there was no English Army in those Parts able to fight Sr. Bertram or to raise the Siege they called a Council of War and concluded to treat with the Constable which they did so discreetly that they were permitted to go away with all their Goods and what they pleased to carry and were also conveyed safely into Limosin where they incurred no Blame of their Friends for what they had done Thus Sr. Bertram prosper'd in this Expedition and wan many Towns and Castles from the English before he return'd into France VIII But now 't is time to look at home and see how King Edward behaves himself in this juncture He for his part m M. S. Rot. Parl. p. 107. Sr. Rob. Cottons Abridgm p. 111. M.S. vet Angl. in Bibl. C.C.C. Cantab. c. 234. in the first Week of Lent being the Beginning of March held his High Court of Parliament at Westminster at the opening whereof William of Wickham Bishop of Winchester and then Lord Chancellor of England declared in the Painted-Chamber before the King Lords and Commons how since the last Sessions his Majesty had defrayed a Mighty Mass of Money and had sent over considerable Armies for the Conquest and Recovery of his Own And that he had lately received perfect information of the Great Power which the French King had prepared therewith to drive him from his Inheritance beyond the Seas as also of his Vast Navy whereby he meant to Subject unto him the whole Realm of England of all which the King demanded their Counsel and Advice Then there were appointed Receivers of Petitions for England Ireland Wales and Scotland Guienne and other foreign Places and Isles and Tryers also for the said Petitions At this time * Stow p. 268. M.S. vet Ang. in Bib. C.C.C. Cantab. c. 234. the Clergy granted unto the King an Aid towards his Wars in France of Fifty Thousand Pounds to be paid that Year towards which Sum Chantry Priests were taxed according to their Annual Receits and also small Benefices which had not been taxed before And the Laity also Lords and Commons granted unto the King for the Use aforesaid the like Sum of Fifty Thousand Pounds to be levied of every Parish within the Realm at the rate of 22 s. 4d. the greater Parishes helping out the less supposing according to the Common Opinion that there had been as many Parishes in England as would have sufficed to answer the said Sum. Wherefore Writs were directed into all the Shires in England that the King might be certified of all the Churches in every Shire and of their Number Upon which it was found that the said Sum of Fifty Thousand Pounds might not be raised in that Manner as had been proposed The mean while among other things because all the High Offices of the Realm had been engrossed in a manner by Men of the Church n M.S. Rot. Par. Sr. Rob. Cottons Abridgm ibid. M.S. vet Angl. in Bâ—bi C.C.C. Cantab. c. 234. to the Disherison of the Crown the Lords and Commons petition'd that for the future Secular Men only might be Principal Officers of the King's Court and Houshold the Chief of which Places were there named particularly as that of the Chancellor Treasurer Privy Seal and the like and none of the Clergy they being enough taken up by their Spiritual Affairs if they minded them according to their Duty Saving unto the King his Prerogative freely to choose or remove Officers provided they may be of the Laity only To which Petition althô the King's Answer was then That he would do by Advice of his Council yet we find that in this very o Philipots Catal Chancellorâ— p. 43. Month of March William of Wickham Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor of England did deliver up the Great Seal unto the King at Westminster who immediately deliver'd it to Sr. Robert Thorpe One of the Justices of the Law. At the same time p Philipâ—ts Catal Treasurers p. 39. Godwin Catal. Bish 40â— Thomas Brentingham alias Brantington Bishop of Excester was also removed from being Lord Treasurer in whose Place Sr Richard Scroop of Boulton a Baron of the Realm succeeded on the 27 of March. And then it passed into a Law that for the future the Chancellor Treasurer and Clerk of the Privy Seal should not be Spiritual Men but that Secular Persons only should have those Employments After which thô sometimes indeed the Clergy did attain the said Dignities yet it was much more seldom and in process of time very rare or never This done q M.S. Rot. Par. p. 107. §. 8. Sr. Rob. Cotton's Abridgm p. 111. Sr. Robert Thorpe the New-Lord Chancellor declared that for as much as Easter drew near all the Petitions of the Commons could not be answer'd at that time But that after the said Feast the King would take Care to answer them And so the King thanked the Lords and Commons for their Travel and Aid and gave them leave to depart The next Sessions was held at r Ita M.S. Râ—t Parl. rectè sed Winchest apud Sr. Rob. Cotton Westminster in the Octaves of the Holy Trinity then next after at which time the Lord Chancellor declared unto the Lords and Commons there assembled how their late Grant of 22 s. and 4d out of every Parish would not amount to 50000 l. because by the Return into the Chancery it appear'd that there were not so many Parishes in the Realm Whereupon the Lords and Commons for the perfecting the foresaid Sum granted unto the King of every Parish-Church assessed within the Realm Five Pounds Å¿ Ita M.S. rectè ut videtur sed Sr. Rob. Cotton legit 10â— Sixteen Shillings comprising therein the foresaid Sum of Twenty Two Shillings and Four Pence except the County of Chester and all such Lands of the Church as had been amortized before the Twentieth of King Edward the First The Form of the Commission for this Subsidy was read before the King and the Collectors and Commissioners were appointed by the Knights of the several Counties and there were set down the t Vid. Stow p. 268. c. ubi tamâ—n errer in numer is nâ—n facile emend â—nduâ— Names of every Shire with the Number of the Parish-Churches therein and the Sum to which the Gross of the Payment of all the Parishes amounted Which was in all 50181 l. 8 s. Whereof the Odd 181 l. 8 s. was deducted because thrô great Poverty the Parishes in Suffolk paid but Five Pounds Twelve Shillings and Seven Pence apiece and those in Devonshire but Five Pounds Twelve Shillings and Ten Pence Farthing And so the King was answer'd his full Summ of 50000 l. But Cheshire a County Palatinate I know not for what Reason came not to this Parliament and so was not reckon'd among the other Counties nor in the Tax Thô in the City of Chester there were Ten Parish Churches and in the Shire Eighty Seven more besides Chappels In this
