unto the dispose of our Lord the Pope especially the Lords Cardinals being his Assistants the greater Part of whom and in a manner all are Natives of the Kingdom of France or there Beneficed either in their own Persons or in the Persons of their Nephews and have Revenues as well in Temporals as Spirituals and of whom a great part publiquely make against him as to the Affair now in Hand I should in Answer thereto declare the Good Will which our Lord the Pope hath particularly to the Person of the Lord the King and his Kingdom and that in such Matters not concerning the Church and its Patrimony he is not wont to require the Counsel of the Cardinals And in this Affair if it should be refer'd to him he would not care to require Counsel of others Besides this the Pope exhorted those of the Privy Council to both Kings to perswade them unto Peace particularly to the English Lords among other things he wrote thus We desire and require and exhort You all in the Lord that having before Your eyes God alone to whom all Hearts are open and all desires are known and from whom no secret is hid as to such and such hazardous Matters concerning as is premised the state of all Christendom what You shall with Good and Right Consciences believe to be wholsome profitable and expedient to the said King his Weal Honour and Profit and also to Christendom aforesaid You would endeavour to perswade and advise him Dat. Avin VII Kal. Septemb. Ano. Pontificatûs nostri VI. But all this had signified little to King Edward who was sensible of the Loss he always suffer'd by these Treaties which were then most vigorously offer'd when some Great Advantage was in his Hands had not there been a Lady of High Quality and Wonderfull Vertue and Piety whose Tears and Prayers could not be lost upon a Man whose heart was acquainted with Pity This was the Lady Å¿ Frois c. 63. Jane of Valois Countess Dowager of Hainault Holland and Zealand Sister-German to King Philip and own Mother to Philippa Queen of England Who since the Death of her Husband William the Good late Earl of Haâ—nault had withdrawn her self from the World and entred the Abbey of Fontaine au Tertre resolving there to spend the Residue of her Life in Works of Charity and Devotion This Pious Lady as the Greek Poets Report of Jocasta when Polynices and Eteocles were prepared for Battle and as our t Warner's Albion's England l. 3. c. 16. p. 73. English Poets Relate of the Mother of Belinus and Brennus two Brittish Princes when they were ready by unbrotherly War to decide the Right of a Kingdom went assiduously with great Zeal and Diligence between the two Kings humbly kneeling to the King of France her Brother whose Haughty and Resolute Temper she well knew and sweetly like a Vertuous Mother intermixing with her Son-in-Law King Edward Commands and Prayers and moving Tears and convincing Arguments at the same time labouring with the Duke of Brabant whose Son was to have Married one of her Daughters but for a Trick of King Philips and also with her Son-in-Law the Marquess of Juliers and with her late Husbands Brother the Lord John of Hainalt to joyn with her to move King Edward to accept of a Truce thô never so short At last by the Aid and Counsel of the Lord Lewis D'Augemont who was equally acceptable to both Parties she so far prevail'd that both the Kings agreed to send to a certain Place 4 or 5 Commissioners a piece to propose and consider of some Moderate and Equal Way to decide the Matter For which Treaty a Truce was to be had for three Days the said Persons the Commissioners from both Parties to Meet and Treat each day about the Premises in a little Church or Chappel standing in the Fields of Spetelin On Saturday the 23d. of September there came accordingly to the Place appointed on the French Part the Venerable Old Prince John King of Bohemia and Earl of Luxemburgh Adolph Bishop of Liege Reginald Duke of Lorrain Amè Earl of Savoy and John Earl of Armagnac on the English Part came John Duke of Brabant Henry Bishop of Lincoln Reginald Duke of Gueldre William Marquess of Juliers and Earl of Cambridge and Sr. John of Hainalt Lord Beaumont All these at their first Meeting in the Chappel aforesaid began u Frois c. 63. with many Mutual Salutations and endearing Caresses as if they had been sworn Friends all their Lives Thence they fell upon the Mater in Hand and began to Propound and to Weigh divers Offers and Concessions and all the while the Incomparable Lady Jane of Valois was by earnestly entreating them for Godsake to lay aside all Prejudice and only to consider the Publique Good and the Weal of Christendom and be ready to accept of what should seem just and indifferent But for the first Day there was little or no Advancement made However they brake up with a Mutual Promise to Meet again at such an Hour the next Morning and in Conformity to the Day to dispose themselves towards the Entertainment of Unity and Peace Accordingly they Met and did at last unanimously Agree on certain Articles and Methods but not being able to draw them up at that time and to Compleat the whole Affair as it ought to