, to come over and assist him in
-establishing a Benedictine abbey at Chester. For this purpose, and
-charged with a mission from his monastery, he was induced much
-against his will to come to England. In the first access of the
-King’s repentance--after issuing a royal proclamation promising
-afresh the freedom of captives, the good laws of King Edward, and
-the punishment of evil-doers--he proceeded so far to action as to
-appoint Anselm Archbishop. It was not without something like actual
-violence that Anselm was forced to accept the Episcopal staff. The
-great importance of the primacy and Anselm’s view of the King’s
-character are well shown by some words that are attributed to him:
-“England’s plough is drawn by two supereminent oxen, the King and
-the Archbishop of Canterbury.... Of these oxen one is dead, and the
-other, fierce as a savage bull, is yoked young to the plough, and
-in place of the dead ox you would yoke me a poor feeble old sheep
-with the wild bull.” The feeble old sheep, however, was a very
-decided ecclesiastic. He insisted at once upon the restoration of
-the whole of the lands of the See of Canterbury, more even than
-Lanfranc had held. He declared that he would publicly acknowledge
-Pope Urban. And when, after his consecration, on his presenting
-the King with £500 of silver, the King demanded £1000, he withdrew
-his intended present and distributed all to the poor. Nor was it
-as a defender of ecclesiastical rights that he was pre-eminent. He
-set himself to check as far as it was possible the shameless and
-abominable vice that was rampant in England. Among other signs of
-the degraded licentiousness of the times was the effeminate foppery
-of the courtiers. Against their long hair and sharp-peaked shoes
-the Archbishop was never weary of inveighing. The King’s absence
-from England put an end for a time to the disputes between the
-Archbishop and the King, but upon his return Anselm demanded leave
-to obtain his pall from Pope Urban. This open acknowledgment of
-the Pope William wished to avoid, and at a council, summoned to
-consider the matter, the deposition of Anselm appears to have been
-suggested. The bishops, creatures of the King, basely deserted
-their chief; and the wisdom of the Baronage of England, under the
-guidance of Robert, Count of Mellent, who throughout this and the
-preceding reign appears as the good adviser to the sons of the
-Conqueror, alone saved him from that disgrace. Unable to refuse
-Anselm’s wish absolutely, the King contrived to persuade the Pope
-to send _him_ the pall, but Anselm stoutly refused to receive
-it from secular hands, and ultimately triumphed so far as to be
-allowed to take it himself from the high altar of the Cathedral of
-Canterbury. For the moment the primate was triumphant, the cowardly
-bishops sought his absolution. Bishoprics which fell vacant were at
-once filled up. The Irish and Scotch prelates acknowledged Anselm’s
-superiority. But William, cunning and implacable, was not to be
-thus foiled. If the churchman could not be touched, the feudal
-tenant could; and Anselm was accused of insufficient performance
-of his duty in supplying military followers for an expedition into
-Wales. In 1097, unable to withstand the royal violence, he left
-England, and made his way to Rome. He there was present at two
-great councils, that of Bari in 1098, where the orthodox doctrine
-as to the Holy Ghost was established; and one at Rome in 1099,
-where a curse was laid on all laymen who conferred ecclesiastical
-investitures and upon all churchmen who received them. Upon
-William’s death Anselm returned to England.
-
-
-
-
-HENRY I.
-
-1100-1135.
-
-
- Born 1068 = Matilda of Scotland.
- |
- +--------------+----------------+
- | |
- William, Duke of Normandy. Henry V. = Matilda = Geoffrey of Anjou.
- d. 1119. d. 1167. |
- |
- Henry II.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- Edgar, 1097. | Philip I., 1060. | Henry IV., 1056. | Alphonso VI., 1072.
- Alexander I., | Louis VI., 1108. | Henry V., 1106. | Alphonso VII.,1109.
- 1106. | Lothaire II., | | Alphonso VIII.,
- David I., 1124. | 1125. | | 1134.
-
- POPES.--Pascal II., 1099. Gelasius II., 1118. Calixtus II., 1119.
- Honorius II., 1124. Innocent II., 1130.
-
- _Archbishops._ | _Chief-Justices._ | _Chancellors._
- | |
- Anselm, 1093-1109. | Robert Bloett, 1100. | William Giffard, 1100.
- Ralph of Escures, | Roger the Poor, Bishop | Roger the Poor, 1101.
- 1114-1122. | of Salisbury, 1107. | William Giffard, 1103.
- William of Corbeil, | | Waldric, 1104.
- 1123-1135. | | Ranulf, 1108.
- | | Geoffrey Rufus, 1124.
-
-
-[Sidenote: Henry secures the Crown. 1100.]
-
-[Sidenote: He conciliates all classes.]
-
-Henry had been hunting in the New Forest when his brother
-William was killed, and rode at once to Winchester to secure the
-King’s treasure. As the rights of primogeniture had not yet been
-established, and he was very obviously a fitter man to be King than
-his brother Robert, the slight opposition offered by the treasurer
-was speedily overruled, and the Sunday following (August 5, 1100)
-he was crowned at Westminster. To secure his position, however, he
-found it necessary to conciliate all parties. The Church he won
-by the immediate filling of vacant sees, and by the recall of the
-exiled Anselm. William Giffard, the chancellor of Rufus, was made
-Bishop of Winchester; Girard of Hereford, Archbishop of York; while
-both Norman and Saxon laity were bound to him by a charter, by
-which he laid some constitutional restrictions upon the despotism
-established by his father. In that charter he promised to abolish
-all oppressive duties, and to confine his demands to his just
-claims as feudal lord; rendering the same agreement obligatory on
-his tenants towards their vassals. False coining was checked, the
-right of leaving personal property by will granted, and the law
-of King Edward, which meant the old institutions of the country,
-re-established. He likewise thought it well to win the heart of
-the people by marrying a Princess of English descent, Matilda,
-niece of Eadgar Ætheling, daughter of Margaret and Malcolm of
-Scotland. Further to show his disapproval of his brother’s policy,
-he arrested Ralph Flambard, who, however, found means to escape to
-Normandy, and was made Bishop of Lisieux.
-
-[Sidenote: His policy.]
-
-Henry had thus declared the policy he intended to pursue, the
-policy of his father rather than of his brother. He meant to be at
-once a friend and master of the Church, and a national sovereign of
-the English, a character which became a prince who had been born in
-that country. That position implied a power much more centralized
-than that of a feudal suzerain; and in England his chief policy
-was directed throughout his reign to upholding his mastery over
-the Church and over refractory barons who aimed at more perfect
-feudalism. He was in heart however a Norman, and, in pursuit of his
-objects, did not shrink from using his English subjects with great
-severity. Similarly, his chief foreign difficulties were produced
-by his wish to win the Duchy of Normandy, and having won it to rule
-it in the same masterful spirit in which he ruled England. We find
-then in his reign ecclesiastical disputes, disputes with the feudal
-barons of both England and Normandy, wars for the conquest of the
-duchy, and consequent complications with his suzerain the King of
-France. Mixed with these are stories, chiefly from Saxon sources,
-of cruel and unjust exactions and acts of injustice, tolerated, if
-not ordered, against his Saxon subjects.
-
-[Sidenote: His supporters.]
-
-[Sidenote: His opponents.]
-
-His views found supporters in the two sons of that Roger de
-Beaumont, to whom his father had left the regency of Normandy when
-he first came to England. These were the two great Earls, Robert,
-Count of Mellent,[6] afterwards Earl Leicester, and his younger
-brother Henry, Earl of Warwick, the elder of whom had received no
-less than ninety-one manors from the Conqueror, and was the most
-influential and wisest statesman of the day. On the other hand, he
-was constantly opposed by his brother Robert, a military prince of
-the feudal type, and Robert de Belesme of the House of Montgomery,
-possessor of the Earldoms of Alençon in France and of Shrewsbury in
-England, and by right of marriage of the county of Ponthieu.
-
-[Sidenote: Robert of Normandy seeks the English Crown. 1101.]
-
-Robert heard of his brother’s accession to the throne while on
-his journey home from the Holy Land. He had served with credit
-throughout the first crusade, especially at Dorylæum and at
-Ascalon. He had declined the offer of the crown of Jerusalem, and
-on his return home had married Sibylla, the daughter of Geoffrey
-of Conversana. He was a man of extravagant and profligate habits,
-and speedily squandered the fortune which his wife had brought him,
-but the entreaties of English exiles, and of those discontented
-nobles who longed for an easier rule than they could expect from
-Henry, roused him to assert his claim to the English crown. Robert
-of Belesme and his brothers, Walter Giffard, Robert Malet, Ivo of
-Grantmesnil, even William of Warrenne, Earl of Surrey, closely
-connected with the royal house, joined his party.
-
-[Sidenote: Withdraws without bloodshed.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry attacks his partisans.]
-
-[Sidenote: Defeat of Belesme. Establishment of royal power in
-England.]
-
-But the English were true to the King. Fitz-Hamon, Bigot, and
-the Earl of Mellent, added their influence to the same side. It
-was probably chiefly the talents of Mellent, and the threat of
-excommunication from Archbishop Anselm, which brought about a
-peaceful solution of the difficulty. A treaty was arranged by which
-Robert renounced his claims in exchange for the Cotentin and 3000
-marks a year. It was also stipulated that a complete amnesty should
-be extended to the partisans of either prince in his brother’s
-country. It was not Henry’s intention however to carry out this
-part of the stipulation, and no sooner had Robert left the country
-than the King proceeded to take steps against the two leaders of
-his brother’s faction, Ivo of Grantmesnil and Robert of Belesme.
-Ivo had been a crusader, and was one of those who had fled from
-the siege of Antioch, being let down the wall with a rope. He had
-thus earned the title among the witty Normans of the “Rope-dancer,”
-and finding his credit gone he withdrew from England. His share
-in the earldom of Leicester was given to Robert of Mellent, who
-subsequently acquired the rest of the earldom. Alarmed by these
-measures of the King, William de Warrenne induced Robert foolishly
-to come over to England to negotiate for the safety of his
-partisans. His position there was one of great jeopardy, and he
-was glad to retire, having renounced his money payment, but having
-secured the restitution of William in his Earldom of Surrey, of
-which he had been deprived. The withdrawal of Robert from the
-contest allowed Henry to turn his undivided attention to the
-destruction of Robert de Belesme, the head of the Norman party in
-England. From him he won the castles of Nottingham and Tickhill,
-and subsequently that of Bridgenorth, to which he had retreated.
-When many of the barons combined to seek his pardon, Henry, still
-resting on the support of the English, refused to listen to them,
-and proceeded to win from him his last stronghold, the Castle of
-Shrewsbury. Upon this Belesme withdrew with his two brothers into
-Normandy, and the disaffection of the aristocracy was permanently
-checked.
-
-[Sidenote: Belesme received in Normandy. Consequent invasion of the
-Duchy. 1105.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Tenchebray. 1106.]
-
-It had been stipulated that the brothers should not receive each
-other’s exiles. In spite of this Robert of Normandy, enraged
-at the persecution of his partisans, restored to Belesme his
-continental property. Henry consequently on his side continued his
-measures against Robert’s partisans. He first banished the Count
-of Mortain, Earl of Cornwall, who claimed also the Earldom of Kent
-in succession to Odo of Bayeux, the possession of which would have
-rendered him the most powerful noble in England, and then proceeded
-to Normandy to continue his attacks upon Belesme. He alleged not
-only the reception of his exiles, but the general misgovernment of
-Robert, as an excuse for his proceedings; and in truth, under that
-Prince, Normandy had become a scene of anarchy. As an instance of
-this it is mentioned, that on his arrival a church was pointed out
-to him full of property sent there for safety from the hands of the
-marauding barons. He captured the towns of Caen and Bayeux, and
-found allies in the persistent enemies of the Dukes of Normandy,
-Fulk Count of Anjou, and Hélie de la Fléche, who had succeeded in
-regaining the County of Maine. With Count Robert of Flanders also
-he renewed friendly relations. With such support he proved too
-strong for the Norman Duke, and before the Castle of Tenchebray a
-battle was fought, on the anniversary of the battle of Hastings,
-which ended in favour of the King. Duke Robert himself, the Count
-of Mortain, and Eadgar Ætheling, who had been serving with the
-Duke, were taken prisoners. Eadgar was liberated, and died in peace
-in England some years after; but Duke Robert and the Count of
-Mortain were imprisoned for the rest of their lives. Normandy and
-England were thus again united.
-
-[Sidenote: Wars with France. 1107.]
-
-[Sidenote: Louis upholds William Clito as claimant to the Duchy.]
-
-[Sidenote: End of the war. Treaty of Gisors. 1113.]
-
-The possession of Normandy brought Henry into more immediate
-contact with France. Louis VI. was upon the throne of that kingdom,
-the first of those great kings to whom the monarchy owed its
-ultimate triumph over feudalism. It was natural that he should
-look with jealousy on the vast strength of his great vassal, and
-should attempt to curtail that power which the supineness of his
-predecessor had allowed to accumulate. A constant border warfare
-was the consequence, rendered the more possible by the doubtful
-position of such counties as Maine, Evreux, the Vexin, Blois,
-and Alençon, the counts of which were for ever changing their
-allegiance. Louis had no difficulty in finding a pretender to
-the Norman Duchy whom he might use as his instrument in opposing
-the English King. William, the son of Robert, had fallen into
-Henry’s hands, and had been by him intrusted to the care of Hélie
-de St. Saen. In 1110, in connection apparently with a movement of
-disaffected nobility (for Braiose, Malet, and Bainard are mentioned
-as being exiled at that time), Hélie fled with the young Prince,
-and sought to raise all the neighbouring princes in his cause.
-Their efforts were not successful. Henry’s arch-enemy, Robert of
-Belesme, fell into the King’s hands at Bonneville, where he had
-presented himself with extraordinary effrontery, trusting that a
-message with which he was charged from the King of France would
-give him the security due to an ambassador. The same year Theobald
-of Blois, acting for Henry, defeated the French King at Puysac.
-And when Henry himself succeeded in capturing the town of Alençon,
-and in attaching the Count of Anjou to his interests, by giving
-him his heir, William the Ætheling, as a husband for his daughter,
-Louis found it desirable to conclude a peace at Gisors, by which he
-resigned his claim of suzerainty over Maine, Belesme, and Brittany,
-and left entirely unmentioned the rights of William, son of Robert.
-There followed a period of some years, during which Henry was able
-to live in tolerable peace in England.
-
-[Sidenote: Prince William acknowledged heir.]
-
-His position was, indeed, unusually strong. His son was contracted
-to the daughter of the Earl of Anjou; his natural daughter to
-Conan, son of Alan Fergant of Brittany; and, in the following year,
-his daughter Adelaide or Matilda was married to the German Emperor
-Henry V. He took this opportunity of securing the succession to
-his son William, to whom, in the years 1115-1116, he succeeded in
-inducing the barons both of England and Normandy to promise their
-allegiance. But this cessation of hostilities was not of long
-duration.
-
-[Sidenote: Renewal of the war.]
-
-[Sidenote: Depression of Henry.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Brenneville, and complete prosperity. 1119.]
-
-The causes of war had not been removed. There was still chronic
-disaffection among the Norman barons, who disliked the firmness
-of Henry’s rule; constant jealousy upon the part of the French
-King; and the Pretender William, the Clito as he is called, was an
-ever-ready instrument for their hands. Thus the border warfare was
-renewed, and we hear of the disaffection, not only of the King’s
-great barons, but of his allies, both Robert of Flanders and Fulk
-of Anjou adopting William’s cause. Other distresses likewise came
-upon Henry. He lost his wife Matilda, and his firm and sagacious
-minister, Robert of Mellent. But, in 1118, prosperity again
-returned to him. The Count of Flanders was killed in an attack upon
-the Count of Eu. Money or negotiation won back the friendship of
-Fulk, and in the following year a battle between a few knights at
-Brenneville, at which both Henry and Louis were present in person,
-was regarded as so decisive a victory for the English, that, by
-the mediation of Pope Calixtus, a new Treaty was arranged, and
-William’s interest completely disregarded. Thus was triumphantly
-closed the second of Henry’s wars in France.
-
-[Sidenote: Death of Prince William and its consequences. 1120.]
-
-At this period of his greatest prosperity a blow fell upon Henry
-from which he is said never to have recovered. He was returning
-in triumph to England, when a certain Thomas Fitz-Stephen, whose
-father had conveyed the Conqueror to England, claimed the privilege
-of conveying the royal party. To gratify him, Prince William,
-with the king’s natural daughter Matilda, the Countess of Perche,
-and other young nobles, consented to embark in his ship called
-the “Blanche Nef.” They remained behind the rest of the fleet
-and celebrated the occasion in festivity, which ended in the
-drunkenness of the crew. As they rode upon the harbour of Barfleur
-in the moonlight they suddenly struck upon the rocks of the Ras de
-Catte, and there was barely time for the young Prince to escape in
-a boat from the sinking ship. The cries of his sister are said to
-have induced William to return towards the wreck, when the hurried
-rush of the despairing crew capsized his boat, and all on board
-were drowned. Of the whole crew of the ship one only, Berold, a
-butcher of Rouen, survived, owing his safety to the warmth afforded
-him by his rough garb of undressed sheepskins. With fear and
-trembling the news was broken to Henry by the young son of Count
-Theobald of Blois. Henry is said to have fallen fainting from his
-seat, and from that time onwards never to have relaxed into a smile.
-
-[Sidenote: Insurrection of the Duke of Anjou.]
-
-[Sidenote: Death of William Clito.]
-
-The death of Prince William was not only a domestic misfortune.
-By it was broken also the tie which bound the Count of Anjou
-to Henry’s interests. It was a natural jealousy of his great
-neighbour, the Norman Duke, which had induced Fulk to act in
-alliance with Henry. When Robert’s imprisonment put Henry on the
-throne of Normandy, he in turn became the object of Fulk’s enmity.
-The state of the Duchy, where a disaffected party constantly
-existed, afforded him ample opportunity of giving effect to that
-enmity. Thus, in 1124, Henry was again recalled to Normandy to
-suppress a rebellion in favour of William Clito, who was supported
-by Anjou. Not only Anjou but France was inclining to join the
-rebels, and it was only by instigating his son-in-law the Emperor
-to attack France that Henry could manage to make head against his
-opponents. As it was, however, a fortunate surprise by which all
-the leaders fell into his hands enabled him to crush the rebellion,
-and again induced the foreign powers to desert William. The King
-of France indeed did not wholly give him up; but in 1127, after
-investing him with several important territories, he brought him
-forward as a claimant to the throne of Flanders, to which he had a
-claim through his grandmother, Matilda, the Conqueror’s wife, who
-was a daughter of Baldwin, Count of Flanders. Against him Henry
-supported the claims of Diederik or Dirk, Count of Alsace, the last
-count’s nephew, and his rightful heir. The matter came to war, and
-in July 1128, before Alost, Prince William was wounded, and died of
-his wounds. Henry was thus rid of his most formidable opponent.
-
-[Sidenote: Attempt to secure the succession to Matilda.]
-
-It remained for him to secure the succession for his daughter
-Matilda, and he induced all the great men of England to acknowledge
-her, and swear to support her claims. The list of those who swore
-was headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, followed by the King’s
-nephew, Stephen of Boulogne, and his natural son, Robert of
-Gloucester. They always declared that they accepted the oath on the
-condition that she should not be married to a foreigner without
-their consent, and therefore many of them held themselves absolved
-from their oath, when she was betrothed and ultimately married to
-Geoffrey, son of the Count of Anjou.
-
-[Sidenote: Death of Henry.]
-
-The close of his reign was chiefly occupied in arranging disputes
-in consequence of this marriage. It was while still in Normandy on
-this business, though his presence was imperatively demanded in
-England to suppress an insurrection in Wales, that he died, as it
-is said, of the effects of a hearty meal of lampreys on the 1st of
-December 1135.
-
-[Sidenote: Welsh held in check by colonies of Flemings.]
-
-[Sidenote: Constant insurrections.]
-
-Throughout the reign he had had considerable difficulties with
-the Welsh, for although, as has been said, many Norman knights
-and barons had established strongholds among them, they were by
-no means subdued. They took part in the insurrection of Robert
-of Belesme; and Henry, conscious that they would be difficult to
-conquer, hit upon the plan of establishing among them colonies of
-Flemings, many of whom had come over with the Conqueror, and still
-more about the year 1106, driven from their country by inundations.
-The land granted them was in the western part of Wales, near
-Haverfordwest and Tenby, where they acted at once as a military
-post, and, through their knowledge of manufacture and agriculture,
-as an instrument of civilization. In 1114 the Welsh rose under
-Gryffith. The occupation of Caermarthen and Cardigan, where
-Gilbert Strongbow, Earl of Strigul, was at that time commanding,
-separated the Flemings from the English, and Henry was compelled to
-march to their rescue. This insurrection was suppressed by Robert
-of Gloucester, himself the son of Gryffith’s sister.[7] Small
-insurrections continued. In 1122 Henry again went in person to
-Wales, but, on the whole, the inhabitants were kept in subjection
-by the Flemings and by numerous Norman castles till 1134, when they
-were provoked to a new outbreak, so important that the King was
-preparing to cross from Normandy to suppress it, when he died.
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s Church policy.]
-
-[Sidenote: Anselm refuses fealty.]
-
-[Sidenote: Anselm has to leave England.]
-
-[Sidenote: Unsupported by the Pope, makes compromise at Bec. 1106.]
-
-[Sidenote: Synod of Westminster.]
-
-At home the great points of Henry’s reign were those which form
-the domestic history of all feudal monarchies, the relation of the
-Church and State, and the maintenance of police. With regard to the
-Church his views were those of his father. He was ready to support
-and increase its influence; he was not ready to give up any of the
-prerogatives which his predecessors had possessed. He thus reversed
-all the action of his brother, recalled Anselm at once with marked
-honour, and filled up the vacant benefices. But the Archbishop
-during his exile had mixed in Continental politics, at that time
-consisting almost entirely of the question of investitures. He
-returned home determined to assert to the full the independence of
-the Church. He therefore refused to swear fealty, and do homage to
-the King, or to consecrate those bishops who had received their
-investitures from him. Henry, supported by his lay counsellors,
-was equally determined to uphold the rights of the crown. The
-matter was referred to the Pope, Pascal II. The Papacy had enemies
-enough already, and could not afford to drive to extremities a
-Prince so powerful, and in the main so friendly, as Henry. The
-reply which was returned was ambiguous. Henry again commanded the
-Archbishop to perform his usual duties. A second application to
-Rome produced no better result. Anselm was urged to perseverance.
-Henry’s ambassadors were given to understand that, as long as his
-appointments were good, the King should not be interfered with.
-Firm in his own views, but uncertain as to the Pope’s wishes,
-Anselm had no course open to him but to visit Rome in person. He
-there met with but lukewarm support, and withdrew to Lyons, while
-Henry laid hands upon all the revenues of the archbishopric. For
-some time Anselm rejected all offers of compromise; but when, after
-all his efforts, he could induce the Pope to go no further than the
-excommunication, not of the King, but of some of his ministers,
-he lost heart, and, in 1106, a compromise was arranged at Bec, by
-which Henry retained the really important part of investiture,
-the oaths of fealty and homage, while resigning the idle symbol
-of the gift of ring and crozier. This compromise, which was the
-same in effect as that made sixteen years afterwards at Worms
-between Henry V. and Calixtus II., set at rest for the present that
-rivalry between Church and State which the policy of the Conqueror
-had introduced. The decrees of a Synod held at Westminster,
-1102, by Anselm before going to Rome, show the abuses which the
-ecclesiastical disputes of the last reign had introduced. They are
-directed against such habits as simony, marriage of the clergy, the
-assumption of lay dress by ecclesiastics, the holding of secular
-courts by bishops, the adoration of unauthorized saints and relics,
-and vindicate the claims of the Church to be considered as the
-chief civilizing agent of the time by forbidding the selling of men
-for slaves.
-
-[Sidenote: Frequent unfit appointments in the Church. Henry
-corrects them when possible.]
-
-It was not always that the Church appeared in such an amiable
-light. Henry no doubt, on the whole, attempted to make good
-appointments, but interest or desire to reward an ardent partisan
-sometimes put an unfit person into office. Thus Henry of Poitou was
-given the Abbey of Peterborough, although he already held an abbey
-in France, apparently as a reward for the support he gave the King
-in upholding the illegality of the marriage between William Clito
-and Sibylla of Anjou on the score of consanguinity. “He came like
-a drone to a hive,” says the chronicler; “all that the bees draw
-towards them the drones devour and draw from them, so did he.” It
-is fair to say that Henry, when he found out how bad a person he
-had appointed, had him removed. “It was not very long after that
-that the King sent for him, and made him give up the Abbey of
-Peterborough, and go out of the land.” Thus, again, after a great
-distribution of abbeys in 1107, it is remarked “that the abbots
-were rather wolves than shepherds.” Such complaints are however
-usually uttered by English writers, and the plight of the conquered
-people was evidently very miserable.
-
-[Sidenote: Wretched condition of the people.]
-
-[Sidenote: Extracts from old chroniclers.]
-
-It was a time of great suffering on more accounts than one,
-and the suffering was of a kind to fall chiefly upon the lower
-orders. Agriculture was so rough that any little irregularity in
-the seasons produced a failure of the crops, and the habits of
-the people were such that any infectious disease was liable to
-become a pestilence. The constant warfare, either against his
-vassals or his enemies, which the King carried on, was the cause
-of frequent taxation, against which no class in the State had it
-in their power to remonstrate; while the natural and artificial
-causes of suffering were further aggravated by the frequent issue
-of false coin. Thus we find year after year such entries as these
-in the chroniclers:--“The year 1105 was very miserable, because of
-the failure of the crops, and the ceaseless taxation.” “The year
-1110 was full of wretchedness, because of the bad season, and the
-tribute the King demanded for his daughter’s dowry.” “In this year
-(1124) were many failures in England in corn and all fruit, so
-that between Christmas and Candlemas the acre seed of wheat was
-sold for six shillings; and that of barley, that is three seedlips
-for three shillings, the acre seed of oats for four shillings,
-because there was little corn, and the penny was so bad that a
-man who had at market a pound could by no means buy therewith
-twelvepenny-worth.” “In this same year (1125) was so great a flood
-on St. Lawrence’s mass day that many towns and men were drowned,
-and bridges shattered; corn and meadows totally destroyed, and for
-all fruits there was so bad a season as there had not been for many
-years before.” “In that year (1131) there was so great a murrain of
-cattle as never was in the memory of man.” This carried off neat,
-swine, and domestic fowls alike. And when the harvest was good the
-pestilence came. “This year (1112) was a very good year, and very
-abundant in wood and field, but it was a very sorrowful one through
-a most destructive pestilence.” Or again, the year 1104, “It is not
-easy to recount all the miseries the country suffered this year
-through various and manifold illegalities and imposts which never
-ceased nor failed, and ever as the King went there was plundering
-by his followers on his wretched people, and at the same time often
-burnings and murders.”
-
-[Sidenote: Their chief complaints.]
-
-[Sidenote: Baronial tyranny.]
-
-In these extracts, which might be largely multiplied, the chief
-causes of the people’s misery are mentioned. Heavy taxes, famines,
-floods, pestilence, false money, and purveyance. To attempt to
-rectify such of these as were within the power of man, was one main
-part of Henry’s duty. To that was added the work of suppressing, by
-a centralized royal power, the excesses of the feudal barons. What
-crying necessity there was that they should be suppressed is made
-plain by the stories related of Robert of Belesme, their chief.
-He is spoken of as guilty of the most unheard-of barbarities, as
-having scorned the ransoms of his captives to torture them by
-newfangled instruments; he found delight in seeing men and women
-impaled and struggling in the agonies of death. “He was a man,”
-says William of Malmesbury, “intolerable for the barbarity of
-his manners, remarkable besides for cruelty;” and, among other
-instances, he relates how, on account of some trifling fault of its
-father, he blinded his godchild, who was his hostage, by tearing
-out the poor little creature’s eyes with “his accursed nails.”
-
-[Sidenote: Heavy taxation.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry cures what evils he can.]
-
-One complaint of his people Henry systematically disregarded. He
-could not afford to do without his taxes, and on all classes on
-this point he leant with a heavy hand. But in other respects,
-as far as in him lay, he rectified abuses of administration,
-and established a vigorous and effectual police. The evils of
-purveyance had become extreme; no property was safe from the hands
-of the followers of the court, and when they found larger supplies
-than they wanted, “if it was liquor they washed their horses’
-feet in it, or food they wantonly destroyed it.” But Henry made
-a regulation for the followers of his court, at whichever of his
-residences he might be, stating what they should take without
-payment from the country folk, and how much, and at what price
-they should purchase, punishing the transgressors by heavy fine or
-loss of life. So with regard to false coinage, immediately after
-the complaint of high prices in the year 1124, it is mentioned
-that Henry at once sent from Normandy to England, and commanded
-that all the moneyers should have their right hands cut off, and
-be otherwise mutilated. Bishop Roger of Salisbury sent all over
-England, commanded them all to come before him, and then and there
-punished upwards of fifty. Henry was careful, indeed, in other ways
-with regard to the money, having the whole of the coinage broken
-to prevent the refusal of broken silver pennies; for it seems to
-have been the custom to break the coinage to see that the money was
-good, and tradesmen not unfrequently refused the broken coins.
-
-[Sidenote: His strict police.]
-
-Against offences of violence Henry was equally vigorous. At one
-single court held in Leicestershire by Basset the Justiciary,
-during the King’s absence in 1124, no less than forty-four thieves
-were condemned and hanged, besides others mutilated. “He sought
-after robbers and counterfeiters with the greatest diligence,
-and punished them when discovered,” says William of Malmesbury.
-Rivalling his father also in other respects, he restrained by edict
-the acts of his courtiers, thefts, rapine, and the violation of
-women, commanding the delinquents to be deprived of sight. He also
-displayed singular vigilance against the mint masters, suffering no
-man who had been guilty of “deluding the innocent by the practice
-of roguery” to escape without losing his hands. “A good man he
-was,” says the Saxon Chronicle, “and all men stood in awe of him;
-no man durst misdo against another in his time. He made peace for
-man and beast. Whoso bare his burden of gold and silver, no man
-thirst do him aught but good.”
-
-[Sidenote: Administrative machinery.]
-
-[Sidenote: Local courts.]
-
-[Sidenote: Curia Regis.]
-
-To carry out this strict police some apparatus was necessary,
-which at the same time should serve the purpose of diminishing the
-power of the great nobles, and that of beginning at all events,
-by its centralizing influence, to re-form the conquered people
-and their conquerors into one nation. The rudiments of such an
-apparatus Henry found already existing in the arrangements which
-the Conqueror had made. The system of frankpledge, increased and
-adapted to the more general feudal form of society, supplied him
-with an efficient system of police. There was no man in the kingdom
-but some one was answerable for him. If he was a vassal, his lord.
-If he was a freeman, the knot of freemen of which he was a member.
-As courts to carry out this system, there were the old Hundred and
-Shire gemots. These Henry strengthened and, it would seem from one
-existing order, restored when in any way decayed to their original
-purity. To these courts criminal cases belonged, and civil suits
-between vassals of different lords. Questions between vassals of
-the same lord seem to have fallen within the jurisdiction of the
-lord. But these inferior courts, although they were excellent for
-police purposes, and as a check upon the powers of the baronial
-courts, would have done little towards the formation of nationality
-had they not been brought into connection with a superior court
-of which the king was chief. This central court consisted of the
-King in his ordinary council, which, since the Conquest, was
-known as the Curia Regis. Over it was the justiciary, who was the
-King’s representative, his regent during his absence, the head of
-his administration, both judicial and financial, at all times.
-Under him was a selection of barons, the chief officers of the
-royal household, and those best qualified for judicial purposes.
-The clerks of this court were placed under a head, who was the
-chancellor. The judges themselves sat for financial purposes in
-the exchequer chamber, and were spoken of as the barons of the
-exchequer. For general business they were called justices, and
-their head the chief-justice. The organization of this court dates
-from the reign of Henry I. The office of chief justiciary had been
-founded by William the Conqueror, but the regular formation of the
-Exchequer Court was the work of Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, in the
-hands of whose family the direction of the machinery remained for
-nearly a century.[8] It was afterwards, as we shall see, brought
-to its completion by Henry II., but all its essential parts are
-to be found in the reign of his grandfather. It was as officers
-of finance that the justices first began to traverse the country.
-The sheriffs could not always be trusted in their own localities,
-and change of property and other causes gave rise to difficult
-questions, requiring to be settled by the immediate intervention
-of the King’s officers. From financial questions their authority
-naturally passed to questions of justice, and their connection
-with the local courts was further strengthened when Henry united
-several sheriffdoms under one of his justices. Following a natural
-tendency, the men employed for these offices were not the great
-barons, but new men, who rose by their talents, and were naturally
-upholders of the royal power and of order in opposition to the
-anarchical baronial party.
-
-To sum up; after the year 1108, when the local courts were
-re-established, both the Hundred and county courts were the same in
-constitution and in arrangement as before the Conquest. But they
-were connected with the central government; because matters in
-which the King was interested were set aside for the consideration
-of the Curia Regis, or travelling justiciary sent out from that
-body; and because the Norman lawyers had introduced the practice of
-issuing writs from the King’s court, whereby the King, in virtue
-of what is called his “equitable power,” that is, his power of
-securing justice where the law did not give it, prescribed the
-method of action in certain difficult cases. The Hundred court
-was sometimes a lower court for the arrangement of small debts;
-the Bailiff of the Hundred then presided. Sometimes it was the
-great court held only twice a year; the sheriff then presided, the
-court exercised criminal jurisdiction, and was known as the “Court
-Leet.” It also saw to the filling up of the divisions of ten men
-required by the system of Frankpledge; this was called “the view of
-frankpledge.” The court was then known as “the Sheriff’s Tourn.”
-Below these local courts were the feudal manor courts, the old
-motes of the township, now become the courts of the lord. But we
-must not suppose that the authority of the sheriff and the local
-courts (now virtually royal courts) was universal. Certain great
-lords enjoyed franchises, that is, exercised jurisdiction over
-several manors. If the lord had “sac and soc,” his court had the
-authority of the Court Leet. If he had “the view of frankpledge,”
-the suitors at his court were free from attendance at the Sheriff’s
-Tourn. His court was then in all points like the Hundred court, but
-independent of the sheriff. This double system Henry had apparently
-to submit to, watching the baronial power as well as he could, by
-means of the local courts and travelling justices.
-
-[Sidenote: The National Assembly.]
-
-It is to be carefully remembered that though the Curia Regis,
-representing the King’s council, attested charters, and revised
-and registered laws, it had no legislative authority. Both the
-imposition of taxes and the making of laws still rested with the
-King and his great council, the representative of the Witan, which
-had become a feudal court, and consisted chiefly of the King’s
-vassals. Their “counsel and consent” was a necessary condition of
-all legislation.
-
-
-
-
-STEPHEN.
-
-1135-1154.
-
- Born 1105 = Maud of Boulogne.
- |
- +-------------+------------------------+
- | |
- Eustace, Earl of Boulogne. William, Earl of Boulogne.
- d. 1152. d. 1159.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- David I., 1124. | Louis VI., 1108. | Lothaire II., | Alphonso VIII.,
- Malcolm IV., 1153. | Louis VII., 1137. | 1125. | 1134.
- Frederick I., 1152. | | Conrad III., |
- | | 1138. |
-
- POPES.--Innocent II., 1130. Celestine II., 1143. Lucius II., 1144
- Eugenius III., 1145. Anastasius IV., 1153.
-
- _Archbishops._ | _Chief-Justice._ | _Chancellors._
- | |
- William of Corbeuil, | Roger, Bishop of | Roger the Poor, 1135.
- 1123-1136. | Salisbury. | Philip, 1139.
- Theobald, 1139-1161. | 1135-1139. |
-
-
-[Sidenote: Stephen’s accession.]
-
-On Henry’s death, according to the oath of the nobles, Matilda,
-late Empress, now wife of Geoffrey of Anjou, should have become
-Duchess of Normandy and Queen of England. But the principle of
-hereditary succession was by no means firmly established; a female
-sovereign was not desirable for a feudal country; her child
-Henry was an infant; and the nobles held that the conditions of
-their oath of fealty had been broken when Matilda had married a
-foreigner. There was therefore almost a unanimous feeling that
-one or other of the Princes of Blois, grandsons of the Conqueror,
-Theobald the elder brother, or Stephen, Count of Mortain and
-Boulogne, should ascend the throne. Steps were being taken in
-Normandy to induce Theobald to come forward, when news was brought
-to him that the superior quickness of his brother Stephen had
-already secured the crown in England, where, though not without
-some demur, the influence of the Church, headed by his brother
-Henry of Winchester, had secured him success.
-
-[Sidenote: Strange character of the reign.]
-
-[Sidenote: Great power of the Church.]
-
-There followed a period of twenty years without a parallel in the
-history of England. It was the only time during which the feudal
-baronage assumed that position of practical independence which
-it was always aiming at, which it frequently enjoyed abroad, but
-which the wise management and strong government of the Conqueror
-and his two sons had rendered impossible in England. The weak
-title of the King, and the constantly urged claim of the Empress,
-joined with the personal character of Stephen, who seems to have
-been unable to refuse a request, afforded an opportunity to the
-barons of asserting virtual independence and fighting for their own
-interests, while nominally upholding one or other of the claimants
-to the throne. The same causes affected the Church, which was now
-able to make good that commanding position which the legislation
-of the Conqueror had given it, although up to this time the strong
-hand of the King had rendered the position worthless. The only
-organized power in the midst of anarchy, it was enabled to use its
-influence to the full. It was the Church that set Stephen on the
-throne; it was his quarrel with the bishops which lit up the civil
-war in England; the success of the Empress was of no avail till she
-was accepted by the Church; her attack upon Henry of Winchester was
-the signal for her discomfiture; it was the mediation of the Church
-which ultimately produced a cessation of the war.
-
-[Sidenote: The interest of the reign.]
-
-The facts of the reign are few and in themselves unimportant. To
-the growth of the constitution it added nothing. It is nevertheless
-interesting as exhibiting the effects of unbridled feudalism,
-and as preparing the way for the great work of consolidation
-perfected by Henry II.; on the one hand by the misery and disgust
-excited by the lawless outrages of the barons; on the other by the
-overwhelming power thrown into the hands of the Church, which could
-not co-exist with any true national monarchy.
-
-[Sidenote: Stephen’s charter.]
-
-[Sidenote: Affairs in Wales.]
-
-On his coronation, Stephen, in general terms, promised to uphold
-the good laws of his predecessors. At the first great council
-of his reign he issued a more explicit charter, securing to the
-Church their property and privileges, and promising to suppress
-illegalities on the part of the sheriffs. The character of the
-reign rendered such a charter quite inoperative. The insurrection
-in Wales, which had been bringing Henry to England when he died,
-continued. Its conduct fell chiefly to Ranulf, Earl of Chester, and
-Richard Fitz-Gilbert of Clare. Stephen’s presence on the borders
-did not succeed in checking it. Richard Fitz-Gilbert was killed,
-and he left the country as before to be conquered by the gradual
-advance of the lords marchers.
-
-[Sidenote: Early signs of disturbance.]
-
-[Sidenote: War with Scotland. 1137.]
-
-[Sidenote: Its connection with an English conspiracy.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of the Standard. Aug. 22, 1138.]
-
-Already, it would seem, the yielding character of Stephen had
-been discovered. Already barons began to take advantage of it.
-Roger Bigot seized the Castle of Norwich, and wrested from the
-King the earldom of that county and of East Anglia. Robert of
-Bathenton and Baldwin of Redvers, in Devonshire, began to rebel.
-They were indeed both conquered, but such movements mark the
-temper of the times. In 1137 Stephen found himself strong enough
-to cross to Normandy, where Geoffrey of Anjou was making war upon
-his provinces. His success there was not great. He purchased
-from Geoffrey a cessation of hostilities. Meanwhile the Northern
-frontier of England had become a scene of war. David of Scotland,
-the nephew of Eadgar Ætheling, and uncle through his sister Matilda
-of the Empress, had himself some claims to the English throne.
-But these he declared that he waived, wishing to abide true to
-the oath he had taken to support his niece. He, however, demanded
-that his son Henry should be allowed to do homage to Stephen for
-Cumberland, and that he himself should receive the counties of
-Northumberland and Huntingdon, which he claimed in right of his
-wife, the daughter of Earl Waltheof. Though he himself declared
-that he had no desire for the English throne, there is mentioned
-by one chronicler[9] a general conspiracy of the native English
-with their exiled countrymen, of whom the south of Scotland was
-full, for the purpose of taking advantage of the condition of
-the country to put to death the Normans, and to place the crown
-upon David’s head. The plot was discovered by the Bishop of Ely,
-who was at once Bishop and Governor of that district, which had
-been formed by the last king into a modified county palatine. He
-told his discovery, and many of the conspirators were hanged, but
-many others found a refuge in Scotland. At length, in 1138, David
-entered England with a large army, and pushed forward as far as
-Northallerton in Yorkshire. He was there met by the forces of the
-Northern bishops and barons, gathered under the command of Walter
-Espec, Thurstan, the aged Archbishop of York, William of Albemarle,
-Roger of Mowbray, and other barons. They gathered round a tall
-mast borne upon a carriage, on which, above the standards of the
-three Northern Saints, St. Peter of York, St. John of Beverley,
-and St. Wilfred of Ripon, was displayed a silver pyx bearing the
-consecrated wafer. The motley army of the Scots, some armed as the
-English, some in the wild dress of the Picts of Galloway, after a
-well-fought battle, broke against the full-clad Norman soldiers,
-and were killed by the arrows, which had now become the national
-weapon of the English; 11,000 are said to have fallen on the field.
-But, in spite of the victory, Stephen, conscious of his general
-weakness, accepted an unfavourable peace, by which Northumberland
-was given to Prince Henry.
-
-[Sidenote: Growth of anarchy in England.]
-
-[Sidenote: Creation of earldoms and castles.]
-
-All this time the spirit of lawlessness had been increasing. “Many
-persons,” says the chronicler,[10] “emboldened to illegal acts,
-either by nobility of descent or by ambition, were not ashamed,
-some to demand castles, others estates, and indeed whatever came
-into their fancy, from the King. When he delayed complying with
-their request ... they, becoming enraged, immediately fortified
-their castles against him, and drove away large booties from his
-lands.” “He created likewise many earls where there had been none
-before; appropriating to them rents which had before belonged to
-the crown. They were the more greedy in asking, and he more profuse
-in giving, because a rumour was pervading England that Robert of
-Gloucester would shortly espouse the cause of his sister.” The
-creation of earldoms had been rare under the three first Norman
-kings, and as those offices died out their places had not been
-filled. It is said, indeed, that in 1131 there were but three earls
-in England, Robert of Gloucester, and the Earls of Chester and
-Leicester.[11] As the earl received the third penny of the fines
-of his earldom, the creation of earls manifestly impoverished
-the crown. But Stephen appears to have gone beyond the filling
-up of regular earldoms, and to have created titular earls,[12]
-with grants of royal demesne lands to support their dignity. The
-building of castles[13] was the great sign of the anarchical
-condition of England, implying private war and all the other
-horrors of the worst forms of continental feudalism.
-
-[Sidenote: Robert of Gloucester renounces his fealty. 1138.]
-
-[Sidenote: Stephen’s mercenaries.]
-
-This anarchy began to assume a form when Robert of Gloucester,
-alleging his previous oath to Matilda, and asserting that the
-conditions on which he had accepted Stephen had not been kept,
-renounced his fealty. His influence was in his earldom, and in the
-West of England; the headquarters of his party was Bristol; and
-his agent during his absence was Milo, Constable of Gloucester,
-afterwards Earl of Hereford. Nearly all the West, and by no means
-the West only, declared for Matilda. But in most cases the rival
-claims to the throne were used as an excuse merely. Change of sides
-was common, and there are instances of leaders excluding their own
-nominal partisans from strongholds they had won.[14] At first the
-insurrection was unsuccessful. Stephen, conscious of his weakness,
-had collected mercenaries from Flanders and from Brittany. The
-condition of the country made them eager to come. In Stephen’s
-time numbers of freebooters from Flanders and Brittany flocked to
-England in expectation of pillage.[15] The chief leader of the
-Flemings was William of Ypres; the Bretons were commanded by Alan
-the Black of Richmond, Hervé of Léon, and Alan of Dinan. With the
-aid of these Stephen speedily regained the great castles he had
-lost, such as Bath, Castlecary, Harptree, and Shrewsbury; and might
-perhaps even yet have established his authority, when an act of
-supreme folly set him at variance with the Church.
-
-[Sidenote: Jealousy between the old and new administration.]
-
-The new administrative class was represented by Roger of Salisbury,
-who had succeeded in procuring for his nephew Alexander the
-bishopric of Lincoln, for Nigel the bishopric of Ely, while
-his illegitimate son Roger was Chancellor. The vast wealth and
-influence of this family encouraged them to build castles, and
-Devizes, Sherborne, Malmesbury, and Salisbury were strongly
-fortified. The family of Beaumont, Earls of Mellent, had been
-generally firm supporters of the crown and of authority. They
-now seem to have seen with jealousy their position as the chief
-advisers to the crown occupied by men of law, ecclesiastics, yet
-without the sanctity which befits the ecclesiastical profession. At
-their instigation, and at that of their friends, the King took the
-ill-advised step of beginning his assault on his castle-building
-barons by demanding the surrender of these bishops’ castles. The
-Bishops of Lincoln and Salisbury were suddenly arrested at an
-assembly held at Oxford (1139); the Bishop of Ely took refuge in
-the castle of Devizes. Thither the King betook himself, with his
-two prisoners, as some accounts assert, kept entirely without food,
-one in a cow-stall and the other in a hovel. This treatment of the
-bishops, and a threat of hanging Roger the Chancellor, produced the
-surrender of Devizes as well as the other three castles.
-
-[Sidenote: Stephen’s quarrel with the Church.]
-
-[Sidenote: Consequent arrival of Matilda. Sept. 30, 1139.]
-
-The success was dearly bought. The King’s brother, Henry of
-Winchester, upheld the dignity of his order. He summoned a council,
-produced a Papal letter declaring him legate, proceeded to lay
-his charges against the King before the council, and advised him
-to submit to canonical punishment. Stephen’s case was defended
-by Aubrey de Vere, who, when the aggrieved bishops spoke of an
-appeal to Rome, declared that the King advised them not to do so,
-as whoever went might find it difficult to return; and himself
-appealed to the jurisdiction of the Pope. This threat, and an
-ominous appearance of drawn swords around the meeting, prevented
-the bishops from proceeding to extremities; but none the less had
-Stephen forfeited their support. The immediate effect was the
-arrival of Gloucester and the Empress in the South of England.
-
-[Sidenote: Civil war.]
-
-After a short stay at Arundel, the Empress withdrew to join her
-brother, who had preceded her, at Bristol. There had been a
-friendly meeting with Henry of Winchester upon their arrival,
-and it was the same Henry who escorted the Empress to join her
-brother.[16] The scene of confusion became still more confused.
-Brian Fitz-Count[17] held Wallingford for the Empress; Milo of
-Gloucester regained many of the Western castles which Stephen had
-won. In Cornwall, Reginald of Dunstanville, a brother of the Earl
-of Gloucester, upheld, though without much success, the cause of
-the Empress. In Wiltshire, Fitz-Hubert, a Fleming, and Fitz-Gilbert
-fought nominally for the Empress, really for themselves, till
-Fitz-Gilbert enticed Fitz-Hubert, who had refused admission to the
-partisans of the Empress for whom he was nominally fighting, to the
-Castle of Marlborough, and there hanged him.
-
-[Sidenote: Continued quarrel with the Church.]
-
-[Sidenote: Robert, to bring matters to a crisis, fights the battle
-of Lincoln. Feb. 2, 1141.]
-
-The quarrel between Stephen and his bishops grew worse and worse.
-Roger of Salisbury died in 1139. The Bishop of Winchester demanded
-the See for his nephew. Again Waleram of Mellent thwarted the
-Church, and his request was refused. At the Whitsuntide festival
-(1141) held in London, but one bishop,[18] and that a foreign one,
-was with the court. The state of uncertain anarchy was becoming
-highly distasteful to Robert of Gloucester. An opportunity occurred
-of bringing matters to a crisis. Ranulph, the Earl of Chester, had
-hitherto played fast and loose with both parties, and the King had
-parted from him at Lincoln, which he possessed in right of his
-mother Lucia, believing him to be his partisan. But, a few days
-after his departure, Ranulph and his brother William of Roumare,
-surprised the castle, on which the King, who was a good soldier and
-very rapid in his movements, suddenly came back and besieged it.
-Ranulph escaped from the castle to Robert of Gloucester, who seized
-the occasion to bring on a pitched battle. With Ranulph, his own
-partisans, and the Welsh, he reached the Trent, passed it with some
-difficulty, and appeared suddenly before Lincoln. A great battle
-ensued, in which the victory fell to Gloucester, and Stephen was
-himself taken prisoner.
-
-[Sidenote: Matilda seeks help of the Church, and becomes Queen.]
-
-[Sidenote: Importance of the Londoners. 1141.]
-
-Of course this defeat somewhat changed the balance of affairs.
-Cornwall was regained for the Empress, and her influence reached
-eastward as far as Bedford and Nottingham. But she could not hope
-in any true sense to obtain the crown without the consent of the
-all-powerful Church. At once therefore negotiations were opened
-with Henry of Winchester. Having won his adherence, and with it
-that of the greater part of the bishops, she went from Gloucester,
-accompanied by the Bishop of Ely and other supporters, to
-Winchester. In an open plain without the city she swore to follow
-the advice of the Legate on Church matters. Her oath was attested
-by Milo, afterwards Earl of Hereford, Earl Gloucester, Brian
-Fitz-Count, and others. A council of the Church was held a few days
-after. The Legate addressed the assembly, and declared his adhesion
-to Matilda. It is to be observed that he waited a day to receive
-the citizens of London, who were “as it were nobles by reason of
-the magnitude of the city.” Both the Londoners and many of the
-nobility besought for the release of Stephen, but their request was
-refused, and many of the royal party executed. Having obtained the
-castle of Oxford from Robert of Oilli, Matilda proceeded to London;
-but there the haughtiness of her behaviour soon produced the ruin
-of her cause.
-
-[Sidenote: Matilda’s opportunity, but she offends both Church and
-Londoners.]
-
-[Sidenote: Consequent revolution of affairs.]
-
-[Sidenote: Gloucester taken prisoner, and exchanged for Stephen.
-1142.]
-
-It seems as though, if he could only have regained his liberty,
-Stephen himself and his partisans would have been willing now
-to retire from the contest. The Earls of Leicester and Mellent,
-hitherto staunch supporters of the King, together with his old
-friend Hugh, the Bishop of Rouen, went so far as to offer the
-crown to Stephen’s brother Theobald. But that prince declined
-to receive it, and even advised them to transfer their offer to
-Geoffrey of Anjou, on the sole condition that Stephen should
-be liberated. Taking advantage of such an opportunity as this,
-while supported by the friendship of Henry of Winchester and the
-Londoners, Matilda might have made her throne secure, but she at
-once took steps which alienated both. To Henry of Winchester,
-who must naturally have felt the ties of relationship towards
-his brother, she refused the natural request that Stephen’s son
-Eustace might be placed in possession of his father’s foreign
-fiefs. From the Londoners she demanded a heavy tallage, in spite of
-their complaints that they had been already stripped by taxations.
-King Stephen’s Queen, to whom many of the fugitives from Lincoln
-had betaken themselves, made use of the discontent thus excited
-to advance against London. The inhabitants rose, and the Empress
-barely escaped with a few followers to Oxford. The insurgents
-demanded the liberation of Stephen. In this demand the Bishop of
-Winchester now joined, and the Empress besieged him in his castle
-outside the town of Winchester. But her besieging army was soon
-itself besieged, its communications and means of subsistence
-cut off, and she found herself obliged to retire. The Earl of
-Gloucester therefore despatched her before him to Devizes, while
-he himself covered her retreat. But he was hotly pursued and taken
-prisoner. This neutralized all his previous successes. After some
-negotiations the great prisoners were exchanged, and the state of
-parties fell back very much to its position before the battle of
-Lincoln.
-
-[Sidenote: Renewal of the old anarchy. 1146.]
-
-[Sidenote: Appearance of Prince Henry.]
-
-[Sidenote: Death of Robert of Gloucester. 1148.]
-
-Of decided successes on either side there were none. In 1142, the
-Empress, hard pressed at Oxford, barely made her escape with two
-knights, all clothed in white, across the snow. In the following
-year Stephen, on the other hand, suffered a defeat at Wilton. The
-same struggle for individual liberty on the part of the barons was
-apparent everywhere. Thus the Cathedral of Coventry was changed
-into a fortress by a baron of the name of Marmion, the Abbey of
-Ramsey by Mandeville. Nor did the retirement of several of the
-hotter spirits from the contest to join in a crusade which St.
-Bernard was then preaching materially change the aspect of affairs.
-But, in 1147, new actors begin to appear upon the scene. Wearied
-with the long useless struggle, Matilda withdrew to France. But
-to take her place her son Prince Henry came over to England. As
-it were to match him, Stephen brought his son Eustace prominently
-forward. This change of persons is still more clearly marked by
-the death of the great Earl of Gloucester, a man to whom many acts
-of cruelty in accordance with the temper of the time could be
-attributed, but who, if we may judge from the testimony of William
-of Malmesbury, was far superior in character and civilization to
-most of those by whom he was surrounded.
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s marriage and increased power.]
-
-[Sidenote: Church sides with him.]
-
-The withdrawal of the Empress and the appearance of Henry made a
-considerable difference in the views of those barons in England
-who were not wholly selfish. Stephen had been tried and failed.
-They had no longer to fear the rule of a woman. And thus we find
-Robert of Leicester, second son of the great Earl of Mellent, who
-had hitherto served Stephen and done him good service in Normandy
-against the Angevins, giving in his adherence to the young prince.
-In company with his cousin Roger of Warwick, he held the town and
-castle of Worcester for him, and succeeded in driving off the
-royal army. Henry’s accession to the county of Anjou upon the
-death of his father Geoffrey, in 1151, and still more his marriage
-with Eleanor, the divorced wife of Louis, heiress of Poitiers and
-Guienne, changed the character of the war. He was no longer a
-poor claimant, at best the son of a count, but had been suddenly
-transformed into one of the most powerful princes in Europe. In
-addition to this, since the death of Pope Innocent in 1144, the
-Papal See had been taking a more decided course against Stephen.
-The legatine authority had been withdrawn from Henry of Winchester,
-whose relationship with Stephen made his action always doubtful,
-and been given to Theobald the Archbishop, but Stephen, with his
-usual want of address, contrived to quarrel with him, and he
-therefore threw his whole weight upon the side of Henry.
-
-[Sidenote: Meeting of the armies at Wallingford. 1153.]
-
-[Sidenote: Church mediates a compromise. 1153.]
-
-[Sidenote: Death of Stephen. 1154.]
-
-Thus, when Henry contrived to form a truce with his rival the
-French King, and to enter England with a considerable army, the
-country was much disposed to receive him. Many of the nobility
-began to declare for him. The Beaumonts, as we have seen, were
-already his friends. The Countess of Warwick placed her castle in
-his hands. Robert of Leicester supplied him with provisions, and
-he marched in good hope to relieve Wallingford, which, defended
-by Brian Fitz-Count, Stephen was now besieging. There the two
-armies met; but the desire for peace was so general, that they both
-demanded that negotiations should be opened. Nothing was then
-settled, but the armies separated. Stephen proceeded to besiege
-Ipswich, where Bigot had declared for Henry, and Henry, taking
-Nottingham on the way, was marching to relieve it, when the heads
-of the Church saw their opportunity, and Theobald and Henry of
-Winchester combined to mediate a peace. This was the more easy on
-account of the death of the young Prince Eustace. On the 7th of
-November the Treaty of Pacification was concluded at Winchester.
-It was a compromise. Stephen was to remain King of England during
-his life; Henry was to be accepted as his son and heir; Stephen’s
-son William was to do homage to Henry for all his large possessions
-in England and in Normandy. There then followed an arrangement for
-restoring the administration which the war had ruined. The castles
-were to be razed, the coinage reformed, the sheriffs replaced, the
-crown lands resumed, the new earldoms extinguished, foreigners
-banished, and administration of justice restored.[19] After this
-treaty Henry’s duties summoned him chiefly to France; and Stephen,
-for the short remnant of his life, remained undisputed King of
-England. He died on the 25th of October 1154.
-
-[Sidenote: Quotations from chroniclers. The miseries of this reign.]
-
-Two short extracts from chroniclers give a more complete view
-of the misery which attended this lawless period than any fresh
-description could do. William of Newbury says: “Wounded and
-drained of blood by civil misery, England lay plague-stricken.
-It is written of an ancient people, ‘In those days there was no
-king in Israel, and every man did that which was right in his own
-eyes;’ but in England, under King Stephen, the case was worse. For,
-because at that time the King was powerless, and the law languished
-because the King was powerless, though some indeed did what seemed
-right in their own eyes, many because all fear of King and law was
-taken off them, did all the more greedily what by their natural
-instincts they knew to be wrong.... Neither King nor Empress was
-able to act in a masterful way, or show vigorous discipline. But
-each kept their own followers in good temper by refusing them
-nothing lest they should desert them.... And because they were worn
-out by daily strife, and acted less vigorously, local disturbances
-of hostile lords grew the more vehement. Castles too rose in great
-numbers in the several districts, and there were in England, so
-to speak, as many kings, or rather tyrants, as lords of castles.
-Individuals took the right of coining their private money, and of
-private jurisdiction.” We have here the effects of the loosened
-hold of the crown,--castles, private war, private coinage, private
-justice. The Saxon Chronicle supplies us with a picture of the
-effect of these feudal usurpations upon the lower ranks of the
-people:--
-
-“When the traitors perceived that Stephen was a mild man, and
-soft and good, and did no justice, then did they all wonder. They
-had done homage to him and sworn oaths, but held no faith; for
-every powerful man made his castles and held them against him, and
-they filled the land full of castles. They cruelly oppressed the
-wretched men of the land with castle works. When the castles were
-made, they filled them with devils and evil men. Then they took
-those men that they imagined had any property, both by night and
-by day, peasant men and women, and put them in prison for their
-gold and silver, and tortured them with unutterable torture; for
-never were martyrs so tortured as they were. They hanged them up by
-the feet and smoked them with foul smoke; they hanged them up by
-the thumbs or by the head, and hung fires on their feet; they put
-knotted strings about their heads, and writhed them so that it went
-to the brain. They put them in dungeons, in which were adders, and
-snakes, and toads, and killed them so. Some they put in a ‘cruset
-hûs,’ that is in a chest that was short and narrow and shallow,
-and put sharp stones therein, and pressed the man therein, so that
-they brake all his limbs. In many of the castles were instruments
-called a ‘lāŏ (loathly) and grim;’ these were neck-bonds, of which
-two or three men had enough to bear one. It was so made, that is,
-it was fastened to a beam, and they put a sharp iron about the
-man’s throat and his neck, so that he could not in any direction
-sit, or lie, or sleep, but must bear all that iron. Many thousands
-they killed with hunger; I neither can nor may tell all the wounds
-or all the tortures which they inflicted on wretched men in this
-land; and that lasted the nineteen winters while Stephen was King;
-and ever it was worse and worse. They laid imposts on the towns
-continually; and when the wretched men had no more to give, they
-robbed and burned all the towns, so that thou mightest well go all
-a day’s journey, and thou shouldest never find a man sitting in a
-town, or the land tilled. Then was corn dear, and flesh and cheese
-and butter; for there was none in the land. Wretched men died of
-hunger; some went seeking alms who at one while were rich men;
-some fled out of the land. Never yet had more wretchedness been in
-the land, nor did heathen men ever do worse than they did; for
-everywhere at times they forbore neither church nor churchyard, but
-took all the property that was therein, and then burned the church
-and altogether. Nor forbore they a bishop’s land, nor an abbot’s,
-nor a priest’s, but robbed monks and clerks, and every man another
-who anywhere could. If two or three men came riding to a town, all
-the township fled before them, imagining them to be robbers. The
-bishops and clergy constantly cursed them, but nothing came of it,
-for they were all accursed, and forsworn, and lost. However a man
-tilled, the earth bare no corn; for the land was all foredone by
-such deeds, and they said openly that Christ and His saints slept.
-Such, and more than we can say, we endured nineteen winters for our
-sins.”
-
-A people who had suffered these things must certainly have sighed
-for a strong government, by whatever hand it should be wielded;
-and miserable though the reign had been, it tended towards the
-consolidation of nationality.
-
-
-
-
-HENRY II.
-
-1154-1189.
-
-
- Born 1133 = Eleanor.
- |
- |
- +-------+-------+--+------------------+-----+------------------+
- | | | | | |
- Henry. | Geoffrey = Constance John Matilda = Henry |
- d.1182. | | of Brittany. the Lion |
- Richard. | of Saxony. |
- Arthur. |
- |
- +------------------------------------+
- |
- +-----------+-----------+
- | |
- Eleanor = Alphonso IX. Joanna = William II.,
- King of Sicily.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- Malcolm IV., | Louis VII., 1137. | Frederic I., | Alphonso VIII., 1134.
- 1153. | Philip Augustus, | 1152. | Sancho III., 1157.
- William, 1165. | 1180. | | Alphonso IX., 1158.
-
- POPES.--Adrian IV., 1154. Alexander III., 1159. Lucius III., 1181.
- Urban III., 1185. Gregory VIII., 1187. Clement III., 1187.
-
- _Archbishops._ | _Chief-Justices._ | _Chancellors._
- | |
- Theobald, 1139-1161. | Robert, Earl of | Thomas à Becket,
- Thomas à Becket, | Leicester, 1154-1167. | 1154-1162.
- 1162-1170. | Richard de Lucy, | Ralph de Warneville,
- Richard, 1174-1184. | 1154-1179. | 1173-1181.
- Baldwin, 1185-1190. | Ranulf Glanville, | Geoffrey, the King’s
- | 1180-1189. | son, 1181-1189.
-
-
-[Sidenote: Main objects of Henry’s reign.]
-
-[Sidenote: First acts of his reign.]
-
-The consolidation of the nation was the great work of Henry of
-Anjou. He brought to it great gifts, sagacity, masterful courage,
-a legal and judicial mind; while his training, as the prince of
-widely extending countries, prevented the intrusion of petty local
-interests into his views for his people’s good. The lessons of the
-last reign were not lost on him. Before all things he desired a
-strong government and good order. In pursuing these objects he took
-for his model his grandfather and great-grandfather, and worked out
-in greater and more systematic detail the policy they had begun.
-And though in his efforts to subordinate the Church he may seem to
-have run counter to the legislation of his great-grandfather, it
-will be seen that in many points his policy was really the same.
-In the earlier part of his reign work lay ready to his hand, and
-the compromise at Winchester had already marked out his line of
-action. He could not immediately come to England, being detained
-by an insurrection in Guienne. But when he had settled this, and,
-by a humility of bearing he knew well how to feign, secured the
-friendship of Louis VII., he crossed the Channel, and at once
-proceeded with his reforms.
-
-[Sidenote: He restores order in the State.]
-
-He renewed the charter of the City of London; fixed a short period
-during which the Flemish auxiliaries, who had already probably
-begun to return home, should leave the country; recalled grants
-of the royal domains which had been made in Stephen’s reign;
-re-established the old number of limited earldoms; and proceeded
-to lay hands on both the royal castles which individual barons had
-appropriated and those private fastnesses with which the country
-had become covered. Their number is variously estimated, by some
-it is put as high as 1150. It was not without some opposition
-that he carried out this work. It was chiefly in the North and
-West that difficulty occurred. Before the year was over he had
-received the submission of William of Albemarle, who was nearly
-independent in Yorkshire. In February of the next year he expelled
-Peveril, who had been guilty among other things of poisoning the
-great Earl of Chester, from his Earldom of Nottingham. He followed
-up his success by compelling the border barons, Roger, son of
-Milo, Earl of Hereford, and Hugh Mortimer, a descendant of the
-same family as Robert de Belesme, to surrender their fastnesses.
-To complete his dominion at home he marched against Malcolm of
-Scotland, who was occupying the three Northern counties. These he
-compelled him to resign, obliging him to do homage for the county
-of Huntingdon, which he claimed as a descendant of the old Earl
-Waltheof. Throughout all the earlier part of the reign the Scotch
-King appears as a great English baron, following the King to his
-wars.
-
-[Sidenote: Friendship of Adrian IV.]
-
-Henry even thus early began to think of curbing the overgrown
-power of the Church; and Henry of Winchester, in fear of what
-might happen, thought it better to lay aside his episcopal robes
-and retire for a time to Clugny, from which, however, he was soon
-induced to return. An event, indeed, soon occurred which rendered
-the King’s position with the Church peculiarly strong. In 1154
-Nicolas Breakspear ascended the Papal throne, the only Englishman
-who ever attained that honour. The connection between England and
-the Papal See, always close since the Conquest, was drawn even
-closer, and the Pope made a grant of the schismatical country
-Ireland to the English King; a grant the enjoyment of which Henry
-postponed till a more convenient season. Henry’s widely spread
-dominions kept him constantly moving, and in 1156 the affairs of
-his native county summoned him to France. He left his kingdom in
-charge of Robert of Leicester, his great justiciary.
-
-The difficulty in Anjou arose from the claim raised by his younger
-brother Godfrey to that province. This claim rested upon a doubtful
-will, by which his father was said to have intended Anjou for
-Godfrey if Henry was called to the throne of England. By force
-of arms Henry reduced the country; and his brother withdrew on
-the receipt of certain payments, being shortly after called by
-the burghers of Nantes to become lord of their town. This affair
-was scarcely settled when Henry hurried back to England, there
-to complete his conquest of the Scotch King, by obliging him to
-surrender his strong castles of Bamborough, Newcastle and Carlisle,
-and again to do homage for Huntingdon, on which occasion, however,
-the clause “Salvis omnibus dignitatibus suis” was introduced into
-his oath. This, with the surrender of castles by Hugh Bigod in
-Norfolk, and of William, called of Warrenne, son of the late King,
-and Earl of Surrey, completed the subjugation of the feudal nobles,
-and rendered him absolute master of England.
-
-[Sidenote: Master of England, Henry attacks Wales.]
-
-[Sidenote: Rise of Thomas à Becket.]
-
-[Sidenote: He is employed in foreign negotiation. 1158.]
-
-Wales alone gave him further trouble. Thither, in 1157, he led
-an army against Owen Gwynneth at the instigation of his fugitive
-brother Cadwallader. The expedition was not successful; on this, as
-on subsequent occasions, Henry found it impossible to reduce the
-Welsh in their mountain strongholds. It is noteworthy, as affording
-the first instance of scutage, or money payment in exchange for
-personal service, which was in this instance demanded of knights
-holding from the clergy; and for the shameful flight of Henry de
-Essex, the royal standard-bearer, which gave rise afterwards to
-a remarkable judicial duel. In the year 1163 Robert de Montfort
-impeached Henry de Essex for cowardice and treachery. The matter
-came to the ordeal of battle, and Essex being conquered, forfeited
-all his lands, and retired as a monk to the Abbey of Reading. This,
-and the confiscation of the property of Peveril, already mentioned,
-are the only two instances of confiscation during the reign.
-
-It was during this prosperous period of the King’s reign that
-Thomas à Becket becomes prominent. The son of a citizen of
-London, his talents had been early seen and employed by Archbishop
-Theobald. In 1143 he had succeeded in getting for his patron the
-legatine authority over England, and afterwards that Papal bull
-which prevented the crowning of King Stephen’s son Eustace. He
-was richly rewarded by livings in the Dioceses of Oxford, London,
-and Lincoln, and, in 1154, with the position of Archdeacon of
-Canterbury. The recommendation of the Primate soon placed him
-about Henry’s court. He was appointed chancellor, and as such was
-the chief clerk of the Curia Regis, kept the King’s seal, and had
-the management of vacant ecclesiastical benefices. He was further
-intrusted with the guardianship of the Tower of London, and with
-the castle of Eye in Berkhampstead, thus occupying a position
-partly secular, partly ecclesiastical. In this situation he
-exhibited all the splendour of a great noble; kept a magnificent
-table, followed the sports of the field, and was a proficient in
-knightly exercises. Henry found much pleasure in his society, and
-employed him in delicate negotiations. Thus, in the year 1158,
-he was sent to arrange a match between Margaret of France and
-Henry’s son Henry. His magnificent embassy dazzled the eyes of
-the Frenchmen and was completely successful. The object of the
-arrangement was to win the friendship of Louis, and prevent him
-from interfering with the King’s plans on Nantes, where he meant to
-make good his claim as successor to his brother Godfrey, who had
-lately died. A meeting with Louis was effected on the river Epte.
-Henry accompanied him back to Paris, and received from him the
-child princess, whom he intrusted to the care of Robert of Neuburg,
-Justiciary of Normandy. Strong in this new-formed friendship, Henry
-found no difficulty in securing Nantes, and thereby a hold upon
-Brittany.
-
-[Sidenote: Nevertheless there is war with France. 1159.]
-
-[Sidenote: Interesting points in it.]
-
-[Sidenote: Scotch King serves him.]
-
-[Sidenote: Introduction of scutage.]
-
-In spite however of his apparent agreement with Louis he soon
-found himself at open war with him. Queen Eleanor’s grandfather,
-on going to the Crusades, had mortgaged the county of Toulouse to
-Raymond of St. Gilles. The mortgage money had not been repaid,
-as Raymond of St. Gilles still held the city. This nobleman had
-married the French King’s sister Constance. When therefore Henry
-raised the claim of his wife, the French King openly adopted the
-cause of Raymond.[20] Henry determined to have recourse to arms,
-and in 1159 raised an army for the purpose. The war is interesting,
-not so much in itself, as in two or three collateral points
-connected with it. Thus Malcolm of Scotland came with forty-five
-ships, and a Welsh prince likewise joined the army. Again, the
-presence of Becket at the head of an unusually well-equipped body
-of 700 men is mentioned. He is said to have urged the King to
-active measures against the French monarch. But Henry--who was
-surprised at finding his lately made friend in arms against him,
-and opposing with all his power a claim he had once himself urged,
-and who by no means wished to drive matters to extremity--showed
-some scruple in attacking his suzerain, and contented himself
-with gaining his object by laying waste the country and capturing
-the castles. At the same time he contracted an engagement between
-his son Richard and Berengaria, the daughter of Count Raymond of
-Barcelona, the son-in-law of the King of Aragon,[21] and in fact
-Governor of that country. But the most important point about the
-war was the introduction of the habit of money payments in exchange
-for military service. This measure had been adopted previously
-with respect to the Church in the war with Wales. On the present
-occasion the sum is said to have amounted to £180,000.[22] There
-were many advantages in the change. The King was enabled to hire
-mercenaries, and dispense with the irregular services of his feudal
-followers; he got contributions from the Church lands, and was
-enabled to do without the hated tax of the Danegelt, at the same
-time that he struck a blow at the military importance of his feudal
-barons.
-
-[Sidenote: Having reduced the State to order, Henry turns to the
-Church.]
-
-[Sidenote: General friendship of England and France with the Pope.]
-
-Thus far the course of Henry’s reign had been one of unbroken
-prosperity. He had settled and increased his dominions both in
-England and on the Continent, had on the whole gained in his
-opposition to his suzerain the King of France, and had strengthened
-himself by prudent marriages for his children. He was henceforward,
-except for a very few years, to be plunged in disputes and
-difficulties. It has been mentioned that the Church in England had
-reached a position of great pre-eminence during the troubled period
-of Stephen’s reign. The policy of the Norman kings had been always
-to support the Church to the utmost, to keep on good terms with
-Rome, but at the same time to make good the supremacy of the power
-of the king in his own dominions. William the Conqueror, it will be
-remembered, had entirely separated the spiritual from the temporal
-jurisdiction. Before the arrival of the Normans, all offences not
-strictly ecclesiastical had been tried and punished in the County
-and Hundred courts, where both bishop and aldermen presided side by
-side. In withdrawing the bishop from the secular courts, William
-had desired to raise the character of the clergy by confining them
-more completely to spiritual matters. But an abuse had easily
-grown up, which produced a directly opposite effect. As the
-pretensions of the Church rose, not only were spiritual questions
-to be tried in the spiritual courts, but spiritual men were also
-withdrawn from the secular jurisdiction, and the doctrine became
-prevalent that the cleric could be only tried by his ecclesiastical
-superior.[23] Now ecclesiastical courts could not inflict corporal
-punishments. Censures, excommunications, and penances were their
-weapons. Consequently clerks might and did commit every sort of
-crime without suffering any punishment. To Henry’s love of justice
-and order this was most repugnant. But at the same time that he
-wished to curtail the license of the clergy, and to establish the
-superiority of the royal jurisdiction, he distinctly upheld the
-policy of his predecessors in supporting the Roman See. It was a
-critical time for that power. The great Frederick Barbarossa was
-upon the throne of Germany and attempting to establish with regard
-to himself and the Pope on a larger scale what Henry was anxious
-to do in England. With a comprehensive view of the struggle, he
-had invited the Kings of England and France to join him in united
-action for the establishment of the supremacy of the secular power.
-His overtures had not been received; and when, upon the death
-of Hadrian, in 1159, after a stormy conclave, the Italian party
-elected Rolando Bandinelli, under the title of Alexander III.,
-and the imperial party Cardinal Octavian, as Victor IV., the two
-Western kings gave in their adhesion to Alexander. When expelled
-from Italy, they received him with extreme honour at Chateauroux,
-where they acted as his grooms, leading his horse between them. He
-finally found shelter in the French town of Sens.
-
-[Sidenote: Election of Becket to Archbishopric. 1161.]
-
-[Sidenote: Becket upholds encroachments of the Church.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry produces Constitutions of Clarendon. 1164.]
-
-In 1161, Theobald the Archbishop died, and it seemed to Henry that
-the opportunity had arrived for carrying out his reforming plans.
-Without difficulty he secured the election of his Chancellor,
-believing that he would serve him still in that capacity. But such
-were not the views of Becket. He found himself in a position where
-he might not only serve but rival the King, and he at once became
-the ambitious and fanatical ecclesiastic. His manner of life was
-wholly changed, fasts and penances took the place of his former
-gaiety; the ostentation which he still exhibited was for others
-and not for himself; he scarcely touched food while his guests
-were feasting; and poor saints and beggars took the place of the
-courtiers who had formerly thronged his hall. He did not wait to
-be attacked, but himself began the quarrel with the King. He at
-once insisted on resigning his temporal offices. He then demanded
-homage from some barons whom he declared to be liegemen of the See
-of Canterbury and not of the King. He refused in bold outspoken
-words to pay the usual tax for the sheriff at a court at Woodstock.
-But these were only slight beginnings. A meeting of the clergy
-was held at Westminster, and the great subject of ecclesiastical
-jurisdictions was raised. A very bad instance had just excited
-the King’s attention. A clerk of the name of Philip Brois had
-committed a murder and received no punishment. At the assizes of
-Dunstable, Simon Fitz-Peter, the King’s Justice, had found him
-guilty of the murder, but Becket insisted on his being withdrawn
-from the secular jurisdiction, and sentenced him to two years’ loss
-of his benefice. To Henry this seemed at once an insult to his
-authority and a mere fostering of crime. He determined upon action,
-and demanded of the bishops whether they would accept the ancient
-customs of the country. Many of the clergy Henry knew he could rely
-upon, such for instance as Becket’s old enemy Roger of York, and
-Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of London. He did not expect to meet much
-opposition anywhere. With much persuasion Becket certainly accepted
-the customs. Henry, determined that there should be no question on
-this matter, caused these customs to be drawn up in the form of
-Constitutions, and presented to a great council held at Clarendon.
-There Becket distinctly broke his word and retracted.
-
-[Sidenote: Becket refuses them.]
-
-Bishops and laymen, knowing the King’s character, besought Becket
-not to risk the fortunes of the Church by further opposition. For a
-moment he seemed to yield, but the next day, when his final answer
-was to be given, he again refused to sign them. He stated his
-objections fully. His arguments were based principally on the Canon
-law of Gratian[24] and the False Decretals. The Body of Customs,
-as presented to him, consisted of sixteen clauses. By these,
-which did not pretend to be new legislation, but a recapitulation
-of the old practices of the country, the line was sharply drawn
-between criminal and ecclesiastical cases; the criminal clerk being
-amenable to the civil jurisdiction: questions with regard to land
-claimed by the clergy were to be referred to a jury: as also cases
-of crime where there was no accuser: the King was made the ultimate
-hearer of appeals, except by his own special leave: bishops
-were restrained from leaving the country without leave, or from
-excommunicating the King’s men: elections to bishoprics were to be
-held in the King’s chapel, in the presence and with the consent
-of those whom he should summon: and the newly-elected officer was
-to swear fealty to the King.[25] Other minor matters with regard
-to the position of the Church were also settled, but it is these
-chiefly which were to secure the supremacy of the crown. Becket is
-said to have particularly objected to any subordination of clerks
-to secular jurisdiction; to have held that one punishment for one
-offence was enough, and that the Church should look to; and to have
-regarded with displeasure any restrictions laid upon the right of
-clerical jurisdiction or excommunication.[26] Ultimately, however,
-he was certainly induced to accept and to seal them. On retiring
-from the council he at once began to show signs of repentance, and
-got absolution for what he had done from the Pope.
-
-[Sidenote: Lukewarmness of Alexander III.]
-
-[Sidenote: The quarrel takes a legal turn.]
-
-[Sidenote: Comes before the council.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry presses him with charges.]
-
-[Sidenote: Becket leaves the court before judgment is given.]
-
-Alexander’s position was peculiar, and, as in the case of Anselm,
-it was too important to him in his present difficulties to retain
-the friendship of England for him to allow himself to side very
-strongly with Becket. Throughout the quarrel it is the Archbishop
-who urges the Pope onward, and not the Pope the Archbishop. Such
-lukewarmness suited neither party, and Henry summoned another
-council for 8th of October at Northampton. Two days before the
-council the Archbishop arrived. He did not receive the kiss of
-peace, and it was plain that matters were coming to extremities.
-Again the Archbishop began the attack. He lodged some complaint
-against a nobleman, and had justice promised him; but was then in
-his turn charged with delaying justice, in the case of an official
-of the Treasury called John the Marshall, who demanded a piece
-of land in his court. Marshall summoned him before the royal
-court, and he was now told that the case would come on before the
-council on the following day. On that day therefore the court sat
-in judgment upon the Archbishop. He was found guilty. The extreme
-penalty, which would have been the seizure of all his moveables,
-was remitted, and a heavy fine of £500 substituted. No sooner
-was this charge finished than a fresh charge was brought against
-him, and £300 demanded of him, which he had borrowed upon the
-castles of Eye and Berkhampstead. On the following day a sum of
-500 marks, which he had borrowed for the expedition to Toulouse
-on the King’s security, was demanded. Becket declared it was a
-gift. He found fresh securities, and retired in dudgeon. He found
-his hall deserted by the knights and barons. Then followed the
-final blow. As chancellor he had had the administration of vacant
-ecclesiastical and baronial benefices; and now he was ordered to
-account for a sum of not less than 30,000 marks. On accepting
-the bishopric, he had been discharged from all liability by
-Prince Henry and Richard de Lucy the Justiciary. The demand was
-manifestly an unjust one, and the greater part of the bishops
-appealed against it. The temporal nobles refused to allow the
-appeal, as it had yet to be proved that the King was a party to
-the discharge. Sickness kept the Archbishop confined to his house
-for some days. Meanwhile the bishops attempted to make him yield,
-and finally for the most part deserted him, and betook themselves
-to the court. The Archbishop was determined to meet the charge in
-all the magnificence of his office, and went to the council with
-his cross and other insignia. The bishops, overawed by this unusual
-demonstration, which they regarded as a challenge to the King, went
-to him, leaving the accused Archbishop sitting alone with a few
-friends. They tried in vain to get the King’s demand lessened, and
-changed for the fine usual in Kent, which was only forty shillings.
-Henry, in wrath, merely asked whether the Archbishop had made up
-his mind to accept the Constitutions. Becket refused to plead
-upon any charge except that of John the Marshall, and at length
-openly declared that he placed himself and the Church under the
-guardianship of the Pope and of God. The disturbance was great. The
-King wished the bishops to declare the sentence. They earnestly
-entreated not to be called upon to judge their superior, and
-finally the duty was left to Robert of Leicester the Justiciary.
-But the Archbishop would not let him speak. “How can you judge me
-who appeal to a higher power? And do not thou Earl of Leicester
-venture to judge thy spiritual father!” He rose, and, leaning on
-his cross, swept from the hall. As cries of “traitor” arose behind
-him, his old worldly vehemence got the better of him, and he turned
-and cried, “Might I but wear weapons, I should soon know how to
-clear myself of the charge of treason.” As he passed on his way
-through the streets people knelt and demanded his blessing. A final
-answer was required of him the following day, but in the night, in
-the midst of wild weather, he secretly left Northampton, and after
-a difficult flight, on the 2nd of November contrived to cross to
-Gravelines.
-
-[Sidenote: He is received by the Pope. 1165.]
-
-On the very same night, an embassy, consisting of his chief
-enemies--the Bishops of York, London, Exeter, Chichester and
-Worcester, together with John of Oxford, the King’s chief adviser
-in this matter,--crossed to seek the Pope. The Archbishop put
-himself under the protection of the King of France at Soissons; and
-the two parties carried their case before the Pope at Sens, where
-John of Salisbury, Becket’s emissary, had already been winning him
-friends. The King’s embassy entreated that legates might be sent
-to finish the case in England. But Alexander, although the Peter’s
-Pence from England were absolutely necessary to him, refused their
-request. Upon receipt of this information, the King drove abroad
-all friends and dependants of the Archbishop, who had succeeded
-meanwhile in getting a favourable reception from Alexander. Till
-1170 he remained abroad, carrying on his struggle with the King.
-
-[Sidenote: But Henry refuses to oppose Alexander.]
-
-Of course, during that time Henry could not afford to let his
-other business rest. But it is the quarrel with the Archbishop
-which gives its complexion to the history of those years. In
-1165 the Pope was enabled to return to Italy, but Frederick of
-Germany, still refusing to acknowledge him, at an Assembly at
-Wurtzburg caused Cardinal Guido to be elected under the title of
-Pascal III. in the place of Octavian, who was just dead. Henry
-seized the opportunity. He had already forbidden all intercourse
-between England and the Pope, and he now despatched an embassy,
-headed by John of Oxford and Richard of Winchester, to attempt to
-act in consort with Frederick. This was in reply to a demand on
-the part of the Emperor, who had sent his chancellor, Reginald
-of Cologne, to ask for two of Henry’s daughters in marriage,
-the one for his son, the other for Henry the Lion of Saxony.
-The ambassadors declared that there were fifty bishops ready to
-accept the anti-pope. However, matters did not reach this point:
-Alexander still temporized. The clergy of England were very averse
-to deserting the legitimate Pope, and the old policy of the Norman
-kings had yet a strong hold upon Henry.
-
-[Sidenote: Meanwhile he attacks Wales, and secures Brittany. 1166.]
-
-[Sidenote: Becket excommunicates his enemies.]
-
-Meanwhile, leaving the quarrel in abeyance, he again invaded
-Wales, again without much success. He was more successful in
-the following year in his designs on Brittany. “He dealt,” says
-the Chronicler,[27] “with the nobles of the district of Le Mans
-according to his pleasure, and the region of Brittany, and with
-their castles....” A treaty of marriage between his son Geoffrey,
-and Constance, the daughter of Conan of Brittany and Richmond,
-having been entered into, this Earl made a grant to him of the
-whole of Brittany, with the exception of Guingamp, which had
-descended to him from his grandfather. The King received the
-homage of all the barons of Brittany at Thouars. Thence he came
-to Rennes, and by taking possession of that city, the capital
-of Brittany, he became lord of the whole duchy. While thus
-triumphing, he received news that Becket, weary of the Pope’s
-procrastination, had gone to the Church at Vezelay, and there,
-after explaining the Constitutions of Clarendon, had excommunicated
-John of Oxford, Richard of Ilchester, and Richard de Lucy, the
-King’s Counsellors, and Joscelin of Balliol, and Ranulph de Broc,
-who had entered into possession of his confiscated estates. This
-step caused considerable anxiety, and the bishops and abbots of
-England met and appealed to the Pope, thus postponing the execution
-of the excommunication. The Archbishop, in reply, bid them carry
-the excommunication at once into effect, and at the same time
-excommunicated Godfrey Ridel, the Archdeacon of Canterbury, for
-not remitting to him the income of his see. In anger, the King
-threatened to expel from England the whole Cistercian order, as a
-punishment for allowing the Archbishop to dwell in their monastery.
-To avoid this, Becket withdrew to Sens.
-
-[Sidenote: The Pope temporizes.]
-
-The appeal however went on, and, to the surprise of every one,
-the Pope, who had perhaps been bribed, at length appointed
-legates to examine the dispute. In 1167, John of Oxford, the
-King’s ambassador, came home in triumph, declaring that the
-excommunications had been removed. Naturally therefore Becket
-dreaded the approach of the legates. By means of his influence
-with the French many obstacles were thrown in their way, and as a
-fresh declaration that his views were unchanged, he excommunicated
-Gilbert of London. At length the legates obtained meetings both
-with Becket and Henry. In neither instance were they satisfactory.
-Becket refused to withdraw the convenient words “saving our order,”
-and Henry would hear of no half measures. However, their temper was
-on the whole conciliatory, and they removed the excommunications
-conditionally. This friendly feeling on the part of the Pope
-was still further shown by his suspending the Archbishop for a
-time from the exercise of his office. In fact, the Pope had just
-been driven from Rome by Barbarossa, and Henry’s support was
-indispensable to him. All this made no difference to Becket, who,
-on Palm Sunday, repeated his excommunications, and contrived at
-length to get them smuggled over into England, where, with striking
-effect, Gilbert of London was suddenly suspended in the midst of
-the celebration of mass in his own church.
-
-[Sidenote: Critical position of Henry.]
-
-The political difficulties under which Henry was at this time
-struggling may have given fresh courage to the Archbishop, for,
-both during 1167 and 1168, there was war with Louis of France
-and with his other neighbours. The Count of Flanders was even
-threatening a descent on England, while the Counts of Marche,
-Angoulême, and Limousin, counting on the succour of the French,
-were laying waste Henry’s southern dominions. This difficulty he
-left in the hands of his General, Count Patrick of Salisbury, while
-he himself was called upon to suppress disturbances in Brittany.
-His fortunes were indeed at a very low ebb. In presence of these
-difficulties, Henry found it necessary to lower his tone; a
-peace with his enemies was patched up at Montmirail. There too a
-commission from the Pope awaited him, and he found himself obliged
-to consent virtually to the demands of Becket. As however he
-refused to give his refractory Archbishop the kiss of peace, which
-was regarded as the only sure sign of reconciliation, the quarrel
-was not yet terminated. Although the point at issue was a small
-one, both parties continued obstinate.
-
-[Sidenote: Coronation of Young Henry. June 14, 1170.]
-
-[Sidenote: Finding this step unpopular, Henry submits.]
-
-[Sidenote: Becket ventures to return to England.]
-
-[Sidenote: His death. Dec. 29, 1170.]
-
-Henry, determined to show his authority, caused his son Henry to be
-crowned in England by the Archbishop of York. This was a distinct
-invasion of the rights of the Archbishop of Canterbury, for the
-coronation was performed in the southern province. It produced so
-great an outcry, that Henry felt he had gone too far, especially
-as he had neglected to have Henry’s wife, the French princess,
-crowned with him, which Louis regarded as a great insult. With this
-feeling against him, Henry consented to a meeting at Fretheval, and
-there yielded what was required of him, embracing the Archbishop,
-raising him from the ground, when he knelt before him, and holding
-his stirrup for him to remount. The quarrel seemed ended, but some
-slight delays occurred before Becket could return to England, and
-more than one warning message was sent to him that England was no
-safe place for him. When he demanded a safe conduct from Henry, it
-did not promise any true reconciliation that John of Oxford was
-sent as his escort. He ventured however, but found the feeling in
-England, among the laity at all events, very strong against him,
-and was bidden to withdraw to his city of Canterbury. Although
-conscious of the power of his enemies, he continued his obstinate
-course, excommunicated the Archbishop of York, De Broc, and other
-lay holders of the property of the See, whom he found it difficult
-to dispossess. When the King heard of this conduct, the anger which
-had been boiling within him, but which circumstances had obliged
-him to suppress, broke loose, and he accused his courtiers of
-caring nothing for him since they suffered this audacious priest
-to live. Four knights took him at his word, hurried across to
-England, collected followers among his enemies, and proceeding to
-Canterbury, demanded the immediate removal of the excommunication.
-The monks in terror hurried the Archbishop to the Cathedral, and
-wished to shut the doors, believing him then in safe sanctuary,
-but he would not allow any sign of weakness. Headed by the
-knights, the armed mob broke in, still demanded the removal of the
-excommunication, were still refused, and killed him at the altar.
-
-The outcry which rose throughout Europe told Henry that he had lost
-his cause. He at once declared himself innocent, refused food, took
-on him all the outward signs of penitence, and despatched a mission
-to exculpate him at the court of the Pope. Though Alexander was
-very angry, he was persuaded to send legates for a formal inquiry.
-Henry did not await their coming, but as a means of employment and
-retirement, proceeded to carry out an intention he had long had of
-conquering Ireland.
-
-[Sidenote: Henry retires to the invasion of Ireland.]
-
-[Sidenote: Condition of Ireland.]
-
-[Sidenote: Invasion by Strongbow. 1169.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry himself invades Ireland. 1171.]
-
-[Sidenote: Irish Church adopts Romish discipline. 1172.]
-
-His opportunity there indeed had fully come. The country, divided
-among petty chieftains, had from time to time been gathered under
-the command of one chief king. When his authority was at all
-strong, some little order existed; when he was weak, wild disorder
-reigned. The present holder of that position was Roderic O’Connor
-of Connaught. In 1153, Diarmid, or Dermot, King of Leinster, had
-carried off the wife of O’Ruark, Prince of Breffni, or Leitrim.
-When O’Connor gained the crown of Tara in 1166, he proceeded to
-punish the offender who fled to England, and, collecting round
-him some Welsh adventurers, returned home. Still unable to cope
-with his enemies, he sought Henry in Guienne, did homage to him,
-and received leave to collect an army in England. In 1169, the
-half-brothers Robert Fitz-Stephen and Maurice Fitz-Gerald crossed
-over to Wexford. This advance-guard was followed by a stronger
-party of Welshmen under Richard of Clare, Count of Strigul,
-surnamed Strongbow, who, deeply in debt, had lost his possessions
-in England, and was glad to seek some elsewhere. He took Waterford,
-and married Eva, Dermot’s daughter; while Dublin, which belonged
-to the Danes who had settled in Ireland, was captured by Milo of
-Cogan. In 1171 Dermot died, and Strongbow succeeded to the crown
-of Leitrim as his heir. Henry was not pleased with the rapid
-success of his vassal, and proceeded to deprive him of his English
-property. In vain were ambassadors sent to the King; he refused
-them admittance. It was only when the Earl surrendered Waterford,
-Dublin, and his other castles, to the King, that Henry secured
-to him his other conquests. Matters were in this condition when
-Henry determined himself to visit Ireland. After a month spent in
-preparation, he reached Waterford with a fleet of 400 ships in
-October. Here Strongbow did homage to him for Leinster, and several
-Irish princes acknowledged him for their chief. From Roderic
-O’Connor he had to be contented with such slight acknowledgment as
-the acceptance of his envoys, De Lacey and William Fitz-Aldelm,
-might imply. With the Church he was more successful. All the
-archbishops and bishops took the oath of fealty. At a synod held
-at Cashel the Roman discipline was introduced; and in 1174, bulls
-from Rome, authorizing the collection of Peter’s Pence and the
-conquest of the country, were received and accepted. In a wooden
-palace, built outside the walls of Dublin, Henry exhibited the
-splendours of the English crown, and granted out the conquered
-lands to his vassals. Hugh de Lacey received the Earldom of Meath,
-and was made Viceroy; Fitz-Bernard received Waterford, De Courcey
-and others were instructed to carry on the work of conquest; and
-English colonists were placed in Dublin and other devastated towns.
-Having made these arrangements, Henry returned to Normandy, where
-his presence was much required. But his conquest was by no means
-completed; disturbances arose at once upon his departure; nor was
-it till 1175 that Roderic was subdued. He then sent delegates to
-make his submission to the King at a council held at Windsor. A
-treaty was arranged, which acknowledged him as chief of all the
-Irish princes, with the exception of Henry and his knights. He
-consented to pay a yearly tribute. But except in the conquered
-countries, Irish law (the Brehon law as it was termed) held good
-throughout Ireland, and English law only within those provinces
-which had been thoroughly subdued and were called the English Pale.
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s reconciliation with Rome. 1172.]
-
-It was partly to meet the Papal legates that Henry returned from
-Ireland. He met them at Avranches, and there swore that he had
-nothing to do with the murder of the Archbishop, and promised
-adhesion to Pope Alexander in opposition to the German anti-pope,
-free intercourse with Rome, the abrogation of the Constitutions
-of Clarendon, and personal attendance at a crusade, either in the
-East or in Spain, within three years, meanwhile paying the Templars
-to undertake this duty for him. Although this seemed a complete
-submission, it in fact left the question of the supremacy of the
-civil power open.
-
-[Sidenote: Great insurrection of 1174.]
-
-[Sidenote: Crisis of the danger. 1174.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s penance at Canterbury.]
-
-[Sidenote: Capture of the Scotch King at Alnwick.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s complete success.]
-
-All his dominions seemed now at peace, but a great danger was
-brewing. His son Henry, since his coronation, had already, at the
-instigation of the French King, his father-in-law, demanded the
-actual possession of some portion at least of his kingdom, and
-this combination caused him well-grounded apprehension. He took
-the opportunity of the general peace of his kingdom to negotiate
-a marriage for his son John with the daughter of Count Humbolt of
-Savoy, and promised to give with him as her dowry Chinon, Loudon,
-and Mirabeau. The young king Henry protested against this treaty,
-and suddenly disappearing from court, took refuge with Louis VII.
-at St. Denis. The old king understood only too well what this
-meant. Shortly, there was a universal insurrection throughout all
-his dominions. It is not difficult to understand. His domestic
-relations were not happy, although he was very fond of his
-children; his wife was constantly urging them to disobedience. His
-dominions were widespread, and consisted of various races; his hand
-was heavy upon the feudal nobility, when the English nobles had
-not yet forgotten the charms of the late reign; while the defeat
-which the King had sustained in his quarrel with Becket gave a
-false impression of his weakness. The discontent was very general.
-While Louis recognized the young Henry as the rightful king, and
-entered into his quarrel in company with the Counts of Blois,
-Boulogne, Flanders, and others, the nobles of Aquitaine rose in
-insurrection, the princes Richard and Geoffrey made common cause
-with the insurgents, William the Lion of Scotland was engaged to
-take part with them, and the great Earls of the middle and north of
-England, Leicester, Ferrars of Derby, Chester, and Bigod, joined in
-the general alliance. Henry, though alarmed, did not despair. His
-policy had led him to trust much to his auxiliaries, and with these
-he determined to withstand the feudal malcontents. Leaving his
-generals to resist the attack from Flanders and France, he won a
-great battle before Dol in Brittany, took the great Earl of Chester
-prisoner, and re-established his power in that province. Meanwhile,
-Leicester had been besieged by Lucy, his justiciary in England;
-the efforts of William the Lion, who demanded Northumberland and
-refused homage for Huntingdon, were thwarted by the brave defence
-of the border castles; and an invasion of Flemings from the East,
-headed by the Earl of Leicester, was defeated at Farnham, near
-Bury St. Edmunds. But the existing truce with France terminated
-at Easter; the king of that country was able to enter actively
-into the war; and Henry’s successes, and the large offers he made
-his sons, seemed alike unavailing. Hostilities began again, and
-Henry was obliged to take the command in person in his hereditary
-provinces, Maine and Anjou, where he was received with enthusiasm.