lived but Miserably The Principal Authors in due Season we shall see brought to Condign Punishment VIII The young b Walsing hist p. 109. n. 20. Fox Acts and Monuments p. 345. King in his return to London was heartily welcomed by the Mayor and Aldermen and the whole City For he was a Prince of great hope and had much vivacity in his Countenance and courage in his Breast upon which account all his Subjects lov'd him entirely The gratefull Prince to set a Mark of his Royal favour upon that famous Metropolis in a Parliament held at Westminster c Joh. Tinemouth Aur. hist p. 229. a. in Bibl. Lambeth which began on St. Brices Day of his own accord confirmed unto them their former Liberties and granted new ones which they never had before Ordaining that the Mayor of London for the time being should sit in all Places within the Liberties as the Kings Chief Justice and that every Alderman who had been Mayor should while he continued true to the King and his Laws be always Justice of the Peace within his own Ward He also granted unto the Citizens the Fee Farm of London for three hundred Pounds per annum And that the lawfull Franchises of the City should not be seized into the Kings Hands but only on Occasion d Inst par 2. f. 20. Mirror c. 5. §. 2 Fleta l. 2. c. 48. Plowd com fol. 40. Instit par 4. f. 253 Rich. Grafton p. 217. of Abuse or Misuse e Stow's Survey London p. 248. p. 604. or for Treason or Rebellion countenanced or done by the whole City Further he ordain'd that Southwark should be under the government of the City and that the Mayor of London as Bailiff of Southwark should depute after his own pleasure the Bailiff of that Burrough under him About the same time also he made the Company of Skinners in London a Corporation as they have ever since honourably continued even to this day Himself for their greater Honour vouchsafing to be of their Brotherhood as afterwards other Kings did in imitation of so great a Precedent namely Richard the Second Henry the Fifth Henry the Sixth and Edward the Fourth Nor hath this Honourable and Ancient Company been ungratefull to the Memory of this their Glorious Founder but take all occasions to testifie their Respect to his Name and to preserve his Glory to Posterity Particularly of late they have at their own proper costs and charges erected his Statue among the Kings of this Land in the Royal Exchange in London To accompany the late unhappy King of England to his Grave there died about this time many other Potentates Princes and Prelates thô none so unfortunately and by such treacherous Cruelty as our Edward of Caernarvon And first there died Charles Earl of Valois younger Brother to Philip the Fair late King of France and Uncle to Charles the Fair then King of France and Father to Philip of Valois afterwards in Opposition to King Edward the Third made King of France He had been all his time a right Frenchman that is an inveterate Enemy to the English Nation Nor did his Nephew Charles King of France himself long survive him But departed this life without Issue being then about 32 years of Age on the Kalends of February Anno Dom. MCCCXXVIII when he had Reigned six Years and one Month leaving his Queen big with Child which notwithstanding died shortly after the Birth So that the Right to the Crown devolved thereupon to our King Edward the Eldest Son and Heir of Isabella the said Charles his only Sister surviving and the Daughter of Philip the Fair. But the French Nation either despising King Edwards Youth or moved by their own evil Genius for it was afterwards the occasion of unspeakable Calamities to that Kingdom prefer'd Philip of Valois the Nephew of Philip the Fair before King Edward the Son of Philip's Daughter to the Throne of France Accordingly on the 29 day of May following * Lit. Dom. CB. Pascha 3 April being then Trinity-Sunday he was Crowned at Rheimes f D'Avila l. 2. ad An. 1561. where the Holy Oyl wherewith Cloüis their First Christian King was anointed is still kept with great Veneration But the ill consequences of this his Coronation will abundantly appear hereafter There died also this Year the Lord g Buchan p. 277. Walter Stuart of Scotland Son in Law to King Robert Bruce and by the Lady Margaret Father to Robert Stuart who was afterwards King of Scotland the First of that Glorious Family From whom is descended our Present Gracious Soveraign King James the Second whom God grant long and happily to Reign About the same time Elizabeth Queen of Scotland deceased and not h Id. Junii An. 1328. long after there departed this life the King himself Robert Bruce that valiant Captain very old and as was said infected with the Leprosie leaving behind him David his only Son and Heir a young Prince of about Eight Years old of whom we shall say much in the Process of this History This King i Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 447. Robert Bruce was by birth an English Baron as was also John k Id. ibid. p. 523. Baliol his Competitor thô by Marriages of their Houses with the Royal Line of Scotland they Both at last had a Title to the Crown of that Kingdom King Robert beside his Brother l Speed p. 558. §. 33. Edward who was slain in battle by the English in Ireland had a younger Brother named Bernard Bruce from whom descended the Noble Edward Bruce of Kinlosse in Scotland a Person of great esteem and Merit in the Court of our English Solomon King James the First His Son m Wright's Hist of the Antiq of Rutlandshire p. 50. c. Thomas Lord Bruce was by Letters Patents dated the 21 of June in the Ninth of the said King James created Earl of Elgin in Scotland and on the First of August the Seventeenth of King Charles the First advanced to the Degree of a Baron of this Realm as his Ancestors for many Ages before had been by the Title of Lord Bruce of Wharlton in the County of York Whose Son and Heir Robert Lord Bruce was a Person of such eminent merits as well for his signall Loyalty in the late unhappy Defection as since the Happy Restoration of Monarchy that for a further addition of Honour King Charles the Second of Blessed Memory by Letters Patents bearing Date the 18 of March in the Sixteenth Year of his Reign advanced him to the Titles of Lord Bruce of Skelton in the County of York Vicount Bruce of Ampthill in Bedfordshire and Earl of Aylesbury in the County of Buckingham And being also Hereditary High Steward of the Honour of Ampthill Lord Lieutenant of the Counties of Bedford Huntington and Cambridge Lord Chamberlain of the Kings Houshold and One of the Lords of His Majesties most Honourable Privy Council he lately departed
Forest was in like manner suddenly slain by his own Cousin and Godson William Douglas the Son of Archimbald Douglas in Revenge of the Death of Sr. Alexander Ramsey While thus Scotland and especially the Family of the Douglasses was miserably divided in it self England and the Court of King Edward flourished with Honour Peace and Unity and the Lords of England laudably contended to outvie one another in Martial Worth and Bravery At Canterbury and Eltham in Kent at London Westminster Winchester Lincoln Windsor and other Places were held several Great and Magnificent Justs and Tourneaments Henry k Stow p. 245. Earl of Lancaster held a little after Easter a solemn Hastilude at Lincoln where were present with Isabel de Beaumont his Countess many Great Ladies and also certain Ambassadors from Spain who then came to Negotiate a Marriage l Stew ibid. Ashrnole p. 669. c. between the young Infant of Castille and Leon named Don Pedro Eldest Son and Heir Apparent to Alphonso XI King of Spain and the Lady Jane of the Tower one of the Daughters of King Edward who was then in the 13 Year of her Age. But this Poor Lady being espoused by Proxy and conveyed into that Country deceased presently of a great Mortality that then reign'd of which we shall speak hereafter At the Tourneament at m Dagd 2 Vol. p. 48. Canterbury among others Robert Hufford Earl of Suffolk and Sr. John Beauchamp Brother to the Earl of Warwick had their Harness and other Accoutrements allowed them from the King the latter n Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 231. being furnish'd out of the Kings