be they deferred the Consummation of all till the last Day So being all Met again the Third Day they fully Agreed to hold inviolably a Truce for them and their Allies till the Feast of St. John Baptist following during which Term x Freis c. 63. fol. 35. certain Commissioners on both sides were to be sent to Arras whither also the Bishop of Rome was to send certain Cardinals all these being to consult together about a Full Ratification of a Final Peace between the two Kings The Form of the Truce was this John y Knighton p. 2578. n. 44. Atouz ceur que cestez presentez lettrez verrent cue cieront Jean par la Grace c. by the Grace of God King of Bohemia and Earl of Luxemburgh Adolph Bishop of Liege Reginald Duke of Lorrain Amè Earl of Savoy and John Earl 〈◊〉 Armagnac to all who shall see or hear these present Letters Greeting Be it known unto all that a Truce is given and confirmed between the High and Mighty Princes the Kings of France and of England for Them and for all their Friends by the Assent of the High and Mighty Lords the Duke of Brabant the Duke of Gueldre the Marquess of Juliers and Sr. John of Hainalt Lord of Beaumont on the one Party and of Us and of every of Us above-written on the other Party By vertue of Power delegated to Us and to those abovenamed from the said Kings So that we have drawn up Affiances with our own Hands between the said Kings their Friends and Allies whosoever they be to endure to both Parties from this time untill
but observe by the Colour of his Face that his Death was not without many violent struglings and several that heard his dying Groans did easily guess how things were Acted But it was not then time to mutter any thing and indeed it should seem but vain to attempt to Revenge him when Dead whom they durst do no more than pitty while alive He had done many Worthy things in his Time and might have done more had he not been so miserably interrupted He founded o Antiqu. Oxon. l. 2. p. 103. Oriel College in Oxford whereof Adam Broom his Almoner was the first Provost together with * Daniel p. 218. St Mary-Hall in the said University whereof Mr. p Antiqu. Oxon. p. 370. Sandford Geneal Hist p. 153. Antiqu. Oxon. l. 1. p. 100 101. Richard Barnes Vice-president of Magdalene College was first Principal besides the House which he gave there for twenty four Carmelite Fryers Divines according to a Vow he had made in his Escape from the defeat at Sterling At his Mannor also at Langley in Hertfordshire he built a Church called the Fryers-Preachers where he Ordain'd that the Soul of his Friend Gaveston should be for ever pray'd for And where since hath been laid beside many other Princes the Body of Edmund Plantaginet Sirnamed of this Langley the place also of his Birth which Edmund was Fifth Son to our King Edward the Third and in his Time q Dagd 2 Vol. Bar. p. 155. Duke of York Earl of Cambridge Lord of Tividale together with his Lady Isabell Second Daughter to Don Pedro King of Castille Leon from whom proceeded Edward the Fourth But this Murder'd Prince having been exposed to publique View was Buried r Speed p. 566. Polyd. Virgil. Baker c. without any Funeral Pomp by the Benedictine Monks in their Abbey of S◠Peter in Glocester Where ſ Sandford's Geneal Hist p. 152 c. afterwards when the manner of his Death was found out and the Principal Actors thereof had been brought to Condign Punishment his Son King Edward the Third erected to his Memory a Fair Monument of White Stone with his Portraiture thereon of Alabaster in the second Arch and on the Northside the Altar betwixt two Pillars of the Tuscan Order About which near to the Capitals are several Figures of Stags with which they report his Corps was drawn thither from Berkley-Castle He lies there in his Robes with his Crown on his Head however in his Life it was taken from him his Scepter in his Right Hand and his Globe with a Cross thereon in his Left An Angel sitting on each side at his Head and a Lion at his Feet After this Manner about the end of the foremention'd Scotch Expedition was this Miserable King more than barbarously Murder'd in the Midst of his Age for he was hardly Fourty three Years old A Man that surely deserv'd a better end but that he had the Unhappiness to trust too much in Prosperity and to fix his Love on those who were least Worthy of it while he too rashly quarrel'd with his nearest Relations before he had made any provision against them His own Nature was very good but Evil men made a bad Use of it Mortimer and Adam Orleton that Bishop of Hereford were the Chief Causers of his Downfall for having both been guilty of High Treason against him before they were resolv'd now by any means to build their own security upon his Ruine so under the pretence of befriending the Queen they wrought her to be as much concern'd in the Treason as themselves He was of a t Catal. Honor. p. 158. Knighten p. 2531. Speed p. 560. very Elegant Composure of Body of a goodly Stature of a firm and healthy Constitution of great Strength and Activity Devout Noble and full of Natural good Propensions Liberal and Magnificent Mercifull and