-The troops of his son Richard were conquered; while in England the
-King’s natural son, Geoffrey Plantagenet, and Richard de Lucy,
-made head against the nobles in the East and a fresh invasion from
-Scotland; but were still so pressed, that messengers were sent in
-haste to summon Henry across the Channel. It was indeed a moment
-of great danger. Philip of Flanders and his allies, to whom Kent
-had been promised, were assembling a fleet at Whitsand; the Scotch
-invaders had reached Alnwick. Henry hastened home. But before he
-proceeded to active measures, in deference to the popular feeling,
-which attributed his difficulties to the Divine anger at Becket’s
-death, he made a pilgrimage and did penance at the shrine of the
-martyr. Immediately after this while still in anxious doubt as
-to the fate of his kingdom, news was brought him that Ranulf de
-Glanvill had surprised the Scotch at Alnwick, and that William
-the Lion and many of his nobility were prisoners. A few days
-afterwards the town of Huntingdon was taken, and Hugh, the Bishop
-of Durham, who had joined the insurgents, conquered. By July all
-the English nobles had returned to their allegiance, and Prince
-David had withdrawn the Scotch troops. The same rapidity which
-saved England saved Normandy also. The sudden arrival of the King
-before Rouen raised the siege of that place, which had been hard
-pressed, and before long a peace between Henry and Louis was made,
-by which all the French conquests were restored, and the young King
-Henry’s dependants had to abjure the fealty which they had taken
-to him. The great insurrection which for a moment had threatened
-the existence of Henry’s monarchy was thus over. To his sons Henry
-was merciful. To Richard he granted two castles in Poitou, with
-half its revenues; to Geoffrey, similar terms in Brittany. They
-were required to renew their allegiance. William of Scotland was
-forced to content himself with harder terms. He was only released
-upon condition of appearing at York in the following year with
-all his barons, and swearing fealty to Henry as his suzerain. He
-and his brother did homage for Scotland, for Galloway, and for
-their English possessions; while the Scotch clergy acknowledged
-the supremacy of the Archbishop of York. In the following year
-the young Henry left his French patron and reconciled himself
-completely with his father.
-
-[Sidenote: Small diminution of Henry’s power, either temporal or
-ecclesiastical.]
-
-This outbreak may be regarded as a consequence of Henry’s defeat in
-his dispute with Becket. The King had shown how little that defeat
-had weakened his real power in temporal matters. His appointments
-to the vacant bishoprics, which were a necessary consequence of
-the termination of that quarrel, prove how little he had really
-lost even in influence. Of the six bishoprics which were filled
-up, three were given to avowed partisans of the King. Winchester
-fell to Richard of Ilchester; Ely, to Godfrey Ridel, Becket’s great
-opponent; and Lincoln to Geoffrey Plantagenet; while, shortly
-after, the Bishopric of Norwich was given to John of Oxford, who
-had been Henry’s chief agent throughout the Becket difficulty. Such
-disputes as still existed in the Church ceased to have political
-meaning, and assumed the form of quarrels between the monks and
-the secular clergy. It was thus that Richard, the Prior of Dover,
-a man in the royal interests, was elected to succeed Becket after
-a lengthened dispute between the monks of the Holy Trinity at
-Canterbury, who claimed the right of election, and the other
-bishops of the province. Henry’s influence was naturally employed
-in favour of the episcopal candidate, but he contrived to confine
-the dispute within the limits of the ecclesiastical body.
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s judicial and constitutional changes.]
-
-[Sidenote: The Curia Regis.]
-
-[Sidenote: Itinerant justices.]
-
-The period which elapsed between the suppression of the great
-rebellion and the outbreak of the quarrel between Henry and his
-sons is the period of his greatest power. It is at this time that
-we find the greatest marks of his activity as a lawgiver. The year
-1176 is marked by the great Assize of Northampton, an expansion of
-a similar Assize of Clarendon in the year 1166, the fruit perhaps
-of his experience in the late rebellion, and the knowledge gained
-by his inquiries into the conduct of the sheriffs in 1170. That
-inquiry, which was called for by the complaints of the exactions
-of the sheriffs, proved to him that their conduct had not been
-free from peculation, and led him to believe that the employment
-of local nobles as his chief officials was dangerous. He took
-the opportunity of making a general examination of the judicial
-system of the country, the fruit of which was the concentration and
-organization of the Curia Regis, and the arrangements embodied in
-the Assize of Northampton. The King’s court consisted originally,
-as has been already mentioned, of all those tenants who held
-their land direct from the crown (tenants _in capite_), and was
-the ordinary feudal court, and the natural parent of our present
-Parliament, and especially of the House of Lords. But for the
-ordinary despatch of business, whether judicial or financial,
-what may be regarded as a permanent committee of this body of
-immediate holders was employed. This committee consisted of the
-great officers of the household, such as the chancellor, treasurer,
-marshal and others, and other selected barons closely connected
-with the royal household. The head of this committee, or Curia
-Regis, was the great justiciary, the King’s representative. The
-royal chaplains or clerks were formed into a body of secretaries,
-at the head of which was the chancellor. The Curia Regis at first
-attended the King and had a twofold duty; when they sat as judges
-its members were called justices, in financial questions they
-sat in the exchequer[28] chamber, and were called barons. This
-administrative system, which had been organized in Henry I.’s
-reign, was entirely destroyed by the wild reign of Stephen. Its
-reconstitution was the great work of Henry II. In the earlier part
-of his reign the visitations were renewed upon the old system,
-the itinerant justice being usually either the great justiciary,
-chancellor, or some other great household officer. In the year
-1168 four barons of the exchequer performed this duty; in 1176
-the country was divided into six circuits. This number was not
-permanent, several alterations were made in it. Nor was the number
-of visitations thoroughly established. By Magna Charta in John’s
-reign commissions are promised four times a year, but shortly
-afterwards it would seem that the general journey of the itinerant
-justices was every seven years, until the reign of Edward I. It
-is to be remembered that these visitations were for all sorts
-of objects; for hearing civil cases, for inspecting the working
-of criminal jurisdiction, and, perhaps before all things, for
-arranging the financial matters of the country, and superintending
-the sheriffs in all matters connected with the exchequer. The
-itinerant justices during their circuits superseded the sheriff’s
-authority and presided in his courts. They were also allowed to
-enter and preside in the baronial courts. It has been mentioned
-that these courts were in most respects complete Hundreds. The two
-parallel systems, now on certain occasions presided over by the
-same official, were thus assimilated and brought into immediate
-connection with the central authority. This administrative
-organization gave rise to what is of much political importance, a
-new class of barons, new men who had risen by their talents and by
-the King’s favour, whose interests were therefore on the side of
-order and of the crown. At one period, in 1178, Henry II. appears
-to have found his new ministers untrustworthy, at all events in
-that year he restricted the Curia Regis to five persons, keeping
-the highest appellate jurisdiction in the hands of himself and the
-old Curia Regis, which may henceforth be regarded as the King’s
-_ordinary council_. The name Curia Regis has thus passed through
-three phases; a feudal court, a permanent committee of the feudal
-court, and a restricted committee of that committee. In these
-various bodies we have the sources of all the judicial bodies in
-England. The feudal court, with certain additions, became the
-Parliament; without those additions the Great Council, retaining
-its natural prerogative of final court of appeal, and represented
-now by the House of Lords. The permanent committee, or ordinary
-council, is represented by the privy council, still retaining
-some of its judicial powers. From its body of clerks, headed by
-the chancellor, arose the courts of Chancery. While the limited
-committee was divided shortly after the Magna Charta into three
-courts, the exchequer, the common pleas, and the king’s bench, at
-first with the same judges for all, but by the end of Edward III.’s
-reign with a separate staff.
-
-[Sidenote: Origin of jury.]
-
-Henry’s legal mind, which thus organized the administration,
-introduced many improvements In judicial procedure. It is to
-this reign that can be traced the origin of trial by jury. This
-method was not employed first in criminal cases, but in carrying
-out inquiries of various kinds. As soon as such inquiries came to
-be made on oath, the beginning of the jury system had arrived.
-As early as the great Domesday survey, the sheriff, barons,
-freeholders, the priest, the reeve, and six villeins of each
-township, had been all examined upon oath. Judicially this method
-of inquiry was first applied in civil cases. By the ordinance of
-the Grand Assize, a choice was given to any person whose right to
-the possession of land was called in question. He might either
-if he pleased defend his claims by the old-fashioned appeal to
-battle, or he might have his right examined by twelve freeholders
-on their oath, selected by four freeholders also on their oath,
-nominated by the sheriff. These sworn freeholders were evidently
-at first witnesses; twelve others were subsequently added to them,
-who, from their neighbourhood or other reasons, might be supposed
-to be better acquainted with the facts. This took place in Edward
-I.’s reign. The double jury was then separated, the original twelve
-playing their part as jurors of the present day, judging of the
-facts asserted by the second twelve, who represent the witnesses.
-In 1166, by the Assize of Clarendon, the same process was extended
-to criminal cases; that is to say, twelve lawful men from each
-hundred, and four from each township, were sworn to inquire whether
-there were any criminal, or receiver of criminals, in their
-district, and to present the same to the itinerant justices or to
-the sheriffs. These criminals were then put to the ordeal without
-further investigation. This was the origin of the grand jury.
-The abolition of ordeal rendered some substitute necessary, and
-ordinary trial by jury was the consequence.
-
-[Sidenote: Scutage.]
-
-[Sidenote: Assize of arms.]
-
-The Assize of Northampton in 1176 was, as has been said, a
-repetition in stronger terms of the Assize of Clarendon. It is
-moreover interesting, as giving a notion of the duties of the
-itinerant justices, who on this occasion were six in number. Not
-only was the examination of crimes in their hands, but they had to
-arrange the law with regard to tenure of land, reliefs of heirs,
-dowers of widows, and other such matters, and to exact fealty
-from all classes of the commonwealth, and to see to the complete
-destruction of private castles, and the secure guardianship of
-those of the crown. These latter points were probably rendered
-necessary by the Rebellion of 1174. The same feeling of mistrust of
-his feudal barons which dictated these precautions was the cause
-of two other measures of this reign. The military service of the
-tenants in chief was changed into a money payment called scutage.
-This money enabled the King to hire men for his foreign wars, and
-to dispense with the service of his barons; while, by the Assize of
-Arms in 1181, the national militia of England, the old _fyrd_ of
-the Saxons, to follow which was one of the duties of the _trinoda
-necessitas_, was reorganized, and the arms required of each class
-in the country carefully defined.
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s importance in Europe.]
-
-[Sidenote: Closing troubles with his sons and France.]
-
-At the same time that Henry was thus organizing his authority in
-England, his position in Europe was a great one. Two of his sons
-were married or betrothed to daughters of the King of France. Of
-his three daughters, the eldest was the wife of Henry the Lion of
-Saxony, the rival of Frederick Barbarossa; the second, Eleanor,
-was Queen of Castile; the third, Joanna, though still a child, was
-taken to Sicily as the bride of the Norman king of that country,
-which at this time was the dominant power of the Mediterranean.
-His importance indeed was such that he seemed of all the kings
-in Europe most firmly seated on his throne, and was selected on
-account of his power and character, as well as for family reasons,
-as arbitrator between Alphonso of Castile and his uncle Sancho of
-Navarre, and as the strongest ally to whom Henry the Lion could
-have recourse when he was stripped of his German possessions. This
-befell him in consequence of his desertion of Frederick Barbarossa
-before his invasion of Lombardy, which terminated in the great
-battle of Legnano. But in the midst of his greatness there were two
-dangers constantly besetting Henry; on the one hand was the King of
-France, on the other were his own children. Not only did the great
-power of a feudatory naturally excite the French King’s jealousy,
-Henry had pursued a crooked policy with regard to the marriage
-of his sons; he had refused to surrender to Louis the Vexin and
-Bourges as he had promised to do upon their marriages. There was
-thus a constant opportunity for quarrel. On the other hand, with
-regard to his sons, his measures had been still more unfortunate.
-Anxious to secure his succession, and conscious probably that his
-kingdom was too large to be held by one hand, he had caused his
-eldest son to be crowned, thus exciting the envy of his brothers;
-while, at the same time, he had given them large duchies, which
-rendered them nearly independent of him. In addition to this, his
-dislike for his wife had rendered her a constant enemy, while his
-foolish affection for his youngest son John gave still further
-cause of offence. When therefore, as was likely to happen, any of
-his sons determined to oppose him, they were certain of assistance
-from France, and of bad advice from their mother.
-
-[Sidenote: First war; against young Henry. 1183.]
-
-It is difficult to arrange the constant brief wars which
-characterized the close of his reign, complicated as they are
-by the rising interests in the affairs of the East, which were
-gradually bringing on the third Crusade. They may perhaps be
-divided into four; the first extending to the death of young
-Henry; the second to the death of Geoffrey of Brittany; the third
-from 1184 to a peace negotiated in the interests of the crusades
-in 1188; and the last, the quarrel with Richard and John, which
-terminated with the King’s death. The first of these broke out in
-1183. Richard had entered with zest into the wild feudal life of
-Poitou and Aquitaine, and had been very successful there. He had
-even pushed his arms to Bayonne, in the territories of the Basques,
-and to the borders of Navarre. This had aroused the envy of his
-elder brother. This young prince, who regarded himself, and was
-regarded by many, as the flower of knighthood, was capable of any
-amount of hypocrisy and double dealing, and seems to have so far
-cajoled his father as to persuade him to demand from his younger
-brothers homage to the elder. This Richard positively refused to
-give. But his arbitrary rule in Poitou and Aquitaine had made
-him many enemies, at the head of whom was the wild intriguing
-noble, at once warrior and troubadour, Bertram de Born. With these
-young Henry allied himself, and, with the aid of his brother from
-Brittany, pressed so heavily upon Richard, that the old king had
-to come to his assistance. At this crisis the young king caught
-a fever and died, forgiven but unvisited by his father. The King
-took advantage of his son’s death to pursue his success, and
-succeeded in subjugating the refractory barons, and re-establishing
-peace. Conscious that the young King Philip II. of France, who had
-succeeded to the throne in 1180, and over whom he had once had much
-influence, had been mixed in his son’s rebellion, Henry tried to
-make peace with him too. Philip met the request by a demand for
-the restitution of Gisors and the dower of his sister Margaret,
-young Henry’s widow, and it was with much difficulty that temporary
-peace was patched up; but it was finally arranged that part of the
-dowry should be restored, and Gisors transferred to Richard on his
-marriage with the Princess Alice.
-
-[Sidenote: Second war; against Richard. 1184.]
-
-[Sidenote: Third war. 1187.]
-
-Constantly unwise in his conduct to his sons, Henry now demanded
-from Richard, perhaps as a recompense for his assistance, a part
-of Aquitaine, to be given to his favourite son John. This Richard
-refused to give, and consequently both John and Geoffrey of
-Brittany attacked him. But though Geoffrey was thus ready enough to
-quarrel with his elder brother, it was from no love of his father
-that he did so. He, as well as Richard, was hurt by Henry’s evident
-partiality for John. He took the opportunity of putting in his own
-claim for Anjou. On Henry’s refusal, he at once fled to France,
-where he was as usual well received. His death relieved his father
-for the time from his opposition, but sowed the seed of further
-difficulties; for on the one hand his province Brittany was at once
-divided between the French and English faction, and on the other
-King Philip II. raised claims as overlord to the guardianship of
-his young son Arthur. There was a growing disinclination however
-on all sides to plunge into war; for the Pope was constantly
-urging a general peace, and the combination of Christian princes
-for the great Eastern Crusade. A succession of weak princes, and
-the unnatural and artificial character of the feudal kingdom of
-Jerusalem, together with the rise of the new Mahomedan power of the
-Saracens under Saladin, had reduced European power in the East to a
-very low ebb; and in 1184, Heraclius, the Bishop of Jerusalem, had
-found it necessary to come over, to attempt to persuade the Kings
-of England and France to embark in a new crusade. But to Henry,
-although under a pledge to join such an expedition, the idea of
-leaving his European dominions in their present critical situation
-was very distasteful, and he consequently postponed taking
-action. The feeling however that a crusade was imminent rendered
-hostilities more difficult; so that when, in 1187, the arbitrary
-behaviour of Richard in Aquitaine had produced fresh difficulties
-with France, which as usual terminated in the flight of Richard and
-the junction of his interests with those of his father, the news of
-the great battle of Hettin, in which the flower of the Christian
-army of Jerusalem had been entirely destroyed, and the arrival
-of William of Tyre for the purpose of exciting the enthusiasm
-of the West, put a sudden end to the hostilities; and, in 1188,
-the two kings met in perfect friendship under the old elm in the
-neighbourhood of Gisors, which was their usual place of treaty,
-and joined with apparent heartiness in taking the Cross. Upon this
-occasion Henry imposed upon England the tax, known as the Saladin
-tax, which was a tenth on all property, and in the collection of
-which the King’s officers were to work hand in hand with the Church.
-
-[Sidenote: Last war; with Richard and Philip. 1189.]
-
-But nothing could keep the restless Richard in order; before the
-year was over, he was engaged in fresh quarrels with Geoffrey of
-Lusignan and Raymond of Toulouse. After mutual demands for the
-ransom of some captives, Richard advanced in arms against Raymond,
-who applied to his suzerain Philip for assistance. This open
-attack on his dominions Philip could not put up with. At length he
-declared himself the open enemy of the English. It was in vain that
-his great feudatories reminded him that he was under the crusader’s
-vow, in vain that a meeting was held at Gisors. The enmity of the
-kings was only thereby inflamed, and, in token of his eternal
-hostility, Philip had the old elm of reconciliation hewn down. One
-would have supposed that Richard, the cause of the quarrel, would
-have clung to his father; nor is the reason for his not doing so
-very plain. Perhaps it may be traced to his father’s refusal to
-give him up Alice, the French King’s sister, for his wife, wishing
-it is said to make her his own; perhaps it was continued jealousy
-of his brother John. Certainly he did betake himself to the French
-court, and with him many others of Henry’s French feudatories fell
-away. Henry thus found himself in a difficult situation; broken in
-mind and body, his resources strained to the utmost by the late
-heavy taxation of England, and his nobles rapidly deserting him.
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s disastrous peace and death.]
-
-His health appears to have influenced his mind. He remained
-inactive at Le Mans, while Philip overran Maine and threatened to
-besiege Tours. At length Le Mans, where Henry was with his son
-Geoffrey, was taken. The city where he had himself been born was
-the particular object of Henry’s love. He felt its loss as a heavy
-blow, and though he knew his weakness, could not bring himself to
-retreat to Normandy, where his chief strength lay. With a sudden
-accession of energy, he reappeared in Anjou. But his appearance had
-no effect. One by one the fortresses of Maine were captured, and
-Philip constantly approached Tours. When that town fell, Henry’s
-spirit was quite broken. He agreed to an interview with Richard
-and Philip on the plain of Colombières, to make his submission.
-Almost fainting, and held upon his horse by his attendants, in the
-midst of a violent thunderstorm, he met his undutiful son, and
-brought himself to give him the kiss of peace, whispering as he
-did so, however, “May God not let me die until I have taken me due
-vengeance on thee.” The terms of his submission were complete. He
-promised to give up the Princess Alice; he allowed his nobility to
-swear fealty for their lands to his son Richard; he promised to
-pay Philip 50,000 marks for the restoration of his conquests. He
-had asked, in exchange, for a list of those nobles who had joined
-Richard in rebellion. When he found at the head of the list the
-name of his beloved son John, his heart was broken. “I care no
-more for myself nor for the world,” he said. A day or two longer
-he lingered, and was carried to Chinon, murmuring at intervals,
-“Shame, shame, on a conquered king,” and there died, attended only
-by his natural son and Chancellor Geoffrey.[29]
-
-[Sidenote: Importance of the reign.]
-
-It is scarcely possible to place the importance of this reign too
-high, or to overvalue the work of Henry II. We find in his reign
-the organization of almost all departments of the government
-subsequently completed by Edward I. The arrangements of the Curia
-Regis and the reforms in judicial procedure have been already
-mentioned. The exchequer also was put on a new footing. It now
-becomes possible to see with some clearness the sources and amount
-of the royal revenue. To the revenues derived from the domain lands
-and from the Danegelt, the Norman kings had added feudal dues. Both
-the proceeds of the royal domain and of the Danegelt appear to
-have been farmed. The farm of the counties amounted in Henry II.’s
-reign, after the deductions caused by the grants both of Stephen
-and of Henry, to about £8000 a year. The Danegelt, originally two
-shillings on every hide, amounted in Henry I.’s reign to about
-£2500. As this is about a tenth of what the tax would have produced
-had it been fully exacted, it must probably also have been farmed
-to the sheriff, who collected what he could of it, and paid a fixed
-sum to the exchequer. This unsatisfactory tax came to an end in
-Henry II.’s reign, perhaps through the agency of Becket. The other
-source of revenue was the _Donum_ and _Auxilium_, contributions
-paid by vassals to assist their lords. The first term applied to
-the counties, the second to the towns. These names became the
-general names of all irregular imposts, which are also sometimes
-called hidage, scutage, or tallage, the tallage being the aid
-raised from towns, the scutage the aid raised from knights’ fees,
-the hidage the aid raised from tenants in socage. The importance
-of the scutage as a commutation for military service has been
-already dwelt upon. Recourse appears to have been had to these
-scutages only three or four times during the reign. To these
-sources of revenue are to be added the fees from the law courts,
-and the incomes arising from feudal incidents, such as wardship,
-marriage, and reliefs. The whole income of the country was perhaps
-about £50,000. The taxes seem to have been assessed by Barons
-of the Exchequer, aided by the declaration of the knights as to
-their own holdings, by juries in the case of minor tenants. But it
-was not only in details of administration that Henry showed his
-character. He constantly summoned great councils, and as his power
-was so great and centralized that he could certainly have acted
-without them, this appears to show a fixed intention on his part
-to assume the position of a national and constitutional king. The
-general effect of his work at home was to form the nation. Normans
-became English. The English no longer felt themselves a conquered
-people. Their oppressors, the feudal nobility, were destroyed or
-kept in restraint. The new nobles were chiefly ministers of the
-crown, and all sections of the people looked to the King as the
-national representative. The importance of Henry’s reign abroad was
-scarcely less striking. His immense continental dominions made him
-one of the great powers of Europe. His close contact with France,
-and the difficulties which it produced, began the hereditary
-policy of opposition to that country which has characterized the
-whole of English history. On the other hand, though he may have
-had no clear view of what he was doing, he set on foot also the
-lasting friendships of the nation. The marriage of his daughter
-with the Guelph Duke brought England into constant friendship
-with Germany, and caused Otho, the son of Henry the Lion, to be
-brought up in England, and to be regarded as an English prince.
-The marriage of his other daughter with Spain set on foot that
-connection which lasted even beyond the Reformation. His work as a
-whole may be summed up in the words of Professor Stubbs: “He was
-faithful to the letter of his engagements. He recovered the demesne
-rights of the crown, so that his royal dignity did not depend
-for maintenance on constant taxation. He restored the usurped
-estates; he destroyed the illegal castles, and the system which
-they typified; he maintained the royal hold on the lawful ones,
-and the equality and uniformity of justice which their usurpers
-had subverted; he restored internal peace, and with it plenty,
-as the riches of England in the following reign amply testify.
-He arranged the administration of justice by enacting good laws
-and appointing faithful judges. He restored the currency; he
-encouraged commerce, he maintained the privileges of the towns;
-and, without encouraging an aggressive spirit, armed his people for
-self-defence. He sustained the form, and somewhat of the spirit
-of national representation. The clergy had grounds of complaint
-against him for very important reasons; but their chief complaints
-were caused by their preference for the immunities of their class
-to the common safeguard of justice.”
-
-
-
-
-RICHARD I.
-
-1189-1199.
-
-
- Born 1157 = Berengaria of Navarre.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- William, 1165. | Philip Augustus, | Frederick | Alphonso IX.,
- | 1180. | Barbarossa, 1155. | 1158.
- | | Henry VI., 1191. |
- | | Philip, 1198. |
-
- POPES.--Clement III., 1187. Celestine III., 1191. Innocent III., 1198.
-
- _Archbishops._ | _Chief-Justices._ | _Chancellors._
- | |
- Baldwin, 1185-1190. | Hugh of Durham, and | William Longchamp,
- Reginald Fitz-Jocelin, | William Earl of Essex, | 1189.
- 1191. | 1189. | Eustace, Bishop of
- Hubert Walter, 1193. | William Longchamp, 1190. | Ely, 1197.
- | Walter of Rouen, 1191-1194. |
- | Hubert Walter, 1194-1198. |
- | Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, |
- | 1198-1199. |
-
-
-[Sidenote: Richard seems to begin well.]
-
-[Sidenote: Persecution of the Jews.]
-
-Richard began his reign with some show of penitence. He got
-absolution for his disobedience to his father, and gave his
-friendship to the existing ministers, with the exception of the
-Seneschal of Anjou and Ranulf de Glanvill. It is possible that the
-government of this great justiciary had been over arbitrary, for
-in England, where his mother acted principally for him, Richard
-is said to have freed all those prisoners who were confined by
-the orders of his father or the justiciary, but demanded bail for
-those who were legally imprisoned. He also seems to have punished
-the severity of some of the sheriffs. His coronation pomp was
-interrupted by a strange disturbance. The Jews had been ordered
-to absent themselves from the ceremony. This strange people had
-been admitted to England by the Conqueror; the only capitalists
-of the time, their ability and willingness to lend money rendered
-them invaluable both to the rising industry of the country and to
-the crown; and to their knowledge is due much of the growth in
-science which was beginning to be made in this century. So great
-was their use, in spite of the heavy usury they demanded, that
-they were allowed to establish themselves in various towns, in
-districts known as Jewries, to build synagogues, and follow their
-own customs. They were not however admitted to full citizenship.
-The Jewries, like the forests, were not under the protection of
-the common law of the country, but were entirely in the King’s
-power. In spite of the evident advantages derived from their
-presence in England, their wealth, their foreign manners, their
-high usury, and their strange worship rendered them objects at
-once of contempt and hatred to the people. Some of them, in spite
-of the order forbidding their presence, showed themselves at the
-ceremony of the consecration. They were assaulted by the soldiery.
-This gave a signal to the the crowd who attacked the detested
-people in all parts of the city. Nor was this all; the same feeling
-spread throughout England. In some places the Jews gained safety
-by conversion; but early in 1190, in Norwich, in Stamford, and in
-York, many were put to death. In the last-mentioned place, the Jews
-sought refuge in the castle, and being besieged there, determined
-to die together. Firing the tower, they first killed their own
-women and children, and then sprang with them into the flames.
-
-[Sidenote: All offices put up for sale.]
-
-In fact, the Crusades brought with them a passion for adventure
-and licentiousness, as well as religious enthusiasm. This spirit
-was now abroad in England, and the King, with his wild love of
-adventure at any price, was its fitting representative. For the
-sake of adventure, honesty, good government, and national honour,
-were sacrificed. Thus there was scarcely an office which was
-not openly put up up for sale; cities bought their charters,
-judges their seats on the bench, bishops their sees. Thus too
-Hugh de Pudsey bought the Earldom of Northumberland for £1000;
-and Longchamp, the Bishopric of Ely for £3000; while the King
-relinquished all the advantages his father had won over William the
-Lion of Scotland for 10,000 marks; it was for Huntingdon alone that
-the Northern King did fealty to Richard.
-
-[Sidenote: Starts for the Crusade, leaving England to Longchamp.
-1190.]
-
-Having by such unjustifiable means procured money for his purposes,
-entirely regardless of the misery he could scarcely fail to leave
-behind him, Richard crossed over to France to join his forces with
-those of Philip Augustus. Such precautions as he did take against
-maladministration in England were not of the wisest. He put the
-whole power into the hands of William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely,
-whom he made at once Chancellor and Chief Justiciary, securing
-for him also the authority of Papal Legate. But Longchamp was a
-man who could not fail to have many enemies. Of low extraction,
-and regarded as merely the favourite of Richard, he was fond of
-exhibiting his grandeur in the most ostentatious manner; moreover,
-in making him justiciary Richard supplanted Hugh de Pudsey, to whom
-the office had already been given. Pudsey did not surrender without
-some opposition. He obtained from the King letters patent, naming
-him justiciary north of the Humber; when he exhibited these to
-Longchamp, the Chancellor contrived indeed to entrap him to London,
-and there made him surrender his claims, but he had made himself a
-powerful enemy for life. Richard also, as a second precaution, made
-his brother John, and his half-brother Geoffrey, who had got the
-Archbishopric of York in exchange for the chancellorship, promise
-not to enter England during his absence. But he afterwards unwisely
-absolved John from his vow. He thus left behind him in England a
-possible claimant to the succession, whose power as a baron was
-very great, for he was the possessor of Derbyshire, the inheritance
-of the Earl of Gloucester, which he had obtained by marriage, and
-of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, and Somerset, which Richard had himself
-given him.
-
-[Sidenote: Quarrels with Philip in Sicily.]
-
-The death of William II. of Sicily, and of the French Queen
-Isabella, delayed the Crusade till June 1190. But at the end of
-that month, the Kings set out towards their first point, which was
-Sicily, Philip by Genoa, Richard by Marseilles. At the same time,
-a fleet of more than a hundred sail left the harbours of Brittany
-and Guienne. On reaching Sicily the friendship of the two kings was
-at first most edifying, but it was not long before various causes
-of dispute arose between them. To the inhabitants of the island
-the Crusaders seemed a horde of new invaders. The overbearing
-character of Richard exasperated the feelings of jealousy thus
-aroused. The conciliatory manners of Philip, on the other hand,
-were such that he was known as the Lamb, in contradistinction to
-Richard, who was called the Lion. The difference of feeling with
-which they were regarded was plainly shown when, on the occasion of
-some quarrel, the town of Messina was closed against Richard, while
-Philip was admitted within its walls. The enemies of the French
-King suggested indeed that his mildness was a proof of treasonable
-lukewarmness towards his fellow Crusaders. These suspicions were
-afterwards confirmed. On the death of William II.,[30] Tancred,
-an illegitimate son of William’s brother Roger, had seized the
-throne, despoiling of her rights Constance, the daughter of Roger
-and the wife of Henry VI. of Germany, and keeping in some sort of
-confinement Richard’s sister Joanna, the widow of William the Good,
-and retaining the dowry secured her by her husband’s will. The
-enmity thus excited in Richard’s mind gave way, after a lengthened
-dispute, to the natural feeling of friendship between the two
-Norman houses. Joanna and her dowry were given back to Richard; and
-at one of the meetings between the two princes, Tancred informed
-him of a plot on the part of the French to fall treacherously on
-the English army. Philip does not seem to have denied the charge,
-and it was perhaps the consciousness of his guilt which prevented
-him from making any effectual opposition when Richard repudiated
-his sister Alice. Contrary to the national feelings, and on purely
-political grounds, Richard had been contracted to this princess by
-his father. He now, throwing over this unnatural match, sought for
-himself a wife from Spain, a country then and for long afterwards
-connected by close friendship with England. This wife was
-Berengaria, the daughter of Sancho I. of Navarre. Though unavenged,
-the insult was felt. From that time onwards Philip and Richard were
-enemies.
-
-[Sidenote: Conquers Cyprus. 1191.]
-
-[Sidenote: Jerusalem taken by Saladin. 1187.]
-
-[Sidenote: Acre besieged. 1189.]
-
-[Sidenote: Arrival of the Crusaders.]
-
-[Sidenote: Richard saves Acre.]
-
-[Sidenote: Philip goes home.]
-
-At length the armies broke up from Sicily and sailed for Acre. With
-the three leading ships of the English fleet were Berengaria and
-the King’s sister Joanna. Richard brought up the rear. Two of the
-Queen’s vessels were wrecked upon the Isle of Cyprus, and their
-crew imprisoned by Isaac, the ruler of that island. This monarch, a
-descendant of the Emperor John Comnenus, banished from Byzantium,
-had established himself with the title of Emperor in the Isle of
-Cyprus. He was an inhuman tyrant, the dread of pilgrims and of
-shipwrecked sailors. He tried to entice the two queens to land,
-but luckily Richard’s fleet arrived. The Cyprians were driven from
-Lymesol, where the King established his court. He there received
-Guy of Lusignan, the nominal King of Jerusalem, completed his
-marriage with Berengaria, and made a treaty with Isaac. But when
-the Emperor sought to evade his engagements, Richard conquered the
-rest of the island, and organized it in the feudal fashion. On the
-8th of July he reached Acre. The arrival of this warlike prince
-raised the spirit of the besiegers, who were in a very depressed
-condition. The siege had lasted since 1189, having been undertaken
-by Guy of Lusignan, who saw the importance of the place, if he
-was to continue to hold his kingdom. This was indeed a doubtful
-question. The Christian fortunes had sunk very low. Among the
-Mahomedans power after power had arisen with rapid success, and
-sunk as rapidly under the attacks of its own slaves or vassals. As
-the Abbassid Caliphs yielded to the Seljukian Turks, the Seljukians
-in their turn yielded to the Atabeks. The power of this race was
-brought to its height by Noureddin, who established his rule at
-Damascus, and extended it even into Egypt. Saladin, the son of
-Ayub, had attended his uncle Shiracouh, when he destroyed the rule
-of the Fatimite Caliphs in Egypt, and brought that province under
-the power of Noureddin. On Noureddin’s death, Saladin acquired
-possession of Egypt, to which he subsequently added the provinces
-of Damascus and Aleppo, and raised an empire which reached from
-Tripoli in Africa to the Tigris. It was this new warlike power
-which had overwhelmed the kingdom of Jerusalem. Baldwin IV.,[31]
-King of Jerusalem, became a leper. His sister Sybilla married Guy
-of Lusignan, a French prince of weak character, who succeeded
-to the throne. His elevation excited the jealousy of Raymond,
-Count of Tripoli, the greatest of his vassals. By his treacherous
-advice, Saladin attacked Tiberias. To complete his treachery,
-Raymond persuaded the Christians to take up a position in a camp
-destitute of water, and withdrew with his forces at the moment of
-attack. The destruction of the Christians was complete. In a few
-months Jerusalem itself was taken, and Tyre and Tripoli the only
-places left in Christian hands. Tyre was defended with success by
-the bravery of Conrad of Montferrat, who, in consequence of this
-success, was regarded as the great champion of the Christians.
-He had married a young sister of Sybilla of Lusignan, and upon
-the death of Sybilla, holding that the right went to the living
-princess, his wife, rather than to Lusignan, the husband of the
-dead princess, he demanded the throne. Meanwhile Guy besieged
-Acre, thirty miles south of Tyre, and was there surrounded by an
-army under the command of Saladin, and cut off from all assistance
-except by sea. It was under these circumstances, in the midst of
-the disputed succession to the throne, that the third crusade had
-begun. Frederick Barbarossa, who had marched with the Germans by
-land, perished on the road, and the Duke of Swabia reached the camp
-with only five thousand wearied men. The arrival of the hosts of
-England and France by sea changed the aspect of affairs; and the
-kingdom might have regained had it not been for the bad feeling
-which existed between Richard and Philip, which found new food
-in the rivalry of the two claimants for the crown of Jerusalem.
-Conrad of Montferrat at once allied himself with the French
-monarch; Guy of Lusignan, whose family in Languedoc were English
-vassals, attached himself to Richard. Directed by the enthusiasm
-of Richard, who, whenever mere fighting was the question, came
-prominently forward, the arms of the besiegers were successful, and
-Acre fell. The superiority which Richard acquired in actual warfare
-added fresh fuel to Philip’s anger. There were besides certain
-circumstances in his own kingdom, where he had lately acquired
-Flanders, which seemed to require his presence. He therefore
-withdrew from the crusade, leaving the Duke of Burgundy with a part
-of his army under Richard’s command. Had Richard been a general as
-well as a soldier, he had still forces enough to have brought this
-crusade to a successful issue. As it was, it consisted but of a
-series of brilliant but useless skirmishes. Even the great battle
-of Arsouf, which Richard won in September on his way to Joppa,
-brought him no nearer his object.
-
-[Sidenote: Richard quarrels with Austria.]
-
-[Sidenote: Truce with Saladin. 1192.]
-
-The presence of Philip in France, in close proximity to his own
-dominions, made him wish to be at home; and in 1192 he began
-negotiations with Saladin. He might even yet have been successful.
-In the course of the year he marched within sight of the Holy City.
-But his allies insisted that the capture was impossible, and he
-withdrew to Ascalon. There all causes for giving up his enterprise
-became stronger. The split with France widened. He quarrelled
-deeply with the Archduke of Austria, and with the faction of Conrad
-of Montferrat, who was also intriguing with Saladin. News of the
-disturbances in his own kingdom reached him. Everything urged him
-to go home. He summoned a council to settle the dispute as to the
-kingdom, was astonished when Conrad was named, but unwillingly gave
-his consent. At this very time, in what appeared to be only too
-opportune a moment for Richard, Conrad was murdered, as there seems
-no reason to doubt, by two members of the sect of the Assassins
-sent by the Old Man of the Mountain;[32] but the crime was soon
-fastened upon Richard. For the present, however, he was free to
-take advantage of the death of Montferrat. Sure of the incompetence
-of Lusignan, he gave the kingdom to Henry of Champagne. To save
-appearances, he made one more rapid advance towards Jerusalem,
-but halted within sight of the city, apparently overborne by the
-argument that an attack on Egypt would be more profitable. Hearing
-that Saladin was besieging Joppa, he hastened to the relief of that
-town, and there won his final victory. Both he and Saladin were
-worn in health and weary of the strife. A three years’ truce was
-arranged between them. By this it was agreed that Ascalon should
-be shared with the Turks, while the Christians should possess from
-Joppa to Tyre, the Counts of Tripoli and Antioch should be included
-in the treaty, and pilgrims have free access to Jerusalem. He then
-set off on his homeward voyage.
-
-[Sidenote: John’s behavior in England. 1191.]
-
-It was indeed time for the King to return. Richard had left William
-of Ely the chief command both in Church and State. An ambitious
-upstart, of ostentatious habits, William speedily roused against
-himself the bitterest hatred. He had one dangerous enemy who could
-give a voice to this unpopularity. This was the King’s brother
-John, who wished to secure what he believed would be the speedy
-succession to the throne, while William sought to give a seeming
-legality to his position by upholding the claim of young Arthur
-of Brittany. Hence arose two great factions in the kingdom. The
-King, hearing in Sicily of the misdeeds of his Chancellor, had
-commissioned Archbishop Walter of Rouen, and William, the heir
-of Strongbow of Pembroke, if necessary, to remove him from the
-regency; at all events to join themselves with him and Fitz-Peter
-in a committee of government. Archbishop Walter shrank from the
-task. The quarrel came to an issue at Lincoln, which Gerard of
-Camville held in the interests of John, and which the Chancellor
-claimed for the crown. John seized the royal castles of Nottingham
-and Tickhill, and the question was brought before a meeting at
-Winchester, where a compromise was effected. A second cause of
-quarrel occurred, when the Bishop caused Geoffrey, the King’s
-natural brother, the new Archbishop of York, who had landed in
-England contrary to his oath, to be apprehended in the very church
-at Dover. The two brothers made common cause. They demanded
-satisfaction for Geoffrey, and summoned a meeting between Reading
-and Windsor. Meanwhile the Chancellor suddenly left Windsor, and
-shut himself up in the Tower of London, and the meeting reassembled
-in St. Paul’s. There all the charges against the Chancellor were
-produced; Hugh of Durham produced his old grievances, Geoffrey of
-York his late injuries. The Tower was ill provided with food; the
-Chancellor was obliged to appear and to plead; but now at length
-Richard’s envoys produced their authority. Longchamp was dismissed
-from his offices. Walter of Rouen was put in his place, and the
-fallen Chancellor took refuge in France. The Pope received him,
-and excommunicated his enemies; but as usual this proceeding, when
-against the popular feeling, had but little effect.
-
-[Sidenote: Return of Philip Augustus.]
-
-Meanwhile Philip Augustus had been returning from the Holy Land.
-In December 1192 he reached Paris, and early in the following year
-demanded from the Seneschal of Normandy the restoration of his
-sister Alice, the Castle of Gisors, and the towns of Aumale and
-Eu, which he said that Richard had promised him. On the refusal of
-this request he began to tamper with John, begging him to come to
-him, when Normandy and England should be assured to him. John was
-stopped from immediate action by the influence of Queen Eleanor,
-but the disorder in the country was becoming flagrant. Richard’s
-French vassals in Aquitaine were with difficulty suppressed.
-
-[Sidenote: Need of Richard’s return.]
-
-[Sidenote: His imprisonment in Germany.]
-
-[Sidenote: John and Philip combine against him.]
-
-It was plain that the return of the King alone could save the
-kingdom. Yet those English pilgrims who returned home before
-Christmas were surprised to find the King yet absent. He did not
-come, and the gloomy news was at length noised abroad that he
-was in a dungeon in Germany. He had attempted to return by sea,
-but afraid to travel through France, he had made his way up the
-Adriatic, intending to cross Germany to the dominions of his
-friend and relative the Duke of Saxony. Travelling in disguise,
-he had been discovered while in the Duchy of Austria; and the
-Archduke, whose anger he had roused at Ascalon, made him his
-prisoner. He shortly after sold him to Henry VI., Emperor of
-Germany. The capture of the King, whose name was in every one’s
-mouth, strongly excited the feelings of Europe, and steps were
-immediately taken for his liberation. But to John his imprisonment
-served only as a means of aggrandizement. He hurried abroad, did
-homage to Philip, purchasing his favour with Gisors, the Vexin,
-and with Tours, and pledging himself not to make peace with his
-brother without Philip’s permission. He tried to persuade the
-English justiciaries that his brother was dead, and secured, with
-his auxiliaries, Wallingford and Windsor. Philip, too, basely
-took advantage of his rival’s position, used all his influence to
-lengthen his imprisonment, broke off the feudal connection between
-them, and invaded his dominions. Richard’s subjects were, however,
-remarkably true to him. The justiciaries, assisted by Queen
-Eleanor, boldly opposed John in England, and the burghers of Rouen
-put Philip to a shameful flight.
-
-[Sidenote: England ransoms him.]
-
-In Germany Richard did homage to Henry for England. The connection
-of England with Germany makes it possible that there may have been
-some political meaning in this act. Some general action against
-France, or against Apulia, may have been thought of. But it came
-to nothing. It was afterwards cancelled by Henry himself, and has
-been generally regarded as a mere formality. However formal the
-act of homage may have been, Richard was certainly much connected
-with the German Empire. He mixed authoritatively in the next
-imperial election, after the death of Henry VI. in 1198; and it
-was chiefly by his influence that Otho, his nephew, a prince of
-the Guelphic royal family, and generally regarded as an English
-prince, was elected to succeed him. Of more immediate importance
-to England than this connection was the sum of money demanded for
-the King’s ransom. The form of a trial was gone through at Spiers.
-All the charges which had been brought against him in the East
-were repeated;--his friendship with Tancred, his victory over
-Isaac, the murder of Conrad, his insults to Austria, even his final
-treaty with Saladin. He replied frankly and eloquently to these
-charges, and it was finally agreed that he should be liberated on
-the payment of 100,000 marks of silver, and 50,000 additional as
-a contribution to the Emperor’s proposed march against Apulia. He
-was to be liberated as soon as the first sum was paid; for the
-payment of the second hostages were to be left. With considerable
-difficulty the money was collected, chiefly from the estates of
-the Church; and after some further difficulties, caused by the
-intrigues of Philip Augustus, in 1194, on the 13th of March the
-King landed at Sandwich.
-
-[Sidenote: Destruction of John’s party.]
-
-[Sidenote: War with France.]
-
-[Sidenote: Richard’s death at Chaluz. 1199.]
-
-His appearance in England at once destroyed the influence of John’s
-party. Hubert the Justiciary had been doing his best to suppress
-it; such castles as still held out surrendered at the presence of
-Richard. His residence in England was short. He caused himself to
-be re-crowned, to remove the stain of his captivity, had recourse
-to his old nefarious means of gathering money, and then, weary of
-idleness, crossed into the more troubled country of France. With
-Philip it was impossible that he should have peace. An almost
-continuous war between the kings occupied the rest of the reign.
-Richard never displayed the talents of a general, and the war
-dwindled into an uninteresting series of petty skirmishes. These
-were usually decided in favour of Richard. Once, in the year 1196,
-united action among the enemies of France seemed to threaten Philip
-with a heavy blow. Raymond of St. Gilles, Richard’s old enemy,
-married his sister, Joanna of Sicily; the Count of Flanders, the
-Bretons, and the Count of Champagne joined in the league; and in
-the following year, Count Baldwin of Flanders succeeded in taking
-Philip prisoner, but he was freed on promising peace; nor for want
-of leaders did the alliance get much beyond the ordinary petty
-warfare of the time. At length, in 1198, a truce was patched up by
-the Papal influence, but before disbanding his troops, Richard led
-them to attack the Castle of Chaluz, where the Count of Limoges was
-said to be keeping some treasure which the King claimed. He was
-there wounded in the shoulder, as he rode round the walls, and the
-wound proved fatal. During his illness the castle was taken, and
-all the garrison hanged, with the exception of Bertrand de Gourdon,
-who had discharged the fatal arrow. He was reserved for the King’s
-own judgment. “What have I done,” asked the King, “that you should
-take my life?” “You have killed my father and my two brothers,”
-answered he, “and I would willingly bear any torture to see you
-die.” King Richard is said, in spite of his merciless temper, to
-have ordered his life to be spared. Mercadi, the chief of his
-mercenaries, was not so scrupulous; he had him flayed and hanged.
-
-Although the King himself was but a few months in his own
-country, the conduct of affairs in England possesses some
-interest, as showing the further advance of the administrative
-system established by Henry II. After the King’s return from his
-captivity, and final triumph over the machinations of John, the
-kingdom was left in the hand of Hubert Walter, Archbishop of
-Canterbury. He had been trained by Glanvill, and belonged to the
-class of officials created by the late King. It was through his
-activity that, while the ransom was still being collected, the
-kingdom was reduced to tranquillity, and John’s castles captured
-in the name of the King. On Richard’s withdrawal to his native
-dominions, Hubert held the three high offices of Justiciary,
-Archbishop, and Papal Legate. The whole government of the
-kingdom was virtually in his hands. It was carried on by him in
-harmony with the system in which he had been trained; and in the
-instructions given to the justices, for a great visitation of the
-kingdom in the year 1194, we find the superiority of the central
-to the local courts still further increased by an order, that
-sheriffs should not act as justices in their own counties. The
-dangerous power of these officers was for the time destroyed,
-when afterwards by the Magna Charta they were forbidden to hold
-the pleas of the crown at all, that is to say, all business in
-which the crown was interested was removed from their jurisdiction
-to that of the central courts. The demands of Richard for money
-were incessant. And on one occasion, when a large carucage, or
-tax upon every carucate of land, was demanded, which was in fact
-a renewal of the Danegelt in another shape, a fresh survey of
-the country, established by sworn and representative witnesses,
-and very similar to the Domesday survey, was ordered. In this
-system of representative inquiry for financial purposes is to be
-found the beginning of the representative system subsequently
-employed in Parliament. So heavy were the taxes, that opposition
-was finally excited, and Hugh of Lincoln followed the example of
-Thomas à Becket, and refused payment from his Church land. It was
-apparently in connection with this opposition that Hubert, in 1198,
-withdrew from his secular work, and was succeeded by Geoffrey
-Fitz-Peter. Politically, the strength of the crown exhibited in
-these transactions, the very completeness and excellence of Henry’s
-system, tended to change the interests of the various classes in
-England. The crown, hitherto the champion of the people against
-the feudal barons, began to overstrain its power, and all classes
-were gradually forced into opposition to it,--a work completed by
-the greater and less glorious tyranny of John, and by the increased
-feeling of nationality excited among the barons, when the loss of
-Normandy severed them entirely from France.
-
- _Lines of Jerusalem and Sicily._
-
- Godfrey de Bouillon, 1st King of Jerusalem; his brother Baldwin I.,
- 2nd King.
-
- Baldwin II., cousin of Godfrey, 3rd King.
- |
- Melisenda = Fulk of Anjou.
- |
- +--------+------+
- | |
- Baldwin III. Almeric.
- |
- +----------------+----------------+------------+
- | | |
- Baldwin IV., Sybilla = Guy of Lusignan. Elizabeth = Conrad of
- the leper. Montferrat.
-
- =======================================================================
-
- Tancred of Hauteville, descended from Rollo, Duke of Normandy.
- |
- +----+------------------------+
- | |
- Robert Guiscard, Roger.
- conquered Sicily, |
- 1090. Roger, 1st King of Sicily, 1130-1154.
- |
- +----------------------+-------+------------+
- | | |
- Roger, died 1148. William I., 1154. Constance = Henry VI.,
- | | Emperor.
- Tancred, 1189. William II., 1166 = Joanna.
-
-
-
-
-JOHN.
-
-1199-1216.
-
- Born 1167 = 1. Hadwisa of Gloucester.
- = 2. Isabella de la Marche.
- |
- +-------+----+----------+-----+-------------------+
- | | | | |
- Henry III. | Jane=Alexander Isabella=Frederick Eleanor = 1. William of
- | II. II. Pembroke.
- Richard. = 2. Simon de
- d. 1272. Montfort.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- William, 1165. | Philip Augustus, | Philip, 1198. | Alphonso IX.,
- Alexander II., 1214. | 1180. | Otho IV., 1209. | 1158.
- | | | Henry I., 1214.
-
- POPE.--Innocent III., 1198.
-
- _Archbishops._ | _Chief-Justices._ | _Chancellors._
- | |
- Hubert Walter, | Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, 1199. | Hubert Walter, 1199.
- 1193-1205. | Peter des Roches, 1214. | Walter Grey, 1205.
- Stephen Langton, | Hubert de Burgh, 1215. | Peter des Roches, 1213.
- 1207-1228. | | Walter Grey, 1214.
- | | Richard de Marisco, 1214.
-
-
-[Sidenote: John secures the crown.]
-
-King Richard had nominated John as his successor, having never
-renewed the recognition of Arthur of Brittany which he had made in
-Sicily. The new King at once set about securing his possession.
-He succeeded in laying hands upon the treasury at Chinon and the
-castles of Normandy. In Brittany, Anjou, Maine, and Touraine,
-there were signs of opposition. The barons put forward the claim
-of Arthur; Constance, his mother, took the young prince to the
-court of Philip, and that king proceeded in his name to master the
-towns and fortresses. But the assistance of his mother Eleanor, who
-had taken possession of her old inheritance Poitou and Aquitaine,
-enabled John to make successful opposition to the invasion, and
-on the 25th of April he was crowned at Rouen, and felt himself
-strong enough to establish his claims in England. Thither he
-had already sent the chief of his brother’s ministers--Hubert
-Walter, the Archbishop of Canterbury; Fitz-Peter, justiciary, and
-afterwards Earl of Essex; and William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke.
-These ministers had already obliged the nobles to tender their
-oath of allegiance; and John, on his arrival in May, was crowned
-at Westminster, taking the usual oaths to guard the Church, to do
-justice, and to repeal bad laws, but giving no further charter.
-The Archbishop is said to have begun the coronation with the
-declaration that the throne was elective, an assertion received
-with acclamation by those who were present. He is said afterwards
-to have declared that he took this step, knowing the King’s
-character; he was, however, throughout his life a devoted servant
-of the crown.
-
-[Sidenote: His strong position.]
-
-[Sidenote: His danger from France. 1200.]
-
-John’s position at the beginning of his reign was good. He was
-accepted in England; he was strong enough to refuse the Scottish
-King’s demands on Northumberland and Cumberland; the Counts of
-Flanders and Boulogne made offers of friendship; and Otho of
-Germany even pressed him not to make peace with the French king,
-promising to come to his assistance. It was from Philip only that
-he appeared to have to dread any danger; for that king’s early
-friendship for him had now changed to hatred, as he declared
-because he had accepted his continental dominions without asking
-leave of him, his feudal superior. We have thus early the key to
-the policy of Philip Augustus, who was determined to make use
-of the letter of the feudal law to bring his great vassal into
-subjection and establish royalty in France. He had a ready weapon
-in the person of young Arthur, who had already done homage to him
-for Maine, Anjou, Touraine, and Brittany. The efforts of the Church
-were however constantly exerted to keep the peace between these
-rivals; and Philip had a difficulty on his own hands which induced
-him to desire peace. He had married Ingelborga of Denmark, but had
-almost immediately separated from her and married Agnes de Méranie.
-The cause of the divorced princess was warmly taken up at Rome, and
-in this year Innocent III. had laid France under an interdict.
-
-[Sidenote: Peace with Philip, and marriage treaty.]
-
-[Sidenote: Marriage with Isabella de la Marche.]
-
-[Sidenote: Homage of Scotland.]
-
-Under these circumstances a treaty was patched up. John promised
-to young Louis, the heir of France, the hand of his niece Blanche
-of Castile, and along with her the Earldom of Evreux; at the
-same time pledging himself not to assist his nephew Otho against
-the rival Emperor of Germany, Philip of Swabia. Philip in return
-secured to England the disputed province of the Vexin, and for the
-time dropped the claims of Arthur. A formal interchange of homage
-was then made; on the part of John for his French possessions, on
-the part of Louis for his newly acquired earldom, on the part of
-Arthur for his provinces in France. John at once began to destroy
-his good position. A large aid gathered before his coronation, and
-another for the purpose of paying a sum of money demanded by the
-late treaty, had already excited anger in England. He now proceeded
-to rouse the displeasure of some of his chief French nobles. He
-put away his wife Hadwisa, the daughter of the Earl of Gloucester,
-and was beginning to treat for the hand of a Portuguese princess,
-when he suddenly fell in love with Isabella, the daughter of the
-Count of Angoulême, and carried her off from her betrothed husband,
-the Count de la Marche. Before the storm broke, however, he was
-able to oblige the Scotch king, with whom he had been in constant
-correspondence, to meet him at Lincoln, and there to do him homage,
-and to swear to be his liegeman for life, limb and land. It must
-be supposed that this was real personal homage for the kingdom of
-Scotland, as William the Lion’s claims on the Northern counties
-were still postponed.
-
-[Sidenote: Outbreak in Poitou.]
-
-[Sidenote: John’s French provinces forfeited. 1202.]
-
-But the King’s difficulties soon began. Wishing to collect an
-army to suppress disturbances in Poitou, he was met by a refusal
-from his barons, who assembled at Leicester, and demanded the
-establishment of their rights. The disturbances in Poitou were
-caused by the insurrection of the Count de la Marche, full of
-anger at losing his wife. Deserted by his barons, John was unable
-to suppress the insurrection. He had been invited to Paris, and
-received with every demonstration of friendship; but while there
-the barons of Poitou, following the policy of Philip Augustus, and
-it is fair to believe induced by him, lodged formal complaints with
-the French king as their suzerain. John was called upon to plead
-before the feudal Court of Peers. He refused, averring that the
-Duke of Normandy had never transacted business with his suzerain
-except personally upon the borders of his own duchy. Philip seized
-the opportunity, urged that the Duke of Normandy was at the same
-time Count of Poitou, obtained judgment against John, declared all
-his fiefs forfeited and again raised the claims of Arthur. War was
-the immediate consequence. The defection of the Count of Boulogne
-opened the west of Normandy, and that side of the country was
-speedily in the hands of the French.
-
-[Sidenote: Death of Arthur. 1203.]
-
-Arthur himself now appeared in arms, renounced John, and entered
-Poitou in alliance with the insurgent barons. He there besieged
-Mirabeau, where the old Queen then was lying ill on her return from
-a journey into Spain, whither she had gone to fetch the Princess of
-Castile, according to the treaty with the French King. The capture
-of the castle seemed inevitable, when John, with one of those
-sudden acts of vigour which broke his indolent life, suddenly came
-upon the besiegers, and surrounded them, rescued his mother, and
-took the young prince captive. The war became still more vehement.
-The Bretons claimed the restoration of their prince. Philip moved
-his army to the Loire, and town after town was captured, while John
-lay in sensual enjoyment at Rouen. The Norman barons, unused to
-an unwarlike governor, deserted to Philip, and John was compelled
-to return to England. He had hardly reached it when the terrible
-rumour spread that the young Prince Arthur had disappeared. His
-fate is variously related. The more commonly accepted story is,
-that, imprisoned at Falaise, under the care of Hubert de Burgh, he
-escaped, by the good will of his custodian, from the designs of
-John, who had sent to have his eyes put out. He was thence removed
-to Rouen, to the charge of Robert de Vipont, and murdered, perhaps
-by his uncle’s own hand, and his body thrown into the Seine.
-
-[Sidenote: Loss of Normandy. 1205.]
-
-However he may have died, his death raised a storm of indignation.
-Philip pressed more boldly forward. In March 1204, Chateau
-Gaillard, the key of Normandy upon the Seine, was taken. One after
-the other, Caen, Bayeux, Coutances, Lisieux, and all the country
-to Mont St. Michel, were captured; Rouen alone remained. John was
-again summoned before the Peers at Paris. Philip even prepared to
-invade England, and to make good there the claims of the Counts of
-Brabant and Boulogne, who had married the granddaughters of King
-Stephen. In June, Rouen was compelled to capitulate, and in the
-following year, Loches and Chinon, south of the Loire, yielded, and
-Rochelle, Niort, and Thouars, in Poitou, were the only towns left
-in the possession of the English.
-
-[Sidenote: Peace with Philip. 1206.]
-
-Meanwhile John had tried in vain to assemble an effective army in
-England. He had raised money and collected troops, but it would
-seem that they were disaffected; for at the urgent entreaties of
-his faithful servants, Hubert of Canterbury and William Marshall,
-they were disbanded. One futile attempt was indeed made from
-Rochelle, and John boasted loudly of his capture of Montauban, but
-he was none the less compelled in October of this year to make a
-two years’ peace with Philip. The connection between England and
-Normandy was thus for ever broken; henceforward the country was
-thrown upon its own resources, and its life and interests became
-more distinctly national.
-
-Many causes had been at work to separate the interests of the crown
-and nation, but before mentioning them it will be necessary to
-speak of the second great event of John’s reign, his dispute with
-Innocent III.
-
-[Sidenote: Election of the Archbishop of Canterbury.]
-
-[Sidenote: Election of Stephen Langton. 1207.]
-
-In July 1205, had died Hubert of Canterbury, whose influence as
-minister of the crown had been paramount during this and the
-preceding reign. The right of election to the metropolitan See
-had been constantly disputed between the monks of the cathedral
-and the suffragan bishops of the province. The younger monks
-thought to steal a march upon their rivals, and, even before the
-Archbishop had been buried, had elected Reginald, the sub-prior.
-Without waiting for the King’s approval, which had been invariably
-required during the reigns of the Norman kings, they hurried the
-Archbishop elect abroad, binding him not to disclose his election
-till he reached Rome. His vanity got the better of his wisdom;
-he boasted of his good fortune. A rumour of what had been done
-reached the ears of the King. The elder monks took fright, betook
-themselves to John, and received orders from him, in complete
-disregard of the claims of the bishops, to elect John de Grey,
-Bishop of Norwich, one of his ministers. He was elected, invested
-with the temporalities, and messengers stating the fact were at
-once sent to Rome. It was now the turn of the bishops to complain.
-In point of fact, the last three archbishops had been elected by
-the common consent of the bishops and monks, and with the approval
-of the crown. The older right was decidedly with the bishops, and
-they too despatched messengers to the Papal Court. A claim raised
-by three distinct parties, and brought to his court to settle, was
-exactly the opportunity Innocent desired. There was much in the
-position of England and the English Church which he would have
-wished to see changed. The election of bishops and archbishops,
-under whatever forms it had been carried on, had been virtually
-in the hands of the crown. Many of these appointments had been
-given to Churchmen, who had devoted their chief time to the great
-administrative system which Henry II. had perfected.[33] The
-mixture of lay and ecclesiastical elements was very objectionable
-to the Pope; while if there was one thing more than another which
-he was desirous of suppressing, it was the independence of national
-churches as represented by their bishops. Innocent, therefore, now
-ruled that the bishops had not the slightest voice in the matter,
-that the monks alone had from time immemorial possessed the right
-of election, although it had accidentally fallen into abeyance. He
-thus robbed both king and bishops of their share in the election,
-and then declaring that the election of Reginald in the present
-instance had been irregular, bade the monks, a considerable number
-of whom had come to Rome, proceed at once to the election of his
-old friend and fellow-student, Stephen Langton, cardinal priest
-of St. Chrysagonus. He so far acknowledged the existence of John
-as to write him several letters pressing him to receive the
-Archbishop. On the rejection of these overtures, foreseeing that
-he was entering on an important struggle, he arranged a peace with
-Philip of Swabia, the rival of Otho the Guelph, the Papal candidate
-for the throne of Germany, and proceeded to consecrate the new
-archbishop with his own hands at Viterbo.
-
-[Sidenote: John’s violence.]
-
-[Sidenote: Interdict and flight of bishops. 1208.]
-
-[Sidenote: Excommunication. 1209.]
-
-John had already quarrelled with the bishops, because they
-had refused, at a council held at St. Albans, to give him a
-contribution which he had required, for the assistance of this same
-Otho, who was his nephew. The news therefore of the consecration
-at Viterbo at once moved him to violence. The monks of Canterbury
-were driven from their monastery, and when, in the following year,
-an interdict which the Pope had intrusted to the Bishops of London,
-Ely and Worcester, was published, his hostility to the Church
-became so extreme, that almost all the bishops fled; the Bishops
-of Winchester, Durham and Norwich, two of whom belonged to the
-ministerial body, being the only prelates left in England. The
-interdict was of the severest form; all services of the Church,
-with the exception of Baptism and extreme unction, being forbidden,
-while the burial of the dead was allowed only in unconsecrated
-ground; its effect was however weakened by the conduct of some of
-the monastic orders, who claimed exemption from its operation,
-and continued their services. The King’s anger knew no bounds.
-The clergy were put beyond the protection of the law; orders
-were issued to drive them from their benefices, and lawless acts
-committed at their expense met with no punishment. While publishing
-the interdict, the Pope had threatened still further measures, and
-the King, conscious of his unpopularity among the barons, sought to
-secure himself from the effects of the threatened excommunication
-by seizing their sons as hostages. Nevertheless, though acting thus
-violently, John showed the weakness of his character by continued
-communication with the Pope, and occasional fitful acts of favour
-to the Church; so much so, that, in the following year, Langton
-prepared to come over to England, and upon the continued obstinacy
-of the King, Innocent, feeling sure of his final victory, did
-not shrink from issuing his threatened excommunication. John had
-hoped to be able to exclude the knowledge of this step from the
-island, as his father Henry had done; but the rumour of it soon
-got abroad, and its effect was great. The fidelity even of the
-ministers was shaken, and one of them rose from the council table,
-asserting that it was unsafe for a beneficed clergyman any longer
-to hold intercourse with the excommunicated King.
-
-[Sidenote: Attack on the other insular nations, Scotland.]
-
-In a state of nervous excitement, and mistrusting his nobles,
-the King himself perpetually moved to and fro in his kingdom,
-seldom staying more than a few days in one place. None the less
-did he continue his old line of policy. Sums of money were still
-frequently demanded, and sent out of the kingdom to support the
-cause of Otho, who, having procured the assassination of his rival,
-was again making head in Germany. Nor did he refrain from carrying
-out a policy which in any other king would have been accepted as
-national and good. The loss of the French provinces had thrown
-England back upon itself, and the country now seemed inclined
-to seek a surer foundation for its power in the more complete
-subjection of the immediately surrounding nations. Thus William
-the Lion of Scotland was compelled, by the advance of an English
-army, to make a treaty which was in fact a complete submission to
-England. He was obliged to pay a large sum of money, and to give up
-into the hands of John his daughters Margaret and Isabella, as well
-as hostages drawn from the noblest families of the country; while
-some years later, in 1212, his son Alexander appeared in London,
-and was knighted and swore fealty to the King.
-
-[Sidenote: Ireland.]
-
-[Sidenote: Wales.]
-
-[Sidenote: Disaffection of the Northern barons.]
-
-Shortly after this success in the North, John betook himself to
-Ireland, where quarrels had arisen between the angry Irish nobles,
-and where Hugh de Lacy had suppressed his rival John de Courcy,
-and, being enfiefed with the kingdom of Ulster, had arrogated
-to himself rights closely touching upon royalty. John raised
-supplies from the English towns, and crossed over to Waterford. He
-there succeeded in establishing order, and having introduced the
-English form of administration, returned to England, leaving John
-de Grey, Bishop of Norwich, behind him as his representative. He
-then directed his arms towards Wales. Along the marches of that
-country there was constant strife, as the Lords Marchers erected
-new castles and encroached upon their neighbours. In 1211 the King
-marched through the country, and received at the foot of Snowdon
-the submission of Llewellyn, his son-in-law,[34] and other princes.
-A fresh outbreak, accompanied by the usual cruel slaughter of the
-garrisons of the castles, roused his anger. At Nottingham he had
-all the Welsh hostages he had taken under the late treaty hanged,
-and was preparing for further vengeance when news reached him of
-the discontent of the Northern barons. He was induced therefore
-to direct his arms against them, filled Northumberland with his
-foreign mercenaries, and seized fresh hostages from his suspected
-nobles.
-
-[Sidenote: The King’s rapacity.]
-
-These wars had but afforded still further opportunities for the
-King’s rapacity; from which every class in the kingdom was now
-suffering. Those classes even which John had hitherto somewhat
-spared now felt the pressure. There was a universal persecution
-of the Jews, who were all suddenly apprehended, and many of them
-tortured to declare their wealth. He is said to have extracted
-60,000 marks from the race. The clergy too had been obliged to find
-him £100,000; the Cistercian monks some £30,000, or £40,000, and
-subsequently, in 1212, another £12,000 was wrung from them, because
-the chief of the order, acting as Papal Legate, had, during the
-Albigensian crusade, injured Raymond, the King’s brother-in-law.
-
-[Sidenote: League with Northern princes.]
-
-While he had been thus, even in the pursuit of national objects,
-estranging by his tyrannical conduct his own subjects, John had
-been carrying on his opposition to the Pope outside the limits
-of the kingdom; and events in Europe were rapidly approaching a
-crisis. Otho, the Guelphic Emperor, upon the death of his rival,
-had so completely succeeded, that in 1209 he had been solemnly
-crowned Emperor in Italy. But no sooner had he gained his object
-than the inevitable rivalry between Pope and Emperor again arose,
-and in a few years he had forfeited the Pontiff’s favour so
-completely as to become the object of his greatest hatred; he had
-even been excommunicated, while the Pope found a new protegé in
-the young Frederick of Sicily, whose anti-papal tendencies were
-not at that time suspected. Similarity of circumstances rendered
-still closer the bond of union between John and his nephew, and in
-1211 a league of excommunicated leaders was formed, including all
-the princes of the North of Europe; Ferrand of Flanders, the Duke
-of Brabant, John, and Otho, were all members of it, and it was
-chiefly organized by the activity of Reinald of Dammartin, Count of
-Boulogne. The chief enemy of most of these confederates was Philip
-of France; and John thought he saw in this league the means of
-revenge against his old enemy.
-
-[Sidenote: John is deposed 1213.]
-
-[Sidenote: Surrender of the crown to the Pope.]
-
-To complete the line of demarcation between the two parties,
-Innocent, who was greatly moved by the description of the disorders
-and persecutions in England, declared John’s crown forfeited,
-and intrusted the carrying out of the sentence to Philip. In 1213
-armies were collected on both sides, Philip was already on the
-Channel, and John had assembled a large army on Barhamdown, not far
-from Canterbury. But Innocent probably never intended to proceed
-to extremities. To embroil two Christian nations would have been
-to thwart one of his greatest objects, which was a new crusade.
-But he knew his man; he knew the weakness which was hidden under
-the violence and ostentatious passion of John, and he also well
-knew from his emissaries in England the widespread disaffection
-there. While the army was still lying in its camp, there appeared
-at Dover Pandulf, as the Pope’s Legate. He demanded and obtained
-an audience with the King, and there explained to him the gravity
-of his position. He found means to bring home to his mind the
-perfect insecurity of his position at home, while John, from his
-own experience, knew both the power and the skill of Philip. The
-consciousness of his danger destroyed his boastful obstinacy, and
-he made an unconditional submission. The paper which he signed was
-drawn up almost in the very words of the demands of Pandulf. He
-offered to plead before the Papal Court; he promised peace and a
-good reception to Langton, the other bishops, and banished laity;
-he was to restore all Church property, and to make restitution for
-all loss since the interdict. Having accepted these conditions,
-the King went further. On the 15th of May, at Dover, he formally
-resigned the crowns of England and Ireland into the hands of
-Pandulf, and received them again as the Pope’s feudatory.
-
-[Sidenote: John’s improved position.]
-
-[Sidenote: Renewed difficulties with Stephen Langton.]
-
-It was not without ulterior objects that John took this disgraceful
-step. He believed that he saw in it a way out of all his
-difficulties, and the means of revenging himself upon his enemies.
-He had no intention of allowing his new position to interfere
-with his continental alliances, and it was to their success that
-he looked to re-establish his power. When Philip of France was no
-longer the agent of Papal authority, he believed that it would
-be possible for him to resist the storm that was gathering round
-him. He expected that one great victory would go far to give him
-back his lost French dominions, when the prestige of success, the
-friendship of the Church, and the increase of power derived from
-his regained dominions, would make him master of the situation
-in England. At first all seemed to work as he wished. Pandulf
-immediately hurried to France, and forbade Philip to attack the
-Pope’s new vassal. The opportune attacks of Ferrand of Flanders
-diverted the French army towards the dominions of that prince;
-the English fleet which was sent to assist the Flemings destroyed
-the whole French shipping in the port of Damme; the Archbishop
-Langton was received with honour, John threw himself at his feet,
-reconciled himself with the Church, issued writs to all the
-churches to inquire into the amount of damages to be restored, and
-ordered a great council to meet at St. Albans to settle finally the
-restitution of the Church property. He then summoned his barons
-to meet him, and join him in an attack upon Poitou. But he was
-mistaken, both in the character of the Churchman, in whom he hoped
-to find an obedient servant of the Papal See, and in the amount of
-dissatisfaction among his nobles. The barons of the North refused
-to follow him, and the meeting at St. Albans resulted, not in a
-settlement of Church difficulties, but in the open declaration of
-the complaints of all classes. A few weeks after, Langton, who had
-seen through the character of John, and was full of hatred of his
-tyranny, met an assembly of malcontents at St. Paul’s in London,
-and there declaring that he had found documentary proof of their
-rights, produced the coronation charter of Henry I., which was at
-once accepted by the barons as the declaration of the views and
-demands of their party.
-
-[Sidenote: John hopes to remove them by victory in France. 1214.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Bonvines. 1214.]
-
-In the meantime, two events had happened disastrous to the royal
-cause. Nicholas of Tusculum had arrived as Papal Legate, and the
-justiciary Godfrey Fitz-Peter had died. The Legate, ignorant of
-the feelings of the English, and eager to support and make real
-the Papal authority, had thoroughly adopted the King’s cause. He
-threatened the clergy unless they at once accepted the arrangements
-which the King offered; and although it was the very thing which
-had before excited the anger of the Pope, he proceeded to fill
-vacant benefices with the devoted adherents of the royal party.
-In the place of the experienced Fitz-Peter, who, however far he
-might have strained the administrative power of the crown, had
-yet exercised a wholesome restraint on the King, Peter des Roches
-was raised to the office of justiciary, and appointed to be the
-representative of the crown during John’s absence in France. The
-people saw themselves, as they thought, both in spiritual and
-temporal matters in the hands of the tyrant. A great success abroad
-might yet have checked the growing disaffection. The King led an
-army to Rochelle. At first he was successful everywhere. He overran
-Poitou, and crossing the Loire captured Anger, but the Poitevin
-barons had been too deeply injured by him to be faithful friends;
-their disaffection soon compelled him to retire. But the great
-confederation was at work upon all sides. The Count of Flanders was
-pressing in upon the North, Otho was advancing from Germany. In
-July a junction was made at Valenciennes. Thither Philip now betook
-himself; he was followed faithfully by most of his great nobles,
-and by the militia of the chartered cities. The whole success of
-his policy was at stake. A defeat would ruin the object of his
-life--the establishment of the royal power in France. For Otho too
-the stake was high; the triumph of the Guelphic house in its long
-war against the Hohenstaufen would be the fruit of victory. For
-such prizes the battle of Bouvines was fought, at a small place
-upon the little river Marque. The fortune of the day was with the
-French; in all directions they were victorious. Both for Otho
-and John the defeat may be said to have been final; the Emperor
-withdrew to his hereditary dominions, in Brunswick, where, after
-some not very important fighting, he died in 1218. John returned,
-having lost his last hope of re-establishing his power at home by
-foreign conquests.
-
-[Sidenote: Insurrection in England on his return. 1215.]
-
-He returned to England to find himself in a worse position than
-ever; for Innocent had found out the errors his legate had
-committed, and recalled him; and John had lost another of his most
-trusty counsellors by the death of the Bishop of Norwich. Thus left
-to his own resources, with his usual folly he took the opportunity
-of demanding a heavy scutage from those barons who had not followed
-him abroad. The nobles of the North rose. A meeting was held in
-November at Bury St. Edmunds, and it was there determined that they
-would make their formal demands upon the King in arms at Christmas
-time. John was keeping his Christmas at Worcester; but having no
-doubt heard of the action of the barons, hurried to London, where
-they appeared before him in arms. He demanded till Easter for
-consideration. The time was given him. He used it in an attempt
-to sow dissension among his enemies. He granted to the Church the
-free right of election, hoping thereby to draw Langton from the
-confederation. He took the oaths of the crusader to put himself
-more immediately under the guardianship of the Church, and hastily
-summoned troops of mercenaries from Poitou.
-
-[Sidenote: Meeting at Brackley.]
-
-[Sidenote: Capture of London.]
-
-[Sidenote: Runnymede.]
-
-The barons at once reassembled at Brackley. At their head was
-Fitz-Walter, an old enemy of the King, and William Marshall, son
-of the Earl of Pembroke. Their strength consisted of the nobles of
-the North--and they were spoken of as the Northerners,--but many
-barons from other parts of England joined them, and in spite of
-various compromises offered by the King, they laid siege to the
-castle of Northampton. They there received messages of adherence
-from the mayor and citizens of London, into which city they were
-received in May; and thus masters of the greater part of England,
-and of the capital, they compelled John to receive them and hear
-their demands at Runnymede, a meadow by the Thames’ side not far
-from Staines. There was signed, on the 15th of June, the paper
-of forty-nine articles, which they presented, and which were
-afterwards drawn up into the shape of the sixty-three articles of
-the Great Charter.
-
-[Sidenote: Political position of England.]
-
-That Great Charter was the joint work of the insurgent lords,
-and of those who still in name remained faithful to the crown.
-In many points this rising of the barons bears the appearance of
-an ordinary feudal insurrection. Closer examination proves that
-it was of a different character. The very success of Henry II in
-his great plan of national regeneration had tended to change the
-character of English politics. Till his time, the bulk of the
-people had regarded the crown on the whole as a defence against
-their feudal tyrants. In the pursuit of good government he had
-crushed the feudal nobles, and had welded Norman and English into
-one nation. In so doing, he had greatly increased the royal power;
-for in those early times good government invariably implied a
-strong monarchy. In patriotic hands his work might have continued.
-But when the increased royal power passed to reckless rulers, such
-as Richard and John, it enabled them to play the part of veritable
-tyrants. They had used this power in ruthlessly pillaging the
-people. The great justiciaries, Hubert and Fitz-Peter, content with
-keeping order and retaining constitutional forms, had almost of
-necessity lent themselves to this course, while lesser officials
-had undoubtedly acted with arbitrary violence. The interests of the
-King and his ministers had thus become separated from those of the
-nation. To oppose this tyranny, nobles and people could now act in
-concert. The struggle was no longer between King and people on one
-side against the nobles on the other, but nobles and people had
-joined against the King. Besides this political change, a great
-revolution had taken place in the character of the nobility itself.
-The feudal nobles, the friends of the Conqueror, had for the most
-part given place to a new nobility, the sons of the counsellors
-and ministers of Henry II. In the centre of England alone did
-remnants of the old feudal families remain. The insurrection then,
-coming from the North, was the work not of feudal barons but of
-the new ministerial baronage. Again, the claims raised, although,
-inasmuch as the monarchy was still in form a feudal monarchy, they
-bear a resemblance to feudal claims, were such as might have been
-expected from men trained in the habits of administration. They
-were claims for the redress of abuses of constitutional power, and
-were based upon a written document. In addition to this, they were
-supported by the clergy, who were never and could never be feudal
-in their views, and by the towns, whose interests were always
-opposed to those of the feudal nobility. There is another thing to
-be recollected; the Charter, as ultimately granted, was not the
-same as the demands of the barons. A considerable number of the
-older barons, of the bishops, and even the Archbishop himself,
-remained ostensibly true to the King, and were present at Runnymede
-as his followers. We are told that it was the younger nobles who
-formed the strength of the reforming party. Nevertheless, with the
-exception of the King’s actual ministers, and of those foreigners,
-the introduction of whom was one of his gravest errors, the whole
-of John’s own following acknowledged the justice of the baronial
-claims, sympathized with the demands raised, and joined in putting
-them into the best shape. The movement was in fact, even where not
-in form, national.
-
-[Sidenote: Magna Charta.]
-
-The terms of the Charter were in accordance with this state of
-affairs. To the Church were secured its rights and the freedom
-of election (1). To the feudal tenants just arrangements in the
-matters of wardship, of heirship, widowhood, and marriage (2-8).
-Scutage and aids, which John had from the beginning of his reign
-taken as a matter of course, were henceforward to be granted by
-the great council of the kingdom, except in three cases, the
-deliverance of the king from prison, the knighting of his eldest
-son, and the marriage of his eldest daughter (12). The same right
-was secured by the immediate tenants to their sub-tenants. The
-great council was to consist of archbishops, bishops and abbots,
-counts and greater barons, summoned severally by writ, and of
-the rest of the tenants in chief, summoned by general writ to
-the sheriff (14). The lands of sub-tenants, seized by the king
-for treason or felony, were to be held by him for a year only,
-and then to be handed over to the tenant’s immediate lord (32).
-Similarly the crown was no longer to claim wardship in the case
-of sub-tenants, nor to change the custom of escheated baronies,
-nor to fill up vacancies in private abbeys (43, 46). These are all
-distinct regulations of feudal relations. The more general acts
-of tyranny of the crown were guarded against, by fixing the Court
-of Common Pleas at Westminster (17); by the settlement of land
-processes by itinerant justices in the counties where the disputes
-arose (18); by the limitations of punishments within reasonable
-limits (20-22); by the restriction of the powers of constables,
-sheriffs, and other royal officers, both in the matter of royal
-lawsuits and of purveyance (28-31); by an article (36), which is
-held to foreshadow the Habeas Corpus Act, stipulating the immediate
-trial of prisoners; and by other articles (38-40), which are held
-to foreshadow trial by jury, and which forbid the passing of
-sentence except on the verdict of a man’s equals, and witness upon
-oath. Other points secured their liberties to the free towns and
-to merchants. This Charter was to be guaranteed by the appointment
-of a committee of twenty-five nobles, any four of whom might claim
-redress for infractions of it, and upon refusal proceed to make war
-upon the king.
-
-[Sidenote: John’s attempts to break loose from it.]
-
-[Sidenote: Louis is summoned. 1216.]
-
-This Charter, which with its final clause implied absolute
-submission, John never intended to keep. No sooner were his first
-ebullitions of anger over, than he proceeded to take steps for
-destroying it. Messengers were at once sent to Rome to get it
-annulled, and to Poitou to collect mercenaries. Troops came over in
-crowds, and the barons in alarm ordered William D’Aubigné to attack
-the castle of Rochester. He seized it, but was there besieged,
-and compelled to surrender to John’s mercenaries. All the common
-men of the garrison were hanged. John’s other message was equally
-successful. A letter from Innocent announced that he totally
-disallowed the Charter, and ordered Langton to excommunicate the
-King’s enemies. This he refused to do, and other excommunications
-and interdicts were also futile. John’s temporal weapons were more
-successful. He overran England with his mercenaries, burning,
-slaying and harrying with vindictive fury, and so superior was he
-in the field, that the barons found themselves obliged to summon
-Louis of France to their assistance. Louis’ wife was John’s niece,
-and they probably intended to use this slender connection to change
-the dynasty.
-
-[Sidenote: John’s death.]
-
-His success was not very rapid, though at first he seemed to have
-the game in his hands. He wasted his time and lost his opportunity
-before the castles of Dover and Windsor. His conduct also in
-bestowing fiefs upon his French followers began to excite the
-jealousy of the English; and John’s cause was again wearing a more
-hopeful appearance, when, marching from Lincoln, which he had
-lately conquered, he crossed the Wash, with all his supplies which
-he had lately drawn from Lynn. The rise of the tide destroyed the
-whole of his train, and broken by his loss, or perhaps poisoned, or
-perhaps a victim to his greediness, he died on the 19th of October
-at Newark. In July of the same year he had lost his great protector
-Innocent III.
-
-
-
-
-HENRY III.
-
-1216-1272.
-
- Born 1207 = Eleanor of Provence.
- |
- +-------------------+---+-------------------+
- | | |
- Edward I. Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. Margaret = Alexander III.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- Alexander II., | Philip Augustus, | Philip, 1197. | Henry I., 1214.
- 1214. | 1180. | Otho IV., 1208. | Ferdinand III.,
- Alexander III., | Louis VIII., 1223. | Frederick II., | 1217.
- 1249. | Louis IX., 1226. | 1218. | Alphonso X.,
- | Philip III., 1270. | Interregnum, | 1252.
- | | 1250. |
-
- POPES.--Honorius III., 1216. Gregory IX., 1227. Celestine IV., 1241
- (vacancy 1241). Innocent IV., 1243. Alexander IV., 1254. Urban IV.,
- 1261. Clement IV., 1265 (vacancy 1268). Gregory X., 1271.
-
- _Archbishops._ | _Chief-Justices._ | _Chancellors._
- | |
- Stephen Langton, | Hubert de Burgh, | Richard de Marisco,
- 1207-1228. | 1215-1232. | 1214-1226.
- Richard le Grand, | Stephen Segrave, | Ralph Neville,
- 1229-1231. | 1232-1234. | 1226-1244.
- Edmund Rich, | Hugh Bigot, | Walter de Merton, 1261.
- 1234-1240. | 1258-1260. | Nicholas de Ely, 1263.
- Boniface of Savoy, | Hugh le Despencer, | Thomas Cantilupe, 1265.
- 1245-1270. | 1260. | Walter Giffard, 1265.
- | Philip Basset, 1261. | Godfrey Giffard, 1267.
- | Richard Middleton,
- | 1269-1272.
-
-
-[Sidenote: Difficulties at Henry’s accession.]
-
-[Sidenote: Pembroke’s conciliatory measures.]
-
-[Sidenote: Fair of Lincoln.]
-
-[Sidenote: Louis leaves England.]
-
-Immediately upon the death of John, William Marshall, Earl of
-Pembroke, and Gualo, the Papal Legate, the leaders of John’s
-faithful followers, declared Prince Henry king. It was a moment of
-extreme danger. The Scotch had advanced as far as Carlisle, the
-Welsh were harassing the Marches, the East and South of England
-were in the hands of Louis and the revolted barons, the court could
-with difficulty uphold its influence in the West. But Marshall was
-a man of tried experience, of trustworthy character, and, though
-a firm adherent of the crown, no friend to tyranny. The presence
-of the French prince in England shocked all national prejudices.
-Pembroke set on foot a policy of conciliation, and attempted to
-unite all parties against the foreigner. He at once separated the
-cause of the young Henry from that of his father by accepting the
-Charter. He wrote friendly letters to the leaders of the revolted
-barons, and found assistance in the ecclesiastical weapons wielded
-by Gualo. One by one the insurgents, feeling themselves sure of
-constitutional treatment at the hands of Pembroke, joined the royal
-party. Pembroke found himself strong enough to risk a battle. Louis
-had received reinforcements, and with the insurgent nobles who
-still upheld his cause marched to Lincoln, where, though the town
-was in his possession, the castle still held out for the English
-king. Thither Pembroke betook himself, determined to bring on a
-decisive engagement. Gaining access to the town through the castle,
-his troops fell upon the French in the streets, and completely
-routed them, capturing nearly all the English leaders. London and
-its neighbourhood alone remained to Louis, and when a great French
-fleet, under Eustace the Monk, which was bringing him assistance,
-was completely defeated by Hubert de Burgh and D’Albiney, Louis
-felt that his cause was lost, and consented to treat. The English,
-who only wanted to get rid of him, granted easy terms, including
-the freedom of most of their prisoners. They even advanced 10,000
-marks towards defraying the heavy fine which Gualo on the part of
-the Church demanded as an expiation for disobedience to the Roman
-See, and Louis was escorted with all honour to the sea coast, and
-retired.
-
-With Louis the great obstacle to the settlement of the country was
-gone. Pembroke continued to act in a conciliatory spirit. A pardon
-was issued, including all political offenders; peace with Scotland
-was secured; and the Charter, together with the charter of the
-forests, was again signed. It underwent, however, some changes.
-The King was no longer acting under coercion; restrictions which
-Pembroke considered inexpedient were therefore removed. His object
-appears to have been to reproduce as far as possible the state
-of things existing in the reign of Henry II. The destruction of
-castles erected during the late reign was therefore ordered, and
-the clause of the Charter forbidding the levy of scutage without
-the consent of the barons omitted. The reconciliation thus effected
-was in fact the triumph of the crown; the offices were filled with
-adherents of John. But in the hands of Pembroke the regained power
-of the crown would have been constitutionally employed.
-
-[Sidenote: Papal attempt to govern by legates.]
-
-[Sidenote: Pandulf’s government.]
-
-[Sidenote: His fall.]
-
-His death opened the door to a strange attempt on the part of the
-Papal See. The influence of Gualo, the Papal Legate, had been
-great. It had been so because John’s resignation of his crown was
-regarded at Rome as no vain formality, but as a real cession. But
-Gualo, a man of somewhat weak character, was no match for Pembroke,
-and was unfitted to make good the authority which Rome was inclined
-to claim. He was recalled, and a much more energetic legate
-appointed in the person of Pandulf, now Bishop elect of Norwich.
-His appointment represents an effort on the part of Rome to govern
-England as a conquered province by means of its legates. The
-natural governor of England during the minority of the sovereign
-was the great justiciary Hubert de Burgh. But Pandulf assumed
-authority over him, and his letters amply prove how overbearingly
-he used it. His government was at first successful. The dangers
-of a French invasion were averted by a renewal for four years of
-the Peace of Chinon. The friendship of Scotland was secured by the
-marriage of Henry’s sister Jane with the Scotch king. A splendid
-coronation, and an ostentatious ceremonial at the removal of
-Becket’s bones to the Cathedral of Canterbury, seemed to show the
-restored grandeur both of King and Church; while a Bull from Pope
-Honorius commanded the restoration of the royal castles, which the
-poverty of the King had, in many instances, obliged him to pledge
-to their governors. But Pandulf’s conduct was too overbearing to be
-endured. Langton, as the head of the English Church, and therefore
-no friend to the immediate government of Rome, tried to curb him by
-demanding his obedience as one of his suffragan bishops. The Pope
-declared him free from this obedience so long as his consecration
-to the See of Norwich was uncompleted. Langton finally betook
-himself to Rome, and there, by what means we know not, succeeded in
-obtaining an order for his recall, accompanied by a promise that
-no resident legate should be appointed in England during his own
-lifetime.
-
-[Sidenote: Triumph of national part under Herbert de Burgh.]
-
-Hubert de Burgh at once took his proper position as regent,
-supported by the national Church; and the attempt at immediate
-rule from Rome may be said to have failed, though throughout the
-reign England was regarded as in a special manner a fief of the
-Papal See, and, as Pope Innocent IV. said afterwards, “a well of
-wealth from which Rome might draw unlimitedly.” For eight years
-Hubert ruled England well. He was unduly grasping of money, he
-was occasionally arbitrary, but on the whole his government was
-directed to the honest support of the Great Charter, and the
-destruction of that foreign influence under which England was
-suffering.
-
-[Sidenote: Parties in England.]
-
-[Sidenote: Opposition barons at Leicester. 1223.]
-
-[Sidenote: Resumption of royal castles.]
-
-[Sidenote: Destruction of Faukes de Breauté. 1224.]
-
-The centre of this influence was Peter des Roches, who had the care
-of the King’s person. These two ministers, Hubert and Peter, were
-the representatives of the different sides of that quarrel which
-gives its tone to the whole reign. The characteristic feature of
-the period is the growth of national feeling. This feeling had been
-outraged by John by the introduction of foreign favourites. The
-claims of the Pope on England, the tyranny which he exercised on
-the national Church, and the constant bestowal of English livings
-upon foreigners, had a similar effect in shocking the feelings of
-the clergy. Thus while the Pope and King appear throughout the
-reign as the favourers of foreigners, the national party both in
-State and Church were closely connected. As yet, indeed, the King
-was too young for such a part; the representative of the foreign
-party was Des Roches. Round him gathered themselves all classes
-of malcontents, consisting chiefly of those foreign mercenaries
-whom John had raised to power, and who were occupying the royal
-castles, of Llewellyn of Wales in close connection with them, and
-of the nobles of Ireland. Des Roches’ influence at Rome secured for
-this party on most points the support of the Pope. For two years
-they were constantly thwarting the government of De Burgh. The
-necessities of the government had obliged him to be severe in the
-collection of money; but there was some slight colouring for the
-charge of undue severity which was laid against him. An uproar in
-London, headed by Constantine Fitz-Alulf, an old partisan of the
-French invaders, had been followed by the summary execution of that
-demagogue. Attacks both in Wales and in Ireland upon the property
-of William Marshall, who was thoroughly English in his views,
-were the first signs of the coming storm. A Bull which De Burgh
-obtained from Honorius declaring the King of age, and demanding the
-restitution of the castles, brought matters to a crisis. Under this
-provocation the barons and Peter des Roches proceeded to action.
-An attack on London was planned, but failed. But the discontented
-nobles openly appeared before the King; and Peter des Roches
-formally charged Hubert with treason, and demanded his dismissal.
-Led by the Earl of Chester, they retired, and kept Christmas with
-great pomp at Leicester. The Justiciary and the King determined to
-hold a rival meeting at Northampton. The royal appeal for help
-was warmly answered. The force collected at Northampton was too
-strong for the malcontents. Excommunication issued against them by
-Stephen Langton completed their discomfiture. They separated and
-obtained peace as a price of the surrender of the castles. There
-was one exception, Faukes de Breauté, who contrived to retain his
-strongholds. This man, a mercenary of John, had risen to be the
-sheriff of six counties, the governor of several castles, and a
-Baron of the Exchequer. Hubert determined to complete his victory
-by destroying him. His opportunity occurred, when Faukes’ brother
-William laid hands on the travelling justice Henry Braibroc and
-imprisoned him at Bedford. With extreme rapidity De Burgh marched
-against him and captured Bedford. Faukes fled to join his former
-comrades; but it was in vain that both Chester and Peter des
-Roches, now at one with the Justiciary, petitioned in his favour,
-De Burgh remained unmoved, and De Breauté was stripped of all his
-offices, and condemned to perpetual exile. He betook himself to
-Rome, where he managed to obtain the ear of the Court, and still
-further increased the difficulties of the English government.
-
-[Sidenote: Danger from France. Death of Phillip.]
-
-[Sidenote: English neglect the opportunity.]
-
-[Sidenote: Poitou remains French.]
-
-Although he had thus worsted his domestic enemies the Justiciary
-was surrounded with difficulties. Philip Augustus had died in
-1223, and had been succeeded by his son Louis VIII., the old enemy
-of England. He had begun his reign with a threat of renewed war,
-to which the disturbed state of Poitou and Guienne afforded a
-constant opportunity. In those countries there was a succession
-of unceasing disputes between town and town and noble and noble;
-the country roughly forming itself into two parties, the towns
-and the nobles. In 1224, war had in fact broken out. Henry had
-sought the friendship of the German Emperor Frederick against
-France, and connected himself with Peter Duke of Brittany, and when
-Louis appeared at the head of a great army, nominally for a war
-against the Albigenses, it seemed probable that its real aim was
-the English provinces. Louis’ unexpected death changed the state
-of affairs. The new king was a child in the hands of his mother
-Blanche, and the French nobles took the opportunity to loosen the
-connection between themselves and the crown which Philip II. had
-established, and thus destroyed for the present the possibility of
-united national action. But although, on the first slackening of
-authority, all Poitou passed into the English hands, the chance of
-forming a united opposition among the discontented French nobles
-was allowed to pass unused. One by one even the old allies of the
-English returned to their allegiance to France. At length, Richard,
-the King’s brother, who had the title of Count of Poitou, and had
-commanded his army, joined in the general pacification.
-
-[Sidenote: Hubert’s continued power.]
-
-It was the financial difficulties of the government which had
-chiefly prevented the success of this war. The opposition to
-Hubert de Burgh was constant, and it had only been upon condition
-of again signing the Charter that the King had been able to raise
-a fifteenth for the French war. This tax was probably the first
-raised in strict accordance with the terms of the Charter. De Burgh
-was honestly desirous, in opposition to the arbitrary views of his
-rival Des Roches, that the King should rule constitutionally, and
-both by proclamation and by official letters he took care to spread
-a knowledge of the Charter in the country. Although Henry was
-declared of age in 1227, when he was twenty, the government of De
-Burgh practically continued. He was made Earl of Kent, and declared
-Justiciary for life; and his victory was completed by the absence
-of Peter des Roches, who thought it better to withdraw for a time
-to the Crusades. His rule was not very popular among the nobles:
-not only was he naturally disliked by the chiefs of the adverse
-party, he even quarrelled with Richard, the King’s brother, and
-with William Marshall. Such an act indeed as the following could
-scarcely have failed to make him enemies. An inquisition was issued
-to examine into the title deeds[35] of all tenants in chief, who
-were obliged to make good their titles by large payments. The sum
-derived from this inquiry amounted to £100,000.
-
-[Sidenote: Langton supports his policy.]
-
-[Sidenote: Change of Popes: increased exactions.]
-
-The support which the Justiciary invariably received from Langton
-bears witness to the national character of his government. The
-Archbishop’s efforts to free the Church from its foreign slavery
-were perhaps even more laborious than those of the Justiciary.
-Already the system which reached such excesses afterwards had been
-established. Gualo and Pandulf had been but single instances of a
-number of Roman officials who had grown rich on gifts of English
-benefices; and now the Roman Court determined, under the pretext of
-raising money for the Crusade, to demand both in France and England
-two benefices in each diocese and each abbey for the exclusive
-use of Rome. In neither country was the demand allowed. Otho, a
-Papal legate, held a council in 1226 at Westminster, and brought
-forward the demand. The clergy would probably have had to yield,
-had not the Archbishop, by private negotiations with the Pope,
-succeeded in getting the Legate’s commission withdrawn. The clergy
-then expressly declared that by the laws of England they were free
-from such exactions. That England was allowed thus to escape, and
-that the exactions were comparatively so light in these first
-years of the reign, is due to the character of Honorius and to the
-interest which he always took in the young King, whom he regarded
-as his special vassal and ward. The case was different when he was
-succeeded by Gregory IX., the nephew of Innocent III., and the
-heir to his imperious temper. It was fortunate that his constant
-war with the German Emperor prevented him from meddling much with
-English politics.