Wardrobe with a Surcoat of fine Indian Silk embroider'd with the Arms of Sr. Stephen Cosington Knight Of whom thô he was not of Noble Blood we must needs Remark that he was a Gentleman of High Merit as will not only appear from the sequel of this our History but also may be rationally collected from this that his Arms were beaten on all the Eight Harnesses given by the King at this time and worn o Ashnâ—â—le p. 185. by Eight Renowned Combatants being the Challengers as the Prince of Wales the Earls of Lancaster and Suffolk Sr. John Grey Sr. John Beauchamp Sr. Robert Mauley Sr. John Chandos and Sr. Roger Beauchamp And at the Tourneament at Eltham we find among others that the Valiant and Noble Earl of p Dudg 1 Vol. p. 786. Lancaster and Hugh q Ashâ—nâ—le p. 696. Courtney Earl of Devonshire besides their Harness and other Accoutrements both for themselves and Horses had each of them an hood of fine White Cloth embroider'd with Dancing Men in Blew Habits and button'd before with large Pearls which were allowed them out of the Kings Wardrobe We must here against our usual Method insert a matter or two not of any great affinity to our Affairs even before we come to the end of this Year because there will not then appear any such convenient Room the beginning of the next Year being continuedly joyn'd to the end of this IV. On the 9 of June this Year Joan Queen of Naples and Countess of Provence in France sold all the County of Venaisin together with the City of Avignon to Pope Clement VI for the Sum of 80000 Florens of Gold of Florence Which said Places thô r Mezerdy ad hunc ann in Mâ—rgineâ— some say the Money was never paid belong to the See of Rome to this day How Charles II King of Naples had first a Right to Venaisin from King Philip the Fair who gave it unto him Ano 1290 upon the Marriage of Charles de Valois his Brother with Margaret the Daughter of that King this is all well known But the First occasion of this sale I do not speak of Queen Joan's Necessities of which the Pope made his Advantage not being so vulgarly understood we shall briefly from the Authority of a very Å¿ Peireskias apud Petrum Gassendum in Vitá illiuâ— p. 143. c. Judicious and Learned Gentleman declare it in this place In the Year 1209 Raymund the Third Earl of Tholouse being a Fautor of the Albâ—genses who were accounted Hereticks and as was thought chiefly concern'd in the Murther of the Pope's Legate was now a second time Excommunicated by Pope Innocent III from which time he began to be despoiled of his Territories till little or nothing was left entire So that 19 Years after it was thus agreed at Paris that to Alphonso the Son of Raymund should fall only the City it self of Tholouse with a few appurtenanees that the other Places beyond the Rhosne should belong to the King of France but whatever was by him or his Ancestors possessed on this side the said River should be the Pope's Patrimony But because the Men of these Parts did unwillingly submit to the latter Part of this Agreement being thereby upon occasion obliged to have their Appeals to Rome and therefore clave to Alphonso and his Heirs about fourscore Years after Pope Boniface VIII wholly acquitted them of all such Appeals and after him Pope Clement V to win their Hearts the more removed his Seat to Avignon in the First Year of his Pontificate or the t Victerell p. 833. celiat cum Labbe Chren Tech. ad hunc an Year of our Lord 1305. So that now after all when upon the Death of Benedict XII u Hâ—â—â—câ—rige sive Peiresâ—iam sive Gasendum qâ—â—a ab cirum alterutro Clemens VI pest Johannem â—daâ—â—tur cùm illum exceperit Benedicius bâ—ne Clemens ut ex emmlus Pentif Histeriis censtat who succeeded John XXII Clement the VI became Pope Queen Joan flying unto Avignon from Lewis King of Hungary who came to Revenge the Death of his Brother Andrew her Husband whom she had murdred made now unto the said Clement a Deed of sale of all those Rights which the Earls of Provence had from the very time of the Partition made between Raymund Berengarius Earl of Provence and Alphonso Earl of Tholouse Ano. Dom. 1125 and let this suffice for that Matter V. A certain x Guido Tract 2. Dect 2. c. 3. in Chirurgiâ Magnà Vid. Guliel Tookeri DD. Charâ—sina sinations p. 83. Author that flourished in these days and as himself witnesses lived at Avignon in the Service of the said Pope Clement VI doth more than intimate that the French King Philip of Valois had the Gift of healing the Disease called the Kings Evil with the Touch of his Hand only Thô if so we may well presume that our King Edward had the same Vertue not only as having more Right to the Crown of France but as descended of King Edward the Confessors Blood who was eminently signal in this Miraculous Grace and from y Polyder Virg. Hist l. 8. p. 143. n. 10. Vid. Tooker's Charisma sanitatis p. 83 84 85. whom as it were by Right of Inheritance the following Kings of England have derived the same Power as Polydore Virgil
Chron. ad an 1348. 14000 and so proceeded to Paris where as if it had been yet fasting it made a more Plentifull Banquet of no less than 50000. At Lubeck a City of Germany in one Year it swept away no less than l Cluverii Epit. Hist p. 573. Lampad Pezelan Sleidan par 3. p. 365. 90000 whereof 1500 are reported to have died within the space of Four Hours And thrô all Germany there are reckoned 1244434 to have died of the Plague only It would be both incredible to hear and almost impossible to declare the Wonderfull havock it made in other Foreign Parts even as we have said throughout the whole world Insomuch m Giov. Villani l. 12. c 83. p. 893 that many Towns and Cities nay whole Provinces were in a manner left desolate of Inhabitants Wherefore we shall have done with this Tragical Truth when we have shewn how our own Country fared thereby For at last this fiery scourge of God came over the Seas to afflict our World also VI. About the n Fox Acts Mon. Stow p. 245. c. First of August 1348 it began in the Sea-port Towns on the Coasts of Dorsetshire Devonshire and Somersetshire whence it ran up to Bristow So that the Glocestershire-men forbad all entercourse with the Bristolians But this Familiar Fury wanted no Medium to introduce it For as the Scripture says of the Pestilence that it walketh in Darkness or invisibly its Progress not being to be found out so unexpectedly and contrary to humane Precaution this Plague also walked or rather flew among the Glocestershire men whence it went o Anton-Wood Antiq. Oxon. l. 1. p. 171. 