Generous Witty and Learned for that Age as the Verses he wrote testifie but not so soft as 't is imagin'd for no Man was more Stern and High-spirited to the Obstinate Yet we must allow him to have been more weak then wicked for he always design'd well but was deceived by Appearances He was a firm and constant Friend and a flexible Enemy a u Sr Tho. de la Mere p. 9. l. 43. strict Observer of his Conjugal Faith however ill requited In War he was not Fortunate by reason of the Envy among his Courtiers some evil he did but he suffer'd much more No King ever had fewer Taxes yet none found his People more Ungratefull so that as one well observes x Churchill p. 239. how far he wrong'd his Subjects doth not appear but how rude and unjust they were toward him is but too Manifest He was a Man every way Worthy to be a King had his Counsellours been Men of Integrity but their ill Actions made him Odious which because he would not punish in their Persons he was fain to pay Dearly for it in his own So little avails the Sacred Majesty of a King when the Multitude is too much exasperated He left behind him y Speed p. 564. c. Four Children Edward his Eldest Son that then Reign'd John sirnamed of Eltham afterwards Earl of Cornwall the Lady Joan of the Tower in time Queen of Scotland and the Lady Eleanora who was given in Marriage to Reginald Earl of Guelders His Death was soon greatly pittied and at last severely Revenged But especially the Welch z Speed p. 549. a. § 40. Nation who in Regard of his Birth among them had always held him for one of their own as in his Life time they expressed a Wonderfull Love and Loyal Affection to him so now they prosecuted his Unfortunate Death with Dolefull Elegies which neither the fear of his Murderers nor length of time could ever make them to forget The Young King his Son first heard that he was Dead at Lincoln being then upon his Return from York after the Scotch Expedition but the Manner was not yet known till his own Riper judgement discover'd the Mystery He a Knighton p. 2552. mourn'd at the News with more sincerity than his Mother who notwithstanding bore a very troubled Countenance And she and Adam Orleton and Mortimer did so terrifie his Murderers for all their producing the Letters of Commission that they were fain to fly the Land. Which many were willing they should do rather then be brought to a Tryal where they might talk more than some were willing to hear Sr Thomas Gourney three years after being taken at Marseilles in France and deliver'd up to be brought over for England in order to his Tryal was beheaded on the Sea before he came hither by private Instructions as was thought from some Grandees at Court whose Interest it was that he should not be brought to Examination St John Maltravers had the Grace to see his sin and repent heartily of it Howbeit as he lived long after he
won't feed the Sheep thô Odoricus * An. 1330. n. 40. Rainaldus says he intended all this for the Holy War. But whatever this his Avarice brought him to after Death 't is certain his Successor Pope Benedict made no ill use of that ill gotten Treasure but kept great Hospitality and bestowed much in Magnificent Buildings and Design'd many Great and Worthy Matters indeed some whereof took no Effect thô a special Occasion seem'd to be offer'd now at this time by the coming of the King of France and those with him Upon their first Arrival his Holiness and the College of Cardinals Received them with much Honour and Respect appointing for them all according to their Quality convenient Lodgings at Villeneufe without the Town After whom within few days came thither f Vict. rellus James 1 Vol. p. 871. sed Pedro apud Frois Alphonso Rainald ad Baron 1335. n. 39. recte Alphonso King of Aragon also as well on the same Design with the others as to require the Popes Assistance in the adjusting of Matters between James King of Majorica and himself relating to Sardinia and Corsica for * Victorellus ibid. which Received on the Conditions which Pope Boniface the VIII had imposed he had by his Ambassadors done Homage to Pope Innocent Predecessor to this Benedict While these Great Personages remain'd thus at Avignion Highly Honoured and Entertain'd by the Court of Rome tidings came that in Granada Prussia Palestine Armenia and Greece the Enemies of God became strong that the Africans and Saracens of Granada infested Spain the Turks Grecia the Egyptians and Babylonians Armenia that Orchanes especially and his Captains had Wonderfull Success against Christianity that well nigh all the Realm of g Rascia vulgò le Rasce pars Regni Hungariae late sumpti c. Rascia was overrun by the Infidels and that the King thereof being a Christian was by them most Barbarously Martyr'd and put to Death These News greatly Afflicted the Hearts of all those Christian Worthies insomuch that the Pope himself on the Good-Fryday following Preached before the Kings and Princes a Passion-Sermon with much Devotion Wherein after he had most feelingly set forth the Wonderfull Condescention of our Lord Jesus for our Sakes the unspeakable Extremity of the Pains he