-
-[Sidenote: Death of Langton. 1228.]
-
-But this period, during which England was governed by such
-patriotic leaders as De Burgh and Langton, working in harmony with
-one another, was coming to a close. In 1228, the Archbishop died,
-and was succeeded, after a disputed election, by Richard Chancellor
-of Lincoln, who was authoritatively nominated by the Pope. The
-new Archbishop did not live long, and was in his turn succeeded,
-also on the nomination of the Pope, by Edmund Rich, a man of
-great sanctity and singleness of purpose. In the following year,
-a quarrel occurred between the King and the Justiciary, which was
-probably the beginning of that nobleman’s fall.
-
-[Sidenote: Quarrel of Henry and De Burgh.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s false foreign policy.]
-
-Henry, now that he was of age, had become anxious to distinguish
-himself by regaining some of his continental dominions. To this
-he was pressed by the discontented French nobles, more especially
-by the Count of Toulouse, who was suffering from the Albigensian
-crusades, by the Counts of Brittany and of the provinces in the
-north-east of France. In other words, he was thinking of throwing
-England back into that position of entanglement and dependence
-which had hitherto prevented the formation of the national spirit.
-This was exactly opposed to the Justiciary’s views. He was unable
-to change the King’s mind; but when Henry arrived at Portsmouth,
-where his army was assembled, he found the ships insufficient for
-its transport. Full of rage, he turned upon Hubert, abusing him as
-a grey-haired traitor, and affirming that he was bribed by France.
-The expedition had to be postponed, which was fortunate, as the
-scutage which had been demanded from the Barons and the Church had
-indeed been granted, but not yet collected. It was not till the
-end of April 1230 that the armies sailed. Although the expedition
-was unwise in itself, it was well timed. With the exception of
-the Count of Champagne, nearly all the French Barons were in arms,
-or ready to rise, against the Queen Regent Blanche; but Henry
-was incapable of seizing the opportunity. He tried diplomacy
-instead of war, but it was in vain that he persuaded many of the
-Barons of Poitou to join him; Blanche found means to break up the
-confederation against her. This change in the aspect of affairs
-compelled Henry to make a truce, and before the end of the year he
-returned home, leaving a small army behind him.
-
-[Sidenote: Return of Des Roches.]
-
-[Sidenote: Twenge’s riots.]
-
-Under pretext of continuing the war, a new scutage was demanded
-and granted, not without opposition from the clergy; but finally
-a peace for three years was concluded in July 1231, which was
-again renewed for five years in 1235. We may suppose, although
-Henry declared that he was on perfectly good terms with the
-Justiciary, that their great difference on foreign policy made his
-suspicious mind inclined to listen willingly to the insinuations
-of Des Roches, his evil genius, who in this year returned from
-the Crusade. Every difficulty of the Justiciary was artfully
-taken advantage of. Among other things laid to his charge was
-the insecure state of the Welsh borders. He was even represented
-as fostering a strange lawless opposition to the encroachment
-of Rome, which had been showing itself in the kingdom. A secret
-society, part lay, part clerical, had been formed to check the
-habit of granting English livings to foreign priests, thus not
-only destroying the funds of the English clergy, but overriding
-the rights of private patronage. The society wrote letters to all
-ecclesiastical bodies, threatening them with vengeance if they
-paid the incomes of the foreign interlopers. The associates did
-not confine themselves to threats; several foreign priests were
-robbed and outraged. The head of the conspiracy, Sir Robert Twenge,
-boldly justified his conduct to the King, and was allowed to depart
-unharmed, and carry his complaints direct to Rome. The rioters
-were said to have shown in their justification letters from the
-Justiciary.
-
-[Sidenote: Fall of De Burgh.]
-
-[Sidenote: Effects of taking sanctuary.]
-
-It is scarcely possible that this could have been true; but,
-together with the disturbances on the Welsh Marches, it formed the
-chief among a series of very trivial charges which were brought
-against Hubert, and produced his fall. On the 29th of July 1232, he
-was suddenly suspended from all his offices. His place was taken by
-Stephen de Segrave, a close ally of Des Roches. Peter de Rivaux,
-probably the Bishop’s son, was made treasurer, and other favourites
-of the Bishop were raised to office. Hubert, aware of the strength
-of his enemies, took refuge in the Priory of Merton in Surrey. He
-was granted a few weeks to prepare his defence, and to get ready
-accounts which were demanded of all the money that had ever passed
-through his hands. Supposing that he was thus at liberty for the
-present, he went to Bury St. Edmunds to join his wife, but on his
-journey thither, at Brentwood, he was, by order of the Court,
-assaulted, and fled for refuge to the sanctuary of a neighbouring
-chapel. He was torn from his refuge, and hurried to London. The
-favour he had gained in the eyes of the people and his whole
-political aim are well shown in the words that are reported to have
-been used by a smith when ordered to put irons on him: “Is not this
-that true and noble Hubert who has so often snatched England from
-the devastating hand of the foreigners, and made England, England?”
-The Church obliged Henry to restore him to his sanctuary, and the
-love with which he was regarded was shown by the touching offer of
-his own chaplain, Luke, Bishop of Dublin, to give himself up in
-his place. The effect of taking sanctuary was, that the fugitive
-was bound to swear before the coroner that he would leave England
-for ever. This exile he was bound to seek within forty days,
-leaving the coast within a tide after his arrival there, or, if
-the wind made that impossible, walking daily into the sea to show
-his willingness to do so. Hubert could not bring himself to abjure
-England; he would not therefore leave his sanctuary, and being
-surrounded by his enemies, was starved into submission. He was
-treated mercifully; his Crown fiefs were taken from him, his own
-property he retained, but he was kept in confinement in the Castle
-of Devizes.
-
-[Sidenote: Revolution under Des Roches. 1233.]
-
-[Sidenote: Earl of Pembroke upholds Hubert.]
-
-Once in command of the government, Peter des Roches pushed headlong
-to the attainment of his objects. The friends of De Burgh were
-swept from the Court. The offices were filled with foreigners.
-Henry was persuaded to bring over 2000 troops from France. But
-Hubert was not the only Englishman among the nobility. Richard
-Marshall of Pembroke, the second son of the great Regent, and now
-his representative, raised the voice of patriotism, and declared
-to the King that as long as foreigners were ruling none of his
-English counsellors would appear at Court. Des Roches answered
-insolently that the King and his foreigners would soon bring rebels
-to reason. At assemblies at Oxford and at Westminster the same sort
-of language was used. By Peter’s advice, the King began to proceed
-against his discontented subjects. He deprived Gilbert Basset of
-his property, and ordered the apprehension of his brother-in-law
-Siward; they fled to the Earl Marshall, their property fell to
-Rivaux. In August, a day was appointed for the delivery of hostages
-by the suspected nobles. Pembroke, the Marshall, hearing that there
-was a plot against his life, retired to his Welsh possessions. The
-King summoned troops to meet him at Gloucester. The Marshall and
-his friends were outlawed without trial; fresh foreign troops came
-thronging over, and civil war began. The King’s army did not fare
-well, and the clergy began to take up the cause of the Marshall.
-They protested against the confiscation of a peer’s property
-without trial. “There are no peers in England,” said Des Roches,
-“as in France; the King may sentence whom he will, and drive
-them from the country.” The clergy could not hear such absolute
-principles unmoved. They threatened Des Roches and his favourites
-with excommunication; and when the King demanded their censure upon
-the Marshall for an attack upon Gloucester, they said the city was
-his, and they found no grounds for censure.
-
-[Sidenote: Edmund of Canterbury causes Des Roches’ fall. 1234.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry becomes his own minister.]
-
-Meanwhile, afraid for his life, De Burgh had escaped from Devizes
-and again taken sanctuary. Again he was illegally torn from it,
-again the Church remonstrated, and he was again restored. A sudden
-inroad into Wiltshire under the Marshall’s friend Siward set him at
-liberty, and he immediately joined the Marshall at Strigul. Again
-and again the royal troops were worsted; and at length, in 1234, at
-a meeting of the clergy at Westminster, Archbishop Edmund took the
-matter up, explained to the King the wretched effects of trusting
-to his foreign counsellors, warned him that excommunication would
-most likely fall upon him too, and induced him at length to order
-the Bishop of Winchester to retire and attend to his spiritual
-work in his diocese. For a month longer the war went on, or rather
-attacks continued to be made upon the followers of Peter. But in
-May, news arrived that Richard Marshall had been treacherously
-killed in Ireland at the instigation of Des Roches. This was more
-than the King himself could bear, and the Archbishop received
-orders to restore to favour all those whom Des Roches had outlawed.
-Gilbert Marshall received the property and office of his late
-brother, and Hubert was allowed to retain the earldom of Kent
-and his own property. This change was followed by the removal of
-Peter’s creatures. After some years of absence, he himself returned
-to England, was received into favour, and died in his diocese in
-1239.
-
-The fall of Des Roches was not productive of such advantageous
-changes in the government as might have been expected. Segrave
-held for a few years the office of Justiciary. On his death the
-office was not renewed till after the Parliament at Oxford. Ralph
-Neville continued in more or less favour as Chancellor till 1244,
-when that office also fell into abeyance. The King practically
-became his own minister, and unfortunately his views of government
-had more in common with those of Des Roches than with those of De
-Burgh. It is true that the growing power of the Great Council,
-which was gradually gaining the name of Parliament, prevented any
-great infractions of the Charter, and compelled the King again and
-again to renew that document, though always in exchange for an aid.
-The frequency of renewal, however, seems to show repeated efforts
-on the part of the King to free himself from it; nor was the state
-of his treasury such as to enable him to do without legitimate
-sources of revenue. The real faults of his reign were not illegal
-extensions of the royal power, but the readiness with which he
-allowed and even joined in the exactions of the Papal See, and
-the total absence of national objects which distinguish his rule,
-which may be traced to his culpable partiality to foreigners. From
-the year 1236 till the Parliament of Oxford, these errors were
-continually on the increase.
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s marriage.]
-
-[Sidenote: Influence of the Queen’s uncles.]
-
-The first great influx of foreigners was caused by his marriage.
-In 1236, he married Eleanor, the second daughter of Count Raymond
-Berenger of Provence, and sister of the Queen of France. From
-that moment, the Court was in the hands of the Queen’s relatives.
-It was especially the Queen’s uncles into whose hands patronage
-fell. William, Bishop of Valence, was the first. To him was given
-the vast property of Richmond in Yorkshire, which had previously
-belonged to the Counts of Brittany, and the King had almost
-succeeded in securing for him the Bishopric of Winchester when news
-of his death was brought. He was succeeded by another uncle, Peter
-of Savoy. Richmond was handed on to him; Pevensey and Hastings
-were intrusted to him, and the wardship of the Earl of Warrenne,
-which completed his power in the south-east corner of England. To
-increase his influence, he brought over numbers of young foreign
-ladies, and married them to some of the great Earls of England. The
-death of Edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1240, allowed
-the King to secure that See, after an interval of five years,
-for another of his uncles, Boniface, whose violence and warlike
-bearing, as well as his youth, made him a strange contrast to his
-predecessor. Peter de Aigue Blanche, another Savoyard, was made
-Bishop of Hereford, and afterwards became Henry’s disreputable
-agent in the business of the Sicilian monarchy. This lavish support
-of foreigners naturally caused great discontent in England, and was
-repeatedly the subject of complaints in the Great Council. Thus,
-in 1236 and 1237, there were three stormy councils, nor was the
-money the King required granted till the sanctions of the Magna
-Charta were again renewed. The arrival of the Cardinal Otho as
-Papal Legate did not mend matters; his efforts at reconciliation
-were useless, and he soon tuned his attention to collecting money
-for the Church. At this time, for a very short period, it seemed as
-if Richard Earl of Cornwall, the King’s brother, might have assumed
-the post of leader of the English party; but his patriotic efforts
-were short-lived. A few years after he married the Queen’s sister,
-and threw his influence upon the side of the foreigners.
-
-[Sidenote: Formation of a national party under Simon de Montfort.]
-
-A far greater man took the post he thus resigned. Simon de
-Montfort, destined to be the real national leader of England, was
-rising into importance. The sister and heiress of Count Robert of
-Leicester had married the Count of Montfort, and died in 1204. In
-1215, the whole English property had been given to Ralph Earl of
-Chester. Simon de Montfort, the Conqueror of the Albigenses, never
-possessed it, but his eldest son Almaric, after the death of the
-Earl of Chester, in 1232, demanded the property and honours of
-Leicester for his younger brother Simon, who was thus acknowledged
-as the owner of the property. He held the bason of water as
-High-Steward at the Queen’s coronation, shortly after married the
-King’s sister, the widow of William, second Earl of Pembroke, and
-succeeded in getting that marriage acknowledged by Gregory IX. in
-1238. Like all those who had to do with Henry, he was obliged to
-bear extraordinary changes of fortune from the fickle character
-of the King. An angry quarrel drove him abroad, and, in 1240, in
-company with Richard of Cornwall, he set out for the Holy Land.
-
-[Sidenote: Revival in the Church.]
-
-[Sidenote: Grostête.]
-
-During their absence the government of England grew continually
-worse. Men began to weary of the personal government of the King.
-For several years the great offices of justiciary and chancellor
-had been left unfilled, and their duties performed by subordinate
-officials, upon whom the King lavished his favours. One of the
-chief of these was Mansell, who is said to have held no less than
-700 livings, and to have been in the yearly receipt of 8000 marks.
-The Church was gradually driven to make common cause with the lay
-opposition. It was a time of spiritual revival. The great monastic
-orders had lapsed into the position of wealthy landowners. The
-work which in the early times they had so well performed, the
-civilization of the country districts, was over. They had become
-lazy and luxurious. The prelates had for the most part deserted
-their spiritual calling and become statesmen. The Church as a
-whole, as represented by the Pope, had misused its influence.
-Crusades had become the instruments of temporal aggrandizement,
-or of revenge upon the personal enemies of the Pope. A spiritual
-revival had been set on foot almost at the same time by St. Dominic
-and St. Francis d’Assisi, who had founded the two great orders of
-Dominicans and Franciscans, the Black and Grey Friars. The vow of
-poverty, evaded by the older orders, had become a reality. The
-establishments of the Friars had met with great success; thousands
-thronged to be enrolled in their orders. They had rapidly spread
-over Europe, and had lately arrived in England, and there begun
-their work of regeneration. They had laboured chiefly in the towns
-and among the most wretched outcasts of society, and had there
-called into life new religious energy, mingled with hatred towards
-their wealthy predecessors the old monks, and with a consciousness
-of personal equality in the sight of God, which tended much to
-strengthen the democratic feeling which supplied Simon de Montfort
-with his strongest support. Their teaching had not affected the
-lower classes alone; numbering among them many learned men, they
-speedily got possession of the education at Oxford, and found a
-friend in Grostête, the learned Bishop of Lincoln. The reforms
-which the Church demanded were carried out by him as far as
-possible in his diocese; and under his guidance, and that of Edmund
-Rich, the Church of England was becoming at once spiritual and
-national. The folly of the King, who filled the high ecclesiastical
-offices with foreign favourites, the exactions of the Pope, who,
-acting hand in hand with him, placed hundreds of benefices in the
-hands of Italian priests, compelled all that was best in the Church
-to throw itself absolutely on the side of the reformers.
-
-[Sidenote: Affairs of Poitou.]
-
-[Sidenote: Loss of Poitou. 1243.]
-
-[Sidenote: Prince Richard joins the foreign party.]
-
-Ecclesiastical and secular misgovernment went on side by side.
-Disastrous expeditions to France, and consequent exactions from
-the people, were intermingled with the visits of Papal emissaries,
-to wring from the wretched clergy contributions for the Papal
-war against the Hohenstaufen. In 1242, the King undertook to
-regain Poitou. Richard of Cornwall had been nominal Count of that
-province, when, in 1241, Louis gave his brother Alphonse the same
-title. The most important nobleman in the country was the Count
-de la Marche, who had married Henry’s mother. He at first did
-homage to the new Count, but afterwards, urged it is supposed by
-his ambitious wife, renounced his fealty, and demanded assistance
-from Henry. The King therefore landed in the following year in
-Gascony. De la Marche soon began to repent of what he had done,
-and Henry, never a very active warrior, was disheartened by his
-treachery. The armies at length met near Taillebourg, on the
-Charente. Afraid of being surrounded, Henry employed his brother
-Richard, who had gained general favour with the French by liberally
-ransoming prisoners in the Crusade, to secure an armistice. He
-took the opportunity of falling back to Saintes, where he was
-almost surprised by the pursuing enemy. After this he was gradually
-driven backwards to the Garonne, while Marche and his revolted
-barons again accepted their French lord. The year was wasted in
-fruitless negotiations with the discontented Count of Toulouse,
-and in collecting money and troops from England. Henry quarrelled
-with his own nobles, who gradually left his army; and early in
-1243 returned to England, having accepted a peace, which deprived
-him of the whole of Poitou and of the Isle of Rhé. Gascony was now
-the only part of France remaining to the English. It was during
-this campaign that Richard of Cornwall met and married Sancha, the
-Queen’s sister, throwing up from this time all chance of leading
-the national party, and attaching himself to the foreigners.
-
-[Sidenote: Exactions in Church and State. 1244.]
-
-[Sidenote: Council at Lyons.]
-
-[Sidenote: Futile attempts to check exactions. 1246.]
-
-Such a war did not tend to the popularity of the King. The
-exchequer had been empty, money was stringently and often illegally
-exacted. A new Pope, Innocent IV., was elected, and the exactions
-from the English clergy resumed more vigorously than ever: for the
-Pope was carrying on the contest he had inherited against Frederick
-II., and was now summoning at Lyons the council his predecessor had
-failed to collect, in hopes of destroying for ever the power of the
-Hohenstaufen. His agent, Master Martin, travelled through England,
-pillaging the clergy till the English could bear it no longer, and
-the barons joined with the Church in demanding his dismissal. The
-foreign element in the Church too continued its baneful activity.
-Boniface, the Archbishop, laid waste his rich see, cutting down the
-timber and sending the profits abroad, while the King attempted,
-though in vain, to secure the Bishopric of Chichester for Robert
-de Passelewe. The nation determined to demand its rights at
-the Council of Lyons. The English ambassadors there took an
-opportunity of charging the Pope with not being contented with his
-Peter’s Pence and the yearly 1000 marks which John had promised,
-with sending his messengers to make further exactions, and with
-filling English benefices against the will of their patrons with
-Italian priests. 60,000 marks a year thus passed into the hands of
-foreigners, ignorant of the language, and mostly living abroad. The
-Pope vouchsafed no answer, but shortly afterwards issued a Bull
-forbidding pluralities, and promising to respect the rights of
-patrons. The Bull remained a dead letter; and the very next year
-6000 marks were exacted, and foreign priests were as plentiful as
-ever, admitted to their benefices under what was spoken of as “non
-obstante” clauses, which set aside all previous Bulls. The feeling
-in England against the Pope, who exacted, and the King, who allowed
-the exactions, grew more and more determined.
-
-[Sidenote: Inroad of Poitevin favourites. 1247.]
-
-[Sidenote: Discontent of Barons.]
-
-[Sidenote: Continued misgovernment.]
-
-[Sidenote: Tallages on the cities.]
-
-[Sidenote: Diversion of the crusade. 1250.]
-
-In 1247 matters grew still worse. A fresh swarm of foreigners
-arrived in England; De la Marche was dead, and the King’s
-half-brothers came over and were at once received with favour
-and honoured with profuse gifts. Chief among them was William of
-Valence, and his brother Aymer, who, in the year 1250, was made
-Bishop of Winchester, though he was never consecrated. The foreign
-policy of England was by these men managed for their own interests.
-Thus on the death of Raymond Berenger, Provence was allowed to pass
-into the hands of Charles of Anjou, who had married the Queen’s
-youngest sister; and thus Henry made use of a crusade, on which
-he said that he was going, to demand large sums of money from the
-people. In 1248 the crisis seemed approaching. At a meeting of
-Parliament many charges were raised against the favourites; and
-the feeling against the King’s personal government, which had
-long been growing, found vent. In blind security, Henry continued
-his course. The King’s revenue, squandered in empty magnificence
-or lavish grants to his foreign friends, became more and more
-dilapidated. Money had to be borrowed. All men with an income of
-£20 were compelled to take up their knighthood; and afraid to have
-recourse to illegal aids from the nobility, the King turned upon
-the cities, more especially London, and demanded and obtained great
-tallages from them. The crusade constantly supplied him with an
-excuse for these exactions; yet even when the King of France was
-taken prisoner in Egypt, Henry and his crusaders made no movement.
-He contented himself with appointing a day for his expedition;
-the expedition itself did not take place. Innocent indeed had
-other ends in view; he was bent far more on the destruction of the
-Hohenstaufen than on the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. Frederick
-II. had died in December 1250, and the Pope’s energies were now
-directed to driving those who remained of this family from their
-kingdom of the two Sicilies.
-
-[Sidenote: Montfort’s government of Gascony.]
-
-[Sidenote: His quarrel with the King.]
-
-Far indeed from assisting Louis, Henry had regarded his absence
-as an opportunity for regaining his power in the south of France.
-Gascony was in a state of complete confusion, chiefly through the
-insurrections of Gaston of Bearn and assaults from the King of
-Navarre. To bring it into order, Henry had, in 1248, appointed
-Simon de Montfort his governor there. His government had been
-completely successful, and at length, in 1250, Gaston was sent a
-prisoner to England. In his foolish soft-heartedness, Henry at once
-pardoned and released him. But the vigorous government of Simon had
-excited the displeasure both of the nobles and of the towns. They
-sent an embassy under the Archbishop of Bordeaux to lay charges
-against him before Henry. The King, fickle and jealous, listened
-to them; and Leicester was summoned home. He had almost ruined
-himself in his efforts to carry on his government well, and an
-angry scene of personal recrimination occurred, the King charging
-him with treason, while Simon demanded repayment for the money he
-had expended. It shows the state of personal contempt into which
-the King had fallen, that Leicester could venture to give him the
-lie direct. But the King could not do without him; by the influence
-of the Earl of Cornwall the quarrel was adjusted, and De Montfort
-returned as he believed to his government. His back was scarcely
-turned when the King appointed in his place his young son Edward,
-and ordered the Gascons not to obey De Montfort. Feeling himself
-thus freed from his charge, De Montfort went to Paris. The opinion
-of his abilities was so high, that he was offered the regency of
-France; but slighted though he had been at home, he was still true
-to his adopted country, and declined the flattering offer.
-
-[Sidenote: By Leicester’s aid Gascony is saved.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s money difficulties.]
-
-Left to himself, Henry found the Gascons more than he could manage.
-He collected indeed much money for the expedition; the Charter
-being renewed as usual as the price of a grant. The Jews had to
-advance money, the towns were tallaged. But, after all, things
-would have gone badly had not Leicester again patriotically offered
-his services, and taken command of the disturbed province. With
-his assistance, and with money obtained from England, by dint of
-lying letters, narrating the extreme danger of the King from the
-approach of a vast army of Christians and Saracens under the King
-of Castile, peace was made with Alphonso X., at that time the
-King of Castile, and a marriage arranged between Edward and his
-daughter the Princess Eleanor. This expedition therefore had on
-the whole been successful; but it plunged the King still deeper
-into money difficulties, while his constant demands for money, and
-the dishonest means he had taken to secure it, had lowered him
-still further in the eyes of the people. His foolish ambition and
-his adherence to the Papal See completed what his long reign of
-misgovernment had begun.
-
-[Sidenote: The Pope offers Edmund the kingdom of Sicily. 1254.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry accepts Sicily on ruinous terms.]
-
-It has been said that the Pope’s chief object was to remove the
-Hohenstaufen from their Italian dominions. As early as 1252,
-seeking some prince whom he might set in their place, and being
-assured of the fidelity of the English King, he offered the throne
-of Sicily to Richard of Cornwall. That Prince, remembering that
-Henry, Frederick’s son, was his own nephew, and too prudent to
-trust himself blindly to the Pope, declined the offer. But when
-young Henry died in 1253, and Sicily fell into the hands of Conrad
-and of his half brother Manfred, the Pope repeated his offer to
-King Henry’s son Edmund. By him it was foolishly accepted; Conrad
-also died, and a great opportunity was opened for the Pope’s
-intrigues. There were three parties in Sicily: the German party,
-who upheld a son of Conrad, the Italian Gibellines, who obeyed
-Manfred, and the Sicilians, who followed Peter Rufus, the Emperor’s
-lieutenant. The Pope succeeded in bribing the leader of the German
-party, and his views seemed on the point of realization, when he
-died. He was succeeded by Alexander IV., who was reputed a moderate
-man, but who accepted all the arrangements of his predecessor.
-Henry had returned from Gascony, after a costly visit to Paris,
-deeply in debt. The Charter of London was again set aside, and
-a heavy tallage inflicted; the Jews were again compelled to pay
-large sums of money; and the Barons in Parliament were loudly
-complaining of grievances, and demanding the appointment of a
-Parliamentary Justiciary and Chancellor. In the midst of all these
-difficulties, the King was foolish enough to accept the Sicilies on
-ruinous terms. Two hundred ounces of gold yearly, and the support
-of 300 knights, were to be promised, the expenses of the war to be
-paid, and an army at once sent to claim the kingdom. The Pope kept
-the management of this war in his own hands, but the Bishop of
-Hereford, Henry’s envoy, was allowed to make the King responsible
-for the outlay. The Pope began immediately to send his creditors
-direct to Henry, and twice before the end of the year 1256, a Papal
-Legate of the name of Rustand had appeared in England, raised money
-of unknown value from the English Church, and freed the King from
-his Crusader’s oath, that he might employ his forces against Sicily.
-
-[Sidenote: Consequent exactions.]
-
-[Sidenote: Terrible famine. 1257.]
-
-[Sidenote: Parliament at length roused to resistance.]
-
-The English Church was indeed at his mercy. Boniface of Canterbury
-lived abroad, and was completely in the Papal interest, the
-Archbishopric of York was vacant, the Bishops of Winchester and
-Hereford were creatures of the King. Henry himself was acting in
-complete harmony with the Pope, who had several times granted him
-a tenth from the clergy, and had given him the incomes of all
-vacant benefices, and of intestates. The Church was driven into
-close union with the rapidly rising baronial opposition, and was
-obliged to regard its temporalities as ordinary baronies. Scotland
-and Wales were again becoming troublesome, and the lukewarmness
-of the English Barons prevented successful resistance to their
-inroads. To add to the difficulties of England, 1257 was a year of
-fearful want. The weather was so bad that the harvest stood rotting
-in the fields even in November. Wheat rose from two shillings to
-fifteen or twenty the quarter. The harvest of 1258 promised to be
-as bad. Thousands were dying of hunger.[36] And when, in the midst
-of this misery, the Pope’s Legate (who in 1257 had stated the
-amount of debt to the Pope to be 136,000 marks, and had succeeded
-in wringing 52,000 marks from the clergy) repeated his demand the
-following year, and threatened an interdict unless the debt was at
-once paid, Englishmen of all classes felt that the time for action
-had arrived, and, taking advantage of the absence of the Earl of
-Cornwall, who was abroad attempting to make good his election to
-the German Empire, the Barons assembled at a Parliament held at
-Westminster determined upon reform.
-
-[Sidenote: Parliament at Westminster.]
-
-It was a stormy scene. William de Valence and Simon de Montfort
-almost came to blows. William spoke of Montfort as “an old traitor,
-and the son of a traitor.” “No, no,” said Simon, “I am no traitor,
-nor traitor’s son; my father was very different from yours,”
-referring to the constant treasons of the old Count de la Marche.
-He then poured out his grievances, the squandering of the royal
-property on favourites, the folly, in the face of such financial
-difficulties, of accepting the Sicilian throne, and the admission
-of Papal legates to rob the clergy. At length a sort of compromise
-was arrived at, and aid was promised if the Pope would lower his
-demands, and the King on his side promised reform, a promise to
-which several of his chief favourites had to put their signatures.
-The King also pledged himself to give full consideration to the
-Barons’ demands at a Parliament to be assembled at Oxford at
-Whitsuntide, and to leave the question at issue to be decided by
-a commission of twelve from either side, whose verdict should be
-final.
-
-[Sidenote: Mad Parliament. 1258.]
-
-[Sidenote: Provisions of Oxford.]
-
-On June 11th, this Parliament met. It is known by the name of
-“The Mad Parliament.” The Barons, of whom there were about a
-hundred,[37] appeared in arms, under the pretext of the war with
-Wales, in reality to overawe the King’s violent step-brothers.
-At that Parliament the promised commission of twenty-four was
-chosen. The King’s Commissioners, with the single exception of
-John of Plesseys, Earl of Warwick, were men pledged to the old
-evil courses, either by their relationship with the King or by
-the favours they had obtained from him. At the head of the Barons
-appeared Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, the natural head of
-the English party, and De Montfort, himself indeed a foreigner,
-but of such high ability and character that he was indispensable
-to his party. To these twenty-four was intrusted the duty of
-securing reform. They were not like the twenty-five guardians of
-the Charter, pledges for the carrying out of the treaty, but a
-committee representing for the time the executive authority of the
-Crown. These Barons chose a council of four, John Mansell, the
-King’s secretary, the Earl of Warwick, and two Bigods (the Earl of
-Norfolk and his brother). These in their turn were to nominate a
-council of state or executive ministry of fifteen. The predominance
-of the baronial party is shown by the fact that of those fifteen
-two-thirds were on the Barons’ side.[38] This Council of fifteen
-produced the Provisions of Oxford, and appointed new officers. Hugh
-Bigod was chief justice, John of Peterborough, treasurer, Nicholas
-of Ely, chancellor. The royal castles were ordered to be placed
-in the hands of Englishmen; and three times a year a Parliament
-was to be held, consisting of the fifteen, and twelve members of
-the old twenty-four representative Barons. These are said to be
-representatives of the commonalty of England, but it does not as
-yet appear that the commonalty meant anything but the baronage.
-These Provisions were accepted and sworn to by the King, Prince
-Edward, and the Barons, and subsequently, on his return to England,
-by Richard, King of the Romans.
-
-[Sidenote: Opposition to the surrender of castles.]
-
-[Sidenote: Exile of aliens.]
-
-[Sidenote: Proclamation of the Provisions.]
-
-The article which demanded the surrender of castles by foreigners
-met with much opposition.[39] The King’s step-brothers refused to
-surrender theirs. Simon de Montfort, as a foreigner, on the other
-hand, showed a good example by surrendering two of those he had in
-charge.[40] When William de Valence refused this order, “I will
-have the castles,” said De Montfort, “or your head.” The threat
-was too serious to be disregarded; the foreigners crept off in
-the night, and went to Winchester, where they hoped that Aymer de
-Valence would afford them protection. The Barons at once pursued
-them. They were obliged to yield, and were exiled. The Barons then
-proceeded to check the bad government of the sheriffs. Four knights
-from each shire (a step towards the coming admission of the lower
-gentry to Parliament) were appointed to inquire into the question;
-and it was arranged that the sheriffs should be elected yearly. The
-Londoners readily accepted the new order of things; and finally,
-in October, the Provisions were solemnly proclaimed, together
-with the Magna Charta, in Latin, French and English. In this the
-King declared his full adhesion to the Oxford Ordinances. It was
-countersigned by thirteen of the fifteen counsellors. This is the
-first public document issued in the English language, and may be
-regarded as a sign of the real question at issue during the reign:
-Was England to be, in fact, England, and the English to be a nation?
-
-[Sidenote: Government of the Barons.]
-
-[Sidenote: Final treaty with France. 1259.]
-
-The fifteen counsellors were intrusted with the duty of producing
-other reforms before the following Christmas. This they neglected
-to do, and it was only in October 1259 that they produced another
-series of Provisions. These by no means answered the expectations
-of the Barons, and were so moderate that, after the cessation of
-the war, they were incorporated in the Statute of Marlborough,
-1267. They were chiefly directed to prevent encroachments on feudal
-rights. Prince Edward had earnestly pressed for the production
-of these Provisions. He was at this time a strong reformer, and
-it was perhaps on account of the inefficient character of the
-reforms now produced, that a quarrel arose between Leicester and
-Gloucester, in which, we are told, that Leicester was supported
-by Edward, Gloucester by the King. The government was meanwhile
-practically in the hands of the fifteen. They felt that their chief
-work was in England, and therefore freed themselves as much as
-possible from foreign complications. They made peace with Wales,
-entirely renounced all claims upon Sicily, and made a definitive
-treaty with France. By this treaty Bordeaux, Bayonne and Gascony,
-with the addition of the Bishoprics of Limoges, Cahors and
-Périgord, which the honesty of the French King restored, were to be
-held by England as fiefs of France; all claim on Normandy, Anjou,
-Touraine and Poitou was to be given up; and the King of France
-promised to give a sum of money for the maintenance of five hundred
-knights for two years, to be used only for the good of England or
-the Church. This last article proved afterwards a source of danger
-to the baronial cause.
-
-[Sidenote: Henry thinks of breaking the Provisions.]
-
-[Sidenote: Pope’s absolution arrives.]
-
-[Sidenote: Quarrel between De Clare and De Montfort.]
-
-Their whole government seems to have given satisfaction; but it was
-not likely that Henry should calmly submit to their domination.
-With the peculiar faculty of making his religion compatible with
-bad government and dishonesty, which was the characteristic of
-this King, he applied, almost immediately after the Parliament of
-Oxford, to the Pope for an absolution from his promises. A visit
-twice repeated to the King of France gave rise to the suspicion
-that he was concerting measures with that monarch; and, in 1261, he
-was certainly fortifying the Tower. In April of that year an answer
-of Alexander IV., entirely absolving him from his vows, reached
-him. He ordered it to be publicly read, proceeded to give some
-castles into the hands of foreigners, and proclaimed that he would
-no longer consent to the restraint imposed upon him. The Barons met
-at Kingston; and, unwilling to proceed to extremities, agreed to
-refer their differences to the King of France, whose character for
-honour stood high, though in this instance rumours were afloat that
-he was already pledged to the King’s interest.[41] The King would
-probably not have ventured on this course had not a quarrel arisen
-in the baronial party, which deprived them of their ablest leader.
-It is not certain what the cause of quarrel was, but as early as
-1259, De Clare and Montfort had exchanged hot words, and from that
-time De Montfort had been very much abroad, and the leadership of
-the baronial party entirely in the hands of De Clare. In 1262, a
-second absolution reached the King, and was by his orders publicly
-promulgated by Mansell, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and by the
-Bishop of Norwich.
-
-[Sidenote: Return of De Montfort.]
-
-[Sidenote: Outbreak of hostilities.]
-
-But meanwhile a stronger leader than Richard Earl of Gloucester
-had appeared in England, and the King’s attempts at recovering
-his authority were peremptorily checked. The Earl of Leicester,
-hearing of the death of Gloucester, had returned from abroad, and
-found himself the unquestioned chief of the party. With himself he
-associated the late Earl’s son, young Gilbert de Clare, and matters
-soon seemed to be coming to extremities. Llewellyn of Wales,
-apparently in the baronial interest, attacked the lands of Roger
-de Mortimer and of that foreign Bishop of Hereford who had been
-the King’s agent at Rome. A general persecution of all those who
-could not speak English followed in the border counties. The Bishop
-of Hereford’s treasures were seized, and he himself had to fly
-abroad. At the same time the Bishop of Norwich, who was disliked
-for having published the absolution, was attacked. John Mansell
-was driven into France; while, on the other hand, Prince Edward,
-who had hitherto remained true to the Statutes of Oxford, was
-reconciled to his father, and appeared in arms against the barons.
-The people of London joined in the general disturbance. The Queen
-had to leave London and retire to Windsor. On her way thither, as
-she was passing up the river, she was assaulted and maltreated by
-the Londoners, an event which Prince Edward is said not to have
-forgotten.
-
-[Sidenote: Award of Amiens. 1264.]
-
-[Sidenote: It fails.]
-
-While the parties were thus already beginning to appeal to arms, in
-January 1264, the King of France published his verdict at Amiens.
-It was entirely in favour of the Crown, and annulled the Provisions
-of Oxford, especially declaring that the King had right to employ
-aliens as the governors of his castles. The verdict was clear
-enough, and Henry believed that it put him entirely in the right.
-On the other hand a clause was added of which the Barons took hold
-to support their cause. By this it was asserted that the verdict
-was not intended to derogate in anything from the royal privileges,
-charters, liberties and laudable customs of the kingdom. With this
-loophole for variety of opinion, the award left the main question
-unsettled, although it enabled a certain number of those who were
-pledged to the Provisions, but disliked the Barons’ rule, to join
-the King. Among others, his brother Richard, the King of the
-Romans, took advantage of this opportunity. Still unwilling to
-press their claims to the uttermost, the Barons offered to accept
-the award, excepting only the one clause, which was in fact the
-point for which they were fighting, that, namely, which permitted
-the employment of aliens. The Londoners would not even go so far as
-this.
-
-[Sidenote: War, and battle of Lewes. May 14.]
-
-[Sidenote: The Mise of Lewes.]
-
-The King refused their offer, and war became inevitable. It began
-by the capture of Northampton by Prince Edward, and gradually
-drifted southward, till the two armies met at Lewes. The King
-occupied the town, with the castle and priory; the Barons, the
-down to the west. The battle ended in a decisive victory for the
-Barons. Prince Edward, carried away by his anger against the
-Londoners, whom he despised and hated, was induced to pursue an
-advantage he had won over them too far. Richard, the King of the
-Romans, was misled into an attack upon a cage-shaped litter, which
-he believed to contain De Montfort, who had been wounded by a fall
-from his horse. De Montfort had purposely left it in his rear,
-together with his standards and baggage; it really contained only
-four refractory Londoners of the King’s party. These two errors on
-the part of the enemy secured the victory to De Montfort; and when
-Prince Edward returned from his pursuit, he found the battle lost,
-and the struggle only prolonged by the fighting round the castle at
-Lewes. De Montfort, evidently the victor, offered to put an end to
-the bloodshed by an immediate truce; and an agreement known as the
-Mise of Lewes was made, by which the questions at issue were to be
-settled by a court of arbitration consisting of two Frenchmen and
-one Englishman. The two Princes, Edward and Henry d’Almeyne, were
-to remain in captivity meanwhile, in exchange for their fathers,
-the King and his brother Richard, who had been taken prisoners; and
-the prisoners on both sides were to be released.
-
-[Sidenote: Appointment of revolutionary government.]
-
-De Montfort was for the time completely master of the country. He
-at once proceeded to act with vigour to bring the country into
-order. The King’s peace was proclaimed everywhere. The prisoners
-were exchanged, and till the open question with regard to the
-election of sheriffs should be settled, guardians of the peace were
-appointed for each county. In the offices thus created, as well as
-in those of the King’s Council, the friends and followers of Simon
-were put. A Parliament was then called, which assembled in June,
-at which it is probable that knights of the shire were present. At
-this Parliament a committee of three was appointed, who nominated
-nine others, in whose hands the government was to be placed. If the
-nine could not come to agreement, the final decision remained with
-the three, who were the Bishop of Chichester, Simon de Montfort,
-and Gilbert de Clare. At the same time the affairs of the Church
-were put in order, its grievances being left to the settlement of
-three bishops appointed by statute.
-
-[Sidenote: Exiles assemble at Damme.]
-
-[Sidenote: Montfort desires final settlement.]
-
-De Montfort thus seemed in a fair way to make his position
-durable; but unfortunately three important men had made their
-escape from Lewes:--these were the Earl of Warrenne, Hugh Bigod
-and William de Valence. These three fugitives betook themselves to
-Damme, in Flanders, where the Queen, in company with the exiled
-foreigners, Archbishop Boniface, Bishop of Hereford, Peter of
-Savoy, and John Mansell, had assembled an army of hired troops.
-Great preparations were made to meet the expected invasion, but
-the winds were so contrary that the ill-provided army, weary of
-waiting, separated. The closeness of the danger, however, induced
-Simon to send ambassadors to France, to urge on the completion of
-the settlement according to the Mise of Lewes. The embassy was at
-the same time to try and make terms with the Papal Legate, who had
-been quickly despatched to uphold the cause of so good a vassal of
-Rome as Henry. They were unsuccessful in both their objects. The
-Queen had been beforehand with Louis, and the Legate, who shortly
-afterwards ascended the Papal throne as Clement IV., replied only
-by excommunication. The Bull, however, was taken by the mariners of
-the Cinque Ports before reaching England, and thrown into the sea;
-and the excommunication did not take effect.
-
-[Sidenote: Royalist movements on the Welsh Marches.]
-
-Meanwhile, the royalist barons on the Marches of Wales, especially
-Mortimer, Clifford and Leybourne, began to bestir themselves. Some
-of them even pushed as far as Wallingford, where Prince Edward
-was a prisoner, and attempted, though in vain, to liberate him.
-The liberation of this Prince was now the chief object of the
-royalists, and the pressure put upon Leicester was so great, that
-he had, though unwillingly, to consent to measures which should
-bring it about. There was indeed every reason to desire that he
-should be freed. The part he had played in the late disputes had
-been highly honourable; he had remained true to the Provisions
-of Oxford, till the breaking out of the war seemed to render it
-his imperative duty to assist his father; and from his subsequent
-conduct it is plain that, although he must have disliked the
-present restrictions upon the royal power, there was much in the
-national policy of the Barons with which he sympathized. All those
-who resented the assumption of power by Montfort, while desiring
-a reform in government, would have found in him a welcome leader.
-
-[Sidenote: Parliament of 1265.]
-
-It was principally for this object that the famous Parliament of
-1265 was called. To it were summoned only twenty-three peers,
-friends of De Montfort, though the great Northern and Scotch
-barons, who had strongly supported the King at Lewes, also received
-safe conducts. Of the higher clergy there were no less than one
-hundred and eighteen, a number by no means unprecedented, but
-which seems to show how completely the Church sympathized with
-the Barons. There were also knights of the shires--two from each
-county. Even from the time of the commission for forming the
-Domesday Book, elected knights had been occasionally consulted upon
-the affairs of their county; since Henry II.’s reign, although
-they had never been properly summoned to Parliament, this practice
-had been more frequent. But the addition of two burghers from the
-chief cities was wholly new, and although the practice was not
-continued without a break, this, says Hallam, is the epoch at which
-the representation of the Commons becomes distinctly manifest. To
-De Montfort it was of the greatest importance that the general
-acquiescence of all important classes of the country in his
-government should be shown.
-
-[Sidenote: Conditions of the Prince’s liberation.]
-
-The assembly thus formed had first of all to consider what was
-to be done with the present insurgents and with the exiles, and,
-secondly, on what conditions Prince Edward might be with safety
-liberated. On the first point it was decreed that the barons of
-the Welsh Marches should be exiled to Ireland for three years, and
-the fugitives from Lewes were summoned to stand their trial before
-their peers, a summons to which, of course, they paid no attention.
-The other question was more important, but the conditions were
-finally arrived at on which the Prince might be set at liberty.
-There was to be complete amnesty for all that was past; the King
-and Prince were never to receive their former favourites; the royal
-castles were to be placed in trustworthy hands; the great charters
-of liberty were to be again established; the Prince was not to
-leave the country for three years, and must choose his council
-by the advice of government; and the county of Chester, with its
-castle, together with the castles of the Peak and Newcastle, were
-to be given up to De Montfort. For this, however, an equivalent
-was to be given from De Montfort’s county of Leicester. All
-these arrangements were made under the most solemn sanctions.
-On the last article much of the abuse of Leicester for avarice
-and self-seeking has been rested. But, in fact, the position
-of the lands commanding the Scotch and Welsh borders afforded a
-sufficient political reason for requiring their cession. A copy of
-this arrangement was sent to each sheriff, and the great charters
-of liberty publicly read, with a solemn threat of excommunication
-against all who should break them.
-
-[Sidenote: Defection of De Clare. He joins the Marchers.]
-
-[Sidenote: Escape of Edward.]
-
-These arrangements tended to the establishment of a peaceful
-government and to the healing of faction; but unfortunately there
-was constant jealousy of De Montfort among his colleagues, arising
-probably in part from his foreign birth and royal connections, in
-part from the truly popular nature of his views, with which the
-Barons had but little sympathy. Again, as on a previous occasion,
-De Clare, the leader of the English Barons, deserted him, and
-began to intrigue with his enemies. At the same time, William de
-Valence landed in his lordship of Pembroke. By the instrumentality
-of Mortimer, Edward made his escape from Ludlow Castle; and the
-invaders, the Prince, the Lord Marchers, and Gloucester opened
-communications one with the other. The trick by which Edward
-effected his escape is well known. On pretence of racing, he
-wearied the horses of his guardians, and then galloped from them on
-a particularly swift horse that had just been sent him, which he
-had kept fresh. The danger had become so pressing that Leicester
-advanced against the invaders in the South of Wales: but while in
-that distant corner of the country, the Prince, with the men of
-Chester, who willingly joined their old governor, marched down the
-Severn and took Gloucester, thus cutting Leicester off from the
-rest of his supporters.
-
-[Sidenote: Leicester opposes Edward in Wales.]
-
-[Sidenote: Defeat at Kenilworth.]
-
-De Montfort at once recognized that Edward was his chief enemy,
-and turned back to meet him, at the same time summoning to his aid
-his son the younger Simon, who was with an army at Dover. Had he
-executed this duty intrusted to him satisfactorily, Edward would
-either have been enclosed between the two armies, or De Montfort
-largely reinforced. As it was, he wasted some time at Kenilworth,
-his father’s chief stronghold, and foolishly suffered his troops to
-encamp outside the walls of the castle. A female spy brought Edward
-news of his enemy’s mistake, and a sudden onslaught scattered De
-Montfort’s reinforcement in disgraceful flight. Edward tried to
-check De Montfort’s return by breaking down all the bridges over
-the Severn, but a way was at length found to cross the river about
-four miles below Worcester, and the baronial army reached Evesham
-in the full expectation of speedily meeting their friends.
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Evesham. Aug. 4.]
-
-As they marched out in the early morning on the 4th of August,
-they saw a well-ordered army approaching, and Leicester’s barber,
-who happened to be the longest-sighted man amongst then, at first
-recognized all the standards as belonging to young De Montfort;
-only after he had ascended a church-tower did he perceive the
-emblems of De Clare and Edward mingled with them. De Montfort was
-thus greatly outnumbered and surprised. As the enemy approached in
-three well-arrayed divisions, “Ah,” said he, “that arrangement is
-not your own, I have taught you how to fight.” Then, as it became
-evident that he had neither time nor men to secure the victory,
-he added, “God have mercy on our souls, for our bodies are the
-Prince’s.” The stories of the fidelity of his party are touching.
-He begged his partisans to fly while there was time. They refused
-to leave him, while his son Henry begged him to make good his
-retreat, and leave him alone to fight the battle. He was not a
-man to listen to such advice. At length the assault came. He saw
-the best of his followers and his son killed or disabled around
-him. But still, though his horse was killed under him, “like a
-giant,” says one, “like an impregnable tower for the liberties of
-England,” says another of the Chroniclers, he fought on, wielding
-his sword with both hands, till he fell overpowered by the assault
-of numbers. Three hours completed the battle, which was little
-else than a massacre. “Thus lamentably fell the flower of all
-knighthood, leaving an example of steadfastness to others. But
-since there is no curse more baleful than a domestic enemy, who
-can wonder at his fall? those who had eaten his bread lifted their
-heels against him, they who loved him by word of mouth lied in
-their throat.”[42]
-
-[Sidenote: Kenilworth and the Fens hold out. 1266.]
-
-[Sidenote: Dictum of Kenilworth.]
-
-The victory produced a complete reaction in England. Castle
-after castle opened its gates to the royalists. At Kenilworth
-alone, which Simon had defended with extraordinary machines which
-his skill as an engineer had invented, and in the inaccessible
-marshes in the East of England, the baronial party still held out.
-The conqueror proceeded at once to act with reckless severity.
-The whole of Leicester’s property was confiscated and given to
-Prince Edward, all his followers were deprived of civil rights
-and property, and all acts of the government since the battle
-of Lewes were declared null. This was the work of a Parliament
-summoned at Winchester, where of course there is no sign either
-of county or of borough representation. After London, which made
-some opposition, was conquered, and for the time disfranchised,
-all efforts were directed against Kenilworth. This stronghold had
-become a centre from which, as from the Eastern Fens, disorderly
-bodies pushed out to wreak their vengeance on the King’s followers.
-The defence was heroic. It seemed plain that the reaction had been
-carried much too far. One party at all events of the royalists,
-with Prince Henry d’Almeyne and perhaps Prince Edward at its head,
-desired a more conciliatory policy, and at length, at the end of
-the year, a Commission of twelve was established to attempt to
-produce peace. Under their management, a Parliament and Convocation
-was held, the Magna Charta again acknowledged, even by the Papal
-Legate, and those who had been disinherited were allowed to regain
-their lands by paying a certain number of years’ income to the
-new possessors. The sons of Lord Derby and Leicester were alone
-excepted. In accordance with this arrangement, called the Dictum of
-Kenilworth, the castle was surrendered.
-
-[Sidenote: De Clare compels more moderate government.]
-
-[Sidenote: Constitutional end of the reign.]
-
-The insurgents in the Fens afterwards submitted on the same terms,
-but not before Gilbert de Clare had again changed sides, making it
-plain to the government that however much jealousy of De Montfort
-might have broken the baronial moderate party, the feelings which
-had dictated the Provisions of Oxford were still unconquered. Under
-these circumstances it was found necessary to take further measures
-to insure moderation of government. In May 1267, Magna Charta
-was again enacted, and from this time forward kept. The offices
-were given into the hands of Englishmen, and Englishmen only. The
-Sicilian project had become impossible, indeed the crown had been
-given to Charles of Anjou; and, finally, Prince Edward, whose
-influence might have been dangerous, had withdrawn from England on
-a crusade, and taken many English nobles with him. The Barons’ war
-had thus, although in its outward form a failure, secured its main
-object--tolerable constitutional government, and the establishment
-of a national rule. In 1272 the King died.
-
-[Sidenote: Views of the people on the revolution.]
-
-It is always difficult to know how far the popular feeling is
-engaged in political revolutions. The great bulk of the nation is
-never the originator of such changes. The fate of a country is
-settled by the conduct and thought of its educated men, though the
-mass of the people plays a very prominent part as an instrument
-in the hands of its leaders. There is much to make us believe,
-however, that the movement of the Barons was in reality a national
-one. More particularly is this true in the case of Simon de
-Montfort. He is constantly spoken of by contemporary writers with
-admiration. “Il eime dreit, et att le tort,” (He loves right and
-hates the wrong), says one poet. “It should, however, be declared,”
-says the Chronicler of Melrose, “that no one in his senses would
-call Simon a traitor, for he was no traitor, but the most devout
-and faithful worshipper of the Church in England, the shield and
-defender of the kingdom, the enemy and expeller of aliens, although
-by birth he was one of them.” The Londoners were his devoted
-adherents, while the character of the Parliament which he summoned
-after the battle of Lewes was certainly popular. It seems fair to
-believe that he was the unselfish supporter of the national policy.
-
-Again, all the writers of the time, with very few exceptions,[43]
-whether chroniclers or poets, were in favour of the baronial party.
-When some of the leaders seem flagging in their energy, they were
-cheered by such words as these,--
-
- “O Comes Gloverniæ, comple quod cæpisti,
- Nisi claudas congruè, multos decepisti.”
-
- “O tu Comes le Bygot, pactum serva sanum
- Cum sis miles strenuus, nunc exerce manum.
- O vos magni proceres, qui vos obligatis,
- Observate firmiter illud quod juratis.”
-
-Again, in one political poem of the day we have the question at
-issue argued out in a manner which shows the advance of political
-knowledge, and in a constitutional tone which would become a modern
-Whig. “All restraint does not deprive of liberty. He who is kept
-from falling so that he lives free from danger, reaps advantage
-from such keeping, nor is such a support slavery, but the safeguard
-of virtue. Therefore that it is permitted to a king all that is
-good, but that he dare not do evil--this is God’s gift.... If a
-prince love his subjects, he will be repaid with love; if he reign
-justly, he will be honoured; if he err, he ought to be recalled by
-them whom his unjust denial may have grieved, unless he be willing
-to be corrected; if he is willing to make amends, he ought to be
-raised up and aided by those same persons.... If a king be less
-wise than he ought to be, what advantage will the kingdom gain
-by his reign? Is he to seek by his own opinion on whom he should
-depend to have his failing supplied? If he alone choose, he will
-be easily deceived. Therefore let the community of the kingdom
-advise, and let it be known what the generality thinks, to whom
-their own laws are best known. Since it is their own affairs that
-are at stake, they will take more care and will act with an eye to
-their own peace.... We give the first place to the community; we
-say also that the law rules over the king’s dignity, for the law
-is the light without which he who rules will wander from the right
-path.”
-
-That proclamations should be published in English is also a
-significant fact, and it may on the whole be considered that
-this war was practically the conclusion of foreign domination in
-England. It is the great honour of Edward I. to have perceived this
-so clearly, that he willingly accepted the new national line of
-policy which the Barons had marked out, and he may be regarded as
-our first purely national monarch.
-
-
-
-
-EDWARD I.
-
-1272-1307.
-
- Born, 1239 = 1. Eleanor of Castile.
- |
- +---------+---------+---------+---+------+-----------------+
- | | | | | |
- John. Henry. Alfonso. Edward II. Eleanor = Henry |
- d. 1271. d. 1274. d. 1284. of Bar. |
- |
- +------------------------------------------------------+
- |
- +----+----------------+-------------------+
- | | |
- Joan = Gilbert, Margaret = John of Elizabeth = 1. John of
- Earl of Brabant. Holland.
- Gloucester. 2. Humphrey
- de Bohun.
- = 2. Margaret of France.
- |
- +--------------+---------------+
- | |
- Thomas, Earl of Norfolk. Edmund, Earl of Kent.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- Alexander III., | Philip III., | Rodolph, 1272. | Alphonso X.,
- 1249. | 1270. | Adolphus, 1291. | 1252.
- Margaret, 1286. | Philip IV., | Albert, 1298. | Sancho IV.,
- Interregnum, 1290. | 1285. | | 1284.
- Baliol, 1292. | | | Ferdinand IV.,
- Interregnum, 1296. | | | 1295.
- Robert I., 1306. | | |
-
- POPES.--Gregory X., 1271. Innocent V., 1276. Adrian V., 1276.
- John XX., 1276. Nicholas III., 1277. Martin IV., 1281. Honorius IV.,
- 1285. Nicholas IV., 1288. Vacancy, two years. Celestine V., 1292.
- Boniface VIII., 1294. Benedict X., 1303. Vacancy, one year.
- Clement V., 1305.
-
- _Archbishops._ | _Chancellors._ | _Chief-justices._
- | |
- Robert Kilwardby, | Walter de Merton, 1272. | Ralph de Hengham,
- 1273-1278. | Robert Burnell, 1273-1292. | 1273-1289.
- John Peckham, | John Langton, 1292. | Gilbert de Thornton,
- 1279-1292. | William Greenfield, 1302. | 1289-1295.
- Robert Winchelsey, | William de Hamilton, 1304. | Roger Brabazon, 1295.
- 1294-1313. | Ralph de Baldock, 1307. |
-
-
-[Sidenote: Edward’s peaceful accession. 1272.]
-
-[Sidenote: His journey home, 1274.]
-
-Edward was still abroad when the news of his father’s death was
-brought to him. His accession had been so long looked forward to
-as a happy termination to the difficulties of the last reign, that
-what might have been a dangerous crisis passed over peacefully.
-An assembly was summoned at Westminster, not only of the nobles,
-but also of the representatives of the lower estates, and there an
-oath of fidelity was taken to the absent King. Three prominent
-nobles seem to have assumed the position of governors; the
-Archbishop of York, as head of the clergy, Edmund of Cornwall, the
-King’s brother, as representative of the royalty, and Gilbert of
-Gloucester, as chief of the baronage. Under them the government
-pursued its old course. Hearing that things were going well in
-England, Edward did not hurry home. He returned by Sicily and Rome,
-where he induced the Pope to visit upon the young De Montforts
-the murder of Henry D’Almeyne, whom they had killed at Viterbo.
-Thence he passed into France, joined in a great tournament at
-Châlons, where jest was changed to earnest, and a rough skirmish
-ensued, known as the little battle of Châlons. True to his legal
-obligations, he did homage at Paris for his French dominions,
-demanding what as yet had not been fulfilled, the completion of
-the late definitive treaty in France: and after settling, not
-without application to the French King as feudal superior, his
-quarrels with Gaston de Bearn in Gascony, and establishing friendly
-relations with Flanders, he returned in 1274 to England, and there,
-on the 18th of August, was crowned and received the homage of his
-Barons, and that, among others, of Alexander III. of Scotland.
-Shortly after, he appointed as his chancellor Robert Burnell, who
-served him throughout his life as chief minister, while Anthony
-Beck, Bishop of Durham, was his chief agent in all diplomatic
-matters.
-
-[Sidenote: The importance of the reign.]
-
-From the reign of Edward began what may be properly spoken of as
-the _English_ monarchy. The last reign had brought prominently
-forward the two great points which constituted the nationality
-of the country. Primarily the object of the baronial party had
-been to separate England from the overwhelming importance of its
-foreign connections, and to prevent it from becoming a mere source
-of wealth to foreign adventurers. In this the baronial party had
-succeeded. While declaring themselves national, they had been
-obliged to have recourse for support to other elements of the
-nation than those from which the ruling class had hitherto been
-formed. The advance of these new classes had, as has been seen,
-been gradual. Already, in earlier reigns, the principle both of
-election and representation had been, on more than one occasion,
-accepted. But it was the formal admission both of knights of the
-shire and of burghers to parliamentary privileges, even though the
-practice had not been continued, which rendered it impossible long
-to ignore the growing feeling that all classes should in some way
-be consulted about what interested all.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward the first English king.]
-
-[Sidenote: His political views.]
-
-[Sidenote: His legal mind.]
-
-[Sidenote: His success.]
-
-[Sidenote: His enforced concessions.]
-
-Edward was well fitted, both by position and character, to play the
-part of the first English king. He had given distinct proofs in the
-earlier part of the late baronial quarrels that a good and national
-government was what he desired. But it would be wrong to suppose
-that he was at all inclined to what we should now call liberal
-policy. In the latter part of his father’s reign he had made it
-clear that to his mind a strong monarchy was a necessary condition
-of good government. It was only gradually, and in accordance with
-a love of symmetrical government which strongly characterized him,
-that he recognized the advantage of the complete admission of the
-hitherto unprivileged classes to the rights of representation.
-He set before him as his object the establishment of a good and
-orderly government in the national interests, but carried out by a
-strong, nay despotic monarch, subjected only to the restrictions
-of the law. This is indeed another prominent characteristic of the
-King, in which he went along with the tendencies of the age. His
-mind was essentially legal, and just at this time the Roman and
-civil law were forcing their way into prominence throughout Europe.
-In Edward and his great rival Philip IV. of France, we have,
-allowing for their differences in personal character, instances
-of the same course of action. They both intended to make use of
-feudal law, interpreted more or less by the Roman law, and pressed
-to its legal and logical conclusions, to strengthen the monarchy.
-It is thus that we find Edward constantly enacting statutes and
-constitutions, making use of feudal claims to compel the submission
-of his neighbours, and exerting to the full, sometimes even beyond
-the limits of honesty, the rights the constitution gave him, but
-never wilfully transgressing what he regarded as the law. He was
-successful in carrying out the two first branches of his threefold
-policy; in the third he failed. Good government he established by
-a series of admirable administrative enactments, and by that power
-of definition which a living historian[44] has attributed to him,
-in spite of the difficulties presented by the independent position
-of the Church, and by the disorders still remaining from the late
-troubled times. Nationality he was able to foster both by foreign
-wars and by his great plan of connecting all the kingdoms of Great
-Britain. But in his efforts to establish an absolute monarchy, he
-was met by the financial difficulties into which the late reign had
-plunged the Crown, and by that entanglement in foreign politics
-which the English possessions in France, of which he was not yet
-quite free, continually caused. Urged by his wide schemes to have
-recourse to arbitrary means for replenishing his treasury, he
-excited again an opposition similar to that of his father’s reign,
-and found himself obliged to make concessions which effectually
-prevented any of his successors from attempting to render the Crown
-independent.
-
-[Sidenote: First Parliament. Statute of Westminster. 1275.]
-
-[Sidenote: Establishment of customs.]
-
-[Sidenote: His restorative measures. 1278.]
-
-The first years of the King’s reign were employed in restoring
-order to the government and the finances. His first Parliament
-met at Westminster in 1275, where was passed a great restorative
-measure known by the name of the First Statute of Westminster.
-It was so wide and far-reaching that it might be called a code
-rather than an Act. Its object is said by a contemporary writer to
-have been to “awake those languid laws which had long been lulled
-asleep” by the abuses of the time. It secured the rights of the
-Church, improved the tardy processes of law, and re-established
-the charters, further limiting the sums which could be demanded
-for the three legal aids. At the same Parliament, an export duty
-on wool and leather, the origin of the customs, was granted to
-the King, the more readily, perhaps, as his firmness had lately
-re-established the wool-trade with Flanders. During the next three
-or four years other less popular measures were taken with a view to
-replenish the King’s treasury. Commissions were issued to inquire
-into the exact limits of the grants of the late King to the clergy,
-and to inquire into the tenure of property throughout England, with
-the twofold view of establishing the rights of property disturbed
-by the late war, and of clearly defining the revenue due to the
-Crown.
-
-[Sidenote: New coinage.]
-
-[Sidenote: Statute of Mortmain. 1279.]
-
-It was not till the year 1278 that the effect of this commission
-was seen. Orders were then issued to the itinerant justices to make
-use of the evidence which had been obtained, and to issue writs
-of “quo warranto,” to oblige owners to make good their titles.
-This was the occasion of the well-known answer of Warrenne, Earl
-of Surrey, who presented his sword to the judge, saying, “This
-is my title-deed, with this my ancestors won my land, with this
-will I keep it.” The temper thus shown by one of his most faithful
-followers prevented Edward from pushing matters to extremity.
-During these years was set on foot also the practice of demanding
-that those who were wealthy enough should receive knighthood. The
-practice was kept up during the reign, but the property counted
-sufficient for the holder of that dignity varied from £20 to £100
-a year. The King’s activity reached in all directions. Another
-commission was issued to inquire into the conduct of sheriffs. The
-coinage, much clipped and debased, was renewed; it was ordered
-that its shape should always be round, as the prevalent method of
-clipping had been to cut the pieces into four, so that the exact
-edge could not be known. At length, in 1279, Edward proceeded to
-regulate one of the great abuses of the Church. Not only had that
-body become exorbitantly rich, but the privileges which it claimed
-had begun to be detrimental to the Crown; and when, in the earlier
-part of the year, Peckham, Archbishop of Canterbury, produced and
-authorized, at a meeting at Reading, some canons tending to the
-independence of the Church, the King was determined to strike a
-blow in return. As corporations could not die, land which had
-passed into their possession was free from the fines and payments
-due from an incoming heir, which were thus lost to the feudal
-superior. Moreover, and this touched the Crown more nearly, it had
-become a habit to give property to the Church, and fraudulently to
-receive it back again as a Church fief, and thus free from feudal
-services. By the Statute of Mortmain, which was now passed, it was
-forbidden, without the King’s consent, to transfer property to the
-Church.
-
-[Sidenote: Wales. 1275.]
-
-[Sidenote: Llewellyn’s suspicious conduct.]
-
-[Sidenote: War breaks out. 1277.]
-
-[Sidenote: Llewellyn submits.]
-
-[Sidenote: His merciful treatment.]
-
-Meanwhile, while Edward had been thus busied at home, affairs in
-Wales had begun to attract his attention. Llewellyn had always
-been in close alliance with the Leicester party, and had shown his
-dissatisfaction at the accession of Edward by refusing to come
-to the assembly which swore fealty to the new King. Edward, who
-wished honestly to heal the late differences, had summoned him to
-his coronation, and had again been refused. Had he not desired a
-peaceful solution of the difficulty, he would certainly now have
-proceeded to extremities. But no less than six opportunities were
-given to the Prince of appearing in England, to set himself right;
-on every occasion he had refused to do so. The suspicions which
-his conduct excited received a strong confirmation when it was
-known that he was contemplating a marriage with the daughter of
-De Montfort. It is probable that this marriage was to be carried
-out in pursuance of some scheme for continuing the disturbances
-of the last reign. Fortunately the lady was captured, with her
-brother Almeric who was escorting her, on her way to Wales.
-This brought matters to a crisis. In 1276, Llewellyn, who had
-refused all approaches to friendship, demanded, in the language
-of an independent prince, a treaty, and the restoration of his
-wife. In November of that year Edward, acting in concert with
-his Parliament, ordered his army to meet him at Worcester, and
-the war began. Even the strength of his country did not enable
-Llewellyn to hold out against the superior power and ability of the
-English King. A fleet of ships from the Cinque Ports cut him off
-from Anglesea, and mastered that island, while the English army
-forced him back towards the mountains of Snowdon. He was induced
-to treat. The terms given him were stringent. The Cantreds or
-Hundreds between Chester and Conway were given up to the English.
-Anglesea alone he was allowed to keep in full, on the payment of
-1000 marks, while a few baronies around Snowdon were left in his
-hands, to prevent his title of Prince of Wales being a mere empty
-honour. Besides this, he had to pay 50,000 marks for the expenses
-of the war, and a tribute of 1000 marks. Once conquered, however,
-and brought to complete submission, his treatment was generous. The
-money payments were at once remitted. His brother David, his enemy,
-and a probable source of discomfort to him, was kept in England and
-pensioned; and finally, he came to England, and received his wife,
-their marriage being nobly celebrated by the King.
-
-[Sidenote: Second rising in Wales. 1282.]
-
-[Sidenote: Death of Llewellyn.]
-
-[Sidenote: Execution of David. 1283.]
-
-[Sidenote: Statute of Wales. Annexation of Wales. 1284.]
-
-[Sidenote: Statute of Winchester. 1285.]
-
-In less than three years the whole arrangement was again destroyed.
-David, though he had fought for Edward and been well rewarded,
-suddenly deserted to his fellow countrymen. He attacked the Castle
-of Hawardyn, and, in company with his brother Llewellyn, besieged
-Rhuddlan and Flint. Edward at once advanced against them. Hard
-pressed, the brothers divided their forces. David continued to
-fight in the North, while his brother betook himself to South
-Wales. He was there surprised, defeated, and killed, on the River
-Wye, and his head sent to Edward, and displayed in London, in scorn
-adorned with an ivy crown, in allusion to some prophecy that he
-should be crowned in London. David was shortly afterwards compelled
-to surrender. A Parliament had been summoned to grant supplies;
-some difficulty had arisen, and before an answer could be given,
-a fresh one was called at Shrewsbury, (moved afterwards to Acton
-Burnell, the seat of the Chancellor,) by which the unfortunate
-Prince was tried, and condemned to death. This Parliament
-afterwards proceeded to the settlement of the conquered country, by
-what is known as the Statute of Wales. By this a considerable part
-of English law and English institutions, with some modifications
-to suit the prejudices of the Welsh, were introduced. The conquest
-was completed by the famous presentation to the people of the
-King’s new-born heir, under the title of the Prince of Wales. There
-was henceforth no longer any pretence of feudal supremacy; Wales
-was annexed to the English Crown. The following year the Parliament
-at Winchester produced the Statute known by the name of that city,
-which arranged the defence of the country upon a national basis. Of
-that piece of legislation, as well as of others before and after
-it, more will be said by and by. In the year after this, Edward
-left England, placing the government in the hands of his brother
-Edmund.
-
-[Sidenote: Foreign affairs call Edward abroad.]
-
-[Sidenote: Sicilian Vespers.]
-
-It will be necessary to turn for a moment to Edward’s foreign
-relations to explain the necessity of his journey abroad. He had
-the misfortune, like his predecessors, to be master of Aquitaine,
-and as Duke of that province a vassal and peer of France. He was,
-moreover, cousin of the King of France, and brother-in-law of
-the King of Castile. Although a definitive treaty had been made
-between Henry III. and the French King, it had never been properly
-carried out; Edward had, as in duty bound done homage for his
-French possessions, and had from time to time renewed his claims.
-He had even been allowed in 1279, in right of his wife, to take
-possession of Ponthieu. There was, nevertheless a constant feeling
-of distrust between the French King and his too powerful vassal.
-Edward had therefore done his best to cement his friendship on
-the side of Spain. But, in 1282, an event happened which enabled
-him to secure a settlement of his French claims, and to assume
-the important position of mediator in a great foreign quarrel. A
-war seemed imminent between Castile and France, when Peter III.
-of Aragon, for whose favour both parties had been intriguing,
-suddenly raised a large army, the destination of which was said to
-be Africa, but which shortly after proved to be intended for the
-conquest of Sicily from the French. This put an end to the quarrel
-with Castile, and brought Aragon forward as the Spanish power
-against which the French energies were directed. Charles of Anjou
-had received from the Pope the grant of the Two Sicilies when the
-Barons of England had obliged Edmund to renounce it. He had made
-good his position with extreme cruelty; and now the Sicilian people
-entered into that famous conspiracy known by the name of Sicilian
-Vespers, and massacred the French throughout the island. They then
-proceeded to give themselves to Peter III. of Aragon, in concert
-with whom they had certainly been acting. He was successful in
-his enterprise. His admiral, Loria, had everywhere defeated the
-fleets of Anjou, and in 1284 had taken prisoner Charles, Prince of
-Salerno, the Duke of Anjou’s heir. For a short time there seemed
-some possibility of the quarrel being ended by a single combat
-between Peter and Charles; formal preparations were made, and
-Edward was entreated to preside as umpire. But chivalrous though
-he was, he was too much of a statesman to give his consent to so
-trivial a form of settlement; and, in 1285, Charles died.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward mediator between France and Aragon. 1286.]
-
-[Sidenote: His award is repudiated.]
-
-His quarrel was taken up by the French King, and matters had
-reached this point when Edward thought it necessary to go abroad
-(especially as a new King, Philip IV., had just come to the
-throne), to arrange if possible a question which, involving not
-only his own interests, but also the authority of the Pope, was
-one of European interest. He succeeded in inducing Philip IV. to
-allow the justice of his claims with regard to the provinces to
-be united to Gascony, and proceeded the following year to act the
-part of mediator between the Courts of France and Aragon. He was
-trusted absolutely in this negotiation, and after some difficulty
-hoped that he had arrived at some conclusion, when he had succeeded
-in obtaining the freedom of Prince Charles of Salerno, although
-the terms of liberation were very hard. Large sums of money were
-to be paid, and Sicily was to be given up to the Spanish Prince,
-James. But no sooner was Charles at liberty than he repudiated
-these conditions; and Edward, disgusted with his want of faith,
-and thinking probably that it was wiser not to plunge too deep
-into European politics, determined to return home, neglecting the
-offered opportunity of forming an alliance with Aragon, which might
-have formed some counter-poise in Southern Europe to the power of
-France and of Rome.
-
-[Sidenote: Disturbances in England during his absence. 1289.]
-
-[Sidenote: Edward returns.]
-
-[Sidenote: Punishes corrupt judges.]
-
-His presence at home indeed was much wanted. The moment the back
-of the great ruler was turned, and the weight of his hand removed,
-it became evident that much time would be necessary before his
-arrangements could restore more than external order to the deeply
-disturbed society of England. Fresh disturbances had arisen in
-Wales, where Rhys ap Meredith had been roused to rebellion by the
-strictness with which the English law was carried out. Nor had
-the Regent’s army, under Gilbert de Clare, succeeded in capturing
-him. It seems indeed that several of the greater nobles had begun
-to show discontent, and in 1288, Surrey, Warwick, Gloucester, and
-Norfolk had all appeared in a disorderly fashion in arms. There
-were other disturbances too in the lower strata of society. The
-Statute of Winchester was not yet fairly in operation, bands of
-outlaws appeared in the forest districts, and among others, one
-Chamberlain had fallen upon a fair held at Boston in Lincolnshire,
-and had burnt the town. The presence of the King restored order,
-but the fundamental cause of the misgovernment was laid open to
-him by his faithful Chancellor, Burnell. Like Henry II., he had
-employed as his judges professional lawyers, and they had not been
-proof against the great temptations of their office. The judges
-were corrupt, and justice was bought and sold. Very serious charges
-were brought against them in October; all except two, who deserve
-to be mentioned, John of Methingham and Elias de Bockingham, were
-convicted. The chief baron, Stratton, was fined 34,000 marks, the
-chief justice of the King’s Bench, 7000, the master of the rolls,
-1000; while Weyland, chief justice of the common pleas, fled to
-sanctuary, was there blockaded, and after his forty days of safety
-had to abjure the realm. His property, which was confiscated, is
-said to have amounted to 100,000 marks.
-
-[Sidenote: Banishes the Jews. 1290.]
-
-At the same time the King banished all the Jews from the kingdom.
-Upwards of 16,000 are said to have left England, nor did they
-reappear till Cromwell connived at their return in 1654. It is
-not quite clear why the King determined on this act of severity,
-especially as the Jews were royal property, and a very convenient
-source of income. It is probable, however, that their way of doing
-business was very repugnant to his ideas of justice, while they
-were certainly great falsifiers of the coinage, which he was very
-anxious to keep pure and true. Earlier in the reign he had hanged
-between 200 and 300 of them for that crime, and they are said to
-have demanded 60 per cent. for their loans, taking advantage of
-the monopoly as money-lenders which the ecclesiastical prohibition
-of usury had given them. Moreover, about this time, the great
-banking-houses of Italy were becoming prominent. With them Edward
-had already had much business, and their system of advances upon
-fairer terms was much more pleasing to him. From this time onwards
-the money business of England was in their hands.[45]
-
-[Sidenote: End of First Period of the reign.]
-
-We have now reached what may be considered as the close of the
-first period of Edward’s reign, which had been occupied by
-legislation and by the conquest of Wales. From this time onwards,
-it is the conquest of Scotland, and the great constitutional
-effort of the reign, intermingled with foreign affairs, which we
-shall have to observe.
-
-[Sidenote: Relations with Scotland.]
-
-It is uncertain when Edward’s thoughts were first directed to the
-Northern kingdom, but events had been rapidly occurring, which
-threw Scotland almost entirely into his hands. Quite early in the
-reign he seems to have wished, as was natural for one of his legal
-mind, to have the disputed question of homage cleared up. Again
-and again homage had been paid to his predecessors; but, except in
-the case of William the Lion’s homage to Henry II., it had been
-always open to the Scotch King to assert that it was for fiefs
-in England, and not for Scotland, that his homage was rendered.
-Even that clear instance had been annihilated by the subsequent
-sale of the submission then made by Richard I. It would seem in
-fact that the claim to overlordship was really based upon much
-earlier transactions. Scotland consisted of three incorporated
-kingdoms--the Highlands, or kingdoms of the Scots, Galloway, which
-was part of the British kingdom of Strathclyde, and the Lothians,
-which had undoubtedly been a part of the Anglian kingdom of
-Northumbria. In the time of the English Empire the King of Scots
-and all the people had chosen Eadward the Elder as father and lord;
-that is to say, they had what is technically called commended
-themselves to the English King. Strathclyde had been conquered
-by Eadmund, and by him had been granted to Malcolm as a fief, on
-condition of military tenure; while afterwards the Lothians had
-been granted by Eadgar to the Scotch kings as an English earldom.
-Thus, on various grounds, all parts of the Kingdom of Scotland
-acknowledged the English King as their overlord. When England fell
-into the hands of the Normans, William, professedly assuming the
-position which his predecessor had held, would naturally expect
-the same homage to be paid to him. It is equally certain that
-the Scotch kings would object to pay it. It had therefore been a
-constantly open and disputed question till the time of Edward.
-Meanwhile the feudal law, which had not existed at the time of the
-original commendation, had grown up and been formulated. Edward,
-as we have seen, intended to use it to the full. He therefore
-desired the uncertain acknowledgment of the old supremacy to be
-brought, as it had never hitherto been, within the precise and
-clearly-defined limits of feudal overlordship. The character of
-Alexander III. was such as to strengthen such ideas. In 1275, his
-wife, Edward’s sister Margaret, had died. The tie of relationship
-thus broken, Edward had demanded and received, in 1278, a homage,
-which he declared to his chancellor was complete and without
-reservation;[46] and since that time, more than once, Alexander had
-seemed to acknowledge the supremacy.
-
-[Sidenote: Extinction of the Scotch royal family.]
-
-[Sidenote: Proposed marriage of the Maid and Prince Edward.]
-
-[Sidenote: Accepted with restrictions. 1290.]
-
-But it was the rapid extinction of that monarch’s family which
-brought matters to a crisis. Margaret had had two sons and one
-daughter, Margaret. Both the sons had died young, and the daughter
-had married Eric, King of Norway, with the promise that she was
-to retain her rights to the Scotch succession. In accordance with
-this, when she died in her first confinement, her little child
-of the same name, spoken of as the Maid of Norway, was, in 1284,
-declared heiress of the throne. In 1286 King Alexander died. He
-had married again, but had no children; the crown would therefore
-have naturally come to the Maid of Norway. During her absence, a
-regency, consisting of the Bishops of St. Andrews and Glasgow,
-the Lords Fife, Buchan, and Comyn, and others, was appointed. But
-already other claimants had come forward, and their respective
-parties had begun a civil war. To Edward it seemed the opportunity
-had arrived of establishing his rights without violence. A marriage
-between his son and the Maid of Norway at once occurred to him. For
-this he had secretly cleared the way by obtaining from the Pope a
-dispensation to enable these cousins to marry. Armed with this,
-but acting ostensibly in the Norwegian interest, he contrived to
-bring about a meeting at Salisbury between commissioners on the
-part of Eric, of the Scotch government, and of himself, at which
-it was agreed that the young Queen should be received in Scotland
-free of matrimonial engagements, but pledged not to marry except
-by the advice of Edward and with the consent of her father. Almost
-immediately after this, the plan of the marriage was made public,
-and was at once willingly accepted by the Scotch, who were anxious
-to be saved from a civil war, but who, while accepting it, took
-care, at a parliament held at Brigham in 1290, to guard with
-scrupulous care the independence of the kingdom.
-
-[Sidenote: Invitation to Edward to settle the succession.]
-
-[Sidenote: Death of the Maid.]
-
-[Sidenote: Death of the Queen.]
-
-[Sidenote: Meeting at Norham. 1291.]
-
-It was not exactly thus that Edward understood the treaty. He at
-once despatched Anthony Beck, Bishop of Durham, to act in unison
-with the guardians of Scotland, as Lieutenant of Queen Margaret and
-her husband, at the same time demanding possession of the royal
-castles, ostensibly for the purpose of preserving the peace of the
-kingdom. The governors of the castles declined to give them up,
-but seven great Earls wrote to Edward, as though to a superior,
-begging him to curb the power of the regency, while, on the other
-hand, a member of the regency, the Bishop of St. Andrews, also
-wrote, begging Edward to approach the border to assist in keeping
-order, and to appoint a king if the rumour which had been spread of
-the death of the Maid of Norway should prove true. The report was
-true, Margaret had died on her journey from Norway in the Orkney
-islands; and acting on these two letters, which he construed as an
-invitation, Edward summoned a meeting at Norham, to be held after
-Easter 1291. The delay was probably occasioned by a heavy blow
-which had fallen on Edward. In November he had lost his much loved
-wife Eleanor. It is one of his titles to our respect, that in a
-licentious age he was remarkably pure, and that no word was ever
-breathed against his perfect fidelity as a husband. After a period
-of bitter sorrow, and a pompous funeral, each stage of the journey
-being subsequently marked by a beautiful cross, he returned again
-in the following year to his Scotch plans. At that meeting he put
-forward his claim as superior and overlord of the kingdom, saying
-that it lay with him in that capacity to put an end to discord. He
-ended by asking that his title should be acknowledged, in order
-that he might act freely. A delay of three weeks was demanded, at
-which time the assembly met again on Scotch ground opposite the
-Castle of Norham. An answer seems to have been meanwhile sent, but
-the King had regarded it as not to the point; and at the assembly
-itself no objections were raised to his claim. All the competitors
-acknowledged his authority in set words, and the case was put into
-Edward’s hands.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward’s supremacy allowed.]
-
-[Sidenote: The claimants.]
-
-[Sidenote: Edward gives a just verdict. 1292.]
-
-[Sidenote: Balliol accepts the throne as a vassal.]
-
-[Sidenote: Scotland appeals to the English Courts. 1293.]
-
-[Sidenote: The appeals not pressed to extremities.]
-
-There were a great number of claimants; but three only established
-a case worth consideration. These were Bruce, Balliol, and
-Hastings. The claims of all these went back to David I. This king
-had three grandsons; Malcolm IV., who was childless, William the
-Lion, whose direct descendants had just come to an end, and David,
-Earl of Huntingdon, from whom all three claimants were descended.
-He had had three daughters; Margaret, the eldest, whose grandson
-was Balliol, Isabella, the second, whose son was Bruce, Ada, the
-third, whose grandson was Hastings. Besides these three, Comyn was
-also a grandson of Margaret, but being a son of a second daughter,
-his claims were obviously inferior to those of Balliol.[47] To
-decide these claims, Edward, as lord superior, established a
-great court; forty of Bruce’s friends, forty of Balliol’s, and
-twenty-four members on the part of Edward, were to constitute
-it. Edward seems to have proceeded with the full intention of
-giving a just and legal judgment, and after several meetings, in
-November 1292, a decision was arrived at in favour of John Balliol.
-Meanwhile, during the settlement of the question, Edward had
-taken possession of the Scotch castles, had appointed the great
-officers of the kingdom, and had caused the regents to exact an
-oath of fealty to him as superior lord. The new King accepted the
-throne distinctly as a vassal of England, and finally, to make
-his dependence perfectly clear, did homage after his coronation.
-He did not find his new position free from difficulty. He found
-that the letter of the feudal law to which he owed his elevation
-could be turned against himself. It was indeed unnatural to expect
-the Scotch to submit to the inconveniences without claiming the
-advantages of that law. Balliol had not been long on the throne
-before they asserted that, if he was a vassal, appeals would lie
-from his judgments to the English courts. In the following year two
-or three such appeals were made, one from a goldsmith, and one from
-Macduff, Earl of Fife. When summoned to appear before the English
-courts, Balliol refused to come. He made his appearance however at
-the Parliament held in the autumn of 1293, and there declared that,
-as King of Scotland, he could not act without the advice of his
-people. A delay was given him for the purpose of consulting his
-parliament; he did not take advantage of it. The case of Macduff
-was therefore given against him by the English baronage in his
-presence. He was fined to Macduff 700 marks, to Edward 10,000.
-On the protest of Balliol, a fresh delay was allowed, nor does
-Edward seem to have been in any way disposed to do more than make
-good his legal position. It is plain, however that the position of
-vassal king, with its awkward and probably unexpected incidents,
-disgusted Balliol; and political events soon enabled him to make
-his displeasure felt.
-
-[Sidenote: Quarrel with France.]
-
-[Sidenote: Edward outwitted. Gascony occupied. 1294.]
-
-[Sidenote: First true Parliament.]
-
-Philip IV., the new King of France, was as legal in his mind as
-Edward, but more dishonest. It was as plain to him that it was
-desirable to unite France by annexing Guienne, as it was to Edward
-that it was advantageous to England to annex Scotland. They set
-about their designs in somewhat the same way. The sea was at
-this time regarded as a sort of no man’s land, where incessant
-fighting little short of piracy was allowable. There were plenty of
-instances of battles between English and French merchant-ships. The
-Normans are said to have infested the whole coast of France from
-Holland to Spain. The Cinque Ports mariners were probably not much
-behind them. At last a formal meeting was arranged in 1293, where
-the matter was to be fought out. An empty chip marked the point of
-contest, and there the fleets of France and England fought a great
-battle, which terminated in the defeat of the French. Edward, who
-knew Philip’s character and the resources of the feudal law, was
-anxious to do what he could to clear himself of complicity in the
-quarrel; but no representations of his were attended to by the
-French King, and Philip summoned him to appear before the French
-Parliament. As the English offenders were not given up, and as
-Edward declined to appear, the Constable of France took possession
-in the King’s name of Edward’s French provinces. With much more
-important matters in hand, and with the knowledge probably of what
-Balliol’s conduct was going to be, Edward tried all he could to
-settle the matter peacefully. He sent over to France his brother
-Edmund, whose wife[48] was the mother of the French Queen. Through
-the instrumentality of these Queens a treaty was arranged, by
-which the summons to Paris was annulled, and a personal meeting at
-Amiens arranged, pending which the strongholds of Gascony were to
-be put in Philip’s hands. Edmund withdrew the English army, and
-dismissed the commander, St. John, and at the same time demanded
-a safe conduct for his brother at the proposed meeting. But Philip
-refused the safe conduct, declared himself dissatisfied with the
-surrender of the towns, and refused to leave the country which he
-had occupied. Fresh insulting messages were sent to Edward, and, in
-1294, Edmund returned to England, and war became necessary. Great
-preparations were made; alliances were formed on the north-east of
-France; money was granted by Parliament. This proving insufficient,
-no less than half their property was demanded from the clergy.
-An insurrection in Wales, and the news that an alliance had been
-formed between Philip and the Scotch, rendered the preparations
-useless.
-
-It was plain to Edward that it was worth risking his foreign
-dominions to consolidate his power as King of Great Britain. For
-the present, therefore, he left Gascony alone, and turned his
-arms against Scotland. Engaged at once in a war with France, with
-Scotland, and with Wales, he found it necessary to raise supplies
-from all branches of his subjects. A genuine Parliament was
-therefore called in October, in which all estates were represented,
-and which has been considered the true origin of our Parliament as
-it now exists. The three Estates granted the supply as different
-orders; and it was not without difficulty that the clergy,
-suffering from the late enormous exaction, were induced to grant
-him a tenth. The other estates seem to have come readily to his
-assistance at this great crisis.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward marches into Scotland. 1296.]
-
-[Sidenote: Defeat of Scotch at Dunbar.]
-
-[Sidenote: Submission of Balliol and Scotland.]
-
-In March a large army was assembled at Newcastle, and while the
-Scotch crossed the borders and ravaged Cumberland with savage
-ferocity,[49] Edward pushed forward into Scotland. In three days
-Berwick was captured. While still before that place, he received
-from Balliol, who seems to have been under some constraint,
-renunciation of his allegiance; and before the end of April brought
-his army, under the Earl of Surrey and Warrenne, to Dunbar. The
-Scotch advanced to meet him, occupying the higher ground; but
-foolishly mistaking the movements of the English army in the
-valley for a flight, they left their strong position, and were
-hopelessly routed, with a loss of 10,000 men. This battle decided
-the fate of Scotland. Several of the great Earls and many knights
-were taken prisoners. The King met no further opposition in his
-march through Edinburgh to Perth. On the 10th of July, Balliol
-made his submission, was allowed to live under supervision in
-the Tower of London, whence he afterwards proceeded to Normandy;
-and Edward henceforth acted no longer as feudal superior, but as
-King. At a Parliament held at Berwick, he received the fealty of
-the clergy, gentry, and barons of Scotland, whose names, filling
-thirty-five skins of parchment, are still preserved among the
-English archives. Scotland was left as much as possible in its old
-condition, but the Earl of Warenne and Surrey was made Guardian;
-Hugh de Cressingham, Treasurer; William of Ormsby, Justiciary; and
-an Exchequer was established in the English fashion. At the same
-time the coronation stone of Scone was removed to Westminster,
-where it still is. Edward had thus completed his first conquest of
-Scotland. Both legally and politically, his conduct is justifiable.
-The consolidation of Great Britain was a most desirable object.
-The French alliance, the invasion of England, and the renunciation
-of vassalage, constituted by feudal law a sufficient cause for
-confiscating the possessions of a vassal prince. But this leaves
-untouched the question, how far it is right to annex a free people
-against their will? It must be remembered that the submission of
-Scotland had been made by the nobility only, who were in fact
-Normans, and many of them English Barons.
-
-[Sidenote: Refusal of the clergy to grant subsidies. Nov. 3. 1296.]
-
-[Sidenote: Clergy outlawed.]
-
-Freed from danger on the side of Scotland, Edward was now at
-liberty to turn his attention towards France. But his late
-exertions had caused great expenditure, to which had been added
-the subsidies by which he had been compelled to purchase the
-alliance of the Princes on the north-east of France. To meet this
-necessity, a Parliament was summoned at Bury St. Edmunds, at
-which the Barons and Commons gave fresh grants. But the clergy,
-driven to extremity by the King’s late demands upon them, found
-themselves in a position to refuse. Benedict of Gaita had lately
-been elected Pope, under the title of Boniface VIII., and had at
-once entered upon a policy resembling that of the great Popes
-of the twelfth century. He had issued a Bull known by the name
-of “Clericis Laicos,” in which he had forbidden the clergy to
-pay taxes to their temporal sovereign. Backed by this authority,
-Archbishop Winchelsea refused in the name of the clergy to make any
-grant to Edward. The clergy, it was said, owed allegiance to two
-sovereigns--the one temporal, the other spiritual. Their obedience
-was due first to their spiritual chief. An exemption from taxation
-of the Church, which had rapidly been growing enormously wealthy,
-would have crippled Edward’s resources. He had already accepted
-the principle, that all should be consulted and all pay in matters
-touching the advantage of all. He proceeded at once, therefore, to
-meet the claim in his usual legal fashion. If the clergy would not
-help him, he would not protect the clergy. The Chief Justice was
-ordered to announce publicly from the bench in Westminster Hall,
-that no justice would be done the clergy in the King’s Court, but
-would nevertheless be done to all manner of persons who had any
-complaint against them. Nor was this sentence of outlawry a vain
-one; the tenants began at once to refuse to pay their rents, the
-Church property was seized, and the owners could get no redress.
-This severe treatment induced many of the clergy to make their
-submission, but the Archbishop still held out.
-
-[Sidenote: Barons too refuse to help Edward.]
-
-[Sidenote: Compromise with the clergy.]
-
-[Sidenote: Edward secures an illegal grant.]
-
-Matters thus remained till another Parliament met at Salisbury
-in February 1297, when, the Barons only being summoned, the King
-explained his plan for the war with France. He was under pledge
-to pay subsidies, and to bring an army to his allies in Flanders.
-This army he would personally command. He wished his Constable and
-Marshall, the Earls of Hereford and Norfolk, to take charge of a
-second army destined for Guienne. These two noblemen positively
-refused. They had learnt law from their King, and alleged as their
-excuse, which was evidently only a technical one, that they were
-only bound to follow the King in person. They then withdrew from
-the Assembly, which broke up, with nothing done. The King, in want
-of money, gave free vent to his arbitrary temper, seized the wool
-of his merchants, and ordered large requisitions of provisions
-to be made in the counties, for which, however, he promised
-future payment. In the following March, Winchelsea had a personal
-interview with the King, in which he appears to have arranged some
-sort of temporary compromise; for immediately afterwards a meeting
-of the clergy was held, in which he recommended them to act each
-for himself as best he could. Determined to proceed in spite of
-all opposition, the King summoned the whole military force of the
-kingdom to meet him at London on the 7th of July. There the Earls
-still refused to do their duty, and fresh officers were appointed
-in their place. The King reconciled himself with the clergy, and
-appointed the Archbishop one of the counsellors who were to act
-as advisers to his young son Edward, in whose hands he left the
-government. He also induced those nobles and Commons who were with
-him, though in no sense a Parliament, to make him a money grant.
-They gave him an eighth of the moveables of the barons and knights,
-a fifth of the cities and boroughs. This grant was given expressly
-for a promised confirmation of the charters. This seems to show
-what the real point at issue was. The King’s excessive arbitrary
-taxation had aroused the old feeling which had produced the
-baronial wars of the preceding reign. The clergy were also asked
-for a grant in a convocation held upon the 10th of August. It was
-there decided that there was good hope that leave would be given
-them to make a grant. On this the King acted, and ordered a levy of
-what amounted to a fifth on all their revenue, both temporal and
-spiritual.
-
-[Sidenote: The Earls demand the confirmation of the charters.]
-
-[Sidenote: It is granted with reservations.]
-
-Shortly after this, he received the demands of the refractory
-Earls, complaining of the non-observance of the charters, of the
-tallages, aids and requisitions, and of the tax on wool. Declining
-to give an answer at present, on the 22nd of August he set sail
-for Flanders. On the very next day the Earls appeared in the
-Exchequer Chamber, and peremptorily forbad the collection of the
-irregularly granted eighth, until the charters had been signed
-which had been the express condition of the grant. The necessity
-for concession had become obvious, and in a Parliament summoned
-on the 6th of October, the promised confirmation was given by the
-Prince. The Earls, who appeared in arms, with troops, insisted upon
-the addition of some supplementary clauses, which have since been
-known as the statute “De tallagio non concedendo.” They further
-demanded that the late grant should be considered illegal; it was
-therefore cancelled, and a new constitutional grant of a ninth was
-made in its place. Prince Edward’s confirmation was renewed by the
-King in person at Ghent. It was again renewed, in 1299, with an
-unsatisfactory clause “saving the rights of the Crown,” which the
-King was obliged subsequently to remove, and finally, in 1301, at
-the Parliament of Lincoln. The charters thus confirmed were the
-amended charter of Henry III., the additions to it were contained
-in the supplementary articles of the two Earls, which forbid
-what had hitherto been undoubtedly constitutional, the arbitrary
-tallaging of towns and taxing of wool. They contained however
-a clause “saving the old rights of the King,” and Edward took
-advantage of this afterwards, in 1304, to continue the old wool-tax
-and to tallage the towns in his own domain.[50]
-
-[Sidenote: Appearance of Wallace.]
-
-It was the dangerous condition of his affairs which induced the
-King to yield to the pressure of the Barons; for in the spring of
-1297, Wallace had made his appearance in Scotland. The younger son
-of a small proprietor in Elderslie, and without means of his own,
-he had established his fame as a guerilla leader. In the woods and
-mountains he collected a band of outlaws, with whom he attacked
-isolated parties of English, all of whom were at once put to
-death. His cruelties especially against the nuns and priests are
-described as most revolting. Cressingham, Treasurer of Scotland,
-foolishly despised him, and thus allowed the insurrection to gain
-head. He was joined by Sir William Douglas; but on the whole was
-both disliked and despised by the Scotch nobility. At length,
-as his followers had increased to an army, and threatened the
-fortress of Stirling, it became necessary to take measures against
-him. Warrenne, Earl of Surrey, and Cressingham, raised an army,
-and advanced to the Forth. The armies met early in September
-at Cambuskenneth, near Stirling. The river is there spanned
-by a narrow bridge, at the north end of which the Scotch were
-strongly posted. With overweening folly, Cressingham insisted on
-an immediate advance across the bridge. The natural consequence
-followed; when a small portion of the English had crossed, and were
-thus cut off from support, the Scotch fell on them and completely
-routed them. Warrenne, an old and feeble man, took to hasty flight,
-and the army was in fact destroyed. This victory was followed up
-by a fierce invasion of the north of England. Wallace seems to
-have collected troops by violent means; he then led them across
-the English border, and sweeping it lengthwise from Newcastle to
-Carlisle, “he left nothing behind him but blood and ashes.”[51] His
-cruelties were indeed beyond description, and could not but have
-filled the English with horror, something akin to that which the
-English in India must have felt at the outbreak of the mutiny.
-
-[Sidenote: Treaty with France. 1299.]