172. â—ox Acts Men. ibid. Stow p. 246. to Oxford and about the First of November it reached London and finally spread it self all over England scattering every where such Ruine and Desolation that of all sorts hardly the Tenth Person was left alive In the p Annal. Ecclesiae Prior. Yarmouth apud Stow ibid. Church and Church-yard of Yarmouth were buried in one Year no less than 7052 Persons all of the Plague So that the Parsonage which before was worth 700 Marks per annum was hardly afterwards worth 40 pounds as it was certified to King Henry VII in the 22 Year of his Reign and was written upon the Gates of the Church of that Town In the City q Stow ibid. ex Registro Nâ—rvicensi Sandford's Geneal Hist p. 166. sed male ibi London pro Norwich Daniel's Hist p. 241. Godwin's Catal. Bps p. 427. Blome's Britan. p. 169. of Norwich from the First of January to the First of July which is but half a Years Space there died no less than 57104 or as others have it 57374. In the City r Knighton p. 2599. of Leicester out of the small Parish of St. Leonard there fell no less than 380 In the Parish of Holy-Rood 400 more then in St. Margarets 700 and so proportionably in other Parishes In the City Å¿ Tho. Stubbs apud Decem Angl. Hist Scriptores p. 1732. of York it raged most furiously from about the Ascension to the Feast of St. James the Apostle But in the Famous City of London Death was so outragiously Cruel that every day at least 20 sometimes 40 sometimes 60 or more dead Corpses were flung together into one Pit and yet the Church-yards not sufficing for the Dead they were fain to set apart certain Fields for additional places of Burial And yet even so those Offices were not performed with any usual Decency or Honesty for the Numbers of the Dead being so great they were fain to t M. S.Vet Ang. in Bibl. C.C.C. Cantabr c. 228. make deep Ditches and Pits very broad wherein they lay'd a range of Carcasses and a range of Earth upon them and then another range of Dead Bodies which were all together cover'd and after this manner were all People buried at that time except those of the better sort Among those who charitably took care of the Dead in this manner we find u Stow Chron. p. 246. and Survey of London p. 477. Bp. Godw. Catal. Bps p. 198. Monast Angl. Vol. 1. p. 961. that the Noble and Valiant Lord Walter Manny so often mention'd in this our History having a Pious Regard to Gods Judgements and the common Frailty of Humane Nature purchas'd a piece of ground adjoyning to a place called No Mans Land and lying in a place called Spittle-Croft because it belonged to St. Bartholomews Spittle or Hospital in Smithfield since that called the New-Church x Haw apud Veteres Yard sonat Haw containing 13 Acres of Land and a Rod and caused the same to be inclosed and consecrated by Ralph Stafford Bishop of London In which one place besides those buried in other Church-yards Churches and Monasteries in and about London there were buried within one Year more than y Fabâ—an p. 227. Stow Chron. p. 246. and Survey of London 478. 50000 Persons as I have read says Mr. Stow in the Charters of Edward III. The same Author affirms also that he had seen and read an Inscription fixed on a Stone-Cross sometime standing in the same Church-yard in these Words ANNO DOMINI MCCCXLIX REGNANTE MAGNA PESTILENTIA CONSECRATUM FUIT HOC COEMITERIUM IN QUO ET INFRA SEPTA PRAESENTIS MONASTERII SEPULTA FUERUNT MORTUORUM CORPORA PLUS QUAM LM PRAETER ALIA MULTA ABHINC US QUE AD PRAESENS QUORUM ANIMABUS PROPITIETUR DEUS AMEN But especially between Candlemas and Easter this Year there were buried in the place aforesaid about z Fâ—x Acts Mâ—n p. 507. Holinsh p. 945. ex Reb. Avesbury 200 Corpses per diem every day Wherefore the said Noble Lord Walter Manny in memory of the vast Numbers of Christian People there buried and in Pious Charity as he thought to their Souls caused afterwards on the same ground a Chappel to be builded of rare Workmanship with Design to make it Collegiate for 12 Priests and a Provost and to endow it amply a Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 150. eâ— Mcnasi Ang. 1 Vol. p 961. And there for about twenty two Years Offerings were made in which time it is to be noted that above an 100000 Bodies of Christian People had been buried in that Church-yard For the said Sr. Walter Manny had purchased the Place for the Burial of Poor People Travailers and others to remain for ever and order was taken to avoid contention thereupon between That House and Parsons of Churches But in the Year 1371 the said Lord Manny changing his Mind in stead thereof obtained b Dugd. ibid. ex Monast Ang. ibid. a Licence to found a Monastery of Carthusian Monks to pray for the good Estate of himself and of Margaret his Wife during their Lives in this World and afterwards for their Souls As also for the Souls of Alice of Hainalt Michael Northburgh sometime Bishop of
him to revoke his Promise But the Prince who was a Person of much Honour and Equity said positively Gentlemen since We have agreed thereto We will by no means break our Word And truly it would be a great Shame and Reproach to Vs if We should any longer refuse to deliver him since he is content to pay so considerable a Ransom So after this Sr. Bertram had nothing to do but to contrive how to raise the Money and he minded his Business so well that by the Assistance of the French King of the Bastard of Spain of the Duke of Anjou who loved him entirely and of some other Friends he made a Purse of an 100000 Franks or 10000 l. Sterling all which he paid in less than a Months time and so was quit of his Imprisonment and went straight with 2000 Fighting Men of Provence to serve the Duke of Anjou who then held Siege before the City of Tarascon which at that time held of the King of Majorica and Naples in Right of his Wise Queen Joan. VII We have before declared at large the whole Manner of the Prince of Wales his Expedition into Spain t Frois c. 240. and how at last he left that Country not well contended with King Don Pedro and returned home again into his Principality of Aquitaine After him returned all manner of Men of War who had attended him for they saw it in vain to tarry any longer in Castille because Don Pedro did but shuffle with them and on the other hand they had a firm Confidence in the Prince's Word But when they were come back the Prince had not wherewithall to pay them so readily as he expected For the Business of Spain had wonderfully exhausted his Treasures even to a Miracle However all the rest went home relying on the Prince's Promise but the Companions tarried still being quarter'd in Aquitaine where for their Lives they could not forbear robbing and plundering being to the Number of 6000 Fighting Men For the Prince had left the other 6000 in Spain under Sr. Hugh Calverley When therefore the Prince heard the Complaints of his People concerning these Companions he sent unto them desiring and commanding them to avoid his Dominions for the Country was not able to bear them Now their Captains and Leaders were all either Englishmen or Gascogners as Sr. Robert Briquet Sr. John Frevile Sr. Robert Cheney Sr. Galiard of Viguier the Bourg of Bartuel the Bourg of L'Esparre Nandon of Bergerac Bernard de la Salle and many others who neither durst nor would displease the Prince for they did not a little fear to provoke him but they much more lov'd to oblige him And therefore they took the first opportunity to leave Aquitaine and passed forth into the Realm of France which they had us'd to call Their Chamber going over the River of Loire into Champaigne and to the Bishoprick of Rheims and still their Numbers encreased And these Men sought Adventures every where as they went in France and gat great store of Plunder and did much mischief complaints whereof came in daily to the French King and his Council who were as yet unable to apply a Remedy but the Commons of France wonder'd extreamly that the Prince of Wales should send Men to make War among them However King Charles of France sent presently for the Lord Oliver Clisson whom he made Chief Captain against these Companions because he was a Valiant Knight and of good Conduct wherefore also that Wise Prince held him in High Esteem and Favour About this time there was a Marriage struck