underwent for us and at last even Death it self a most bitter and Ignominious Death the Memory whereof was continually with most sorrowfull Compunction Recorded by all good Christians in especial Manner on that day after this and more to the like Purpose he earnestly Exhorted his Royal Auditory in Pious Gratitude for all these transcending Benefits to adventure now something for their Gracious Lord and Masters Sake with Christian Courage to undertake his Battles and with the Hazard of their Frail Bodies to oppose the Enemies of his most Holy Religion the Blasphemers of his Great and Glorious Name To all which he added the Examples of many Christian Princes their Predecessors the Everlasting Renown that would recommend their Names to Posterity the Great Rewards they would purchase thereby as here an Absolution from all their Sins and in the end an Eternal Weight of Glory All the Princes but especially King Philip were sensibly moved by this Pious and Eloquent Harangue which was insinuated with very Pathetical Applications exaggerated with many Figurative Expressions Illustrated with much Copiousness of Language and Variety of Historical Instances but above all deliver'd with so much Zeal and shining with so much Truth and Sincerity that it easily made way into the very Souls of those who came before with a good Affection to the Cause So that what thrô Pity joyn'd with Royal Courage what thrô the Hopes of worldly Honour and Eternal Felicity what thrô the Confidence of sufficient Assistance and the Feasability of the Matter first of all King Philip Bravely professes himself a Champion of Christ and Vows to take upon him the Croisade Especially having consider'd in his Mind that long since this same Matter had busied his Thoughts thô he could never absolutely fix upon it till now for want of sufficient Motives and Leisure from other Affairs His Holiness highly Applauded this Heroick Resolution and besides a Liberal Assistance in Money promised to all the Undertakers a Plenary Indulgence and full Absolution ab omni poenâ culpâ From which Encouragement and the Example of so great a King were moved to the same Resolution John K. of Bohemia Philip King of Navarre Alphonso King of Aragon and many Dukes Earls Barons Knights and Esquires with four Cardinals h Victorell p. 880. Talayrand Earl of Perigort Cardinal of St. Peter ad Vincula titulo Eudoxiae Prior of the Priests Neapoleo Cardinal of St. Adrian Prior of the Deacons Gauceline Bishop Cardinal of Alby a City of Gallia Narbonensis and Bertrand de le Puy Bishop of i Lloyds Peet Diction tit Ostia Ostia which latter by right is Senior Cardinal and is by his Place to Crown the Popes of Rome Presently hereupon was the Croisade published thrô all Christendom whereat as many as were truly Pious or Valiant rejoyced Highly those supposing Religion would be much Advanced thereby and these hoping to purchase Immortal Honour by their Deeds of Arms and Noble Chevalry The whole business therefore being thus thoroughly agreed on at Avignion the Kings and the other Grandees having taken their leave went their ways to provide for this Weighty Affair King k Frois ibid. Philip went along with the King of Aragon as far as Monpellier at which place he tarried a while till he had made a full Reconciliation and Peace between the King of Aragon and the King of Majorica After which Christian Work he returned by small journeys but with great Expence into France visiting his Towns and Castles as he went thrô Auvergne Berry Beausse and Gastinois till he came to Paris where he was Received with Great Triumphs and Feastings At that time the Kingdom of France was very Puissant and Flourishing with Nobility Gentry and good Men of War as also with much Plenty and Riches the Consequences of a long Peace and Prosperity But besides this the Pope gave that King a Large Assistance in Money and promised much more but especially he Granted him a l Knighton p. 2567. Tenth of his own Subjects for m Victorell 1 Vol. p. 865. §. c. six Years to come towards this intended War Such was the Policy of Popes whereby they came by Degrees to so great Authority over Princes for first they granted things gratefull to them Kings being willing to connive at these their Encroachments which were so profitable to themselves and afterwards they pleaded prescription to dispose Matters as well against as with the Pleasure of Christian Monarchs King Philip indeed gave his Oath to his Holiness not to put these sexennial Tythes to any other use except that of this Holy War Thô afterwards he either forgot or dispensed with this Oath