-
-Edward’s expedition to Flanders had been a failure. The people in
-the cities, angry with his interference in the wool trade, were
-opposed to him; his allies had been tampered with by Philip, who
-had also won a victory over them at Furnes; the Pope was urging
-peace; and Edward, who always regarded his French affairs as
-secondary, made a truce before the end of the year 1297, which two
-years afterwards ripened under the arbitration of Boniface to the
-Treaty of Chartres. By that treaty, Guienne was restored to the
-English King, who withdrew his support from his Flemish allies;
-while Philip in return gave up the cause of the Scotch. The treaty
-was cemented by a double marriage. Edward himself married Margaret,
-the French King’s sister; while his son Edward was betrothed to
-Isabella, Philip’s daughter.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward returns and invades Scotland.]
-
-[Sidenote: Defeats Wallace at Falkirk.]
-
-[Sidenote: Comyn’s regency.]
-
-Shortly after his return, Edward advanced to revenge the insults
-of Wallace, who had meantime unwisely taken the title of the
-Guardian of the Kingdom, thus still further exciting the jealousy
-of the nobles. He retired before the English army, laying waste
-the country behind him, and Edward had almost been starved into a
-retreat, when two Scotch Earls told him that Wallace was in the
-woods in his immediate neighbourhood. Edward at once advanced to
-meet him. Wallace, with his infantry formed into solid squares,
-awaited his attack. Such horse as he had fled without striking a
-blow. The arrows of the English archers broke the squares, and the
-7000 heavy armed English cavalry had no difficulty in completing
-the victory. Wallace fled, and resumed his outlaw’s life, nor does
-he again play a prominent part in history. In 1305, he was betrayed
-by one of his own followers named Jack Short to Sir John Monteith,
-by whom he was given up to the English King, and suffered death,
-with all the extreme penalties of the law.[52] The bitter feeling
-his outrages had caused in England made any other fate impossible.
-But though Wallace sinks into obscurity, his work had not been
-without effect. The southern counties were so ravaged that the
-King could not maintain an army there, and had to retire from the
-country, which passed into the hands of a temporary regency, at the
-head of which was Comyn.
-
-[Sidenote: Parliament of Lincoln.]
-
-For several years the steps taken for the reduction of Scotland
-were marked by great weakness. Edward’s energy was paralyzed,
-partly by the affairs in France, partly by questions arising with
-regard to the charters in England. Frequent complaints had been
-raised with regard to infringements of the Charter of Forests. It
-was to settle these complaints, and to discuss an extraordinary
-claim raised by Pope Boniface, that a Parliament was assembled at
-Lincoln in 1301. With regard to the charter the King yielded, and
-a considerable disafforesting of districts illegally included
-within the limits of the forests took place. Pleased with the
-King’s constitutional conduct, the baronage joined heartily in
-the rejection of the Papal claim. Boniface had issued a mandate
-desiring the King to abstain from all further attacks on Scotland,
-“which did and doth still belong in full right to the Church of
-Rome.” This mandate was delivered while Edward was in Scotland,
-and Boniface’s position as arbiter between Edward and the King of
-France prevented him from at once rejecting it. It is probable
-that Boniface was only asserting his position as guardian of
-international law, but the English treated the claim as serious.
-When it was brought before Parliament, the baronage replied that
-the kingdom of Scotland never had belonged to the See of Rome, and
-that they, the Barons of England, would not allow Edward, even if
-he wished it, to surrender the rights of the Crown. It was not till
-1303 that Edward was able to resume his conquest of that kingdom.
-Early in that year he ordered his Barons to assist John Segrave,
-Governor of Scotland, in marching from Berwick to Edinburgh. But
-that General mismanaged his march, and as he approached Roslin on
-the way to Edinburgh, in three divisions, he was fallen upon by
-Comyn, and his army defeated in detail.
-
-[Sidenote: Fresh invasion of Scotland.]
-
-[Sidenote: Second conquest of Scotland.]
-
-[Sidenote: Bruce murders Comyn, and rebels.]
-
-[Sidenote: Preparations for fourth invasion.]
-
-[Sidenote: Edward’s death near Carlisle.]
-
-The King had thus much to revenge when, in June, he began his
-march. On this occasion he was accompanied by a fleet to bring
-his supplies. He thus avoided the difficulty which the desolate
-state of the country had hitherto presented. He pushed onward
-into the far North. On returning he took up his abode for a
-time in Dunfermline. Most of the Scotch Barons there sought and
-obtained pardon, and at length Comyn, who had been the leader of
-the rebellion, made a treaty in Fife, by which the Lords agreed
-to suffer any pecuniary fine Edward thought fit, and the castles
-and government were to be in Edward’s hands. One stronghold only
-refused to obey this treaty. Sir William Oliphant held the fortress
-of Stirling, and it required three months to reduce its gallant
-defenders to submission. This was the last opposition Edward had
-to fear; he at once admitted the Scotch to pardon, and settled the
-country, placing his chief confidence apparently in Wishart, Bishop
-of St. Andrews, John de Mowbray and Robert Bruce. It was soon seen
-how little reliance could be put on the first and last of these
-Commissioners.
-
-Robert Bruce was the grandson of the claimant of the Scotch throne;
-his grandfather had been an English judge, his father a constant
-friend of Edward. It was only by marriage that the family had
-acquired the estates of Carrick and Annandale. He was therefore
-to all intents and purposes an Englishman, or rather a Norman
-Baron, possessed of that peculiar characteristic of the race which
-rendered it in fact a race of adventurers, with the constant hope
-of winning great things before their minds. The instances of
-Norman Barons who had won earldoms, kingdoms and empires, were
-too numerous not to have had effect upon aspiring members of the
-race. Bruce had up to this time played a somewhat vacillating
-game, but on the whole, perhaps because of his feud with Balliol,
-he had remained faithful to Edward. He seems now to have thought
-his opportunity had arrived. It may perhaps have been the King’s
-growing infirmities that encouraged him. At all events, early in
-February 1306, he murdered in the church of Dumfries Comyn, who,
-in accordance with the interpretation of the law which Edward
-had recognized, stood next to the Balliols in succession to the
-Scotch throne, and who, since he had last submitted to Edward, had
-been true to him. Bruce then, joined by a few nobles, raised the
-standard of revolt. He proceeded at once to Scone, and there, in
-March, was crowned by Wishart and other of Edward’s Commissioners.
-This unexpected insurrection from those whom he had trusted
-roused Edward to extreme anger. With great pomp, at a meeting at
-Westminster, he knighted his son, and took a solemn oath to avenge
-John Comyn’s death. Carlisle was the point of rendezvous, but
-already Bruce had been defeated at Methven near Perth by Aymer de
-Valence, Earl of Pembroke, and was wandering barefoot and in misery
-among the hills and woods of the country. He was reduced to demand
-the pity of the King, but was refused; and a severe ordinance was
-issued that all abettors of the murder of Comyn should be hanged,
-and that all those who assisted Bruce should be imprisoned. The
-ordinance was carried out with severity. Nigel Bruce, two Seatons,
-the Earl of Athole and Simon Fraser, were all executed, and the
-Countess of Buchan, who had crowned Bruce, was imprisoned, with
-ironical cruelty, in a crown-shaped cage. But Bruce himself was not
-taken, and issuing from his fastnesses, he inflicted many losses by
-surprise upon the English. He even in his turn defeated the Earl of
-Pembroke, and shortly after the Earl of Gloucester; and Edward was
-rousing himself to attack him, though scarcely able to mount his
-horse, when he died upon the march.
-
-[Sidenote: Constitutional importance of the reign.]
-
-The mere narration of the political facts of the reign, although
-it brings out prominently much of Edward’s greatness, gives no
-idea of the real constitutional importance of his work. Not only
-was he the first truly English King, both by his circumstances
-and political views, but he became, in virtue of his love of order
-and legal arrangement, the completer of the English Constitution.
-In the first place, it is to him that we owe the perfection of
-the Parliamentary system, of the complete representation in
-Parliament of the three Estates of the realm, the Lords, Commons,
-and Clergy. For it is plain that it was his intention to combine
-the three, although the clergy refused to accede to his wish, and
-preferred to tax themselves separately in Convocation; a body which
-however, as will be afterwards seen, also owes its representative
-arrangements to him. The gradual introduction of the representative
-system of the counties has been mentioned. Again and again, on
-special occasions, knights, to represent the shire and to give
-information with regard to their counties, had been summoned. Simon
-de Montfort had even introduced representation of the boroughs; but
-this was regarded as wholly exceptional. Nevertheless, Edward was
-not long in seeing both the justice and advantage of the system.
-In the first Parliament of his reign, when enacting the first
-great Statute of Westminster, a healing and restorative measure
-applicable to the whole country, he said that he made it with the
-consent of the _commonalty_; there were possibly representatives of
-the counties present; more probably their consent was arrived at
-in some other way. At the same time, the high view which he took
-of his own constitutional position is marked by a change in the
-ordinary form of enactment. Statutes had hitherto been enacted “by
-the counsel and consent of Parliament.” The alteration of a few
-letters changed the meaning of this phrase. The present statute was
-said to be enacted “by the King by the advice of his Council and
-the assent of Parliament.” The legislative power was thus made to
-reside in the King and his Council. It is the power thus claimed
-which gave rise to the legislative, or rather the ordaining power
-claimed by the King in Council, which was afterwards frequently
-complained of by the Parliament. But Edward, in spite of these
-pretensions, accepted the view that all should be consulted where
-the interests of all were at stake. This was of course chiefly
-in the matter of taxation, and the convenience as well as the
-justice of the method which Simon de Montfort had set on foot soon
-became evident to his mind. From the beginning of this reign, the
-method of taxation had been changed. Instead of an aid, raised
-from the land, it had become a subsidy raised by an assessment
-on the moveables of the people. Most frequently the proportion
-granted was a tenth or fifteenth, but in these early times every
-variety of proportion was granted. As yet, however, these taxes
-had been collected locally in accordance with arrangements made
-by Exchequer officers, sheriffs, or the county court. In 1282,
-the King, being in want of money for his Welsh wars, proceeded by
-his ordinary method. The sums raised locally were insufficient;
-while his Barons were with him at the wars it was inconvenient to
-hold a Parliament; writs were issued therefore to the sheriffs
-and archbishops to collect their two Estates, the Commons and the
-clergy, at two centres, York and Northampton. At these meetings
-were present four representative knights from each county, and
-all freeholders of more than one knight’s fee. The Commons made
-their grant of a thirtieth. The assemblies of the clergy declined,
-until the parochial clergy were represented. For this purpose the
-election of Proctors was then ordered, and they have since formed
-a regular part of the Convocation. These negotiations were not
-completed when what is called the Parliament of Acton Burnell was
-summoned to settle the affairs of Wales. At that meeting there
-were present no clergy, and representatives of twenty towns only,
-summoned separately. In 1290, a further proof is given that for
-taxation by subsidy the representation of the Commons was beginning
-to be considered necessary. In that year an old-fashioned feudal
-aid was granted for the marriage of the King’s daughter. It was
-granted by the baronage for the whole commonalty, and was in the
-old form of land-tax, but the Commons being subsequently present,
-it was changed at their request to a fifteenth. It was possible for
-the baronage to grant the aid upon military tenants, but the rest
-of the people could not be reached. Two principles had by this time
-been established,--that the clergy should be fully represented, and
-that for subsidies upon the whole kingdom it was both convenient
-and just that the Commons should in some way be represented; but
-it was not yet held necessary for feudal matters, or for questions
-touching the baronage only, that the Commons should be present.
-Indeed, at this very Parliament, the statute “Quia Emptores” was
-passed by the Barons before the Commons assembled. All these
-preparatory steps found their completion in the Parliament of 1295,
-when writs were issued to the Archbishops to appear themselves, and
-to send Proctors to Westminster; to the Prelates and Barons, as
-Peers, and to the sheriffs, summoning the knights of the counties,
-and two burghers from each town.[53] There was thus a Parliament
-complete in all its parts, such as it has since remained. We must
-not suppose, however, that the Estates acted in common, or that
-the Commons had much voice in the deliberation. At this very
-Parliament of 1295, the grant of each order was different, nor
-was it till 1318, in Edward II.’s reign, that the Commons can be
-considered as perfectly incorporated in the Legislative Assembly.
-The constitutional view at present was, that the King, with the
-assent of his Barons, granted the petitions of the Commons and the
-Clergy.
-
-[Sidenote: Great statutes of the reign.]
-
-The great statutes which were passed in these various Parliaments
-must now be mentioned. Those which were of most general national
-interest were the First Statute of Westminster, which, as has been
-before said, revived and re-established the old constitutions of
-the country, and limited the employment of feudal aids; and the
-Statute of Winchester, passed in 1285, which was a re-enactment
-and completion of the Assize of Arms established by Henry II., and
-aimed at once at the defence and police of the country. It laid
-upon the counties, under heavy penalties, the duty of indicting
-felons and robbers, ordered the police arrangements of walled
-towns, the enlargement and clearing of the edges of public roads,
-and further defined the arms which each class of the population
-was bound to procure for the preservation of the land. Constables
-and justices were to be appointed to see to the proper observance
-of this statute, from whom subsequently grew the justices of the
-peace. Some such statute was indeed very necessary, and even its
-stringent provisions were not sufficient to establish order. In
-1305, England was full of riotous outlaws, who were willing to
-hire themselves out for purposes of private outrage when they were
-not plying their own trade of robbery; these were known by the
-name of “trail-bâtons.” To suppress them it was found necessary to
-issue commissions to travelling justices, empowering them to act
-summarily towards such breakers of the peace. Their strictness is
-mentioned in the political songs of the day. It was impossible,
-it was said, any longer to beat your children, you were at once
-punished as a trail-bâton.[54] Even the stringency of these
-measures of suppression mark Edward’s love of order. Lastly, must
-be mentioned the great Acts for the confirmation of the charters,
-which are sometimes regarded as the statute “De tallagio non
-concedendo.” From this time forward arbitrary tallages, though
-occasionally used, began to be regarded as illegal.
-
-There were also two great statutes bearing almost entirely upon the
-feudal relations of landed proprietors. The first was the statute
-of “Quia Emptores” (1290), which forbad subinfeudation and the
-formation of new manors. Its original object was to prevent feudal
-lords from being defrauded of their dues. Henceforward, property
-alienated ceased to belong in any sense to the subordinate grantor,
-and returned to the property of the lord superior of the whole
-estate. The effect, unforeseen by the enacters, was to increase the
-number of independent gentry holding immediately from the crown or
-from the great lords. The second statute is known by the name of
-the Second Statute of Westminster, or “De donis conditionalibus.”
-When an estate had been given to a man and to his children, it had
-hitherto been held sufficient that the child should be born. The
-estate had then become the absolute property of the man to whom it
-had been granted, and he could alienate it at his will. It was now
-enacted that he had but a life interest in it, that if his children
-were not living at his death, it reverted to the original grantor.
-Thus was established the power of entail. There remains one great
-statute to be mentioned, the Statute of Mortmain. This was aimed
-against the increasing power and wealth of the Church, and against
-a legal trick by which laymen had freed themselves from feudal
-liabilities. It had become a custom to give property to the Church
-and to receive it back as tenant of the Church, thus freed from
-obligation to lay superiors. At the same time, even though this
-device was not used, the accumulation of property in the hands of
-the Church withdrew it from many feudal duties. It passed, it was
-said, “in mortuam manum”--into a dead hand. All transactions by
-which lands or tenements could in any way pass into mortmain were
-now forbidden. The same spirit which produced these laws had been
-felt in the administration of justice, where the three courts of
-Exchequer, King’s Bench and Common Pleas were finally separated,
-and each provided with a full staff of officials. Even from this
-short sketch of the work of Edward I. may be gathered the great
-constitutional importance of the reign.
-
-
-
-
-EDWARD II.
-
-1307-1327.
-
- Born 1284 = Isabella of France.
- |
- +-----------+------------+--+-----------------+
- | | | |
- Edward III. John, Earl of Joan = David II. Eleanor = Duke of
- Cornwall. Gueldres.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- Robert I., 1306. | Philip IV., 1285. | Albert, 1298. | Ferdinand IV.,
- | Louis X., 1314. | Henry VII., 1308. | 1295.
- | Philip V., 1316. | Louis IV., 1313. | Alphonso XI.,
- | Charles IV., 1322. | | 1312.
-
- POPES.--Clement V., 1305. Vacancy for two years. John XXII., 1316.
-
- _Archbishops._ | _Chancellors._
- |
- Robert of Winchelsea, | John Langton, 1307. John de Salmon, 1320.
- 1308-1313. | Walter Reynolds, 1310. Robert de Baldock, 1323.
- Walter Reynolds, | John de Sandale, 1314. Adam de Orleton, 1327.
- 1313-1327. | John de Hotham, 1318.
-
-
- _Note._--The names of the Justiciaries, who now became legal
- rather than political officers, are no longer given. Throughout,
- the names under the head of Spain are those of the Kings of
- Castile.
-
-
-The reign of Edward II. affords the best apology for any excessive
-exertions of power which can be laid to the charge of Edward I.
-It is plain that there existed a readiness on the part of the
-nobles to take advantage of any weakness in the government of their
-ruler; on the part of the clergy to reclaim the liberties of their
-order; and of the lower classes to find a popular hero in every
-opponent of the government. It would seem indeed that there was no
-alternative between a strong and practically despotic government
-and anarchy. It was not till the feudal barons of England had had
-their fill of anarchy in the Wars of the Roses, and had destroyed
-themselves, that constitutional government, in our sense of the
-word, had a chance of existence, and our sympathies are constantly
-divided between the Church and barons, whose efforts alone promised
-freedom, and the power of the encroaching ruler, who alone ensured
-order. For the weakling who could secure neither one nor the other
-we can feel no sympathy. In the reign of Edward II. we feel as
-if we had fallen back again to the time of his grandfather. The
-great question at issue throughout is the same--Shall foreigners,
-or indeed any other king-chosen favourites, supersede the national
-oligarchy of great barons? The constant prominence of this question
-(which in the present reign was further embittered by the personal
-character of one at least of the favourites) renders it very
-difficult to distinguish the part played by real patriotic demands
-for good government and for constitutional limits to the royal
-power. It is pretty clear that the favourites were the chief cause
-of the disturbances of the reign; but, on the other hand, the
-evident advantages offered by some of the baronial claims, and the
-love of the populace, who ranked even Lancaster with its saints,
-compel us to believe that these turbulent disturbers of the peace
-were worthy of some sympathy.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward’s friendship for Gaveston.]
-
-[Sidenote: Barons demand his dismissal. March 3, 1308.]
-
-When the late King died in the neighbourhood of Carlisle, he
-believed that the war with Scotland would have been carried on by
-his son, of whom he was very fond; while he thought he had secured
-him from that danger which he had already foreseen would beset
-his reign, by insisting on the dismissal of his favourite, Piers
-Gaveston. Gaveston was a young man of Gascon or Basque origin, of
-greater refinement apparently than the rough barons of England,
-their equal, if not their superior, in martial exercises, and
-possessing those courtly tastes for music and the arts which marked
-the young King. But Edward disappointed his father’s hopes. He
-had already (before his father had insisted on the dismissal of
-Gaveston) gone so far as to beg for him, though in vain, the royal
-county of Ponthieu. On his father’s death he immediately recalled
-him. A hasty and ineffectual march into Scotland, where Aymer de
-Valence was left as lieutenant, was all that came of the great
-preparations at Carlisle, and the King’s mind seemed to be occupied
-in lavishing favours on his friend. He gave him the Earldom of
-Cornwall, hitherto an appanage of some royal prince. He seized the
-property of Walter, Bishop of Lichfield, who in the late reign
-had opposed him in his office as treasurer, and bestowed it on
-Gaveston; and after that young man had, by his ostentation, by his
-success in the lists, and by a reckless use of his happy gift of
-applying nicknames, excited the anger of the great nobles, Edward
-was foolish enough, on leaving England to do homage for his French
-dominions, to leave him as Governor of the country. Consequently,
-no sooner was he crowned than the Barons demanded in Parliament the
-dismissal of the favourite. The demand could not be refused, and
-Edward promised to accede to it, but proved at the same time how
-determined he was to evade his promise, by not only bestowing fresh
-grants on Gaveston, but by appointing him Lord Deputy of Ireland.
-There for a year he reigned with almost royal power.
-
-[Sidenote: Gaveston’s return.]
-
-The quarrel thus begun became the chief question of the reign. All
-other matters, even the conquest of Scotland, were subordinated
-to it; and while it was continuing, Bruce was quietly subduing
-fortress after fortress, and subjugating the whole south of
-Scotland. In the following year, the King still further showed his
-untrustworthiness by receiving Gaveston back in England. He met
-him with great marks of affection at Chester, having probably had
-recourse already to that dangerous expedient, a Papal dispensation
-from his promises. In fact, again like his grandfather, Edward
-found it expedient throughout his reign to keep on very friendly
-terms with the Pope, and to back his authority by the undefined
-power which the Head of the Church still wielded. It has been seen
-how even his great father was unable to resist this temptation.
-Clement V., an obsequious servant of the French King, and reigning
-at Avignon, was very different from the formidable Boniface
-VIII. There was no difficulty in persuading him to renew the old
-alliance with the sovereign which placed the Church at his mercy.
-Moreover, at this time he was anxious, in the interests of his
-master, to procure Edward’s co-operation in the unprincipled
-destruction of the order of the Temple. Philip IV. of France,
-urged by an avaricious desire to confiscate the vast property of
-this order, had set on foot the most extraordinary reports of
-their licentiousness and blasphemy. In October 1307, all their
-establishments were laid hands on, the inmates imprisoned, their
-wealth confiscated. He then, in union with the Pope, begged all
-his neighbours to adopt a similar course. Edward II. consented,
-and in January 1308, all the Templars in England were imprisoned.
-They were tried by the Church on the accusation of the Pope. In
-France, torture, and the skill of Philip’s lawyers, had produced
-certain confessions, on which the King acted, and the Order was
-there destroyed, its Grand Master, James de Molé, being burnt
-as a heretic. In England, not even torture, which was now first
-used,[55] could produce any important revelations. The inquiries
-lasted till 1311. Eventually, certain supposed proofs of heterodoxy
-having been produced, some of the Knights were confined in
-monasteries, the Order suppressed, and their property given to the
-Hospitallers.
-
-[Sidenote: General discontent and Statute of Stamford.]
-
-[Sidenote: Appointment of the Lords Ordainers.]
-
-The effect of Gaveston’s return, and the renewal of Papal
-influence, was of course to increase the discontent, till, on
-the 27th of July, at a Parliament held at Stamford, the King was
-compelled to give his consent to a statute of reform. By this the
-first Statute of Westminster was renewed, the undue power exercised
-by the constables of the royal castles, and the extortions of the
-officers of the royal household, were checked; all old taxes upon
-wool and hides beyond the legal customs were removed; while, at the
-same time, a general letter was directed to the Pope, begging him
-to abstain from his exactions. The storm continued to rise. Very
-shortly after this, the great Earls of Lancaster, Lincoln, Warwick,
-and others, refused to appear at a meeting at York, if Gaveston
-were present. A meeting summoned in London at the beginning of the
-following year met with no better success. The Barons threatened
-to appear in arms if they appeared at all. The King, in fear,
-concealed Gaveston for a time; the Barons then indeed came, but
-came only to demand a complete reformation in the government, to
-which the King was compelled to give his consent. The precedent in
-his grandfather’s reign was then followed. From the present March
-to Michaelmas of the following year the government was placed
-in the hands of a commission of twenty-one members, who were to
-produce ordinances of general reform. Pending the production
-of these ordinances, some preliminary articles were at once
-established. For the payment of the King’s debts grants were to
-be recalled, and his expensive housekeeping was to be limited.
-To satisfy the national feeling, and in the hope of lightening
-the taxes, the Italian house of the Frescobaldi, who had hitherto
-farmed them, was to be deprived of that advantage, and Englishmen
-alone were to be employed in their collection; and before all
-things, the charters of liberty were to be observed.
-
-[Sidenote: Useless assault on Scotland. 1311.]
-
-[Sidenote: The Ordinances published.]
-
-[Sidenote: Policy of the opposition.]
-
-[Sidenote: Gaveston banished.]
-
-Hoping, probably, to gain popularity for himself and his favourite,
-and to be thus able to get rid of the Barons’ interference, Edward
-determined on an expedition to Scotland; but the great Barons, on
-the plea that they were busied with their ordinances, refused to
-accompany him. Some of his immediate adherents, such as Gloucester,
-Warrenne, his half-brother, Thomas, Earl of Norfolk,[56] and
-Gaveston, alone went with him. His hopes of gaining popularity by
-victory were disappointed. The Scotch retired before him. Though
-Gaveston crossed the Forth, he could not bring on an engagement;
-and when the English retreated, the Scotch hung upon their rear,
-and pursued their advantages into the county of Durham. In his
-necessity, the King was driven to illegal actions. He appropriated
-the property of the Earl of Lincoln and of the Bishop of Durham,
-and taxed the province of Canterbury. The Parliament, therefore,
-was in no improved temper when Edward, leaving Gaveston in the
-protection of Lady de Vescy, went to meet it in London in October.
-The Ordinances were there produced. In addition to the articles
-already granted, there were others which seem to explain the policy
-of the opposition, and to show the chief forms of misgovernment at
-that time prevalent. No war was to be carried on without consent
-of Parliament;--taken in connection with the conduct of Bohun
-and Bigod in the last reign, with the abstention of the Barons
-from the war with Scotland, and with the treaty between Bruce and
-Lancaster, which will be afterwards mentioned, this seems to show
-that the Barons desired a complete settlement of England before
-engaging in foreign wars. All taxes upon wool and other exports
-since the coronation of Edward I. were to be removed:--the Barons
-seem to have seen that export duties are a tax on production, and
-are advantageous in the long run to foreign manufactures only.
-The great officers of state were to be nominated with consent of
-Parliament; while, to complete the system, the sheriffs, whom
-Edward I. had made elective, were to be nominated by these great
-officers; in other words, the royal power was to be restricted by
-a baronial oligarchy. Parliament was to be held at least once a
-year, which, considering that his father had held at least three
-Parliaments a year, seems to show a tendency on the part of the
-King to arbitrary government. Bad companions were to be removed
-from the King, and his household reformed. Many of these companions
-are mentioned by name, and appear to have been foreigners. The
-King’s tastes had collected around him foreigners connected with
-display of the arts, and on them he had lavished favours, which
-excited the national feeling. But the chief attack after all was
-upon Gaveston, his countryman De Beaumont, and his sister, Lady de
-Vescy. It was ordered that Gaveston should leave the kingdom by the
-port of Dover on the 1st of November, and never again enter any
-territory belonging to the English Crown.[57]
-
-[Sidenote: His reappearance with the King. 1312.]
-
-[Sidenote: The baronial chiefs.]
-
-[Sidenote: Gaveston beheaded at Warwick.]
-
-In pursuance of these Ordinances, Gaveston left England, and
-took refuge in Flanders. But before the year was over he again
-appeared in England, and joined Edward as he hurried to the North,
-to be, as he believed, less within the reach of his enemies. At
-Knaresborough, Edward thought himself strong enough to put forward
-a proclamation declaring the banishment of Gaveston contrary to the
-Constitution. He readmitted him to favour, and restored him his
-property. It was even reported that he was intriguing to secure
-him a retreat in Scotland. This flagrant violation of his word set
-all England against the King. The old Archbishop Winchelsea of
-Canterbury, as in the last reign, became a centre of revolution; he
-excommunicated Gaveston, while the Barons, at the head of whom were
-now the Earls of Lancaster and Hereford, proceeded to take active
-measures. This Lancaster was the eldest son of Edmund, brother
-of Edward I. His power in England was enormous; he was Earl of
-five counties. From his father he had received Lancaster and the
-confiscated estates of De Montfort and Ferrers, the Earldoms namely
-of Leicester and Derby; he had married the heiress of the De Lacys,
-and upon the death of the Earl of Lincoln had succeeded to the
-Earldoms of Lincoln and Salisbury. He began that opposition, which
-will be frequently mentioned afterwards, of the younger branch of
-the Plantagenets to the reigning house. Hereford, the son of the
-great Humphrey Bohun, was the hereditary chief of the baronial
-party. He had married Elizabeth, the King’s sister. The leaders of
-the baronial party agreed to repair to those parts of England where
-they had most influence. Lancaster proceeded northwards so rapidly,
-that the King had to fly before him, and was nearly captured at
-Newcastle, where Gaveston’s jewels and horses fell into Lancaster’s
-hands, and thence he took ship for Scarborough. Lancaster took
-up his position in the middle of England, while the rest of the
-baronial party besieged Gaveston in that fortress, where he was
-soon obliged to surrender. This he did to the Earl of Pembroke,
-who was no enemy to the King, upon a promise that if he could not
-come to terms with the Barons he should be restored to Scarborough.
-Pembroke persuaded him to go with him to his castle at Wallingford,
-but on the way, during a temporary absence of Pembroke, he was
-surprised by Warwick, who hated him for having nicknamed him “The
-Black Dog,” brought to his castle of Warwick, and there beheaded on
-Blacklow Hill. The King was naturally full of anger, nor did he, in
-fact, ever forgive Lancaster, but he yielded to necessity, being
-perhaps in a particularly good humour at the birth of a son and
-heir; and the Barons, who appeared in arms at Ware, all received
-pardon in exchange for some slight concessions, among others for
-the restoration of Gaveston’s jewels. It was not, however, till the
-close of the following year that the pardons were completed, Edward
-having in the meantime been to France.
-
-[Sidenote: Renewal of war with Scotland. 1314.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Bannockburn.]
-
-This closes the first period of the reign, but it is plain that
-the Barons were not yet satisfied. Their chief enemy was removed,
-but their policy was not accepted. Thus, when in 1314 the King
-collected a large army, many of them still held aloof, though
-they sent their forces. If Scotland was to be saved it was time
-for energetic action. One by one the fortresses had been taken.
-Stirling still held out, but the Governor promised to capitulate
-unless relieved before St. John’s Day. By a rapid march Edward
-reached the place before the fatal day. But Bruce was ready to
-receive him. He had arranged his troops a little to the south and
-east of the castle, with his right resting on the little brook
-Bannockburn. His position was carefully prepared. His front was
-partly covered by a marsh, and where this ceased and waste land
-began he had dug shallow pitfalls, with a pointed stake in each,
-to check the advance of the heavy cavalry, of which the English
-army then consisted. His left was defended by the cliffs of the
-castle. Edward Bruce commanded the right, Thomas Randolf the left,
-Walter Stewart and James Douglas the centre, a small rearguard was
-commanded by Bruce himself. On the eve of St. John’s the English
-attempted to secure Stirling, but were beaten back by Randolf. On
-the morning of the 24th of June, the Abbot of Inchaffray said mass
-in the Scotch army. As they knelt, Edward exclaimed, “See, they
-beg pardon.” But Ingram of Umfranville, a Scotch nobleman, by his
-side, replied, “Yes, sire, but of Heaven, not of you.” Immediately
-after this the battle began, and already the weight of the English
-men-at-arms and the flights of arrows were thinning the Scotch
-ranks, when Bruce fell upon the flank of the archers with his
-reserve. The fortune of the day was still doubtful, when troops
-were seen advancing with flying standards behind the Scotch. They
-were the camp followers of Bruce’s army, who were eagerly pushing
-forward to watch the fight, but the English believed it was the
-arrival of reinforcements. They had already found enough to do, and
-did not wait the new arrivals. The flight soon became a disorderly
-rout. The horses stumbled and fell in the pitfalls or stuck fast in
-the morass, and the Scotch pursued ruthlessly. With difficulty the
-King, under the guidance of the Earl of Pembroke, escaped from the
-field, and sought safety with a few hundred men in Dunbar, whence
-he took ship to Berwick. The Earl of Gloucester, with great numbers
-of Barons and Knights, were left dead upon the field, and during
-the retreat the Earl of Hereford was captured at Bothwell. He was
-subsequently exchanged for the Bishop of Glasgow and Bruce’s wife
-and daughter, who had long been in honourable custody in England.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward refuses to treat. Consequent disasters.]
-
-Edward thought for a moment of renewing the war, and again summoned
-a fresh army; but the condition of England rendered further
-action impossible. The discontented Earls attributed the disaster
-to the refusal of the King to accept the Ordinances, and to the
-influence of his new favourites Beaumont and Despenser. Money,
-too, was wanting; and the King’s renewed efforts to obtain it from
-the clergy by means of the new Archbishop Walter were met with
-firm opposition. But though war was useless, he would not listen
-to Bruce’s overtures for peace, obstinately refusing to regard
-that Prince in any other light than that of a rebel. The North of
-England was thus left open to the fierce inroads of the Scotch.
-
-[Sidenote: Wars in Wales and Ireland.]
-
-[Sidenote: Edward Bruce’s invasion of Ireland.]
-
-[Sidenote: He is crowned King. 1316.]
-
-[Sidenote: Is killed at Dundalk.]
-
-The loss of the English prestige was more disastrous than the
-immediate loss of the battle. The Welsh and Irish thought their
-opportunity had arrived for obtaining their independence. The
-Welsh insurrection was indeed subdued after a year of fighting;
-but it required three years before Ireland was again secured to
-the English Crown. In that country Edward I. had done but little.
-It was in its usual state of disorder. The feuds among the Norman
-adventurers, to whom the conquest had been left, were scarcely
-less constant or bitter than the wars among the native tribes who
-surrounded them. Against these tribes, however, they exercised
-the greatest cruelties. To be an Irishman was to be excluded from
-all justice, to be classed at once as a robber and murderer. The
-news of the Battle of Bannockburn induced the Irish to beg the
-assistance of Bruce, and to offer him their crown. He declined it
-for himself, but his brother Edward, as ambitious as the Scotch
-King, accepted the offer. In May 1315 he landed, supported by the
-great tribe of the O’Niells, and probably also by the Norman Lacys,
-and was victorious over the combined forces of the Butlers and De
-Burghs. In vain did Edward send John of Hotham, a clergyman, to
-attempt some combination among the English and the Irish tribes.
-The English dislike to the royal lieutenant Butler prevented
-union, and in May 1316, O’Niell of Tyrone gave up his claim to
-the Irish throne to Edward Bruce, who was crowned King. But a
-series of separate attacks upon the natives was more successful.
-At Athenry the O’Connors were almost exterminated. The arrival
-of King Robert in Ulster, and a march in winter to Limerick and
-Dublin, produced no permanent effect, and at length, in 1317,
-Roger Mortimer, landing with a considerable army, succeeded in
-establishing some order. The Lacys were executed for treason; the
-tribes began quarrelling among themselves; and finally, in 1318,
-Edward Bruce fell in a battle, in which he was defeated by John of
-Birmingham, in the neighbourhood of Dundalk. The English government
-was re-established in all its oppression.
-
-[Sidenote: Distress in England.]
-
-[Sidenote: Lancaster temporary minister. 1316.]
-
-[Sidenote: Power of the Despensers.]
-
-Meanwhile, England itself had been in a miserable plight. 1315 and
-1316 were years of fearful famine. Prices rose to an unprecedented
-height. Wheat was sold for 40 marks a quarter; and Parliament still
-further aggravated the evil by fixing a maximum price, which for
-a time closed the markets altogether. Terrible diseases followed
-in the wake of the famine. Again and again the northern counties
-were mercilessly ravaged; whole districts and dioceses were glad
-to compound with the Scotch for safety. An attempt was made by a
-Parliament in this year to re-establish the national prosperity,
-by obliging the King to accept Lancaster as his chief minister.
-Lancaster accepted this position, upon the condition that he
-should be allowed to resign if the King refused to follow his
-advice, or if men objectionable to Parliament were admitted to
-the King’s Council. For a moment there was peace. The Ordinances
-were accepted, and ordered to be published throughout the country.
-But it was not in the King to act honourably when the fortunes of
-his favourites were at stake; and Lancaster soon found himself
-thwarted by the ever-increasing power of the Despensers. It was in
-vain that Pope John XXII. was called in as a mediator. His legates
-were equally unsuccessful in their attempts to heal the domestic
-quarrels of the country and to establish a truce with Scotland.
-Bruce refused to treat unless he was acknowledged as King. He
-continued his enterprises, and captured the town of Berwick. The
-legates could do nothing but put him under the ban of the Church.
-
-[Sidenote: Temporary reconciliation in England.]
-
-[Sidenote: Truce with Scotland. 1320.]
-
-At last, in 1318, a crisis was reached. The necessity of union
-against Scotland began to be obvious. The Despensers were for a
-time removed from England, and a committee in the interest of
-Lancaster was appointed to watch the royal action in the intervals
-of Parliament. This temporary adjustment of affairs in England was
-followed before long by a truce with Scotland. Edward tried and
-failed in an attempt to regain Berwick. Another furious invasion
-had ravaged the North of England, in which no less than eighty-four
-towns and villages were burned. It was plain that the Scotch were
-too strong for him. At the same time Bruce was anxious to be rid
-of the excommunication, and agreed to waive his claim to the
-obnoxious title. Under these circumstances there was no difficulty
-in treating.
-
-[Sidenote: The Welsh Marches quarrel with the Despensers.]
-
-[Sidenote: Edward quarrels with the Marchers.]
-
-[Sidenote: Hereford and Lancaster combine. 1321.]
-
-[Sidenote: Despensers banished.]
-
-It soon became evident that the late attempts at compromise between
-the two parties in England were hollow. The question had to be
-tried by an appeal to arms. Nothing could induce the King to get
-rid of his favourites, nor the opposition to act in common with
-them. It was a little private quarrel, and no great question,
-which at length blew the smouldering discontent to a flame. The
-marriage of young Hugh Despenser with the daughter of the Earl
-of Gloucester, who had died at Bannockburn, had introduced a new
-and objectionable power into the midst of the Welsh Marches. A
-quarrel arose about a vacant fief, and the Marchers made common
-cause against the favourite. The King ordered the question to be
-settled before his own court, and subsequently before Parliament;
-but Hereford refused to appear unless the Despensers were removed.
-As the King vindicated his favourites, and refused to remove
-them, Hereford marched northward, joined Lancaster, and made a
-formal agreement with him that there should be no peace till
-the Despensers were gone. The confederates came in arms to the
-Parliament held at Westminster, found themselves completely master
-of the King, presented him with eleven articles of reformation, and
-procured from him, irregularly, and in spite of the protestations
-of the clergy, the condemnation and banishment of the Despensers.
-This condemnation was afterwards formed into a statute, and a
-pardon given to all those who had compelled the King to grant it.
-
-[Sidenote: Insult to the Queen rouses Edward to energy.]
-
-[Sidenote: He recalls the Despensers. Pacifies the Marches.]
-
-But though Edward had temporarily yielded, parties were so evenly
-balanced that very little turned the scale. Young Despenser was
-serving as admiral on the coast of Kent. He was therefore safe from
-such personal attacks as Gaveston had been exposed to, and the
-King was able to repair to the coast and concert measures with him.
-As the Queen was travelling from London to Canterbury to meet him,
-she was refused admittance to the royal castle of Leeds by the
-Governor, Badlesmere. Angry at this insult, the King attacked the
-castle and hanged the garrison. It seems to have been felt that, in
-insulting the Queen, the opposition party had gone much too far.
-The King was able to recall the Despensers, several of the nobles
-declared that the late sentence of banishment had been procured by
-overwhelming force; and as he marched towards the West against the
-Welsh Marches, his brothers, the Earls of Norfolk and Kent, and
-several others of the greater nobility, followed his standard. By
-occupying the valley of the Severn, he separated the Marchers from
-Lancaster, who was collecting troops at Doncaster. Mortimer and
-most of the Marchers came to terms, and surrendered. Hereford with
-several others, broke through the royal army, and joined Lancaster.
-The King’s enemies were now collected into one body, and he rapidly
-turned against them. To secure support, and probably in pursuance
-of their usual policy, the rebel lords had entered into a treaty
-with the Scotch. Bruce was to come to their assistance, but no
-conquests that he should make were to be permanent. The price of
-his help was to be peace, and the acknowledgment of his royal title.
-
-[Sidenote: Defeats Lancaster at Boroughbridge.]
-
-[Sidenote: Lancaster worshipped as a saint.]
-
-On the approach of the King, the rebels fell back, and were
-intercepted at Boroughbridge by Sir Andrew Harklay, Governor
-of Carlisle. On attempting to cross the bridge, Hereford was
-killed from below; while the fords were so strongly guarded that
-the passage of the river seemed impossible. Lancaster, with
-some hundred barons and knights, surrendered. He was taken to
-Pontefract. The accusations against him, including his treasonable
-compact with Bruce, were stated before a committee of the King’s
-Barons, and condemnation passed against him unheard. He was
-beheaded, with all circumstances of indignity. A considerable
-number of barons suffered either with him or immediately after.
-Thomas of Lancaster appears to have been an ordinary feudal party
-leader, with a policy which was directed chiefly to domestic
-reforms and to the curtailment of the royal power. At the same
-time, the commonalty of England must have understood that, however
-selfish that policy might have been, it yet led, in the existing
-state of society, to improvement in the condition of the lower
-orders. Not otherwise can we explain the fact that miracles
-before long were worked at the tomb of Lancaster, and his memory
-so worshipped and honoured by the people, that the King found it
-necessary to surround the place of his execution with armed men.
-
-[Sidenote: Triumph of the Despensers.]
-
-[Sidenote: Renewal of war with Scotland.]
-
-[Sidenote: Peace for thirteen years.]
-
-The triumph of the Despensers seemed complete. The elder of them
-was made Earl of Winchester. Their policy too was at once adopted.
-The Ordinances were revised, all that could touch the King’s
-prerogative was cut out. It was ordered especially that hereafter
-no baronial committee should dictate laws to the King, but he
-“should make all laws concerning the estate of the crown or of
-the realm in Parliament, with the consent of the prelates, earls,
-barons, and universality of the realm.” The two years’ truce being
-now out, the King marched to Scotland, but, like all others of this
-reign, the expedition came to nothing. No important battle was
-fought. Want of food compelled the English to return, followed by
-their indefatigable enemies. So close were they upon their heels,
-that at a place called Byland, in Blackmoor Forest, Edward was as
-nearly as possible surprised. So unexpected was the attack, that
-treason was at once suspected. To the astonishment of all, Sir
-Andrew Harklay, who had been made Earl of Carlisle for his services
-at Boroughbridge, was proved, for some unexplained reason, to
-have been in correspondence with Bruce. For this treason he was
-executed. Such constant failures became ridiculous, and at length,
-Edward, acknowledging Bruce’s title as King, made a treaty with him
-for thirteen years.
-
-[Sidenote: Dangers surrounding the King.]
-
-It seemed for the moment that Edward’s troubles were over. The
-baronial party was crushed, their intercourse with the Scotch had
-damaged their reputation; the assumption on their part of the
-sole power of legislation had produced some reaction. The truce
-with Scotland had secured Edward from danger from the North.
-There seemed no reason why he and his favourites should not rule
-almost as they wished. In fact, however, the crisis of his reign
-was approaching; dangers surrounded him on every side. That the
-baronial party was still alive and active was soon made evident by
-a plot to liberate all the political prisoners. The plot indeed
-miscarried, but Mortimer found means to make good his escape from
-the Tower, and, taking refuge in France, became a centre round
-which disaffection might gather. Want of money, too, was a constant
-source of danger; while the meagre grants made by Parliament showed
-how general was the national feeling against the government of
-the favourites. Nor was the Church in much better temper than
-the Barons and the Commons. On more than one occasion the King
-had quarrelled with the national Church, which found an active,
-able, and somewhat unscrupulous champion in Adam Orleton, Bishop
-of Hereford. This man had been deeply implicated in the baronial
-movements, had been deprived of his temporalities, and thus
-became a determined enemy of the King. While quarrelling with the
-national Church, Edward had shown no vigour in opposing Rome. On
-two occasions he failed in procuring the election to bishoprics
-of his nominees, and yielded without a struggle to the authority
-of the Pope. But submission to Rome had now become a sure way of
-gaining unpopularity both among clergy and laity. On the death of
-Boniface VIII., the grandeur and independence of the old Papal
-system had come to an end, but its constant demands upon the
-national churches were by no means lessened; and such exactions had
-become more intolerable now that the ill-gotten wealth which they
-supplied found its way into the hands of a Pope holding his court
-at Avignon, a mere creature of the French King: to the old dislike
-of Papal supremacy there was now added the national dislike of
-France.
-
-[Sidenote: Difficulties with France. 1324.]
-
-[Sidenote: The Queen and Prince in France. 1326.]
-
-To crown Edward’s difficulties, he found himself involved in a
-dispute with France. In 1322, Charles IV., son of Philip the Fair,
-had ascended the throne. It at once became evident that he intended
-to pursue his father’s policy. He demanded personal homage from
-King Edward. His ambassadors could procure nothing but the threat
-that, unless it was paid, Guienne would be seized. In the little
-town of Saint Sardos, in the Agenois, a quarrel between the people
-and their English Seneschal brought the matter before the French
-King. He summoned Edward before his court. It was clear that the
-old machinery of feudal supremacy was again to be set in motion.
-War in fact actually began; the French armies captured Ponthieu
-and the Agenois. It was in vain that King Edward offered justice
-to the aggrieved inhabitants of Saint Sardos in his own courts,
-in vain that he sought the mediation of the Pope. He was himself
-entirely in the hands of the Despensers; and those noblemen,
-afraid probably to allow the King to get beyond the reach of their
-personal influence, used all their power to prevent him from going
-himself to France. It was at last decided that Queen Isabella, the
-French King’s sister, should go to Paris, and try if she could come
-to some arrangement. She procured leave for her eldest son Edward
-to represent his father, and do homage for Guienne. But, when the
-young Prince reached Paris, he was in no haste to return. In fact,
-the Queen had fallen in love with Mortimer, and had passed entirely
-under his influence and that of the other baronial exiles; and
-under the skilful management of Orleton, Mortimer and his friends
-were engaged in a great conspiracy. It was in vain that the King
-perpetually wrote to demand her return. She pleaded personal dread
-of the Despensers, and complained of the King’s ill-usage. For a
-woman living in adultery with her husband’s enemy, such charges
-are perhaps not worth much; but it does seem probable that as a
-high-spirited woman she had much to bear from the King’s partiality
-for his favourites, many of whom were men of the lower ranks of
-life.
-
-[Sidenote: She lands in England.]
-
-[Sidenote: Her party gathers strength.]
-
-[Sidenote: The King is taken. 1326.]
-
-[Sidenote: Prince of Wales made King.]
-
-[Sidenote: Murder of the King.]
-
-The conspiracy was so widespread, and so judiciously managed, that
-her cause was soon regarded as a national one. Nobles, clergy,
-and commonalty seem alike to have been in her interest. At the
-instigation of the Pope, she was obliged to leave Paris, but she
-took the opportunity of going to Hainault, and there contracting a
-marriage between her son Edward and the daughter of the Count, and
-of engaging that Prince to assist her in her enterprise. On the
-24th of September she landed with her foreign auxiliaries at the
-mouth of the Orwell. She was joined by the King’s brothers, by his
-cousin Henry of Lancaster, and by all the nobility of the East.
-The Archbishop of Canterbury supplied her with money. London rose
-in her favour. The skilful management of the Bishop of Hereford
-won her allies on all sides, and the King found it necessary to
-fly before her advance. Leaving the Earl of Winchester in Bristol,
-he tried with young Despenser to reach Lundy Isle in the Bristol
-Channel. The wind prevented him, and he was driven to land in
-Wales. Bristol was taken by the Queen without a siege, and the
-King finally fell into the hands of his pursuers in Wales. He was
-put into the charge of Henry of Lancaster, brother of the late
-Earl, at Kenilworth. William Trussel, whom the Queen had made her
-judge, superintended the trial of the Despensers and their friends,
-and they were all put to death. In December the Parliament met at
-Westminster, and swore fealty to the Queen and Prince. The Bishop
-of Hereford put the question whether Edward or his son should
-henceforward rule. The assembly declared for the Prince, who
-accepted the situation, binding himself to six articles, which seem
-to represent the complaints against the King, and which laid to
-his charge, the rule of favourites, the contempt of good advice,
-the loss of Scotland, acts of violence against the clergy and the
-nobles, and the refusal of justice. Isabella pretended to be angry
-at this act of deposition, but her pretence could deceive nobody.
-Finally, a deputation waited upon the unfortunate Edward, and
-procured his resignation. He was hurried from fortress to fortress,
-and before long met a cruel death in Berkeley Castle.
-
-[Sidenote: Character of the opposition.]
-
-Throughout the baronial efforts of the reign, constitutional
-views and personal interests had been closely interwoven. The
-single-minded patriotism of Simon de Montfort had been entirely
-absent. It was the personal ambition of a Prince of the blood, of
-enormous wealth and influence, which had supplied the baronial
-party with their first leader. The vindictive feelings of
-personal dislike had produced an unjustifiable murder of the
-royal favourite. Success had been followed by an unconstitutional
-appropriation of all the powers of government. To support their
-supremacy the Barons had not shrunk from an alliance with their
-national enemies. To secure a second triumph and revenge they
-had adopted the cause of an adulterous Queen and her worthless
-favourite. Yet throughout, the pretence of their action had been
-the maintenance of the old constitution, and the act which closed
-the reign was a formal declaration on the part of Parliament of a
-constitutional right of the nation to depose a sovereign who proved
-himself unfit for his high position.
-
-
- EDWARD III., died 1377.
- |
- 1 2 | 3 5 +---+
- +-------------------+---+-----+----------------------------+---| A |
- | | | | +---+
- | | | |
- Edward, = Joan, William, Lionel, = Elizabeth |
- the Black | daughter died Duke of | de Burgh. |
- Prince, | of Earl 1335. Clarence, | |
- died 1376. | of Kent, died 1368. | |
- | widow Philippa = Edmund |
- | of Sir T. | Mortimer, |
- | Holland. | Earl of |
- | | March. |
- Richard II., | |
- died 1400. Roger, = Alianore |
- Earl of March, | Holland, |
- declared heir- | daughter |
- apparent, died | of Earl |
- in battle in | of Kent. |
- Ireland, 1398. | |
- | |
- +----------------------------------------+ |
- | |
- | +---------+
- +-------+-----------+ +------------+ |
- | | | | Edmund = Isabel,
- Edmund, Anne = Richard, | Duke of | daughter
- died 1424. | Earl of | York, | of Pedro
- | Cambridge | Earl of | Castile.
- | beheaded at | Cambridge, |
- | Southampton | died 1402. |
- | for conspiring | |
- | against +--------------+
- | Henry V., 1415.
- |
- Richard = Cicely
- Duke of York, | Neville,
- fought against | daughter of
- Henry VI. | Earl of
- Killed at | Westmoreland.
- Wakefield, |
- 1460. |
- |
- +-----------------------+------------------------------+
- | | |
- Edward IV. = Elizabeth George = Isabel, daughter of |
- died 1483. | Woodville. Duke of Earl of Warwick |
- | Clarence, (The King-maker). |
- | killed |
- | 1478. |
- Edward V., |
- died 1483. +---------------------------------------+
- |
- |
- +-------------------+------------+------------------+
- | | |
- Richard III. = Anne, daughter Elizabeth = John Margaret = Duke of
- died 1485. | of Earl of | de la Burgundy.
- | Warwick, widow | Pole.
- | of Edward, son |
- | of Henry VI. |
- | John.
- Edward, Declared heir-apparent,
- died 1484. d. at Battle of
- Stoke, 1487.
-
-
- +---+ 4 6
- | A |--------+-----------------------------+
- +---+ | |
- | |
- Katherine = John = 1. Blanche, Thomas, = Eleanor
- Swinford | of Gaunt, | daughter of | de Bohun.
- | Duke of | of Duke of Woodstock, |
- | Lancaster, | Lancaster Duke of |
- | died 1399. | = 2. Constance, Gloucester, |
- | | daughter strangled |
- John, | of Pedro at Calais |
- Earl of | of Castile. 1397. |
- Somerset. | |
- | Henry IV. = Mary de Anne = Edmund
- | died 1413. | Bohun. | Stafford.
- +------+ | |
- | | Humphrey, = Anne
- | | First Duke Neville.
- | | of Buckingham
- | | killed at
- | | Northampton
- | | 1460.
- | |
- | +--------+---------+----------------------+
- | | | | |
- John Owen = Katherine = Henry V. Thomas, John = 1. Anne of |
- | Tudor | daughter of | died Duke of Duke of Burgundy. |
- | | Charles VI. | 1422. Clarence, Bedford = 2. Jacquetta |
- | | | killed at died of Luxembourg. |
- | | | Beaugé, 1435. |
- | | | 1421. |
- | | | +------------------+
- Margaret = Edmund Henry VI. = Margaret |
- | Earl of died | of Anjou. Humphrey = Jacqueline
- | Richmond 1471. | Duke of of Hainault.
- | died 1456. | Gloucester,
- | | rival of
- | | Beaufort,
- | | died 1446.
- | |
- | Edward = Anne, daughter
- Henry VII., killed at of Earl of
- died 1509. Tewkesbury Warwick (The
- 1471. King-maker).
-
-
-
-
-EDWARD III.
-
-1327-1377.
-
- Born 1312 = Philippa of Hainault.
- |
- +-------------------+---------+-----------+-----------+---------+
- | | | | | |
- Edward, = Joan of | Lionel, John of Edmund, Thomas of
- the Black | Kent. | Duke of Gaunt, Duke of Woodstock,
- Prince, | | Clarence, Duke of York, Duke of
- d. 1376. | William, d. 1368. Lancaster, d. 1402. Gloucester,
- | d. 1335. d. 1399 d. 1397.
- Richard II.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain (Castile)._
- | | |
- Robert I., 1306. | Charles IV., 1322. | Louis IV., | Alphonso XI., 1312.
- David II., 1329. | Philip VI., 1328. | 1314. | Pedro, 1350.
- Robert II., 1370. | John, 1350. | Charles IV., | Henry II., 1368.
- | Charles V., 1364. | 1347. |
-
- POPES.--John XXII., 1316. Benedict XI., 1334. Clement VI., 1342.
- Innocent VI. 1352. Urban V., 1362. Gregory XI., 1370.
-
- _Archbishops._
-
- Simon Mepeham, 1328.
- John of Stratford, 1333.
- Thomas Bradwardine, 1349.
- Simon Islip, 1349.
- Simon Langham, 1366.
- William Whittlesey, 1368.
- Simon Sudbury, 1375.
-
- _Chancellors._
-
- Henry of Burghersh, 1327. Robert of Sadyngton, 1343.
- John of Stratford, 1330. John of Offord, 1345.
- Richard of Bury, 1334. John of Thoresby, 1348.
- John of Stratford, 1335. William of Edington, 1356.
- Robert of Stratford, 1337. Simon Langham, 1363.
- Richard Bynteworth, 1338. William of Wykeham, 1367.
- John of Stratford, 1340. Sir Robert Thorpe, 1371.
- Robert of Stratford, 1340. Sir John Knyvet, 1372.
- Sir Robert Bourchier, 1340. Adam Houghton, 1377.
- Sir Robert Parnynge, 1341.
-
-
-[Sidenote: Measures of reform.]
-
-[Sidenote: Mortimer’s misgovernment.]
-
-As the conquest of England by Queen Isabella and Mortimer had been
-ostensibly undertaken for purposes of reform in the government,
-and freedom from the influence of favourites, the first measures
-taken were such as might befit a reforming party. The charters of
-liberty were solemnly renewed, and the removal of the more obvious
-abuses promised, the judgment against Lancaster and his friends
-was reversed, and the government nominally placed in the hands of
-a council of regency, formed of four Bishops, four Earls, and
-six Barons. Nevertheless, the real power remained in the hands of
-Mortimer; to him and to the Queen a considerable portion of the
-royal revenues were diverted, and before long all trace of reform
-had disappeared, and Mortimer, forgetful of the pretext which had
-secured him his position, and of the fate of his predecessors,
-became to all intents and purposes himself a favourite, giving to
-that word the meaning which best describes it, an irresponsible
-and all-powerful minister. He even surrounded himself, we are
-told, with a guard of 180 knights, and altogether adopted an
-ostentatious bearing which could not but create enemies; at the
-same time his connection with the Queen excited the displeasure of
-all respectable men.
-
-[Sidenote: Fruitless campaign against Scotland.]
-
-[Sidenote: Peace.]
-
-His early government was rudely interrupted by an invasion from
-Scotland. The truce was not yet expired, but the opportunity
-was too good to be lost. To the English the renewal of war was
-distasteful, and measures were taken to avoid it. A meeting was
-arranged with the Scotch King, but the conclusion was so evidently
-foregone, that Robert summoned his army to assemble on the very
-day appointed for the meeting, and while the negotiations were
-still going on, the Scotch crossed the borders in force. The
-campaign against them was not successful. More used than the
-English to rapid movements, capable of living upon much less,
-and able to supply themselves with that little from an enemy’s
-country, the Scotch constantly avoided a great battle. Twice was
-Edward deceived by a simple stratagem of the Scotch, who left
-the watchfires burning, while they secretly decamped, and he was
-finally obliged to close the campaign without a battle. It became
-necessary for Mortimer and Edward to treat, and the Queen offered
-her daughter Jane as the price of peace. In March 1328, that peace
-was concluded; Robert’s son, David, was to marry Jane; the English
-were to use their best endeavours to have the ecclesiastical
-censures which hung over Bruce removed, and on the payment of
-£20,000, promised to give up all claims upon the Scotch crown, and
-to acknowledge Bruce as king.
-
-Though the English nobles had long disliked the Scotch war, and had
-at all events made use of their pretended dislike as a weapon of
-opposition to the government, they now, with true party spirit, and
-moved probably more by dislike to Mortimer than by any patriotic
-feeling, declared themselves horrified at the disgraceful treaty,
-and held aloof from the Parliament which ratified it. Dislike to
-the government was in truth growing to a head. Associations were
-formed to uphold the ordinances of the last reign. At length, at
-a Parliament called at Salisbury, to be present at the creation
-of new peers--when Mortimer was made Earl of March; Prince John,
-Earl of Cornwall; and James Butler, Earl of Ormond--Prince Henry
-of Lancaster, the brother and successor of Earl Thomas, and other
-malcontents, refused to appear. Shortly afterwards it was heard
-that they were in arms at Winchester. The King’s uncles, the
-Earls of Kent and Norfolk, had hitherto supported Lancaster, but
-as Mortimer drew near with his army, they suddenly deserted him.
-This caused the failure of the insurrection, and Lancaster and his
-friends were obliged to submit to hard terms, purchasing their
-freedom with half their incomes, and the pledge that they would no
-longer oppose the government.
-
-[Sidenote: Conspiracy and death of Kent. 1330.]
-
-It is not to be supposed that this ineffectual insurrection put
-an end to the discontent. During the whole of the following year,
-while Edward was absent in France, rumours began to prevail that
-the old King was still alive, and in the Spring Parliament of 1330,
-the country was astonished by the sudden apprehension of Edmund,
-Earl of Kent, the King’s uncle. He and many other nobles, among
-others the Archbishop of York and Bishop of London, had undoubtedly
-joined in a conspiracy nominally for the restoration of the late
-King. The examinations made it evident that this insurrection had
-been fomented by the agents of Mortimer, and that Kent had fallen
-a victim to their machinations. He confessed his complicity in
-the scheme, and was beheaded. Mortimer doubtless was glad of the
-opportunity of thus weakening the party of his enemies. Among the
-petitions of the Commons in the first Parliament of the reign was
-one against the exactions of the royal Princes; this renders it
-probable that they had taken upon themselves to exact purveyance,
-and Mortimer might rely upon the popular feeling being with him in
-this act of violence.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward overthrows Mortimer.]
-
-But a more important enemy now made his appearance. Edward, who
-had been married to Philippa of Hainault in 1328, had now a son,
-afterwards the Black Prince, and therefore could not but feel that
-he had reached man’s estate. He was weary of the domination of
-Mortimer, and could hardly have looked with favour on the man who
-had killed his father and his uncle, and was now living in adultery
-with his mother. He determined to assume the reins of government,
-and, in alliance with the Barons, suddenly seized Mortimer during
-the sittings of the Parliament at Nottingham, and procured his
-speedy trial and execution. To the Queen he acted firmly but
-mercifully; he allowed her £3000 a year; he subsequently even
-increased this income, and during her lifetime paid her a yearly
-visit of ceremony, but he refused to allow her any influence in the
-government, and she passed the remaining twenty-seven years of her
-life in privacy at Risings Castle.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward’s healing measures.]
-
-The young King was satisfied with the vengeance he had taken, and
-proceeded by acts of leniency to heal party feeling, restoring
-the forfeited inheritances to the sons of those who had lately
-suffered, and extending his kindness to the wives even of Mortimer,
-and Gournay his father’s murderer. He made common cause with those
-nobles who had hitherto been discontented. Henry of Lancaster
-became a prominent member of his council; the great seal was placed
-in the hands of John of Stratford, the author of the bill of
-deposition in the last reign.
-
-[Sidenote: Balliol invades Scotland.]
-
-Edward’s attention was almost immediately drawn to Scotland.
-Robert Bruce had died in 1329, leaving his son David still a
-child, so that the government fell into the hands of a succession
-of regents. Scotland had been so closely connected with England,
-that many barons held property in both kingdoms. During the war of
-independence, these properties had naturally been confiscated on
-both sides. At the peace of 1328 they should have been restored.
-On the part of Scotland this was not done. The party of Balliol
-and of Comyn was by no means extinct, and the disinherited lords
-gathered round Edward Balliol, the son of John, who thus became the
-head of a formidable body of men, whose interests were strongly
-opposed to the government of the Bruces. They suddenly determined
-on an expedition to restore if possible Balliol to the throne.
-Sailing from Ravenspur in Yorkshire, Balliol and his friends landed
-at the mouth of the Tay, defeated, with much loss, the Regent at
-the battle of Duplin, pushed onwards towards Perth, and, while
-his English ships annihilated the Scottish squadron in the river,
-was crowned at Scone; thus in seven weeks from the time he left
-England he had apparently secured the crown. His repulse was almost
-as rapid as his success. In three months the friends of Bruce had
-rallied, and Balliol, unable to make head against them, had been
-driven from the country.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward supports him.]
-
-[Sidenote: Siege of Berwick and battle of Halidon Hill. 1333.]
-
-[Sidenote: Submission of Scotland. 1334.]
-
-Edward, while ostensibly discountenancing Balliol’s movement in
-England, had, in truth, determined to make use of his success; and
-a treaty was arranged between them, by which Balliol promised to
-own the supremacy of England and to give up Berwick, while the
-two kings were mutually to defend each other against all enemies.
-He made a show of deferring the question first to Parliament, and
-upon failing to obtain an answer, to the judgment of the Pope and
-the French King. But there were seldom wanting excuses for a war
-with Scotland. Border disturbances speedily arose, and in 1333,
-acknowledging the treaties he had made, he advanced to the siege
-of Berwick. Archibald Douglas, the then Regent, came with an army
-to relieve this important fortress. To oppose him the English had
-taken up a strong position to the west of their lines upon Halidon
-Hill. A swampy ground was before them, and as the Scotch knights
-fell into disorder in the marsh, the English archers “made their
-arrows flee as thick as motes on the sunne-beme.” It was in vain
-that the nobility bravely attempted to storm the hill. They were
-defeated with fearful loss, the Regent, four Earls, the prime of
-their nobility, and 30,000 common soldiers fell upon the field. On
-the following day Berwick opened its gates. Balliol proceeded to
-take possession of the kingdom; fortress after fortress fell; the
-young King David was taken to the Court of Philip VI. of France,
-and found refuge in Chateau Gaillard in Normandy. As the price of
-his assistance Edward received the oath of fealty from the Scotch,
-and the part of Scotland to the east of Dumfries and Linlithgow.
-As long as Edward was not otherwise employed, Balliol remained
-upon his throne; but events soon occurred abroad which called the
-English King away, and Balliol was again driven from his kingdom.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward’s claims on France.]
-
-[Sidenote: Philip helps the Scotch.]
-
-[Sidenote: Claims consequently produced. 1337.]
-
-As early as 1329, on the death of Charles the Fair, the third
-and last of the sons of Philip IV., Edward, the son of the
-daughter of that King, laid claim to the French throne.[58] His
-rival was Philip of Valois, the son of Charles of Valois, Philip
-IV.’s brother, and, granting the existence of the Salic law, the
-undoubted heir; for all the three last kings had died without male
-issue. Edward’s claims then rested upon three principles; females
-were excluded from the French throne, or Joan, Queen of Navarre,
-daughter of Louis X., would have succeeded. The male issue of such
-females were not excluded; but, thirdly, they must be born during
-the lifetime of their grandfather, or else the children of the
-daughters of the three last kings would have a better claim than he
-had. The question had been properly tried by the Peers of France,
-and Philip of Valois had been declared King, and in 1331 Edward
-had himself done homage to him for Guienne. There was however a
-standing quarrel with regard to certain towns of the Agenois which
-Charles IV. had conquered. These, Edward understood, were to be
-restored to him, while Philip VI. declined to surrender them. This
-quarrel might perhaps have been passed over, but the reception
-of David on his flight from Scotland, and the assistance which
-Philip gave to the party opposed to Balliol, by degrees rendered
-war inevitable; and when once this became obvious, it was clearly
-good policy on the part of Edward to make his claims as national
-as possible, and instead of trusting to such secondary causes of
-hostility as were afforded by Philip’s refusal to surrender a few
-unimportant towns in a distant dependency, or his intrigues for the
-restoration of the Bruce dynasty, he at once, with the consent of
-Parliament, asserted his claim to the French throne.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward’s alliances on the North-east. 1338.]
-
-[Sidenote: Is made Imperial Vicar.]
-
-There was at present in England a Frenchman whose influence is said
-to have had much to do with determining Edward to this step. This
-was Robert of Artois. On the death of his grandfather a dispute
-had arisen as to the succession of the country. The fief did not
-follow the ordinary feudal custom, but fell to the nearest of
-blood. Matilda, the daughter of the late Count, therefore succeeded
-in preference to her nephew Robert. Philip V. had married her
-daughter, and during his lifetime and that of his two brothers,
-Robert had been compelled to be content, but on the accession of
-Philip of Valois he demanded restitution. During the trial which
-ensued he produced as evidence charters which were proved to be
-forgeries, and in 1337 took refuge in England, where Edward adopted
-his cause, and used him as a sort of set-off to David Bruce, whose
-cause the French King had taken up. The great war with France was a
-distinct breach in the policy of Edward I. But the present King was
-not the great statesman his grandfather had been. A false chivalry
-had gradually been taking the place of the old feudal sentiment,
-and Edward was open to be moved both by the impulses of a spurious
-knight-errantry and by personal motives of ambition and passion.
-When once engaged in the war, however, he acted both energetically
-and prudently. His marriage with Philippa of Hainault, and the
-close commercial interdependence of England and the countries on
-the North-east of France, gave him an opening which he eagerly
-employed. He entered into alliances with the Princes of that
-neighbourhood, with Brabant, Gueldres, Juliers and Cologne. In
-Flanders, where the great mercantile cities were at enmity with
-their count, who was on his side supported by the French influence,
-he allied himself heartily with James Van Artevelt, the Brewer
-of Ghent, the acknowledged chief of the burgher party. He took
-advantage also of the fierce dispute at that time raging between
-the Emperor Louis of Bavaria and the Pope, who was a mere creature
-of the French crown, to secure not only the Emperor’s friendship
-but the title of Imperial Vicar. This title gave something of a
-national character to that alliance of German Princes which he had
-arranged. But all these alliances, though they promised so fair,
-were both expensive and hollow. In every case they assumed the form
-of subsidies, the foreigners promising to supply troops in exchange
-for English money. On the other hand, Philip, although unable to
-take actual possession, took seisin of Guienne, that is, he sent an
-officer to each of the great towns, and declared that he had taken
-possession of it. He had also, as was natural in the disturbed
-state of Germany, found some friends in that country.
-
-[Sidenote: Great taxation.]
-
-Edward had set himself right in the eyes of his people by a public
-declaration of the state of affairs; and relying on the good
-feeling thus established, and on the favour of the mercantile
-classes, whose interests he had forwarded by his efforts, though
-often mistaken ones, to improve the growth and manufacture of wool,
-he proceeded to raise taxes with an unsparing hand. Not content
-with the subsidies granted him, he laid tallages on the towns,
-collected forced loans, induced Parliament to grant him half of
-the last wool crop, even seized large quantities of wool for which
-he promised to pay in the course of two years, and laid an extra
-tax of 40s. the sack on the cost of exportation. He thus obtained
-abundant money for his present need, although he found he had gone
-rather too far, when, in the following year, Parliament petitioned
-for the removal of the “Maletolte,” or additional wool tax.
-
-[Sidenote: He lands in Flanders. 1338.]
-
-[Sidenote: Deserted by his allies. Returns to England. 1340.]
-
-[Sidenote: Returns and wins battle of Sluys.]
-
-[Sidenote: Fruitless expedition to Tournay.]
-
-In 1338 he landed with a large army in Flanders, where the people
-who had lately driven away their count, and were anxious to
-secure for their cities the monopoly of the English wool trade,
-received him gladly. But all his efforts came to nothing. He could
-not bring the French King to an engagement, and shortly became
-aware of the instability of his foreign allies; in spite of his
-title as Imperial Vicar they were little inclined to follow him,
-and speedily found pretexts to desert him. He had to retire to
-Flanders, but by no means lowered his tone. On the contrary, at
-the instigation of the people there, he now first took on himself
-the title of King of France. But he had now to return to England
-to collect fresh supplies. These were granted him freely, the
-Parliament giving him the ninth lamb, the ninth fleece, and the
-ninth sheaf. His back was no sooner turned than Philip began to
-attack Flanders, and with the aid of the Genoese collected a
-considerable fleet to prevent his return. On the 24th of June,
-the English fleet, with Edward on board, found the French at
-Sluys, where a great sea-fight took place, ending in the complete
-destruction of the French. They had fought in three lines,
-connected by chains, imitating as far as possible a land army.
-The English, after a little manœuvring, had fallen upon them thus
-huddled together, had thrown them into inextricable confusion, and
-driven many of the crews in their terror to seek refuge by leaping
-overboard. So great was the disaster, that none but the jester
-durst inform Philip of it. “What cowards those English are,” said
-he, “they had not the courage all to jump overboard as the French
-did.” In spite of this glorious beginning of the campaign, the year
-was as unfruitful as the last; simultaneous advances on St. Omer
-and Tournay both proved failures. Philip, who had been intriguing
-with the English allies, knew better than to come to a fight,
-and Edward was not sorry to conclude a truce at the instigation
-of Jane of Hainault, the sister of Philip. This truce, signed at
-Esplechin in September, was to last till the following midsummer,
-and comprehended the allies of both parties.
-
-[Sidenote: Sudden visit to England and displacement of ministry.]
-
-Edward’s position was most irritating; his allies were deserting
-him; in spite of his stringent exactions, his finances were
-exhausted; he was so deeply in debt that the Flemings, who
-regarded his presence as a security against France, kept him as
-it were in pledge. He could not bring himself to believe in such
-complete failure of his hopes. He was easily led to listen to evil
-counsellors, who whispered to him that his ministers at home were
-defrauding him in the matter of the taxes. Suddenly, he set sail
-with a few of his most trusted friends, leaving behind him some
-nobles in pledge to his creditors, and arrived in London in the
-dead of the night of the 30th of November. He immediately displaced
-his ministry, his Chancellor, his Treasurer, the Master of the
-Rolls, and imprisoned several of the judges and officers of the
-Exchequer. On the bishops he could not lay hands; they claimed the
-privileges of their order. However, commissions of inquiry were
-issued to find charges against the late government, new sheriffs
-were appointed, and, apparently in mistrust of clerical influence,
-Robert de Bourchier was appointed chancellor.
-
-[Sidenote: Dispute with Stratford. 1341.]
-
-[Sidenote: Edward yields.]
-
-As had happened so frequently before in English history, the
-champion of liberty was found in the ranks of the Church. The
-President of the Council, John of Stratford, Archbishop of
-Canterbury, retired to his See, and thence wrote to Edward at
-length, refusing to answer to the charges brought against him,
-except before his peers in Parliament. At the same time he warned
-the King to remember his father’s fate, and begged him not to
-act as he was now doing against the Charter. He wrote also to
-the new officials, declaring that the late grants had been given
-under conditions which must not be broken, that they were to be
-collected only from those represented in Parliament, and not
-from the clergy who were not represented there, at the same time
-threatening with excommunication all who should disturb the peace
-of Church and State. In vain the King threatened; his want of money
-compelled him to summon a Parliament (April 23). An attempt was
-still made to exclude the Bishops. Whenever they appeared they
-were refused admittance to the Parliament, and directed to the
-Exchequer Chamber. At length the baronage grew thoroughly angry,
-and the King was compelled to admit the Archbishop, but at the same
-time left the House in anger, and betook himself to the Commons.
-The Peers were firm in their demand that no Peer should be tried
-except by his peers in Parliament. At last the King yielded. All
-the Estates joined in begging him to admit Stratford to his favour,
-and promising him in exchange for this submission assistance in
-his necessities. Large help was granted, and the rights claimed
-thrown into the form of a statute, securing the privilege of the
-peerage, the immunity of the clergy from the exactions of temporal
-officials, and ordering that at the beginning of each Parliament
-the great officers should temporarily resign their offices, to give
-time for an examination of their conduct. In October, the King
-having secured his grants, thought fit to revoke the statute,
-and was not ashamed to avow that he had “wilfully dissembled as
-he ought” to avoid the dangers which threatened him. The statute
-was cancelled in 1343, but the privileges then granted were not
-questioned.
-
-[Sidenote: Loss of all his allies. 1342.]
-
-[Sidenote: New opening in Brittany.]
-
-As arranged, the truce with France continued till midsummer 1342.
-During that time Edward found that his German allies had completely
-left him, and that even Louis of Bavaria had been won over to
-Philip. This change in the Emperor’s policy was caused by a wish to
-obtain Philip’s mediation with his enemy the Pope. He excused it
-by urging that the treaty of Esplechin had been made without his
-consent. Thus left without allies, and impoverished by his late
-subsidies, which indeed, in the absence of money, he had in some
-instances been obliged to pay in raw wool, Edward might have been
-content to leave France alone, had he not obtained a new footing
-in Brittany. The war there was again a war of succession. John
-III. of Brittany had three brothers, Guy, Peter, and John Earl of
-Montfort. Guy and Peter died before their brother the Duke. Guy had
-a daughter, Jane, who as heir of the duchy had married Charles of
-Blois, the French King’s nephew. But upon the death of John, his
-sole surviving brother, John Earl of Montfort claimed the duchy,
-and did homage to Edward as King of France. The Peers of France
-adjudged the duchy to Charles of Blois, and the two kings armed in
-favour of their respective allies. Charles was at first successful,
-and took John of Montfort prisoner. The war was, however, carried
-on with enthusiasm by his wife, Jane of Flanders. She had the
-good wishes of the people, and held out during the winter in the
-fortress of Hennebone. She was almost reduced by famine, when the
-arrival of Sir Walter Manny, who was followed later in the year by
-Edward himself, raised the siege. But the country now became the
-battleground between England and France. Edward on the one hand,
-and the French King’s eldest son on the other, entered the duchy,
-but so little was effected, that at the end of the year a truce for
-three years and eight months was entered into, the matters at issue
-being referred to the Pope.
-
-[Sidenote: The Pope’s position as Arbiter of Europe.]
-
-It is somewhat surprising to see how constantly the judgment of
-the Papal See is appealed to, even more frequently than in earlier
-times, when its authority was of greater weight. No doubt the
-spiritual position of the Popes had constantly been used as a
-means of interference in secular questions, and by mere force of
-encroachment the Pontiff had come to be regarded as the natural
-arbiter of Europe. But behind this there lay a more real ground for
-the exercise of the Papal authority. The Papal Curia had in fact
-inherited a certain portion of the powers and duties of the Roman
-Empire. During the vigour of Imperial institutions difficulties
-arising between various states included within the limits of the
-Empire were settled by the Emperor, who thus became the guardian of
-international law. When the Empire lost its universal character,
-and the German Kaiser (whatever vague notions of universal power
-may have hung about his title) became practically the sovereign
-only of a part of Europe, he lost the power of enforcing his
-decisions in the case of quarrels between Princes, who were in fact
-his equals. National quarrels must therefore have been settled
-by the sword alone, had not the Court of Rome, still claiming
-universality, still supplying trained lawyers and adequate courts,
-afforded an opportunity for continuing in some degree the system of
-international arbitration. The natural inclination of a spiritual
-power towards peace rendered still more easy this transfer to
-the Papacy of the guardianship of the international relations
-of Europe. The thirteenth century had been remarkable for its
-systematizing character. Powers, acknowledged by common practice
-and consent but not reduced to system, began to be defined; and
-as Edward I. in England and Philip IV. in France had brought into
-fixed and legal shape the lax constitutions of their several
-kingdoms, so Boniface VIII. had attempted to render Rome a formal
-court of appeal in all questions of international law. It was thus
-that we find Wallace and the guardians of Scotland appealing to
-Rome in their quarrel, and the Pope asserting his supremacy over
-the Scotch kingdom at the close of the reign of Edward I., and
-thus that we constantly find the Kings of Europe appealing to the
-decision of the Papal Curia.
-
-[Sidenote: Mediation of the Pope offered. 1343.]
-
-[Sidenote: Decay of Papal influence.]
-
-[Sidenote: Mediation accepted conditionally.]
-
-[Sidenote: The King’s commercial difficulties.]
-
-[Sidenote: Mediation fails.]
-
-But although the Papal See thus comes constantly forward as
-mediator in the quarrels of princes, and though cardinals were
-repeatedly charged with missions of peace in all directions, since
-the French had caused the overthrow of Boniface VIII. it had no
-longer its old influence or its old character. Seated at Avignon,
-the Pope was completely in the hands of the French King; while the
-rising spirit of freedom, the abuse of crusades which had been
-frequently employed against Christian princes, and the infinite
-exactions invented by the papal lawyers, had roused the temper of
-the people against him. The English Parliament, therefore, was
-doing a less difficult thing than the Parliament of Lincoln in
-Edward I.’s reign, when it insisted that the mediation specified
-in the treaty should be regarded only as that of a private man,
-without special authority or sanctity, and coupled even that
-modified acceptance of the offer with a strong protest against
-provisors. Having thus protested against the Pope, not without
-covert allusion to the King’s own connection with him, the people
-made grants, which were terribly wanted to save the King from his
-impoverished condition. The great Italian house of the Bardi was
-ruined by the great advances it made to him; the German merchants
-of the Steelyard, the only corporation of German merchants in
-London, had got a grant of much of the taxes; the subsidies, as we
-have seen, had been paid in raw wool, seized at the rate of £6 the
-sack, and sold at £20; the main point of Bishop Stratford’s defence
-had been that the enormous interest on the royal loans swallowed up
-at once all the money that was collected. But for the timely and
-liberal grants of the people the government must apparently have
-stopped. Meanwhile, the Pope was preparing his decision; but it was
-impossible to expect an honest verdict from him, and though, by the
-treaty, Philip should have restored his prisoners, he still kept De
-Montfort and others in prison.
-
-[Sidenote: War breaks out again. 1346.]
-
-[Sidenote: Derby hard pressed in Guienne.]
-
-[Sidenote: Edward to relieve him lands in Normandy.]
-
-[Sidenote: Marches towards Calais.]
-
-It was plain that the war would soon be renewed. The Parliament
-in the year 1344 made their grants on the express understanding
-that this was the case, and that Scotland was waiting to join in
-the quarrel. In 1345 the expected event took place. The close
-connection between England and Artevelt has been mentioned. It
-was of the last importance to the Flemings that England should
-help them against their Count, and supply their looms with wool.
-Artevelt now offered to make the Prince of Wales Count of Flanders;
-and in all probability the attack upon France would have been in
-the old direction, had not a quarrel between the weavers and the
-fullers in the Flemish towns produced the murder of their great
-leader. It was in Gascony that the war actually broke out. Thither
-the Earl of Derby,[59] the son of Henry of Lancaster, had been
-sent, and he had there won a great victory over the French at
-Auberoche. He was soon, however, hard pressed by Philip’s eldest
-son, the Duke of Normandy, and driven to stand a siege in the
-fortress of Aiguillon, on the Garonne. Meanwhile, a great fleet and
-army had been collected, apparently for the purpose of relieving
-them. But while sailing down the Channel Edward suddenly changed
-his course, it is believed on the advice of Geoffrey of Harcourt, a
-French refugee, and landed at La Hogue in Normandy. His object was
-to draw the Duke of Normandy northward, and thus to relieve Derby,
-while he himself marched through France into Flanders, and joined
-his Flemish allies, who had already crossed the French frontiers.
-But in executing this manœuvre, Edward found all the bridges over
-the Seine broken, and the French King in force upon the other side,
-evidently desirous of hemming him in between his own army and that
-of his son advancing from the south. It was in vain that Edward
-pushed even to the suburbs of Paris, Philip would not be provoked
-to break his plan of the campaign. It became absolutely necessary
-for Edward to cross the river. A rapid feint upon Paris left the
-broken bridge of Poissy open. Edward hurried back, mended the
-bridge, and the river was passed.
-
-The tables were now turned. It was the French King who wanted,
-Edward who avoided, battle. He pushed on, destroying the country as
-he went, till a fresh obstacle met him at the Somme. With Philip
-and his vastly superior army immediately in his rear, his position
-became critical. A peasant was induced to show him the ford of
-Blanchetaque, near Abbeville, where the river could be crossed.
-Even that ford was strongly defended, and only won after a sharp
-skirmish in the midst of the water. The returning tide checked
-the pursuit of the French, and enabled Edward, who had at length
-determined to bring matters to a decisive issue, to choose his
-ground in the neighbourhood of Cressy.[60] There was fought the
-first of that great series of battles, in which the small armies of
-the English showed themselves superior to overwhelming numbers of
-French.
-
-[Sidenote: Change in the character of the army.]
-
-The cause of this superiority lay partly in the skill of the
-English archers, but still more in the practised discipline of
-regular volunteer soldiers, when opposed to an army still formed
-upon the feudal model. The wars with the Scotch had taught the
-English a lesson they had not been slow to learn. Edward I. had
-been a soldier of the old school; the strength of his armies had
-always consisted in the heavy armed cavalry, in which man and horse
-had been laden with defensive armour to the utmost limits of their
-capacity; the infantry had been entirely a secondary consideration.
-But Wallace had proved at Cambuskenneth, and (even though defeated)
-at Falkirk, the power of resistance which resides in firmly
-arranged bodies of infantry. Bruce at Bannockburn had shown still
-more plainly the weakness of heavy cavalry upon ground not exactly
-suited for their particular form of fighting. Edward III.’s chief
-claim to greatness as a soldier rests on the readiness and skill
-with which he adopted the idea supplied him by Bruce and Wallace.
-The difficulties of keeping together a feudal array during a
-lengthened foreign campaign, the comparative cheapness of an
-equipment of foot-soldiers, the increasing number of freemen not
-employed upon the soil, were all likewise inducements to change
-the character of the army. The cavalry employed in the French
-wars was insignificant in comparison to the infantry. The midland
-counties supplied the army with archers, Wales with ordinary
-infantry. This change in the army, itself in part the fruit of
-social growth, reacted on society. Regular hired troops required
-trained commanders; and there thus grew up a class of professional
-soldiers, whose existence dealt a heavy blow to the hitherto
-unquestioned superiority of the feudal leaders.
-
-[Illustration: CRESSY
-
-_August 26. 1346._
-
- 1. Edward III.
- 2. Northampton & Arundel.
- 3. Prince of Wales.
- 4. Genoese.
- 5. Alençon.
- 6. Philip VI.
-
-(_From Sprüner._)]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Cressy. Aug. 26.]
-
-The hired army of the English, and the professional soldiers who
-commanded them, formed a far more efficient body of troops than was
-supplied by the feudal levies and noble leaders of the French. The
-English were arranged in three divisions, the foremost of which
-was nominally commanded by the Prince of Wales. From the summit
-of the hill, Edward had a general survey of the field. As usual,
-the archers began the battle; their flights of arrows threw the
-Genoese crossbow-men, to whom they were opposed, into confusion.
-The confusion once begun, the very numbers of the French did but
-add to it. The Duke of Alençon, and the Count of Flanders, with
-their followers, cut their way through their own troops before they
-could reach the English men-at-arms. While these successfully held
-their ground, the remaining masses of the French were decimated by
-the English arrows, nor could any sufficient support be given to
-Alençon. At length, as night closed in, Philip left the field, and
-the further disconnected efforts of individual French commanders
-were useless. The English could hardly believe their good fortune,
-and Edward, fearing a return of their enemies, kept them under
-arms during the night. The loss of the French was enormous; the
-heralds appointed to examine the field reported the death of eleven
-princes, 1200 knights, and 30,000 of inferior rank. The English had
-killed considerably more than their own numbers; but their little
-army was quite insufficient to advance into France, and Edward,
-following his original plan, marched on to the siege of Calais.
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Neville’s Cross. Oct. 17.]
-
-The battle was on the 26th of August. Already some days before,
-Lionel of Clarence, who had been left in command of England, had
-summoned troops for the defence of the Scotch border; and Philip
-now wrote strongly to David, begging him to make a diversion. David
-was not sorry to answer to the call. Cumberland was overrun, and
-the Bishopric of Durham; but the English levies, inspirited by
-the courageous language of the Queen, and under the joint command
-of the Percies and Nevilles, defeated him completely at Neville’s
-Cross, David himself being taken prisoner. The battle of Cressy
-had relieved the Earl of Derby, who was again overrunning the
-south-west of France. The year closed in triumph for the English
-arms in all directions.
-
-[Sidenote: Siege of Calais. 1347.]
-
-This year of success was shortly crowned by the fall of Calais.
-Edward had attacked that city by way of blockade, shutting his army
-round it, and guarding the approaches by the sea with his ships.
-All the efforts of the French King to relieve it had been useless,
-and the slow process of famine at length obliged its defenders to
-surrender. The inhabitants had not been free from the usual crime
-of seafaring life at that time--they were the rivals in piracy
-of the Cinque Ports and St. Malo. They had but little mercy to
-expect from the King. Eustace de St. Pierre, an important citizen,
-offered to give himself up, with a certain number of friends, to
-bear the first brunt of the King’s anger, hoping thereby to save
-his fellow-citizens. Barefooted and bareheaded, with ropes round
-their necks, Eustace, with his devoted friends, appeared before the
-King. Irritated with the long defence of the town, and their former
-misdeeds, Edward would hear of no mercy; it was only at the urgent
-prayer of Queen Philippa that the lives of the deputation were
-spared. The advantages of the possession of Calais were obvious.
-It afforded an excellent entrance into France in the immediate
-neighbourhood of the King’s Flemish allies, and supplied him also
-with a good central mart for the national commerce, which in the
-existing state of trade was a thing much desired. The inhabitants
-were therefore given their choice of being French or English; those
-who refused to become English were expelled, and their places
-occupied by English colonists, and the whole “staple”[61] trade of
-England was for a certain number of years confined to this town,
-which accordingly became prosperous.
-
-[Sidenote: Truce.]
-
-[Sidenote: The Black Death. 1349.]
-
-It is somewhat strange to observe the smallness of the effect of
-the late great victories. Edward seemed no nearer his objects
-than before he had won them. The exhaustion of his own kingdom
-was almost equal to that of France, and shortly after the fall of
-Calais, a truce was made for a few months, and afterwards from time
-to time extended. One cause, no doubt, of the general quietness
-which prevailed at this time in Europe was the presence of the
-Black Death, a terrible scourge, which, after passing over Europe,
-reached England in 1349. Its ravages were fearful. It is calculated
-that at least a third, if not a half, of the whole population of
-England was swept away. Such calculations are based partly upon
-the mortality among the clergy: more than one half of the priests
-in Yorkshire died, more than two-thirds of the beneficed clergy of
-Norfolk. In Norwich alone 60,000 people are said to have perished.
-So fearful a plague unavoidably changed the whole relation between
-employer and employed, and while famine was threatening the
-country, while farms could no longer be worked or harvests gathered
-for want of hands, there was a natural disinclination to continue
-the war.
-
-[Sidenote: Renewal of the war. 1355.]
-
-It was not, therefore, till the year 1355 that the war was renewed.
-Meanwhile, Philip of Valois had died, and been succeeded by his
-son John, and at the instigation of the Pope, following his usual
-pacific course, in 1354, a treaty had been set on foot. Edward,
-regarding his claim to the French throne as hopeless, was willing
-to accept a peace, if the French King would give him the province
-of Aquitaine in full sovereignty. English plenipotentiaries
-appeared at Guisnes ready to conclude the treaty, but the French
-envoys then declared that they would never surrender a fragment of
-the French sovereignty.
-
-[Sidenote: Destructive march of the Black Prince. 1355.]
-
-Edward had no choice, therefore, but to renew the war. He now
-possessed two points whence an attack on France was easy; while he
-pushed out from Calais, the Black Prince was to lead an army from
-Bordeaux. As so often happened upon the northern frontier, the
-operations were without fruit; and the King was hastily recalled
-to England by the news that the Scots had surprised Berwick, and
-were over the Borders. The Black Prince’s expedition was more
-successful. He marched at the foot of the Pyrenees, and all through
-Languedoc to Narbonne, and to Carcassonne, plundering and burning
-in all directions, destroying in seven weeks more than five hundred
-towns or villages. Such brutal and destructive war had indeed
-become habitual to the English.
-
-[Illustration: POITIERS.
-
-_September 19. 1356._]
-
-[Sidenote: The Burnt Candlemas.]
-
-[Sidenote: Black Prince’s expedition north. 1356.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Poitiers.]
-
-The King’s return checked the advance of the Scots. Purchasing
-the property and rights of Edward Balliol, he advanced into
-the country, determined to treat it as a land of rebels. He
-systematically destroyed every building, and laid waste the country
-for twenty miles from the coast. But his severity was of no avail;
-famine again drove him home, and the Scots again hung upon his
-retreating forces. The following year the Black Prince attempted
-a repetition of his last exploit. But he now pressed northwards,
-and had reached the neighbourhood of Poitiers, when the news that
-a large French army was near forced upon him the danger of his
-situation, thus wholly separated from his base of operations. The
-army which threatened him was commanded by King John in person,
-and all the French princes were with him. So irresistible did it
-seem, that Edward would have listened to any good terms, but John
-would hear of nothing but unconditional surrender, and the English,
-remembering their success at Cressy, determined to fight. Again,
-what was regarded as their extraordinary good fortune, but which
-was no doubt their superior organization, secured them complete
-victory. On a piece of ground difficult of access, except by a
-narrow road exposed to the fire of the archers, and covered by
-enclosed country, the hedges of which were lined by the same class
-of troops, he awaited the assault of the French. The consequences
-can be easily conceived. The heavy armed Frenchmen in the road
-formed a target for the arrows; the confined space encumbered with
-wounded men and horses made the confusion irremediable. The first
-body of the French being thus disposed of, the Black Prince with
-his men-at-arms attacked the second, while the third, alarmed by
-a flank attack of six hundred English horse whom the Prince had
-detached for that purpose, left the field. Between the Prince and
-the second body of the French the conflict was a fierce one. It
-eventually terminated in the complete victory of the English, and
-the capture of King John.
-
-[Sidenote: Release of King David.]
-
-[Sidenote: Peace with Scotland.]
-
-This victory was followed by a truce for two years, and Edward had
-time to attend more particularly to the state of his affairs with
-regard to Scotland. King David had been a prisoner, honourably
-treated, in England since his capture at the battle of Neville’s
-Cross. More than once the national party in his country had
-attempted to come to terms for his release. His character, however,
-was not such as to induce them to be eager on the matter; and
-he himself seems to have preferred the comfort of England to
-the position of King among his unruly subjects. He had been so
-obsequious, that he had twice during these ten years visited
-Scotland as Edward’s agent, for the purpose of obtaining, if
-possible, the submission of those who were contending for his
-throne. But the Stewart, who was the head of the national party,
-refused the recognition of English supremacy, and no terms could be
-arrived at. In 1354 Edward thought he had gained the success of his
-plan. David was to be released for 90,000 marks. As we have seen,
-the intervention of the French, followed by the fearful vengeance
-of Edward in that expedition which is known as the Burnt Candlemas,
-put an end to this treaty. Now, when all hope of help from France
-was gone, they renewed their negotiation, and David was at length
-released upon the promise of 100,000 marks, in ten yearly payments,
-a promise confirmed by the delivery of important hostages. Edward
-knew that he was really releasing a willing subject, and that it
-was probable that the failure of payment, or the party quarrels of
-the country, would before long put the kingdom into his hands.
-
-[Sidenote: Terrible condition of France.]
-
-[Sidenote: Reviving power of the Dauphin. 1359.]
-
-He was, at all events, free to act against France. On the capture
-of its King, that country had fallen into the wildest disorder.
-The Free Companies, as the hired bodies of soldiery were called,
-from which both armies had been recruited, freed from their
-engagements, pillaged the helpless country. In their misery the
-lower commonalty broke out in fierce insurrections. The people of
-Paris, under the Provost of the Merchants, Stephen Marcel, enacted
-those scenes of revolution with which that city has been too often
-familiar. Wearing the red cap of liberty, the mob burst into the
-palace, killed two of the Dauphin’s most trusted counsellors before
-his eyes, and drove that Prince to Compiègne. Charles of Navarre,
-grandson of Louis X., who was surnamed the Bad, broke from the
-prison in which he had been confined, made common cause with the
-Parisian mob, roused his tenants in Normandy, where he had much
-property, to insurrection, and called in the English King. What
-with the Jacquerie,[62] the fierce plunderings of the soldiery, the
-attacks of England, and the riot in Paris, the condition of France
-was in the last degree terrible. However, the murder of Stephen
-Marcel in Paris, and the success of the Dauphin in compelling
-Charles the Bad to enter into treaty with him, somewhat changed the
-aspect of affairs. Nor would the Dauphin consent to yield any part
-of France to his English conquerors.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward again invades France.]
-
-[Sidenote: Want of permanent results induces Edward to make the
-peace of Brétigny. 1360.]
-
-Thus the time of truce wore away in useless negotiations. As it
-ended, Edward renewed his invasions. Sir Walter Manny poured
-with an army of German hirelings over Picardy and Artois. Edward,
-accompanied by all his sons except Thomas, whom he left at home as
-ruler, pushed into the heart of Champagne, tried in vain to take
-Rheims, where he hoped to be crowned, and purchased the neutrality
-of the Duke of Burgundy. But, successful and destructive as these
-invasions were, they were only vast plundering excursions; there
-was little systematic action, no gradual conquest of the country,
-no firm basis of operations. The very destruction which they caused
-roused the national spirit, and while Edward pushed to Paris,
-and tried in vain to excite the Dauphin to a general engagement,
-the Norman fleet was ravaging England in the neighbourhood of
-Winchelsea. Moreover, the wasted country could not support the
-invading armies unassisted by a proper commissariat, and as Edward,
-retiring from before Paris, was met by a fearful tempest, which
-seems to have forced upon him the difficulties of his position,
-he expressed himself ready to listen to the terms of peace which
-the envoys of the Legate and the Dauphin offered him. Thus, on the
-8th of May, the great peace of Brétigny was made. The terms were,
-of course, very favourable to the English. Not only Gascony and
-Guienne, but all Poitou, with the counties of Xaintonge, Agen,
-Périgord, Limoges, Cahors, Rovergue, Bigorre, and in the north,
-Montreuil, Ponthieu, with Calais and Guisnes, were to be the
-possessions of the English crown, freed from all feudal claims. In
-return, all claim to the crown of France was given up, together
-with all claims in Normandy, Touraine, Anjou, Maine, Brittany, and
-Flanders. King John was to be liberated on the payment of 3,000,000
-pieces of gold.[63] Scotland and Flanders were to be left to
-themselves.