up between the Young Earl of Albret and the Lady Isabell of Bourbon whereat the Prince of Wales was nothing pleased for he had rather that he had taken a Wife out of England Wherefore he spake many High Words against him till some of his Council began to appease his Displeasure by saying that it was Natural for every Man to seek to raise his Fortune as well as he might and that a Loyal Knight ought not to be blamed for exalting his own Honour and Profit by Marriage or otherwise if at the same time he did not forsake to serve his Prince or Master as far as in Duty bound These and the like Words somewhat allay'd the Prince's Passion But whatever appearance he made he was not fully satisfy'd for he verily believed that his Marriage would occasion some Revolting from him as indeed it fell out shortly after VIII While these Companions were thus troubling the Realm of France u Frois c. 251. the Prince of Wales was advised by some of his Council especially the Bishop of Rodez who was at that time Chancellor of Aquitaine to raise a Foüage or Tax upon Chimneys throughout all his Principality thereby to enable himself to pay the Debts he had contracted by his late Expedition and beside the State which the Prince and Princess kept was so great that in all Christendom there was not the like again So there was held a Parliament for raising this Foüage at Niort to which were summon'd all the Barons of Gascogne of Poictou of Saintogne and of divers other parts even from all the Cities and Good Towns of Aquitaine Before all whom the Bishop of Rodez declared in Presence of the Prince how this Foüage was to be raised and that the Design of Raising it was chiefly to enable the Prince their Lord to pay such summs of Money as he ow'd upon the account of his Spanish Expedition and that however it was the Prince's Mind not to continue the said Foüage any longer than for the space of Five Years to come All which time supposing x Du Châ—sne p. 699. One Frank for every Chimney the Prince would have a supply of 1200000 Franks per annum if the Matter had been effectually put in Execution But althô to this Ordinance the Porctevrns readily agreed as also did the Representatives of Sainctogne Limosin Rouvergue and Rochelle yet divers others of the Marches of Gascogne refused to concurr with them as the Earl of Armagnac the Lord of Albret his Nephew the Lord of Conde the Lord of Pincornet the Lord of Cominges the Vicount of Carmaine the Lord de la Barde and divers other Barons who said how heretofore when they served the French King they were not then grieved nor oppressed with any Subsidies or Innovations and no more would they now if they could help it for they said their Lands and Seignories were free and exempt from all such Duties and so the Prince had sworn to keep and maintain them But however the better to make fair Weather for the time and to get off with more ease from this Parliament they then only answer'd how they would take further Advice and so return again by such a day as well Prelates Bishops and Abbots as Barons Knights and others This was all the Answer that the Prince and his Council could have at that time and so they brake up and left
English who were not ignorant thereof took care of all their Traps neither venturing to ride loosely nor to leave the High-ways for fear of Ambushes they constantly Marched in Battle Array as ready for Fight And in this Manner they rode thrô Vimeux and the Earldom of Eu and entred into the Archbishoprick of Râ—üen and passed by Dieppe till they came in sight of Harfleur where they began to pitch their camp but the Earl of St. Paul had gotten into the Town beforehand with 200 Spears Three Days the English lay before the Place but gave no Assault for they saw this Succour rendred their Design fruitless so on the Fourth Day they began to Decamp and returned thrô the Lands of the Lord Stouteville where they burnt and destroy'd most part of his Country and wasted the Region called le Pais de Caulx whence they took their way thrô le Vexin Normand and having left severe Marks of their Displeasure whereever they came at last they approached toward Oisemont to repass the River of Soame at Blanchetteaque XXIX At this time the Captain of Abbeville for the French King was Sr. Hugh de Chastillon Master of the Crossbows of France who perceiving that the Duke of Lancaster Designed to pass the Soame Armed himself and only Ten or Twelve more of his Men with whom he took Horse saying How he would go and visit Rouvray and see how the Gate there was Defended because if the English passed that way they should not say but that it was carefully provided for This was done early in a Morning and it was a great Mist for it was now the bleaky Month of November At the same time there was in the Army with the Duke of Lancaster a Valiant English Gentleman named Sr. Nicolas Lovaine who had been Seneschal of Ponthieu for the King of England but was taken Prisoner as We shew'd the Year before by Sr. Hugh de Chastillon who Ransomed him at 10000 Franks This Ransom stuck grievously in his stomach and he sought all Opportunities to make a Reprisal It chanced so well for him that this very Morning whereon Sr. Hugh de Chastillon went abroad so slightly attended this St. Nicolas Lovaine had left the Army with Twenty Men of Arms in his Company as One that knew all the Passages Streights and Avenues of the Country for he had been acquainted thereabout for the space of three or four Years even during all the time of his Government For once therefore he resolv'd to venture himself between Abbeville and the Castle of Rouvray And so he rode by a little streight Passage thrô a Marish and planted himself and his Men among certain old waste and broken Houses but they stood so near to Abbeville that a Man would never have suspected that any English Men durst have laid an Ambush in that Place However here Sr. Nicolas and his Men lay close observing as well as they could with their Eyes and Ears who ever should pass that way backward or forward At last came Sr. Hugh of Chastillon thrô the same narrow way with Ten or Twelve Men in his Company himself all Armed except his Helmet which his Page bare after him riding on his Masters great Courser and so he passed over a little River that was there thinking to go and speak with the Crossbow Men that kept the Gate to know what they heard of the English By that time the Mist was pretty well clear'd up and Sr. Nicolas Lovaine saw and knew him perfectly and could not have been better pleas'd if One had given him 20000 Franks Then he came out of his Ambush and said to his Men Come on now Sirs lustily yonder 's the Man I look for 'T is the Master of the Crossbows whom I desire to have above all Men living And with that he couched his Spear in his Rest set spurs to his Horse and came upon Sr. Hugh de Chastillon all of a sudden and said aloud Yield your self Chastillon or You are but a Dead Man. Sr. Hugh much wonder'd whence these Men of Arms should come so suddenly upon him for he had not time to clap on his Helmet nor to mount his Courser which his Page rode on while he us'd a light Gelding So that being sensible of his Disadvantage he asked who he should yield to Sr. Nicolas answer'd to your old Acquaintance Lovaine There Sr. Hugh was fain to yield himself but in taking of him and his Men there was slain a Valiant Citizen of Abbeville called Laurence