the Matter was kept very close and none but his Council knew certainly of it for he had not been above Eight or Ten Days abroad in all and the Nantois thought he had visited some other Parts of his Dominions that while VII When the Lord n Prois c. 69. Charles Castillion commonly called Sr. Charles of Blois who look'd upon himself as true Heir of Bretagne in Right of his Wife heard of all the Conquests that the Earl had made in that Country which he took for his own he addrest himself to his Uncle King Philip to complain of these Injuries The King deliberating what course to take in this Affair was in the end counselled to summon the Earl of Montford by sufficient Messengers to make his Personal Appearance at Paris by such a day there to answer to what should be objected against him in the Chamber of France Messengers were accordingly sent who found him at Nantes keeping of a Solemn Festival Here he treated them highly and then having well understood their Errand answer'd that he would punctually obey the Kings Commandment Soon after being prepared for his Journey he rode from Nantes toward Paris with a Princely Equipage of 400 Horse in his Company The next day after his Arrival he rode with this Great Attendance to the Palace Royal Where the King and the 12 Peers with other High Lords of France expected his coming with the Young Lord Charles of Blois in their Company The Earl was conducted to the Kings Chamber being highly regarded and civilly saluted in his Passage thither by all the Lords for the Fame of his great Exploits and the Grandeur of his Person When he 〈◊〉 before the King he enclin'd his Body something low and said Sir I am come hither in Obedience to your Command and Pleasure The King answer'd Earl Montford for that you have so done I give you thanks But I wonder how you durst take upon You the Dukedom of Bretagne whereunto you have no Right For there is another nearer than your Self whom you seek to disinherit And to maintain your unjust Quarrel by Violence you have been with mine Adversary the King of England to whom as I am enformed you have done Homage for the same The Duke who thought it impossible that the King should know this Conveyance of his reply'd not without some Confusion Sir I beseech your Majesty not to believe any such Matter for You are not rightly informed as to that Point But Sir as for the Right which You mention saving your Displeasure You do me wrong to question it For Sir I know of none living so near to my Brother deceased as my Self And if it can be made appear by Right Law and Judgment that there is any Person nearer than I am I am not He that should rebell against Reason or be asham'd to renounce what I had unjustly usurped Well Sir rejoyn'd the King you say well But I command you in whatever you hold of me not to stirr from this City of Paris these Fifteen days in which space the 12 Peers and Lords of my Realm shall consider impartially on the Matter And then you shall know where the Right lies And if you shall presume to do otherwise be assured we shall not be Friends The Earl having promis'd all should be at his Pleasure went from the Court home to his Lodgings to Dinner But having din'd he mus'd much with himself in his Chamber and thought he had done too rashly in coming thither where he should be oblig'd to stand to the Award of such as were byass'd another way At last being o Mezeray p. 18. disguised like a Merchant and only three in his Company he privately took horse in a clear Night and leaving the City got home into Bretagne before the King or any else knew what was become of him Being come to Nantes he shew'd unto his Countess what he had done and wherefore and then by her Advice he rode about to all the Towns and Fortresses which he had won and set over them Vallant and Loyal Captains with sufficient Numbers of Souldiers Horse and Foot and gave them large Wages before-hand VIII For some p Prois c. 70. time the Court of France thought he had been detain'd in his Lodgings by some Indisposition seeing his Servants constantly about the House and tending his Affairs as if present But they also getting off by degrees when his Departure was fully known it may be guessed how deeply King Philip resented this Affront But for all that he kept so much decorum as to tarry till the 15th Day came whereon the Peers were to give their final Judgment concerning the Dukedom of Bretagne At the time appointed the Case was adjudged clearly in behalf of Sr. Charles of Blois his Lady Jane who was Daughter and Heir to Guy Earl of Pentebria Brother German to the Duke last deceased and therefore was now declared to have more Right than John Earl of Monford q Catal. Honer p. 6â—4 who was Younger Brother to the said Ladies Father by a second Venter namely by Violanta sole Daughter and Heir of Almaric Earl of Narbon and Montford They alledged further that althô the Earl of Montford had had the Right yet now he had forfeited it on two Accounts First because he had received the Dutchy of another Lord than of the French King of whom only he ought to hold it and secondly because he had broken the Kings express Command and disobeyed his Arrest in going away Wherefore neither would they r Mezeray p. 18. admit of his Request which was to accept of his Procuration whereby he had left One as his Deputy to manage this Matter in his Behalf From which Judgment it being manifestly influenced by King Philips Authority that Prince was much Å¿ Giov. Villani l. 11. c. 142. censur'd of injustice by those who allow'd the Ancient Order and Custom of the Baronages of France and the Salique Law especially since it