-
-[Sidenote: Treaty not carried out. 1364.]
-
-Edward thus appeared, even though he had not made good his claims
-to the crown, to have regained and put on a better footing the much
-disputed provinces of the south-west. But it was one thing to make
-such a treaty and another to secure its being carried out. The very
-misery of France produced a reaction. Though King John himself
-returned to France to collect it, his enormous ransom was not
-forthcoming. The barons of Poitou declared that they would not be
-severed from the French crown; while the hatred to the English was
-kept alive by the great bands of discharged soldiers, who, joining
-themselves to the great Free Companies, swept across France, put
-the Pope himself to ransom, and finding no congenial employment
-elsewhere, quartered themselves on the people. At the head of
-the party who were set against the completion of the treaty was
-Charles the Dauphin. His accession upon the death of John, who had
-honourably returned to England when he found himself unable to pay
-his ransom, marked a change in the national policy of France. Under
-the new King, it was managed that the renunciations required by the
-treaty should not be carried out. There were other causes also at
-work which promised a speedy renewal of the war.
-
-[Sidenote: War in Brittany continues.]
-
-[Sidenote: Affairs of Castile.]
-
-[Sidenote: France and England support the rival claimants.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Navarette.]
-
-By the treaty it had been expressly stipulated that the quarrel
-between De Montfort and Charles de Blois might be continued, though
-it was added, that whichever party conquered was bound to swear
-fealty to France. Du Guesclin, a soldier of a different class from
-the ordinary feudal leaders who had risen to eminence during the
-late wars, was sent to support the claims of Charles. The news of
-his arrival was at once followed by a similar step on the part of
-the English. Chandos, an English general, marched from Guienne to
-support De Montfort. A battle was fought at Auray, in which De
-Montfort’s party were successful, and Charles de Blois killed. The
-Free Companies too, of which the best known are those of Calverley
-and Knowles, still ravaged France, and were a constant cause of
-complaint. The English themselves had to take part against them,
-but at length the means taken by King Charles to rid his kingdom
-of this burden again brought the French and English into contact.
-The provinces of the south-west of France had been erected into
-the independent duchy of Aquitaine, and given to the Black Prince,
-who held his court at Bordeaux. Thither, when driven from his
-country, Pedro the Cruel, of Castile, betook himself. This king had
-secured his throne by a series of murders. His natural brother,
-Henry of Trastamare, had fled and taken refuge with the French
-King. When Pedro carried his cruelty to the pitch of putting to
-death his wife, Blanche de Bourbon, a French princess, the court
-of France had determined to assist Henry to dethrone his brother,
-and had intrusted Du Guesclin with the duty of enlisting the Free
-Companies for this purpose. His attempt had been successful; Pedro
-had taken flight, Henry had ascended the throne. But Pedro, as
-a fugitive king, found ready support at the hands of the Black
-Prince, thoroughly imbued with the false chivalry of the day. It
-was whispered to the Free Companies that their loved commander had
-an expedition on foot. In numbers they deserted from the French
-army, and gathered round the Black Prince, who was thus enabled to
-cross the Pyrenees at Roncesvalles at the head of 30,000 men. The
-rival armies met at Navarette. The French were completely beaten,
-Du Guesclin taken prisoner.
-
-[Sidenote: Taxation in Aquitaine.]
-
-[Sidenote: Barons appeal to Charles. 1368.]
-
-[Sidenote: Renewal of war.]
-
-[Sidenote: Gradual defeat of the English.]
-
-[Sidenote: Black Prince takes Limoges.]
-
-[Sidenote: His final return to England.]
-
-[Sidenote: Loss of Aquitaine. 1374.]
-
-But Pedro, again upon the throne, forgot his engagements to his
-protector, and the Black Prince returned to his duchy, broken
-in health by the hardships of the campaign, and ruined by its
-expenses. It became necessary to lay heavy taxes upon his subjects.
-Those subjects were already discontented; the barons of Poitou
-objected to the English supremacy, and had applied to Charles as
-their suzerain. Charles had been fomenting their discontent, and
-had sent secret envoys to raise a similar feeling among the barons
-of Ponthieu in the north. To these malcontents were now added the
-Counts of Armagnac, and other barons of the northern slope of the
-Pyrenees, who regarded the infliction of the tax as a breach of
-their privileges; and after keeping the matter in abeyance for a
-year, till he was ready to strike, King Charles, taking advantage
-of the non-completion of the renunciations, proceeded to treat the
-Black Prince as a vassal, and summoned him before his court. The
-Prince answered he would appear at the head of 60,000 men-at-arms.
-The threat was idle. Before, in his distressed position, he could
-make any vigorous preparation, the French troops had begun to
-conquer the outlying parts of his province, and a declaration of
-war was at once issued. But several years of peace, during which
-the exhausted country had begun to recover itself, had disinclined
-the English to renew the war. The King appears to have grown old
-before his time, and to have thought only of enjoying in pleasure
-the fruits of his successful youth. Preparations went on but
-slowly, while insurrections among the nobles, and the pressure of
-the French army, continually increased around Guienne. There the
-Black Prince was so ill that he could not himself take the field.
-His brother Edmund of Cambridge, Chandos and Knowles, were indeed
-with him, but could scarcely make head against the insurgents. An
-attack upon Poitou failed, and Chandos lost his life. None of the
-English plans met with success. Knowles indeed, placed in command
-of Calais, marched again successfully to Paris, but the long wars
-had given birth to a new race of French generals, and Du Guesclin,
-now Constable, prevented any great success. At length the Black
-Prince roused himself, and took the field. At his mere name the
-French armies began to dissolve, and he advanced triumphantly to
-Limoges, a town he had much favoured, and on which he intended
-to wreak his vengeance. The wall was mined, and the town taken.
-Men, women, and children, to the number of 3000, were pitilessly
-murdered. In the midst of this cruel slaughter, the Prince could
-show his knighthood by sparing and honouring some French gentlemen
-who made an unusually gallant resistance. It was his last triumph.
-Early in 1371 he returned to England, broken and dying. There is no
-need to trace the progress of the war further. The gradual advance
-of the French could not be checked. The English armies might march
-far into the country, as one under Lancaster did in 1373, but the
-French invariably avoided a general action; and thus, by 1374,
-England had lost all her possessions in France, with the exception
-of Calais, Bordeaux and Bayonne, and a few towns upon the Dordogne.
-
-[Sidenote: Naval victory of the Spaniards. 1372.]
-
-The sequel of the Black Prince’s friendship for Pedro of Castile
-deserves to be noticed. Upon the withdrawal of the English, Henry
-of Trastamare again conquered Pedro, and the brothers having met in
-Henry’s tent, a quarrel ensued, terminating in a personal struggle
-and the death of Pedro. Henry thus regained the throne; and
-subsequently two daughters of Pedro married two of Edward’s sons,
-Lancaster and Cambridge. Upon the Duke of Lancaster’s assuming the
-title of King of Castile, Henry entered actively into the war,
-and at a great naval battle off Rochelle in June 1372, completely
-destroyed the English fleet under the Earl of Pembroke. At length a
-truce was agreed on, which, though it never ripened into a peace,
-continued from time to time during the rest of the reign.
-
-[Sidenote: Discontent in England.]
-
-A strange change of fortune thus clouded the end of what promised
-to be a glorious reign. Edward, making war in the spirit of a
-knight-errant, and trusting completely to the courage of his troops
-on the day of battle, had neglected all the precautions which the
-conquest of a country requires. He had been successful neither as
-a strategist nor as a statesman, and his war with France, adorned
-with splendid victories, and for one moment promising to establish
-on a firm footing the English power in the South of France, had
-ended in a more complete overthrow of that power than had been seen
-since the time of King John. It was natural that the close of such
-a reign should be marked by some expressions of discontent among
-the people. Old before his time, in the hands of a woman of the
-name of Alice Perrers, whose ostentation was constantly shocking
-the public eye, Edward had fallen under the influence of bad
-advisers, and had let the reins of government slip into the hands
-of John of Gaunt, his third son.
-
-[Sidenote: Politics of the time.]
-
-To understand the politics of this time, we have to rid ourselves
-of both the names and ideas of the present day. The lines which
-divided classes were much more distinctly marked. Political life
-was confined entirely to the upper ranks. The House of Commons,
-which we are in the habit of regarding as a popular assembly,
-and which was, in fact, the most popular assembly of that time,
-was in part entirely aristocratic, in part representative of the
-moneyed interests of the country. Below this no class could make
-its voice heard at all, and this moneyed and aristocratic House
-of Commons was only beginning by slow degrees to force itself
-into political power. It had, in fact, consisted at first of two
-separate orders,--the knights of the shire, who represented the
-lesser nobility, and the burgesses. The knights had naturally
-joined without difficulty in the deliberations of a baronage who
-were socially their equals; the burgesses had busied themselves
-almost exclusively with financial questions touching their own
-order. Various causes had gradually tended to draw the two lower
-orders together, and by the beginning of the reign of Edward III.,
-the division of Parliament into two Houses, of which the lower
-consisted of knights and burgesses, had been completed. Indeed,
-the Act of 1321, passed when Edward II. was victorious over the
-barons, had acknowledged the claims of the burgesses to share in
-the proceedings of Parliament. The practical government of the
-country had hitherto been in the hands of the House of Lords.
-There were thus three distinct classes, the baronage, the upper
-or represented commonalty, consisting of knights and burgesses,
-and the lower commonalty. Power was as yet in the hands of the
-baronage. When, therefore, no common cause was driving the baronage
-to united action, as among all governing classes, there was certain
-to be a difference of view, and the baronage would be divided
-into parties. On the other hand, the upper Commons, just forcing
-their way upwards, were inclined to be sometimes subservient to
-the wishes of the Barons, sometimes ready to join that one of the
-baronial parties which seemed to give them the greatest promise
-of political assistance. The lower, or unrepresented Commons,
-unable to make themselves heard, had been of no political account;
-although a series of events had lately contributed to put them in
-such a position that their friendship was worth having, and to
-enable them soon to speak with arms in their hands, in a way which
-was very terrible. Each of these classes had its own particular
-interests, and made their combinations with the other classes to
-suit the advance of those interests. The Barons desired power, the
-higher Commons good administration, especially of the finances;
-the lower Commons such improvements in their position as they
-afterwards claimed under Wat Tyler. Hitherto, in the main, the
-interest of the baronage had been the restriction within fixed
-limits of the royal authority; they had hitherto been the guardians
-of the constitutional growth of the country, and their rebellions
-and opposition, whatever selfish leaven may have been mixed with
-them, deserve to be regarded as efforts towards popular liberty.
-About the period which we have now reached, this guardianship
-of the Constitution passed into the hands of the upper Commons.
-The Barons themselves having now acquired a preponderance in the
-government, it was their encroachments rather than the King’s which
-had to be guarded against. In principle, the safeguards of the
-Constitution had been established by Edward I., and were therefore
-no longer the subject of contention. The baronage was no longer
-interested to secure power, but to enjoy a power already secured.
-They thus fell into parties whose real object was to appropriate
-that power. For that purpose, like other political parties, the
-rival Barons would seek to attach to themselves any of the other
-sections of society, and would therefore adopt those principles and
-those party cries which seemed to promise them the most success. It
-becomes, therefore, impossible to say that this or that baronial
-insurrection was popular or constitutional. For their own objects,
-the most disorderly Barons might attach themselves to the Commons,
-to the lower classes, or to the King. Their divisions had, in fact,
-become party struggles for power.
-
-Now the chief questions at that time exciting England were the
-position of the Church, the continuation of the war with France,
-and the management of the finances. On any of these questions
-the baronage might form itself into parties, which might seek
-their own advantage by adopting the interests of other sections
-of society. It is in this way that must be explained the apparent
-contradictions in the conduct of the Parliament at the close of
-Edward’s reign. For many years there had been growing a strong
-dislike to the Church in England. The oppressions of the Popes,
-the selfish character of their government at Avignon, the loss of
-spirituality on the part of the higher clergy, from whose ranks the
-statesmen of the time were largely drawn, and the deterioration of
-the mendicant orders, together with the idea always prevalent in
-England of the supremacy of the state, had given birth to a party
-who desired the pre-eminence in all matters of the laity,--a party
-which is of course connected with the doctrinal views at this time
-brought forward by Wicliffe. The existence of this lay party is
-clearly shown by the proceedings of the year 1340, when for the
-first time a lay Chancellor, Sir Robert Bouchier, was appointed
-in the place of Stratford. When the baronage were divided, the
-natural leaders of the parties were the royal princes. Thus, when
-circumstances had put the reins of power into the hands of John
-of Gaunt, he fortified himself by assuming the leadership of the
-lay party, which found its adherents in all sections of society,
-but no doubt mainly among the barons, jealous of the great part
-played in the government by the clergy, the vast wealth which the
-Church held, and which is calculated at more than a third of the
-land, and rendered self-confident by their successes in the French
-war. Already schemes for the confiscation of Church property had
-been publicly mentioned, and the Commons, with the approbation of
-John of Gaunt, had in 1371 petitioned for the removal of all the
-clergy from the higher offices of state. The Bishop of Winchester,
-William of Wykeham, had surrendered the great seal, which, together
-with the offices of the exchequer, had been put into the hands of
-laymen. There are many proofs that the class which was represented
-in the Commons partook strongly of the dislike to the Church. But
-any claim to popularity which Lancaster’s administration might
-have advanced on this ground was destroyed by their mismanagement
-of the finances and the disasters of the foreign war. In fact,
-there is little doubt that the ecclesiastics he had displaced
-were far better governors than the partisans he had put in their
-places. Another party was therefore formed, at the head of which
-was the Black Prince, a party consisting of those who preferred
-the old system of government, and which included the higher clergy
-and the financial reformers. It has been pointed out that the
-disastrous government of John of Gaunt had found its partisans
-chiefly among the Barons. On the whole, therefore, the Commons
-attached themselves to the party of the Black Prince. For the
-time a restoration of good government and well-managed finance
-seemed to them of more importance than the overthrow of the
-Church, especially as their interests as a class seemed to lead
-in the same direction. The struggle came to an issue in the Good
-Parliament, which met in April 1376. The Commons presented a
-remonstrance, which, after enumerating their financial grievances,
-and asserting the mismanagement of the Government, demanded a
-change in the council; in other words, a change of ministry. The
-clergy, and William of Wykeham among them, again came into office.
-They were not content with this, but impeached--and this is the
-first instance of parliamentary impeachment--Lord Latimer, the
-Chamberlain. A considerable number of the other officers were
-arrested and thrown into prison, and Alice Perrers was forbidden
-to use her influence under pain of banishment. They were still
-discussing further reforms, when the death of the Black Prince
-deprived them of their chief support. Afraid that John of Gaunt had
-views on the succession, they insisted on the immediate recognition
-of the Black Prince’s son; and a deputation waited on the old King
-at Eltham to receive an answer to their complaints and petitions.
-These, as might be expected, were chiefly directed against the
-encroachments of the Papacy, in hatred to which all parties in
-England joined. Still the King’s reply shows the influence of the
-newly restored clerical counsellors. Enough, he said, had been done
-in the way of legislation, he would continue his personal appeals
-to the Pope. Parliament then separated.
-
-[Sidenote: Death of Black Prince. Lancaster regains power.]
-
-[Sidenote: Lancastrian Parliament. 1377.]
-
-[Sidenote: Trial of Wicliffe.]
-
-[Sidenote: Uproar in London.]
-
-[Sidenote: Death of the King.]
-
-It at once became plain that the Black Prince’s death had again
-thrown the power into the hands of John of Gaunt. The power of
-the new Privy Council disappeared, Lord Latimer was pardoned,
-Peter de la Mare, the speaker of the Good Parliament, was thrown
-into prison, William of Wykeham was again driven from the court.
-The Parliament which assembled next year was thoroughly in the
-Lancastrian interest. Sir Thomas Hungerford, the Duke’s steward,
-was elected Speaker, the proceedings against Alice Perrers
-withdrawn, and a new form of tax--a poll-tax of 4d.--granted. But
-the clergy did not thus easily yield their ground. They attacked
-the apostle of the lay party, Wicliffe. He had to appear before
-Courtenay, Bishop of London, in St. Paul’s. He came, supported
-by Lancaster and by the Marshall, Henry Percy, a close adherent
-of that party of which Lancaster was the head. An unseemly brawl
-arose in the church. Lancaster threatened to drag Courtenay out of
-the church by the hair. The Londoners were already so ill disposed
-to Lancaster, that measures were in preparation to remove their
-mayor, and put the government of the town in the hands of a royal
-commission. The insult to their Bishop roused them to fury. It
-was only by Courtenay’s intervention that Lancaster’s house was
-saved from demolition; and a wretched man was killed under the
-supposition that he was Henry Percy. Lancaster escaped, and the
-city had to make some sort of reparation; but the quarrel was
-scarcely quieted when the King died. Deserted by his mistress, who
-is said to have torn the rings from his dying hand, and by his
-servants, the wretched old man died, tended only by a single poor
-priest.
-
-
-
-
-RICHARD II.
-
-1377-1399.
-
- Born 1397 = 1. Anne of Bohemia, 1382.
- = 2. Isabella of France, 1396.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- Robert II., | Charles V., | Charles IV., | Henry II., 1368.
- 1370. | 1364. | 1347. | John I., 1379.
- Robert III., | Charles VI., | Wenceslaus, | Henry III., 1390.
- 1390. | 1380. | 1378. |
-
- POPES.--Gregory XI., 1370. Urban VI., 1378. Boniface IX., 1389.
- [Also Clement VII., 1378. Benedict XII., 1394.]
-
- _Archbishops._
-
- Simon Sudbury, 1375.
- William Courtenay, 1381.
- Thomas Arundel, 1397.
-
- _Chancellors._
-
- Sir Richard le Scrope, 1378. Michael de la Pole, 1383.
- Simon Sudbury, 1379. Thomas Arundel, 1386.
- William Courtenay, 1381. William of Wykeham, 1389.
- Lord Scrope, 1381. Thomas Arundel, 1391.
- Robert de Braybroke, 1382. Edmund Stafford, 1396.
-
-
-[Sidenote: Difficulties of the new reign.]
-
-[Sidenote: Regency.]
-
-[Sidenote: Patriotic government.]
-
-The young King was but a child, and there was a prospect of a long
-minority, affording an ample field for the intrigues of party.
-The position of the kingdom too was such as to promise a time of
-considerable difficulty. The war with France had been put off by a
-succession of truces, but was still threatening, and England was in
-no condition to meet it. An invasion actually took place. French
-troops landed in the Isle of Wight, and laid waste the country.
-Moreover, the last reign had closed amidst domestic difficulties.
-The Lords therefore thought it right to take the settlement of the
-kingdom into their own hands. At a great council it was determined
-to form a Council of Regency, drawn from all orders represented in
-Parliament, to assist the great officers of the crown. The dangers
-which beset the country induced all parties for a time to rally
-honestly round the throne. The royal princes, who might become
-party leaders, were on that account excluded from the Council. The
-national party again gained the majority in the Commons, and again
-elected De la Mare as their Speaker. But the Commons had no wish
-to drive matters to extremity, or to change the existing balance
-of power. They fell back into their old position, which they had
-temporarily felt themselves obliged to desert, declined to have
-anything to do with matters of state; and when told to consider
-the best means for the defence of the kingdom, they pleaded their
-inability to answer, named a council of peers whom they thought
-qualified for the purpose, and made overtures of friendship by
-placing Lancaster’s name at the head of the list. Lancaster, who
-desired power and had no fixed principles, accepted the position,
-first making a solemn denial of all the calumnious reports which
-were afloat about him, and thus again became practically Prime
-Minister. But the Commons showed that they intended to keep
-their own great object, economical management of the finances,
-steadfastly in view, by insisting that the subsidy, which was
-granted at once upon this reconciliation, should be paid into the
-hands of two treasurers named by themselves. They also demanded, as
-a further guarantee of good government, that the great officers of
-state and the judges should be chosen by the Lords, and publicly
-named to the Commons. The King was left unrestrained in the choice
-of those who should be about his person. At the next Parliament,
-held at Gloucester in 1378, they still pursued the same policy,
-and refused to grant a new subsidy till the accounts of that last
-granted had been exhibited to them. It was plain that the constant
-repetition of subsidies was much disliked.
-
-[Sidenote: Money wanted for war in Brittany. 1380.]
-
-[Sidenote: Poll-tax.]
-
-But the continuation of war in Brittany soon made fresh demands
-for money necessary. This war had closed by a sudden revulsion of
-feeling on the part of the Bretons, who had been roused to extreme
-anger by the annexation of the province by the French King. But on
-his death they became equally hostile to their late friends the
-English, and drove them from the country. To supply this want of
-money, new methods of taxation were devised. A poll-tax, graduated
-from £6, 13s. 4d. on the Duke of Lancaster, to 4d. on the ordinary
-labourer and his family, was granted, but produced not half the sum
-required. Further demands were made, and the consent of the Commons
-purchased by reforms of the household, and by the establishment
-of a Parliamentary finance committee. Even the new grants thus
-purchased did not suffice, and at the end of the year 1380, a poll
-tax graduated from £1 to 1s. per head was imposed on every male and
-female.
-
-[Sidenote: Insurrection of the Villeins. 1381.]
-
-The exaction of this tax, which fell proportionately with much
-greater weight on the lower, unrepresented orders, produced the
-great insurrection known as Wat Tyler’s insurrection. Many causes
-had been at work, not in England only, but throughout Europe,
-to excite discontent among the labouring classes. The severity
-and rough inquisitorial spirit with which the present impost was
-collected was beyond what they could bear. In Essex, under Jack
-Straw, at Dartford, under Wat Tyler, whose daughter had been
-subjected to insult, and at Gravesend, where Sir Simon Burley had
-laid claim to a labourer as his villein, insurrections broke out.
-Wat Tyler was chosen for the general leader, accompanied by John
-Ball, the popular itinerant preacher. But the insurrection was
-not confined to these counties only, it extended from Winchester
-to Scarborough. It was in all respects a revolutionary movement.
-Manor-houses were pillaged and destroyed, and the court rolls,
-where the villeins’ names were written, were burnt. Officials,
-those who had served on juries, justices, and even lawyers, were
-put to death. The rebels were particularly embittered against
-John of Gaunt, swearing to admit no king of the name of John, and
-refused all taxes except the customary tenth and fifteenth.
-
-[Sidenote: Death of Wat Tyler.]
-
-[Sidenote: Insurrection suppressed.]
-
-The insurgents entered Southwark, and pillaged the palace of
-Lambeth; on the following day penetrated into London, freed the
-prisoners in Newgate, destroyed Lancaster’s house of the Savoy,
-and showed their national spirit by killing some fifty Flemish
-merchants. The King was alone in London; he offered to meet them
-at Mile End. He there received their petition, which demanded not
-political but social rights,--the abolition of villeinage, the
-reduction of rent to fourpence an acre, the free access to all
-fairs and markets, and a general pardon. The King granted their
-demands; and charters were at once drawn up for every township.
-But, in the meanwhile, the more advanced leaders, disliking the
-moderation of the bulk of their followers, broke into the Tower
-and ransacked it. On the following day, the King came across these
-men in Smithfield. Tyler was at their head. He advanced to have
-a personal interview with the King, and was suddenly killed by
-Walworth, the Lord Mayor, as he played with his dagger, an action
-which was construed as a threat. The young King, with remarkable
-presence of mind, rode forward to the astonished rebels, declared
-that he would be their leader, and induced them to follow him
-to Islington, where they found themselves in the presence of
-Sir Robert Knowles and 1000 soldiers. They at once yielded,
-and demanded the King’s mercy; he declined to punish them, and
-dismissed them to their homes. When time had thus been gained, the
-crisis was over. Richard found himself at the head of an army.
-Several defeats and numerous executions broke the spirit of the
-rebels, and the insurrection was suppressed.
-
-[Sidenote: Parliament rejects the villeins’ claims.]
-
-In autumn the Parliament met. The King declared he had recalled
-his charters, but asked the Commons to consider the propriety of
-abolishing villeinage. The ignorance and want of sympathy with
-the feelings of the class below them, which existed among the
-representative Commons, was then made evident. No men, they said,
-should rob them of their villeins. The charters were therefore
-finally revoked; and not only the charters, but the general pardon
-also: at least 250 persons were exempted from it. Meantime, the
-House of Commons made political capital out of the insurrection;
-they declared that the cause of the insurrection was not the social
-oppression of the labourer, but their own grievances, purveyance,
-the rapacity of the officers of the Exchequer, the maintainers, or
-bands of robbers who carried on depredations in some counties, and
-the heavy taxation. This was followed by a further inquiry into the
-royal household.
-
-[Sidenote: Lancaster’s government.]
-
-[Sidenote: He deserts Wicliffe.]
-
-Lancaster continued in power for three years longer. His ministry
-was unmarked by success; and the feeling against him, which had
-been exhibited in the insurrection, found frequent expression. With
-regard to Church reform he had completely changed his tactics.
-When Wicliffe passed beyond his attacks upon the abuses of the
-Church, and touched its doctrine, questioning even the fundamental
-point of Transubstantiation, Lancaster withdrew his support.
-Although Wicliffe was so far upheld by Parliament, that a statute
-which had been passed for the suppression of his “poor priests”
-was repealed, he was unable, without Lancaster’s assistance, to
-withstand the power of the Church, and was compelled to make some
-form of recantation before he regained his living of Lutterworth,
-where he died in 1384. But Lancaster reaped no advantage from
-this change in his conduct. Every disaster was still laid to his
-charge, and the old suspicion that he harboured covert designs upon
-the throne still clung to him. The great schism was at this time
-dividing the Catholic Church. For seventy years the Papacy fixed
-at Avignon had been the servant of the French king: the Babylonish
-captivity the Italians called it. Gregory XI. restored the Papacy
-to Rome, but his death was followed by a double election. The
-French cardinals elected Clement VII., the Roman cardinals Urban
-VI.; and the Christian world was divided in its allegiance. In the
-interests of Pope Urban, who was received in England, the Bishop of
-Norwich, a remarkable prelate, who had distinguished himself in the
-suppression of the late insurrection, was engaged to lead an army
-against France. He selected the old road of attack. The Flemish
-citizens, in spite of the death of their great leader, Philip Van
-Artevelt, and of a crushing defeat they had received from the
-French chivalry at Rosbecque, continued their enmity to France. The
-Bishop was to act in concert with them.
-
-[Sidenote: Is charged with the failure in Flanders.]
-
-[Sidenote: Jealousy of him thwarts the Scotch invasion. 1385.]
-
-His expedition failed; it was currently reported that Lancaster had
-thwarted it. A certain friar came to the King offering to prove
-traitorous designs on the part of Lancaster. Sir John Holland,
-the King’s half-brother, and a partisan of Lancaster’s, into
-whose charge he was given, killed him. His death was no doubt
-suspicious. His story against Lancaster was believed. In 1385,
-Scotland, which had been subsidized by France, became troublesome.
-Richard led an army against it; but the advice of De la Pole,
-the King’s chancellor and favourite minister, who pretended to
-dread the designs of Lancaster, induced Richard to retreat, and
-the expedition came to nothing. Moreover, still further to mark
-his fear of Lancaster, Richard declared Roger, Earl of March, his
-presumptive heir. The enmity between March and Lancaster, in which
-perhaps may be traced the first beginnings of the Wars of the
-Roses, had been already marked in the last reign. Peter de la Mare
-was the steward of the Earl of March, while Sir Thomas Hungerford,
-the speaker of the following Parliament, occupied the same office
-in the household of Lancaster.
-
-[Sidenote: He is glad to have to support his claims in Castile.]
-
-John of Gaunt, thus mistrusted and opposed, was glad to embrace the
-opportunity of leaving England, which was offered him by affairs in
-Spain, where he wished, in union with the Portuguese, to push the
-claim to the throne of Castile, which he derived from his wife, the
-daughter of Pedro the Cruel.
-
-[Sidenote: Gloucester takes his place.]
-
-[Sidenote: The King’s favourites.]
-
-[Sidenote: Gloucester heads an opposition.]
-
-[Sidenote: Change of ministry demanded. Impeachment of Suffolk.]
-
-He was at once succeeded in his influence and in his party
-leadership by a far more dangerous man, another uncle of the King,
-Thomas, Duke of Gloucester. Meanwhile the politics of England had
-changed, and had fallen back into their normal condition. We have
-seen that the King had been allowed the free selection of his own
-household. He had surrounded himself by men not drawn from the
-higher baronage.[64] His chief favourite was De Vere, whom he
-had made Earl of Oxford, and subsequently Duke of Ireland, and to
-whom he had intrusted the government of that disturbed country;
-while his ministers nominated by Parliament were also men who owed
-their position to their capacity rather than to their birth. The
-chief of these was Michael de la Pole, the chancellor, whom the
-King had raised to the rank of Earl of Suffolk. He was thus open
-to the old charge of favouritism. The Lancastrian party had set
-themselves against his favourites. Already one of them, the Earl
-of Stafford, had been killed by Sir John Holland, and Gloucester
-found no difficulty in forming a powerful party among the barons,
-taking for his cry the reform of the administration, and seeking to
-excite the national feeling, by keeping alive the animosity against
-France, towards which country Richard was much drawn; while the
-specious pretext of reform as usual attracted the Commons. In 1386,
-Gloucester took advantage of a threatened invasion from France to
-produce charges against the administration. The King’s officers, it
-was said, had used the public revenues for their own purposes; the
-Commons had been impoverished by taxes, the landowners could not
-get their rents, and tenants were compelled to abandon their farms
-through distress. The three last of these charges were traceable,
-not to government, but to economical changes, but served well as a
-party catchword; and so successful were they, that in a Parliament
-held at Westminster, Commons and Lords united in demanding a change
-of ministry. After a contest of three weeks the King yielded.
-Suffolk was dismissed, and his dismissal was immediately followed
-by his impeachment. The charges brought against him were held to
-be partly proved, and he was sentenced to be kept in prison during
-the King’s pleasure. After the dissolution of Parliament he was
-released. His place was taken by Arundel, Bishop of Ely.
-
-[Sidenote: Commission of Government.]
-
-[Sidenote: The King prepares a counterblow. 1387.]
-
-[Sidenote: The five Lords Appellant in arms impeach the King’s
-friends.]
-
-[Sidenote: Affair of Radcot.]
-
-This blow, though severe, was followed by a worse one. The old
-baronial policy of establishing a committee of reform was renewed.
-To intimidate the King, the statute of the deposition of Edward
-II. was produced in Parliament. The estates having declared that
-unless he granted their requests they would separate without his
-permission, he was finally compelled to authorize a commission of
-eleven peers and bishops, to inquire into abuses and regulate
-reform. Their duty was a very wide one, touching the household, the
-treasury, and all complaints out of the reach of law. The partisans
-of Gloucester formed the majority of this committee, of which the
-Duke himself and his chief friend, Lord Arundel,[65] were members.
-It was arranged that the power of the committee should last for
-one year only. It does not seem to have brought to light any great
-abuses, nor was its government sufficiently superior to that which
-had preceded it to justify its establishment. Richard had no mind
-to submit to a limitation of his prerogative which seemed so
-little called for. He set to work with his usual secretiveness. At
-Shrewsbury, and again at Nottingham, he inquired of the judges how
-far the late conduct of the reformers was constitutional. Their
-reply was strongly in favour of the prerogative. They declared
-the late measures treasonable, and its authors liable to capital
-punishment, denied the power of Parliament to impeach, and declared
-Suffolk’s condemnation false. Fulthorpe, one of the King’s judges,
-though sworn to secrecy, at once told Gloucester of the King’s
-questions. Consequently, when Richard had made all preparations
-for a sudden coup d’état, he was alarmed to find that Gloucester,
-Arundel, and Nottingham, had reached London the same day as
-himself, with a numerous army. At Waltham Cross the Earls of Derby
-and Warwick joined them, and they proceeded to appeal, or, as we
-should say, accuse of high treason, the Archbishop of York, the
-Duke of Ireland, the Earl of Suffolk, Robert Tresilian the judge,
-and Sir Nicholas Brember, whose influence had been employed to
-secure London for Richard. The accused sought refuge in flight, and
-the Duke of Ireland succeeded in raising troops in the West, and
-attempted to bring the matter to the issue of battle. But the Lords
-Appellant were beforehand with him; he was unable to cross the
-Thames, as he hoped, at Radcot; and being there surrounded, with
-difficulty escaped by swimming the river.
-
-[Sidenote: The Wonderful Parliament.]
-
-[Sidenote: Gloucester’s unimportant government.]
-
-The appellants, now masters of the kingdom, made a thorough
-clearance of all who could be considered King’s favourites. Eleven
-of his intimate friends were imprisoned, a number of the lords and
-ladies of the Court removed, and in February 1388, a Parliament
-known as the “Wonderful or merciless Parliament” assembled, which,
-in a long session of 122 days, was employed almost entirely in
-destroying the enemies of Gloucester. His appeal was heard, and
-all the five accused gentlemen were found guilty; three escaped,
-Tresilian and Brember were put to death. Some of the judges were
-likewise executed, some pardoned on the intercession of the
-bishops, and four knights, old and intimate friends of Richard, of
-whom Sir Simon Burley is the best known, were also impeached and
-beheaded. Parliament closed with an ordinance, declaring that the
-treasons for which these men had suffered were not established by
-any statute, and should not form a precedent; and by exacting a
-repetition of Richard’s coronation oath. For a year, Gloucester
-ruled at his will, without any marked success. The Percies were
-defeated by the Scotch at Otterbourne, and an invasion from France
-was only averted by the incessant dissensions which had arisen in
-that country during the minority of Charles VI. Before the end of
-Gloucester’s administration, however, truces were concluded with
-both Scotland and France.
-
-[Sidenote: Richard assumes sole authority. 1389.]
-
-Richard appears to have been able to dissemble profoundly; he
-had been most submissive to his conquerors, who believed their
-power safe, when, at a council in the spring of 1389, he quietly
-asked Gloucester how old he was. Gloucester replied that he was
-twenty-two. “Then,” said the King, “I am certainly old enough
-to manage my own affairs. I thank you, my lords, for your past
-services; I want them no longer.” He then proceeded to change
-the ministry, removed Arundel from the chancellorship,[66] and
-took the government into his own hands. Although the ministry was
-changed, there was no great reversal of policy, no punishment of
-the Lords Appellant. On the contrary, the King, under the advice,
-it is probable, of William of Wykeham, seemed determined to
-ignore party, and to attempt a moderate government. He declared
-that he would be bound by the decisions of the late Parliament,
-employed among his most intimate counsellors, Derby, who had been
-one of the appellants, and the Duke of York, who had been on the
-commission of 1386; and it would appear that he did not even
-remove Gloucester from his councils. In pursuance of this national
-and healing policy, in the following year, the chief officers
-temporarily resigned their offices, that their administration
-might be examined. The Commons found not the slightest cause of
-complaint, and they were reinstated at once. This peaceable state
-of affairs continued till 1397. During the whole of that time, we
-must believe that Richard was only waiting his opportunity. There
-were indeed some signs of his secret thoughts. Some of his banished
-friends were relieved or obtained places in Ireland. On the death
-of Robert de Vere he succeeded in obtaining the Earldom of Oxford
-for his uncle, Aubrey de Vere; and a year or two afterwards he
-brought his friend’s body, which had been embalmed, from abroad,
-and before it was reburied, had the coffin opened, and gazed with
-much emotion upon the dead man’s face. But outwardly such unity
-reigned, that national matters could be considered, and the period
-is marked by the completion of the quarrel with the Papacy with
-regard to Provisors, and by an expedition to Ireland.
-
-[Sidenote: Final Statute of Provisors.]
-
-England, it has been said, embraced the cause of Urban VI. In his
-gratitude he had given the King the nomination to the two next
-vacant prebends in all collegiate churches. But the appointment by
-the Pope of an Abbot of St. Edmunds, in 1380, produced a repetition
-of the Statute of Provisors of Edward III.’s reign.[67] Still
-the laws were repeatedly evaded, the Pope always presenting to
-benefices which fell vacant at Rome. As the cardinals generally
-died at Rome, this was a large exception. In 1390, the 29th of
-January of that year was settled as a term. All Provisors before
-that year were legal; all after, together with the introduction of
-any Papal letter of recommendation, absolutely illegal. In 1391,
-the new Pope, Boniface IX., declared all these enactments void, and
-proceeded to grant Provisors. Consequently, in 1393,[68] was drawn
-up the final Statute of Provisors, or Præmunire. By this any man
-procuring instruments of any kind from Rome, or publishing such
-instruments, was outlawed, his property forfeited, and his person
-apprehended.
-
-[Sidenote: Expedition to Ireland. 1394.]
-
-The following year the King made an expedition to Ireland. The
-condition of that country had long demanded attention. Since the
-invasion of the Bruces, the native tribes had made considerable
-advances on all sides, but their domestic dissensions prevented
-any permanent success. A far greater evil was the condition of the
-Irish of old English race. The want of strong central authority had
-allowed the individual chieftains to establish something like royal
-power in their own dominions; they were gradually falling back into
-barbarism, and in a way very unusual among conquering races, had
-been gradually adopting the manners and laws of the conquered race
-around them. Among them, as among the natives, perpetual discord
-and fighting existed. So disorderly were they, that Edward III. had
-ordered that no official places should be occupied except by men
-born in England; and Lionel of Clarence, who had been appointed
-to bring the country into order, had, in 1364, procured, at the
-Parliament of Kilkenny, statutes, directed not against the Irish,
-but against the English settlers, making the adoption of Irish
-habits, and of the Brehon or Irish law, high treason. Earlier in
-the reign, Richard had appointed his favourite De Vere to restore
-order. His success had been prevented by the attack upon him by the
-Lords Appellant in 1387. The King now, in the year 1394, determined
-to go in person. His measures were just and moderate, and he
-succeeded in inducing all the native princes to swear fealty.
-
-[Sidenote: Marriage with Isabella of France. 1397.]
-
-He was called home by the excesses of the Lollards, as the
-followers of Wicliffe were called. They had prepared a petition,
-containing a forcible exposition of their own tenets, and a
-vigorous attack on the priests. The Church demanded the presence
-and protection of the King, who, on his arrival in England,
-expelled the Lollards from Oxford. At the same time he contracted
-a marriage, consonant with his known French views, with Isabella,
-the daughter of Charles VI. of France, a Princess of ten years of
-age. In 1397, the marriage ceremony having been performed, the
-young Queen was crowned. It seems possible that it was in reliance
-upon this new friendship with France that the King now determined
-to execute his long dissembled vengeance. The seven years of
-peaceful government had allayed suspicion, and won him popularity.
-Lancaster, who had returned from Spain, had ceased to take a
-very prominent part in the government, and had, moreover, been
-gratified by the legitimization of his children by his mistress
-Catherine Swinford. His son, the Earl of Derby, had deserted his
-former associates, and was one of the King’s advisers. Mowbray
-of Nottingham, another of the Lords Appellant, had also been won
-over. The Duke of York had throughout been friendly disposed to the
-King. On the other hand, Gloucester had been continually acting
-in a spirit of covert hostility. He had made political capital by
-opposing the French match, and by publicly speaking against the
-extravagances of the royal household, which appear to have been
-very great. Froissart, indeed, mentions a story, which however
-needs confirmation, that he had combined with Warwick and the
-Arundels in a plot to seize the King.
-
-[Sidenote: Richard’s vengeance after seven years’ peace.]
-
-Richard carried out his plans of vengeance with his usual secrecy
-and skill. Suddenly, Warwick, Arundel and Gloucester were
-apprehended, and sent to different and distant castles. He then
-proceeded against them as they had themselves proceeded against
-his friends. They were appealed of treason by a number of Earls
-in the royal interest. Rickhill, one of the justices, was sent
-to Calais to obtain Gloucester’s confession, and a Parliament was
-assembled at Westminster, in which the good will of the Commons
-had been already secured. As a preliminary measure, all pardons
-to Gloucester, Arundel and Warwick were revoked. An impeachment
-was then brought against the Archbishop Arundel, and the appeal
-against the Duke and the two Earls was heard. Arundel refused to
-plead anything but his pardon. This having already been revoked,
-he was at once condemned and executed. The Earl Marshall, to whom
-Gloucester had been intrusted, was ordered to produce him, but
-replied that the Duke was dead. It seems almost certain that he had
-been murdered by Richard’s orders at Calais. The Archbishop was
-condemned to banishment for life; and Warwick, who pleaded guilty,
-was exiled to the Isle of Man. Lord Mortimer, who was also involved
-in the accusation, fled to Ireland, and was outlawed. A shower of
-new titles was lavished on the obsequious Lords. Derby and Rutland
-were made Dukes of Hereford and Albemarle; Nottingham, Duke of
-Norfolk; De Spencer, Neville, Percy and Scrope, respectively, Earls
-of Gloucester, Westmoreland, Worcester and Wiltshire. A statute
-was passed making it treason to levy war against the King, and
-declaring the penalty of treason against any one who should attempt
-to overthrow the enactments of this Parliament. The next Parliament
-at Gloucester, in 1398, acted in the same obsequious manner. The
-Acts of the Wonderful Parliament were repealed. To the grant of
-a subsidy was added the tax on wool and hides for life; and a
-permanent committee of twelve peers and six commoners was appointed
-to represent Parliament for the future.
-
-[Sidenote: Hereford and Norfolk banished.]
-
-The new Dukes of Hereford and Norfolk alone remained unpunished of
-the old Lords Appellant of 1386. These two men, who had shared in
-the destruction of their former associates, had now quarrelled, and
-Hereford brought a formal charge against Norfolk of treasonable
-conversation. To the Parliamentary committee this question was now
-referred, and by them laid before a court of chivalry; at the same
-time the committee enacted laws in the royal interest, exactly as
-though it had been the Parliament. It was agreed that the dispute
-between the two dukes should be settled by the arbitrament of
-battle. The lists were prepared at Coventry, but as the combatants
-were about to engage, the King took the matter into his own hands,
-and, on what principle it is impossible to conceive, punished both;
-Hereford he banished for ten years, Norfolk for life. Richard had
-thus destroyed his old enemies, rid himself of the constraint of
-Parliament, and was practically despotic. “Then the King began
-to rule,” says Froissart, “more fiercely than before. In those
-days there were none so great in England that durst speak against
-anything that the King did. He had council meet for his appetite,
-who exhorted him to do what he list. He still kept in his wages
-10,000 archers. He then kept greater state than ever, no former
-king had ever kept so much as he did by 100,000 nobles a year.”[69]
-
-[Sidenote: His arbitrary rule alienates the people.]
-
-[Sidenote: During his absence in Ireland, 1399.]
-
-He acted in accordance with his position. He raised forced loans,
-meddled in the administration of justice, and went so far as to
-declare no less than seventeen counties outlawed, for having, as
-he asserted, favoured the Lords Appellant before the affair at
-Radcot Bridge. But he overrated his real power. His government had
-been accepted because it had been constitutional and moderate.
-The change which was evident since his acquirement of the sole
-authority induced the people to give the credit of that moderation
-to Hereford, who had been a chief member of that council, and who
-was a popular favourite. Thousands had attended him as he left
-England for his banishment, and excitement spread through the
-country when the King, in contravention of his promise and of law,
-refused him the succession to his father’s title and property upon
-the death of that prince. Regardless of the discontented feeling
-of the people, Richard unwisely determined upon another expedition
-to Ireland, to complete his work there, and to exact vengeance for
-the death of the Earl of March, whom he had named as his successor.
-The kingdom was thus left vacant, and in the charge of the Duke
-of York, whose subsequent conduct proved that he shared in the
-national feeling.
-
-[Sidenote: Hereford returns and is triumphantly received.]
-
-[Sidenote: Captures Richard.]
-
-The new Duke of Lancaster took advantage of this act of folly to
-land at Ravenspur in Yorkshire, declaring loudly that he came but
-to demand his family succession. The Percies, the old friends
-of the Lancastrians, received him with gladness, and his march
-southwards soon became formidable. The King’s ministers, Wiltshire,
-Bussy, and Greene, fled for refuge to Bristol. Thither York also
-betook himself, thus leaving the capital open. Lancaster, now at
-the head of a powerful army, also drew to the West. As he came
-within reach of the Duke of York, civilities were exchanged, which
-proved that he had no opposition to fear from him. Bristol opened
-its gates. The King’s favourites were seized and executed, and
-the King, who had landed in Wales from Ireland, with the Duke of
-Albemarle and other nobles, saw his army rapidly dissolve, and
-had to take refuge in the castle of Conway. Henry of Lancaster
-found himself joined by all the nobility. He commissioned Percy
-of Northumberland to procure a meeting with Richard at Flint.
-The proposed meeting was a trap to catch the King; as he rode
-from the castle with Northumberland, Richard found himself in the
-midst of hostile troops. When he was introduced to the presence of
-Lancaster, he knew that his fate was sealed, and with his peculiar
-power of accepting circumstances, was entirely submissive in his
-behaviour.
-
-[Sidenote: Makes him resign the kingdom.]
-
-A Parliament had been summoned to meet in September; but before
-that time, Richard was induced to make a formal resignation of the
-kingdom. Not content with this, when the Parliament met, Henry
-caused the coronation oath to be read. It was contended that
-Richard had broken it, and therefore forfeited the crown. The
-Bishop of Carlisle alone raised his voice in favour of the fallen
-King, and demanded that he should at least be heard in his defence.
-His interference was, of course, in vain. The deposition of the
-King was voted. The throne being thus vacant, the Duke was not long
-in laying claim to it. In a curious document, in which he mingled
-the claims of blood, of conquest, and the necessity of reform,
-he put forward his demands. They were unanimously admitted. The
-Archbishop of Canterbury took him by the hand and led him to the
-throne. It was his cue to act with strict legality, yet he could
-not afford to do without a Parliament so obviously devoted to his
-interests. As that Parliament had expired by Richard’s deposition,
-he immediately issued writs for a new one, returnable in six days,
-thus rendering it absolutely impossible to make any new elections.
-It was with the Parliament thus secured that he began his reign.
-
-
-
-
-STATE OF SOCIETY.
-
-1216-1399.
-
-
-Although the narration of political facts implies much of the
-history of the country, it leaves out of sight much that touches
-the real life of the people. During the last hundred years great
-social changes had been going on, and great social progress made.
-In fact, till the end of the reign of King John, the social, like
-the political history of the country scarcely deserves the name of
-national. The description of any feudal society will in a great
-measure suit it. But the national existence had been worked out in
-the reign of Henry III., and was completed and finally established
-by the great time of Edward I. From that time onwards, continuous
-change and growth had been visible, and that growth had been
-national. The great fact of all modern history is the breaking up
-of the feudal and ecclesiastical system of the middle ages, and
-the introduction, as political and social elements of weight, of
-the middle and industrial classes. It is the beginning of that
-process which constitutes therefore the history of this period. The
-points to observe will be, therefore, the growth and advance of
-the commons, the decay of the aristocracy. But it is as yet quite
-impossible to speak of the commons as one body. The line which
-divided the class which sent its representatives to Parliament,
-and which was already becoming of political importance, from the
-mass of the labouring part of the nation, was very clearly drawn,
-and the characteristics, the employments, and the feelings of the
-one class, as well as the causes of their advance, will be very
-different from those of the other. A brief sketch has been already
-given of the gradual introduction of the commons into Parliament.
-But it still remains to explain and illustrate the sources of their
-wealth, their aristocratic tendencies, and the prevalence among
-them of a strong distaste for the pre-eminent position occupied
-by the Church. It was their wealth which gained them admission
-to Parliament, and the way in which that wealth was gained which
-greatly influenced their views after they had been admitted.
-
-[Sidenote: Trade.]
-
-[Sidenote: The staple.]
-
-Trade, on which their riches depended, was as yet in its infancy;
-and the views which regulated its management as yet too crude to be
-spoken of by such a dignified title as political economy. As far as
-they went, however, they were very clear, and were, in fact, though
-afterwards improved, the same in spirit as those which existed in
-England before the time of Adam Smith. Observing only the obvious
-fact, that the possession of money enabled a man to purchase
-whatever he wanted, early traders conceived the idea that money
-was wealth, and that nothing else was. And as the wealth of the
-nation was of the last importance, both to the governor and to the
-governed, and as trade was the chief method by which money could
-be supplied, and by which money might be drawn from the country,
-the regulation of trade became one of the most important duties of
-the King and the Parliament. Now money being the sole wealth, in
-that regulation of trade it became necessary to aim first at the
-introduction of money; secondly, at its retention. It was to these
-objects that the frequent ordinances and statutes with regard to
-trade were directed. Although very various and, as such regulations
-were almost certain to be, frequently inefficacious, they were
-energetic and simple. England was not as yet a manufacturing
-country. Its trade was an export trade of raw materials,
-principally derived from sheep farming on the vast spaces of
-uncultivated land which then existed, and from its mineral wealth.
-Its principal commodities were wool, sheep-skins, or wool-fells,
-and leather, together with tin and lead.[70] Only the coarsest
-kind of cloth was manufactured; sometimes intentionally rough and
-coarse, to be changed into fine cloth afterwards in Flanders, but
-exported as cloth to avoid the tax on wool. Primitive trade, when
-the seas were beset with pirates, had been carried on chiefly
-inland, and great fairs, such as that of Troyes in France, had been
-established under the guardianship of feudal lords, who guaranteed
-the safety of the merchants for a toll. Domestic trade was carried
-on in the same way, and one of the forms of royal exaction was to
-open a fair, and insist upon all other shops and other places of
-sale being closed during its continuance.[71] As the seas became
-safer, and the mercantile spirit of the Flemings rose, the great
-free cities of Flanders became as it were perpetual fairs, and were
-known as staples, from the German “stapeln,” _to keep up_. In order
-that trade should be well under command, it was necessary that it
-should be carried on in few channels. The English government had
-therefore chosen some of these Flemish towns, and ordered that
-all the chief productions of England, which have been already
-mentioned, should be sold in those towns, and nowhere else. These
-goods were therefore called staple commodities; the merchants who
-traded in them, the merchants of the staple. And this staple trade
-was put under an organization--there being a mayor, a constable,
-and courts of the staple. At these staple towns, the King’s
-customers, or custom-house officers, by means of this organization,
-had every bargain under direct supervision; and every bargain thus
-supervised was obliged to be made for a certain sum of actual coin,
-the government thus securing a continual flow of silver into the
-hands of the English merchants. The staple towns were frequently
-changed. To reward any particularly faithful ally, or to raise the
-importance of any particular town, as for instance Calais, the
-staple was removed to that Prince’s province, or to that town. The
-proportion of each bargain to be brought over in coin was also
-constantly varying. Indeed, the frequent interference of government
-in such matters was not among the least of the restrictions of
-trade. Edward III. was said, at one time of his life, to have had a
-different plan every month. Upon the whole, however, the principle
-was the same. Amongst the most remarkable plans of Edward III. was
-one for keeping the evident riches that accrued to the staple towns
-within the limits of England. In the twenty-seventh year of his
-reign he named nine towns in England which were to be the exclusive
-selling places of the English staple commodities. For an Englishman
-to carry such commodities beyond the seas was punishable by death.
-As Edward could not protect the foreign merchants visiting his
-staples, and as the additional trouble of purchasing goods at them
-naturally lowered prices, this plan did not answer. It was, in
-fact, suicidal for an island people, since it destroyed all object
-in the keeping up a mercantile navy. It was therefore speedily
-abandoned; and after the reign of Henry VI., Calais became the sole
-English staple town. A similar attempt was made in the fourteenth
-year of Richard II., when it was enacted that no Englishman
-should buy wool except of the owners of the sheep, and for his own
-use. The export trade was thus again for a time given over to the
-foreign merchant, for the sake of securing to the wool-grower the
-profits of the retail as well as the wholesale trade; the effect
-was naturally a decrease of purchasers, which reduced the growers
-to great distress. The government had, by insisting on money
-payments in every bargain, secured an influx of silver; but as the
-nation was too far advanced in civilization to do without foreign
-products, there were a certain number of foreign importers, who
-threatened in their turn to withdraw it again. One or two attempts
-were indeed made to confine English trade to the limits of the
-country. Thus, it was the view of Simon de Montfort, who disliked
-all extravagance in dress, that the production of the country was
-enough to supply its own inhabitants; and in 1261, and in 1271,
-exportation of English wool was forbidden, and people acquired the
-habit of dressing in undyed native cloth. Such primitive patriotism
-could not last in an advancing nation. Trade soon resumed its old
-course. The greater part of the foreign merchants were Germans, and
-to keep them under government supervision, they were formed into a
-guild, given certain privileges, allowed to possess a guild-hall,
-and are generally known as the Merchants of the Steelyard.[72]
-Other alien merchants there also were, who were protected by law;
-notably by the great statute of Edward I., “De mercatoribus.” But
-although the goods they brought were necessary, their bargains, no
-less than those of the staple merchants, were under supervision.
-They were bound to employ a certain proportion of the money
-obtained from their sales in English goods.[73] Moreover, all
-foreign merchants were held to be mutually responsible for each
-other’s debts. Thus the retention of the silver in England was
-also secured, while, to avoid any varieties in the value of money,
-English coin alone was current, and foreign coin had at once to be
-exchanged at the royal exchangers.
-
-[Sidenote: Coinage.]
-
-Since money was so important an object, the coinage was naturally
-regarded with great care. It was an exclusive royal monopoly, and
-in the reign of Edward III. the punishment of death was enacted
-against false coiners. There was a constant dread lest in the
-exchange England should be the loser. The belief was prevalent that
-the value of the money depended upon the denomination. It had not
-yet entered men’s minds to think that it was but another commodity,
-worth exactly its intrinsic value, which no change of name could
-alter. Up till the reign of Edward III., although clipped and
-lightened in use, and although Edward I. had begun the bad practice
-of depreciating the coin by diminishing its legal weight, the
-coinage had been on the whole but little tampered with. But between
-the years 1344 and 1351, the number of silver pennies made from the
-pound of silver had increased from 243 to 270. In that year, groats
-of the nominal value of 4d., but of the weight of only three and
-a half of the diminished penny, were issued. It is impossible to
-make any true estimate of the comparative value of money then and
-at the present time. The facts with regard to the actual amount of
-silver employed are these: The pound, which only nominally existed,
-was a full pound of silver, which would at present be coined into
-£2, 16s. 3d. The shilling, which seems also to have been a nominal
-coin, was the twentieth part of this, or 2s. 9¾d. The silver penny,
-which was, till the time of Edward III., almost the only coin, was
-therefore worth 2¾d. Edward introduced several new coins; some of
-gold, which, as there was no fixed proportion between them and
-silver, were not popular, and were recalled; and nobles of the
-value of 6s. 8d., or half a mark; together with the groats above
-mentioned. But of the purchasing value of the money thus made
-no fixed estimate can be given, as that of course depends upon
-the relative value of the articles purchased; and under the very
-different circumstances of those times the relative value of those
-articles was so different, that to compare the value of money with
-any one of them would give a totally false impression. It is usual
-to say roughly that to reach the present value of any sum mentioned
-it should be multiplied by fifteen.
-
-[Sidenote: Guilds.]
-
-This form of commerce, restricted as has been before explained, was
-certain to break down as the wants of the nation increased. There
-was a company of merchant adventurers founded, perhaps, though this
-seems very uncertain, as early as Henry III.’s reign, which had
-the right to trade in other commodities besides the staple, and
-to choose its own ports. It was the growth of this company which,
-in the next century, had most to do with breaking down the staple
-monopoly. It is needless to point out the bad effects which this
-constant interference must have produced. It is certain that the
-foreign merchant paid himself well for the extreme difficulties
-placed in the way of his business; while, at the same time, the
-difficulties of procuring foreign articles of luxury must have
-gone far to render the habits of ordinary life rough and simple.
-The same principle of restriction, which was established in the
-commerce of the country, existed in the retail trade. The towns of
-England were of natural and accidental growth, accumulations of
-men who had gathered for purposes of self-defence or convenience,
-living in accordance with the ordinary habits of the country, in
-the same position, in fact, with regard to the king and their
-lords as any other society of men--citizens originally by right of
-the possession of land, and as the system of lordship established
-itself, bound to customary duties to their lord, just as the
-inhabitants of the country were. In the same way the citizens
-of the town, with the exception of these customary duties, were
-free and self-governing. They gradually, and chiefly by means of
-purchase, obtained freedom from the customary duties, and thus
-became independent, self-governing communities. Charters securing
-them freedom, in the case of the royal cities at all events, were
-many of them due to the necessities of the Angevin kings, and to
-their want of money for the payment of their mercenary troops. The
-close neighbourhood of the inhabitants of towns early introduced
-an artificial system of union, analogous to the frankpledge.
-Men formed themselves into what were known as frith-guilds,[74]
-the members of which were mutually responsible for one another,
-met at periodical feasts, supported one another’s poor, and in
-other respects performed the duties of members of an artificial
-family. As trade increased these guilds in the generality of cases
-coalesced into one, which took upon itself the direction of trade,
-and was known as the merchant guild. With the natural tendency
-of a governing body, this old merchant guild became exceedingly
-exclusive. New-comers to the town were not admitted to it, and
-craftsmen were generally excluded from its limits. In turn those
-craftsmen established guilds of their own, known as craft-guilds,
-by the warden and leaders of which the bye-laws of the particular
-craft were formed. Between these and their aristocratic neighbours,
-the merchant guild, quarrels arose, and in the thirteenth and
-fourteenth centuries the contest between the two was fought out,
-the craft-guilds eventually securing their acknowledgment and a
-share in the government of the town. Speaking generally, therefore,
-we may conceive of the towns of England as being divided into a
-series of guilds, the leaders of which usually formed a governing
-body, and which were capable of making bye-laws for their own
-special members. The commercial aim of these associations was,
-to insure good work, to insure work for all its members, and to
-resist that spirit of competition which was gradually rising, and
-which ended in the creation of two classes, the capitalist and
-the workman. To secure these objects, they limited the number of
-master workmen, admitted candidates to their association only after
-lengthened apprenticeships, limited the number of apprentices each
-master might employ, and kept a close supervision over the articles
-made, which were usually authenticated by the corporation mark.[75]
-
-These restrictions upon industry at the close of our period were
-beginning to break down; round the master workmen, there was
-arising a class of journeymen or day labourers, whose ranks were
-constantly swelled by fugitive serfs from the country; while, on
-the other side, individual enterprise was making itself felt, and
-capital was being collected, the owners of which refused to submit
-to the old corporation laws. The constant supervision both of trade
-and of the work of artisans supported the notion that governing
-bodies had the right to set prices on the articles under their
-control, a principle which was used not only by the guilds, but by
-the Government, as when, in the famine years of 1315 and 1316, it
-prescribed the exact price of all articles of food. As this had
-the natural effect of keeping things entirely out of the market,
-so that butcher’s meat disappeared altogether, it was shortly
-repealed; the prices to be demanded for victuals were constantly
-subject to the supervision of justices. The assize of bread, which
-is commonly assigned to the fifty-first year of Henry III., 1266,
-regulated the price in accordance with the market prices of corn,
-but the assizes of other matters, such as wine, wood, fish, fowls,
-etc., seem to have been perfectly arbitrary.
-
-[Sidenote: Ships.]
-
-Though thus restricted, the trade of the English was very
-considerable. Their ships reached into the Baltic, where a constant
-communication was kept up with the Teutonic order, to whom Prussia
-belonged. The intercourse with that order was close. We hear of
-Henry, the first Duke of Lancaster, the Earl of Derby, afterwards
-Henry IV., and Thomas of Gloucester, repairing to their assistance.
-But the English merchants could never secure an equality of rights
-in the Baltic, the trade of which was regarded as a monopoly by the
-Hanseatic towns. English ships also visited Spain, so that Chaucer
-could describe his experienced shipman as knowing all the harbours
-from Gothland to Finnisterre;[76] while Venetian and Genoese
-merchants, in whose hands the whole trade of the East was, brought
-their goods largely to England; indeed, in 1379, a Genoese merchant
-is said to have suggested to Richard II. to make Southampton the
-emporium of all the oriental trade of the North. So great was the
-importance of the English shipping, that Edward III. distinctly
-claimed for himself and his predecessors the dominion of the
-sea.[77] The ships were, however, though numerous, of small burden;
-in the great fleet employed by Edward at Calais, there were 710
-vessels, with crews amounting to 14,151 persons, which would give
-an average crew of about twenty men; and as it is said that there
-were about sixty-five sailors to every hundred tons, it would make
-the average size of the vessels very small. Indeed, a ship manned
-by thirty seamen, employed to convey Edward I. to the Continent,
-was regarded as a wonder for its size. Of navy, properly speaking,
-there was little or none. There were only twenty-five royal ships
-at Calais, the rest were all merchantmen pressed for the service.
-About this time it became habitual to put cannon on board ships.
-When used for military purposes, they were manned by troops and
-archers.
-
-It has been mentioned that the trade of England was almost entirely
-in raw materials. The cloth manufactured had hitherto been of the
-roughest description, but Edward III., true to his view of keeping
-English trade for the English, and moved perhaps by the wealth of
-his allies the Flemish, attempted to introduce the manufacture
-of finer cloths. In 1331, he invited weavers and fullers from
-Flanders, and the patent exists which he gave to one John Kempe,
-to practise and teach his mystery.[78] This seems to have been the
-beginning of the finer cloth manufactures of England.
-
-[Sidenote: Furniture.]
-
-[Sidenote: Dress.]
-
-[Sidenote: Houses.]
-
-The fact of so much trouble being taken to organize trade shows
-the extent of it, and in spite of all ignorance and mismanagement,
-it was certain to produce wealth. The standard of comfort among
-all classes was improving, though there was nothing like what we
-should now speak of as luxury. The furniture used, even in the
-houses of the rich, was still rude. Things which are now found
-everywhere, and taken as matters of course, were then valuable
-rarities--beds, bedsteads, and rich clothing were frequently left
-by will. The lists of moveables, on which taxes were paid, are
-exceedingly meagre. A stool or two, a chest, and a few metal pots,
-constituted the ordinary supply of furniture. In the houses of
-the very rich, art had indeed begun to show itself. The payments
-of Henry III. to foreign artists for paintings in his house are
-mentioned. Intercourse with the French, and especially with
-the Spaniards, tended to increase these more luxurious habits.
-Carpets had always been used by Eastern people, and the Moors
-had introduced the custom in Spain. Thus, on the marriage of
-Edward I., before the arrival of Eleanor of Castile, her brother,
-the Archbishop of Toledo, made his appearance. The hangings
-of his chamber excited the wonder of the people, and Edward,
-always inclined to ostentation, had the rooms of the bride elect
-similarly decorated. This is said to have been the introduction
-of carpets to England; but still the usual covering of the floor
-was rushes. There is frequent mention of payments for rushes for
-the King’s chambers. In the matter of clothes the same change is
-observable. The extravagant court of Edward II. is said to have
-introduced parti-coloured garments. In Edward III’s reign, wealth
-had so increased in all ranks that it was found necessary to pass
-sumptuary laws, sharply dividing classes by the dress they were
-allowed to wear, and to confine silk and the finer woollen cloths
-to the higher ranks, for the sake perhaps of the English wool
-manufactures. In Richard II.’s reign, extravagance went still
-further. With his Queen, Anne of Bohemia, came in the awkward
-habit, soon adopted by all classes, of wearing long shoes, called
-cracowys or pykys, which required to be tied with silver chains
-to the knee before the wearer could move.[79] And Stowe says that
-Richard himself wore a garment made of gold, silver, and precious
-stones, worth 3000 marks. At the same time the rich built more
-comfortable houses. Castles ceased to be mere places of defence.
-They were at once strongholds and handsome dwelling-places. Warwick
-and Windsor castles may be looked on as fair specimens of the more
-magnificent buildings of the time. Meanwhile, though among the few,
-and on special occasions, splendour was found, houses, even in the
-streets of considerable towns, such as Colchester, the tenth city
-of the empire, were still built of mud. In Edward III.’s reign,
-it was still necessary to issue frequent orders for the cleansing
-of the streets of London, that his courtiers might not get into
-difficulties as they moved from Westminster to the City. Filth
-accumulated in the narrow by-lanes; and, as in the East, crows
-were held sacred as the only scavengers. Pavement there was none,
-and lanterns were hoisted from the top of Bow Church, to guide
-the wayfarer through the paths of the heaths that surrounded the
-metropolis.
-
-[Sidenote: Food.]
-
-Barbaric profusion in the matter of food made up for the want of
-substantial comforts. At the coronation of Edward I., 380 head of
-cattle, 430 sheep, 450 pigs, 18 wild boars, 278 flitches of bacon,
-and 20,000 capons, was the amount of food provided. The conduits
-ran wine, and hundreds of knights, who attended the great nobles,
-let their horses run free, to be the prize of the first captor. In
-1399, at a Christmas feast of Richard II., there were daily killed
-twenty-eight oxen and 300 sheep, beside numberless fowl. Richard
-of Cornwall, at his marriage, is said to have invited 30,000
-guests; while we are told that the usual household of Richard II.
-numbered 10,000. But though at these great festivals there was
-vast abundance of meat, at other times, especially at the Church
-fasts, fish, often of the coarsest sort, was eaten. The wife of
-Simon de Montfort ate the tongue of a whale dressed with peas,
-and a porpoise dressed with furmenty, saffron and sugar. Enormous
-quantities of herrings were consumed, spoken of as Aberdeens; in
-six days of March, Eleanor de Montfort’s household consumed no less
-than 3000. Her meals were diversified by dog-fish, stock-fish,
-conger eels, and cod. Wine was drunk in great quantities,
-frequently mixed with honey. Hops, though known in Flanders, had
-not been introduced; the beer which was largely consumed was made
-of any grain, and seasoned with pepper.
-
-[Sidenote: The House of Commons.]
-
-It was the increasing wealth of the country, especially of the
-mercantile classes, which had caused their introduction to
-Parliament. Thither they came with all the exclusive notions
-which their trade traditions had fostered. They were as careless
-of the class below them as the Barons. Indeed, it would be true
-to say that the feeling of the House of Commons was completely
-aristocratic. One part of it was of necessity entirely so: the
-knights of the shire, originally the representatives of the lower
-baronage, were elected in the county court, which was the general
-meeting-place of all freeholders, whether they held immediately
-from the crown or not. Consequently, the baronial freeholders
-became merged in the lesser freeholders, and the class of gentry
-was created. Many things had tended to the increase of that class.
-The breaking up of great properties, the division of property
-among younger children, and alienation, had increased the number
-of freeholders. The statute “Quia Emptores,” intended as a check
-upon subinfeudation, had really increased alienation by authorizing
-it. The smaller estates, thus separated from the large baronies,
-had to be worked to profit, and could not be regarded merely as
-means of military or political influence. There thus had arisen
-an industrial as well as a military class of landholders. The
-representatives of towns, also elected upon a writ directed to
-the Sheriff, were, if not at first, certainly soon after elected
-in the county courts. This similarity of election united the two
-classes in feeling; and the smaller baronies, small landowners, and
-burghers, formed the body of representative Commons, aristocratic
-in feeling in accordance with the origin of the more aristocratic
-part of the class. It is thus that we find the Commons regarding
-the Barons as their natural leaders, not joining the crown against
-them as in France. Edward III., in his difficulties with Stratford,
-had tried to produce this combination, but had failed; and the
-Commons joining with the Barons, had insisted on the restoration
-to favour of that prelate. And thus, too, we find the Commons
-without sympathy with the demands of the rebels in Wat Tyler’s
-insurrection. They had, indeed, certain grievances of their own,
-on which they were always petitioning, such as the encroachments
-of the King’s purveyors, and the too great authority, sometimes
-misused, of the sheriffs. But apart from these particular wrongs,
-they may be regarded as siding as a whole with the Barons.
-
-[Sidenote: Opposition to the church.]
-
-In their hatred to the Church they made common cause with all
-classes. The peculiar position which the submission of John had
-given the Popes in England was the primary cause of this dislike.
-Annates, or first-fruits, had been early demanded, but the great
-grievance, as we have seen, was Provisors. Against this assumption
-of authority, which forestalled the rights of the patrons, there
-was the strongest feeling. The exactions of the Pope had been
-strongly spoken of in the Statute of Carlisle in the end of
-Edward’s I.’s reign. Edward II., like other weak princes, had
-yielded to this assumption. But in Edward III.’s reign, a series of
-enactments were passed, each one stronger than the last, against
-the interference of the Papacy. In 1343 the Statute of Carlisle had
-been read, and it was enacted that no more Papal instruments should
-be allowed in England. In 1344, the penalty of exile was pronounced
-against all provisors. By a Statute of the 25th year of Edward
-III.’s reign, it was ordained that “kings and all other lords
-were to present unto benefices, of their own or their ancestor’s
-foundation, and not the Pope of Rome.” If the Pope interfered
-the matter was to come into the King’s hands, and penalties were
-enacted. In the 38th year of his reign these enactments were all
-confirmed and strengthened by the Statute of Provisors, by which
-the introduction of Papal Bulls and Briefs was forbidden. The
-strife, as we have seen, was continued in Richard II.’s reign,
-and finally completed in the 16th year of that King, by a statute
-declaring the freedom of the crown of England, which was in earthly
-subjection to no realm, and pronouncing the penalties of the
-Præmunire against all who should purchase or procure any Bulls from
-the Court of Rome; any who were guilty of this should be put out of
-the King’s peace, and forfeit all their property. In Edward III.’s
-reign, also, the annual tribute, or census, as it was called, of
-a thousand marks was left unpaid. At the end of Edward I.’s reign
-17,000 marks had become due. Edward II. paid this, and continued
-throughout his reign to discharge the debt. Edward III. was again
-strong enough to refuse the payment, and in 1366, Urban V. demanded
-the arrears of thirty-three years. The King laid the matter before
-his Parliament, and an instrument was drawn up in the name of the
-King, Lords, and Commons, declaring that John had acted without the
-advice of his realm, and that any demand for the money would be
-resisted to the utmost. It was not again claimed. But it was not
-against the Roman Church only that the popular feeling had been
-aroused. The Church itself had become unpopular. The wealth and
-idleness of the older monastic orders, the spiritual encroachments
-and licentious lives of the new mendicant orders, had excited
-popular anger. The charges against them are humorously summed
-up in the Song of the Order of Fair-ease, a description of an
-imaginary order, to which each existing class of monks subscribes
-a characteristic or two. The monks of Beverley give the habit
-of deep drinking, in which they are joined by the Black Monks;
-the Hospitallers dress well and amble fairly on grey palfreys;
-the Secular Canons are the willing servants of the ladies; the
-Grey Monks are given to licentiousness; while the Friars Minor,
-whose order is founded on poverty, will never lodge with a poor
-man so long as there are richer men to be found. In the same way
-the constant interference of the consistory courts was the cause
-of popular complaint. “Yet there sit somnours, six or seven,
-misjudging all men alike, and reach forth their roll: herdsmen hate
-them, and every man’s servant, for every parish they put in pain.”
-
-[Sidenote: Wicliffe.]
-
-To crown all, the doctrine itself of the Church had begun to be
-questioned. In 1360, the name of Wicliffe first becomes prominent.
-His first attack was upon the mendicant orders, who had contrived
-to get into their hands much of the education of the country. From
-this time onwards he continually waged war against the abuses of
-the Church. The clergy, he urged, should be poor, in imitation
-of Christ. This doctrine he carried out by the establishment
-of an order of poor priests. With regard to the Sacrament, he
-appealed to common sense; and while not yet ready to attack the
-doctrine of Transubstantiation, upheld that the elements taken
-were really bread and wine. But his great work was neither his
-assault on the wealth of the clergy, nor his attack on their
-doctrine, but the translation of the Bible into English, which
-was, in fact, an appeal to private judgment in opposition to
-ecclesiastical authority. His influence was very widespread. His
-poor priests worked largely among the lower orders, and his view
-of the necessity of poverty for the clergy was so in harmony with
-the feelings of the day, that it met with ready acceptance. As has
-been mentioned, the Church was too strong for him. He was obliged,
-when the support of John of Gaunt failed him, to make some sort
-of recantation, and retire to his living of Lutterworth. But his
-disciples are said to have numbered a third of the population of
-England, and when, as was inevitable, social and political views
-were added to their religious doctrines, they became an object of
-dread, not only to the Church, but also to the Government.
-
-[Sidenote: The lower classes.]
-
-It is perhaps in the lower commons that social change is most
-obvious. The great insurrection of Wat Tyler is a sign of something
-more than mere temporary discontent. Agricultural villeinage was
-disappearing, and giving birth to a new class almost peculiar
-to England, the free but landless labourer. The existence of
-this class first comes prominently into notice in the Statute of
-Labourers. In the terrible pestilence of the Black Death which
-had ravaged England, a third, perhaps a half, of the population
-had been carried off. Labour became scarce. The labourers took
-the opportunity of making what we should now call a strike for
-higher wages. Such a demand, however consonant with economical
-principles, was quite repugnant to the feelings of that age, when
-prices were a constant matter of legal enactment. The Statute of
-Labourers, stating in its preamble that servants, taking advantage
-of the necessities of their masters, would not serve except for
-excessive wages, enacted that every able-bodied man should be
-bound to serve any one who required him at the old wages under
-pain of imprisonment; and that every master giving more than the
-old wages should forfeit thrice the sum he had offered. Such an
-ordinance could not be kept; but strenuous efforts were made to
-insist upon it, and again and again in some form or other it was
-re-enacted. But whether successful or not, it shows the existence
-of labour for wages, and of a rising knowledge on the part of the
-labourers of the value of their work. Several causes combined to
-create this labouring class. The early form of agricultural society
-may be roughly described as a village of serfs lying round the
-manor-house of their lord. Each serf had his share in the common
-fields of the village, and was bound to join in the cultivation of
-his lord’s domain or manor farm. For the simple farming at that
-time prevalent this forced labour was sufficient; and the lord
-valued his serfs more for military purposes than as agricultural
-labourers. As subinfeudation and alienation went on, the holders of
-small properties were obliged to work their land to better profit.
-The alienations also were chiefly made from the lord’s domain, but
-it was not usual to part with serfs. Consequently, their number
-increased, while the domain land diminished; there were more hands
-than the lord could employ, and the tenant working for profit could
-therefore find labour among the surplus serfs who would work for
-wages. A change in the character of war took place at the same
-time. The insular condition of England made the feudal arrangement
-with its limited term of service inconvenient; in the highest
-ranks, therefore, military service was changed to scutage or money
-payment, and a large number of dependants became less desirable
-than money; proprietors were willing to work their farms with fewer
-servants and to receive money rent instead of service. There were
-thus at work the two principles which broke down villein labour;
-labour paid by wages, and land held for money rent. The change in
-war had another effect. Armies were raised by contract with some
-great lord. The payment was beyond the ordinary agricultural wages.
-The earl himself received a mark a day, the common foot-soldier,
-3d. or 4d., and the archer, 6d.[80] Anxious to fulfil his contract,
-the leader would not be careful to inquire whether he was enlisting
-serfs or not. On his return from a war, the well-paid soldier would
-be unwilling to fall back into a state of serfdom. He swelled the
-ranks of wage-paid labour. Again, the residence of a year and a day
-uninterrupted within the limits of a borough gave freedom. Serfs,
-seeing the advantage of money payments, fled thither and became
-free. Again, the Church, in whose eyes all men were equal, would
-not refuse to admit them within its ranks; a serf could thus become
-a priest or monk, and withdraw himself from his lord’s power. On
-the same principle, the Church constantly urged the manumission
-of serfs. To all these causes was now added the disarrangement of
-labour consequent on the Black Death. With a general demand for
-labour all superfluous hands would find easy employment, perhaps
-at a considerable distance from their old homes. With a sufficient
-supply himself, the lord would not waste time or money to redeem
-them. We thus see how there may have been a vast number of free
-labourers in England. The Statute of Labourers, destroying their
-freedom of bargain, attempted, though with but partial success, to
-force these free labourers back into a semi-servile condition. But
-they had now joined the ranks of freemen, such as the small farmers
-of Kent, and the unincorporated artisans of towns. The spirit of
-equality fostered by the teaching of the mendicant friars, who had
-reached England in Henry III.’s reign, and who took up their abode
-among the poor city populations, was still further increased by the
-teaching of Wicliffe and his poor priests.
-
- “When Adam delved and Eve span,
- Who was then the gentleman?”
-
-a doggerel couplet frequent in the mouths of the insurgents of
-1382, shows how the lessons of the Bible made public by Wicliffe’s
-translation could be turned in the same direction. The feeling that
-it was the plebeian archer, and not the lordly man-at-arms, who
-had won the great victories in France, and the success with which,
-during the last half century, the smaller trade corporations had
-in the cities forced themselves into an equality with the great
-ones, all led to the same democratic feeling. The lower freemen
-made common cause with the villeins. They had all felt the heavy
-pressure of the tax-gatherer. The popular songs of the day are full
-of wretchedness. One, said to belong to the reign of Edward I. or
-II., speaks thus--
-
-“To seek silver for the King, I sold my seed, wherefore my land
-lies fallow and learns to sleep. Since they fetched my fair cattle
-in my fold, when I think of my old wealth I nearly weep; this
-breeds many bold beggars. There wakes in the world consternation
-and woe, as good is it to perish at once, as so to labour.”[81] The
-democratic outbreak of Wat Tyler was the consequence.
-
-[Sidenote: The nobility.]
-
-While the two sections of the commons were thus rising in social
-position, a change had also taken place in the character of the
-nobility. It may be roughly characterized as the change from
-feudalism to chivalry.[82] Many of the same causes which had
-conduced to the freedom of the labourer had tended to loosen the
-territorial system on which the ancient strength of the nobility
-rested. Especially had the voluntary character of military service
-dealt heavy blows at the practical side of feudalism. Soldiering
-was no longer the necessary duty of every man; but the military
-spirit remained, and to the bulk of the aristocracy fighting became
-a pastime. The subordination of proprietors gave place to a sort
-of system of freemasonry, to which all knights were admitted.
-Knighthood made its holder any man’s equal for actual military
-purposes. It was no longer the great noble, but the good soldier,
-who was the commander. Manny, Chandos, Knowles, all of them simple
-knights, were the generals to whom Edward III. trusted. As an
-amusement war was decked with ostentatious ornament. This is the
-period of showy tournaments, of armorial bearings, and of grotesque
-vows, like that of the young knights who attended Edward with black
-patches over their eyes. It is this chivalrous aspect of war which
-explains the short-lived character of Edward’s expeditions. But it
-had a more important effect. Importance in the country became a
-more personal matter; partly from love of show, partly to produce
-respect, great men began to surround themselves, not with feudal
-followers, but with paid retainers. To these they granted liveries.
-It was a point of honour among these retainers to stand by each
-other and by their chief. Quite in the beginning of Richard II.’s
-reign, the Commons petitioned against these liveries and the bands
-of maintainers,[83] who upheld each other in illegal actions. Thus
-great households, and by degrees factions, were formed, and things
-were ready for the great outbreak of faction fighting, which ended
-in the destruction of the old nobility in the Wars of the Roses.
-
-[Sidenote: Literature.]
-
-The feeling of national life, which is one of the characteristics
-of the time, had shown itself in literature. Public transactions
-were still carried on in French or Latin; but it will be remembered
-that as early as the Provisions of Oxford it had been found
-necessary to publish any important proclamation in English as well.
-Up till that time the languages of the nobility and of the common
-people had been distinct. From that time onwards they begin to
-blend. This, as it happens, can be very well observed. Geoffrey of
-Monmouth wrote a Latin Chronicle of England in 1130. Before the
-end of the century it was versified by two writers; one wrote for
-the nobles and the aristocracy, the other for the common people.
-Master Wace, a native of Jersey, translated Geoffrey for Henry II.
-into Norman-French. Layamon, who wrote about 1180, translated it
-into a language which may be fairly called Anglo-Saxon, although
-of a somewhat degraded type. We have here a perfect division of
-the languages. But about the middle of the next century the same
-work was translated by Robert of Gloucester. In his language there
-is a much nearer approach to English, and a considerable number of
-French words are easily to be traced. Some fifty years afterwards,
-Robert Mannyng, or De Brunne, again rewrote the Chronicle; and
-again the further introduction of French words is striking. We have
-thus means of testing, as it were, at three different points, the
-process of amalgamation that was going forward. The Court language
-still continued to be French, but French not much like the language
-of France, and it was ceasing to be thoroughly understood by the
-bulk of the people. By the time that Chaucer wrote, he could laugh
-at English-French. His Prioress spoke Cockney-French,
-
- “After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe,
- For Frenche of Paris was to hire unknowe.”
-
-And in recommending English writing, he says,--“Certes there ben
-some that speke thyr poysy mater in Frensche, of whyche speche
-the Frensche men have as good a fantasye as we have in hearing of
-Frensche mennes Englyshe.” This indeed was to be expected. From
-the Conquest the language of schools had been French; but in 1356,
-John of Cornwall had begun a change in this habit, and taught Latin
-translation by means of English, and not French. The consequence,
-as described by Trevisa, was, their “avauntage is, that thei
-lerneth her gramer in lasse tyme than children were wont to do;
-desavauntage is, that now children of gramer scole kunneth no more
-Frensch than her lifte heele.” Other signs also point to this
-change. Latin had ceased to be the language of public documents in
-the reign of Edward I. In 1362, in answer it appears to a petition
-from the Commons, the opening address delivered in Parliament
-was in English, and the Commons’ debates in English also. At the
-same time it was ordered that English should be the language of
-courts of law, because the French tongue was too much unknown.
-But it was not till the reign of Richard III. that the statutes
-and rolls of Parliament were written in English. It is probable
-that Parliamentary business continued to be carried on in both
-languages for some time longer. In 1381 English seems to have been
-generally used. There were thus during this period extant three
-languages for literary purposes--Latin, the language of learned men
-and historians; French, an acquired Court language, in which most
-of the legends of chivalry and lengthened rhyming chronicles were
-produced; and the gradually rising English language, which, as the
-popular tongue, was chiefly employed in songs and political satire.
-The earliest form of English poetry was alliterative,--metrical,
-but without rhyme, and depending for its effect upon a certain
-number of words in each couplet beginning with the same letter. But
-rhyme, and not only rhyme, but very easy and varied metres, were
-introduced as early as the reign of Henry III. Not unfrequently
-both principles were blended, and rhyme and alliteration occur
-together. Latin was also employed, we must suppose by the clergy,
-in satirical songs. All classical metres were then discarded, and
-Latin was used as a rhyming language. There are some instances also
-of verses, partly in one language, partly in the other. It may be
-worth while to give an instance of two of these various metres.
-Thus a verse of a song shortly after the battle of Lewes runs
-thus:--
-
- “Sire Simond de Mountfort hath swore bi ys chyn,
- Hevede he nou here the Erl of Waryn,
- Shulde he never more come to is yn,
- Ne with sheld, ne with spere, ne with other gyn
- To help of Wyndesore.
- Richard, thah thou be ever trichard,
- Trichen shalt thou never more.”
-
-This is rhyme, the rhythm is free, and there is a refrain. In
-the following verse, from a satire on the consistory courts,
-alliteration and rhyme go together:--
-
- “Ther sitteth somenours syexe other sevene
- Mysmotinde men alle by here evene,
- Ant recheth forth heore rolle;
- Hyrd-men hem hatieth, ant uch mones hyne,
- For everuch a parosshe heo polketh in pyne,
- Ant clastreth with heore colle.”
-
-The next specimen, from a song on the venality of judges, shows how
-Latin was adapted to modern versification:--
-
- “Sunt justitiarii,
- Quos favor et denarii
- alliciunt a jure;
- Hii sunt nam bene recolo
- Quod censum dant diabolo
- et serviunt hii pure.”
-
-While in the next verse is shown the mixture of two languages; it
-is drawn from a song against the King’s taxes:--
-
- “Une chose est countre foy, unde gens gravatur
- Que la meyté ne vient al roy, in regno quod levatur
- Pur ce qu’il n’ad tot l’enter, prout sibi datur,
- Le pueple doit le plus doner, et sic sincopatur.
- Nam quæ taxantur, regi non omnia dantur.”
-
-These satirical poems are directed against nearly every class of
-society, the monks, the judges, the taxers, the nobility, the
-ladies, the logicians of the university, and even the doctors meet
-with their share of abuse. The democratic spirit which is visible
-in them found a more complete and worthy expression in the poem
-known by the name of the Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman. It
-is supposed to be the work of a poet of the name of Langland. The
-form is allegorical, a form which the great celebrity of the French
-“Romance of the Rose” made permanent both in France and England for
-many years. A pilgrim of quite the lowest rank sees in a vision
-virtues and vices pass before him, and also representatives of
-all the various classes of society. Each in turn is criticised;
-none can lead him in the path of virtue, till Peter the Ploughman
-appears, who, in a religious conversation, shows him the right way.
-His character is one of typical perfection, and becomes confused
-towards the end of the poem with that of Christ. The poem is
-written in alliterative verse, and in English by no means so much
-like our present English as some of the songs that preceded it.
-But at length the time was come for the complete nationalization
-of the language. French was in decay, the popular songs were in
-rude English, and when the union of all classes in Parliament
-had completed the real nationality, any further division of the
-languages was impossible. The junction was effected by Chaucer. He
-set himself intentionally to work to make a compound and national
-tongue. He took for its basis the English; and on it he grafted,
-sometimes in their own form, sometimes in an altered form, vast
-numbers of French words. It is a curious instance of an intentional
-formation of a language. Many words he admitted apparently upon
-trial, and they have been rejected. Others have been somewhat
-changed in form, but in his works we have a language which a
-very little trouble will enable any Englishman to read, and the
-grammar and structure of which, with few exceptions, is like our
-own English. The great work for which he employed this language,
-the “Canterbury Tales,” was well fitted to establish it. While
-the prologue describes every class of English society, each drawn
-with an incomparable delicacy and humour, the tales which form the
-bulk of the work are of every description. Love romances for the
-knights; coarse or farcical incidents for the commonalty; sober
-religious prose for the serious. Compared with this poem, there
-is nothing for more than a century worthy of mention. Gower, who
-wrote at the same time with Chaucer, and in the three languages,
-is wholly deficient in humour, and heavy and prosaic to the last
-degree. His followers in the next century, Lydgate and Occleve,
-were poets by profession and not by inspiration, always ready to
-turn out a poem upon demand. Chaucer was not only the founder of
-the English language, but, before the appearance of Spenser, the
-only great poet whom England produced.
-
-
-
-
-HENRY IV.
-
-1399-1413.
-
- Born 1366 = 1. Mary of Bohun.
- | = 2. Joan of Navarre.
- |
- +------+------+----------+----+---+------------------+
- | | | | | |
- Henry V. | John, Duke | Blanche = Duke |
- | of Bedford. | of Bavaria. |
- | | |
- Thomas, Duke Humphrey, Philippa = King of
- of Clarence. Duke of Denmark.
- Gloucester.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain (Castile)._
- | | |
- Robert III., 1390. | Charles VI., | Wenceslaus, 1378. | Henry III., 1390.
- James I., 1405. | 1380. | Robert, 1400 | John II., 1406.
- | | Sigismund, 1410. |
-
- POPES.--Boniface IX., 1389. Innocent VII., 1404. Gregory XII., 1406.
- Alexander V., 1409. John XXII., 1410.
-
- _Archbishop._ | _Chancellors._
- |
- Thomas Arundel, | John Searle, 1399. Thomas Arundel, 1407.
- 1397. | Edmund Stafford, 1401. Sir Thomas Beaufort, 1409.
- | Cardinal Beaufort, 1403. Thomas Arundel, 1412.
- | Thomas Longley, 1405.
-
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s position in English history. 1399.]
-
-The reign of Richard II., with its strange and rapid revolutions,
-had been the beginning of that great faction fight which was
-concluded a century afterwards by the accession of Henry VII. After
-pursuing during that reign a policy of inconsistent, and even
-treacherous, self-seeking, the Duke of Lancaster now came forward
-as the champion of order. The _coup d’état_ by which he put himself
-on the throne is another of those instances which history has so
-abundantly furnished, of the willing acceptance by a nation, after
-a period of long discomfort, of any one who would bring it rest.
-There are thus two points of view from which to regard his reign.
-It is the reign of a usurper bent upon establishing a dynasty, the
-reign of a conservative who bases his position on the maintenance
-of the existing state of society, and therefore for a time checks
-the natural progress of the nation. The necessity which a usurper
-feels for popularity will explain the improved constitutional
-position of the Commons during the earlier years of his reign;
-his position as a reactionary that attachment to the Church which
-produced the famous statute, “De Hæretico comburendo.”
-
-[Sidenote: Reversal of the acts of the late King.]
-
-[Sidenote: Tumultuous scene in the first Parliament.]
-
-[Sidenote: The King’s insecure position for nine years. 1400.]
-
-The arbitrary character of the government at the close of the
-late King’s reign, and the acts of vengeance which had marked it,
-were the evils which were most prominent at the moment. Henry’s
-first step was of necessity the reversal of these acts, and the
-restoration of the state of things which had existed in 1388. The
-Parliament was therefore induced to declare all the acts of the
-last Parliament null, while those nobles whose adhesion to the late
-King had procured them fresh rank fell back to their old titles.
-Thus, the Dukes of Albemarle, of Surrey, and of Exeter, appear
-again as the Earls of Rutland, Kent, and Huntingdon, the Marquis of
-Dorset as Earl of Somerset. The scene in the House of Lords in the
-first Parliament marks the pitch to which passion had risen, and
-the preparation already made for future civil war. Rutland, the son
-of the Duke of York, was challenged by Lord Fitz-Walter, and when
-Lord Morley, the friend of the new King, challenged Lord Salisbury,
-no less than forty lords threw down their hoods as gages of battle
-on one side or the other. This point is further illustrated by the
-petition of the Commons, that all liveries except those of the King
-should be forbidden. The nobles had been gathering paid retainers
-around them, and getting themselves ready for the threatening
-quarrel. Meanwhile, the King had been crowned, supported by his two
-great partisans--whose names show the great influence of the North
-in the late change of government--Percy, Earl of Northumberland,
-now made Constable of England, and Neville, Earl of Westmoreland,
-with the rank of Marshall. It by no means suited Henry to excite
-remark as to his right. He therefore stepped as quietly as he
-could into the position of his predecessor, and his son Henry
-was declared Prince of Wales and heir-apparent, entirely without
-mention of the young Earl of March, the real heir, who was then a
-child in the custody of the King at Windsor. A grant of a tax on
-wool and leather for three years closed the session, and enabled
-Henry to take measures to secure his position; for it was not to be
-supposed that the party which had lost its influence would calmly
-acknowledge the new King. He was scarcely crowned when plots began
-to be formed against him, nor was it till he had been nine years
-upon the throne that the dangers which assaulted him both from
-his own kingdom and from foreign countries were finally overcome.
-It was during this period of weakness and uncertainty that he had
-to rest principally upon the Commons, who supported him as the
-champion of order against baronial disorder, but did not fail to
-take advantage of his weakness.
-
-[Sidenote: Insurrection of the late Lords Appellant.]
-
-The first of these difficulties arose from those lords who had been
-the appellants against Gloucester, and whose loss of rank has been
-already mentioned. A week before Christmas, 1399, several others
-of the depressed party met at Westminster, and there the Earls of
-Huntingdon, Rutland, Kent, and Salisbury entered into a conspiracy
-for the restoration of Richard. Their plan was to seize the King
-at Windsor, but Rutland, a never-failing traitor, disclosed the
-project to his cousin; the King hastily betook himself to London,
-and the insurgent lords, finding that their plans were discovered,
-fell back towards the West. The King was rapidly pursuing them;
-but at Cirencester, the inhabitants, under their Mayor, surrounded
-their lodgings, took them prisoners, and afterwards beheaded Kent
-and Salisbury. Several escaped for the time, but the same fate at
-length overtook Despenser at Bristol, and Huntingdon at Pleshy in
-Essex. Subsequently, Sir Thomas Blunt and eighteen others were
-executed at Oxford. Among them was a priest, Maudelin by name, who
-had been chosen for his strong personal resemblance to represent
-the late King in the insurrection. That the leaders of this
-conspiracy should have all fallen victims to popular vengeance
-sufficiently shows the feelings of the bulk of the nation with
-regard to King Henry and his rival.
-
-[Sidenote: Imprisonment and secret death of Richard.]
-
-Meanwhile, Richard had been imprisoned in Pontefract Castle. In
-February a report was spread that he was dead. On this the Privy
-Council begged that, if still alive, he might be carefully secured.
-The answer was given that he was already dead, and a corpse was
-exhibited in London, the face of which, from the eyes to the chin,
-was left uncovered, the rest of the body being carefully clothed.
-This peculiar arrangement excited suspicions, which were probably
-groundless, but were further supported by the complete mystery
-which hung over the manner of the King’s death. Hunger and violence
-were both alleged; while some asserted that the corpse exhibited
-was not that of Richard, but of the priest Maudelin.[84]
-
-[Sidenote: Hostile attitude of France and Scotland.]
-
-[Sidenote: Useless and impolitic march into Scotland.]
-
-His domestic enemies for the present silenced, Henry could look
-abroad. He made advances towards friendship with France, but it
-soon became plain that that kingdom was inclined to support the
-cause of the late King, whose young widow, Isabella, was the
-daughter of Charles VI. The title of King of England was refused
-to Henry, Isabella and her dowry demanded, and hostility thus kept
-continually alive. In Scotland, also, the same feeling showed
-itself. The King, Robert III., was confined by weakness of body
-and mind almost exclusively to the Isle of Bute; his brother, the
-Duke of Albany, was the real ruler of the country. Henry, who had a
-party in the country, and at whose court Dunbar, the Earl of March,
-the chief enemy of the Douglas family, was resident, thought it
-desirable to show his power. He therefore marched as far as Leith,
-demanding homage from the Scotch King similar to that claimed by
-his predecessors, but the Duke of Rothesay, heir-apparent, held
-firm in the Castle of Edinburgh, and want of provisions speedily
-obliged the English to beat a somewhat hasty retreat. As in the
-case of France, this transaction with Scotland established a
-constant hostility.
-
-[Sidenote: Insurrection in Wales. Owen Glendower. 1400.]
-
-In the other dependency of England affairs were still worse. Owen
-Glendower, a Welsh gentleman of good family educated in England,
-incensed at the rejection of a suit about a certain property
-of Lord Grey of Ruthyn, had roused the national animosity, and
-claimed for himself the title of Prince of Wales. For the present
-Henry could do nothing effective against him. The war assumed a
-national character; the Welsh were expelled from the towns in the
-Marches. Edward I.’s statutes against the Welsh were re-enacted,
-even including that which ordered the destruction of the bards.
-The conduct of the war was placed nominally in the hands of Henry,
-Prince of Wales, a lad of thirteen. But the whole of the following
-year Glendower’s successes continued. Grey of Ruthyn and Edward
-Mortimer, uncle of the imprisoned Prince, the Earl of March,
-were taken prisoners, and an expedition undertaken by Henry in
-person towards the close of the year was forced to retire from the
-mountainous strongholds of the Welsh. The storms and snowdrifts
-seemed to fight against them in that wild district, and gave rise
-to the belief that Glendower was a magician.
-
-[Sidenote: Quarrel with the Percies. 1402.]
-
-[Sidenote: The pretended Richard.]
-
-[Sidenote: Causes of the quarrel with Northumberland.]
-
-Could these various enemies but find some powerful adherents in
-England, it was plain that Henry’s position would be precarious. A
-quarrel with those who had hitherto been his chief supporters, the
-Percies of Northumberland, supplied this element of danger; while
-a strange report, that the late King was still alive in Scotland,
-gave a central point round which all Henry’s enemies might gather.