Denson which was a trouble to Sr. Hugh but 't was his own fault for he made Resistance When Sr. Nicolas had taken Sr. Hugh de Chastillon he said unto him Come on Sr. Hugh See yonder there Marches the Duke of Lancaster and his Men who intend to pass the Soame hard by And thus Sr. Nicolas Lovaine by good Fortune took Sr. Hugh de Chastillon Master of the Crossbows of France and Captain of Abbeville for whose Loss the said City was much troubled but the Duke of Lancaster and the English were well pleased And afterward Sr. Nicolas made him pay a Ransom of Twenty Thousand Franks which was Double the Sum Sr. Hugh had before extorted from him XXX That Day the Duke of Lancaster passed the River of Soame at Blanchetteaque after which he Marched toward the strong Town of Rue on the Maye and so to Montrevil till at last by several Journeys he return'd again in safety to Calais But the Renowned x Walsing hist p. 178. n. 40. M.S. vet Angl. in Bibl. C.C.C. Cantab. c. 233. Thomas Beauchamp Earl of Warwick died in the way of the Plague as some say thô I am not enclin'd to Credit that any more than what the same Author says of his frighting away the French Army and of his going up as far as Normandy and wasting the Land of Caulx whereas we find the Duke of Lancaster the Head of this Expedition and the Earl one of his Marshals But Walsingham flourish'd in a time when the House of John of Gaunt was commonly hated and slander'd as it was in the Days of Richard the Second so that no doubt common Report did more readily attribute all Successfull Matters to any other than to the said Duke of Lancaster However that part of this Great Earls Character deserves our Credit where t is said that he hardly left his Equal behind him for Courage and Loyalty His Death happen'd y Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 234. on the 13 of November in the 62d Year of his Age and his Body was afterwards brought over into England and Solemnly interred in the Midst of the Choire of the Collegiate Church of Warwick according to the Direction of his last Will and Testament Where his Tomb is still to be seen with the Statues of him and his Countess in White Marble excellently Cut the Sculp of which Monument is to be seen in Sr. William Dugdale's z P. 318. Antiquities of Warwickshire He left many Children
and won Cattle and Prisoners and fill'd the plain Country with Desolation The King of Aragon who very much doubted this War being alarum'd at this sudden Invasion sent Men of Arms in all haste to the Frontiers under the Conduct of the Vicount of Roqueberton and the Earl of Rodaiz while himself was busied in raising an Army to go against h Vid. Lit. Papales de hoc ad Regem Aragonium apud Odâ—r Rainal ad an 1363. §. 9. his Nephew the King of Majorica But He Poor Prince even while thus the War was fair on his side fell sick again in the Valley of Soria of which sickness he died within few days leaving the Injuries done unto his Father and himself unrevenged and all the hopes of his Crown and Life together It is likely that upon his Delivery from his Spanish Prison when he found how the Black-Prince in whose Fortunate Valour he had reposed a sure hope of Success was himself seised with an Incurable Malady he thereupon began by Degrees to entertain Melancholy thoughts till now at last his Grief and Sickness together put an end to his troublesome Life However his Uncle the Aragonese had Peace thereby and continued in that Condition several Years after As for the Companions who came with the King of Majorica to make War against him they return'd back into France where they thought to make their advantage either by owning the French or English Interest The rest of the Auxiliaries went as their Humor or Interest led them to other Parts XIII All this i Frois c. 295. fol. 178. Gallicè fol. 243. while John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster was in the City of Bourdeaux on the Garonne where he kept a Court little inferior to that of the Prince his Brother having about him a Gallant Retinue of Barons Knights and Esquires of England and of Aquitaine And as yet Fortune had not taken her leave of King Edward as We may see by his late unexpected Victory over the Flemings Thô several Lords of Poictou Limosin and other Provinces revolted daily to the French King and immediately turn'd their Arms another way making frequent Skirmishes and Rencounters with the English But now Divine Providence began to weaken the English Interest and Power even by such a Means as all other Princes make use of to strengthen theirs viz. An Alliance by Marriage which thô Glorious in shew prov'd no more but an Airy Title and yet that brought forth in time many Expensive Wars and gave an Occasion of much Bloodshed and loss of Treasure principally in Spain and Portugal but by accident also it produced the loss of Rochelle and consequently of many more Places in France as we shall now see We spake k Vid. l. 4. c. 6. §. 31. p. 782. before of the Death of the Lady Blanch Dutchess of Lancaster upon which the Duke her Husband being left a Widower the Barons of Gascogne now with the said Duke at Bourdeaux began to consider how Don Pedro late King of Castille and Leon had left behind him two Daughters which he had by a Lawfull Bed. That these young Ladies were then at Aire a City of Gascogne having been left as Pledges with the Prince of Wales for certain Sums of Money due unto him from their Father And when these Ladies heard first of the Murder of the King their Father they were extreamly Disconsolate and in such Fear and trouble that it was a Thousand Pities such Innocent Virgins of Royal Blood should ever be brought to such Affliction by the Sins of their Father Especially all Men lamented the Condition of the Eldest who was now the True and Lawfull Heir to the Crown of Castille by Right of Succession devolved unto her immediately upon the Death of her Father King Don Pedro. All this Sr. Guischard D'Angle shew'd unto the Duke of Lancaster in the Presence of the Earl of Cambridge his Brother saying My Lord if it please your Royal Highness You are yet to be disposed of in Marriage once more and Sir We can tell You of a Match not unfitting your Birth whereby You shall obtain the Title of a King in her Right and your Children by her shall be Heirs to a Crown and she likewise hath a younger Sister which will make a good Wife for You my Lord of Cambridge They are both Ladies of Incomparable Perfections both of Mind and Body being the Daughters of Don Pedro late King of Castille and Leon. And surely it is no small point of Charity to succour and comfort distressed Damsels especially they being Daughters to a King in such a forlorn Condition as Fortune hath now reduced them to My Lord Duke We your Faithfull Servants would advise You to take unto Wife the Lady Constance who is the Eldest of these Princesses For We cannot tell where You can Match more Honourably or obtain Higher Dignity in so doing These Words and more to the like purpose made such an Impression on the Duke's heart who was now but One and Thirty Years of Age and in the Highest Vigour of Nature but especially when both their Beauties were enlarged upon he was so pleased that he resolv'd forthwith to send for the two Ladies Constance the Eldest whom he had pitch'd upon and Isabella the Youngest whom his Younger Brother the Earl of Cambridge design'd to espouse