was contrary to that very Judgment by which He himself had been Declared and Crowned King of France Since if Charles of Blois had the Right to the Dukedom of Bretagne by his Wife Daughter to the last Dukes Brother German much more had King Edward of England the Right to the Crown of France by his Mother sole Daughter and Heiress after the Death of Lewis Hutin Philip the Long and Charles the Fair her Brethren of Philip the Fair King of France But Prejudice is so strange a thing that it byasses the Minds of the Great and the Wise Men of the World by representing Falshood and Injustice under the specious Titles of Fair and Equitable unless there be present an Awe of Religion and a Sense of Honour and Conscience to suppress those selfish Considerations IX However as soon as this Judgment was thus given King Philip called unto him the Young Lord Charles of Blois and said to him Fair Nephew you have a fair and large
displeas'd that he seised his Temporalities for a while And We find him the Year following a Ano. 1334. obliged to make use of all his Cunning and Sophistry b Vid. Apologiam Adae Orleton c. apud Hister Angl. Scriptâ—r Antig. p. 2763. Edit London Ano. 1652. to Answer an Appellation that then came out against him thô not in the King's Name and proved him Guilty of Felony c. Consisting of these Articles 1. That he Commanded and caused most Sacrilegiously Violent Hands to be laid on the King's Chancellour Robert Baldock Bishop of Norwich c. Item that in the City of Oxford in the Moneth of November he falsly and maliciously Preached and Taught and more than once Asserted that the Lord Edward of Famous Memory was a Tyrant c. Item that by his false and subtil Insinuations and Assertions he struck such a fear into the Lady the Queen Mother then at Wallingford that she durst not go to her Husband the foresaid King by occasion whereof the use of Matrimony both as to the Procreation of Children and as to the Faith and Sacrament thereof was render'd ineffectual All which with more he Answer'd for that time very plausibly suppressing the most Dangerous Articles and eluding and evading the Rest and at last concludes his appellant guilty of Perjury in offering to swear to the Truth of what he falsly laid to his Charge By these Means and by the Aid of the Clergy who c Holinshead Engl. Chron. p. 874. ad â—n 1324. once before took him with their Pastoral Crosiers in their Hands from the King's Tribunal when he was to be try'd for Treason he escaped Punishment in this World except that for d Walsing hist p. 155. n. 50. Godw. Gatal Bps p. 233. many Years before his Death he was stricken stark blind thô We can hardly think that without an unfeigned and thorough Repentance of which this his Apology gives Us little hope he could avoid those Torments which are prepared in the other World for Murderers and Traytors Nay e Sr. Winston Churchill's Drvi Britan. p. 239. some say that Horrour of Mind at his Death gave him as great Torture as if the burning-Iron which sear'd his Conscience had been thrust into his Bowels Which expression is no doubt allusive to the manner whereby King Edward the Seconds Death was effected thrô his Means and Contrivance However here now we fix him as an Example to deter Men of such Principles from the Consideration of the Evil Memory they are like to leave behind them He was succeeded by Dr. William Edingdon who was very Dear to King Edward and the Knights of the Garter being created in his time became the first Prelate of that most Noble Order The End of the First Book THE HISTORY OF King Edward IIId. AN. DOM. 1346. An. Regni Angliae XX. Franciae vii BOOK THE SECOND CHAPTER the FIRST The CONTENTS I. King Philip sends his Son John Duke of Normandy with a mighty Army against the Earl of Darby now since his Father's Death called Earl of Lancaster II. Duke John having retaken Miramont and Ville-Franche in Agenois goes and sits down before Angoulesme III. The Earl of Lancaster hearing the Enemy had left Ville-Franche void sends thither a new Garrison as also a Reinforcement to the strong Castle of Aiguillon IV. The Seneschal of Beaucaire with a Detachment from the French Host wins Ancenis and returns with a great Booty to the Camp. V. Sr. John Norwich the English Captain of Angoulesme by a neat Device escapes away thrô the French Army in the Day-time with Bag and Baggage and goes to Aiguillon After whose Departure the Duke takes the City to Mercy as also the Fortress of Damasan by Force and Tonneins by Composition VI. The Duke of Normandy takes Port St. Mary by Force and goes before the strong Castle of Aiguillon VII The Particulars of the Famous Siege of Aiguillon counted the most Notable of that Age. VIII The French Kings Seneschal of Guienne beaten and taken Prisoner by a Detachment from the Earl of Lancaster Which Earl hovering near the Duke cuts him short I. ALL this while we may wonder that between two such Potent Monarchs as Philip of France and Edward of England althô no less than a Kingdom was the Prize there seem'd rather a certain-Tendency and Disposition to War than any deadly and irreconcileable