-About Whitsuntide, in 1402, the rumour reached England that Richard
-had escaped from Pontefract, and had made his appearance at the
-house of the Lord of the Isles, by whom he was handed over to the
-Court, and there kept so strictly that no man could get sight of
-him. The existence of such a pretender was certain. It was in vain
-that Henry attempted to suppress the rumour by executions; in
-vain that he even proceeded to execute certain Franciscan monks
-who had been engaged in spreading it. The secrecy which covered
-Richard’s death, and which for some reason Henry could not break,
-prevented any clear proof of the imposture. The false Richard is
-believed to have been a man of weak intellect, called Thomas Ward
-of Trumpington. The reason of the King’s quarrel with the Percies
-is by no means clear, but various causes of discontent can be
-shown. The Duke of Albany, after much fighting on the borders, had
-made an expedition on a large scale against Carlisle. On its return
-home, the army, heavily laden with booty, was met by the Percies,
-and defeated at Homildon Hill. The defeat was complete; many Scotch
-nobles fell into the hands of the English, among them Murdoch,
-Earl of Fife, the son and heir of the Earl of Albany, and Douglas,
-Earl of Angus. For such prisoners the Percies expected a large
-ransom. Their anger and disappointment was great when the King took
-Murdoch from them and claimed the ransom of the rest. A somewhat
-similar affair took place in Wales. Of Glendower’s great prisoners,
-Grey of Ruthyn was allowed to ransom himself, a privilege refused
-to Mortimer; when the younger Percy, Hotspur, who had married
-Mortimer’s sister, urged his claim, he met with a rebuff. The King
-also owed the Percies large sums of money; £20,000 was due to
-them, which the entanglement of the finances made it impossible
-to pay. The general feeling that they had been badly rewarded for
-the invaluable assistance they had afforded Henry, acting upon the
-unusually hot temper of the younger Percy, drove them into a change
-of policy.
-
-[Sidenote: The Percies combine with Glendower.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Shrewsbury. July 23, 1403.]
-
-[Sidenote: Submission of Northumberland. 1404.]
-
-Before the end of the year 1402, they entered into negotiations
-with Glendower; and Mortimer, instead of attempting to gain
-his liberty, married the daughter of the insurgent chief, and
-recognized him as Prince of Wales. The Percies at the same time
-gained the assistance of their prisoner Douglas, and the conspiracy
-was completed by the support given to Glendower by France. On
-all sides the King’s difficulties seemed to increase. The Earl of
-Worcester joined the Percies; Richard’s old followers crowded to
-their standard, and an army, insidiously collected as though for
-an attack on Scotland, rapidly marched on Shrewsbury to make a
-junction with the Welsh. Thither Henry, with his son the Prince of
-Wales, hastened, and the decisive battle of Shrewsbury was fought,
-in which, after a keen struggle, Hotspur was killed, and most of
-the other leaders, including Worcester and Douglas, captured.
-Worcester and the other English leaders were beheaded; Douglas was
-retained in prison. The King had still to destroy the insurrection
-of the elder Percies in the North, where all the inhabitants of the
-country had taken the crescent--the livery of Northumberland. The
-royal army was, however, obviously too strong for opposition, and
-the Earl made his submission, and met the King at York. The House
-of Peers claimed as a right the trial of their fellow, and he was
-found guilty, not of high treason, but only of misdemeanour, and
-let off with a fine.
-
-[Sidenote: Widespread conspiracy.]
-
-[Sidenote: Flight of the young Earl of March. 1405.]
-
-The great conspiracy was thus but half broken. Wales, Scotland,
-France, and the English malcontents were still in communication.
-From France, indeed, serious difficulties seemed to threaten. In
-presence of the weakness of Charles VI., the King of that country,
-the real power was disputed by his brother Louis of Orleans and
-his uncle the Duke of Burgundy. Louis had at this time the upper
-hand. He took in great dudgeon the events which had taken place in
-England; and rumours were abroad, strengthened by the distribution
-among the malcontents of Richard’s crest by the old Countess of
-Oxford, the mother of De Vere, the late King’s favourite. These
-rumours pointed to a great conspiracy, coupled with an invasion of
-Essex by France, in favour of the spurious Richard in Scotland. For
-a time the threat of invasion compelled the King to remain quiet;
-but after the French fleet, which had attacked the Isle of Wight
-and Plymouth, had been defeated at Portland, he was able to turn
-his attention to the North, and again to compel Northumberland
-to come to an explanation. But that explanation he found himself
-obliged to accept. Almost at the same time a fresh alarm met him.
-Lady Constance Spenser had contrived to withdraw the young Earl of
-March from Windsor, and to fly with him. She was shortly captured,
-and the young Prince brought back, but it was plain that the danger
-was great.
-
-[Sidenote: Renewed activity of Northumberland, Scrope and Mowbray.]
-
-In April the King went against Wales. His absence in that
-direction was at once taken advantage of by his northern enemies.
-The difficulty with which he could secure supplies was one of
-Henry’s main obstacles to success, and in the last Parliament the
-opposition had been headed by Sir Thomas Bardolph. That gentleman
-now appeared in close conjunction with Northumberland, assisting
-him to garrison his fortresses. At the same time Mowbray, the son
-of that Duke of Norfolk with whom Henry had quarrelled at the
-time of his banishment, and Scrope, the Archbishop of York, the
-brother of that Lord Scrope who had been Richard’s chancellor at
-the beginning of his reign, and whom that King had been forced to
-remove, joined the insurrection. The Earl of Westmoreland, who
-remained constantly faithful to Henry, was sent against them while
-Henry was engaged in Wales. Again, the royal army was too strong
-for the insurgents. Scrope and Mowbray were induced to disband
-their forces, and were then immediately apprehended. Gascoigne,
-the chief justice, was called upon to try them and convict them
-summarily. He was one of those constitutional lawyers who were
-gradually rising in England, and he refused to do so, pointing
-out that he should infringe the liberties both of the Church and
-the House of Lords. Henry found in Sir William Fulthorpe a more
-complacent judge. They were both beheaded, not without arousing, as
-Gascoigne had foreseen, the anger of the Lords. Upon the capture of
-his confederates, Northumberland fled with Bardolph to Scotland,
-but being refused an interview with the impostor, and mistrusting
-the honesty of Albany, he subsequently withdrew to Wales. It was
-there alone that the war continued, nor was it finally suppressed
-during the reign.
-
-[Sidenote: Events which secured Henry’s triumph. 1406.]
-
-[Sidenote: Capture of James of Scotland.]
-
-[Sidenote: Murder of Orleans. 1407.]
-
-[Sidenote: Final defeat and death of Northumberland.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s improved position.]
-
-But, in the next two years, events occurred which at length
-placed Henry in a position of security. The friends of the Scotch
-King, fearing the ambition of Albany, which had already induced
-him to take the life of the Duke of Rothesay, the heir-apparent,
-determined to withdraw James, the King’s second son and
-heir-apparent, from danger. He therefore took ship for France, but
-on the way was captured by English cruisers, and brought a prisoner
-to Henry, who grimly remarked that they might as well have sent him
-direct to him, as he could have taught him French quite well. He
-justified this boast; for though he kept the young Prince prisoner,
-he gave him an education which, upon his subsequent release, well
-fitted him for the throne he occupied. Henry had now in his hands
-pledges of safety from all his enemies. The Earl of March was
-still with him; Murdoch of Fife, Albany’s son, served as a hostage
-for his father; while James served as security from all attacks
-from the royalist party in Scotland. The following year (1407)
-was still more fortunate. The overweening vanity of Orleans, his
-licentiousness, which, it is said, did not even spare the young
-Duchess of Burgundy, excited the anger of the Duke of Burgundy,
-the King’s cousin, to such a degree, that he caused the Duke of
-Orleans to be murdered in the streets of Paris. Henry’s chief
-enemy in France was thus removed. With Burgundy, who had lately
-inherited Flanders, and thus become the Prince of a trading nation
-and the champion of the city populations, he had much in common;
-and though he did not espouse his cause in any active manner, he
-felt secure from any immediate danger. Without his French allies,
-Owen Glendower was gradually driven back to the mountains of North
-Wales, and in despair, Northumberland and Bardolph again appeared
-in the North, took arms, and were defeated and killed at Bramham.
-Thus safe on the side of France, with Scotland pledged to peace by
-the captivity of its princes, the Percies finally defeated, and
-Owen Glendower confined to the limits of the purely Celtic part of
-Wales, Henry was at length triumphant.
-
-[Sidenote: His enforced respect for the Commons.]
-
-[Sidenote: Climax of their power. 1407.]
-
-During the whole of these years of difficulty, the King had found
-it necessary to keep the Commons in good temper. Although he
-suffered from constant want of money, and in vain tried to induce
-his frequent Parliaments to act liberally towards him, he seems
-on no occasion to have employed illegal means for improving his
-position. It had become an accepted axiom, that consent of all the
-estates of the realm was necessary for the levying of taxes; and
-the Commons had made their position so good, that, in the very year
-of his final triumph, they ventured upon a quarrel with the Lords,
-claiming for themselves the exclusive right of originating grants,
-and insisting on the absence of the King while they were discussed.
-More than that, they had attempted, though unsuccessfully, to
-oblige the King to answer their petition of grievances before
-they made their grant, and succeeded in establishing the custom
-of appropriating their grants to special objects, and of paying
-them into the hands of treasurers of their own appointment. But
-their increase of power was chiefly visible in their interference
-with the royal expenditure and administration. In the fifth
-year of his reign, the King had been obliged to displace four
-of his ministers at the request of the Commons, to declare his
-intention of governing economically according to law, and to name
-his Privy Council in Parliament. And in the eighth year of his
-reign, when already he seemed upon the point of triumphing over
-his enemies, he was compelled to grant his assent to a petition
-of the Commons, which put as strict limitations upon his power as
-any to which Richard, even at the time of his greatest depression,
-had submitted. He had to name sixteen counsellors, by whose advice
-solely he was to be guided. His ordinary revenue was to be wholly
-appropriated to his household and the payment of his debts. No
-officer of the household was to hold his place for life or for a
-fixed term. The council was to determine nothing which the common
-law was capable of determining; and the elections of knights were
-regulated. At the head of this council was put the Prince of Wales.
-
-[Sidenote: Explained by the King’s failing health.]
-
-[Sidenote: Renewed vigour at end of reign.]
-
-It is difficult to understand how the King should submit to this
-arrangement, which virtually established a strictly limited
-monarchy, just at the moment of his success. It is perhaps
-explained by his failing health. A disease had attacked his face,
-which changed into a form of leprosy, and during the remainder
-of his life he was subject to attacks of epilepsy. It was not
-unnatural that he should wish to withdraw somewhat from public
-affairs. Under these circumstances, it is not quite clear how far
-he is to be credited with the remaining events of his reign. But
-the prudence and state-craft exhibited in them, which could hardly
-have been expected from so young a man as Prince Henry, and the
-more vigorous opposition which he subsequently made to the demands
-of the Commons, would seem to show that he was still practically
-ruler. This restoration of vigour is marked by his refusal, towards
-the close of his reign, to grant any extension of the right of
-liberty of speech, and by the humble tone adopted by the Parliament
-in the thirteenth year of his reign, when he was entreated to
-declare that he was not offended, and that he regarded them as his
-loyal subjects.
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s foreign policy. Marriages.]
-
-Having secured his position at home, though not, as has been
-seen, without some sacrifices, the King’s attention was chiefly
-directed towards securing the permanence of his dynasty by foreign
-matrimonial alliances, and to obtaining a strong position abroad
-by interfering in French politics. His two sisters were already
-respectively Queens of Castile and Portugal. He had himself
-married, in 1403, a Princess of Navarre. As a husband for his
-eldest daughter he procured Louis, Count Palatine, the son and heir
-of Rupert, King of the Romans; while his younger daughter married
-Eric, who had consolidated a great Scandinavian monarchy in the
-North.
-
-[Sidenote: Policy in France. 1410.]
-
-[Sidenote: Success of his policy.]
-
-In France he made his weight felt by alternately siding with one or
-other of the great parties which divided that kingdom. His natural
-connection would have been the Burgundians; and he first attached
-himself so far to that party as to send a considerable army to
-their assistance. A battle fought near St. Cloud (1411), in which
-the Armagnacs (as the friends of Orleans were now called) were
-worsted, for the time rendered the Duke of Burgundy the master of
-France. Henry chose this opportunity to change sides, and entered
-into an arrangement with the defeated princes, by which he was
-secured the full possession of Guienne. He intended at the same
-time to have led an army into France, and to have imitated the
-career of Edward III. The national danger produced a temporary
-friendship between the French parties, and Burgundy, at a meeting
-held at Auxerre, succeeded in persuading the Armagnacs to annul
-their arrangement with the English. Henry’s health prevented him
-from leading the expedition, as he intended; but an army, under the
-Duke of Clarence, his second son, laid waste Maine and Touraine,
-and was only stopped by the payment of a large sum of money. After
-this Clarence withdrew to complete the conquest of Guienne. Thus,
-though unable to fulfil his ambitious project of invasion, Henry
-had contrived to make his position abroad very different from what
-it was at the beginning of his reign, when the French could refuse
-him the royal title, and paralyze his home policy by a threat of
-invasion.
-
-[Sidenote: His alliance with the Church.]
-
-[Sidenote: Persecuting statute. 1401.]
-
-[Sidenote: Views of the nation with regard to the Church.]
-
-From one point of view, as a usurper founding a new dynasty, he had
-now been quite successful. As a preserver of society, he probably
-regarded himself as not less so. Though the son of John of Gaunt,
-the favourer of Wicliffe, and not averse in his youth to the
-doctrines of that teacher, he had seen that Lollardism pointed,
-not only to ecclesiastical, but to political changes. From the
-beginning of the reign he had determined that the preservation of
-the Church in all its privileges and possessions was the surest
-means of checking the rising democracy. He had therefore been
-always its staunch supporter. In pursuance of this policy, in the
-second year of his reign, he had given his assent to a persecuting
-statute, formed, it seems probable, on the petition of the clergy,
-without the participation of the Commons. This statute, which is
-known under the title of “De Hæretico comburendo,” forbade teaching
-and preaching without the license of a bishop, to whom also was
-given the right of condemning heretical books and writings, while
-the State undertook to carry out the bishop’s sentence. Should any
-person thus condemned continue in his heresy, he was to be regarded
-as relapsed, and handed over to the civil arm, to be publicly
-burned. The first victim of this statute was William Sautré, at
-one time parish priest of Lynn, and involved in the treason of
-Kent and Huntingdon. On his persisting in the errors with which he
-was charged, the new law was carried into effect. The persecution
-once begun did not cease without more victims, and produced the
-effect, so common in cases of persecution, of driving the Lollards
-into further extremes of fanaticism. The germ of socialism which
-no doubt existed in the Lollard doctrine, and which showed itself
-in the constant demand for the abolition of the wealth of the
-clergy, alarmed the barons, and made them strong supporters of
-orthodoxy. The Commons, on the other hand, although they appear
-to have differed in feeling at different parts of the reign, were
-on the whole willing enough, while supporting orthodoxy of faith,
-to countenance the secularization of Church property. Indeed,
-they went so far in this direction, that in the year 1410, in
-answer to the reiterated request of the King for a settled yearly
-subsidy for his life, they pointed out to him the advisability of
-appropriating some of the ecclesiastical revenues, which would
-be enough, they said, to supply him with 15 earls, 1500 knights,
-and 6200 men-at-arms for military service. They begged also that
-those condemned for heresy might be withdrawn from the bishop’s
-jurisdiction, and tried by secular courts.[85]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s jealousy of the Prince of Wales.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s death.]
-
-The popularity of the Prince of Wales, his position as head of his
-father’s Council, not unnaturally gave the King some uneasiness
-in his last years. It seems not improbable that, having been once
-put at the head of the Council, he virtually performed many of the
-duties of the Government. Documents are extant in which he seems
-to be regarded as the King’s representative. Moreover, the course
-of events seems to show certain changes of policy which can be
-explained in this way. It is evident from his after policy, that
-he was much attached to the Burgundian party in France. We may
-therefore credit him with the assistance sent to them, which proved
-so useful to them at the Battle of St. Cloud, especially as the
-force was commanded by his friend, Sir John Oldcastle. The sudden
-change of foreign policy coincides in time with the King’s altered
-tone in replying to the petitions of the Commons. These changes
-may very probably mark a determination on the part of the King to
-re-establish his authority, too much weakened by the position and
-popularity of the Prince. The stories of the Prince’s wild life
-in London are mentioned by writers who are almost contemporary,
-yet do not seem to agree well with what is certainly known of his
-industry in public business. They, as well as the strange travesty
-of Oldcastle, a good soldier and stern religious enthusiast,
-into Shakspeare’s jovial knight, Sir John Falstaff, are perhaps
-based on the malicious view taken by the orthodox of Oldcastle’s
-religious tendencies. It is well known that one of the charges
-alleged against all enthusiastic religionists is immorality. Prince
-Henry’s subsequent prosecution and punishment of Oldcastle would be
-represented as the discharge of his old favourites. The aspiring
-and dangerous character of the Prince, in the eyes of his father,
-is represented by the story which describes him as having taken
-the crown from his father’s bedside during one of his fits, and
-placed it on his own head; and having answered to the remorseful
-observations of the King as to the unjust manner in which he had
-gained it, that he “was prepared to guard it against the world in
-arms.” It is at all events certain that coolness existed between
-father and son at the close of the reign. The French expedition was
-intrusted, not to the Prince of Wales, but to the Duke of Clarence,
-and for the last year and a half Prince Henry was removed from his
-position as President of the Council. The disease which had so long
-tormented Henry came to a fatal termination on the 20th of March
-1413.
-
-
-
-
-HENRY V.
-
-1413-1422.
-
- Born 1388 = Catherine of France.
- |
- Henry VI.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- James I., 1405. | Charles VI., 1380. | Sigismund, 1410. | John II., 1406.
-
- POPES.--John XXII., 1410. Martin V., 1417.
-
- _Archbishops._ | _Chancellors._
- |
- Thomas Arundel, 1397. | Cardinal Beaufort, 1413.
- Henry Chicheley, 1414. | Thomas Longley, 1417.
-
-
-[Sidenote: Fortunate opening of his reign. 1413.]
-
-The position of Henry V. on coming to the throne contrasts sharply
-with that of his predecessor. Henry IV., with disputed title,
-and in the midst of excited passions of faction, in which he had
-himself taken a prominent share, had to work out for himself the
-establishment of his dynasty and the restoration of political
-order. His son entered into the fruits of his labour. He had but
-to continue his father’s policy. The dynasty seemed secure, the
-apparatus of government was in good working order, and the new
-King, already practised in the work of government, brought with him
-that popularity which brilliant qualities, a handsome person, and
-the vigour of youth, are sure to secure. The painstaking prudence
-of the late King, overshadowed as it was by his ill-health and
-gloomy character, was forgotten, and the hopes of the nation were
-fixed upon the fortunate youth whose faults as yet had been but
-those which are easily pardoned as the natural wildness incident to
-his age.
-
-[Sidenote: General amnesty and release of prisoners.]
-
-The young King seemed to please himself with the idea that his
-peaceful accession was to complete the healing of faction in the
-country, and to begin a period of glory and happiness. He made
-but few changes in the ministry of his father, but both Thomas
-Arundel, the Archbishop, and Sir William Gascoigne were removed
-from their offices. It is possible that they may have been the
-advisers of the late King during that period when he was at enmity
-with his son. Already, before his coronation, of their own free
-will the nobles did him homage; and his Parliament granted him
-without difficulty the tax on wool for four years. To complete the
-general harmony, he published an amnesty, dismissed many political
-prisoners, and the greater part of his Scottish captives, and
-entered into negotiations for the liberty of the Scotch King.
-He even went so far as to reinstate both the Earl of March, the
-real claimant to the throne, and Henry Percy, son of Hotspur, his
-father’s persistent enemy, in their property and position. The body
-of Richard II. was removed from Langley, and honourably interred in
-Westminster. The past was, as it were, to be forgotten, and Henry
-would rule as the popular and accepted King of all parties.
-
-[Sidenote: Signs of slumbering discontent.]
-
-[Sidenote: The Lollards. 1414.]
-
-In the midst of this show of security and peace there were,
-however, visible signs that his father’s work was not yet
-completed. The royal favour shown to the Church and to the orthodox
-party during the last reign, and the persecution which had fallen
-upon heresy, had not by any means destroyed the Lollards. The
-same policy had still to be pursued. The religious, it might be
-called the bigoted, tendency of the house of Lancaster was very
-strong in the young King. He had been one of the chief petitioners
-against heresy in 1406, and had shared in and superintended
-some of the religious executions; especially is mentioned that
-of John Badby, in 1410. The Prince had interrupted this man’s
-execution, and attempted the conversion of the half-burnt
-sufferer; finding him firm, however, he allowed the execution
-to be completed. This tendency induced him to enter into close
-alliance with the Church, and throughout his reign to adopt the
-language of religious enthusiasm, pretending to regard himself
-as the appointed instrument of God’s vengeance on the sins of
-the French. He thus became the willing agent of the clergy in
-completing their persecution of the sectarians, and listened
-readily to the exaggerated reports for which the conduct of the
-Lollards afforded some ground. The head of this party was now Sir
-John Oldcastle, who sat as a Peer in right of his wife under the
-title of Lord Cobham. His castle of Cowling, in Kent, afforded
-shelter to their persecuted teachers, while his high character and
-old friendship with the King made his influence important. The
-Archbishop determined to attack this man, at first pretending that
-he desired his conversion only. He placed in Henry’s hands an
-heretical book which had been found in an illuminator’s shop, and
-which belonged to Oldcastle. Henry tried first of all to argue with
-Oldcastle (who, however, denied having read the book), but could
-not convert him. The duties of friendship being now fulfilled, the
-Church was allowed to take the matter in hand. The heretic appeared
-several times before his judges, but firmly refused to depart from
-his points, that the Pope was Antichrist, and that in the Lord’s
-Supper, though the body of Christ might be present, yet the bread
-was bread. This firmness produced the only possible result, and he
-was condemned to be burnt; but in the interval allowed him before
-the completion of his sentence, he managed to escape.[86]
-
-The attack upon their chief roused the Lollards, and they are
-said to have entered into a general conspiracy for surprising
-and mastering the King and his brothers at Eltham, during the
-festivities of Christmas. Henry had early news of a meeting which
-was to be held on the 7th of January 1414, in St. Giles’ Fields.
-It is quite unproved how far the intentions of the conspirators
-really reached. Henry, with the Church behind him, was ready to
-believe anything. He feared, perhaps, an insurrection similar
-to Wat Tyler’s. Causing, therefore, the gates of the city to be
-closed, he spread armed men round the place of meeting, and as the
-Lollards approached, singly or in small bodies, they were seized.
-The news that the King’s forces were abroad soon spread, and
-prevented any great number from falling into his hands. A jury was
-hastily summoned to declare that Oldcastle had treasonable plans,
-and a price was set on his head. The same jury then proceeded to
-try the thirty-nine prisoners, all of whom were either hanged or
-burnt. This event was followed by a still stricter proscription of
-heretical preachers and books. Chicheley, who succeeded Arundel as
-Archbishop this year, followed in his predecessor’s steps, and a
-statute was passed by which all judges and municipal authorities
-were bidden to apprehend and try Lollards, while conviction of
-heresy entailed confiscation of goods.
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s reasons for the impolitic French war.]
-
-Henry prided himself on having won his first victory in the cause
-of the Church; but his naturally ambitious character led him to
-desire triumphs of another kind. It seems indeed as if a strange
-combination of motives impelled him to take the false step which
-gave the character to his reign, and plunged the country into a
-lengthy and ultimately disastrous war with France. His father is
-said to have urged him, with mistaken worldly wisdom, to withdraw
-the minds of his subjects from dangerous topics by filling them
-with thoughts of military glory. The Church, frightened by the
-suggestions of confiscation in the last reign, urged him to pursue
-the same course. The natural but mistaken admiration for military
-glory induced him to listen readily to their advice, while the
-wickedness and misery exhibited by the French nation at once
-afforded him an admirable opportunity, and may have suggested to
-his fanatical mind, that it was his duty to punish such vice, and
-to reduce such turbulence into order. Experience proved, as it
-often has proved, the mistake, nay, the wickedness, of averting
-domestic dangers by the wanton pursuit of warlike success.
-Meanwhile, at first, and during the whole of this King’s short
-life, the step seemed perfectly successful. The reign, as a period
-of English history, is almost devoid of interest. The attention of
-the nation was centred in a French war.
-
-[Sidenote: Expulsion of the Burgundians from Paris.]
-
-[Sidenote: Attempt at national government.]
-
-Since the Duke of Clarence had secured Guienne the state of France
-had become only more deplorable. The Treaty of Auxerre produced
-no real union between the factions. There was a certain show of
-national action under the pressure of a threatened invasion from
-England; the King and the Great Council of France sat in Paris;
-the States General were summoned, and under the influence of the
-University certain reforms introduced. But the death of Henry IV.
-prevented for the time all danger of invasion; and the cause of
-union being removed, the factions again separated. The Duke de
-Guienne, the French King’s eldest son, and representative of the
-crown during his father’s fits of madness, was devoted to the
-wildest licentiousness, and disliked his gloomy father-in-law,
-John of Burgundy. He began to intrigue for the restoration of the
-Orleanist Princes. The ruffianly populace of Paris, headed by the
-guild of butchers, and led by Caboche, a skinner, were devotedly
-attached to the Burgundians. A fierce and murderous uproar arose;
-but its violence was such, that the better class of citizens were
-aroused, expelled the Cabochiens, who fled to the Duke of Burgundy,
-and readmitted the Armagnacs, as the Orleanists were now called.
-The counter-revolution was complete, the Armagnacs got possession
-of the government, attacked the Burgundian Duke, and drove him
-before them, till they were checked at Arras. A temporary truce was
-then patched up; but the Duke of Guienne soon after contrived for
-a moment to banish both parties from the capital, and to establish
-a sort of national government.
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s double diplomacy and outrageous claims.]
-
-It was at this time that Henry V. began to meddle in French
-affairs. Already, during the retreat to Arras, Burgundy had opened
-negotiations with him, and these, in his anger against the Duke
-of Guienne, he now pressed still more warmly. Meanwhile, Henry
-negotiated also with the central authority in Paris. By this double
-negotiation, which included a plan for the marriage of Henry, on
-the one hand, with Catherine of France, and on the other, with
-Catherine of Burgundy, Henry made Burgundy neutral, while he
-pressed claims on the unfortunate French monarch of so outrageous a
-description, that he must have intended by securing their rejection
-to give himself a plausible ground for war. His first demand was
-nothing less than the cession of the whole French monarchy. When
-this was refused, his ambassadors restricted their demand to all
-the countries ceded to Edward III. by the Peace of Brétigny, as
-well as Normandy, the coast of Picardy, Anjou, Maine and Touraine,
-the suzerainty of Brittany and Flanders, 1,600,000 crowns, as
-the residue of King John’s ransom, with the hand of the Princess
-Catherine, and a dowry of 2,000,000 crowns. The Duke of Berri, the
-King’s uncle, was at that time the chief member of the government.
-He naturally refused Henry’s enormous demands, but offered all the
-districts of Aquitaine to the south of the Charente, and 600,000
-crowns as dowry for the Princess.
-
-[Sidenote: His preparations.]
-
-All this while, Henry continued his preparations, raised troops,
-borrowed ships from Holland and Zeeland, and summoned in April a
-great council of Peers.[87] He there declared his intention of
-seeking his rights in France, appointed his brother John, Duke of
-Bedford, Lieutenant of the kingdom, and fixed the conditions of
-the contracts which he made with nobles for supplying him with
-soldiers.[88] He arranged also the manner in which the spoil was
-to be divided, and other details for the supply of the army. The
-devotion of the Church was to supply him with the means of meeting
-these vast expenses. Archbishop Chicheley and the Churchmen,
-fearing, no doubt, the democratic tendencies of the Commons, were
-willing to make some sacrifice. They agreed that no foreigners
-should hold benefices, and thus allowed the King to use the incomes
-of all the priories of the foreign orders of the kingdom to the
-number of 122. The proceeds of this transaction, increased by
-loans from foreigners, the pawning of his jewels, and the pledging
-of the tax on wool, supplied him with finances. An embassy from
-France, with still larger offers, including Limousin, and a dowry
-of 800,000 crowns, produced no improvement in the relations between
-the two countries.
-
-[Sidenote: He lands in France. 1415.]
-
-Before Charles VI. could reply to the despatch of his ambassador,
-announcing the rejection of these terms, on the 3rd of August, the
-English army, of about 6000 men-at-arms and 24,000 archers, was
-already embarked. On the 14th of August it landed at the mouth of
-the Seine, where Havre de Grace now is. No steps were taken to
-prevent the disembarkation. The kingdom was in a state of fearful
-misery and disorder. The conduct of the war was given to the
-Armagnacs, Charles d’Albret was appointed constable; the Duke of
-Burgundy therefore held aloof, and the English had, in fact, only
-one half of the country against them.
-
-[Sidenote: Conspiracy of Cambridge.]
-
-An event had occurred before the English embarkation which, by
-proving to the King that his position was not so secure as he
-thought, may have made him still more determined in his present
-course. He was engaged at Southampton preparing his expedition,
-when a conspiracy was discovered, in which the King’s cousin
-Richard, brother of the Duke of York, and lately created Earl of
-Cambridge, and one of his most trusted counsellors, Henry Scrope
-of Masham, were implicated. They were accused of an intention to
-take Edmund, Earl of March, with them into Wales, to crown him
-there, and declare him rightful King, if Richard were really dead.
-They had also summoned from Scotland Thomas of Trumpington, the
-false Richard. The Earl of Cambridge had married Ann of Mortimer,
-the sister of the Earl of March. We have here the beginning of
-that close union between the supporters of the legitimate line and
-the House of York, which again appears in the Wars of the Roses.
-Cambridge and Scrope were both executed.
-
-[Sidenote: Capture of Harfleur.]
-
-The first place to be attacked was Harfleur; it was bravely
-defended by the garrison under the Sire d’Estouteville. The
-inhabitants were told by the Court to take courage and trust to
-the King, but no help was sent them, though 14,000 or 15,000 men
-were within reach. On the 22nd of September they were compelled to
-capitulate. The conquered town was treated as Calais had been; the
-wealthier inhabitants were put to ransom, the goods seized, the
-people given their choice of leaving the city or becoming English.
-But this success had been hardly earned, the losses both by
-sickness and in fighting had been great. A large number of invalids
-had to be sent back to England. With little more than half his
-army Henry could venture no further into France. He determined
-to march along the coast to Calais. The strictest discipline was
-maintained in the little band, and the King strove to foster in
-it a religious and enthusiastic spirit; pillage was punished with
-death; rations only were demanded from the inhabitants.
-
-[Sidenote: Henry compelled to retire upon Calais.]
-
-Henry had intended to cross the Somme at Blanchetaque, where Edward
-III. had passed it. False information was brought him that the ford
-was guarded. In reality, the feudal army was as yet only collecting
-near Abbeville, around the standard of the Constable d’Albret, a
-man but little fitted for his post. Had Henry passed at once he
-might have reached Calais without a great battle; as it was, he was
-compelled to follow the river upwards, and time was afforded to the
-French to collect their forces, and seek their own destruction in
-a pitched battle. Henry sought a ford across the river for a long
-time in vain. He passed Amiens, and had got within a league of
-Ham, in a very dangerous position among the strong fortresses of
-Ham, St. Quentin and Péronne, when at length a ford was discovered
-near Béthancourt. The Constable, who was at Péronne, might have
-destroyed him in the passage. He let him pass unmolested. Following
-feudal fashion, he sent to ask Henry to name a day and place for
-the battle; but whatever external chivalry may have been visible in
-Henry, his military character was that of a hard, practical, modern
-soldier. He answered that there was no need to name day or place,
-as he was always to be found in the open fields. For four days the
-armies followed almost parallel lines of march, the French making
-no use of their superiority in numbers to disturb the quiet advance
-of the English, although they spread nightly among the villages for
-shelter. At length the Constable, with singular want of prudence,
-took up his position a little to the north of Hesdin and Cressy, on
-a small confined plain, where his large army, of at least 50,000
-fighting men, was jammed in between two woods. This force consisted
-almost entirely of nobles and their feudal followers, who in their
-foolish pride of class had rejected the assistance of the infantry
-of the towns. The ground was arable land, and the soil deep and
-heavy, so that the heavy armed French in their splendid harness
-sank deep at every step, while the English, clad mostly in leather
-jerkins, and many of them barefoot, moved with comparative ease.
-The night, we are told, was passed in riot by the French; in sober
-preparation or religious exercise by the English.
-
-[Illustration: AGINCOURT.
-
-_October 25. 1415._
-
- 1. English Archers.
- 2. English men at arms.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Agincourt. Oct. 25, 1415.]
-
-The French drew themselves up in three massive lines or battles;
-the two first dismounted and fought on foot, for which their heavy
-armour but little fitted them; the third line retained their
-horses, as did two small wings intended to crush the archers.
-The state of the soil obliged them to adopt a defensive method
-of fighting quite contrary to their habits. The English advanced
-upon them--the archers in front, the heavy-armed infantry behind,
-the mixed archers and infantry on the flanks. They are described
-as having a miserable, ragged appearance after their weary march,
-as contrasted with the splendour of the French. Henry rode among
-them, cheering them with the memories of bygone victories. He had
-previously ordered every archer to supply himself with a stake
-sharpened at each end, which he was to plant before him, and
-thus make a moveable palisade. At eleven o’clock, after a brief
-and useless parley between the armies, Sir Thomas Erpingham, the
-English Marshal of the Host, tossed up his baton with the cry
-“Now strike,” and the battle began. The English advanced a few
-steps, expecting a charge from the enemy, but the hostile ranks
-remained immoveable; they were, in fact, planted knee-deep in the
-mud, and afforded a fine aim for the English archers, who did not
-spare them. At length, putting their heads down to avoid as much
-as possible the fatal arrows, the first line came heavily on, and
-the mounted wings began to close round the English; but the stakes
-of the archers served them in good stead. Of the horses, a large
-proportion tripped and fell in the rough ploughed land; not one
-in ten of their riders, we are told, came hand to hand with the
-archers. Unsupported and almost immoveable, the infantry broke.
-The archers seeing their plight, issued from between their stakes,
-threw down bow and arrow, seized their axes and maces, and fell
-headlong upon them. “It seemed,” says the chronicler, “as though
-they were hammering upon anvils.” The men-at-arms fell beneath the
-furious charge, and were smothered by their own companions as they
-fell over them. The same fate awaited the second line. The English
-men-at-arms had come up to support the archers, and the battle was
-fiercer, and for a time more equal. Certain of the French knights,
-under the Duke of Alençon, swore to take the life of Henry, and
-did their best to keep their oath. One of them cleft in two the
-golden crown on the helmet worn by Henry, and Alençon killed his
-cousin, the Duke of York, at his side. It was in vain; the English
-steadily advanced; the defeat of the first line, the rush of the
-fugitives, disordered and confused the cavalry, and they turned
-and fled. The English were already masters of the field, when news
-was brought that a fresh enemy was in their rear, and flames were
-seen arising from the village of Maisoncelle behind them. Henry,
-afraid of this new attack, and of a rally of the fugitives, gave
-the terrible order that all the prisoners should be killed. When
-his troops hesitated, he told off 200 archers to do the work; and
-already very many had been killed in cold blood, when the discovery
-that the alarm was a false one induced Henry to revoke his order.
-Of the 10,000 Frenchmen who died 8000 were of noble blood; among
-them were the Dukes of Alençon, Brabant, and Bar, the Constable
-d’Albret, and all the chief officers of the army. The Dukes of
-Orleans and Bourbon, the Counts of Vendôme and Richemont, and
-Marshal Boucicaut, with 15,000 knights, remained prisoners. Besides
-the Duke of York and the Earl of Oxford, the English had lost
-1600 men. The King, with his triumphant army, at once proceeded
-to Calais, and thence to England. He attributed his wonderful
-success to Heaven, whose instrument he was in punishing the crimes
-in France. “Never,” said he to the Duke of Orleans, “was greater
-disorganization or licentiousness, or greater sins, or worse vices
-than reign in France now. It is pitiful even to hear the story of
-them, and a horror for the listeners. No wonder if God is enraged
-at it.”
-
-[Sidenote: The French Government falls into the hands of the
-Armagnacs.]
-
-The destruction of princes and feudal nobles at Agincourt seems to
-have annihilated the Armagnac party. The hatred of the Dauphin for
-the Duke of Burgundy prevented the unity which such an event might
-have produced. He summoned Bernard of Armagnac from the south of
-France, where he then was, and gave himself completely into his
-hands, making him Constable, Governor-General of the finances, and
-Captain of all the fortresses of France.
-
-The party of the Constable, which had once been that of most of the
-princes of the royal blood, consisted now of adventurers, pledged
-to continue a civil war, to which they owed their importance.
-The real governors of France and Paris were the Gascon noble
-D’Armagnac and the Breton Tannegui Duchâtel. Their tyranny was of
-the bitterest description; their hired men-at-arms did all the
-harm an undisciplined soldiery can do; the people were taxed, in
-the midst of bitter famine, to the last farthing; their bloody
-tyranny induced them to forbid bathing in the Seine, lest the
-bathers should find there the corpses of their victims. The sole
-virtue of the party was that they continued the war with England,
-while Burgundy renewed his treaty with that nation. The Constable’s
-efforts were not successful. An attempt to regain Harfleur was
-defeated by the Duke of Bedford. But Henry for the present
-was content to stand on the defensive. The Parliament, in its
-enthusiasm at his great success, had granted him large subsidies,
-and the tax on wool for life; and he was spending his time in
-recruiting the strength of his army, and in giving a magnificent
-reception to Sigismund, King of the Romans.
-
-[Sidenote: Visit of Sigismund. His position in Europe. 1416.]
-
-[Sidenote: His close union with Henry.]
-
-That Prince had succeeded in re-establishing the obsolete supremacy
-of the head of the Roman Empire. This he had done by the activity
-and success with which he collected a general council of the Church
-at Constance. His object at the council was to heal the great
-schism, which since 1378 had divided the Church. On the death
-of Gregory XI., who had brought back the Papacy to Rome, after
-its seventy years’ servitude to the French at Avignon, a double
-election took place, and the world was divided between Urbanists,
-who owned Urban VI., the Roman Pontiff, and the Clementines, who
-acknowledged Clement VII. of Avignon. Each Pope had his successors,
-and an attempted compromise at Pisa in 1409 had produced a third
-Pope. The three claimants to the honour were now Gregory XII. at
-Rome, Benedict XIII. at Avignon, John XXIII. at Pisa. The new
-council declared itself superior to all Popes, and proceeded to
-secure the dismissal or resignation of these three prelates. It
-also undertook to suppress the Wicliffite heresy, which had spread
-to Bohemia. Its efforts in this direction led to the condemnation
-and burning of John Huss and Jerome of Prague. The negotiations
-with Pope Benedict, who was acknowledged in Spain, were intrusted
-to Sigismund, who thus not unreasonably thought himself the arbiter
-of Europe, and determined to add to his ecclesiastical successes
-the healing of the war between France and England. For this purpose
-he passed through Paris, but met with indifferent success, and
-then betook himself to England. With Henry, as suppresser of
-heresy and champion of the Church, he had much in common, and
-he soon laid aside his position of arbiter to become an English
-partisan.[89] One incident of his visit is interesting, as marking
-both his position and the determined independence of the English.
-While in Paris he was present at a trial, and one party to the
-dispute seemed on the point of losing his case because he was
-not of knightly rank. Sigismund immediately knighted him. This
-interference was not pleasant to the French, and gave rise to the
-idea that the Emperor was claiming universal supremacy. On his
-approach to England, therefore, one of the King’s brothers and
-some other lords rode out into the water by the side of the ship,
-and there made him solemnly assert that he came as a friend, and
-claimed no jurisdiction in England.
-
-[Sidenote: Failure of Sigismund’s mediation.]
-
-[Sidenote: Armagnac attacks Queen Isabella. 1417.]
-
-[Sidenote: She allies herself with Burgundy.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry’s second invasion.]
-
-Sigismund’s efforts at procuring peace had been thwarted in Paris
-by the determination of D’Armagnac, whose position had become
-apparently more assured than ever. One after the other, Charles
-VI.’s two elder sons died, and his third son, Charles, who had
-been brought up by the Armagnac party, was now Dauphin. Besides
-the Constable, there was no one but his mother who had influence
-over him. That influence Bernard was determined to destroy. The
-avaricious character and licentiousness of the Queen afforded easy
-opportunity. He drove her into privacy at Tours, and seized her
-money. Henceforward she hated the Dauphin heartily, and was ready
-to do anything to injure him. Thus, when Burgundy approached Paris
-with an army, he was suddenly summoned to rescue the Queen from
-her captivity, and France became still more distinctly divided
-into the party of the Dauphin and the party of the Queen. Still
-further to complete the separation, and to give a shadow of
-legitimacy to their action, the Queen and Burgundy established a
-counter-Parliament at Amiens, and a rival Great Council of France.
-The civil war went on increasing in atrocity, and D’Armagnac was
-too hard pressed to interfere with Henry, who, on August 14th,
-landed at Honfleur for his second invasion, and proceeded to
-master Normandy. With Flanders, Artois and Picardy on the one hand
-rendered neutral by the friendship of Burgundy, and Brittany on
-the other under a truce with him, he could act at his ease. Caen,
-Bayeux, L’Aigle, were captured one after the other, and the next
-year, with four divisions spreading from Artois to Brittany, he
-pushed southward, conquering all the strong towns as he went. He
-was not a merciful conqueror. He exacted to the full the rights of
-war. Most of the towns were treated as Harfleur had been, but in
-nearly every case a certain number of the citizens were beheaded
-under the title of rebels.
-
-[Sidenote: The Parisians, anxious for peace, admit the Burgundians.]
-
-It was impossible for the French parties, savage as they were,
-to look on calmly at the English successes; a great attempt at
-reconciliation was made, but again the obstinacy of the Constable
-brought it to nothing. The idea of the cessation of the civil war
-had filled the Parisians with hope. The failure of that hope was
-more than they could bear. The keys of the gates were secured,
-and L’Ile-Adam, who commanded one of the garrisons which the
-Burgundians had pushed close to Paris, was admitted within the
-walls. The people rose in thousands upon their hated tyrants.
-Tannegui Duchâtel succeeded in saving the young Dauphin, and
-retired with him to Melun. Meanwhile, the prisons were crowded with
-captive Armagnacs, and a few days afterwards the passions of the
-extreme Burgundian partisans broke loose. The Cabochiens, who had
-lived as exiles in Burgundy, and returned with the Duke, again made
-their appearance. A fearful massacre took place at all the prisons;
-among the number slain was the Constable himself. From this time
-onward, the Armagnacs were spoken of as the Dauphinois; their
-leading spirit was Duchâtel, who followed closely in the footsteps
-of the late D’Armagnac. He would hear of no peace with Burgundy.
-
-[Sidenote: Fall of Rouen. Jan. 15, 1419.]
-
-Yet that peace was terribly wanted, for Henry had now laid siege
-to Rouen, the capital of Normandy. The defence was in the highest
-degree gallant. Promises were given by Burgundy that help should be
-sent, but none came. At length a part of the garrison determined to
-cut their way through. When a portion of them had already crossed
-the bridge, it broke with the remainder, and the attempt had to
-be given up. Men charged Guy Bouteiller, the governor, and not
-unreasonably, with treacherously sawing the supports. At length
-all hope, unless succour arrived, was gone. Every eatable thing
-had been devoured. Hundreds of useless mouths had been driven
-without the walls, and not being allowed to pass the English lines,
-lay starving in the ditches. The extent of charity the garrison
-could afford to show, was to draw the new-born babes up the walls
-in baskets, to have them baptized, and then return them to their
-mothers to starve. Driven to extremities, the garrison sent
-deputies demanding assistance from the King, and threatening if
-it did not come to become his fiercest enemies. They were bidden
-to wait till the fourth day after Christmas. In spite of their
-miserable plight, they resolved to wait the fortnight that was
-left. On that day there arrived, not assistance, but a message
-from the Duke of Burgundy to make what terms they could with the
-King of England. They asked what those terms would be. He bade
-them surrender at discretion. But they knew his character too well
-to trust to his mercy, and resolved to fire the town and make
-their way out as they could. This threat brought Henry to reason,
-and for a ransom of 300,000 crowns he gave them the same sort of
-terms as he usually did. Seven men were excepted from pardon; of
-these all but one were ransomed. That one, Alain Blanchart, the
-King, ever unable to appreciate bravery in an enemy, caused to be
-beheaded.
-
-[Sidenote: Negotiation for peace.]
-
-[Sidenote: Attempted reconciliation of the French parties.]
-
-[Sidenote: Murder of Burgundy.]
-
-At length it seemed as though the French factions had come to
-an understanding; the cry of the whole nation was too strong to
-resist. A truce was made between the parties for three months, and
-the Duke of Burgundy, with the Queen and the King, who had been in
-their custody since the recapture of Paris, met Henry at Meulan,
-and attempted to come to terms. But Henry still demanded more than
-it was possible to grant. Burgundy therefore withdrew in anger, and
-at Pouilli-le-Fort held a personal meeting with the Dauphin, and
-apparently came to terms with him. The show of friendship was only
-hollow. Shortly after, at the instigation of Duchâtel, a second
-meeting was demanded at Montereau sur Yonne. It was nothing but an
-ambush. The meeting was to be held on the bridge, and barricades
-were to keep back all but ten partisans of either side; but no
-sooner was the Duke with two followers within the barrier than
-Tannegui Duchâtel shut the door on that side, while from the other
-end the Dauphinois crowded in. The Duke was there murdered, and of
-his following one man alone escaped.
-
-[Sidenote: Young Burgundy joins England. Treaty of Troyes, 1420.]
-
-The effect of this murder was instantaneous. The son of Jean
-sans peur, Philip, Count of Charolais, at once put himself at
-the head of his party, and forgetting everything but revenge,
-opened negotiations with the English. On October 17th, the
-plenipotentiaries met at Arras, and the preliminaries of the treaty
-were drawn up; by which Henry was to marry Catherine of France,
-and to be recognised as heir after the death of the reigning king.
-Meanwhile he was to have the administration of the country. All the
-exchange asked was, that he would make no peace with the Dauphin,
-and join in carrying on war with that Prince. These preliminaries
-were to be ratified by the King, the Queen, and States General.
-The King’s imbecility prevented any opposition from him, and the
-Queen was only too glad of an opportunity of disinheriting her
-son; she calculated that at least her daughter Catherine, whom she
-loved dearly, would enjoy the crown. An unexpected consequence
-followed this treaty, which was completed at Troyes. This was the
-resurrection of the party of the Dauphin, which henceforward became
-the national party. Henry was at once called upon to give vigorous
-assistance, and found occupation for all his army at the siege of
-Melun, which was defended with extreme courage. But in December
-he found an opportunity of making a triumphal entry into Paris,
-where his stern and haughty manner, and “his words which cut like
-razors,” won him but little favour; and thence he passed to England
-to meet a magnificent reception with his wife.
-
-[Sidenote: English defeat at Beaugé.]
-
-[Sidenote: Henry hurries to Paris.]
-
-He there heard bad news. One of the signs of the renewed activity
-of his enemies had been a treaty with Castile, and the employment
-of the Castilian fleet. Already, in the preceding year, the Spanish
-fleet had defeated the English, and then proceeding to Scotland,
-had returned with a reinforcement of some 4000 men under the
-Earl of Buchan and Lord Stewart of Darnley. Strengthened with
-these troops, the Dauphin’s party had attacked the English in the
-west. Clarence, the King’s brother, who had been left in charge
-of the kingdom, advanced to meet them. The armies encountered at
-Beaugé in Anjou, and there, forgetting the national tactics, and
-neglecting the use of the archers, they suffered a complete defeat,
-in which the King’s brother was killed. It was the first reverse
-the English arms had met with, and Henry well understood the moral
-effect it might have. He hastened at once to France, and leaving
-alone for the present the disaffection which was showing itself
-in Picardy, went direct to Paris to re-establish his prestige.
-Thence he marched to the attack of Meaux, whence an Armagnac
-garrison was pillaging the country to the very gates of Paris. It
-was under the command of the Bastard of Vaurus, a savage soldier,
-who delighted to hang his prisoners by dozens on the branches of a
-large elm outside his town. The bravery of his defence equalled his
-barbarity. It was not without the greatest efforts that the town
-and castle, called the Marché, were reduced.
-
-[Sidenote: While re-establishing his affairs he dies. 1422.]
-
-[Sidenote: Death of Charles VI.]
-
-Meanwhile the war had broken out again in Burgundy, and Henry was
-summoned to the support of his allies at the siege of Cosne. He
-would not send help, he said, but would come at the head of his
-whole army. The boast was a vain one. His army, indeed, set out
-under the command of the Duke of Bedford and the Earl of Warwick,
-but the King’s health, which had been failing for the last two
-years, quite broke down, and the generals were hastily recalled
-to be present at the deathbed of their sovereign, who died on the
-31st of August 1422. Conscious of his approaching end, he had
-made dispositions to meet it; he had laid special stress on the
-continuation of the treaty with Burgundy; had begged Bedford never
-to make peace under less advantageous terms than the entire cession
-of Normandy; had intrusted the regency of France to the same
-brother should the Duke of Burgundy decline it; put England into
-the hands of Gloucester; and intrusted the education of his infant
-son to Warwick. He then died amid all those signs of religious
-enthusiasm which had marked his life, declaring that he had
-intended to lead a crusade to Jerusalem, and covering all remorse,
-which his cruel war might well have excited, by the thought that he
-had acted with the approbation of those most holy men the English
-bishops. Stern, haughty, an unpitying soldier, he had yet by his
-exhibition of firm justice and love of order gained the admiration
-and respect, if not the love, of his new subjects; and Englishmen
-forgot his reactionary policy, and misjudged the want of wisdom in
-his foreign undertakings, amid the enthusiasm his successful career
-excited. Very shortly after his conqueror, the old King Charles
-VI. also died, and his son Charles became the representative of
-the French monarchy. He caused himself to be at once crowned at
-Poitiers; but the English failed to recognise his title, and spoke
-of him as the Dauphin.
-
-
-
-
-HENRY VI.
-
-1422-1461.
-
- Born 1421 = Margaret of Anjou, 1445.
- |
- Edward. Died.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- James I., 1406. | Charles VI., | Sigismund, 1410. | John II., 1406.
- James II., 1436. | 1380. | Albert II., 1438. | Henry IV., 1454.
- | Charles VII., | Frederick III., |
- | 1423. | 1440. |
-
- POPES.--Martin V., 1417. Eugenius IV., 1431. Nicolas V., 1447.
- Calixtus III., 1455. Pius II., 1458.
-
- _Archbishops._ | _Chancellors._
- |
- Henry Chicheley, 1414. | Thomas Longley, 1417.
- John Stafford, 1443. | Cardinal Beaufort, 1424.
- John Kemp, 1452. | Cardinal Kemp, 1426.
- Thomas Bouchier, 1454. | John Stafford, 1432.
- | Cardinal Kemp, 1450.
- | Earl of Salisbury, 1454.
- | Cardinal Bouchier, 1455.
- | William Waynflete, 1456.
- | George Neville, 1460.
- | Sir John Fortescue, 1461.
-
-
-[Sidenote: Arrangements of the kingdom. 1422.]
-
-By the fiction of the English constitution, England was now
-governed by a child of nine months old. The late King had
-thoughtfully arranged for the government by the nomination of
-Gloucester to the regency in England, Bedford to the regency in
-France; but experience of former regencies, and the constant
-adherence to constitutional forms which marked the English
-nobility, led the Privy Council to make different arrangements. It
-was determined, in fact, that the Council should be virtually the
-governing body. This was in accordance with several precedents;
-even as late as the reign of Henry IV., a council named in
-Parliament had, during the last years of that monarch’s life,
-governed England. When the hero, whose popularity and ability had
-for a time carried all men with him, was dead, it was natural that
-the kingdom should fall back into the same system of government.
-In the first Parliament therefore, by the advice of the Council,
-Bedford was made Regent of both France and England, while to
-Gloucester was given the title of Defender or Protector of the
-kingdom, which amounted to little more than the position of
-President of the Council, by whose advice he was bound to act, and
-of which the members were nominated in Parliament. After this, the
-grant of the wool tax and of tonnage and poundage, for two years,
-closed the session.
-
-[Sidenote: Position of parties in France.]
-
-[Sidenote: Bedford’s marriage. 1423.]
-
-All interests were still centred in France. To all appearance,
-both in geographical position and in the talents of their leader,
-the advantage lay with the English. Bedford shared all the better
-qualities of his elder brother; as able, both as a general and
-a statesman, he was of a gentler and a finer character; on the
-other hand, the Dauphin Charles was a man without vigour, sunk in
-sensual pleasure, and still under the influence of unprincipled
-adventurers. His possessions, too, were much restricted. He found
-himself confined to the centre and south-east of France. It was
-only from south of the Loire to Languedoc that his power was
-unquestioned. Either England or its great ally Burgundy possessed
-or dominated all other parts of France; while Savoy and Brittany,
-at the extreme and opposite corners, were professedly neutral.
-The strength of this position, such as it was, lay in its central
-situation. The immense extent of country the English held required
-resources beyond the power of that country single-handed to
-produce; by alliance with Burgundy alone was it possible. But
-misgovernment and party feeling prevented any great exhibition
-of strength on the part of France. She had to rely chiefly on
-mercenaries, and the war was merely kept alive. In 1423, Bedford
-succeeded in forming anew a close alliance with Burgundy, in which
-Brittany also joined. It was cemented by a double marriage; on the
-one hand, Bedford married Anne, Philip’s sister, while Arthur of
-Richemont, the brother of the Duke of Brittany, married her elder
-sister Margaret.
-
-[Sidenote: Release of the Scotch King.]
-
-[Sidenote: It is useless.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Verneuil. 1424.]
-
-[Sidenote: Consequent strength of the English in France.]
-
-The treaty was scarcely finished when Bedford had to move southward
-to relieve Crévant on the Yonne, closely besieged by the Scotch and
-French. The expedition was very successful. A simultaneous attack
-from the city and the relieving army destroyed the besiegers; 1200
-knights, chiefly Scotch, were said to have been left on the field.
-But fresh recruits were continually coming to the French, some
-from Italy, some from Scotland; notably 5,000 men under Archibald
-Douglas, who was raised to the Duchy of Touraine; while Stewart of
-Darnley, their former leader, received the lordships of Aubigné
-and of Dreux. Bedford attempted to cut off this source of help
-by arranging for the release of the Scottish King, who had now
-been twenty-four years a captive in England. In September 1423,
-his freedom was arranged, on the payment of £40,000 for his past
-expenses, and upon a promise on his part that he would keep peace
-with England, and marry an English lady. He was told to choose his
-own wife, as English ladies were not in the habit of proposing
-for husbands, and married Joan Beaufort, daughter of the Earl of
-Somerset, granddaughter of John of Gaunt. He did his best, though
-not always successfully, to keep his promise of peace. But this
-step on the part of Bedford did not stop the Scotch in France.
-They pushed on even to the borders of Normandy, and captured
-Ivry. Bedford addressed himself to the recovery of that fortress.
-18,000 troops, Scotch, French, and Italians, led by the Duke of
-Alençon and Earl of Buchan, now Constable of France, marched to
-relieve it. This they were unable to do, but revenged themselves
-by the capture of the neighbouring town of Verneuil. Thither the
-Regent pursued them, and there he brought them to action. It was
-the old story over again. The French had not yet learnt wisdom by
-experience; and again the mass of heavy-armed foot, with cavalry
-on the flanks, was shattered by the English archers from behind
-their impenetrable wall of pointed stakes. The Scotch auxiliaries
-were nearly destroyed; and among the 5000 dead were the Earls of
-Douglas, Buchan and Aumale. The victory was likened in Parliament
-to the Battle of Agincourt. Its effects were almost as complete.
-For the time the French had to withdraw completely behind the Loire.
-
-[Sidenote: It is disturbed by Gloucester’s marriage.]
-
-[Sidenote: First blow to Burgundian alliance. 1424.]
-
-It was the unbridled folly of Gloucester which disturbed the
-favourable position which Bedford had secured. The Countess
-Jacqueline of Hainault and Holland had married John of Brabant,
-and had fled from her husband. She had taken refuge in England,
-and just before the death of Henry V., Gloucester, during the life
-of her former husband, had taken her for his wife. The Duke of
-Burgundy was the cousin and close ally of John of Brabant, and had
-hoped to bring all the Netherlands under his power by his kinsman’s
-marriage with Jacqueline. Gloucester would hear of no compromise,
-but, in 1424, appeared with 5000 English troops in Calais, and
-took possession of Hainault. Philip of Burgundy at once wavered
-in his friendship for England, drew closer his connection with
-Brabant, and even procured a truce with the Dauphin. Preparations
-for a duel, to which he had challenged Burgundy, called Gloucester
-home. The immediate effect of his departure was the occupation of
-Hainault by John of Brabant. Jacqueline herself was taken prisoner,
-but managing to escape in man’s clothes, she reached her other
-dominions in Holland, and thence proceeded to begin a war with
-Burgundy. Her English lover could send her but little help, and
-at last, after her husband’s death in 1428, she surrendered to
-Philip, and declared him her heir. Gloucester’s infidelity broke
-off relations between them, and eventually, in 1436, the whole of
-the Netherlands came into the power of Burgundy. It has been said
-that, without the friendship of Burgundy, the English resources
-were insufficient to retain France. This was the first shock that
-friendship received.
-
-[Sidenote: Rivalry of Beaufort and Gloucester.]
-
-[Sidenote: Gloucester’s marriage with Eleanor Cobham.]
-
-This outbreak of Gloucester’s was but one instance of his
-intemperate and ambitious character. At home, he had already
-involved the government in difficulties, by his constant rivalry
-with Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, second son of John of
-Gaunt by Catherine Swinford. This Prince had already been engaged
-in all the prominent affairs of the last reign. But though a man
-of vast wealth and large ambition, his aspirations in England
-were rather for his family than for himself; and in the financial
-difficulties which began to beset England his money was freely
-advanced without interest to Government. In 1424, he had been made
-Chancellor, for the express purpose of counterbalancing the power
-of his nephew Gloucester, and in pursuance of this object, he had,
-during Gloucester’s absence in Hainault, garrisoned the Tower,
-from which Gloucester on his return found himself excluded. This
-produced an open quarrel and an appeal to arms, only repressed
-by the intervention of the Prince of Portugal, at that time in
-England. There was one man only who could decide this quarrel,
-and that was the Duke of Bedford, who on coming to England would
-at once become the constitutional Regent. He found it therefore
-necessary to leave France, where he was much wanted, and to return
-to England. He contrived to bring about a reconciliation, at a
-Parliament held at Leicester. The Bishop of Winchester, from
-patriotic motives, resigned his chancellorship, and got leave to
-absent himself from England to go on a pilgrimage. At the same
-time, the Parliament defined as before the power of Gloucester,
-establishing the practical supremacy of the Council. This
-definition Bedford accepted. Eventually, though much against his
-will, Gloucester was induced to do so also; but his real view was
-expressed in the words attributed to him, “Lat my brother governe
-as hym lust, whiles he is in this lande, for after his going overe
-to Fraunce, I wol governe as me semethe goode.” It was plain that
-the views of Bedford and Gloucester as to the government of England
-were very different. Nor had Bedford long left England to return
-to France when his brother gave rise to a fresh scandal. He had
-already forgotten Jacqueline, and even while getting supplies from
-the Commons, with whom he was very popular, for the purpose of
-upholding her cause, had married his former mistress Eleanor Cobham.
-
-[Sidenote: Bedford again secures Burgundy,]
-
-[Sidenote: and attacks Orleans.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of the Herrings.]
-
-On his return to France, the Duke of Bedford found that his
-brother’s conduct had increased his difficulties. Richemont, the
-brother of the Duke of Brittany, had been won to the French side,
-and received the rank of Constable, vacant by the death of Buchan,
-and was now using all his influence to induce his brother-in-law
-Burgundy to follow his example. Bedford’s presence for the moment
-improved the position of the English. He contrived to renew an
-alliance with both Burgundy and Brittany, and was thus secured
-upon either side of Normandy. Encouraged by this success, the
-English generals were eager to press forward beyond the Loire,
-which had hitherto been the limit of their conquests. It seems
-probable that Bedford, with a clearer view of the difficulties
-of his position, would have been well content to have carried
-out the wishes of his brother Henry by securing Normandy. He,
-however, yielded to the pressure brought to bear upon him, and in
-October, the siege of Orleans, situated on the northernmost angle
-of the river Loire, and from its position holding command of that
-river, was undertaken. The town itself stands upon the northern
-bank, but is connected with a southern suburb, the Portereau, by
-a bridge, terminating in a strong castle called Les Tournelles.
-The siege was intrusted to Salisbury,[90] who began the attack
-upon the southern side. He established his troops in a fortified
-camp in the ruins of a monastery of Augustinians, and before long
-succeeded in capturing Les Tournelles, and breaking the bridge.
-He was unfortunately killed, while examining the country from
-that fortress, with a view to further investment of the town. The
-command devolved upon the Earl of Suffolk, who succeeded before the
-close of the year in erecting a string of thirteen strongholds,
-called bastides, round the Northern city. But the weather and want
-of resources compelled him to put these too far apart, and the
-intercourse of the defenders with an army of relief under the Count
-of Clermont at Blois was not broken off. Early in the following
-year, this army hoped to raise the siege by falling on a large
-body of provisions coming to the besiegers from Paris under Sir
-John Fastolf. The attack was made at Rouvray, but Fastolf had made
-careful preparations. The waggons were arranged in a square, and,
-with the stakes of the archers, formed a fortification on which
-the disorderly attack of the French made but little impression.
-Broken in the assault, they fell an easy prey to the English, as
-they advanced beyond their lines. The skirmish is known by the name
-of the Battle of the Herrings. This victory, which deprived the
-besieged of hope of external succour, seemed to render the capture
-of the city certain.
-
-[Sidenote: Danger of Orleans.]
-
-Already at the French King’s court at Chinon there was talk of
-a hasty withdrawal to Dauphiné, Spain, or even Scotland; when
-suddenly there arose one of those strange effects of enthusiasm
-which sometimes set all calculation at defiance.
-
-[Sidenote: Joan of Arc.]
-
-[Sidenote: Causes of her success.]
-
-[Sidenote: The siege is raised. May 8.]
-
-In Domrémi, a village belonging to the duchy of Bar, the
-inhabitants of which, though in the midst of Lorraine, a province
-under Burgundian influence, were of patriotic views, lived a
-village maiden called Joan of Arc. The period was one of great
-mental excitement; as in other times of wide prevailing misery,
-prophecies and mystical preachings were current. Joan of Arc’s
-mind was particularly susceptible to such influences, and from
-the time she was thirteen years old, she had fancied that she
-heard voices, and had even seen forms, sometimes of the Archangel
-Michael, sometimes of St. Catherine and St. Margaret, who called
-her to the assistance of the Dauphin. She persuaded herself that
-she was destined to fulfil an old prophecy which said that the
-kingdom, destroyed by a woman--meaning, as she thought, Queen
-Isabella,--should be saved by a maiden of Lorraine. The burning
-of Domrémi in the summer of 1428 by a troop of Burgundians at
-length gave a practical form to her imaginations, and early in the
-following year she succeeded in persuading Robert of Baudricourt
-to send her, armed and accompanied by a herald, to Chinon. She
-there, as it is said by the wonderful knowledge she displayed,
-convinced the court of the truth of her mission. At all events, it
-was thought wise to take advantage of the infectious enthusiasm she
-displayed, and in April she was intrusted with an army of 6000 or
-7000 men, which was to march up the river from Blois to the relief
-of Orleans. When she appeared upon the scene of war, she supplied
-exactly that element of success which the French required.
-Already long and bitter experience had taught them the art of war.
-They were commanded no longer by favourites of the Court, but by
-professional soldiers, such as Dunois, the Bastard of Orleans, La
-Hire and Saintrailles; and the cause of their weakness was the
-deep-rooted immorality both of public and private life, which
-the disastrous party struggles of the last reign had produced.
-A national instead of a party cry, strict morality enforced
-by a Heaven-sent virgin, and the enthusiasm of religion, were
-well calculated to remove this cause of weakness. It is to this
-combination of experience with enthusiasm that the success of the
-French henceforward must be traced. Aided by the skill of Dunois,
-Joan succeeded in entering Orleans by water, while her army the day
-after marched in unopposed upon the northern side. After various
-attacks upon the Bastides, she at length, on the 6th and 7th of
-May, attacked the lines upon the south of the river. The camp in
-the Augustinian monastery was captured, and after a fierce assault
-the Tower of the Tournelles fell into the hands of the French,
-Gladsdale, the commander on the left bank, being killed. The effect
-of her uniform success, and the superstitious dread she inspired,
-is shown by the fact that three such generals as Suffolk, Talbot
-and Fastolf, who commanded on the northern side of the river, took
-no steps to assist their distressed comrades, and on the following
-day raised the siege.
-
-[Illustration: ORLEANS
-
-1429]
-
-[Sidenote: March to Rheims to crown the Dauphin,]
-
-[Sidenote: and unsuccessful attack on Paris.]
-
-The release of Orleans was quickly followed up. The English were
-hotly pressed. In June, Jargeau on the Loire was taken, and
-Suffolk with it; while on the 18th of the same month, Talbot and
-Fastolf suffered a thorough defeat at Pataye, while attempting to
-save other fortresses lower down the river. Joan of Arc had set
-herself two great duties to perform--the relief of Orleans, and the
-coronation of the Dauphin at Rheims. To this second duty she now
-addressed herself. Her difficulties arose chiefly from the folly
-of the Dauphin, who was under the influence of his favourite, La
-Tremouille, a strong Armagnac, whose object it was to prevent his
-master from entering upon an independent course of action. These
-difficulties were at length overcome. At the head of a small army,
-Charles and the Maid of Orleans marched successfully into the
-heart of their enemy’s country, securing either by force or by
-negotiation the strong cities on the way. At Rheims the coronation
-was completed, and thence the French generals directed their march
-on Paris at the persuasion of Joan. But there, while Joan had
-been overcoming the reluctance of the French Prince, Bedford had
-assembled an army of sufficient strength to resist them. He had
-summoned to his aid the Bishop of Winchester, who had returned
-from his pilgrimage to Rome with instructions to collect troops
-to assist the Emperor Sigismund against the heretic Hussites of
-Bohemia. With this little army he now joined his nephew; and
-Bedford, alarmed by the rapid defection of great towns such as
-Blois, Beauvais and Compiègne, determined, if possible, to destroy
-the superstitious confidence of the French by a successful battle.
-In this he was disappointed, for, after an indecisive skirmish
-near Senlis, he was compelled to fall back to cover Paris. For the
-present, however, this formed the limit of the French successes. A
-fruitless attack on the city, in which the Maid was wounded, caused
-timid counsels to prevail, and the army withdrew behind the Loire.
-
-[Sidenote: Capture of Joan of Arc. 1430.]
-
-[Sidenote: Coronation of King Henry.]
-
-[Sidenote: Joan’s death. 1431.]
-
-The winter was employed by Bedford in continued efforts to retain
-the friendship of the Duke of Burgundy; and the united armies of
-Burgundy and England were attempting to regain Compiègne, when in
-March Joan of Arc again took the field. She succeeded in passing
-through the two armies, and in entering the city, but was surprised
-during a sally and taken prisoner. Her capture gave the English
-hopes that they might still retain their conquests, as the sluggish
-and vacillating character of the French King was well known.
-Bedford set to work to do all he could to regain the prestige
-he had lost the preceding year. Shortly after the coronation of
-Rheims, he had caused King Henry to be crowned at Westminster,
-and with his brother Gloucester had retired from his official
-situation. He now determined to have the coronation repeated in
-France. Henry was brought over for that purpose, but it was found
-impossible to crown him at Rheims, now completely in the hands of
-the French. Bedford had to content himself with a coronation at
-Paris. Meanwhile the unfortunate prisoner had been given up to be
-tried as a sorceress. She was found guilty, and handed over to
-the secular arm: for a moment she was induced to confess herself
-guilty, abjuring the truth of her Divine calling; her resumption
-of arms in the prison was regarded as a relapse into heresy: she
-was therefore burnt at Rouen. The strangely superstitious character
-of the age, and the devout belief which existed in sorcery, cannot
-excuse what was, in fact, an act of base revenge.
-
-[Sidenote: Increasing difficulties of the English. 1432.]
-
-[Sidenote: Conduct of Gloucester.]
-
-[Sidenote: Bedford re-marries. Second blow to the Burgundian
-alliance.]
-
-[Sidenote: Formation of peace and war parties.]
-
-[Sidenote: Great peace congress at Arras. 1435.]
-
-From this time onwards the fortunes of England declined.
-Difficulties accumulated on all sides. The long war had caused
-such a drain on the finances, that the payment of the troops had
-already been lowered, and a dangerous mutiny had broken out at
-Calais. At the same time, Gloucester’s meddlesome and overbearing
-character perpetually kept the Government at home in disturbance.
-In 1428, an attack was made on the Bishop of Winchester. He had
-returned from Rome a Cardinal, and with the rank of Papal Legate
-for the purpose of collecting troops against the Hussites. His
-authority thus clashed with that of the Archbishop of Canterbury,
-who was _ex officio_ Legate when no one else was specially
-appointed to that office. Displeased at being superseded, Chicheley
-joined with Gloucester, and suggested that Winchester, by becoming
-Legate without royal permission, had incurred the penalties of
-præmunire. Winchester was therefore excluded from the Council,
-and from the Chapter of the Garter, of which he was the Prelate,
-held in 1429. His place in the Council was restored to him in
-gratitude for his conduct in the following year, when he lent
-troops to Bedford after the relief of Orleans. Nevertheless,
-during his absence in 1431, he was asked to resign his bishopric,
-as being the officer of a foreign power, and Gloucester brought
-formal charges against him, and caused the writ of præmunire to be
-actually prepared. The execution of the writ was postponed till
-the King’s return, when Beaufort was allowed to clear himself,
-and a declaration vouching for his loyalty given him under the
-Great Seal. While thus attacking the Cardinal, Gloucester had been
-attempting to increase his popularity, already very great, by
-assuming the position of champion of the Church, and persecutor
-of heresy. In 1430, a man calling himself Jack Sharpe had been
-put to death at Oxford, and a clergyman of Essex had also been
-burnt. But there was evidently still existing a strong undercurrent
-of Lollardism; for the people came in crowds to the place of
-execution, and made offerings as though the victim of persecution
-had been a saint. But even worse for Bedford than these troubles
-at home was the loss of his wife, who died in November 1432,
-childless, thus breaking the strongest link which had hitherto
-bound England and Burgundy together. This misfortune was made
-worse by one of the few acts of indiscretion which can be alleged
-against Bedford. He married Jacquetta, daughter of the Count of
-Saint-Pol, of the House of Luxembourg, a marriage in itself politic
-enough, but which, contracted as it was without the permission of
-Burgundy, the lady’s feudal superior, caused a quarrel between
-the two Dukes. This was the second heavy blow which the alliance
-between England and Burgundy had received. Yet this alliance was
-absolutely necessary for the successful carrying on of the war. It
-began to be a question whether peace of some sort was not becoming
-necessary. Bedford even in the year 1431 received leave from the
-English Parliament to treat. Abroad the feeling in favour of peace
-was still stronger. Pope Eugenius IV. had set seriously to work to
-put an end to the warfare. The Emperor Sigismund, with Frederick
-of Austria and Louis of Orange, alarmed at the rising power of
-the Burgundian House, had made offers of assistance to the French
-King. The Bretons, headed by the Count of Richemont, were anxious
-to renew their natural alliance with France. Burgundy himself, in
-1432, had gone so far as to make an armistice with the French; the
-presence at the French Court of La Tremouille, one of the murderers
-of the Duke’s father and the constant supporter of the war, seemed
-the only obstacle to reconciliation: if that reconciliation were
-made Bedford must of necessity make peace. Other difficulties
-were leading him in the same direction. The finances were in
-the greatest disorder; the garrison of Calais mutinied for pay.
-Bedford therefore, in 1433, returned to England to see what could
-be done. He made Lord Ralph Cromwell his treasurer, and intrusted
-him with the duty of examining and making a statement as to the
-condition of the finances. It became apparent that the yearly
-outgoing exceeded the income by £25,000. Bedford at once insisted
-on economy, and patriotically gave up a considerable portion of
-his own salaries. But the discovery of his failing resources, the
-necessity for his presence in England, where Lords and Commons
-united in intreating him to remain, the increase of the power of
-France, and the constant danger of reconciliation between Charles
-and Burgundy, induced him to be quite ready to make arrangements
-for a peace on honourable terms which should include the possession
-of Normandy. Such views did not suit Gloucester. He put himself
-prominently forward as the head of the war party, producing a great
-but impracticable plan for pressing the war with vigour. Bedford’s
-residence in England was short. During his absence all went wrong;
-St. Denis was lost, and the Earl of Arundel taken prisoner. He was
-forced to return to France, and to leave the parties in England
-(now clearly defined as peace and war parties) to carry on their
-quarrels. But the general feeling for the necessity of peace,
-and for the release from their long imprisonment of the captives
-taken at Agincourt, gained ground abroad. So much was this the
-case, that Burgundy found means to assemble on the 14th of July
-what may be fairly called a European congress, at Arras, to
-settle if possible the peace of Europe. Thither came ambassadors
-from the Council of Bâle, (at that time sitting,) the Legate
-of the Pope, and ministers from the Emperor, Castile, Aragon,
-Navarre, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, Poland, Denmark, the Parisian
-University, and the great commercial towns of the Hansa and of
-Flanders. Archbishop John of York at first represented England.
-The Duke of Bourbon, who had already entered into agreement with
-Burgundy, represented France. Even on their first appearance, the
-English ambassadors were displeased with the precedence given to
-the French. The rival demands were these:--France wished either
-for a peace with Burgundy, and the continuation of the war with
-England, or if there was a cessation of that war, that the peace
-should be unconditional, with the restoration of all prisoners
-and all conquests, the three Norman bishoprics alone being left
-to the English, and those only as fiefs of the French crown; the
-English demanded the retention of their present possessions and
-an armistice. The pretensions of the two nations were evidently
-incompatible; even Cardinal Beaufort, who had joined the congress,
-was afraid of the war party at home, and on the 6th of September
-the English embassy withdrew.
-
-[Sidenote: Bedford’s death. Consequent defection of Burgundy.]
-
-[Sidenote: Obstinacy of the war party.]
-
-At this inopportune moment an event happened which settled
-the wavering mind of Burgundy, and induced him to make a full
-reconciliation with the French. This event was the death of the
-Duke of Bedford. There was no one to fill the place of that great
-man. It had been his personal influence more than anything else
-which had kept Burgundy true to England. On his death the Duke
-at once declared himself ready to receive the terms which France
-offered. These were humiliating enough. Charles apologized for the
-death of Duke John, declared that he held the act in abhorrence,
-that he had been brought to consent to it by the advice of wicked
-ministers, and would henceforward exclude all Armagnacs from
-his council. At the same time he granted to Burgundy, Macon and
-Auxerre, together with the basin of the Somme, or Ponthieu. At
-first, news of this treaty served only to arouse the warlike
-feeling of the English. The appearance of the Burgundian envoy
-in London was the signal for violent riots. It was determined to
-prosecute the war with vigour. A great loan was raised throughout
-the country, and the prosecution intrusted to the young Duke of
-York. It was not to be expected that this young prince, however
-great his ability, could do what Bedford had been unable to
-accomplish. United with Burgundy, England had scarcely held its
-position in France. Against France and Burgundy united, it was
-helpless.
-
-[Sidenote: Continued ill success. 1437.]
-
-Already before York’s arrival a great piece of Normandy, and even
-Harfleur, had been lost. In April the French King, with Burgundy,
-advanced on Paris, and was admitted by the townspeople. The war
-party grew only more obstinate. Gloucester revived his absurd
-claims upon Flanders in right of Jacqueline, and assumed the title
-of Count of Flanders. York and Talbot succeeded in driving back
-the Burgundians from Calais; but this was almost the only English
-success. In July 1437, York was recalled, and Beauchamp, Earl of
-Warwick,[91] appointed in his place. But it was too late for any
-one to check the advance of the French. That country was indeed
-exhausted and miserable to the last degree; but England was in
-little better plight. For several years the plague had been raging,
-and an unusually bad harvest added to the horrors of disease. Bread
-there was none, the people were reduced to live on pulse.
-
-[Sidenote: Danger from Scotland.]
-
-[Sidenote: James’s death.]
-
-Moreover, the English forces were divided by the threatening
-aspect of affairs in Scotland. The young King had done his best to
-keep his promise of peace, but found it impossible to break off
-the long-standing connection with France. In 1428, his daughter
-Margaret had been betrothed to Charles VII.’s son, Louis of Anjou.
-This had excited the fears of the English, and in the following
-year, the Bishop of Winchester, under the plea of collecting
-help for his proposed crusade against the Hussites, had visited
-Edinburgh. A marriage treaty had even been proposed between the
-two countries, but it came to nothing, and a vigorous diplomatic
-struggle was still being carried on between the rival parties of
-France and England, when, in 1434, the folly of Sir Robert Ogle,
-who led a raid into the Scotch Lowlands, turned the scale in favour
-of the French. The marriage between Margaret and Louis of Anjou
-was at once carried out, and, in 1436, an army, with King James at
-its head, attacked Roxburgh. Fortunately for England, the Scotch
-King, bred at the Court of Henry V., and eager to introduce into
-his own kingdom the orderly constitution he had known in England,
-had excited the anger of his nobles. News of a conspiracy reached
-him, and he withdrew from his invasion only to fall a victim to
-that conspiracy in the following year. Weakened by these domestic
-confusions, Scotland was content to enter into a truce for ten
-years.
-
-[Sidenote: Peace party procure the liberation of Orleans. 1440.]
-
-Neither the suffering of the people, nor the danger from Scotland,
-nor the constant want of success abroad, had any influence on
-the passionate obstinacy of Gloucester. Meetings with regard to
-peace were in vain held at Paris, the English refused to recede
-from their demands. At length, however, Cardinal Beaufort and the
-peace party so far prevailed, that, after the fall of Meaux, they
-procured the liberation of the Duke of Orleans, hoping to find
-in him an efficient mediator. As a protest against the measure,
-while the Duke was taking the oaths required of him before his
-liberation, Gloucester, refusing to be present, betook himself to
-his barge and remained upon the river. The measure did not produce
-the desired effect. The Duke of Warwick had died in May 1439.
-Somerset, who had succeeded him, retook Harfleur, but, in the two
-following years, not only did the French successes increase in
-Normandy, even Guienne was in its turn assaulted. All efforts to
-save it were in vain, and it became quite evident that the policy
-of peace was the only one which could extricate England with honour
-from its disastrous situation.
-
-[Sidenote: Peace becomes necessary. Rise of Suffolk.]
-
-[Sidenote: Marriage of Henry with Margaret of Anjou.]
-
-[Sidenote: Pre-eminence of Suffolk.]
-
-The death of Bedford had left Cardinal Beaufort at the head of
-the party who desired a reasonable peace. But Beaufort was old,
-and the influence of Gloucester, as first Prince of the blood and
-the leader of the popular party, kept him much aloof from public
-business. In his place there arose a new minister, De la Pole,
-Earl of Suffolk. This man, a descendant of a wealthy merchant in
-the reign of Edward III., and grandson of the favourite of Richard
-II., was fully engaged upon the side of the Lancastrian dynasty.
-He had been taken prisoner after the siege of Orleans, and had in
-France formed connections which pointed him out as a fitting person
-to manage negotiations with that country. It was determined, if
-possible, to make the marriage of the young King with a French
-Princess the basis of a peace. The Princess fixed on was Margaret,
-the daughter of Réné, Duke of Bar, representative of the Angevin
-house, the titular King of Sicily and of Jerusalem.[92] Suffolk
-undertook to manage the delicate negotiation, although conscious,
-it would seem, of the obloquy he would probably meet with. He
-succeeded in obtaining an armistice to extend from June 1444 till
-April 1446, and the marriage treaty was completed; but so far from
-receiving a dower with his wife, as might have been expected, (but
-which her father, who had surrendered his duchy to the Duke of
-Burgundy, was quite unable to give,) it was arranged that Henry
-should surrender to the French, as the price of their consent, all
-that was left to the English of Anjou and Maine, where the war was
-still being carried on. In carrying out this arrangement, Suffolk
-had the consent of the Privy Council, but it is probable that
-they did not contemplate so complete a cession of English rights.
-His successful return secured him the title of Marquis, and the
-friendship of the young Queen (whose masculine mind soon got entire
-command of her husband’s will), and enabled him to hold a position
-of complete superiority in the English councils.
-
-[Sidenote: Gloucester’s death.]
-
-Alliance with the French, on the somewhat disgraceful terms on
-which it had been contracted, not unnaturally raised the anger of
-Gloucester and his party. The rivalry grew hot between him and
-Suffolk. There were probably private causes of trouble between
-them, but at all events, in 1447, the Parliament was held at Bury
-St. Edmunds, and Gloucester was summoned thither. He went with a
-considerable following, but does not seem to have suspected danger,
-although he found the town fortified, and the guards everywhere
-doubled. He was suddenly apprehended on the charge of high treason,
-and before any trial was granted him, the public were told that he
-was dead. A death so opportune for his enemies naturally excited
-suspicion, and the most sinister rumours of foul play were spread
-among the people. It is impossible not to join in these suspicions;
-at the same time it is fair to notice that at a late examination
-his physician had declared his constitution radically unsound, and
-that some contemporary writers mention his death as having arisen
-from natural causes.
-
-[Sidenote: York takes his place.]
-
-His death left room for Richard Duke of York’s appearance upon the
-stage of politics. The son of Anne, sister of the Earl of March,
-and of that Duke of Cambridge who was put to death for his share in
-the conspiracy immediately preceding Henry V.’s first expedition
-to France, he stepped naturally into the place of leader of the
-Plantagenet Princes. Ever since that family ascended the throne,
-those branches of it which had not been actually reigning had
-been for the most part in opposition. Till their accession, the
-Lancastrians had been the leaders of this party; their place was
-now taken first by Gloucester, then by York. It will be seen in the
-sequel that those same families which had formed the discontented
-party in the reign of Richard II., and in opposition to the
-Lancastrians, now sided chiefly with York. He had been already
-employed in public affairs, had been twice governor of Normandy,
-and in that capacity had quarrelled with the Duke of Somerset, who
-had been joined with him in command. To rid himself of so important
-an enemy, Suffolk, the leading statesman of the ruling party, had
-got him appointed in 1446 to the government of Ireland. This was a
-post of considerable difficulty; for under the management of the
-Earls of Ormond, one of the old Anglo-Irish settlers, that country
-had fallen into great disorder.[93]
-
-[Sidenote: Absolute ministry of Suffolk.]
-
-[Sidenote: His unpopularity.]
-
-After Gloucester’s death Suffolk had become unquestioned chief
-Minister, for Cardinal Beaufort had not long survived his nephew.
-He took upon himself all the unpopularity which the Lancastrian
-dynasty had latterly earned. It is plain that among the people
-there was deep-seated discontent. The persecution of the Lollards
-had never relented. Frequent executions are recorded for heresy.
-The support the Lancastrians had constantly given to the Church
-had even produced several outbreaks. In 1438, and again in 1443,
-there had been uproars in several parts of England, directed
-against the Catholic ecclesiastical foundations. Nor was this
-unnatural. Amidst the misery and desolation caused by repeated
-plagues and famines, and the expenditure both of men and money
-incident upon a foreign war, the Church alone, represented by the
-wealthy Cardinal Beaufort, had retained its prosperity; while,
-to crown all, national honour had been deeply wounded by want of
-success in France. To this inherited unpopularity, Suffolk added
-that which arose from the late dishonourable marriage treaty with
-France. Instead of attempting to lessen the feeling against him,
-he followed the common course of upstart ministers. The Princes
-and great nobles found themselves excluded from the Council.
-His ministers were chiefly bishops, especially Ascough, Bishop
-of Salisbury, and De Moleyns, Bishop of Chichester, and men of
-little eminence, as Lord Say. His government in fact resembled
-that of Bernard of Armagnac in France, and took that particularly
-objectionable form, the superiority of the lesser nobles.
-
-[Sidenote: Renewal of the war.]
-
-His foreign policy, too, was eminently unsuccessful. At the close
-of the truce, in 1446, he had not secured any permanent peace; and
-early in 1448, an ill-judged outbreak of some English auxiliaries,
-who captured the town of Fougères, again plunged England into war.
-John, Duke of Somerset, perhaps in despair at his ill success,
-had killed himself. His brother Edmund succeeded to his title and
-position in France. His opposition to the French, who attacked
-him in great force, was entirely unavailing, and before the year
-was over Rouen and a large part of Normandy had been regained by
-the French. In May an armament under Sir Thomas Kyriel had been
-defeated near Formigny; in July Caen surrendered; and in August
-the last remnants of the English army returned to England from
-Cherbourg. In the following year a last effort was made to retain
-some position in Guienne with equally bad success.
-
-[Sidenote: Fall of Rouen. 1449.]
-
-[Sidenote: Popular outbreak against Suffolk.]
-
-[Sidenote: Murder of Suffolk.]
-
-The loss of Rouen, in 1449, brought the anger of the people to its
-highest point. In an uproar they put to death De Moleyns, Bishop
-of Chichester, at Portsmouth; and at length the House of Commons,
-led by Tresham their speaker, insisted upon the apprehension of
-Suffolk, who had now become a Duke, upon a charge of treason. On
-the 7th of February eight charges were brought against him of a
-somewhat indefinite character, especially charging him with a wish
-to marry his son John to Margaret Beaufort, thus aiming at the
-kingdom, and with gross mismanagement and treachery in France.
-These were followed by sixteen more specific charges, in which
-it was asserted that he had appropriated and misused the royal
-revenues, interfered with the course of justice, and treated
-treacherously with the French. On the 13th he appeared before the
-King in the House of Peers. He denied most of the charges, and
-excused himself on others on the ground that he had acted with
-the approbation of the Privy Council. He however, declining the
-privilege of his peerage and trial by the House of Lords, threw
-himself entirely upon the King’s mercy; and Henry, hoping to get
-over the difficulty without giving up his friend, without a trial
-banished him for five years. This was a manifest breach of the
-Constitution, and served only to increase the general discontent.
-The Duke escaped privately to his own estates, and took sea at
-Ipswich, but was met by an English squadron, taken on board the
-largest ship, the “Nicholas of the Tower,” and after a sham trial
-by the seamen, obliged to enter a little boat. He was there
-beheaded, with a sort of parody of the usual forms of execution.
-It is pretty evident that behind the popular anger there was the
-influence of the Duke of York and other noblemen at work.
-
-[Sidenote: Jack Cade.]
-
-At the next Parliament, which was held at Leicester, many of
-the nobles appeared in arms. At the same time the news of the
-defeat of Kyriel at Formigny arrived; and at once the men of
-Kent, who were probably in close alliance with the seamen who had
-executed Suffolk, rose. Their leader was Jack Cade. He led the
-insurgents under strict discipline towards London, assuming the
-name of Mortimer, and we cannot but believe with the knowledge
-of the Duke of York. Two papers were sent in to the Government;
-one called the Complaints, the other the Demands, of the Commons
-of Kent. In these were summed up the causes of the unpopularity
-of Suffolk; and the restoration of Richard of York to favour was
-demanded. Unable to hold their advanced position, the insurgents
-fell back to Sevenoaks, but there they were successful against a
-hasty attack by Sir Humphrey Stafford.[94] The King retired from
-London, and so far yielded as to order the apprehension of Lord
-Say, one of the obnoxious councillors. Cade then advanced, took
-possession of Southwark, and appeared in London, under the title of
-the Captain of Kent, and in the arms of Stafford. The burghers of
-London, full of sympathy for the demands of the Kentish men, and
-pleased with the strict discipline preserved, sided at first with
-the insurgents. At a formal trial presided over by the Lord Mayor,
-Say, who had fallen into the hands of the people, was condemned
-and immediately executed. Meanwhile, almost at the same time,
-Ascough, the obnoxious Bishop of Salisbury, was put to death by his
-own followers at Eddington. Thus all the obnoxious ministers had
-been got rid of. London was now in the hands of the populace. The
-temptation was too strong for them, and some plundering took place.
-On this the Londoners took fright, and, when the insurgents retired
-for the night to Southwark, broke down and defended the bridge.
-Cade, unable to regain London, fell back, and after his followers,
-deceived by a promise of general pardon, had chiefly dispersed, was
-pursued and put to death near Lewes by Iden the sheriff.
-
-[Sidenote: Continued discontent.]
-
-[Sidenote: York’s appearance in arms. 1452.]
-
-The disaffection was by no means quieted. Complaints were bitter,
-that by repeated prorogations of Parliament supplies were obtained
-without any redress of grievances, and that the bishops and
-clergy sided with the oppressors. While public feeling was in
-this irritable condition, York, suddenly leaving his government
-of Ireland without leave, appeared on the Welsh border with 4000
-of his vassals. In this threatening manner, and accompanied by
-the Duke of Norfolk, the Earls of Devonshire and Salisbury, the
-whole clan of the Nevilles, and the Lords Cromwell[95] and Cobham,
-he appeared at Westminster. Meanwhile, Somerset, the acknowledged
-head of the rival party, returned from France, and received the
-office of Constable. The parties were assuming form, and a crisis
-was evidently at hand. York made a formal demand for the dismissal
-of Somerset and the punishment of the Duchess of Suffolk. As yet,
-however, the Government was strong enough to refuse these demands,
-and during the whole of the year 1451, without any public acts, the
-quarrel was becoming more embittered. In Devonshire Lord Bonville
-was at open war with the Earl of Devonshire. In the North, Percy,
-Lord Egremont, was fighting with the Earl of Salisbury. And in the
-winter, the Welsh vassals of York were gathered round the castle of
-Ludlow. Hitherto York and his partisans had persistently declared
-themselves the faithful servants of the Crown, interested only in
-the removal of the King’s bad ministers. None the less, in the
-beginning of the year 1452, Somerset and the King marched into
-the West, where York had been collecting his vassals, while York,
-moving in the opposite direction, passed the royal troops, and
-appeared in Kent, where he felt sure of support.
-
-[Sidenote: He is duped into submission.]
-
-This summoned the King back towards London; he took up his position
-at Blackheath, and there received the demands of York, to which
-he consented, promising to imprison Somerset, and to form a new
-council. Trusting to this promise, York disbanded his army, and
-went to have an interview with the King. He there discovered, to
-his dismay, that he had been deceived. His rival was in the tent,
-and evidently still in favour. Hot words were exchanged, but
-ultimately York was compelled to renew his oath of loyalty, and
-the Somerset party for the instant triumphed. The next Parliament
-was strongly in their favour; the speaker, Thomas Thorpe, a strong
-partisan of the Lancastrians. The King’s half-brothers, the sons
-of Owen Tudor, (Edmund, Earl of Richmond, and Jasper, Earl of
-Pembroke,) were brought prominently forward as members of the
-royal house, and Cardinal Kemp, now Archbishop of Canterbury and
-Chancellor, declared that the Government would enforce peace by
-arms if necessary.
-
-[Sidenote: Imbecility of the King. Prince of Wales born. 1454.]
-
-[Sidenote: York’s first Protectorate.]
-
-This triumph was of short duration. News arrived of the failure
-of the new expedition for the rescue of Guienne, and of the
-death of Talbot, Lord Shrewsbury, its leader, at Castillon. And
-worse than that, the King, who had all his life suffered both
-from bodily and intellectual weakness, fell into a condition of
-hopeless imbecility. Under these circumstances, the birth of a
-Prince called Edward, which might have added to the strength of
-the Lancastrian party, was but a source of weakness. York, as heir
-presumptive to the throne of a sickly monarch, might have been
-contented to wait; the birth of a new heir apparent urged him to
-do what he had to do quickly. The opportunity, too, now offered
-itself; during the imbecility of the King, some regent was wanted;
-there was no excuse for passing over York. An instant change of
-government was the consequence. Somerset was apprehended. Even
-the Parliament chosen under the Lancastrian influence could not
-refuse, after it had obtained proof of Henry’s folly, to appoint
-Richard. The amount of authority given him seems to have been
-exactly that which Gloucester had enjoyed. He was President of the
-Council, and chief executive officer. His office was terminable
-at the royal will. Though thus limited, his power was sufficient
-to enable him to change the constitution of the Council, to carry
-through a breach of Parliamentary privilege by imprisoning for a
-debt Thorpe the speaker, and on the death of Cardinal Kemp, to
-appoint his brother-in-law Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, to
-the chancellorship.
-
-[Sidenote: Recovery of the King. 1454.]
-
-[Sidenote: York again appears In arms.]
-
-[Sidenote: First battle of St. Albans. May 22, 1455.]
-
-But the supremacy of York disappeared as suddenly as it had
-arisen. At the end of 1454, on Christmas Day, the King recovered
-his senses. Everything was immediately reversed. Somerset was
-taken from the Tower and declared innocent. York’s officers were
-displaced. True to the policy of his house, Henry restored the
-chancellorship to the Church by the appointment of Thomas Bouchier,
-Archbishop of Canterbury. But York had now determined upon an
-appeal to arms. Urged by fear of Somerset, and by dislike to the
-secondary position which the Prince’s birth had given him, and in
-company with the Nevilles, Lord Salisbury, and his son the Earl of
-Warwick, he advanced towards London, to forestall the action of
-the Parliament summoned to meet at Leicester, which he expected
-to be hostile to him. At the same time the royal troops were
-marching northward. The two forces consequently met. From Royston,
-York wrote a letter still declaring his loyalty, and stating his
-conditions. It was unanswered, and on the 21st of May the armies
-met at St. Albans. The King had with him the Dukes of Somerset and
-Buckingham, the Earls of Northumberland, Pembroke, Devonshire,
-Stafford, Dorset, Wiltshire, Clifford, and Sudely. The battle was
-fought in the town, and the victory, chiefly owing to Warwick, fell
-to the Duke of York. Somerset, Northumberland, and Clifford fell.
-Most of the other leaders were wounded, and the King himself was
-suffering from an arrow wound when York and the Nevilles came to
-him, knelt before him, begged his favour, and carried him with them
-in apparent harmony to London.
-
-[Sidenote: Character of the two parties.]
-
-On examining the chief names which occur as those of the leaders
-on either side in this the first battle of the Wars of the Roses,
-it will be seen that it was the Nevilles and Norfolk chiefly
-on whom York relied; his own relations, the Percies, and other
-gentlemen of the North, which constituted the strength of Henry’s
-party. There seem to have been three principles of division at
-work--family, geographical position, political views; and with
-regard to family, it would seem that the quarrel was one of very
-long standing, dating back as far as the reign of Richard II. It
-has been already pointed out that there was constantly some branch
-or other of the Plantagenet party in opposition to the reigning
-branch, which took for its cry reform of government and the good
-cause of England. In Richard II.’s reign Gloucester had represented
-this party. If we take the names of the Lords Appellant in the
-year 1387, we find them to be Gloucester and Derby, Plantagenets;
-Warwick, a Beauchamp; Nottingham, a Mowbray; and Arundel. Now, of
-these, the second, Derby, became afterwards King as Henry IV.,
-and the opposition which he had at one time helped to direct was
-turned against himself and his family. The families of Mowbray
-and of Arundel had coalesced in the Duke of Norfolk. The heiress
-of the Beauchamps had married the Earl of Salisbury’s son Richard
-Neville, who with his wife had inherited the title of Warwick. The
-addition therefore to the party was that of the important family
-of the Nevilles, which had been consistently faithful to Henry IV.