Four Lords with their Attendants went for them and they menaged their Business so well that the Ladies consented to go along with them to Bourdeaux when they should have got all things ready for their journey Upon News of the time the Duke of Lancaster and the Earl of Cambridge rode forth to meet them and were both so extraordinarily pleased with their several Mistresses that they immediately Married them in the next Village to them called Rochefort not far from Bourdeaux The Marriage was solemnised with a Great and Royal Feast and after that the two Princely Bridegroomes brought their Ladies to Bourdeaux where again there was Feasting and Joy and a most Splendid Resolemnization of this Double Marriage being attended with a great Number of Lords and Ladies all who Caressed the Royal Brides and presented them with many Rich Jewels and other Gifts to shew their Respect chiefly to the Duke But whatever all this might be in other Circumstances it was only now in effect to denounce Mortal War against the King of Spain and his Heirs for ever and thô indeed that King was an Usurper yet he was at that time of Great Power so that it seem'd no ways convenient to put him to Despair in a juncture when the King of England had his Hands full of War elsewhere King Henry of Castille had early notice how the Duke of Lancaster had Married the Eldest of his Neices and the Earl of Cambridge the other Wherefore by Advice of his Grandees who were all strictly United to his Interest he resolved forthwith to engage with the French King in a close and perpetual League Offensive
doubt not but one day We shall find a time to make these Rochellers repent their unkind Dealing On Å¿ Frois c. 299. that same Morning when the Floud was now pretty High the Spaniards weighed Anchor making a great noise with Trumpets and Clarions and set themselves in good order as they had been the Day before verily believing that the English were by this time quite tired out and much impaired in their Numbers Being all ready they began to take Advantage of the Wind and so to come upon the English who were nothing equal to them in any thing but Courage However they and their Friends the Poictevins who saw well what their Enemies did prepared to receive them and drew all boldly together setting their Archers before them and with that the Spaniards came upon them with full Sail and the Battle began to wax hot on all Hands Certainly never did Men endure more Difficulty in a Naval Fight than the English did that Day for thô the most part of them were grievously wounded and bruised with the fall of Barrs of Iron and the slinging of Leaden Bullets and the t Vid. Skinner's Eâ—ymol Lang. Angl. in vâ—ce Gunstones shooting of Stones yet for all that they fought while they were able to stir and by a Generous Importunity courted Victory who first now began wholly to turn her back from King Edward till Three of the Clock in the Afternoon But the Fickle Goddess was coy unto them notwithstanding For now the Spaniards finding the English mightily wasted and that they themselves had far more and stronger Vessels better furnish'd with Men and Artillery began to cast their Grappling-Irons and so fastned themselves to the English that they could not get asunder To the Earl of Pembroke's Ship there were no less than Four Spaniards fastned at one time in all which there were many Chosen Men of Arms under the Command of Don Cabesso di Vaccadent and Don Hernando Du Leon two of the Admirals With the Earl of Pembroke at that time was the Lord Guischard Dangle and Two and Twenty other Valiant Knights besides Esquires and Archers who fought as Gallantly as was possible and held out a long while notwithstanding the Spaniards had such Advantage of them many ways But there Sr. Emery of Tarse a Valiant Knight of Gascogne was slain by the Earl's side and with him a Gallant English Gentleman Sr. John Lawton who was Knight for the Earl's Body so that at last the Earl's Ship was Boarded and then was done many a Noble Exploit but there was no more room for Valour the Spaniards rush'd in like a floud on all sides So that there the Earl himself was taken Prisoner and all his Men either suffer'd the same Fate or a Worse Sr. Guischard Dangle Sr. Robert Beaufort Sr. John Curson and Sr. John Grimston were taken alive But the Lord John Tuchet Sr. Simon Whitaker Sr. John of Mortagne Sr. Emery of Tarse and Sr. John Lawton were slain Yet still the Lord Thomas Grandison and the Poictevins as the Lord of Pinant the Lord of Taniboton Sr. James of Surgeres Sr. Maubron of Linieres and others fought on in other Ships But finally they were all overmaster'd by Number so that none escaped being either taken or slain And when the Lords and Knights were all conquer'd they desired the Spaniards to forbear shedding the Blood of their servants For they said how they would pay a Ransom for the Lives of them all It was impossible for any Men to be have themselves better in those Circumstances the English and Poictevins were in at that time than they did And the stoutest Heart alive must yield to Necessity But surely the Lord Guischard Dangle thô he u His Arm. Or Bilette a Lâ—on Rampant Blue Vid. Tho. Mili's Catal. Honour p. 918. Asomole's Garter-Plates Plate 4â— Sr. Will. Dagd Baron 2 Vol. p. 173. was a most Valiant and Noble Knight and after this deservedly made Earl of Huntington did not advise King Edward well when he told him that now a small Convoy would suffice because they had Friends enough beyond the Seas And it must be attributed to some secret Ordinance of Providence that so Wise a Prince was now perswaded to commit so Fatal an Oversight For a Victorious King who is no longer so without Reputation ought never to commit any considerable Adventure meerly to the Will of Fortune especially in so doubtfull a juncture as this was since One Great Miscarriage undoes all his former Deeds as now it happen'd Whereas had this Fleet been but well fitted out they had infallibly Conquer'd and thereby all France had been saved and King Edward had dy'd as Victorious as he liv'd But it pleas'd God to order it otherwise Among other Losses that Ship wherein lay all the Treasure wherewith Sr. Guischard Dangle should have paid the Souldiers their Wages was unhappily sunk and drown'd and all within lost to the value in Money of 20000 l. Sterling besides other things But this was nothing comparable to the Loss England received in the Death and Taking of so many Valiant and Noble Gentlemen And yet the ill Consequences of this Day were far greater than the Loss it self and it was evident that King Edward now received the greatest Blow that ever he had felt before For by this Discomfiture he lost in a manner all that ever he had got in France except Bayonne Bourdeaux and Calais as will appear in the Sequel of this History V. All that Day which was the Three and Twentieth of June and the Eve of St. John the Baptist and the Night of that Day and the next Day till Noon the Spaniards lay still at Anchor before Rochelle triumphing and making much joy at their hardly-obtained Victory And it happen'd well for Sr. James of Surgeres a Knight of Poictou that they staid so long there For he spake such fair Words to his Spanish Master and in subtlety so obligingly humbled himself that he was immediately acquitted only for paying 300 Franks or Thirty Pounds Sterling And so on St. Johns Day having his full Liberty he came and din'd in the City of Rochell and there made a particular Relation of all the Engagement and who were kill'd and who were taken Prisoners at which heavy Tale the Burgesses that were present seem'd to be very much concerned but indeed they were glad of it For naturally they never cared for the English Nation Now on the Feast of St. John about Noon when the Tide was up the Spaniards weighed Anchor and hoised their Sails and so left that Coast with a merry Noise of Trumpets and Clarions their Masts and Foredecks being adorn'd with Long Streamers and rich Penons and Standards beaten with the Arms of Castille and Leon which made a glorious Shew as they waved about in the Wind. Thus the Spaniards left the Haven of Rochell with the Earl of Pembroke and the rest of the Prisoners in their Company and set Sail for the Coasts