Rupture But this we should attribute to the Goodness of God who is always slow when he intends to strike home and partly also as well to the pious Assistance of the Pope King Robert of Sicily the Lady Jane of Valois and other Peace makers as in a manner to the Humanity of these Princes themselves and also to the weight of the Affair which required much Advice and vast Preparations But now at last all things being sufficiently ripened we shall presently see the Bloody Flag of War hung out in good earnest and the two Kings hastily opening the Way to their own several Destinies King a Frois c. 118. Philip of France was quickly alarum'd at those notable Conquests which the Earl of Darby whom henceforward we shall call the Earl of Lancaster had made in Gascogne the preceding Year and resolv'd with all Expedition to provide a wholsom Remedy against so devouring a Gangrene While therefore himself was busie in raising a Mighty Power for the Defence of his Kingdom he dispatched away his Eldest Son John Duke of Normandy with considerable Forces to stop the English Earls Career But when he began to approach he heard such Reports of the strength of the English the Terror of their Conquests belike encreasing their Numbers that for that time b Gaguin l. p. 140. Fabian p. 220. itâ Villani l. 12. c. 46. p. 856. Messer Giovanni di Francia no venne al sâ—ccerso ne tenne campo ma si ternò addietro he return'd back to his Father again without once looking the Fail of Lancaster in the Face And this was towards the Declining of the preceding Year King Philip was extreamly incensed at this Action of his Sons Wherefore to avoid his Fathers Displeasure he immediatly resolves to address himself with all his vigour to the War and rather to venture any thing than to hazard the loss of his Fathers Love and his own Reputation King c Frois c. 118. Philip also desiring to Reinforce him in the best manner sent forth his General Summons That all Nobles and Others on that side the Loire of such and such Qualifications and able for the War should laying aside all Excuse repair to Orleans and Bourges and the Parts thereabout by such a Day Whereupon there came to the King being at Paris Eudes Duke of Burgundy and his only Son Philip Earl of Artois and Boulogne with a 1000 Lances There came also the Duke of Bourbon and his Brother the Earl of Ponthieu Ralph Earl of Eu and Guisnes and Constable of France the
the Infection But the Destroying Angel like that in the o Apocal. c. 10. v. 2. 5. Revelations had one Foot upon the Waters as well as on the Land for alas the very Air they breathed being tainted they drew in Death together with Life it self The horrour of these things made others to lock up themselves close in their Houses Gardens and sweet retired Places but the Evil they intended to exclude pursued them thrô all their defences and they had this onely difference to die without the Company of any that might serve or pity them No Physician could tell the Cause or prescribe a Cure and even what was saving to one was no less than fatal to another no Astrologer could divine how or when it would cease The only way left was to be prepared to receive it and the most comfortable Resolution to expect it without Fear Nay it is to be remembred to the Praise of God who correcteth the Body to save the Soul that all Men being awaken'd to the quick by so dreadfull an appearance of Death at their Elbow are said to have piously set themselves to bewail their sins and to amend their Lives and where they could to frequent the Sacraments and which was wonderfull that most were so touched with a sense of Piety Gods Grace sweetning the bitterness of Death with some small Taste of Eternal Felicity approaching that they even rejoyced as they were dying And p Nauclerus Gener. 45. Nauclerus says That it was some kind of Consolation in the midst of this general Grief that innocent Children being at the point of Death did for the most part joyfully set forth the Praises of God And that Sinners themselves before they perceiv'd any token of the Pestilence upon them had prepared themselves by an hearty Repentance So that they even willingly waited for Death IV. I shall notwithstanding this prolix Description of ours subjoyn hereto one far more graphical and authentick which came from the Royal Pen of John Cantacuzenus who was at that time Emperour of Constantinople and a great Sufferer thereby in the Devastation of his Countries This Plague says he q Joh Cantacuz Hist l. 4. c. 8. p. 730. 731. Jacob. Pentan ibid. Latin. id in Att. c. Bellar. par 1. Syntag. 