-But this family had now become allied by marriage with the Duke
-of York himself (who had married Cecily Neville), with the Duke
-of Norfolk, and as we have seen with the family of Beauchamp. In
-addition to this, the fact that the rival house of the Percies had
-since the restoration of the son of Hotspur been firm supporters of
-the Lancastrian dynasty, would have been enough to put the Nevilles
-on the opposite side. The two families had ever been rivals for
-the chief influence in the North of England; and even now Lord
-Egremont, a Percy, was at open war with the Earl of Salisbury in
-the neighbourhood of York. Of the leaders appearing on the side
-of Henry, Northumberland was a Percy, and therefore enemy of the
-Nevilles; Somerset was a Beaufort, and of the Lancastrian house;
-Pembroke and Richmond were the King’s half-brothers; Clifford
-was one of the great lords of the North, and an opponent of the
-Nevilles; Wiltshire was James Butler of Ormond, of that family
-whose misgovernment York had been sent to cure. Of Buckingham and
-the Staffords, whose mother was a Plantagenet, it may be supposed
-that in the family quarrel they preferred the reigning house.
-
-This seems to lead to the conclusion that in the main the war
-was a fight of faction, a tissue of hereditary family rivalries
-resting upon merely personal grounds. But beyond these there were
-geographical and political reasons which had their influence on
-the bulk of the nation. The demand for reform of government, the
-support given to the national prejudice in favour of continued war,
-and the opposition to the strong Church views of the Government,
-had rendered the party of York distinctly the popular one. The
-North of England was always more subject than the South to baronial
-influence. It was in the South therefore, in Kent, and in the
-trading cities, that the strength of the Yorkist party chiefly
-lay. To this of course must be added the very large estates held
-by York himself, as the heir of the Mortimers in the West; and
-the vast property of the various branches of the Nevilles. On the
-other hand, the Lancastrian party was that of the lower nobility,
-and of the Church, and found its strength in the baronial North.
-Politically, to speak broadly, it was the party of the Conservative
-gentry and the High Church, pitted against the party of reform of
-Church and State headed by a few great nobles; geographically, it
-was the North withstanding the attacks of the South.
-
-[Sidenote: York’s second brief Protectorate. 1456.]
-
-[Sidenote: With the Nevilles he retires from Court.]
-
-[Sidenote: Hollow reconciliation of parties. 1458.]
-
-One effect of the battle of St. Albans was, that the King again
-sank into lethargy. Again, for a brief space, was the power of York
-irresistible; he was appointed by the Lords to his old position
-of Protector. He was still careful not to speak of his claim to
-the crown, and accepted the Protectorate only as the gift of both
-Houses of Parliament. Again, however, the King suddenly recovered.
-In February, York was removed from his protectorate, and the Queen
-and Somerset were again ruling. The following year, a great meeting
-of the Council was held at Coventry, where York and his friends
-were again compelled to renew their fealty. But the loss of life
-at St. Albans had rendered the party feud much more violent, and
-York was induced to believe that the Queen had aims against his
-life. He and his friends at once separated; York to his western
-castle of Wigmore, Salisbury to Middleham in Yorkshire, Warwick to
-Calais, of which town he was the governor. Whatever influence the
-King had seems to have been directed to produce reconciliation. For
-this purpose he induced, in January, the rival chiefs to meet in
-London. The peace of the town was intrusted to the citizens, and a
-solemn reconciliation brought about, based upon money payments to
-be made by the Yorkists to the sufferers at St. Albans. Meanwhile,
-Warwick, a lawless and independent person, was living as a sort of
-authorized pirate at Calais. He attacked a fleet of ships, as he
-believed Spanish; they afterwards proved to be Hanseatic vessels.
-He was consequently summoned to Court to explain his conduct. There
-a quarrel arose between his servants and those of the King, and at
-once the ephemeral reconciliation was destroyed.
-
-[Sidenote: Renewed hostilities. Battle of Blore Heath. Sept. 23,
-1459.]
-
-[Sidenote: Flight of the Yorkists from Ludlow.]
-
-[Sidenote: Lancastrian Parliament at Coventry.]
-
-[Sidenote: Fresh attack of the Yorkists. Battle of Northampton.
-July 10, 1460.]
-
-Both parties prepared again for war. The Court having been told
-that Salisbury was going to Kenilworth to concert measures with
-Duke Richard, Lord Audley was sent with an armed force to intercept
-him. The consequence was the battle of Blore Heath on the confines
-of Shropshire, in which Salisbury was completely victorious. A
-general meeting of the three great Yorkist nobles took place at
-Ludlow, where Warwick brought his veterans from Calais, under
-Sir Andrew Trollope. Again the old proclamation against evil
-governors was issued; but for some unexplained reason Trollope
-suddenly deserted, and, deprived of their most trustworthy troops,
-the leaders thought it wise to fly. York took refuge in Ireland,
-with his son Edmund of Rutland, while his eldest son, Edward
-of March, with Warwick, found security in Calais. Their flight
-caused something like a revolution, so complete was the triumph
-of the Lancastrians. The Parliament was assembled at Coventry,
-probably with much illegal violence, and bills of attainder were
-passed against the Yorkist leaders. But Warwick was determined
-upon further action. Having command of the sea, he contrived an
-interview with Richard in Ireland, and accompanied by his father
-and the young Earl of March, he landed in Kent, where he was
-rapidly joined by the people, and appeared at the head of 30,000
-men in London. Having captured the capital, with the exception
-of the Tower, which Lord Scales held, they advanced northwards.
-The two armies met in the neighbourhood of Northampton. The
-Lancastrians were strongly intrenched, but the intrenchment
-once broken through, a terrible slaughter ensued. Buckingham,
-Shrewsbury, Beaumont, and Egremont were slain. The wretched King
-was found deserted in his tent. Again the scene after St. Albans
-was repeated, and York, returning from Ireland, was once more
-master of affairs.
-
-[Sidenote: Yorkist Parliament in London.]
-
-[Sidenote: York at last advances claims to the throne.]
-
-[Sidenote: The Lords agree on a compromise.]
-
-On the 7th of October a Parliament was held in London. All the acts
-of the Parliament of Coventry were annulled, on the ground that its
-members had been illegally elected, and in some instances that they
-had not been elected at all. And then first did York, who appears
-to have thought that all less decided measures had been tried in
-vain, bring forward a distinct claim to the throne. This claim he
-sent in writing to the House of Lords, with whom alone it was said
-the decision could lie, pointing out, what was undeniable, that his
-hereditary claim was better than that of Henry VI. The majority of
-the Lords were at heart Lancastrian. They had, moreover, again and
-again sworn fealty to the reigning house; and to their common sense
-as proprietors it seemed ridiculous that an undisturbed possession
-of more than fifty years, defended by numerous Acts of Parliament,
-should be set aside by mere hereditary claim. With the Yorkists
-triumphant, they were naturally disinclined to give any answer, but
-it was in vain they applied to the judges or to the crown lawyers.
-The judges declared the question beyond their cognizance, and the
-crown lawyers argued that it was therefore much more beyond theirs.
-Thrown back upon themselves, the Lords devised a compromise by
-which they could save their consciences with regard to the oath
-of fealty, and yet give effect to the hereditary claim, which was
-urged by such awkwardly strong supporters. They agreed that the
-King should hold the crown for life, that it should then pass to
-Richard and his heirs, that Richard should meanwhile be created
-Prince of Wales and heir presumptive, and be the practical ruler
-of the Kingdom. That in spite of his victorious position he should
-have been able only to secure this compromise, seems to prove the
-close equality of the parties, and perhaps, taken in connection
-with his previous action, the moderation of Richard.
-
-[Sidenote: York is defeated and killed at Wakefield. Dec. 30, 1460.]
-
-[Sidenote: The young Duke of York wins the Battle of Mortimer’s
-Cross. Feb. 2, 1461.]
-
-[Sidenote: The Queen, advancing to London, wins the second battle
-of St. Albans. Feb. 17.]
-
-[Sidenote: Sudden rising of the home counties.]
-
-[Sidenote: Triumphant entry of Edward.]
-
-The Queen had no intention of submitting to this verdict. Trusting
-to the power of the North, which was constantly true to her,
-and collecting round her all the great chiefs of her party, she
-moved to York. Richard at once determined to hasten against her.
-Salisbury accompanied him; Edward, his eldest son, was ordered to
-collect troops; Warwick was charged with the care of the King.
-With extreme rashness, York met vastly superior forces in the
-neighbourhood of Wakefield. Unexpectedly attacked, his little army
-was completely destroyed. He was himself taken prisoner, dragged
-with every sign of indignity before the Queen, mockingly crowned
-with a wreath of grass, and then beheaded. His second son, Rutland,
-but seventeen years of age, was killed in cold blood as he fled,
-and Salisbury, who was also captured, was beheaded at the demand
-of the people. March was collecting troops in the West when he
-heard of his father’s death, and hastening northwards, he suddenly
-turned upon a small pursuing force under Pembroke and Wiltshire,
-and completely defeated them at Mortimer’s Cross. The Queen’s
-army meanwhile pushed southward. The wild northerners seemed to
-fancy they were marching through a foreign country. The fiercest
-destruction and plundering marked the course of their march. To
-meet them, Norfolk and Warwick had come from London to St. Albans,
-and there a second battle was fought, this time with the complete
-defeat of the Yorkists. The King again fell into the hands of
-the Queen. This battle, as all the others during these wars, was
-marked by extraordinary destruction among the chiefs, and followed
-by vindictive executions. Had the Queen pushed direct to London
-the Yorkist party might have been destroyed. But she could not
-hold her wild troops in hand. Their devastations excited the anger
-of the people. All round London the populace rose, determined to
-avoid the government which promised to be so cruel. The young Earl
-of March, whom Warwick had joined with the remnant of his troops,
-took advantage of this feeling, and advanced triumphantly to the
-capital. At a meeting in Clerkenwell, the Chancellor, the Bishop
-of Exeter, explained the claims of the House of York. The question
-“Shall Edward be your King?” was received with general cries of
-approbation. The news was brought to the young prince in Baynard’s
-Castle, and the next day he ascended the throne in Westminster
-Hall, explained with his own lips his hereditary claims, and then
-proceeded to the Abbey where his coronation was performed.
-
-
-
-
-EDWARD IV.
-
-1461-1483.
-
- Born 1441 = Elizabeth Woodville.
- |
- +------------+--------+---------+--------------------------+
- | | | | |
- Edward V. Richard, George. Elizabeth = Henry VII. Six other
- Duke of daughters.
- York.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- James III., 1460. | Louis XI., 1461. | Frederick III., | Henry IV., 1454.
- | | 1440. | Ferdinand V.,
- | | | 1474.
-
- POPES.--Pius II., 1458. Paul II., 1464. Sixtus IV., 1471.
-
- _Archbishops._ | _Chancellors._
- |
- Thomas Bouchier, 1454. | George Neville, 1461.
- | Robert Stillington, 1467.
- | Laurence Booth, 1473.
- | Rotherham, 1475.
-
-
-[Sidenote: Edward secures the crown. 1461.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Towton. Mar. 29.]
-
-[Sidenote: Yorkist Parliament.]
-
-Though in after years much addicted to sensual pleasure, Edward
-IV. never lost his practical energy; he was not a man to leave
-unimproved his present triumphant position. He at once despatched
-the Duke of Norfolk to the East of England to collect an army,
-and with the Earl of Warwick himself hastened northward, with an
-army composed chiefly of Welshmen from his own possessions, and
-of men of Kent, the great supporters of his house. In Yorkshire
-he met his enemy. The passage of the river Aire was disputed at
-Ferry Bridge; the Yorkists, under Lord Falconbridge (a Neville),
-falling upon the rear of Clifford and his Lancastrians, stopped
-his passage, and killed that leader. On the 28th of March the
-armies were in presence, some eight miles from York. The battle
-was to be a decisive one. No quarter was to be expected on either
-side. The numbers engaged--of the Lancastrians, 60,000, of the
-Yorkists 48,000--were much larger than in most of the battles of
-these wars. For once the nation felt some interest in the quarrel.
-The change of the wind blew the snow continually in the eyes of
-the Lancastrians, and when the battle had raged through a great
-part of the night and till noon of the following day, the Yorkists
-had secured a complete victory. Again, the greatest names of the
-nobility are mentioned among the slain. Northumberland fell in
-the battle, Devonshire and Wiltshire were beheaded after it, and
-many reports speak of from 28,000 to 33,000 men left dead upon the
-field.[96] Henry and his Queen, with Somerset and Exeter, fled
-into Scotland, and purchased such assistance as that country could
-give in the midst of its own intestine commotions by a promise
-of Berwick and Carlisle. Edward now felt safe on his throne, and
-returned to London, where the joy was great. There, in November,
-he met his first Parliament, by whom the three last monarchs were
-declared usurpers, and the acts of their reigns annihilated, with
-the exception of such judicial decisions as would if repealed have
-thrown the country into confusion. All the great leaders of the
-Lancastrian party were attainted, and their property confiscated.
-The session closed with a personal address of thanks from the King
-to the Commons, an unusual occurrence, and marking the political
-position of the House of York.
-
-[Sidenote: With French help Margaret keeps up the war. 1462.]
-
-[Sidenote: Hedgeley Moor. Hexham. April 1464.]
-
-Meanwhile, Margaret had been seeking assistance from her own
-country, France; but Louis, busy in his own affairs and content
-with the enforced neutrality of England, only gave her a small sum
-of money, and allowed Peter de Brezé, Seneschal of Normandy, to
-enlist troops for her. With these forces she succeeded in capturing
-the three northern fortresses of Bamborough, Dunstanburgh and
-Alnwick. But before the end of the year, the two first of these
-were recovered, and Edward was so strong, that even Somerset and
-Percy deserted to his side. Again, the next year, the Queen with De
-Brezé attempted in vain to relieve Alnwick. Her fleet was wrecked,
-and with difficulty she made her way back to Scotland. But, though
-beaten, her cause was still alive. In various parts of the country,
-disturbances showed themselves. The clergy missed the favour they
-had received from the Lancastrians; and, in the beginning of the
-following year, the Percies and Somerset had gone back to their own
-party, and renewed attempts were made upon the North of England.
-But Warwick’s brother Montague, at Hedgeley Moor, and again at
-Hexham, destroyed their forces, and both Percy and Somerset met
-their death. This was the second Duke of Somerset who had died
-in these wars. He was succeeded by his brother Edmund. A greater
-prize was the King, who, after hiding for some time, was captured,
-in 1465, in Yorkshire, and brought with all signs of indignity to
-London. He was there, however, properly taken care of in the Tower.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward’s popular government.]
-
-[Sidenote: Apparent security of his throne.]
-
-Supported by his Commons, who granted him the wool tax and tonnage
-and poundage for life, King Edward seemed firmly seated on the
-throne. He was essentially a popular king. He sat and judged on
-his own King’s Bench, talked familiarly with the people, and
-allowed the Commons to pass popular measures of finance, without
-regard to their want of wisdom. A revocation of grants from the
-Crown was made, but with exceptions which rendered it nugatory;
-the importation of foreign corn or foreign merchandise was
-forbidden. The arrangement of the staple, by which wool and cloth
-could be sold only at Calais, and for bullion or ready money, was
-re-established; and still further to uphold the current theory
-of the day, and to keep gold and silver in the country, strict
-sumptuary laws were passed. Abroad, too, all seemed peaceful.
-The Pope had acknowledged the new King. France was too busy to
-interfere. With the rest of Europe treaties of amity were set on
-foot; and even with Scotland a long truce was made.
-
-[Sidenote: Destroyed by his marriage, 1466,]
-
-[Sidenote: and rise of the Woodvilles.]
-
-But the King had a weakness of character which destroyed his fine
-position. He was a slave to his passions; and now, regardless
-of all prudence, though various royal matches were suggested,
-especially one with Bona of Savoy, the sister of the French Queen,
-he was carried away by his admiration for Elizabeth Woodville,
-the daughter of Jacquetta, the Duchess Dowager of Bedford, and
-Richard Woodville, Lord Rivers, and the widow of Sir John Grey, a
-strong Lancastrian partisan. On the 29th of September, in spite
-of the opposition which he could not but have expected, the King
-was publicly married in the chapel at Reading. Had not the King
-recognised the weakness of the nobility, caused by the slaughters
-of the late wars, he would scarcely have ventured on a marriage
-so much beneath him. As it was, the few great nobles who remained
-were deeply hurt, and Edward found himself obliged to make the
-best of his plebeian marriage. An unusually ostentatious and
-solemn coronation was held, and an air of aristocracy given to
-the ceremony by the presence of his wife’s relative, John of
-Luxembourg. His other measures for the same purpose were not so
-well judged. The marriage might have been pardoned had it not
-brought with it the elevation of the whole of the Queen’s family,
-whom the King thought it necessary to raise in social rank. Her
-father was made an Earl, and given in succession the offices of
-Constable and Treasurer, and this at the expense of the nobles who
-were then holding those places. Her brother Anthony, a man of great
-accomplishments, was given the daughter, inheritance, and titles
-of Lord Scales. Another brother, John, at the age of twenty, was
-married, it is to be presumed, chiefly for interested reasons, to
-the old Duchess of Norfolk, who was nearly eighty. Her five sisters
-found husbands among the noblest of the Yorkist party.[97]
-
-[Sidenote: Power of the Nevilles.]
-
-[Sidenote: Their French policy. Burgundian policy of Edward. 1467.]
-
-The displeasure of the Nevilles did not, however, at first
-show itself, and Warwick stood godfather to the young Princess
-Elizabeth. Their position indeed was still one of enormous
-influence; George, the youngest brother, was Chancellor and
-Archbishop of York; to his third brother, John of Montague, had
-been given the property and title of the Percies, and he was now
-Earl of Northumberland; and Warwick, Warden of the Western Marches
-of Scotland, and in the receipt of public income said to amount to
-80,000 crowns, was the most popular man in the country. He lived
-with an ostentatious splendour, which threw all his rivals into the
-background.[98] Nevertheless the marriage, and the formation of the
-new nobility consequent on it, began to divide England into new
-parties; on the one side, such as were left of the old nobility;
-on the other, the new. It was plain that the Nevilles, pledged
-though they were to the Yorkist side, would sooner or later side
-with their order against the King and his new friends. A still
-more important cause of quarrel existed in the difference between
-their foreign policy and that of the King. The House of Burgundy
-and Louis XI. of France were constant rivals; and while Warwick and
-the Nevilles inclined towards a French alliance, thus deserting
-the old policy of the Yorkists, Edward, seeing the advantages he
-would reap in a mercantile point of view, lent a willing ear to
-the advances of Charles, known afterwards as Charles the Bold of
-Burgundy, who was now demanding his sister Margaret as his wife. As
-a contingent advantage he knew that he would find in the Burgundian
-Prince a ready acknowledgment of his title to the crown of France,
-which he still had some thought of making good. On the return of
-Warwick from a friendly embassy to France, he found an alliance
-with Burgundy already concluded. The Count de la Roche, the natural
-brother of Charles, had appeared in England on the pretext of
-fighting a chivalrous duel with Anthony, Lord Scales; and had
-apparently arranged the marriage between Charles and Margaret
-which was consummated early in the following year. It would seem
-that this had been done contrary to the will of the Nevilles;
-for just before the arrival of De la Roche, at the opening of
-Parliament, Warwick was absent, and the King had suddenly deprived
-the Archbishop of York of his chancellorship, which he had given to
-the Bishop of Bath and Wells.
-
-[Sidenote: Defection of the Nevilles.]
-
-[Sidenote: Popular risings inspired by them. 1469.]
-
-With these causes of quarrel, Warwick and the Nevilles fell back
-into their old position of opposition to the Crown; and more
-completely to reproduce the often-repeated state of English
-politics, succeeded in securing a Plantagenet Prince as their
-nominal leader. The Duke of Clarence, Edward’s brother, was
-induced, in spite of the King’s prohibition, to go to Calais, and
-there marry Isabella, Warwick’s daughter. This ominous union soon
-produced fruits. The lower orders--those orders that are below the
-burgher class--cared but little for the name of the ruler; it was
-much the same to them whether Lancastrian or Yorkist was on the
-throne, their interests were confined to evils which pressed upon
-themselves. They were therefore ready instruments in the hands
-of the opposition. And upon a quarrel upon some Church dues, the
-men of the northern counties rose under a popular leader, Robert
-Hilyard, commonly called Robin of Redesdale. The insurgents soon
-found nobler leaders. Lords Latimer and Fitz-Hugh, relations of
-Warwick, and Sir John Coniers appeared at their head, and with
-60,000 men marched southward, declaring that Warwick alone could
-save the country, complaining that the money wrung from the people
-was squandered upon the Queen’s relatives, and demanding the
-dismissal of the new counsellors, such as Herbert, Stafford, and
-Audley. At the same time, Warwick and his brothers promised the
-men of Kent that they would appear at their head to make demands
-similar to those of the northern insurgents. Herbert, who had just
-beaten Jasper Tudor with the last remnant of the Lancastrians in
-Wales, and received his title of Earl of Pembroke, and Humphrey
-Stafford, who had been made Earl of Devonshire, advanced against
-the rebels; but quarrelling between themselves, they were defeated,
-and Pembroke beheaded, while shortly after, Rivers and Sir John
-Woodville, the Queen’s father and brother, were captured and
-met the same fate. It was sufficiently plain that Warwick had
-instigated this rebellion. The destruction of his chief enemies
-made his power for the time paramount. He even kept Edward for
-a short period prisoner in his castle of Middleham. But his
-disapprobation of the Government had not yet gone so far as to make
-him wish for a return of the Lancastrians. And when that party
-again raised its standard in the North, he felt himself unable to
-cope with it without the King’s assistance, and therefore released
-him. A complete pardon was granted to the Nevilles, and apparent
-harmony again reigned.
-
-[Sidenote: Clarence’s weakness drives the Nevilles to the
-Lancastrians.]
-
-[Sidenote: Wells’ rebellion. 1470.]
-
-[Sidenote: Flight of Warwick.]
-
-But it must have been obvious to all parties that it was but a
-temporary truce.[99] Had Clarence been a man of more ability,
-Warwick would probably have put him on the throne. Failing him,
-it began to be plain to the Earl that it was only by connection
-with the Lancastrian party that he could hope finally to triumph
-over his enemies the new nobility. A new insurrection broke out in
-Lincoln, against the oppressions of the royal tax-gatherers. The
-insurgents, finding themselves no better off under the new dynasty
-than they had been before, declared for King Henry. At their head
-was young Sir Robert Wells. The King, not yet aware of Warwick’s
-designs, under promise of pardon drew Lord Wells (Sir Robert’s
-father) and Sir Thomas Dymock from the sanctuary, and kept them
-as hostages, and intrusted Warwick and Clarence with the duty
-of collecting troops to repress the insurgents. They collected
-troops, indeed, but did not suppress the insurgents; and the King
-discovered that they were acting in union with Sir Robert Wells. He
-at once put Dymock and Wells to death, routed the insurgents near
-Empingham in Rutland, at a battle known by the name of “Lose Coat
-Field,” and turned his arms against Clarence and Warwick, who had
-been seeking assistance in vain from his brother-in-law Stanley in
-Lancashire. They did not await his coming, but rapidly fled through
-Devonshire to France. Sir Robert Wells, anxious to revenge his
-father, had driven matters on too hastily for the success of the
-conspiracy. Warwick had always been anxious for a French alliance,
-and was therefore well received by Louis, who felt that there was
-now but little chance of peace with England except by restoration
-of the Lancastrians. He therefore contrived to bring the Earl and
-Margaret together; and the old enemies, finding that they had in
-common their hatred to the new nobility and their views of foreign
-politics, agreed to forget their old differences, and made a treaty
-by which Ann Neville was to marry the Prince of Wales, upon whom
-the throne was settled. Failing him it was to pass to Clarence.
-This treaty, which put Clarence’s claims in the background, did
-not please him; and, utterly without principle, he at once opened
-negotiations with his brother, although he did not as yet openly
-join him.
-
-[Sidenote: Warwick returns and re-crowns Henry.]
-
-In spite of all the warnings which he received from Burgundy,
-Edward remained in a condition of false security, even allowing
-Montague to retain his offices in England. He was absent from
-London in the North, when the Queen, Warwick and Clarence landed
-in Devonshire, issued a proclamation calling on the nation to
-arm, and soon found themselves surrounded by a sufficient army.
-So far did Edward carry his want of suspicion, that Montague, who
-at once declared for the Red Rose, as nearly as possible captured
-him at dinner in the neighbourhood of Doncaster; he had just time
-to escape, and fled (not without danger from a Hanseatic fleet) to
-Flanders. Warwick and his friends proceeded to London, drew the
-old King from the Tower, and re-crowned him with all ceremony.
-A Parliament assembled on the 26th of November. All the Acts of
-Edward’s reign were annulled, and a general change took place in
-property and offices. It marks the effect of the fusion of parties,
-that this revolution, unlike most of the events of this war, was
-almost bloodless. Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, who had rendered
-himself hateful by his severity as Constable, was almost the only
-victim.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward gets help from Burgundy. 1471.]
-
-[Sidenote: Clarence joins him.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Barnet. April 14.]
-
-Though on many grounds (personal hatred to Warwick, sympathy with
-Edward’s enmity to France, and mercantile and family reasons)
-the Duke of Burgundy would have been naturally attached to the
-House of York, this friendship was of new growth, and could not
-make him forget his long connection with the House of Lancaster.
-It was therefore with much difficulty that Edward got from him
-a small pecuniary assistance. With such as it was, however, he
-collected about 2000 men, and took, what at first sight appears,
-the foolhardy step of landing at Ravenspur in Yorkshire. But
-he knew that he had friends in his enemy’s camp. At first,
-declaring, in imitation of Henry IV., that he only came to
-claim his rights as Duke of York, he passed unmolested through
-Yorkshire, where Montague was. Even Warwick, who lay in the
-midland counties, watched his progress unmoved. He had received
-letters from Clarence, begging him not to stir till he joined him
-with reinforcements. But when Clarence took the field, it was not
-Warwick, but Edward to whom he went. Strong enough now again to
-assume the name of King of England, Edward marched to London, where
-the Archbishop of York had tried in vain to raise enthusiasm for
-the Lancastrian King. Too late, Warwick found that he had been
-deceived, and he also marched towards London. Edward met him with
-inferior forces in the neighbourhood of Barnet, and there a battle
-was fought, in which Warwick was entirely defeated, and himself
-and his brother Montague killed. Probably the great bulk of the
-people cared but little who was their ruler. York’s army was very
-small--less than 10,000 men. A series of accidents gave him the
-victory. The indifference of the nation, weary of the squabble,
-explains the rapid success of these revolutions.
-
-[Sidenote: Margaret lands.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Tewkesbury. May 4.]
-
-Meanwhile, the day before the battle, Queen Margaret had landed at
-Weymouth. For the moment, the true Lancastrians were almost glad
-when they heard that they were rid of their new Yorkist ally. The
-Queen’s generals intended to march through Wales, there make a
-junction with Jasper Tudor, who was collecting forces, and thence
-move to their strongholds in the North. Edward divined their plan,
-and pushed rapidly across England, to secure if possible Gloucester
-and the valley of the Severn. The armies encountered at Tewkesbury,
-where the Queen had taken a strong position among the abbey
-buildings and the neighbouring enclosures. Again the superior skill
-of Edward secured the victory to his much inferior forces. The few
-remaining Lancastrian nobles, the Prince of Wales, Devonshire,
-Lord John Beaufort, and others, fell upon the field. The Duke of
-Somerset, the fourth and last of the Beauforts, was executed after
-it. Margaret and some others were taken prisoners.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward’s triumphant return. Murder of Henry VI.]
-
-There was one other danger, and then the Lancastrian party
-seemed destroyed for ever. The Bastard of Falconbridge suddenly
-appeared with a considerable fleet before London. The gallant
-defence of the citizens, and the arrival of assistance from the
-King, thwarted this last effort, and Edward returned in triumph,
-having proved the stability of the house of York. His arrival was
-immediately followed by the secret murder of King Henry, one of
-those dark deeds which has been attributed without much ground
-to Edward’s brother, Richard of Gloucester. A bloody court of
-justice held in Canterbury, for the punishment of the Kentish men,
-closed this revolution of eleven weeks. On the subsequent death
-of Holland, Earl of Exeter, whose body was found upon the sea in
-the Straits of Dover, there were but two important members of
-the Lancastrian party left. These were Oxford, and Jasper Tudor,
-Earl of Pembroke, who made good their escape to Brittany, whence
-Jasper’s nephew subsequently returned to England in that expedition
-which terminated in Bosworth field. The clergy and the lesser
-nobles, seeing further contest useless, made their peace with the
-reigning house, and received pardons, and after Parliament had
-re-established the Yorkist dynasty, the wars of the Roses seemed to
-be at an end, and England at peace.
-
-[Sidenote: Clarence’s quarrel with Richard. 1476.]
-
-[Sidenote: With Edward. 1477.]
-
-[Sidenote: His trial.]
-
-[Sidenote: His death. 1478.]
-
-But the house of York was now to feel that ineradicable evil
-which beset the Plantagenets. The princes of the family could not
-agree. Clarence had already occupied the position of chief of the
-opposition. He had already joined in the struggle between the old
-and new nobility as the partisan of the former party. Richard,
-a man of far greater ability, and of a reflective turn of mind,
-was in his heart inclined in the same direction. For the present,
-however, he saw his advantage in remaining the true and very
-efficient assistant of his brother Edward, by whom he had been
-intrusted with the government of the North. Clarence, incapable
-of being a great party leader, showed his disposition in lesser
-matters, and quarrelled with both his brothers. He had himself
-married Warwick’s eldest daughter, Isabella, and was anxious to
-appropriate all the great Warwick possessions. When Richard,
-therefore, determined upon marrying Anne, the younger sister, he
-hid the young lady, who is said to have been discovered by her
-lover in the dress of a servant-maid, and when he was unable to
-prevent the marriage, refused to divide the inheritance. A fierce
-quarrel was the consequence, and it required the intervention of
-Parliament to secure an equitable division of the property. Thus
-embroiled with one brother, the Duke of Clarence speedily fell out
-with the other. On the death of his wife in 1476, he turned his
-thoughts to a second marriage with Mary of Burgundy, who became, on
-the death of Charles the Bold at Nancy in 1477, the heiress of his
-vast dominions. Edward prevented the marriage. In the first place,
-he would have much disliked to see his brother, on whom he had not
-the smallest reliance, powerful in Burgundy, and again, the Queen,
-and the Queen’s party of the new nobility, were anxious that
-Mary should be married to the Earl of Rivers. The breach between
-the brothers was complete, and Edward, who never knew pity, only
-watched for an opportunity to rid himself of Clarence. The occasion
-chosen was trivial enough, but very characteristic of that age.
-A gentleman of Clarence’s household, called Burdett, had uttered
-some angry words against the King. He was shortly after tried
-for necromancy, and as in the course of the inquiry it appeared
-that, among other acts of magic, he had cast the King’s horoscope,
-he was condemned to death. With this verdict Clarence violently
-interfered. Edward was now able to charge him with interfering
-with the course of justice. He was impeached and tried before the
-House of Lords. The King in person was his accuser, and after a hot
-personal quarrel, in which the King charged him with all sorts of
-ungrateful acts of treason, he was condemned to death in 1478. A
-petition of the Commons, always at the command of Edward, removed
-the King’s last scruple, and Clarence disappeared privately at the
-Tower, drowned it is said in a butt of Malmsey wine.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward joins Burgundy against France. 1475.]
-
-[Sidenote: Failure of his expedition.]
-
-[Sidenote: Treaty of Pecquigni. Sept. 13.]
-
-These quarrels had occupied several years, but meanwhile matters
-of more national interest had also engaged Edward’s attention.
-Charles the Bold was full of vast plans for increasing his
-possessions, and with the Duke of Brittany alone of the peers of
-France, resisted the centralizing policy of Louis XI. He found no
-great difficulty in enlisting Edward in a coalition against that
-King. As early as 1472, the war had been spoken of as probable.
-It did not actually take place till 1475, after a treaty had been
-made by which Lorraine, Bar, and other districts lying between
-Burgundy and Flanders were to be given to the Duke, while Edward
-was content to stipulate for the acknowledgment of his title as
-King of France, and a formal coronation at Rheims. The war, begun
-on such feeble conditions, had a disgraceful conclusion. Money, of
-which Edward was very fond, was scraped together, chiefly by the
-personal application of the King for loans known as benevolences,
-and a considerable army landed in France. But Edward did not
-meet with the reception he had expected. Charles, whose mind was
-incapable of carrying out the vast schemes that it planned, was
-engaged in war in other parts of his dominions, and brought no
-help to his ally. The gates of Péronne were shut against him. St.
-Quentin, which Charles had told him would be given up to him by
-the Constable of St. Pol, opened fire upon his troops. Provisions
-were scantily supplied, and Louis, who well knew the character
-of his invader, saw his opportunity. At a private interview with
-the herald who brought the declaration of war, he bribed him, and
-won from him the hint that he might apply successfully either to
-Stanley or to Howard, counsellors high in Edward’s favour. He took
-the hint, found those Lords ready recipients of his bribes, threw
-Amiens open, and supplied the English army lavishly with food; and
-shortly persuaded Edward to arrange terms at a personal interview
-at Pecquigni. He was thoroughly afraid of the English soldiers,
-but rated them very low as diplomatists, and, as his manner was
-when he had great objects in view, was lavish with his money. A
-yearly pension, the expenses of the war, 50,000 crowns as a ransom
-for Margaret, and handsome bribes judiciously given to the chief
-members of the King’s Council, secured the withdrawal of the
-English army. At the same time it was arranged that the Dauphin
-should marry the Princess Elizabeth. It mattered little to him,
-having now the English King in his pay, that the English to cover
-their disgrace spoke of the money payments as tribute, and that
-Edward continued to bear the title of the King of France. Nothing
-can give a better view of the despicable character of that new
-nobility on which Edward rested, than the readiness with which they
-accepted the French King’s bribes.
-
-[Sidenote: Ambitious projects of marriage for his daughters.]
-
-The chief objects of Edward’s life were, to collect money to be
-spent in magnificent debauchery, and to secure the position of his
-house by great marriages for his daughters. He had thus arranged
-for the marriage of Elizabeth, his eldest, with the Dauphin of
-France; Mary was to have been married to the King of Denmark;
-Cicely to the eldest son of James III. of Scotland; Katherine to
-the son of the King of Castile; and Anne was destined for the son
-of Maximilian of Austria, who by his marriage with Mary of Burgundy
-had become the possessor of that duchy. None of these marriages
-took effect. The events connected with some of them fill up the
-remainder of the reign.
-
-[Sidenote: Affairs in Scotland.]
-
-[Sidenote: Edward supports Albany. 1482.]
-
-[Sidenote: England obtains Berwick.]
-
-James III. of Scotland was a man much like Edward, a product of
-the renaissance at that time making its way in England. Addicted
-to art in all its forms, he had surrounded himself with artists,
-and ennobled members of the lower orders, and had estranged all the
-old nobility. At the head of the discontented party was the King’s
-brother, the Duke of Albany. Although James had already received
-some of the dowry of the English Princess, in consequence probably
-of some French intrigues, he seemed inclined to withdraw from the
-engagement. Therefore, when Albany, a fugitive from Scotland,
-sought his protection, Edward determined to support him and his
-party, and, finally, made a treaty with him at Fotheringay, in
-which he spoke of him as King Alexander. He obtained from him a
-promise of homage, and of the cession of Berwick and some other
-districts. Albany also engaged to marry the Princess Cicely, who
-was to be transferred to him, although previously engaged to the
-son of the Scotch King. An invasion of Scotland under Richard of
-Gloucester, and a conspiracy which broke out at the Bridge of
-Lauder, where James’s favourite, Cochrane, was hanged, seemed for
-a moment to raise Albany to the summit of his ambition. But the
-Scotch had no intention of changing the succession to the throne,
-or suffering their kingdom to be in any way dependent on England.
-They restored Albany his property, but also returned the dowry of
-Cicely, and intimated that the match was entirely broken off. The
-advantage that the English gained from the whole affair was the
-much disputed town of Berwick.
-
-The arrangements for the marriage between Elizabeth and the Dauphin
-were equally unsuccessful. Although that Princess had assumed the
-name of the Dauphiness, Louis was in no hurry to complete the
-marriage, and had indeed directed his views elsewhere. In 1477,
-Mary of Burgundy had married Maximilian the Archduke of Austria;
-and now Edward engaged to join him against France upon condition
-of receiving from him the same pension as Louis had paid him
-since Pecquigni. But, as usual, Louis’ diplomacy got the better
-of Edward’s. Mary of Burgundy died in 1482, and the French King
-contrived to make a treaty with Maximilian, by which the Dauphin,
-deserting Elizabeth, engaged himself to Margaret, the heiress of
-Burgundy. Edward was vowing vengeance at this trick, and speaking
-of a new invasion of France, when he died on the 9th of April, worn
-out probably by his self-indulgence.
-
-[Sidenote: Edward’s death. His character. 1483.]
-
-His personal beauty, his success in war, the familiarity of his
-manners, his splendid household, and the share which he allowed
-himself to take in the commercial enterprise of the day, endeared
-Edward to the burgher class, and rendered him on the whole a
-popular monarch. But beneath this splendid exterior there existed
-a pitiless cruelty, a selfishness which sought its gratification
-in unbounded license, and which was ready to crush relentlessly
-any, however nearly related to himself, who crossed his path.
-The mixture of sensuality, love of the new state of society,
-mingled with political selfishness and cruelty, remind us rather
-of the character of an Italian tyrant than of an English king. The
-character of the monarchy which he established was also different
-from that which had hitherto been seen in England. It has been
-usual to name the reign of Henry VII. as that in which this change
-began. It is true that that Prince and his successors completed
-it; but already there are visible all the elements of that
-peculiar despotic government resting upon popular favour, which
-is the characteristic of the Tudor rule. In all respects Edward
-is the popular King. The old nobility had for the most part been
-destroyed. As around the Buonapartes of modern time, a new nobility
-of relatives or personal friends of the King had begun to be called
-into existence. The balance of the Constitution had been changed
-by the removal of the Baronage, the great check on the royal
-power, which now stood, as it were, face to face with the Commons,
-who were as yet unfitted to make head against it. The practice
-of tampering with the elections had ruined the independence of
-Parliament. The Church, no longer in sympathy with the nation,
-sought to secure their wealth by devotion to the Crown. The King
-thus found no class sufficiently strong to check his prerogative.
-For a time, therefore, the constitutional advance of the preceding
-century was lost, and the government of England was practically
-despotism. At the same time, as the disturbances caused by the
-Wars of the Roses were not yet wholly over, and a short period of
-rapid revolutions intervenes before the final establishment of the
-constitutional change now begun, it is more convenient to adopt the
-old division, and to place the epoch of the new monarchy at the
-Battle of Bosworth.
-
-
-
-
-EDWARD V.
-
-1483.
-
-RICHARD III.
-
-1483-1485.
-
- Born, 1450 = Anne of Warwick.
- |
- Edward. Died 1484.
-
- CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
-
- _Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
- | | |
- James III., | Charles VIII., | Frederick III., | Ferdinand, } 1479.
- 1460. | 1483. | 1440. | Isabella, }
-
- POPES.--Sixtus IV., 1471. Innocent VIII., 1484.
-
- _Archbishop._ | _Chancellor._
- |
- Thomas Bouchier, 1454. | John Russell, 1483.
-
-
-[Sidenote: Edward’s reign a revolution.]
-
-[Sidenote: State of parties.]
-
-Edward V. was between twelve and thirteen when he came to the
-throne. His reign, which lasted from the 9th of April to the 26th
-of June, was entirely occupied by a short and not very intelligible
-revolution, which terminated in the accession of his uncle, Richard
-of Gloucester. On the death of Edward IV., the state of parties
-was rather complicated. In the period of success which followed
-his restoration in 1471, he had collected round him counsellors
-from all parties, although chiefly inclined to the new nobility.
-His friends were thus divided into three sections--the Queen and
-her family, the most prominent members of which were Anthony, Lord
-Rivers; Grey, Earl of Dorset; his brother Sir Richard Grey, and
-Lord Lisle, who seem to have worked in unison with the Chancellor,
-Cardinal Rotheram, Archbishop of York, and Morton, Bishop of Ely:
-there were, secondly, the new nobility, of whom Hastings and
-Stanley were the representatives: and, thirdly, a certain number
-of the older nobles led by Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, and Sir
-John Howard. The two latter sections were full of jealousy of
-the Queen’s party, in which feeling Richard joined. But his real
-connection was with Buckingham and the old nobles. His first
-step was, by a union of the other two parties, to overthrow the
-influence of the Queen. This he immediately proceeded to do.
-
-[Sidenote: Richard first overthrows Queen’s party.]
-
-As the young King was being brought to London for his coronation,
-under the care of Rivers and Grey, to whom his education had been
-intrusted, and under whose charge he had lived at Ludlow, Richard
-and Buckingham, with 900 men, appeared upon their line of march at
-Northampton. Rivers and Grey, conscious of the advantage which the
-appearance of the King in London would give them, were unwilling
-to come to an open quarrel, and sent Edward forward to Stony
-Stratford, while they went to pay their respects to Gloucester,
-who had taken the oath of allegiance, and hitherto put on all
-the appearance of loyalty. The two Lords were taken prisoners at
-Northampton, and Richard and Buckingham suddenly advancing to
-Stratford, by the rapidity of their movements dispersed 2000 men
-who accompanied Edward, and took possession of him. The news spread
-dismay in London. The Queen, her son Richard and her daughters,
-with Lord Lisle and the other Grey, took sanctuary at Westminster;
-while Hastings calmed men’s minds by assuring them of Richard’s
-loyalty, that he had only withdrawn the King from the pernicious
-influence of his relations, and that he would speedily appear with
-him to crown him. Upon Richard’s appearance, therefore, everything
-at first went on in the regular order.
-
-[Sidenote: Is made Protector.]
-
-According to precedent, Richard was appointed Protector or
-President of the Council. With the exception of the removal of
-Rotheram, and the appointment of Russell, Bishop of Lincoln, in
-his place, no important changes were made, and the Parliament was
-summoned, and the coronation appointed for midsummer.
-
-[Sidenote: Quarrels with the new nobles.]
-
-[Sidenote: Hastings’ death and fall of his party.]
-
-Having thus vanquished one party, Richard determined to get rid
-of his other rivals also, and to rest exclusively upon Buckingham
-and the old nobles. The coronation was settled for the 22nd of
-June, when suddenly Richard despatched a messenger, Sir Richard
-Ratcliffe, to the North, where he was much beloved, bidding the
-people hasten to his aid, as the Queen was aiming at the life of
-himself and Buckingham. There is no proof of any such conspiracy.
-But the quarrel between the two sections of the Council is marked
-by the fact that they met apart, Hastings and his followers at St.
-Paul’s, Richard, Buckingham, and their friends, at Crosby Place.
-They were however all joined on the 13th of June in the Tower, when
-Richard suddenly appeared with angry and suspicious countenance,
-charged the Queen and Jane Shore, the King’s mistress, who now
-lived with Hastings, with aiming at his life by sorcery, in proof
-of which he exhibited one of his arms, which was smaller than the
-other, and included Hastings in the charge. At a given signal armed
-men entered the chamber, and Hastings, Stanley, and the Bishops of
-York and Ely, were apprehended. Hastings was beheaded without trial
-on the spot.
-
-[Sidenote: Richard, with Buckingham’s help, secures the crown.]
-
-This _coup d’état_ was immediately followed up. The people were
-summoned to the Tower, where Buckingham and Richard appeared
-in rusty armour, as though in their extreme necessity they had
-taken it from the armoury. Jane Shore was compelled to do penance
-through the streets of London. The Queen was persuaded by the
-Archbishop of Canterbury to surrender the young Prince Richard.
-And news arrived that, both in the North and in Wales, the people
-had risen for Richard. At the same time Grey and Rivers, hitherto
-kept prisoners in Northampton, were beheaded. It only remained for
-Richard to find some pretext for assuming the crown. He felt the
-necessity of forestalling the coronation, which would probably have
-withdrawn from him the protectorate, and have brought a commission
-of regency into power. On the very day that the coronation was to
-have been held, Dr. Shaw, brother of the Mayor of London, was put
-up to preach at Paul’s Cross. He took for his text, “The imperfect
-branches shall be broken off, their fruit unprofitable,”[100] and
-proceeded to expatiate upon the lax life of the late King; and
-moreover, to renew the charge which Clarence had once made, that
-that King was himself illegitimate. As for the present Princes,
-he asserted that they too were bastards. According to him, before
-Edward’s marriage with Elizabeth Woodville, he had been engaged
-to Lady Eleanor Talbot; by the laws of the Church, therefore,
-his subsequent marriage was void, and the King and his brothers
-illegitimate. He drew attention to the want of resemblance between
-Richard of York and Edward IV., and the close likeness which
-existed, on the other hand, between Richard and the Protector. At
-this moment the Protector made his appearance, expecting that the
-crowd would cry, “Long live, King Richard!” But the charges were
-too new and surprising; he was received in perfect silence. The
-failure of this attempt induced him to repeat it; and two days
-after, Buckingham came to Guildhall, and there addressed the people
-in a similar strain. He was determined to take no refusal, and upon
-a few cries of approbation, commanded the people to follow him
-to Baynard’s Castle, where Richard then was. The Parliament was
-just assembling, a number of Lords and representatives from the
-Commons joined the crowd, and enabled him with some show of truth
-to draw up a petition called “The choice and prayer of the Lords
-spiritual and temporal and the Commons of England,” in which, after
-recapitulating his story, he requested Richard to accept the crown.
-After some show of resistance, Richard accepted the petition, and
-took solemn possession of the throne at Westminster Abbey on the
-26th. That this choice was by no means unanimous is plain from the
-order issued, commanding the inhabitants of London to keep within
-their houses after ten o’clock, and forbidding the wearing of arms.
-
-[Sidenote: Richard’s policy of conciliation.]
-
-[Sidenote: His strong position.]
-
-Having once secured the throne, the object of Richard seems to have
-been to heal, as far as possible, the wounds that the war had made.
-John Lord Howard was the one of his followers whose reward was
-the most striking. His mother having been a Mowbray, he was made
-Duke of Norfolk and hereditary Marshal of England. The prisoners
-the King had taken, in company with Hastings, were released, and
-with strange and rash magnanimity, Stanley was given the office
-of Constable of England, while Morton of Ely, an old Lancastrian,
-whose influence he seems to have underrated, was sent to reside in
-a castle in the West of England. He even caused the body of Henry
-VI. to be removed from Chertsey Abbey to Windsor, as though the
-breach between the families was healed. The King was crowned in
-London, and then proceeded to make a progress through England. He
-had every reason to think his position was a good one. The people
-everywhere received him with a fair show of good-will. In York,
-where he was a second time crowned, his reception was enthusiastic.
-His foreign relations were also promising. It is true that the
-recognition of France was somewhat brief and grudging; but with
-the young Philip of Burgundy there was an amicable correspondence;
-while Queen Isabella of Castile congratulated him heartily on
-having removed the stain of his brother’s degrading marriage, and
-desired a close alliance with him against France, the chief reason
-perhaps of her show of affection.
-
-[Sidenote: Weak points in it.]
-
-[Sidenote: Disaffection in the South.]
-
-But, though all at first seemed so promising, Richard soon learnt
-that it was not for him to pass unopposed into the position of a
-peaceful governor of a united England. The injury he had done the
-memory of his late brother, the cold-heartedness with which he had
-pushed aside the nephew of whom he was the guardian, and who with
-his brother was kept in secret confinement in the Tower, revived
-the old affection with which the South of England had regarded
-Edward IV. Moreover, the Queen’s party was not destroyed, while
-Richard’s own generosity had left at liberty supporters of the old
-state of affairs. Consequently the whole South of England, from
-Kent to Devonshire, showed signs of an intended insurrection.
-
-[Sidenote: Death of the Princes.]
-
-It was just at this moment, and perhaps in the hope of removing
-those around whom disaffection might centre, that the King caused
-the report to be spread that the young Princes had disappeared from
-the Tower. It is needless to enter into a discussion as to their
-fate. The picturesque story which represents them as smothered
-beneath their bedclothes is the creation of the next age. Indeed,
-the popular view of the events of this reign and of the character
-of Richard is derived almost wholly from Sir Thomas More’s life
-of him. All that contemporary writers mention is that the Princes
-disappeared, and were probably killed. Comines, the French
-historian, an excellent observer, says simply that Richard had the
-Princes killed in the Tower. And the fact that all those who had
-the charge of them, even down to Forest, the warden, were rewarded,
-makes it almost impossible that this should not have been the case.
-
-[Sidenote: Projected marriage of Elizabeth and Richmond.]
-
-[Sidenote: Defection of Buckingham.]
-
-The effect was not what Richard expected. The friends of his late
-brother and of the Queen became still more anxious to preserve the
-old stock, and, probably at the suggestion of Morton, a Lancastrian
-who had found favour in Richard’s sight, the project of a marriage
-between Edward’s daughter Elizabeth and the young Richmond began
-to be discussed. The conspiracy soon proved to be very widespread,
-and it must have been a terrible surprise to Richard to hear that
-his chief friend and accomplice, Buckingham, had declared for the
-house of Lancaster. That nobleman’s motives are not clear, but he
-probably found that the party of the old nobility, of which he was
-the leader, was no better off under Richard than it had been under
-Edward. Like other men of a tyrannical turn of mind, Richard had
-found his chief support in obsequious followers, and Ratcliffe,
-Catesby, and Lovel were his real advisers and friends. The Duke,
-therefore, an unprincipled and very ambitious man, thought he saw
-his advantage in becoming a principal agent in the restoration of
-the exiled house. It is probable, also, that the influence and
-skill of Morton, with whom he had been in communication, may have
-had something to do with it.
-
-[Sidenote: Richmond’s first invasion.]
-
-[Sidenote: Death of Buckingham and failure of the conspiracy.]
-
-News was also brought to Richard that the young Richmond, who
-after Tewkesbury had fled with his uncle to Brittany, and had
-there become the centre of the Lancastrian party, was meditating
-a descent on England. Richard displayed his usual energy. He
-called on the men of York, on whom he could rely, to meet him at
-Leicester; hastily wrote to the Archbishop of York to send him the
-Great Seal, an unconstitutional act which Russell did not resist;
-put a price on the head of Buckingham; and appointed, as though
-sure of victory, a vice-constable to superintend any summary
-executions that might be necessary. Meanwhile, Kent, Surrey,
-Berkshire, Wiltshire, and Devon had risen, and Grey, Lord Dorset,
-had declared for Henry Tudor in Exeter. It was the intention of
-Buckingham, who was in Wales, to form a junction with the Southern
-leaders. For this purpose it was necessary to cross the Severn.
-But Sir Humphrey Stafford had broken the bridges, the floods were
-out, and the river impassable. His Welsh followers deserted, and
-Buckingham was obliged to fly. He sought a refuge with a dependant
-of his own in Shropshire, of the name of Banister, by whom he
-was betrayed. After vain entreaties for a personal interview
-with Richard, and for a legal trial, he was summarily executed.
-Richmond’s part of the conspiracy had been an equal failure. His
-fleet had been scattered by a storm. He himself reached Plymouth,
-but the news of the failure of Buckingham, and the appearance of
-the King in the South, before whose approach all the gatherings of
-the rebels dissolved, induced him to return to Brittany.
-
-[Sidenote: Parliament and great confiscation. 1484.]
-
-Again undisputed master of England, Richard summoned a
-Parliament to meet him in January. As was usual when one party
-was predominant, it proved to be devoted to the Government.
-Richard’s special favourite, Catesby, was chosen for speaker,
-and all Richard’s claims to the throne were declared to be just.
-Nor was this all: the oath of allegiance was demanded from all
-the adult population of England; and a huge bill of attainder
-and confiscation, mentioning more than 500 names, was passed. As
-the King was allowed to regrant the confiscated property, he was
-enabled to fill the southern counties with northern proprietors
-devoted to his cause; while with questionable wisdom, as it
-afterwards appeared, he sought to purchase the fidelity of the
-Stanleys, by giving to Lord Stanley, her present husband, the
-property of the Countess Margaret of Richmond, who was included in
-the bill of attainder.
-
-[Sidenote: Continued schemes of Richmond.]
-
-[Sidenote: Richard’s efforts to oppose him.]
-
-[Sidenote: Attempts to win the Queen.]
-
-[Sidenote: Death of the Prince of Wales. Lincoln declared heir.]
-
-But though defeated in his first efforts, her son, Henry Tudor,
-continued his preparations abroad. It was in vain that Richard, by
-promising Francis of Brittany his assistance against France, and
-by bribing the all-powerful minister Pierre Landais, succeeded in
-procuring Henry’s dismissal from Brittany. He fled to the Court of
-Charles VIII. of France, where he was well received, and where the
-Lancastrian exiles gathered round him. Richard felt that all his
-efforts were necessary to oppose this Prince. He collected troops,
-demanded ships from the Cinque Ports, attempted a reconciliation
-with the Queen Dowager, by allowing her with her daughters to leave
-the sanctuary at Westminster, and contemplated a marriage between
-his own son Edward and her eldest daughter Elizabeth, a marriage
-which would have been the death blow to the Lancastrian party. He
-succeeded moreover in procuring a three years’ truce with Scotland,
-and the promise of a marriage between the Duke of Rothesay, the
-heir to the Scotch crown, and his niece.[101] The most important
-part of his plan was frustrated by the untimely death of his son,
-which plunged him in the deepest grief. But he strove to supply
-his place by nominating his nephew John de la Pole, the Earl of
-Lincoln, his heir.
-
-[Sidenote: General uneasiness in England. 1485.]
-
-[Sidenote: His recourse to benevolences.]
-
-Meanwhile the feeling of uneasiness increased. Lancastrian
-emissaries moved to and fro through the country. Clifford and some
-others of them were apprehended and put to death. But the evil was
-too great to admit of a speedy remedy. Libels were freely scattered
-through the country; among others the well-known couplet, “The rat,
-the cat, and Lovel the dog, rule all England under the Hog,” a
-plain allusion to his chief friends, Ratcliffe, Catesby and Lovel.
-William Collingbourne, its author, was captured and put to death.
-But libels increased in number, especially when there seemed to be
-grounds for asserting that, though his wife was still living, he
-was himself thinking of a subsequent marriage with the Princess
-Elizabeth of York. The opportune illness and death of his wife,
-and, it may be, the love[102] felt for him by the Princess, added
-such an air of truth to the story, that, at the instigation of
-his best friends, he was induced to make a public contradiction
-of it before the Common Council in London. His finances, too,
-were in disorder. Free-handed and ostentatious, he had speedily
-spent the wealth which his brother’s avarice had accumulated; and
-though he had himself caused a bill to be passed to put an end
-to benevolences, he was reduced to have recourse to that illegal
-method of taxation which the people in bitter jest termed the
-raising of malevolences.
-
-[Sidenote: Richmond lands at Milford.]
-
-[Sidenote: Conduct of the Stanleys.]
-
-[Sidenote: Battle of Bosworth. Aug. 22.]
-
-He was however prepared, when Richmond, supported by the French,
-made his second attempt upon England. But unfortunately for
-Richard, treason was at work among his own followers, and the
-Stanleys, without principle, without gratitude, and with a constant
-eye to their own aggrandizement, were in secret alliance with
-their young kinsman the Lancastrian Prince. At length the invasion
-came. The place of landing, which had been kept a profound secret,
-was Milford Haven: for the Tudor thought it prudent to enlist the
-national prejudices of the Welsh in his favour. The Leopard of
-England and the Dragon of Wales floated side by the side on his
-standards. He advanced in safety to Shropshire; and the Welsh
-leaders joined him, as well as the Talbots of Shrewsbury. Richard
-had assembled his forces in the centre of England. Northumberland
-brought him troops from the North, Howard from the South,
-Brackenbury from London, Norfolk from the East. But it was very
-doubtful what part the Stanleys would take; and it was through the
-county where they were powerful, both as proprietors and as the
-King’s governors, that Richmond had to pass. Lord Stanley demanded
-leave to go to his county; but the King, whose suspicions had been
-raised, insisted on his leaving his son Lord Strange as a hostage.
-Pleading illness, Lord Stanley had refused to join Richard, and
-with 5000 men retired before the invader, whom his brother Sir
-William had now openly joined. In August the armies approached one
-another in the neighbourhood of Atherstone. Richard then threw
-aside all doubts. He ordered Lord Strange to be beheaded, and felt
-that the struggle must be a final one. Lord Strange’s keepers,
-however, thought it well to await the issue of the battle before
-carrying out the command: and in the middle of the struggle, Lord
-Stanley, who, afraid for his son’s life, had kept aloof with his
-troops, suddenly joined Richmond. This turned the fortunes of the
-day; and in spite of the greatest personal bravery, Richard’s army
-was completely beaten, and himself killed.
-
-[Sidenote: Richard’s character and laws.]
-
-His character has been the subject of much discussion, nor is this
-strange. Had he lived in times of greater security, he would have
-been an able and admirable governor. Several of the enactments of
-his reign attest his wisdom and his love of justice. He recognized
-the evil of benevolences, and forbad them, although necessity drove
-him to have recourse to them. His efforts were much directed to
-the re-establishment of justice, to support which he had caused
-a bill to be passed, to secure the respectability of jurymen, by
-forbidding any but freeholders to the amount of 40s. from serving
-in that capacity. He restrained the lawlessness of the barons by
-the suppression of liveries; and while promising to uphold the
-liberties of the Church, had shown that he would not allow any
-interference with the civil power. He had also fostered the trade
-of England by opening fresh markets for English wool both in Spain
-and in Iceland. His personal character, too, was attractive. With
-beautiful though peculiar features, he was liberal and at times
-forgiving to the verge of folly. He had pardoned and extended
-constant favour to the wives and families of his political victims.
-In spite of his strange charge of adultery against her, he had been
-always a dutiful and affectionate son to his mother. The gentle
-side of his disposition is perhaps shown by his passionate love of
-music. But the troublous times in which he lived called out all his
-worst characteristics; and for political ends he had shown himself
-scheming, cold, and cruel; while the tyrannical temperament, which
-could brook no opposition, hurried him into deeds of violence which
-were the proximate cause of his downfall.
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Sidenote: Political condition of the nation.]
-
-It is necessary, as the border-land is thus reached between modern
-civilization and that of the middle ages, to say a few words
-on the political condition of the nation, which allowed of the
-establishment of the personal monarchy of the Tudors, and of the
-social state of the people from which modern forms of civilization
-were to spring.
-
-During the earlier part of the Lancastrian rule, Parliament, and
-especially the House of Commons, had apparently continued to rise
-in power. The Constitutional growth of the fourteenth century had
-been continued. The Commons had secured the unquestioned right of
-originating money bills, not to be altered by the House of Lords,
-nor discussed in the presence of the King. They had secured the
-right not only of recommending in petitions, but also of joining
-as an equal estate of the realm in the passing of laws. They had
-succeeded during the reign of Henry VI. in preventing any changes
-in the form of their petitions (which had not unfrequently been
-introduced when, after the session, the petition was enrolled),
-by bringing in complete Statutes, called Bills, to be rejected or
-accepted as a whole, instead of their old petitions. They had, in
-several instances, practised unquestioned the right of impeachment,
-and claimed, with some degree of success, the freedom of their
-members from arrest, even during the recess of Parliament. But in
-spite of this apparent advance, the real power of the Parliament
-before the close of the Wars of the Roses had almost disappeared.
-A statute in the eighth year of Henry VI. limited the franchise,
-with regard to the election of knights of the shire, to freeholders
-of lands or tenements to the value of forty shillings. This at
-once gave an aristocratic tone to the House. In addition to this
-it had become the fashion both of the nobility and of the Crown to
-tamper with the elections. With the new restricted franchise, the
-power of local magnates in the county elections was predominant,
-while, as regards the boroughs, the sheriffs exercised a power
-of summoning burgesses from such towns only as they pleased, and
-it was not difficult for the Crown or ruling party to bring the
-sheriffs under their influence. While the House of Commons thus
-lost its independence, the old Upper House had been virtually
-destroyed, and the new nobility was by its very nature dependent on
-the Crown. Another most important element of freedom had likewise
-disappeared. The great Churchmen, to whom the liberties of England
-owe so much, had been victorious over their enemies the Lollards.
-In the struggle they had lost their sympathy with the people. Their
-desire for the spiritual welfare of the country had shrivelled to a
-selfish eagerness for the preservation of orthodoxy. They had been
-drawn into closer communication with Rome, and had begun to share
-its interests. Cardinal Beaufort, in spite of all opposition, had
-succeeded in retaining his Roman rank, and it had become habitual
-that the Archbishop of Canterbury at least should bear the title
-of Cardinal. Wealthy, worldly and self-seeking, the leaders of the
-clergy were inclined to devote themselves to political life; and,
-conscious of the alienation of the lower orders, and fearing for
-their property, which had already excited the envy of the laity,
-and which, while confiscation was reducing the nobles to beggary,
-had remained almost untouched, they sought employment and safety in
-becoming the devoted servants of the King.
-
-At the same time that the practical efficiency of the Parliament
-had been decreasing, the power of the King’s Council had been on
-the increase. The limits of its rights, springing as it did from
-the Concilium Ordinarium of the Plantagenet kings, had always been
-questionable, and its encroachments, in meddling with the petitions
-of the Lower House, and in issuing ordinances without the consent
-of Parliament, which had yet the authority of temporary laws, had
-been constantly objected to by the Commons. The long minority of
-Henry VI., during which the chief direction of the Government had
-been almost unavoidably in the hands of the Council, had tended
-greatly to increase its power.
-
-[Sidenote: Effects of the Wars of the Roses.]
-
-Nevertheless, though constitutional growth had been checked, and
-the Commons had politically lost ground, the Wars of the Roses
-did not produce that complete exhaustion and depopulation of the
-country which might have been expected. The population appears to
-have been little, if at all, decreased, the number of inhabitants
-was still between three and four millions. In fact, it must be
-remembered that the broken hostilities of these wars did not on
-the whole amount to much more than three years of actual warfare;
-that the armies were in the field only for short consecutive
-periods, were usually few in number, and composed of untrained
-men, who returned, immediately their short service was over, to
-the cultivation of the fields. Thus the destruction and turbulence
-seemed to pass over the head of the great bulk of the population.
-Nor is this all. During the whole continuance of the war, the
-ordinary apparatus of justice was uninterrupted; courts were held,
-and judges went their circuit as usual. Indeed, it would seem to
-have been a period of unusual litigation, attended no doubt often
-with violence. For as property rapidly changed hands the titles
-to it became insecure, and the process therefore by which a title
-was questioned was frequently the violent dispossession of the
-present holder. But still it was to the courts of law that the
-ultimate appeal was made. Again, although the loss of France and
-the exclusive attention to home politics greatly diminished the
-national strength upon the sea, trade does not appear to have
-been seriously damaged. At all events, it was so kept alive, that
-upon the establishment of peace it revived with fresh vigour; and
-we are told that Edward IV. himself engaged in the pursuit. This
-trait is characteristic not only of the man but of the time. The
-pursuit of trade had risen greatly in estimation; great traders
-had become nobles, and Suffolk, the prime minister, was an example
-of the height to which such families might rise. From the decay of
-noble families, and other more permanent causes, land had been
-necessarily brought into the market. Wealthy traders had purchased
-it, set up for landowners, and aimed at the dignity of knighthood.
-At the same time, the secondary gentry of the country, taking
-advantage of the decline of the nobility, found means in the midst
-of the disturbances to increase their property and influence. In
-spite therefore of the apparent insignificance of Parliament, the
-middle classes were in a vigorous and improving condition.
-
-[Sidenote: Changes in the lower classes.]
-
-Lower down in the social scale the case was somewhat different.
-Serfdom had indeed almost disappeared, and existed only here and
-there in isolated cases. Free labour for wages had become general,
-and land was largely held by payment of money rents. Thus far
-there was improvement. But the change from slavery to personal
-freedom is always purchased at a somewhat heavy price--that
-price is the existence of poverty; it is no longer incumbent
-on employers to look after the wellbeing of free labourers; in
-time of want they are thrown upon their own resources. The new
-possessors of the soil too were inclined to work it to better
-profit than their predecessors had done; grazing became more
-common and employment proportionately scarcer. The unemployed
-labourer had two courses open to him: he might betake himself to
-the towns, or join the ranks of the rapidly increasing class of
-beggars. He there found himself in company of numbers of idle
-and needy men who took advantage of the disturbed state of the
-country. Discharged soldiers and sailors, and vagabonds who called
-themselves travelling scholars, were so plentiful, that as there
-was as yet no poor law in existence, stringent enactments were
-made against them. The number of those punished for crimes of
-lawlessness and violence was enormous. Fortescue describes with
-pride how the poor Englishman, seeing others possess what he
-wanted, would never scruple to take it by violence rather than be
-without it. Those of the unemployed labourers who preferred to
-seek the towns went to increase the crowd of journeymen, whose
-position could not have been very enviable. For the guild system
-was breaking down and giving place to the more modern arrangements
-of unlimited competition. The craft guilds, which in the thirteenth
-and fourteenth centuries had triumphed over the merchant guilds
-and aristocratic citizens of the towns, had speedily begun to
-deteriorate. The object for which they were founded was to secure
-for all members of the craft a fair chance of livelihood, without
-the danger of destructive competition. This object implied that the
-guild was co-extensive with the trade, and that its members were
-themselves craftsmen, carrying on their work with their own hands,
-with the assistance of apprentices. But a crowd of enfranchised
-villeins and unemployed labourers had gathered in the towns, and
-formed a class of journeymen or day-labourers, and the guild,
-originally a corporation of working men, changed gradually into
-an exclusive body of capitalists. Moreover, even within their own
-limits, their principles had failed as early as the reign of Edward
-III. We hear, for instance, of certain pepperers, who, separating
-themselves from their guild, became grocers [grossers] or general
-dealers. In other words, as individuals accumulated capital, they
-refused to have their enterprise limited by the guild laws; and
-thus setting up as independent capitalists, began to introduce
-the same relations between employer and employed which exist at
-present. Under these circumstances the unincorporated journeymen
-found the restrictions of the guild an obstacle in the way of
-advance, and were exposed to all the evils of an eager competition.
-
-[Sidenote: Influence of the Renaissance.]
-
-While thus the political position of the different orders was
-giving room for a temporary establishment of almost absolute
-monarchy, but at the same time allowing the formation of that
-middle class which was to overthrow it, and while the exclusive
-system of the middle ages was giving way to the modern relations
-of labour, the new culture, the existence of which more than
-anything else separates the middle ages from modern times, was
-beginning to make its way. As the leader in this direction Humphrey
-of Gloucester may be mentioned. In spite of his turbulent and
-disorderly character, he was a sincere lover of literature. He was
-in communication with several of the greater Italian scholars. More
-than one classical translation was dedicated to him. He carried
-his love of inquiry so far that he is believed to have dabbled in
-magical arts; and it is generally reported that his books, which
-he left to Oxford, were the nucleus of the present great library
-there. He did not stand alone in his literary tastes. Tiptoft the
-Earl of Worcester was likewise impregnated with Italian learning,
-and, among the newer nobles, Lord Rivers gave distinguished
-patronage to the art of printing, which Caxton introduced into
-England in the year 1469. Altogether, it would seem that among the
-upper classes the rudiments of learning were beginning to be widely
-spread, and that the laity were gradually becoming sufficiently
-cultivated to rival the Churchmen, and to take their proper part in
-the government of the country. It may be observed as an indication
-of this that Henry VI.’s reign was marked by the foundation of
-Eton, and that several considerable colleges were founded both in
-Oxford and Cambridge during the century. It is probable that these
-were chiefly intended as defences for orthodoxy, the teaching being
-as yet confined to the worst form of scholasticism.
-
-[Sidenote: Change in the military system.]
-
-It is strange, immediately after the great civil war, and before
-the outbreak of nautical energy under the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
-to meet with constant complaints of the degeneracy of the English
-as soldiers. But it seems as if changes in the military system, and
-the love of money and luxury which accompanied the Renaissance,
-were really producing their effects. Archery was giving way to
-the use of gunpowder; and we meet with statutes fixing the price
-of bows, and enacting general practice of archery, which clearly
-show that the use of the national weapon had to be artificially
-fostered. There was considerable difficulty in collecting a
-sufficiency of troops before the Battle of Bosworth, and Caxton
-writes to Richard III. a deplorable account of the decay of
-knighthood, to be cured, as he thinks, by the reintroduction of
-tournaments and the perusal of chivalrous romances. A change
-in warfare was, in fact, going on in Europe, which called into
-existence abroad standing armies, and the effect of which was
-felt in England, though circumstances postponed the establishment
-of a regular army some time longer. It was thus amid the general
-weakness in all classes except the Crown, and during the
-development of great social changes, that the Tudor sovereigns
-found it possible to establish that peculiar personal monarchy
-which occupies the transition period between mediæval and modern
-times, and under the shadow of which the various classes regained
-strength for the subsequent re-establishment of the Constitution.
-
-[Illustration: SAXON ENGLAND.
-
- ENGLAND UP TO
- 1066.
-
-_Oxford & Cambridge._]
-
-
-
-
-INDEX
-
-
- Acre, siege of, 119;
- taken by Richard I., 120
-
- Adela, daughter of Robert of Flanders, marries Cnut, 54
-
- Ælfgar, son of Leofric, given Harold’s earldom of the East Angles, 22;
- succeeds his father as Earl of Mercia, 23
-
- Ælfgyfu, wife of King Edwy, 12, 13
-
- Ælfric, Ealdorman of the Mercians, deserts Wiltshire and Salisbury, 17
-
- Æthelbald, son of Æthelwulf, marries Judith, 6;
- conspires against his father, 6
-
- Æthelberht, Bretwalda, King of Kent, first Christian king, 3
-
- Æthelberht, King of Wessex and Kent, 6
-
- Æthelflæd, daughter of Alfred, Lady of the Mercians, 9;
- her castles, 10
-
- Æthelfrith, King of Northumbria, 2
-
- Ætheling, legitimate son of the royal family, 34
-
- Æthelmær, brother of Stigand, Bishop of the East Angles, 49
-
- Æthelred, King of Wessex and Kent, repels the Danes, 7
-
- Æthelred the Unready, his enmity to Dunstan, 15;
- his weak rule, quarrels with Cumberland and Normandy, 16;
- marries Emma, massacres the Danes, 17;
- flies to Normandy, is recalled and restored, 18;
- dies, 19
-
- Æthelstan, son of Eadward, incorporates Bernicia, his supremacy
- acknowledged by Scotland, 11
-
- Æthelwine, Bishop of Durham, receives Robert de Comines, 46;
- deprived and outlawed, 49;
- at Hereward’s camp, 50;
- made prisoner, 51
-
- Æthelwulf, King of Wessex, fights against the Danes, forms a
- connection with Rome, divides his kingdom, 6
-
- Agriculture, the early system, 28;
- ignorance of, causes famine, 72;
- neglected, 87;
- effect of the Black Death on, 229;
- sheep farms, 256;
- improvement in, 267
- Aldan, missionary from Iona, 4
-
- Alan Fergant of Brittany joins Philip of France against William I.,
- marries William’s daughter Constance, 53;
- his son joins Matilda, 82
-
- Alexander II. of Scotland, swears fealty to John, 132
-
- Alexander III. of Scotland, swears fealty to Edward 1., 172;
- dies, 181
-
- Alexander II., Pope, sends a ring and banner to William I., 25
-
- Alexander III., Pope, acknowledged by France and England, lives at
- Sens, 94;
- anxious to secure Henry II.’s friendship, gives Becket slight
- support, 96;
- receives him on his flight from England, returns to Italy,
- Frederick of Germany still refuses to acknowledge him,
- intercourse forbidden by Henry II. between him and England, 98;
- appoints legates to examine Becket’s case, 99;
- removes the excommunications, 100;
- he suspends Becket, 100;
- sends a commission, 100;
- after Becket’s death sends legates for a formal inquiry, 101;
- Henry II. promises adhesion to, 103
-
- Alfred the Great, anointed at Rome, 6;
- conquers the Danes at Ashdown, 7;
- makes peace, 7;
- improves the fleet, 8;
- flies from the Danes, 8;
- defeats them at Edington, 8;
- makes the Treaty of Wedmore, 8;
- establishes supremacy over Northumbria, 9;
- his character, 9
-
- Alfred, son of Æthelred, retires to Normandy, 19;
- returns to Essex and is murdered, 21
-
- Alice, sister of Philip II., quarrel concerning, 112;
- repudiated by Richard I., 118
-
- Allodial proprietor, or freeman, 33
-
- Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, killed by the Danes, 18;
- reburied with honour by Cnut at Canterbury, 20
-
- Amiens, award of, 162
-
- Angles, come from Sleswig, 1;
- settle in England, 2
-
- Anjou [see Fulk and Geoffrey], Henry II. conquers, 91
-
- Anselm, Fitz-Arthur, delays the funeral of William I., 55
-
- Anselm, Abbot of Bec, made Archbishop of Canterbury, 61;
- reforms the Church, opposes William II., William accuses him of
- remissness in an expedition against Wales, 62;
- he retires to Rome, 62;
- recalled by Henry I., 63;
- threatens to excommunicate Robert’s friends, 65;
- swears fealty to Matilda, 69;
- asserts the independence of the Church, goes to Rome, submits to a
- compromise at Bec, holds a synod at Westminster, 71
-
- Appellants, impeach the friends of Richard II., 248
-
- Appellants against Gloucester promoted, 252;
- deprived, 276;
- conspire against Henry IV., 277
-
- Armagnacs, quarrel with Burgundians, 284-290;
- have charge of the war, 292
-
- Army, house-carls, 20;
- militia, 25;
- javelins and axes the national weapons at Battle of Hastings, 26;
- arrows at Battle of the Standard, 80;
- change in character of, 225, 227;
- raised by contract, 268
-
- Arras, congress of, 314
-
- Artevelt, alliance with Edward III., 219;
- offers to make Prince of Wales Count of Flanders, murdered, 224
-
- Arthur, son of Geoffrey of Brittany, guardianship claimed by
- Philip II., 111;
- supported by Longchamp, 121;
- Richard I.’s recognition of, not renewed, supported by Philip, 126;
- does homage to him, deserted by him, 127;
- besieges Queen Eleanor, 128;
- his death, 129
-
- Arundel, Bishop of Ely, Chancellor, 247;
- deposed, 249;
- Archbishop of Canterbury, banished, 252;
- supports Henry IV., 254;
- deprived of his chancellorship, 288
-
- Arundel, Lord, one of the Lords Appellants, 248;
- arrested, 251;
- executed, 252
-
- Ascough, minister under Suffolk, 318;
- executed, 320
-
- Assize of Clarendon and of Northampton, 106, 108
-
- Augustine, the Missionary, comes to England, 3
-
- Auxerre, Treaty of, 284;
- its effect, 290
-
-
- Badby; burnt, 288
-
- Bagsecg, a Danish leader, 7
-
- Baldwin of Flanders takes Philip II. prisoner, 124
-
- Baldwin of Redvers rebels against Stephen, 79
-
- Balliol, John, claims the Scotch throne, 182;
- decided by Edward I., 183;
- his position, 183;
- his rebellion, 185
-
- Balliol, Edward, first invasion of Scotland, 216;
- second invasion, 217
-
- Bamborough, founded by Ida, 2;
- Mowbray besieged in, 59
-
- Banking-houses of Italy, 179;
- of Bardi, 224
-
- Bari, Council of, 62
-
- Barons of the Exchequer, 75, 106;
- assessed the taxes, 114
-
- Battles--
- Agincourt, 295
- Arsouf, 120
- Assandun, 19
- Auray, 234
- Aylesford, 2
- Bannockburn, 203
- Basing, 7
- Beaugé, 301
- Blore Heath, 325
- Boroughbridge, 207
- Bouvines, 136
- Bramham, 282
- Brenneville, 68
- Brentford, 19
- Brunanburh, 11
- Châlons, 172
- Cressy, 225, 227
- Cricklade, 10
- Deorham, 2
- Dol, 104
- Dunbar, 185
- Edington, 8
- Ellandune, 5
- Englefield, 7
- Evesham, 167
- Ferrybridge, 328
- Formigny, 319
- Halidon Hill, 217
- Hastings, 26
- Heathfield, 3
- Hedgeley Moor, 329
- Hengestesdun, 5
- Herrings, the, 308
- Hettin, 111
- Hexham, 329
- Ipswich, 18
- Lewes, 163
- Lincoln, 83, 142
- Maldon, 16
- Maserfield, 4
- Merton, 7
- Mortimer’s Cross, 327
- Mount Badon, 2
- Navarette, 235
- Neville’s Cross, 228
- Northampton, 325
- Ockley, 6
- Orford, 19
- Otterbourne, 249
- Pataye, 310
- Pen Selwood, 19
- Poitiers, 231
- Puysac, 67
- Radcot, 248
- Reading, 7
- Rochelle, 236
- Sherstone, 19
- Shrewsbury, 280
- Stamford Bridge, 26
- Sluys, 220
- St. Albans, 323, 327
- St. Cloud, 284
- Swanage, 8
- Tenchebray, 66
- Tewkesbury, 335
- The Standard, 80
- Thetford, 7
- Towton, 328
- Verneuil, 305
- Wakefield, 327
- Wilton, 7, 84
-
- Basset, the Justiciary, hangs forty-four thieves at one Court, 74
-
- Beauchamp, Guy, second Earl of Warwick, opposes Gaveston, 200;
- beheads him, 202
-
- Beauchamp, Thomas, fourth Earl, one of the Lords Appellant, 248;
- arrested, 251;
- exiled, 252
-
- Beauchamp, Richard, fifth Earl, succeeds York in France, 315
-
- Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, quarrels with Gloucester, 306;
- lends troops to Bedford, 311;
- legate, attacked by Gloucester, 312;
- at Arras, 314;
- visits Edinburgh, 315;
- head of peace party, 316;
- dies, 318
-
- Beaumont, Robert, Count of Mellent, good adviser of William I.
- and II., 62;
- supports Henry I., his large property, 65;
- dies, 68
-
- Beaumont, Waleram, Count of Mellent (son of Robert), opposes the
- Church, 81, 82;
- offers the crown to Theobald, 83
-
- Beaumont, Robert, Earl of Leicester (second son of Robert), offers
- the crown to Theobald, 83;
- joins Henry of Anjou, 85;
- left in charge of England, 91;
- ordered to pronounce sentence against Becket, 98;
- joins the Great Rebellion, 104
-
- Beaumont, Henry de (no relation to Counts of Mellent), favourite of
- Edward II., 201, 204
-
- Bec, compromise at, 71
-
- Beck, Anthony, Bishop of Durham, agent of Edward I., 172;
- sent to Scotland, 181
-
- Becket, first employed by Archbishop Theobald, 91;
- made Chancellor, 92;
- his magnificence, arranges Prince Henry’s marriage, 92;
- joins in Henry II.’s war with France, 93;
- made Archbishop, 95;
- changes his life, resigns his temporal offices, 95;
- upholds the encroachments of the Church, case of Philip Brois, 95;
- accepts the Constitutions of Clarendon, then retracts, 95;
- his reason for objecting, summoned to a council at Northampton, 96;
- charges against him, 97;
- his courage, leaves the court before judgment is given, and escapes
- to Gravelines, 98;
- puts himself under the protection of Louis VII., 98;
- favourably received by the Pope, 98;
- he excommunicates his enemies, retires to Sens, 99;
- meets the legates, but refuses to retract, suspended by the Pope,
- repeats his excommunications, 100;
- Henry yields, but refuses the kiss of peace, 100;
- at Fretheval he receives the kiss and a safe-conduct to England,
- returns, and continues his excommunications, his death, 101;
- Henry does penance at his shrine, 105;
- his bones removed to Canterbury Cathedral, 143
-
- Bedford. [See John.]
-
- Belesme, Robert de, son of Roger of Montgomery, opposes
- William II., 57;
- quarrels with Grantmesnil, 58;
- succeeds his brother Hugh as Earl of Shrewsbury, 59;
- constant opponent of Henry I., his great possessions, 65;
- Henry takes four castles from him, 66;
- he retires to Normandy, 66;
- taken prisoner by Henry at Bonneville, 67;
- his cruelties, 73
-
- Benedictine rule, introduced into England by Dunstan, 15;
- abbey established at Chester by Anselm, 61
-
- Bercta, Christian wife of Æthelberht, 3
-
- Berengaria, daughter of Raymond of Barcelona, betrothed to
- Richard I., 93;
- marries him, 118
-
- Bernicia, a division of Northumbria, 2;
- conquered by Æthelstan, 11;
- made an earldom by Dunstan, 15
-
- Bigod, Roger, supports Henry I. against Robert, 65
-
- Bigod, Hugh (son of Roger), takes the Earldom of East Anglia
- (Norfolk), 79;
- declares for Henry II., 86;
- surrenders castles, 91;
- joins the Great Rebellion, 104
-
- Bigod, Roger, fourth Earl of Norfolk, one of the council, 159
-
- Bigod, Hugh (his brother), escapes, 164
-
- Birinus, converts Wessex, 4
-
- Black Death, 229;
- its effect on labour, 267
-
- Black Prince, at Cressy, 227;
- his expedition, 229;
- at Poitiers, 231;
- in Aquitaine, 234, 285;
- illness, 236;
- his political party, 239;
- dies, 240
-
- Blanche of Castile, engaged to Louis, 127;
- rules France, 145;
- defeats Henry, 148
-
- Blanchelande, Treaty of, 52
-
- Blanchetaque, ford of, 225, 293
-
- Bocland, explained, 31
-
- Bohun, third Earl of Hereford, refuses to command the army for
- Guienne, 187
-
- Bohun, fourth Earl, marries daughter of Edward I., chief of the
- baronial party, 202;
- killed, 207
-
- Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury, 151;
- wastes his see, 154;
- lives abroad, 158;
- collects an army, 164
-
- Borough, origin of, 32
-
- Bouchier, Robt., 1st lay chancellor, 221, 239
-
- Bouchier, Thomas, archbishop and chancellor, 322
-
- Breakspear, the only English Pope, Adrian IV., 90;
- grants Ireland to Henry I., 91
-
- Brember, Sir Nicholas, impeached, 248;
- executed, 249
-
- Brétigny, Peace of, 233
-
- Bretwalda, title of the dominant chief, 2
-
- Brian Fitz-Count, grandson of William I., holds Wallingford for
- Matilda, 82;
- attests her oath, 83;
- defends Wallingford against Stephen, 85
-
- Brihtnoth, fights the Battle of Maldon, 16
-
- Brihtric, brother of Eadric Streona, 17
-
- Britons expel the Romans, 1;
- invite the Saxons, 1;
- their possessions in the West, 3;
- independent north of the Dee, 5
-
- Brittany, suzerainty of, given up by Louis VI. to Henry I., 67;
- Henry II. gets a hold upon it by securing Nantes, 92;
- Earl Conan grants it to Henry II, 99;
- does homage to France, 127;
- alliance with England, 145;
- disputed succession in, 222;
- war in, 243;
- alliance with Henry V., 298;
- with France, 307;
- with England, 307;
- with France, 313;
- receives the Tudors; 336;
- banishes them, 347
-
- Bruce, claim to the Scotch throne, 182;
- an English judge, 191
-
- Bruce, Robert, grandson of the claimant, 191;
- murders Comyn, crowned, 192;
- reconquers Scotland, 199;
- wins Battle of Bannockburn, 203;
- his offer of peace rejected, 204;
- excommunicated, 205;
- truce with, 206;
- promises help to the rebel barons, 207;
- title acknowledged by Edward II., 208;
- war with Edward III., marriage treaty, 214;
- dies, 216;
- his use of infantry, 227
-
- Bruce, Edward, accepts the throne of Ireland, 204;
- killed, 205
-
- Buckingham. [See Stafford.]
-
- Burgundy, Duke of (uncle of Charles VI.), disputes power with
- Orleans, 280
-
- Burgundy, John, murders Orleans, 282;
- negotiates with Henry V., 291;
- holds aloof from the war, 292;
- joins the Queen’s party, 298;
- deserts Rouen, 299;
- murdered, 300
-
- Burgundy, Philip, son of John, negotiates with Henry V., 300;
- alliance with Bedford, 304;
- alliance weakened by Gloucester, 305;
- obtains the Netherlands, 306;
- renewed alliance, 307;
- quarrel with Bedford, 312;
- alliance with France, 314
-
- Burgundy, Charles the Bold, marries Margaret, sister of
- Edward IV., 331;
- alliance with Edward against France, 337;
- death of, 336
-
- Burgundy, Mary of, proposals of marriage for, 336;
- marries Maximilian, dies, 339
-
- Burhred, King of Mercia, 7, 8
-
- Burnell, Chancellor, 172;
- his advice, 179
-
-
- Cade, Jack, his rebellion, 320
-
- Calais, siege of, 228
-
- Calne, Dunstan’s synod at, 15
-
- Calverley, general of the Free Companies, 234
-
- Castles, built by Eadward, the nucleus of towns, 10;
- built by William I. as garrisons, 43, 45-47;
- set up in Wales, 59;
- Wales kept in subjection by, 70;
- multiplied in Stephen’s reign, a sign of anarchy, 80;
- tortures perpetrated in them, 87;
- number of, 90;
- put down by Henry II., 90
-
- Catesby, favourite of Richard III., 345;
- speaker of his Parliament, 346;
- couplet on him, 347
-
- Catherine of France, marries Henry V., 300
-
- Caxton, introduces printing, 353
-
- Ceawlin, a Bretwalda, 2
-
- Cenwulf, Christian king of Mercia, 4
-
- Ceolwulf, a Danish agent, king of Mercia, 8
-
- Ceorl, or freeman, 29
-
- Cerdic, a Saxon leader, 2
-
- Chancellor of the Exchequer, his duties, 75;
- head of the secretaries, 106
-
- Chandos, English general in France, 234, 235
-
- Charlemagne corresponds with Offa, 5;
- checks the Danes, 5
-
- Charles d’Albret, Constable of France, 292;
- his character, 293
-
- Charles IV. demands homage of Edward II., 209
-
- Charles VI., accession, 234;
- foments rebellion in Aquitaine, 235;
- his daughter marries Richard II., 251;
- his madness, 290;
- dies, 302
-
- Charles VII., becomes Dauphin, 298;
- rescued by Duchâtel, 299;
- succeeds to the throne, 302;
- character of, 304:
- crowned at Rheims, 310;
- enters Paris, 315
-
- Charter, the Great. [See Magna.]
-
- Charter of Henry I., 64;
- of Stephen, 78
-
- Chartres, treaty of, 189
-
- Chateau-Gaillard, taken by Philip, 129
-
- Chaucer, 271, 273, 274
-
- Chester, conquered by Ecgberht, 5;
- a Danish burgh, 8;
- taken by William, 48;
- made a Palatine county, 51;
- constant fighting with Wales, 58
-
- Chicheley, Archbishop of Canterbury, persecutes the Lollards, 289;
- grants money for the French War, 291
-
- Chinon, peace of, 136;
- renewed, 143
-
- Church, organized by Theodore of Tarsus, 4;
- increased importance of, 14;
- Dunstan’s reforms, 15;
- its important position at the time of the Conquest, 36;
- marriage of the clergy permitted, 36;
- ecclesiastical and secular jurisdiction separated, 38, 49;
- its national character, 48;
- William I. tries to Romanize it, 38, 48;
- marriage of the clergy forbidden by Lanfranc, 49;
- William I. head of, 49;
- general improvement of, 50;
- oppressed by William II., his bad appointments, 60;
- archbishopric vacant four years after Lanfranc’s death, 61;
- want of discipline in, 61;
- Anselm defends ecclesiastical rights, 62;
- his reforms, 62;
- Irish and Scotch bishops acknowledge the supremacy of
- Canterbury, 62;
- laymen forbidden to confer investitures, 62;
- dispute between Anselm and Henry I. as to the supremacy of the
- Church or State, 71;
- ends in a compromise at Bec, 71;
- decrees against abuses in the Church at a synod at Westminster, 71;
- its civilizing power, 71;
- continued bad appointments in, 72;
- its influence secures Stephen the throne, 77;
- its great power, 78;
- offended by Stephen, espouses Matilda’s cause, 81, 82, 83;
- mediates a compromise between Stephen and Prince Henry, 86;
- gives scutage in Henry II.’s wars with Wales, 91;
- and with France, 93;
- abuses arising from the clergy not being amenable to the secular
- courts, 94;
- claims upheld by Becket, 95, 96;
- Richard I.’s ransom chiefly paid by, 123;
- dispute as to the election of archbishops, 130;
- interdict in John’s reign, 131;
- money extorted from, 133;
- rights secured by Magna Charta, 138;
- supports De Burgh, 143;
- Langton resists Papal tyranny, 144, 146, 147;
- society formed against foreign priests, 148;
- opposes Des Roches, 150;
- joins the lay opposition, 152;
- revival in, 153;
- foreign priests, 155;
- Papal extortions, 158;
- Statute of Mortmain, 175, 196;
- half their property demanded by Edward I., 185;
- refuses further grants, 186;
- outlawed, 187;
- represented in Parliament, 194;
- quarrel with Edward II., 209;
- Edward III. attempts to exclude the Bishops from Parliament, 221;
- begins to be disliked by the people, 238, 239;
- attacked by Wicliffe, 245, 267;
- Statute of Provisors, 250;
- hated by the people, 266;
- supported by Henry IV., 284;
- persecutes the Lollards, 289;
- urges Henry V. to the French war, 290;
- grants him the incomes of priories held by foreigners, 291;
- remains prosperous during the war, 318;
- retains its property during the Wars of the Roses, 340;
- loses spirituality and sympathy with the people, 350
-
- Cistercian order, Henry II. threatens to expel it for receiving
- Becket, 99
-
- Clare, Richard de, Earl of Gloucester, head of the Barons, 159;
- quarrels with De Montfort, 161;
- commands the baronial party, dies, 162
-
- Clare, Gilbert de, Earl of Gloucester, joins De Montfort, 162;
- on the committee, 164;
- deserts De Montfort, 166;
- rejoins the baronial party, 168;
- governor in Edward I.’s absence, 172
-
- Clarence. [See Lionel and Thomas.]
-
- Clarence, George, son of Richard of York, marriage, 332;
- supports Wells’ rebellion, 333;
- accompanies Warwick, 334;
- joins Edward, 335;
- quarrels with Richard, 336;
- his death, 337
-
- Clifford, killed at St. Albans, 323;
- northern lord, opponent of the Nevilles, 324
-
- Clifford (his son), killed at Ferrybridge, 328
-
- Clifford, executed by Richard III., 347
-
- Cnut, son of Swegen, acknowledged King of England by the Danes,
- compelled to retreat, 18;
- Edmund cedes to him Northumbria and Mercia, acknowledged King of
- England on Edmund’s death, banishes the royal family, 19;
- desires to form a Scandinavian empire, his code of laws, goes to
- Rome, 20
-
- Cnut, King of Denmark, threatens to invade England, 54;
- dies, 55
-
- Cobham, Lord, joins York, 321
-
- Coinage, false, forbidden, 64;
- issued, 72;
- severe punishment against, 74;
- habit of breaking it, 74;
- private coinage, 86;
- renewed by Edward I., 175;
- described in Edward III.’s time, 258, 259
-
- Columba founds Iona, 4
-
- Comitatus, body of warriors attending a chief, 30
-
- Commendation, explained, 31;
- reasons for, 33
-
- Comyn, member of the regency, 181;
- his claim to the throne, 182
-
- Comyn, John, regent, 190;
- makes a treaty with Edward I., 191;
- murdered, 192
-
- Conan, a citizen of Rouen, rebels against Robert, 57
-
- Conan, Prince of Brittany, marries a daughter of Henry I., 67;
- grants Brittany to Henry II., 99
-
- Conrad of Montferrat, King of Jerusalem, 119, 120
-
- Constance, daughter of William I., marries Alan Fergant of
- Brittany, 53
-
- Constance, marries Geoffrey, son of Henry II., 99;
- upholds Arthur’s claims, 126
-
- Constantine, King of Scotland, receives Guthrith, defeated by
- Æthelstan, acknowledges his supremacy, 11
-
- Constitutions of Clarendon, produced by Henry II., 95;
- description of, 96;
- Becket accepts and recants, 96;
- Henry II. promises to abrogate, 103
-
- Conversion of the English, 3
-
- Convocation, origin of, 193
-
- Copsige, Earl of Bernicia, killed in a revolt, 44
-
- Cornwall, British possession, 3;
- submits to Wessex, 5;
- alliance with the Danes, 5
-
- Cosne, siege of, 301
-
- Cotentin given to Robert of Normandy, 65
-
- Councils--
- of Bari, 62;
- of Rome, 62;
- of Clarendon, 95;
- of Northampton, 96;
- of Lyons, 154
-
- Courcy, fights in Ireland, 103;
- suppressed by De Lacey, 132
-
- Courtenay, Thomas, sixth Earl of Devonshire, with York, 320;
- at war with Lord Bonville, 321;
- joins Henry VI., 323;
- beheaded, 329
-
- Courtenay, John, eighth Earl (brother of Thomas), killed at
- Tewkesbury, 335
-
- Courts (of law and justice) before the Conquest, 32-34;
- modified by William I., 37, 38;
- by Henry I., 74-76;
- dispute between secular and ecclesiastical, 94, 96;
- reorganized by Henry II., 106, 107, 108;
- superiority of central courts increased, 124, 125
-
- Cressingham, Treasurer of Scotland, 186;
- defeated by Wallace, 189
-
- Cromwell, Ralph, treasurer, 313;
- joins York, 321
-
- Crusades, Robert pledges Normandy to be free to join in, 59;
- his success at Dorylæum and Ascalon, 65;
- Ivo of Grantmesnil at the siege of Antioch, 65;
- preached by St. Bernard, 84;
- Henry II. promises to go on one, 103;
- causes for the third, 110;
- urged by the Pope, 111;
- preached by Heraclius, Bishop of Jerusalem, 111;
- bad effect of, in England, 116;
- of Richard I., 117-121;
- perversions of, 153;
- made excuse for taxes, 146, 155
-
- Cumberland, overrun by Danes, 8;
- refuses to pay the Danegelt, 16;
- a Scotch district, 51;
- William II. peoples it from the destroyed villages near
- Winchester, 58;
- David I. does homage for, 79
-
- Curia Regis, established by William I., 38;
- organized by Henry I., 75;
- has no legislative authority, 76;
- reconstituted by Henry II., 106;
- restricted to five persons, 107
-
- Customs, origin of, 174
-
- Cymric, a Saxon leader, 2
-
- Cytric of Northumbria does fealty to Æthelstan, 11
-
-
- Danes, first appearance of, 5;
- winter in Thanet, 6;
- conquer Northumbria and East Anglia, 7;
- further conquests, treaty of Wedmore, 8;
- in Ireland, 11, 14;
- in the Lothians, 14;
- fresh invasions in Æthelred’s reign, 15;
- massacred by Æthelred, 17;
- fresh invasion under Thurkill, 17
-
- Danegelt, begun by Æthelred at Sigeric’s advice, 16;
- imposed by William I. on Cnut’s threatened invasion, 54;
- Henry II. makes scutage take its place, 93;
- farmed, 113;
- renewed by Richard I., 125
-
- Danelagu, country granted to the Danes, 10;
- joins Swegen, 18
-
- Danish burghs, names of, 8;
- Edmund Ironside gets possession of them, 18
-
- David of Wales, his rebellion and death, 176
-
- David I., King of Scotland, supports Matilda’s claims, conspiracy to
- make him King of England, invades England, 79
-
- David II. of Scotland, marries Jane, sister of Edward III., 214;
- deposed by Balliol, takes refuge in France, 217;
- invades England, taken prisoner, 228;
- his conduct as prisoner, 231;
- released, 232
-
- Decretals, False, note, 94, 96
-
- Deira, southern division of Northumbria, 2
-
- De Lacey. [See Lacey.]