a certain Priest began to question them about the Reason of this their unusual rage and concourse He was answer'd by some of them that they sought for the Duke and the Lord Marshal to get them to deliver Sr. Peter de la Mare whom they wrongfully detained in Prison To this the Priest answer'd again more boldly than wisely That Sr. Peter said he is a false Traytor to the King and worthy to have been hanged long since At these words the Rabble cry'd out upon him with a terrible shout saying that he was a Traytor and so falling upon him wounded him to Death VIII Nor in all likelihood had the Tumult thus ceased had not the Bishop of London leaving his Dinner at the first News of this Disturbance come to them at the Savoy and putting them in mind of the solemn season of Lent with much ado perswaded them to go home and be quiet However as they were returning to the City seeing they could do no harm to the Dukes person who was now out of their Reach they began to wreak their Anger on all that they could find belonging unto him and taking his Arms in the most shamefull manner they hung them up Reversed in divers parts of the City as if he had been a Traytor Nay when One of the Dukes Gentlemen came riding thrô the City with a Plate of the Dukes Arms about his Neck these Men not enduring such a sight flang him from his Horse tore away his Cognisance from him and had certainly served him as they had served the Priest but that the Mayor came opportunely to his Rescue and sent him home safe to the Duke his Master So hatefull at that time was the Duke of Lancaster to the Londoners IX When the Princess understood how ill-affected the Londoners stood unto the Duke she sent unto them Three of her Knights Sr. Aubrey de Vere Sr. Simon Burley and Sr. Lewis Clifford to entreat them to be reconciled unto the Duke They for their parts answer'd how for the Honour of the Princess they would obey and with all Reverence be ready to do whatever she should please to require But however this they said and charged the Messengers to tell the Duke as much by word of Mouth that they were resolved that the Bishop of Winchester and Sr. Peter de la Mare should be brought to their Answer and judged by their Peers So that either they might be acquitted If they were Guiltless or if culpable receive their due according to the Laws of the Realm At the same time the Mayor and Common-Council of London sent certain u Daniel's hist p. 359 c. of their Chief Citizens to the Old King to make their Excuse concerning this Tumult protesting that they themselves were no way privy thereto but upon the first Knowledge sought by all means to suppress the same Which they could not do because the whole Commonalty was in a Commotion upon an Information that their Liberties should be taken from them by Parliament The King told them that it never enter'd into his heart to infringe their Liberties it was rather his Desire to enlarge them And therefore he willed them to banish all needless fear occasion'd by too easie Credulity and to return and endeavour to keep the City in Quiet which they did being well satisfied with this Answer We shall not here dwell on the minuter parts of this Story nor shew what Indignation and Grief the Duke conceived hereat nor what means and suit the Londoners were fain to make to the King his Father for their Liberties nor what Rhymes and Ballads were made upon the Duke in London nor how the Bishops at the Duke's instance were obliged to excommunicate all his Defamers nor how at last he was revenged of these contumelious injuries having caused the Mayor and Aldermen to appear before the King where they were sharply rebuked for their Misdemeanor by the Grave Oration of Sr. Robert Ashton the Kings Chamberlain in presence of the King Archbishops Bishops the Kings Children and the Chief Nobility of the Realm nor how they were then and there enjoyned at the Publique Charges of the City to make a Great Taper of Wax which with the Dukes Arms set upon it should be brought in solemn Procession to the Church of St. Paul there to burn continually before the Image of our Lady Nor how at last in the beginning of the next Kings Reign the Duke and the Londoners were fully reconciled together with the Kiss of Peace and the said Reconciliation published in the Churches of St. Paul and Westminster to the great joy of the whole City Nor shall I speak any farther of John Wicklisse x Odor Rainal ad hunc an §. 4. Walsingh hist p. 201 c. how the Pope wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury and to the Bishop of London to convene him once more and how the Princess of Wales deliver'd him nor how lastly he was fain to retire into Bohemia where he spread his Doctrine For these Matters do neither in their own Nature nor Time agree with our present Design X. All these things I pass over as Matters either foreign or of small Moment so likewise I leave in silence the y Vid. M. S. Vet. Angl. in Bibl. C.C.C. Cantab. c. 238. Riot made between the Earl of Warwicks Men and the Abbot and Monks of Evesham as also z Fox Acts Men. p. 394. the hurlyburly made at Laneham in Suffolk against Henry Spencer the Warlike Bishop of Norwich and other trivial Matters And haste now to an end of King Edward's Life and our Labour About this time Sr. John Menstreworth that false Knight of whose abominable Treason We a Vid. Hujus hist l. 4. c. 7. §. 23. 24. p. 809 c. spake in the Fourty Fourth Year of this King was suddenly b M.S. vet Ang. in Bibl. C.C.C. Cantab. c. 239. Walsingh hist p. 189. Fabian p. 262. Holinsh p. 998. surprised by certain Englishmen in Pampelone a City of Navarre and being presently sent over into England was now tryed before the Mayor and other the Kings Justices in the Guild-hall at London where these things were proved home upon him namely That being entrusted by his Sovereign Lord the King and having received considerable Sums of Money to pay the Kings Souldiers therewith he had falsly and like a Traytor kept the Money to his own use also that he had maliciously occasion'd a Dissention and Discord in the Kings Army and thereby gave the Enemy advantage against them Whereof being accused unto the King and fearing the Punishment due unto him therefore like a false and forsworn Traytor he fled into France unto the Kings Enemies and there was sworn unto the French King and conspired against his Natural Lord and Master undertaking to direct the Spanish Navy and bring them into England to the Confusion and Destruction of his Native Country Of all which he was fully convicted and