-
- Derby, son of Henry of Lancaster, sent to Gascony, 224
-
- Dermot, King of Leinster, carries off O’Ruark’s wife, 102;
- does homage to Henry II, Strongbow marries his daughter, 102
-
- Despenser, Thomas, made Earl of Gloucester, 252;
- deprived, 276;
- executed, 277
-
- Despensers, favourites of Edward II., 204;
- power increases, 205;
- quarrel with the Welsh marchers, banished, 206;
- recalled, 207;
- triumphant, 208;
- prevent Edward II. from going to France, 209;
- executed, 210
-
- Devonshire. [See Courtenay.]
-
- Domain, royal, origin of, 31, 33;
- increased by William I., 43;
- granted by Stephen to his new earls, 80;
- source of royal revenue, 113
-
- Domesday-Book, a register of land, 38;
- entries of “waste” in it, 47;
- Hereward’s property mentioned in, 51;
- made by William I., 55;
- Ralph Flambard proposes to complete it, 57;
- surveyors for it examined on oath, 108;
- a similar survey ordered by Richard I., 125
-
- Dominicans, in England, 153
-
- Dress, in Edward III.’s time, 263
-
- Dublin, a Danish town, conquered by Strongbow, surrendered to
- Henry II., 102;
- colonized by English, 103
-
- Dunois, French general, 310
-
- Dunstan, legends concerning him, 12;
- his life, 13;
- his imperial rule, 14;
- his reform of the Church, 15;
- his enemies force him to retire, 15
-
- Dyfed, a province in Wales, granted to Arnulf of Montgomery, 59
-
- Dymock, joins Wells’ rebellion, 333
-
-
- Eadgar the Peaceful, Dunstan raises him to an imperial
- position, 14, 15
-
- Eadgar, grandson of Edmund Ironside, Harold elected king instead
- of, 24;
- elected king by the Southern Witan, 41;
- offers the crown to William, 41;
- attempts a rebellion, flies to Scotland, 45;
- returns, 46;
- received by Malcolm Canmore, 51;
- serves with Robert of Normandy, taken prisoner at Tenchebray, but
- set free, 66;
- dies, 67
-
- Eadred, conquers Northumbria, 11;
- his reign, 13
-
- Eadric Streona, his bad influence, marries Æthelred’s daughter
- Edith, 17;
- his treachery, 18;
- Cnut employs him to kill Edwy, 19;
- made Earl of Mercia, 20;
- put to death, 20
-
- Eadric the Forester, or the Wild, ravages Hereford, 44;
- supports Eadgar against William I., 45;
- besieges Shrewsbury, and is defeated, 46, 47;
- goes with William to Scotland, 52
-
- Eadward the Elder, his reign, 10, 11
-
- Eadward the Martyr, 15
-
- Eadwine, King of Northumbria, 3
-
- Ealdred, Archbishop of York, offers William I. the crown, 41;
- death of, 49
-
- Ealdorman, origin of, 29;
- rise of, 31;
- duties of, 32
-
- Earl, origin of, 29, 35
-
- Earldoms, Dunstan divides Northumbria into three, 14;
- Cnut divides England into four, 20;
- Godwine’s family obtain large, 22;
- William I. limits their size to one county each, 37, 43;
- only three in 1131, 80;
- Stephen creates many, 80
-
- East Anglia, foundation of, 2;
- subject to Kent, conversion of, conquered by Eadwine, 3;
- conquered by Danes, 7;
- helps Hasting against Alfred, 9;
- acknowledges the supremacy of Wessex, 10;
- supports Dunstan’s party, 13;
- repels the Danish invasion in Æthelred’s reign, 16;
- resists the Danes under Ulfcytel, 17;
- Cnut makes it an earldom, 20;
- helps Harold against William I., 26;
- Ralph of Gwader, Earl of, 52;
- Bigod becomes Earl of, 79
-
- Ecgberht, King of Wessex, secures its supremacy, 5
-
- Edith, daughter of Godwine, marries Edward the Confessor, 21;
- dies, 53
-
- Edmund, King of East Anglia, 7
-
- Edmund, King, 11;
- makes Osulf Earl of Northumbria, 12;
- grants part of Strathclyde to Scotland, 12
-
- Edmund Ironside marries the wife of Sigeferth, 18;
- chosen king by London, 19;
- fights five battles against the Danes, 19;
- gives up Northumbria and Mercia to Cnut, 19
-
- Edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canterbury, 147;
- causes Des Roches’ fall, 150;
- his death, 151;
- his reforms, 153
-
- Edmund, son of Henry III., accepts the kingdom of Sicily, 157;
- governor in Henry III.’s absence, 172;
- negotiates with Philip IV., 184
-
- Edmund, fifth son of Edward III., Duke of Cambridge and York,
- fighting in France, 235;
- his marriage, 236;
- friendly to Richard II., 249, 251;
- assists Lancaster, 253
-
- Edmund, Earl of March, ignored by Henry IV., 276;
- attempted escape, 280;
- reinstated by Henry V., 288;
- conspiracy to crown him, 292
-
- Edmund, Duke of Rutland, son of Richard of York, escapes to
- Ireland, 325;
- beheaded, 327
-
- Edward I., governor of Gascony, 156;
- engaged to Eleanor, 157;
- a reformer, 160;
- joins his father against the Barons, 162;
- prisoner after Lewes, 163;
- desire for his release, 164;
- escapes, 166;
- wins battle of Evesham, receives De Montfort’s property, 167;
- goes on a crusade, 168;
- his coronation, 172;
- his character, 173;
- conquers Wales, 175, 176;
- mediator between France and Aragon, 178;
- checks disturbances, banishes the Jews, 179;
- proposes a marriage treaty with Scotland, 181;
- death of his wife, 182;
- awards the crown of Scotland, 183;
- war with France, 184;
- with Scotland, 185, 186;
- outlaws the clergy, 187;
- arbitrary taxation, 187, 188;
- goes to Flanders, 188;
- makes treaty of Chartres, 189;
- marries Margaret, 190;
- defeats Wallace, 190;
- second conquest of Scotland, 191;
- death, 192
-
- Edward II., betrothed to Maid of Norway, 181;
- governor in Edward I.’s absence, 187, 188;
- betrothed to Isabella, 190;
- his character 197;
- favours to Gaveston, first expedition to Scotland, 198;
- imprisons the Templars; 199;
- second invasion of Scotland, 200;
- restores Gaveston, flies from Lancaster, 202;
- third invasion of Scotland, Bannockburn, 203;
- accepts Lancaster as Minister, 205;
- favours the Despensers, 206;
- fourth invasion of Scotland, 208;
- quarrels with the Church, with France, 209;
- taken prisoner, 210;
- murdered, 211
-
- Edward III., engaged to Philippa, 210;
- made king, 211;
- overthrows Mortimer, 215;
- receives Balliol’s fealty, his claim to the French throne, 217;
- prepares for war, 219;
- assumes the title of King of France, wins the battle of Sluys, 220;
- displaces his ministry, quarrels with Stratford, 221;
- supports John of Montfort, 222;
- lands at La Hogue, 225;
- battle of Cressy, 227
-
- Edward IV., takes refuge in Calais, lands with Warwick, 325;
- collects troops, 326;
- enters London, 327;
- wins the battle of Towton, 328;
- his first Parliament, 329;
- his marriage, 300;
- his Burgundian policy, 331;
- imprisoned by Warwick, 333;
- escapes to Flanders, 334;
- wins the battle of Barnet, 335;
- quarrels with Clarence, 336;
- expedition to France, 337;
- projects of marriage, 338;
- death and character, 339
-
- Edward V., brought to London, 342;
- deposed, 343;
- murdered, 345
-
- Edward, son of Henry VI., born, 322;
- marries Anne of Warwick, 334;
- killed, 335
-
- Edward, son of Edward IV., captured, 343;
- murdered, 345
-
- Edward, son of Richard III., dies, 347
-
- Edward, son of Æthelred, kept in Normandy, 19
-
- Edward, son of Edmund Ironside, sent abroad, 19;
- dies, 23
-
- Edward the Confessor, elected king, 21;
- his love of Frenchmen, 22;
- his character and death, 24;
- names Harold his successor, 25
-
- Edwin, son of Ælfgar, succeeds to his earldom of Mercia, 24;
- defeated by Tostig, 26;
- deserts Harold, 26;
- hopes to be elected king, 40;
- refuses to assist Eadgar, 41;
- reinstated in his earldom, 44;
- joins a rebellion, but submits to William I., 45;
- joins Hereward’s rebellion, 50;
- is killed, 50
-
- Edwy, King, legends concerning him, 12;
- banishes Dunstan, 13;
- divides the kingdom with Eadgar, 13
-
- Eleanor, divorced wife of Louis VII., marries Henry of Anjou, 85;
- her claim to Toulouse causes war between England and France, 92;
- she urges her sons to rebellion, 103;
- is disliked by Henry, 109;
- restrains John in Richard’s absence, 122;
- boldly opposes him, 123;
- assists John against Arthur, 126;
- besieged in Mirabeau, 128
-
- Eleanor, daughter of Henry II., marries Alphonso of Castile, 109;
- connects England with Spain, 114
-
- Eleanor of Provence, marries Henry III., 151;
- assaulted by the Londoners, 162;
- assembles an army, 164
-
- Eleanor of Castile, marries Edward I., 157;
- her death, 182
-
- Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV., proposed marriages for,
- 338, 345, 347
-
- Ella, leader of the Saxons, called Bretwalda, 2
-
- Ella, King of Northumbria, 7
-
- Emma, daughter of Richard the Fearless, marries Æthelred, 17;
- followed by many Normans, 17;
- retires to Normandy, 19;
- marries Cnut, 20
-
- Emma, sister of Fitz-Osbern, marries Ralph, 52;
- defends Norwich, 53
-
- English language, Provisions of Oxford published in, 160, 170;
- becomes the language of the people, 271;
- statute of Parliament in, 272;
- made national by Chaucer, 273
-
- Englishry, law of, explained, 48
-
- Equitable power, meaning of, 76
-
- Esplechin, treaty of, 220
-
- Essex, Earl of, judicial duel between him and De Montfort, 91
-
- Ethel, land held by hereditary succession, 31
-
- Ethelbald, King of Mercia, 4
-
- Ethelric, Bishop of Selsey, 49
-
- Eustace of Boulogne, husband of Edward the Confessor’s sister, 22;
- attacks William’s town of Dover, 44
-
- Eustace, son of Stephen, Henry of Winchester demands from Matilda
- his foreign possessions for him, 84;
- Stephen brings him forward in opposition to Prince Henry, 85;
- dies, 86;
- Papal bull obtained to prevent his coronation, 92
-
- Exchequer Court organized by Roger of Salisbury, 75;
- origin of the name, 106
-
- Exeter, conquered by the Danes, 8, 17;
- faithful to Harold, 44;
- desires independence, 45;
- captured by William, 45
-
- Exeter, Earl of. [See Holland.]
-
- Eye, castle of, given to Becket, 92;
- he borrows money on, 97
-
-
- Falconbridge. [See Neville.]
-
- Fastolf, Sir John, at battle of the Herrings, 308;
- at Pataye, 310
-
- Faukes de Breauté, destruction of, 145
-
- Ferrand of Flanders, 133;
- attacks Philip II., 134
-
- Ferrars of Derby joins the Great Rebellion against Henry II., 104
-
- Feudal system existed in England before the Conquest, 28;
- its institutions in Germany before the Saxon invasion, 29;
- origin of the connection between vassal and lord, 30;
- German institutions introduced into England, 31;
- connection between land and judicial power, 33;
- every man made the man of the King, 35;
- its natural growth checked by William I., 37;
- fresh institutions introduced, 37;
- unbridled in Stephen’s reign, 78;
- introduction of new nobles, 137;
- chivalry takes its place, 270
-
- Finance. [See Taxes.]
-
- Fitz-Gerald, son of Nesta invades Ireland with Strongbow, 102
-
- Fitz-Gilbert, fights against Wales, 78;
- dies, 79
-
- Fitz-Gilbert at Marlborough, 82
-
- Fitz-Osbern, made Earl of Hereford, 43;
- the North left in his charge, 44;
- given the castle of York, 46;
- subdues the Rebellion in the West, 47
-
- Fitz-Osbern, Roger, his conspiracy, 52, 53
-
- Fitz-Peter, Geoffrey, Justiciary, 125;
- Earl of Essex, 126;
- character and death, 135
-
- Flanders, Philip, Count of, threatens to invade England, 100;
- joins the Rebellion against Henry II., 104
-
- Fleet, improved by Alfred, 9;
- made powerful by Eadgar, 14;
- collected by Æthelred against the Danes, 17;
- condition of, in Edward III.’s reign, 261, 262
-
- Flemings, Henry I., colonizes Wales with, 70
-
- Folcland, public land, 31;
- becomes royal domain, 33;
- made crown property by William I., 43
-
- Food, profusion of, 264
-
- Franchise explained, 76
-
- Franciscans, their success in England, 153
-
- Frankpledge, described, 35;
- cannot be proved before the Conquest, 37;
- used by Henry I. as the basis of his police system, 74;
- the Hundred Court saw to its being carried out, 76
-
- Frederick Barbarossa, asserts the supremacy of the secular power;
- sets up a rival Pope Victor IV., 94;
- on Victor’s death sets up Pascal III., 98;
- asks for two daughters of Henry II. for his son, and for Henry
- of Saxony, 99;
- punishes Henry for deserting him, 109;
- dies on his way to the third crusade, 119
-
- Free Companies of France, 232-234
-
- Free-holders degenerate into villeins, 35
-
- Froissart, his account of Gloucester, 251;
- describes Richard II.’s rule, 253
-
- Fulk IV. of Anjou, assists Maine against William I., 52;
- against William II., 59;
- assists Henry I. against Robert, 66;
- supports William Clito against Henry I., 68;
- is won back by Henry, 68;
- turns against him on Robert’s death, 69
-
- Fulthorpe, betrays Richard II.’s plans to Gloucester, 248;
- convicts Scrope and Mowbray, 281
-
-
- Gascoigne, Judge, refuses to convict Scrope and Mowbray, 281;
- removed, 288
-
- Gascony, De Montfort’s government of, 156
-
- Gaston de Bearn, his rebellion, 156;
- treaty with Edward I., 172
-
- Gaveston, Piers, favourite of Edward II., banished, 198;
- returns, 199;
- anger of the Barons against, banished, 200;
- returns, beheaded, 202
-
- Geoffrey, Bishop of Coutances, relieves Montacute, 47;
- opposes William II., 57
-
- Geoffrey, son of Fulk of Anjou, marries Matilda, 70;
- invades Normandy, 79;
- Stephen purchases a truce from, 79;
- Theobald proposes that the crown of England should be offered
- him, 84;
- dies, 85
-
- Geoffrey of Lusignan, quarrels with Richard, 112
-
- Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Chronicle, 271
-
- Geoffrey, son of Henry II., marries Constance of Brittany, 99;
- joins the Great Rebellion against his father, 104;
- is pardoned, 105;
- joins Henry against Richard and his father, 110;
- joins John against Richard, 111;
- hurt by his father’s partiality to John, claims Anjou, his father
- refuses, he flies to France, and dies, 111
-
- Geoffrey, natural son of Henry II., repels a Scotch invasion, 104;
- made Bishop of Lincoln, 105;
- made chancellor, attends Henry at his death, 112, 113;
- made Archbishop of York in exchange for the chancellorship, 117;
- promises not to enter England in Richard’s absence, 117;
- comes, and is arrested by Longchamp, 121;
- John takes his part, 121
-
- Geraldus Cambrensis, the historian, his parentage, 70
-
- Gerberoi, reconciliation at, 54
-
- Gerbod, the Fleming, stepson of William I., made Earl of Chester, 51
-
- Gesith, comrade of the king, 30
-
- Gisors, treaty of, 67;
- dispute concerning, 110;
- meeting at, 111
-
- Godwine, made Earl of Essex, 20;
- gets the South of England for Harthacnut, practically rules himself,
- accused of murdering Alfred, his eloquence secures the throne
- for Edward, his daughter Edith marries the king, 21;
- his national policy opposed to Edward’s French policy, obtains more
- earldoms for his family, 22;
- his rivalry with Leofric, banished, 22;
- returns in triumph, his death, 23;
- his support of the secular clergy, 25;
- his domains confiscated to William I., 43
-
- Gospatric, Earl of Northumberland, invades Cumberland, 51
-
- Gregory the Great sends missionaries to England, 3
-
- Grey of Ruthyn, taken prisoner, 278;
- ransomed, 279
-
- Grey, Thomas, engaged to the heiress of the Duke of Exeter, 331;
- Earl of Dorset, 341;
- has charge of Edward V., apprehended, 342;
- beheaded, 343
-
- Grey, Richard, 341;
- takes sanctuary at Westminster, 342
-
- Grostête, Bishop of Lincoln, his reforms, 153
-
- Gryffith, his insurrection, 70
-
- Gualo, Papal Legate, 141;
- recalled, 143
-
- Guilds, described, 259-261, 352, 353
-
- Guingamp, not granted to Henry II. with Brittany, 99
-
- Gurth, fourth son of Godwine, made Earl of East Anglia, 23;
- killed at battle of Hastings, 27
-
- Guthrum, Danish invader, King of East Anglia, 7;
- conquers Wareham and Exeter, baptized under the name of Æthelstan, 8
-
- Gutred, King of Northumbria, 9
-
- Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, meets Richard I. at Cyprus, 118;
- besieges Acre, allies himself to Richard, 119;
- Richard, knowing his incompetence, makes Henry of Champagne king
- instead of him, 120
-
- Gwynneth, his insurrection, 91
-
- Gytha, mother of Harold, flies to the Channel Isles, 45
-
-
- Halfdene, Danish leader, 7;
- overruns Strathclyde, 8
-
- Harfleur, capture of, 292
-
- Harklay, defeats Lancaster at Boroughbridge, 207;
- executed, 208
-
- Harold, son of Cnut, a barbarian, made King by Godwine, 21
-
- Harold, son of Godwine, outlawed and goes to Ireland; his Earldom
- given to Ælfgar, 22;
- returns in triumph, succeeds to his father’s earldom, fights
- successfully against Ælfgar and the Welsh, 23;
- elected King, 24;
- story of his oath to William, prepares to resist William’s
- invasion, 25;
- conquers Tostig, forms his camp at Senlac, 26;
- killed in the battle, 27;
- strong party for his family in the West, 44;
- his sons dispersed, 45;
- land in Devonshire, 46;
- defeated and escape to Ireland, 47
-
- Harold Hardrada, King of Norway, his exploits, joins Tostig,
- slain, 26
-
- Harthacnut, King of South of England, 21
-
- Hasting, a Danish pirate, 9
-
- Hastings, his claim to the Scotch throne, 181
-
- Hastings, of the new nobility, 341;
- joins Richard, 342;
- beheaded, 343
-
- Haverfordwest, colonized by Flemings, 70
-
- Heathenism, sustained by Penda, 3;
- succumbs to Oswi, 4
-
- Hélie de la Fléche, resists William II. in Maine, 59;
- assists Henry I. against Robert, 66;
- William Clito intrusted to him, 67;
- flies with him, tries in vain to rouse the nobles in his favour, 67
-
- Henry I., quarrels with Robert, 53;
- heir-apparent, 56;
- joins Robert against Conan of Rouen, 57;
- besieged in Mont St. Michel, 58;
- hunting in the New Forest, crowned, 63;
- conciliates England, his marriage, character of his policy, 64;
- overcomes Robert and his partisans, 65, 66;
- unites England and Normandy, 67;
- his son’s death, 68;
- war against William Clito, 69;
- his death, 70;
- his dispute with Anselm, 71;
- his administration, 74-76
-
- Henry II., born at Le Mans, 112;
- comes to England, succeeds to Anjou, his marriage, 85;
- his character, 89;
- his reforms, 90;
- fights in Anjou, Scotland, and Wales, 91;
- his friendship for Becket, marriage treaty with Louis VII., goes to
- war for Toulouse, 92;
- introduces scutage, 93;
- objects to clerical courts, 94;
- produces the Constitutions of Clarendon, 95;
- his dispute with Becket, 96-98;
- invades Wales, obtains Brittany, 99;
- reconciliation with Becket, 100;
- his behaviour at Becket’s death, 101;
- his conquest of Ireland, 102, 103;
- suppresses the great insurrection, 104;
- makes peace with France, 105;
- his legislation, 106-108;
- his position in Europe, 109;
- difficulties with his sons, 110-112;
- his death, 113;
- his administration, and importance in Europe, 113, 114
-
- Henry III., declared of age, 144;
- quarrels with De Burgh, 147;
- fails in Poitou, 148;
- becomes his own Minister, his marriage, 151;
- second expedition to Poitou, 154;
- his favour for foreigners, 155;
- quarrel with De Montfort, 156;
- accepts the kingdom of Sicily, 157;
- promises reform, 159;
- swears to the Provisions of Oxford, 160;
- gets absolved from his vows, 161;
- at the battle of Lewes, 163;
- dies, 168
-
- Henry IV., made Earl of Derby, 247;
- friendly to Richard II., 251;
- quarrels with Norfolk, 252;
- returns from banishment, 253;
- captures Richard, 254;
- his coronation, 275;
- his difficulties, 277;
- expedition to Scotland, 278;
- his quarrel with the Percies, 279, 280;
- captures Prince James of Scotland, 281;
- his submission to the Commons, 282;
- his failing health, 283;
- his foreign policy, 284;
- his Church policy, his jealousy of the Prince of Wales, 285, 286
-
- Henry V., in command of the war in Wales, 278;
- at the battle of Shrewsbury, 280;
- head of the Council, 283;
- his character as Prince, 286;
- his popularity, 287;
- his Church policy, 288, 289;
- his reasons for the French war, 290;
- his preparations, 291;
- he captures Harfleur, 292;
- battle of Agincourt, 293, 295;
- his friendship for Sigismund, 297;
- his second invasion of France, 298;
- besieges Rouen, 299;
- makes the Treaty of Troyes, 300;
- enters Paris, dies, 301
-
- Henry VI., his education intrusted to Warwick, 302;
- coronation, 311;
- marriage, 316;
- his interview with York, 321;
- first fit of imbecility, recovers, 322;
- wounded at St Albans, 323;
- second fit of imbecility, his recovery, 324;
- he attempts reconciliation, 325;
- deserted after the battle of Northampton, 326;
- rescued by the Queen at the second battle of St. Albans, 327;
- escapes to Scotland, 329;
- captured and imprisoned, 330;
- re-crowned, 334;
- murdered, 336
-
- Henry of Poitou, Abbot of Peterborough, his bad character, 72
-
- Henry the Lion of Saxony, Frederick I. asks for Henry II.’s daughter
- for him, 99;
- he marries Matilda, 109;
- rival of Frederick, deserts him, 109;
- asks the help of Henry II., 109
-
- Henry, son of Henry II., marries Margaret of France, 92;
- crowned, 100;
- demands actual possession of part of his kingdom, 103;
- objects to his brother John’s marriage-treaty, 103;
- befriended by Louis VII., joins the Great Rebellion against his
- father, 104;
- is conquered, his dependants have to abjure their fealty to him, 105;
- is reconciled with his father, 105;
- his character, 110;
- demands homage from his brothers, is refused, dies, 110
-
- Henry VI., Emperor of Germany, marries Constance of Sicily, 118;
- keeps Richard I. in prison, 122;
- receives his homage for England, 123
-
- Henry of Lancaster, second son of Edmund, joins Isabella against
- Edward II., 210;
- his opposition to Mortimer, 215;
- member of Edward III.’s council, 216
-
- Henry, Bishop of Winchester, brother of Stephen, secures him the
- throne, 77;
- upholds the dignity of the Church, escorts Matilda, demands the
- See of Salisbury for his nephew, 82;
- when Stephen refuses, declares his adhesion to Matilda, 83;
- alienated by her refusal of his request for Eustace, demands
- Stephen’s release, besieged by Matilda at Winchester, 84;
- deprived of his legatine authority, 85;
- mediates a compromise between Henry and Stephen, 86;
- retires to Clugny, 90
-
- Henry d’Almeyne, son of Richard, King of the Romans, prisoner after
- battle of Lewes, 163;
- desires conciliatory policy, 168;
- murdered, 172
-
- Heraclius, Bishop of Jerusalem, preaches a crusade, 111
-
- Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, defeats Jasper Tudor, killed, 332
-
- Hereford. [See Bohun.]
-
- Hereward, attacks the monastery of Peterborough, collects the old
- English exiles, 50;
- is defeated and escapes, legends concerning his death, 51
-
- Hidage explained, 113
-
- Hide of land explained, 31
-
- Hildebrand. [See Pope Gregory VII.]
-
- Holland, Sir John, brother of Richard II., kills a friar, 246;
- kills the Earl of Stafford, 247
-
- Holland, Duke of Exeter, flies to Scotland with Henry VI., 329;
- murdered, 336
-
- Horsa, Jutish Ealdorman, 1;
- killed, 2
-
- House-carls, explained, 20;
- used tyrannically, 21;
- faithful to Harold, 26
-
- Howard, Sir John, counsellor of Edward IV., 338;
- supports Richard III., 341;
- made Duke of Norfolk, 344;
- at the battle of Bosworth, 348
-
- Hubba invades England, 6
-
- Hubert de Burgh, has charge of Arthur, 129;
- defeats French fleet, 142;
- Regent, 143;
- destroys his enemies, 145;
- his rule, 146;
- prevents Henry III.’s expedition to France, 147;
- his fall, 148;
- character, 149;
- property restored, 150
-
- Hugh, Bishop of Rouen, deserts Stephen, 83
-
- Hugh of Avranches, Earl of Chester, assists Odo, 54;
- loses and wins back Anglesey, 59;
- invites Anselm to establish Benedictine Abbey at Chester, 61
-
- Hugh de Grantmesnil, holds large property in England, 46;
- opposes William II., 57;
- quarrels with Belesme, 58
-
- Hugh of Neufchâtel receives Robert of Normandy, 53
-
- Hugh de Pudsey, Bishop of Durham, joins the Great Rebellion against
- Henry II., is conquered, 105;
- buys the earldom of Northumbria, 116;
- supplanted by Longchamp, becomes his enemy, 117;
- produces his grievances against him, 121
-
- Humphrey, fourth son of Henry IV., Duke of Gloucester, proposed
- Regent in England, 302;
- President of the Council, 304;
- marries Jacqueline, 305;
- quarrels with Beaufort, 306;
- persecutes the Lollards, 312;
- head of the war party, 313;
- his claim on Flanders, 315;
- his obstinacy, 316;
- his death, 317;
- his literary tastes, 353
-
- Hundred, analogous to the German Pagus, 29;
- England divided into, 31
-
- Hundred Court, in Saxon times, 32;
- connected with the Curia Regis by Henry I., 75, 76;
- its duties, 76
-
- Huntingdon, Earl of, deprived, 276;
- conspires against Henry IV., 277;
- executed, 277
-
-
- Impeachment, first instance of parliamentary, 240;
- by the Lords Appellant, 248
-
- Ingvar invades England, 6
-
- Interdict in John’s reign, 131
-
- Investitures, dispute as to, 71
-
- Ireland, Danes in, 11;
- Harold’s sons fly there, 22, 45;
- granted to Henry II. by Adrian IV., 91;
- condition of, Strongbow’s invasion, Henry II.’s conquest of, 102;
- land granted to his followers, 103;
- John restores order in, 132;
- Edward Bruce King of, 204;
- English government re-established, 205;
- Richard II.’s expedition to, 250;
- his second visit to, 253
-
- Irish Church, accepts Roman discipline, 102
-
- Isaac of Cyprus, conquered by Richard I., 118
-
- Isabella de la Marche, marries John, 128;
- marries Count de la Marche, 154
-
- Isabella of France, marries Edward II., 190;
- insulted at Leeds, 207;
- goes to France, 209;
- conspires against Edward II., 210;
- deposes him, 211;
- her rule, 213;
- her deposition, 216
-
- Isabella of France marries Richard II., 251;
- her restoration demanded, 278
-
- Isabella, wife of Charles VI., joins the Burgundians, 298
-
- Itinerant justices, sent out by Henry I., 75;
- by Henry II., 107, 108
-
- Ivo of Taillebois, 50
-
- Ivo of Grantmesnil, 65
-
- Ivry, siege of, 305
-
-
- Jacqueline of Hainault, 305
-
- Jacquetta of St. Pol, marries Bedford, 312
-
- Jane, sister of Henry III., marries Alexander II., 143
-
- Jane, sister of Edward III., marries David II., 214
-
- Jane of Montfort defends Brittany, 222
-
- Jane Shore does penance, 343
-
- James I. of Scotland, captured and educated by Henry IV., 281;
- released, marries Joan Beaufort, 305;
- makes alliance with France, invades England, murdered, 315
-
- James III. of Scotland, his character, 338
-
- Jerusalem, kingdom of, refused by Robert, 65;
- character of, 111;
- overwhelmed by Saladin, 119
-
- Jews, admitted to England by William I., 115;
- their condition, persecuted by Richard, 116;
- by John, 133;
- banished by Edward I., 179
-
- Joan of Arc, 308-311
-
- Joanna, daughter of Henry II., marries William of Sicily, 109;
- imprisoned by Tancred, 118;
- restored to Richard I., accompanies him to Palestine, 118;
- marries Raymond of St. Gilles, 124
-
- John, Duke of Bedford, third son of Henry IV., Lieutenant of
- England, 291;
- Regent in France, 302, 303;
- character, marriage, 304;
- visits England, 306;
- returns, renews alliance with Burgundy and Brittany, 307;
- captures Joan of Arc, 311;
- his second marriage, 312;
- visits England, 313;
- dies, 314
-
- John, Bishop of Oxford, sent to the Pope, 98;
- his excommunication by Becket, 99;
- it is removed by the Pope, 100;
- sent as Becket’s escort, 101;
- made Bishop of Norwich, 105
-
- John de Grey, Bishop of Norwich, elected Archbishop of Canterbury,
- great administrator, 130;
- governor in Ireland, 132
-
- John (King), marries Alice of Savoy, 103;
- favourite of Henry II., 109;
- war with Richard, 110, 111;
- Henry II.’s grief at his rebellion, 113;
- his great possessions, 117;
- tries to secure the succession, 121;
- restrained by his mother, purchases Philip’s favour, 122, 123;
- his party destroyed, 123;
- nominated successor, crowned at Rouen and Westminster, 126;
- his strong position, 127;
- excites the anger of his subjects, 128;
- kills Arthur, loses Normandy, 129;
- quarrels with the Church and the Pope, 131;
- is excommunicated, settles Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, 132;
- his extortions, joins the League, 133;
- dethroned by the Pope, 134;
- is reconciled with the Church, goes to Poitou, 135;
- defeated at Bouvines, 136;
- signs Magna Charta, 137;
- attempts to break it, 139;
- dies, 140
-
- John of Gaunt, fourth son of Edward III., commanding in France,
- marriage, 236;
- assumes the government, 237, 239;
- renewed power, 240;
- protects Wicliffe, 240;
- hated by the people, 240, 244;
- head of the Council, 243;
- deserts Wicliffe, 245;
- character of his government, 245, 246;
- goes to Spain, 246;
- returns, 251;
- dies, 253
-
- John, King of France, 229;
- taken prisoner at Poitiers, 231;
- liberated, 233;
- dies, 234
-
- Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald, ancestress of Matilda, wife
- of William I., her three marriages, 6
-
- Jurisdiction, early organization of, 32;
- connected with the possession of land, 33, 36;
- of the Witan, 34;
- old machinery retained by William, 37;
- ecclesiastical separated from secular, 38, 94;
- private, 87;
- punishment of corrupt judges, 179
-
- Jury, origin of, 108
-
- Justiciary, his duties, 38;
- president of the Curia Regis, 75
-
-
- Kemp, Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor, 321;
- dies, 322
-
- Kenilworth, last stronghold of the Barons, 167;
- Dictum of, 168
-
- Kent, Earl of, half-brother of Edward II., his conspiracy and
- death, 215
-
- Kent, Earl of, his conspiracy against Henry IV., beheaded, 277
-
- King, the origin of, 30;
- his personal relation becomes territorial, 33;
- his office elective, 34;
- becomes supreme landowner, 37;
- practically irresponsible, 38;
- position of William I., 42;
- of Henry I., as feudal lord, 64;
- his equitable power, his power of making laws and levying taxes, 76;
- misery caused by a weak king, 78, 86, 87;
- rivalry with the Church, 94, 105;
- his judicial power, 107;
- opposition to his overstrained power, 125, 137, 138, 159;
- view of his position in a political poem of Henry III.’s time,
- 169, 170;
- desire of Edward I. for despotism, 173;
- opposition of his clergy and barons, 187, 188;
- his legislative power, 193;
- Edward II.’s prerogative restricted by the Ordinances, 201;
- Richard II.’s despotism, 253;
- Henry IV.’s power checked by the Commons, 282, 283;
- character of Edward IV.’s monarchy, 330, 340
-
- Knowles, general of the Free Companies, 234, 235;
- opposes Wat Tyler, 244
-
-
- Lacey, Hugh de, does homage for land beyond Hereford, 59
-
- Lacey, Hugh (his nephew), sent as envoy to O’Connor, 102;
- made Earl of Meath, 103
-
- Lacey, Hugh de (son of Earl of Meath), obtains the kingdom of
- Ulster, 132
-
- La Hire, French general, 310
-
- Lancaster, Thomas, Earl of, opposition to Gaveston, 200;
- his great possessions, Edward II. flies from, 202;
- made minister, 205;
- joins Hereford in rebellion, 206;
- surrenders, is beheaded, 207
-
- Land, how apportioned by the Saxons in England, 31;
- tenure becomes military, 37;
- granted to Normans by William I., 43
-
- Landrica, his jurisdiction, 33;
- his position, 34
-
- Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, connects the Church with Rome, 38;
- establishes ecclesiastical courts, 49;
- England left in charge of, 53;
- supports William II., 56;
- restrains him, 57;
- prevents the quarrel on investitures from reaching England, 60;
- dies, 57
-
- Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, consecrated, 131;
- opposes John, 135;
- causes Pandulf’s fall, 143;
- excommunicates Hubert’s enemies, 145;
- his national policy, 146;
- dies, 147
-
- Latimer, leader of a rebellion against Edward IV., 332
-
- La Tremouille, favourite of Charles VII., 310;
- opposed to peace, 313
-
- Layamon, his translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Chronicle, 271
-
- Leicester. [See Beaumont.]
-
- Leofric, Earl of Mercia, 20;
- competes with Godwine, 22
-
- Leofwine, fifth son of Godwine, outlawed, 22;
- Earl of Essex and Kent, 23;
- killed at Hastings, 27
-
- Lindisfarne, episcopal See in, 4
-
- Lionel, third son of Edward III., Duke of Clarence, left in command
- of England during the French war, 228;
- governor of Ireland, 250
-
- Lisle, Lord, 341;
- takes sanctuary, 342
-
- Literature, 270-274, 353
-
- Llewellyn, John’s son-in-law, submits to him, 132
-
- Llewellyn, attacks Mortimer’s lands, 162;
- refuses to obey the summons of Edward I., 175;
- conquered and killed, 176
-
- Læt, position of, 29;
- origin of, 30;
- settle on the demesne land, 31
-
- Lollards, their petition, 251;
- their doctrines, 267;
- persecuted by Henry IV., 285;
- by Henry V., 288, 289;
- by Gloucester, 312;
- by Suffolk, 318
-
- Longchamp, Chancellor, buys bishopric of Ely, 116;
- justiciary and legate, 117;
- Richard I. orders his arrest, his dispute with Geoffrey and John,
- is dismissed, 121;
- retires to France, 122
-
- Lothians, granted to Scotland, 14
-
- Louis VI., upholds William Clito, defeated at Puysac, makes peace, 67
-
- Louis VII., divorces Eleanor, 85;
- his friendship secured by Henry II., 90;
- cemented by a marriage-treaty, war with Henry II., 92;
- receives Alexander III., 94;
- protects Becket, 98;
- war with Henry II., 100;
- supports Prince Henry, 103, 104;
- makes peace, 105;
- jealous of Henry II.’s power, 109
-
- Louis VIII., engaged to Blanche of Castile, 127;
- summoned to England, 139;
- retires, 142;
- dies, 145
-
- Louis XI., makes Treaty of Pecquigni, 338
-
- Louis of Bavaria, Emperor, dispute with the Pope, 219;
- joins France against Edward III., 222
-
- Lovel, favourite of Richard III., 345
-
-
- Magesætas, men of Hereford, 19
-
- Magna Charta, 107, 137, 138, 139;
- re-enacted, 168;
- confirmed, 188
-
- Maid of Norway, betrothed, 181;
- dies, 182
-
- Maine, Robert, Governor of, 52, 53;
- William II. fights against, 59;
- suzerainty of, given up by Louis VI. to Henry I., 67
-
- Maintainers, complaints against, 245;
- explained, 270
-
- Malcolm I., King of Scotland, holds part of Strathclyde by military
- service, 12
-
- Malcolm II., King of Scotland, does homage to Cnut, 20
-
- Malcolm III., Canmore, King of Scotland, helps Eadgar, 45;
- commends himself to William I., 46;
- his savage invasions, 51;
- marries Eadgar’s sister, does homage to William I., 52;
- his wars with William II., does homage to him, killed at Alnwick, 58
-
- Malcolm IV., King of Scotland, resigns three counties to Henry II., 90;
- does homage for Huntingdon, 91;
- follows Henry to his war with France, 93
-
- Malet, Count of, supports Robert, 65;
- banished, 67
-
- Manny, Sir Walter, raises siege of Hennebone, 222;
- invades Picardy, 233
-
- Manor, origin of, 32
-
- Mansell, holds seven hundred livings, 152;
- on Henry III.’s council, 159;
- driven to France, 162;
- joins Eleanor’s army, 164
-
- Marcel, revolutionary leader in Paris, 232
-
- Margaret, sister of Eadgar, marries Malcolm, 52
-
- Margaret, daughter of William the Lion, sent as hostage to John, 132
-
- Margaret, of France, marries Edward I., 190
-
- Margaret, marries Henry VI., 316;
- character, 317;
- wins battles of Wakefield and St. Albans, rescues the King, 327;
- flies with him to Scotland, attempts to overthrow Edward IV., 329;
- defeated at Tewkesbury, 335;
- ransomed, 338
-
- Margaret, sister of Edward IV., marries Charles of Burgundy, 331
-
- Mark system, described, 28;
- how carried out, 31
-
- Marlborough, castle of, held for Matilda, 83
-
- Marriage of the clergy, permitted by Dunstan, 14, 15,
- forbidden by Lanfranc, 49
-
- Marshall, William, first Earl of Pembroke, ordered to supplant
- Longchamp, 121;
- summoned to Rouen, 126;
- advises John to disband his troops, 129;
- declares Henry III. King, 141;
- his character, government, 142;
- death, 143
-
- Marshall, William, second Earl, head of the Barons at Brackley, 136;
- his property attacked, 144;
- quarrels with De Burgh, 146
-
- Marshall, Richard, third Earl, his patriotism, 149;
- outlawed, murdered, 150
-
- Marshall, Gilbert, fourth Earl, restored to favour, 150
-
- Martin, Papal agent, his exactions, 154
-
- Mary of Burgundy, rivals for her hand, 336, 337;
- marries Maximilian of Austria, 339
-
- Matilda, wife of William I., helps Robert, 53;
- dies, 54;
- her claim on Flanders, 69
-
- Matilda, niece of Eadgar Ætheling, marries Henry I., 64;
- dies, 68
-
- Matilda, daughter of Henry I., marries Henry V., 67;
- the Barons swear fealty to her, 69;
- marries Geoffrey of Anjou, 70;
- her claim passed over, 77;
- David of Scotland supports her, 79;
- Robert of Gloucester declares for her, 81;
- lands, 82;
- supported by Henry of Winchester, 83;
- offends London and the Church, retires to France, 84
-
- Maud of Boulogne, wife of Stephen, fights for him, 81
-
- Mellent. [See Beaumont.]
-
- Mercenaries, of William I., 46, 54;
- of Stephen, 81;
- of Henry II., 90, 93;
- of John, 133, 136, 139
-
- Mercia, foundation of, 2;
- kingdom of, 4;
- submits to Wessex, 5;
- conquered by the Danes, 7;
- submits to Eadward, 10;
- Dunstan’s reforms in, 14, 15;
- rebels against Æthelred, 16;
- overrun by Danes, 18;
- surrendered to Cnut, 19;
- made an Earldom for Eadric, 20
-
- Militia, Harold’s, 26;
- William II.’s, 59;
- reorganized by Henry II., 109
-
- Milo, Constable of Gloucester, Earl of Hereford, Robert of Gloucester’s
- agent, 81;
- fights for Matilda, 82;
- attests her oath, 83;
- his son Roger surrenders his castles to Henry II., 90
-
- Moleyns, Bishop of Chichester, Minister under Suffolk, 318;
- killed, 319
-
- Monarchy. [See King.]
-
- Montgomery, Roger, fights at Hastings, 27;
- made Earl of Shrewsbury, 51;
- opposes William II., 57
-
- Montgomery, Hugh, second Earl, killed while assisting Hugh of
- Chester, 59
-
- Montgomery, Roger, third son of the first Earl, does homage for
- Powys, 59
-
- Montgomery, Arnulf, fifth son of the first Earl, does homage for
- Dyfed, 59
-
- Montgomery, Robert, eldest son of the first Earl. [See Belesme.]
-
- Montmirail, Peace of, 100
-
- Morkere, a Thegn of the Danish Burghs, 18
-
- Morkere, son of Ælfgar, elected Earl of Northumbria, 24;
- defeated by Tostig, 26;
- calls a Witan, 40;
- hopes to be elected King, deserts Eadgar, 41;
- reinstated in his Earldom, 44;
- rebels and is pardoned, 45;
- joins Hereward’s rebellion, 50;
- made prisoner, 51
-
- Mortain, Count of. [See Robert.]
-
- Mortimer, Hugh, descended from Belesme, surrenders to Henry II., 90
-
- Mortimer, Roger, attacked by Llewellyn, 162;
- tries to liberate Edward, 164;
- succeeds, 166
-
- Mortimer, Roger, subdues Ireland, 205;
- surrenders to Edward II., 207;
- escapes from the Tower, 208;
- in France with the Queen, 210;
- his government, 213, 214;
- made Earl of March, executed, 215
-
- Mortimer, Roger, fourth Earl of March, made heir-apparent, 246;
- killed, 253
-
- Mortimer, Edward, outlawed, 252;
- taken prisoner, 278;
- refused leave to ransom himself, marries Glendower’s daughter, 279
-
- Morton, Bishop of Ely, apprehended, 343;
- released, 344;
- proposes marriage between Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York, 345
-
- Mowbray, Robert, Earl of Northumberland, kills Malcolm at Alnwick, 58;
- his conspiracy against William II., 59
-
- Mowbray, Roger (son of Robert’s nephew Nigel), opposes the invasion
- of David I., 79
-
- Mowbray, John, Edward I. relies upon, 191
-
- Mowbray, Thomas, Earl of Nottingham, one of the Lords Appellant, 248;
- won over to Richard II., 251;
- made Duke of Norfolk, 252;
- banished, 252
-
- Mowbray, Thomas, joins Scrope’s rebellion, beheaded, 281
-
- Mowbray, John, third Duke of Norfolk, joins York, 321;
- defeated at St. Albans, 327
-
-
- Neville, Ralph, Chancellor, 151
-
- Neville, Ralph, made Earl of Westmoreland, 252;
- partisan of Henry IV., 276;
- conquers Scrope and Mowbray, 281
-
- Neville, Earl of Salisbury, joins York, 321;
- Chancellor, 322;
- retires, wins the battle of Blore Heath, 325;
- beheaded, 327
-
- Neville, Earl of Warwick, the “Kingmaker,” at St. Albans, 322;
- retires to Calais, 325;
- wins battle of Northampton, 326;
- takes charge of Henry VI., 327;
- defeated at St Albans, 327;
- his power, 331;
- keeps Edward IV. prisoner, pardoned, supports Wells’ rebellion, 333;
- makes a treaty with Margaret, re-crowns Henry VI., 334;
- killed at Barnet, 335
-
- Neville, John, of Montague, wins battles of Hedgeley Moor and
- Hexham, 329;
- made Earl of Northumberland, 331;
- declares for Henry VI., 334;
- killed, 335
-
- Neville, George, Archbishop of York, Chancellor, 331;
- deprived of his chancellorship, 332
-
- Neville, William (son of Ralph), Lord Falconbridge, at Ferrybridge, 328
-
- New Forest, made by William I., 39;
- Richard dies there, 54;
- the displaced people taken to Cumberland, 58;
- death of William II. in, 60
-
- Nicholas of Ely, Chancellor, 159
-
- Nicholas of Tusculum, Papal Legate, 135
-
- Nigel, Bishop of Ely, nephew of Roger of Salisbury, surrenders Devizes
- to Stephen, 81;
- joins Matilda, 83
-
- Normandy, connected with England by Emma, 17;
- Æthelred and his sons fly there, 18, 19;
- Cnut forms alliance with, 20;
- Edward the Confessor’s friendship for, 21, 22;
- William I. resides there, 53;
- given to Robert, 53, 56;
- anarchy in, 57;
- pledged by Robert to William II., 59;
- conquered by Philip II. from John, 129
-
- Northumbria, founded, 2;
- claims supremacy, 3;
- submits to Wessex, 5;
- conquered by the Danes, 7;
- helps Hasting against Alfred, 9;
- acknowledges supremacy of Eadward, 10;
- incorporated with Wessex, made an Earldom for Osulf, 12;
- divided into three parts, 14;
- surrendered to Cnut, 19;
- Cnut makes it an Earldom, 20
-
-
- O’Connor, King of Ireland, war with Dermot of Leinster, 102;
- submits to Henry II., 103
-
- Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, brother of William I., at Hastings, 27;
- made Earl of Kent, 43;
- left in charge of England, 44, 53;
- rules severely, aims at the Papacy; William imprisons him, 54;
- heads Norman opposition to William II., defeated, and retires to
- France, 57
-
- Offa, King of Mercia, 4;
- his power, his dyke, 5
-
- Olaf, King of Norway, invades England, retires on receiving
- Danegelt, 16
-
- Oldcastle, his character, 286;
- persecuted, 288;
- escapes, his death, 289
-
- Ordainers, appointment of, 200
-
- Orleans, siege of, 307-310
-
- Orleton, Bishop of Hereford, his conspiracy, 209
-
- Osberht, King of Northumbria, 7
-
- Osulf, Earl of Northumbria, 12;
- retains one third of it, 14
-
- Oswald, King of Northumbria, 4
-
- Oswi, King of Northumbria, 4
-
- Otho, son of Henry the Lion, brought up in England, 114;
- elected Emperor, 123;
- promises help to John, his rivalry with Philip of Swabia, 127;
- supported by the Pope, 131;
- receives money from John, 132;
- crowned as Emperor, joins the Northern League, 133;
- defeated at Bouvines, 136
-
- Otho, Papal Legate, his extortions, 146, 151
-
- Owen Glendower, rebellion, 278;
- negotiates with the Percies, 279;
- conquered, 282
-
-
- Palatine counties, established by William I., 51;
- Ely made one by Henry I., 79
-
- Pale, English, provinces in Ireland, 103
-
- Pandulf, Papal Legate, forbids Philip to attack John, 134;
- his government, 143
-
- Parliament, its origin, 106, 107;
- Knights and Burghers summoned to, 165;
- three Estates represented at, 185, 193, 194;
- royal power restricted by, 201;
- a Peer’s privileges in, 221;
- construction of, in Edward III.’s reign, 237, 238;
- mercantile classes introduced, 264;
- power of the Commons in Henry IV.’s reign, 282, 283
-
- Paulinus, missionary to Northumbria, 3, 4
-
- Peasantry, their sufferings in Henry I.’s reign, 72, 73;
- in Stephen’s reign, 86, 87;
- effects of the Friars’ preachings on, 153;
- disturbances in Edward I.’s reign, 179;
- their love for Lancaster, 207;
- effect of Black Death upon, 229;
- becoming more important, 237, 238;
- their insurrection under Wat Tyler, 244;
- oppression of the Commons, 245;
- day labourers increasing, 260, 261;
- effects of Wicliffe’s preaching on, 267, 269;
- the Statute of Labourers, 267, 268;
- their sufferings after the French war, 318;
- their hatred of Suffolk, 319;
- Jack Cade’s rebellion, 320;
- rebellions against Edward IV., 332, 333;
- their indifference in the War of the Roses, 332, 333, 335;
- increased freedom of, and poverty, 352, 353
-
- Pecquigni, Treaty of, 338
-
- Pedro the Cruel, King of Castile, supported by the Black Prince, 234;
- his daughters marry John of Gaunt and Edmund of York, 236
-
- Penda, King of Mercia, 4
-
- Percy, Henry, first Earl of Northumberland, Constable, partisan of
- Henry IV., 276;
- quarrels with him, 278, 279;
- submits, 280;
- escapes, 281;
- killed at Bramham, 282
-
- Percy, Thomas, brother of the first Earl, made Earl of Worcester, 252
-
- Percy, Hotspur, son of the first Earl, his marriage, 279;
- killed, 280
-
- Percy, second Earl, reinstated, 288;
- killed at St. Albans, 323
-
- Percy, Lord Egremont, son of the second Earl, fighting with the
- Nevilles, 321, 323
-
- Percy, third Earl, killed at Towton, 329
-
- Peter des Roches, Justiciary, 135;
- his character and policy, charges Hubert with treason, 144;
- retires to the crusades, 146;
- returns, causes Hubert’s fall, 148;
- his rule, 149;
- his fall, 150
-
- Peter of Savoy, uncle of Queen Eleanor, his possessions, 151;
- joins her army, 164
-
- Peter de Aigue Blanche, Bishop of Hereford, 151;
- envoy to Rome, 158;
- attacked by Llewellyn, 162;
- joins Eleanor’s army, 164
-
- Peter III., of Aragon, conquers Sicily, 177.
-
- Peter’s Pence, begun by Æthelwulf, 6;
- paid by William I., 50;
- collected in Ireland, 102
-
- Philip I., jealous of William I., 53;
- assists Robert, 54, 59;
- jealous of William II., 60
-
- Philip II., makes peace with Henry II., 110;
- claims the guardianship of Arthur, meets Henry at Gisors, 111;
- declares war, 112;
- goes on a crusade with Richard I., 116;
- called the Lamb in Sicily, 117;
- quarrels with Richard, 118;
- befriends Conrad, 119;
- withdraws from the Crusade, 120;
- invades Richard’s dominions, 122;
- tries to prolong Richard’s imprisonment, 123;
- general alliance against him, 124;
- helps Arthur against John, 126;
- makes treaty with John, 127;
- war with John, 128;
- takes Normandy, 129;
- league against him, 133;
- victory at Bouvines, 136;
- dies, 145
-
- Philip IV., his likeness to Edward I., 173;
- quarrels with him, 184;
- alliance with the Scotch, 185;
- abolishes the Templars, 199
-
- Philip VI., his quarrel with Edward III., 218;
- asks David II. to attack Edward, 228;
- dies, 229
-
- Philip of Swabia, Emperor of Germany, 127;
- makes peace with the Pope, 131;
- assassinated, 132
-
- Philip of Burgundy. [See Burgundy.]
-
- Philippa, wife of Edward III., saves the lives of the men of
- Calais, 228
-
- Piers Ploughman, Vision of, 273
-
- Pole, Michael de la, advises retreat from Scotland, 246;
- made Earl of Suffolk, dismissed, 247;
- impeached, 248
-
- Pole, William de la, in command at the siege of Orleans, 307;
- taken prisoner, 310;
- arranges the marriage of Henry VI., 316;
- made Marquis of Suffolk, 317;
- chief Minister, unpopularity of, 318;
- murdered, 319
-
- Pole, John de la, marries sister of Edward IV., 347
-
- Pole, John de la, Earl of Lincoln, declared heir, 347
-
- Police, the early system of, 35;
- systematized at the Conquest, 37;
- strictness of William I.’s, 39;
- of Henry I., 73, 74
-
- Pope, Adrian IV. the only English one, 90;
- grants Ireland to Henry II., 91
- Alexander III. [See Alexander III.]
- Alexander IV., extorts money for Sicilian war, 158;
- absolves Henry III. from his vow, 161
- Boniface VIII., his claim on Scotland, 191
- Boniface IX., grants Provisors, 250
- Calixtus II., mediates a treaty between Henry I. and Louis VI., 68
- Celestine III., excommunicates Longchamp’s enemies, 122
- Clement III., raised by Henry IV. of Germany, 60
- Clement IV., excommunicates the Barons, 164
- Clement VI., attempts arbitration, 223
- Gregory VII., supports William I., 25;
- revives the Papacy, 49;
- demands homage and Peter’s Pence, 50;
- friendly relations with England, 60
- Gregory IX., his extortions, 147
- Gregory XI., restores the Papacy to Rome, 245
- Honorius III., his character, 147
- Innocent III., decides the election at Canterbury, 130;
- consecrates Langton, 131;
- his interdict and excommunication, 131;
- declares John’s crown forfeited, 134;
- his tyranny in England, 135;
- disallows Magna Charta, 139;
- dies, 140
- Innocent IV., his exactions, 154;
- offers Sicily to Edmund, 157
- John XXII., mediates between Edward II. and the barons, 205
- Victor III., acknowledged in England, 61
- Victor IV., acknowledged in Germany, 94
-
- Popes, position as arbitrators, 222, 223
-
- Powys, granted to Montgomery, 59
-
- Præmunire, Statute of, 250, 266;
- writ of, used against Beaufort, 312
-
- Privy Council, origin of, 107
-
- Provisions of Oxford, 159
-
- Provisors, Statute of, 250, 265
-
- Purveyance, misery caused by, 73;
- restrained by Henry I., 74;
- restricted by Magna Charta, 139;
- checked by the Statute of Stamford, 200;
- exacted by the royal Princes, 215;
- complained of, 245
-
-
- Ralph of Gwader, son of Ralph the Staller, Earl of Norfolk, conspires
- against William I., 52;
- flies to Brittany, 53
-
- Ralph Flambard, Justiciary, his cruelties, 57;
- arrested by Henry I., 64;
- escapes to Normandy, 64
-
- Ranulf, Earl of Chester, fights against Wales, 78;
- joins Matilda, 83
-
- Ratcliffe, favourite of Richard III., 342, 345, 347
-
- Raymond of Toulouse, quarrels with Richard, 112;
- marries Joanna, 124;
- revenge for injury done him, 133
-
- Reeve, his office, 31;
- his duties, 32
-
- Renaissance, its effects, 338, 353
-
- Réné, Duke of Bar, 316
-
- Representation, not understood in Saxon times, 34;
- used in making the Domesday Book, 55;
- used in inquiries for financial purposes, 125;
- first used in Parliament, 165;
- principle established, 172, 193, 194
-
- Revenue. [See Taxes.]
-
- Richard I., engaged to Berengaria, 93;
- joins the Great Rebellion against his father, 104;
- pardoned, 105;
- his success in Aquitaine excites Prince Henry’s envy, 110;
- his war with him, 111;
- attacks Raymond of Toulouse, joins Philip II. against Henry II.,
- receives his father’s submission, 112;
- gets absolution, is crowned, 115;
- sells all offices in the Kingdom, and goes on a crusade, 116;
- his quarrels in Sicily, 117;
- conquers Cyprus, marries Berengaria, 118;
- takes Acre, 120;
- relieves Joppa, makes a truce with Saladin, 121;
- imprisoned in Germany, 122;
- does homage to Henry VI., returns to England, 123;
- his wars with Philip, his death, 124;
- his heavy taxation, 125;
- names John as his successor, 126
-
- Richard II., made heir-apparent, 240;
- his interview with Wat Tyler, 244;
- his favourites, 247;
- his character, 248;
- assumes authority, 249;
- his expedition to Ireland, 250;
- his marriage, 251;
- his vengeance, 252;
- his despotism, 253;
- deposed, 254;
- death, 277
-
- Richard III., murder of Henry VI. imputed to him, 336;
- his quarrel with Clarence, 336;
- captures Edward V., 342;
- secures the crown, 343;
- his unpopularity, 345;
- his energy, 346;
- death of his son, 347;
- killed at battle of Bosworth, 348;
- his character, 349
-
- Richard, Prior of Dover, succeeds Becket as Archbishop of
- Canterbury, 105
-
- Richard, brother of Henry III., Count of Poitou, quarrels with
- De Burgh, 146;
- his patriotic efforts, goes on a Crusade, 152;
- marries Sancha, 154;
- refuses the Sicilies, 157;
- elected King of the Romans, 158;
- joins Henry against the Barons, 162;
- taken prisoner at the battle of Lewes, 163
-
- Richard, Earl of Cambridge, son of Edward III.’s son Edmund, his
- conspiracy, executed, 292
-
- Richard of York, son of the Earl of Cambridge, in command of the war
- in France, 314, 315;
- leader of the Plantagenet Princes, 317;
- concerned in Suffolk’s death, 319;
- appears in arms, 320;
- duped into submission, 321;
- President of the Council, 322;
- victory at St. Albans, 323;
- Protector, deposed, 324;
- returns from Ireland, 325;
- claims the throne, 326;
- beheaded after Wakefield, 327
-
- Richard, son of Edward IV., in sanctuary, 342;
- given up to Richard, 343;
- murdered, 345
-
- Ridel, Godfrey, Becket’s enemy, made Bishop of Ely, 105
-
- Rivaux, Treasurer, 148;
- obtains confiscated property, 150
-
- Rivers. [See Woodville.]
-
- Robert, brother of William I., fights at Hastings, 27;
- made Earl of Cornwall, 45;
- opposes William II., 57;
- banished, taken prisoner at Tenchebray, 66
-
- Robert de Comines, Earl of Northumberland, murdered, 46
-
- Robert, son of William I., Governor of Maine, 52;
- does homage for it to Philip I., 53;
- his rebellion and reconciliation with his father at Gerberoi, his
- expedition against Scotland, 54;
- Normandy bequeathed to him, 56;
- his character excites feudal anarchy, 57;
- makes Treaty of Caen with William II., 58;
- goes on a Crusade, pledging Normandy to William, 59;
- claims the throne of England, surrenders to Henry I., 65;
- taken prisoner at Tenchebray, 66
-
- Robert of Rhuddlan, his wars with Wales, 51
-
- Robert of Flanders, supports William Clito, killed, 68
-
- Robert of Bathenton, rebels against Stephen, 79
-
- Robert, Earl of Gloucester, natural son of Henry I., swears fealty
- to Matilda, 69;
- suppresses Gryffith’s insurrection, 70;
- one of the three remaining Earls, renounces his fealty to
- Stephen, 80;
- his power in the West, 81;
- brings Matilda to England, 82;
- takes Stephen prisoner at the battle of Lincoln, 83;
- taken prisoner, exchanged for Stephen, 84;
- dies, his character, 85
-
- Robert of Artois, persuades Edward III. to the war with France, 218
-
- Robert of Gloucester, translated Layamon, 271
-
- Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, punishes false coiners, 74;
- organizes the Exchequer Court, 75;
- power of his family, 81;
- arrested, 81;
- dies, 82
-
- Rotheram, Archbishop of York, Chancellor, 341;
- deposed, 342
-
- Rouen, siege of, 299;
- loss of, 319
-
- Russell, Chancellor, 342, 346
-
- Rutland, made Earl of Albemarle, 252;
- title removed, 276;
- conspires against Henry IV., 277
-
-
- Sac and Soc, explained, 33;
- benefit of, 76
-
- Saladin, his power in the East, 111;
- greatness of his empire, takes Jerusalem, 119;
- his truce with Richard, 121
-
- Saladin tax, imposed by Henry II., 111
-
- Salisbury, Earl of, conspires against Henry IV., beheaded, 277
-
- Salisbury, commanding at Orleans, 307
-
- Salisbury. [See Neville.]
-
- Sanctuary, effects of taking, 149
-
- Say, minister under Suffolk, 318;
- executed, 320
-
- Scotland, does fealty to Eadward the Elder, 10;
- to Æthelstan, 11;
- rebels, and defeated at Brunanburh, 11;
- the Lothians added to it, 14;
- submits to Cnut, 20;
- does homage to William I., 46;
- invades England, 51;
- the Lowlands anglicized, 52;
- war with William II., 58;
- does homage for Huntingdon to Henry II., 90, 91;
- does homage to Henry II., 105;
- repurchases its independence from Richard I., 116;
- does homage to John, 128, 132;
- peace and marriage treaty with Henry III., 143;
- its relations with England, 180;
- extinction of the royal family, 181;
- rival claimants, 182;
- Balliol made king, 183;
- conquered by Edward I., 186;
- Wallace’s rebellion, 189, 190;
- reconquered by Edward I., 191;
- Bruce’s rebellion, 192;
- invaded by Edward II., 198, 200;
- battle of Bannockburn, 203;
- truce with England, 206;
- Bruce acknowledged king by Edward II., 208;
- war with Edward III., 214;
- Edward Balliol’s invasion, 216;
- does fealty to Edward III., 217;
- David Bruce’s invasion, 228;
- Edward III.’s “Burnt Candlemas,” 231;
- peace with England, 232;
- war with Richard II., 246;
- refuses homage to Henry IV., 278;
- imprisonment of James II., 281;
- released, 304;
- murdered, 315;
- truce with England, 316;
- independent spirit of, 339;
- truce with, 347
-
- Scrope, William, made Earl of Wiltshire, 252
-
- Scrope, Henry of Masham (nephew of the Earl), his conspiracy with
- Cambridge, executed, 292
-
- Scrope, Archbishop of York, his conspiracy with Mowbray, executed, 281
-
- Scutage, first instance of, 91;
- second, 93;
- reason for, 109;
- explained, 113;
- demanded by John, 136;
- restricted by Magna Charta, 138;
- demanded by Henry III., 148
-
- Sheriff, his duties, 32;
- untrustworthy, 75;
- court of, 76;
- peculation of, 106;
- restrained by Magna Charta, 139
-
- Shire, origin of, 31, 32
-
- Sibylla, wife of Robert of Normandy, 65
-
- Sicily, Richard I. and Philip in, 117;
- genealogy of the kings of, 125;
- Papal efforts to drive the Hohenstaufen from, 156;
- accepted by Edmund, son of Henry III., 157;
- renounced by the council, 161;
- given to Charles of Anjou, 168;
- conquered by Aragon, 177
-
- Sigeric, Archbishop of Canterbury, succeeds Dunstan, 16
-
- Sigismund, visit of, 297
-
- Simon de Montfort, his ancestors, marriage, goes on a crusade, 152;
- his government of Gascony, 156;
- quarrel with Valence, 158;
- surrenders his castles, 160;
- quarrels with Gloucester, 161;
- chief of the baronial party, 162;
- wins the battle of Lewes, 163;
- his rule, 164;
- his parliament, 165;
- killed at Evesham, his property confiscated, 167;
- the people’s love for him, 169
-
- Siward, Earl of Northumberland, assists Edward against Godwine, 22;
- mentioned in Macbeth, 23
-
- Slaves, causes of bondage, 29;
- at the Conquest, 35;
- English slaves in Scotland, 52;
- forbidden by the Church, 71
-
- Soken, meaning of, 33
-
- Sokmen, 35
-
- Somerset, John, Lieutenant-General in France, 316;
- commits suicide, 319
-
- Somerset, Edmund, succeeds him in France, 319;
- returns, triumphs over York, 321;
- killed at St. Albans, 323
-
- Somerset, Henry, in power, 324;
- flies to Scotland, joins Edward IV., rejoins Henry VI., killed at
- Hexham, 329
-
- Stafford, Henry, second Duke of Buckingham, marries Catherine
- Woodville, 331;
- head of the old nobility, 341;
- supports Richard III., 342;
- joins Henry Tudor, 345;
- executed, 346
-
- Stafford, Sir Humphrey, defeated by Jack Cade, 320, (distant relation
- of the Duke’s)
-
- Stafford, Humphrey (cousin of Sir Humphrey), Earl of Devonshire,
- defeated, 332
-
- Stafford, Sir Humphrey, prevents Buckingham from joining Henry
- Tudor, 346
-
- Stanley, one of the new nobility, 341;
- apprehended, 343;
- made constable, 344;
- marries Margaret of Richmond, 347;
- joins Henry Tudor, 348
-
- St. Brice, massacre of, 17
-
- Staple, Calais a staple town, 228;
- origin of, 257;
- rearranged by Edward IV., 330
-
- Statutes--
- Of Carlisle, 265
- De Donis conditionalibus, 196
- De Hæretico comburendo, 276, 285
- Of Labourers, 267
- De Mercatoribus, 258
- Of Mortmain, 175, 196
- Of Præmunire, 250, 266
- Of Provisors, 250, 265
- Quia Emptores, 194, 196, 264
- Of Stamford, 200
- De Tallagio, 188
- Of Wales, 176
- Of Westminster, 174, 193, 195, 200
- Of Winchester, 177, 195
-
- Stephen, second son of Stephen of Blois and Adela, daughter of
- William I., swears fealty to Matilda, 69;
- secures the throne, 77;
- his character, 78;
- goes to Normandy, purchases peace with Anjou, 79;
- makes peace with Scotland, grants castles, and creates earldoms, 80;
- by mercenaries defeats Gloucester’s insurrection, 81;
- offends the Church, 81, 82;
- taken prisoner at the battle of Lincoln, 83;
- released in exchange for Gloucester, defeated at Wilton, 84;
- deserted by many of his nobles and by the Pope, 85;
- accepts Henry as his heir, dies, misery caused by his weakness, 86
-
- Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, 23;
- does not receive the Pallium from the Pope, 36, 49;
- William I. will not be crowned by, seeks his ruin, 42;
- is deposed, 48
-
- Stratford, John of, made Chancellor, 216;
- his quarrel with Edward III., 221
-
- Strathclyde, its extent, 3;
- peopled by Danes, 8;
- does fealty to Eadward, 10;
- Eadmund grants part of it to Scotland, 12
-
- Suffolk. [See Pole.]
-
- Swegen, or Swend, son of King of Denmark, invades England, 16;
- his sister massacred, 17;
- his great invasion, made King of England, 18
-
- Swend, King of Denmark, nephew of Cnut, willing to help the
- English, 44;
- sends a fleet, 46, 47
-
-
- Talbot, Sir John, defeated at Pataye, 310;
- defeats Burgundians, 315;
- dies, 321
-
- Tallage, exacted by Matilda, 84;
- explained, 113;
- considered illegal after Edward I., 195
-
- Tannegui Duchâtel, becomes Master of France, 296;
- rescues the Dauphin, 299;
- murders Burgundy, 300
-
- Taxes, before the Conquest, 35;
- whence derived, 38;
- on land, 54;
- no appeal against, 72;
- Henry I.’s, 73;
- in the hands of the King and Council, 76;
- Henry II. introduces scutage, 93;
- his revenue, 113;
- Richard I.’s tax on land, 125;
- John’s severe taxes, 128, 133;
- restricted by Magna Charta, 138;
- complaints against De Burgh’s, 144;
- Henry III. demands scutage, 148;
- tallages and aids, 155;
- Edward I. establishes customs, 174;
- his heavy taxes, 185, 186;
- clergy outlawed for refusing to pay, 187;
- complaints against, 188;
- method of levying changed, 193, 194;
- restricted by the Ordinances, 201;
- Edward III.’s Maletolte, 219;
- his subsidies, 223;
- the poll tax, 240, 243;
- Wat Tyler’s riots against, 244;
- Richard II.’s, 252, 253;
- sufferings of the poor under, 269;
- consent of Parliament necessary for levying, 282;
- Henry V.’s, 291;
- Bedford’s, 313;
- Wells’ insurrection against, 333;
- Richard III.’s malevolences, 348
-
- Templars, undertake a Crusade for Henry II., 103;
- suppressed by Edward II., 199
-
- Thegns, their rise, 13;
- duties of, 30;
- court of, 33;
- become Barons, 35
-
- Theobald of Blois, grandson of William I., defeats Louis VI. at
- Puysac, 67;
- urged to claim the crown after Henry I., 77;
- again refuses it, 84
-
- Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, joins Henry’s party, mediates a
- compromise, 85;
- employs Becket, 92;
- dies, 95
-
- Theodore of Tarsus, organizes the Church, 4
-
- Theows, or slaves, 29
-
- Thomas, Duke of Clarence, second son of Henry IV., invades France, 284;
- killed at Beaugé, 301
-
- Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, sixth son of Edward III.,
- Governor during the war, 233;
- succeeds John of Gaunt, 246, 247;
- one of the Lords Appellant, 248;
- constant opponent of Richard II., 251;
- arrested, 251:
- strangled, 252
-
- Thurkill, or Thurcytel, invades England, 17;
- joins the English, 18
-
- Thurstan, Archbishop of York, opposes David of Scotland, 79
-
- Tithing, explained, 35
-
- Tostig, third son of Godwine, made Earl of Northumbria, 23;
- deposed, 24;
- invades the North, slain, 26
-
- Trade of England, 256-258, 261, 262, 351
-
- Trail-bâtons, 195
-
- Tresilian, impeached, 248;
- executed, 249
-
- Trinoda necessitas, explained, 35;
- retained by William I., 37;
- reorganized, 109
-
- Troyes, Treaty of, 300
-
- Tudor, Edmund, son of Owen and Catherine of France, brought
- forward, 321
-
- Tudor, Jasper, brother of Edmund, brought forward, 321;
- defeated by Hubert of Pembroke, 332;
- almost the only Lancastrian left, 336
-
- Tudor, Henry, son of Edmund, proposed marriage, 345;
- first invasion, 346;
- second invasion, 348
-
- Twenge, his riots, 148
-
-
- Valence, Aymer of, Bishop of Winchester, 155
-
- Valence, William of, his possessions, 151;
- quarrels with De Montfort, 158;
- refuses to surrender his castles, 160;
- escapes from Lewes, 164;
- returns, 166
-
- Valence, Earl of Pembroke, defeats Bruce, 192
-
- Vere, Aubrey de, defends Stephen’s cause, 82
-
- Vere, Robert de, ninth Earl of Oxford, Duke of Ireland, favourite of
- Richard II., 247;
- impeached, 248;
- dies, 250
-
- Vere, Aubrey de, succeeds his nephew Robert, 250
-
- Vere, John de, thirteenth Earl of Oxford, almost the only Lancastrian
- left, 336
-
- Vexin, claimed by France, 55;
- war on account of, 60;
- Henry II. refuses to surrender it, 109;
- John secures it, 127
-
- Viaticum, extorted by William II., 59
-
- Villeinage, position of, 36;
- proposal to abolish it, 245;
- disappearing, 267-269, 352
-
-
- Wales, remains British, 3;
- Wessex establishes supremacy over, 5;
- southern part colonized by Danes, 8;
- assist Eadric the Wild against William I., 44;
- William I. establishes Palatine Counties to restrain it, 51;
- constant wars against William II., 58;
- land granted to Norman Earls, 59;
- Henry I. establishes colonies of Flemings in, 70;
- insurrections under Gryffith, 70;
- under Gwynneth, 91;
- under Llewellyn, 132;
- under Llewellyn, 176;
- annexation of, 177;
- Meredith’s rebellion, 178;
- rebellion against Edward II., 204;
- quarrel with the Marchers, 206;
- insurrection of Owen Glendower, 278, 282;
- sympathy with the Lancastrians, 332, 335;
- sympathy with the Tudors, 346, 348
-
- Wallace, his insurrection, 189;
- defeat and death, 190;
- his use of infantry, 225
-
- Walter, Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, opposes John, 123;
- trained by Glanvill, 124;
- withdraws from secular work, 125;
- summoned to Rouen, 126;
- persuades John to disband his troops, 129;
- dies, 130
-
- Waltheof, Earl of Nottingham, 44;
- destroys the castles of York, 47;
- conspires against William, 52;
- executed, miracles at his tomb, 53
-
- Ward of Trumpington, the false Richard II., 279, 292
-
- Warrenne, William of, first Earl of Surrey, conquers Hereward, 50
-
- Warrenne, William of, second Earl, supports Robert of Normandy, 65
-
- Warrenne, William of, natural son of Stephen (married the heiress of
- the third Earl), surrenders to Henry II., 91
-
- Warrenne, John, seventh Earl, opposes Edward I., 174;
- Commander in Scotland, 185;
- Guardian of Scotland, 186;
- defeated by Wallace, 189
-
- Warwick (John of Plesseys), Henry III.’s Commissioner, 159
-
- Warwick (William Maudit), one of the Barons’ Council, 159
-
- Warwick. [See Beauchamp and Neville.]
-
- Watling Street, Danish boundary, 8
-
- Wat Tyler, his insurrection, 244
-
- Wedmore, Treaty of, 8
-
- Wells’ rebellion, 333
-
- Weregild, explained, 29
-
- Wessex, foundation of, 2, 3;
- conversion of, 4;
- supremacy of, 5;
- invaded by Danes, 7;
- repels them, 8;
- retains the supremacy, 10;
- overrun by Thurkill, conquered by Cnut, 18;
- restored to Edmund Ironside, 19;
- helps Harold against William, 26
-
- Wicliffe, protected by John of Gaunt, 240;
- deserted by him, recants, 245;
- his preaching, 266, 267
-
- William I., visits England, 22;
- his claims to the throne, 24, 36;
- prepares to invade England, 25;
- lands at Pevensey, and fights the battle of Hastings, 26;
- checks the growth of feudalism, 37;
- establishes the Curia Regis, 38;
- character of his government, 39;
- marches to London, 41;
- crowned, 42;
- gradually transfers the land to Normans, 43;
- limits earldoms, 37, 43;
- leaves England, returns to suppress insurrections, 44;
- takes Exeter, and completes the conquest of the West, suppresses
- first Northern insurrection, 45;
- suppresses the rebellion at York, 46;
- lays waste Yorkshire, 47;
- his legislation, 48;
- his position with regard to the Church, 48, 49;
- conquers Hereward, 50;
- receives homage from Scotland, 52;
- suppresses the conspiracy of Norman nobles, 52;
- continues to reside in Normandy, quarrels with his sons, 53;
- threatened invasion of England, 54;
- Domesday survey and general oath allegiance, his death and
- burial, 55;
- his will, 56
-
- William II., secures Lanfranc’s support, is crowned, pleases the
- English by promises, 56;
- defeats baronial rebellion, on Lanfranc’s death leaves England to
- Ralph Flambard, 57;
- intrigues in Normandy, makes treaty with Robert at Caen, receives
- homage from Malcolm, renews war with him, 58;
- leaves the conquest of Wales to the Marchers, extorts viaticum from
- the host before going to Normandy, holds Normandy in pledge, 59;
- his formidable position, killed in the New Forest, his general
- success, 60;
- his conduct towards the Church, 61, 62
-
- William Clito, son of Robert of Normandy, pretender to the Duchy,
- supported by Louis VII., deserted at treaty of Gisors, 67;
- supported by Fulk of Anjou, and deserted, 68;
- supported and again deserted by both Fulk and Louis, Louis tries to
- put him on the throne of Flanders, his death, 69;
- his marriage, 72
-
- William, Earl of Boulogne, son of Stephen, promises homage to
- Henry II., 86
-
- William, son of Henry I., marries a daughter of Fulk of Anjou, 67;
- the barons swear fealty to, drowned in the White Ship, 68
-
- William of Albemarle, opposes invasion of David I., 79;
- his power in Yorkshire, submits to Henry II., 90
-
- William II., of Sicily, marries Joanna, 109;
- his death delays the Crusade, 117
-
- William the Lion, King of Scotland, joins the Great Rebellion against
- Henry II., 104;
- taken prisoner at Alnwick, does homage for Scotland, 105;
- buys back his privileges from Richard, 116;
- does personal homage to John, 128;
- makes full submission, 132
-
- Winchelsea, Archbishop of Canterbury, refuses grants to Edward I., 186;
- appointed adviser to Prince Edward, 187;
- excommunicates Gaveston, 202
-
- Wishart, Bishop of St. Andrews, a member of the Regency, 181;
- invites Edward I., 182;
- trusted by Edward I., 191;
- crowns Bruce, 192
-
- Witan, described, 32, 34, 37, 38;
- consents to the Danegelt, 16;
- assembled by Eadric, 18;
- elects Cnut King, 20;
- Godwine’s quarrel referred to it, 22;
- called on Harold’s death, elects Eadgar, 41;
- offers the crown to William I., 42;
- tries and condemns Waltheof, 53
-
- Woodville, rise of the family, 330, 331;
- Sir John, beheaded, 332;
- Anthony, made Lord Scales, 331;
- Lord Rivers, 341;
- patronizes printing, 353;
- beheaded, 342;
- Elizabeth, marries Edward IV., 330
-
- Wulstan, Archbishop of York, 13
-
- Wykeham, William of, Chancellor, deposed 239;
- restored, 240;
- deposed, 240;
- restored, 249
-
-
-
-
-FOOTNOTES:
-
-[1] French Chroniclers have made this sudden death a judgment of
-God. Godwine is described as wishing that the piece of bread he ate
-might choke him if he were guilty of the death of Alfred, whereupon
-the bread stuck in his throat.
-
-[2] This is the Siward who occurs in the Macbeth of Shakspere.
-Though the events connected with his invasion of Scotland are very
-obscure, the poet seems on the whole to have changed the real
-history but slightly.
-
-[3] As an illustration of this, Harold’s great Foundation of the
-Holy Rood at Waltham was occupied by secular canons, and had a
-school attached, while Stigand, one of his firmest supporters, was
-the uncanonical Archbishop of Canterbury.
-
-[4] See p. 48
-
-[5] It is not certain how old Eadgar was. His father died in 1057.
-He must have been therefore at least nine years old, and was
-probably some years older, as we hear of his executing several acts
-of kingly authority.
-
-[6] Called also Count of Meulan.
-
-[7] Her name was Nesta. She married Gerald of Windsor, who,
-as constable of Arnulf of Shrewsbury, commanded the castle of
-Pembroke. Their grandson was the historian Geraldus Cambrensis.
-
-[8] Stubb’s Select Charters.
-
-[9] Ordericus Vitalis.
-
-[10] William of Malmesbury.
-
-[11] Lappenberg, Thorpe’s translation, page 377. There were
-certainly several more at the time of the accession, as their names
-occur attesting the charter of Stephen.
-
-[12] Fiscal earls.
-
-[13] Adulterine Castles. Will. Malm. Hist. Nov. I. § 18.
-
-[14] See the conduct of Fitz-Hubert and Fitz-Gilbert at Devizes and
-Marlborough, page 82.
-
-[15] William of Malmesbury, Hist. Nov. II. § 34.
-
-[16] The Bishop seems to have been appointed by Stephen as her
-escort. William of Malmesbury says that no gentleman could refuse
-an escort even to his enemy.
-
-[17] Son of Count Alan Fergant of Brittany. Ang. Sax. Chron. ann.
-1127.
-
-[18] Bishop of Seéz, in Southern Normandy.
-
-[19] Stubb’s Select Charters, page 21, from Matthew of Paris, 1153.
-
-[20] While Eleanor had been his wife, Louis had systematically
-pressed her claim.
-
-[21] Ramiro of Aragon, a monk, who, for the sake of continuing the
-succession, was taken from his monastery, and married. His only
-daughter was the wife of Raymond of Barcelona. Their son became
-King of Aragon.--Robert de Monte.
-
-[22] The individual payment in Normandy was sixty shillings in
-Angevin money. The knights’ fees of England were popularly put at
-60,000: at the same rate this would have amounted to £180,000. The
-scutage in England was, however, only two marks on a knight’s fee.
-The scutage was repeated two years afterwards. On the supposition
-that the sum mentioned applies to both those scutages, there would
-have been a payment of four marks, or £2, 13s. 4d., on a knight’s
-fee. This would give £160,000. The sum actually paid seems not to
-have been more than a fifth of that sum.
-
-[23] This view rested chiefly on the False Decretals, a body of
-false edicts purporting to be the decisions of very early Popes,
-which was produced the ninth century.
-
-[24] The Decretal of Gratian was produced about the end of
-Stephen’s reign. Gratian, a Tuscan Canonist, produced a collection
-of Papal decisions, known by his name, in 1151. The Decretals are
-collections of letters written by the early Popes in answers to
-questions addressed to them by the Bishops. The first collection
-was made at Rome by Dionysius in 550. In this collection, letters
-exaggerating Papal authority were subsequently introduced, known as
-the False Decretals. They received the Papal sanction from Nicholas
-I. about 860.
-
-[25] These Constitutions will be found in full in Stubbs’ Charters,
-p. 132.
-
-[26] He is said to have objected especially to Articles 1, 3, 4, 7,
-8 and 12.
-
-[27] Robert de Monte.
-
-[28] So called from a table chequered like a chessboard, and used
-for reckoning.
-
-[29] The details of the King’s last days are to be found in
-Giraldus Cambrensis, and in Hoveden. They are thrown together in an
-eloquent passage by Professor Stubbs in his Preface to Hoveden.
-
-[30] See genealogy at the end of the chapter.
-
-[31] See genealogy at the end of the chapter.
-
-[32] A fanatical sect established in 1090 in the mountains of North
-Persia. They had two chief places, the one the fortress of Alamout
-in Persia, the other Masgat in the mountains of Libanus. Their name
-is derived from _Haschich_, an intoxicating drink with which they
-raised their enthusiasm.
-
-[33] John de Grey belonged to this class.
-
-[34] He had married Joanna, John’s natural daughter.
-
-[35] By writ of _quo warranto_.
-
-[36] 20,000 are said to have died in London alone.
-
-[37] There were about 150 Baronies at this time, but several Barons
-had more than one.
-
-[38] They were the Bishop of Worcester, the Earls of Leicester,
-Gloucester, Norfolk, Hereford, John Fitz-Geoffrey, Peter de
-Montfort, Richard de Grey, Roger Mortimer, and Albemarle. Of the
-King’s party, Boniface of Canterbury, Peter of Savoy, the Earl of
-Warwick, John Mansell, and James d’Audley: (in this signature he
-signed his name as James of Aldither, Fitz-Geoffrey as Geoffreyson.)
-
-[39] Fifteen at least of the royal castles were in the hands of
-foreigners.
-
-[40] Kenilworth and Odiham.
-
-[41] Formal reference does not seem to have been made till 1263.
-
-[42] Rishanger de Bell. Lew.
-
-[43] Wykes is the most important.
-
-[44] Stubbs.
-
-[45] It is thus that the bankers’ street in London is called
-Lombard Street.
-
-[46] “Homagium suum nobis debitum nobis absque conditione aliqua
-obtulit et detendit.”--RYMER.
-
-[47]
- David I., 1124-1153.
- |
- Henry, Earl of Huntingdon, d. 1152.
- |
- +--------------+--------+-----------+
- | | |
- Malcolm IV., William the Lion, David, Earl of
- 1153-1165. 1165-1214. | Huntingdon.
- | |
- Alexander II., +-----+--------+--------+
- 1214-1249. | | |
- | Margaret. Isabella. Ada.
- Alexander III., | | |
- 1249-1286 +--+-------+ | |
- | | | Bruce. |
- | Devorgilda. Marjory. Henry
- | | | Hastings.
- | Balliol. Comyn. |
- | John Hastings.
- +--------------+--+
- | |
- Alexander, Margaret = Eric of
- died 1283. d. 1283. | Norway.
- |
- Margaret.
- d. 1290.
-
-[48] She was the widow of the King of Navarre.
-
-[49] They are said even to have thrown little children into the air
-and caught them on their lances.
-
-[50] There was probably no separate statute “De tallagio non
-concedendo,” though quoted as a statute in Charles I.’s reign. The
-articles given by Walter of Hemingburgh, which were regarded as
-that statute, omit the saving clause, but are now not considered
-authoritative.
-
-[51] Sir Walter Scott.
-
-[52] His sentence was: “That for the robberies and felony of which
-he had been guilty, he should be hanged by the neck; that as an
-outlaw, and not having come to the King’s peace, he should be cut
-down and beheaded as a traitor; that for sacrileges committed
-by him, he should be disembowelled, and his entrails burnt as a
-warning to others; that his head should be fixed to London Bridge,
-and his quarters to the towns of Berwick, Newcastle, Stirling, and
-Perth.”
-
-[53] There were present at this Parliament seven Earls and
-forty-one Barons.
-
-[54]
-
- “Sire, si je voderoi mon garsoun chastier
- De une buffe ou de deus, pur ly amender,
- Sur moi betera bille, e me frad attachier,
- E avant que isse de prisone raunsoun grant doner.”
-
- _The Outlaw’s song of Traillebaston._
- _Political Songs_, p. 231.
-
-[55] A curious question was raised, whether a torturer
-could be fetched from the Continent, there being none in
-England.--Hemingburgh, 2287.
-
-[56] He had lately received the Earldom of Norfolk, and the rank of
-Earl Marshall, by the death of Bigod without heirs.
-
-[57] These are only the principal articles; there were many others,
-the arrangement of the law courts, the royal prerogative of
-justice, etc.
-
-[58]
- Philip III., 1270-1285.
- |
- +------------------------+---------------------------+
- | |
- Philip IV., 1285-1314. Charles
- | of Valois.
- +-----+---+------------+-----------+ |
- | | | | |
- Louis X. Philip V. Charles IV. Isabella = Edward II. Philip VI.
- 1314-1316. 1316-1322. 1322-1328. | 1328-1350.
- | Edward III. |
- Joan = King of Navarre. John.
- 1350-1364.
-
-[59] Made Duke of Lancaster in 1350.
-
-[60] He alleged as his reason that he was now on his own lawful
-ground, in right of his mother.
-
-[61] See page 257.
-
-[62] The revolted peasantry.
-
-[63] Each piece of gold (a mark) was worth 13s. 4d., or two nobles.
-
-[64] In 1385, during his Scotch expedition, his uncles, Cambridge
-and Buckingham, had been made Dukes of York and Gloucester;
-Lancaster’s son Henry, Earl of Derby; the Duke of York’s son
-George, Earl of Rutland; Robert de Vere, Marquis of Dublin; and De
-la Pole, Earl of Suffolk.
-
-[65] Brother of Arundel, Bishop of Ely, subsequently Archbishop of
-York and of Canterbury.
-
-[66] William of Wykeham again took the Seal.
-
-[67] 38 Edward III.
-
-[68] 16 Richard II.
-
-[69] BERNER’s Froissart, IV., chap. 78.
-
-[70] There is an account preserved in the exchequer of the exports
-and imports in the year 1354. The total value of the exports was
-£212,338. They consisted of 31,651 sacks of wool, at £6 a sack; 65
-wool-fells, hides, to the value of £89; 4774 pieces of cloth; 8061
-pieces of worsted stuff. The imports mentioned consist of a little
-fine cloth and wax; 1830 tuns of wine; and linens, mercery, and
-grocery to the value of £23,000. To show the severity of the wool
-tax, it is to be observed that on the above-named exports the duty
-was £81,846, or more than 40 per cent. Robert of Avesbury gives a
-somewhat different account. He put the exports at 100,000 sacks of
-wool. He is thought to have died about 1356.
-
-[71] In 1250 a fair was held in Tothill Fields, and all the shops
-in London were shut.--Matthew of Paris.
-
-[72] There were also great Italian merchants and bankers. Thus we
-hear that Edward III. ruined the Bardi, that the taxes at the end
-of Edward I. were pledged to and collected by the Frescobaldi. The
-extent of the German transactions may be seen by a complaint in
-1348, that the Tidmans of Limburg had bought up all the Cornish tin.
-
-[73] By the 14th Richard II. half the money they received was to be
-expended in the commodities of the land.
-
-[74] For the history of guilds, see Dr Brentano’s Preface to the
-“Ordinance of British Guilds,” in the English Text Society.
-
-[75] The goldsmith’s mark on all silver plate is a relic of this
-custom.
-
-[76] Chaucer’s Prologue:--
-
- “He knew well alle havans as they were,
- Fro’ Gothlande to the Cape of Finnisterre.”
-
-
-[77] “Quod progenitores nostri, Reges Angliæ, domini maris
-et transmarini passagii, totis præteritis temporibus
-extiterunt.”--Rymer, ii. 953.
-
-[78] Rymer, ii. 823.
-
-[79] Half a yard long.--Mon. Evesham.
-
-[80] The Welsh infantry, who were largely employed after Edward I.,
-had 2d. a day.
-
-[81]
- “To seche silver to the kyng y mi seed solde,
- Forthi mi lond leye lith ant leorneth to slepe.
- Seththe he mi feire feh fatte y my folde;
- When y thenk o mi weole wel neh y wepe;
- Thus bredeth monie beggares bolde.
-
- * * * * *
-
- Ther wakeneth in the world wondred ant woe,
- Ase god is swynden anon as so for to swynke.”
-
- _Political Songs_, p. 152.
-
-[82] The historian of this chivalrous knighthood was Froissart.
-
-[83] Maintainers seem to have been of two sorts. On the borders
-of the counties palatine, confederacies were formed, who made
-sudden irruptions into the neighbouring counties, and carried off
-young women, particularly heiresses. They then retired within
-the freedoms of the counties palatine, and held their captives
-to ransom. The bodies of retainers who gathered round individual
-nobles, and stood by one another in such illegal actions as
-forcible desiesin, or ejection of rightful owners from their
-property, also received the name.
-
-[84] The priest had, however, been dead a month before.
-
-[85] Walsingham, 379.
-
-[86] Four years afterwards he was captured and put to death, not
-as a traitor, but as a heretic. This throws considerable doubt on
-the truth of his connection with the present insurrection, a charge
-which was very slightly supported by evidence.
-
-[87] There were fifteen Prelates and twenty-eight Temporal Peers at
-this council.
-
-[88] A duke, 13s. 4d. a day; an earl, 6s. 8d; a baron, 4s.; a
-knight, 2s.; a man-at-arms, 1s.; an archer, 6d.; a hundred marks to
-each who supplied thirty armed men.
-
-[89] The close connection between Sigismund and England is
-illustrated by the fact that in the following reign, on one
-occasion, a magnificent table decoration was introduced,
-representing Henry VI. and Sigismund receiving at the hands of a
-kneeling priest ballads in derision of the Lollards.
-
-[90] This Lord Salisbury was son of Sir John de Montacute, a
-zealous Lollard, the faithful adherent of Richard II., who was
-beheaded, 1400, at Cirencester. Henry IV. restored the Earldom to
-his son. Lord Salisbury’s daughter married Richard Neville, the
-Yorkist partisan, and father of the Kingmaker Warwick.
-
-[91] This Beauchamp was the 5th Earl of Warwick, and it was his
-daughter who carried the title to Richard Neville the Kingmaker.
-
-[92] This Prince was the second son of Louis II., Duke of Anjou,
-Count of Provence, and (as heir to his father, Louis I., who had
-been adopted by Joanna I. of Naples) titular King of Naples. All
-these titles Réné inherited, besides the duchy of Bar, from his
-uncle, and the duchy of Lorraine from his wife. He was, moreover,
-himself named heir by Joanna II. of Naples, but failed to obtain
-the crown. At the time of Margaret’s marriage, of all his
-territories Provence was the only one he retained.
-
-[93] For a description of this disorder see a letter from “The
-chief persons in the county of Kildare to Richard Duke of York,”
-Ellis Letters, second series, vol. i. 117.
-
-[94] The Staffords, the head of whom was the Duke of Buckingham,
-were descended from Anne Plantagenet, daughter of Thomas of
-Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, son of Edward III.
-
-[95] Cromwell had been a great friend of Bedford and his financial
-reformer, but dislike to the conduct of the Suffolk party had
-driven him to join York.
-
-[96] William of Worcester, however, puts it at 9,000.
-
-[97] Stafford, the young Duke of Buckingham; the heir of Bourchier,
-Earl of Essex; Fitz-Alan, Earl of Arundel; Lord Strange of Knokyn;
-and Lord Herbert. Thomas Grey, her son by her first marriage, was
-engaged to the daughter and heiress of the Duke of Exeter, the
-King’s niece.
-
-[98] “Every tavern was full of his meat, for who that had any
-acquaintance in that house, he should have had as much sodden and
-roast as he might carry upon a long dagger.”--Stowe.
-
-[99] Even ordinary observers saw this. “I cannot tell what will
-fall of the world, for the King verily is disposed to go into
-Lincolnshire, and my Lord of Warwick, as it is supposed, shall go
-with the King; some men say that his going shall do good, and some
-say that it doth harm.”--_Paston Letters._
-
-[100] Wisdom iv. 5.
-
-[101] She was the daughter of his sister Elizabeth and the Duke of
-Suffolk.
-
-[102] The love of the Princess rests upon a doubtful letter
-abridged by Buck in Kennett I. 568.
-
-
-MUIR AND PATERSON, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
-
-
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- BOSWELL’S LIFE OF JOHNSON. By FRANCIS STORR, B.A. 9_d._
-
- HALLAM’S CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. By H. F. BOYD, late Scholar of
- Brasenose College, Oxford. 1_s._
-
-
-=SOUTHEY’S LIFE OF NELSON.=
-
- By W. E. MULLINS, M.A., Assistant-Master at Marlborough College.
-
-
-⁂ The General Introduction to the Series will be found in THOMSON’S
-_Winter_.
-
-
- · Rivingtons · London · Oxford · Cambridge ·
-
-
-
-
- TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
-
- Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
- corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
- the text and consultation of external sources.
-
- Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
- and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained: for example,
- poll-tax, poll tax; Ferry Bridge, Ferrybridge; Kingmaker, King-maker;
- forbad; counsellor; guerilla; conventual; inutility; schismatical;
- discrown; carucate; enfiefed; bason; disafforesting; intrenched.
-
- Pg xvi: ‘Battle of Brenville’ replaced by ‘Battle of Brenneville’.
- Pg xxii: ‘Return of De Monfort’ replaced by ‘Return of De Montfort’.
- Pg xxxiv: ‘Attemps to win’ replaced by ‘Attempts to win’.
- Pg xxxviii: ‘the arbitrary of’ replaced by ‘the arbitrary’.
- Pg xxxviii: ‘miscomprehension the’ replaced by ‘miscomprehension
- of the’.
- Pg xli: the section heading ‘GENEALOGIES OF THE LEADING FAMILIES’
- was missing in the original text, and has been copied from
- the page header.
- Pg 19: ‘acts of villany’ replaced by ‘acts of villainy’.
- Pg 68: ‘upon Henry which’ replaced by ‘upon Henry from which’.
- Pg 160: ‘fifteen counsellers’ replaced by ‘fifteen counsellors’
- (two occurrences).
- Pg 216: ‘been so closly’ replaced by ‘been so closely’.
- Pg 233: ‘But, succesful’ replaced by ‘But, successful’.
- Pg 303: Missing header ‘CONTEMPORARY PRINCES’ inserted.
- Pg 311: ‘he was disappoined,’ replaced by ‘he was disappointed,’.
- Pg 328: Missing header ‘CONTEMPORARY PRINCES’ inserted.
- Index.
- Alodial: replaced by ‘Allodial’.
- Bereta: replaced by ‘Bercta’.
- Orleton: ‘his conpiracy,’ replaced by ‘his conspiracy,’.
- Soken: ‘meaning of, 23’ replaced by ‘meaning of, 33’.
-
-
-
-
-
-End of Project Gutenberg's A History of England, by J. Franck Bright
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