6. Descript 9. p. 496. taking its rise from the Scythians called Hyberboreans overran almost all the Sea-coasts of the Habitable World and destroyed an incredible Number of People For it did not only pass thrô Pontus and Thrace and Macedonia but also thrô Hellas properly so called and Italy and all the Isles and Egypt and Libya and Indaea and Syria and in a manner all the World round about But it was such an unconquerable Evil that neither any Diet or Strength of Body could resist it For it pull'd down all Bodies alike as well the Strong as the Weak and those who were most diligently look'd after perished as well as those who wanted all things That Year was free from all other Distempers but if perhaps any one was sick before all other Distempers terminated in this Here the Knowledge of the Physicians was put to a stand For some enduring a little died the same Day some the same Hour but those that held out to the second or third Day were first taken with an acute Fever and the Distemper getting up into the Head were rendred speechless and insensible to all that was done and so dropt off as it were in a profound Sleep But if any ever came to themselves a little they endeavour'd to speak something but the Tongue was difficultly moved and so uttering many inarticulate things the Nerves being stupified in the hinder Part of the Head they presently died Others were not taken in the Head but in the Lungs these had an Inflamation in their Inwards which created acute Pains about the Stomach So that they sent up Blood and a loathsome and cadaverous Stink from within Their Jaws and Tongues were dried up with Heat and black and tainted with Gore and whether they drank much or little 't was all alike These could take no sleep but were in continual pain and disquiet Some had impostumous Ulcers and black Blisters bigger or lesser on their Arms and under their Armpits and some in the Cheeks and others in other parts of the Body And in others there arose black Nodes Spots or Tokens over all the Body in some more superficial and visible in others deeper and obscure And yet of both sorts all died alike For some had all these Symtoms together others more or less but to most even one of all was enough to do the Business Yet those few who recover'd were no more touched with the same Mischief but remain'd secure now For it never took any twice so as to kill Sundry times there were great Impostumes in the Thighs and in the Arms which being cut sent forth much stinking matter And so the Disease was carried off flinging forth together therewith all the noxious humours And yet some thô they had all these symptoms were beyond all expectation saved But there was no certain Remedy For what was good for one was to another in the same Condition fatal Yet he that cured another got his own death thereby and this made the greatest havock so that houses were emptied of Inhabitants even brute Creatures dying with their Masters Yet nothing herein seem'd more dismal than the Despair to which Men were reduced For when any one perceived himself sick he abandon'd all hopes of Recovery and thus they gave themselves over and died presently adding their defection of Mind as an assistance to the Disease Such a kind of Malady cannot be expressed and it was most manifest that it was not any Plague natural or usual to Mankind but a Scourge from Heaven Wherefore many also were much better'd thereby not only of those who died but as many as survived For then casting aside all their vices they applied themselves wholly to the study of Vertue and several gave all they had to the Poor But when any found themselves affected there was none so stony or so obdurate but that he repented heartily of his sins and thereby gave the Divine Goodness some occasion of being Gracious at his Tribunal Thus far the Greek Emperour V. And in this manner this terrible Slaughter taking its rise whether in India Tartaria Scythia or Arabia but r Giev Villani l. 12 c. 83. p. 892. Fâ—su pâ—re 〈◊〉 e châ—â—ra 〈◊〉 chesi ce 〈◊〉 clo un sacco 〈◊〉 di setterra evero che scondesse da cielâ— c. most certainly in that manner as we have related went sweeping along thrô the Indians Tartarians Saracens Turks Syrians Palestinians Persians Egyptians and Ethiopians Africans and the Parts about Tunts and Tribisond where it rag'd most furiously Then it proceeded over all the Levant thrô Mesopotamia Chaldaea Cyprus Candie Rhodes and every Island in the Archipelago scattering unspeakable Desolation all
hedges and ditches in such Numbers that it was no less loss than wonder to behold For there died in and about one Pasture more than five Thousand Sheep Wherefore it might be supposed that they also died in this manner thrô some kind of Plague that was as strange and unaccountable among them as the former had been to Mankind For it is i Knighton p. ibid. lin 40. said that neither Bird nor Beast of Prey would touch their Carcasses And this is another Instance that the late Pestilence did yet further differ from those of other Times Since usually Beasts by reason of their prone Looks downward on the Earth and their quicker Scent therewithall are first infected but here it happened quite contrary However there shortly ensued hereby such a Scarcity of Cattle that all Provision of Flesh became excessive Dear as well as other Beasts for use and labour Whereas in the plague time partly thrô their great abundance and partly also because thrô the present Apprehensions of Death Men were then less intent upon Gain a good Horse worth 40 s. before might be bought for a Mark a large fat Ox for four shillings a Cow for one shilling an Heifer for six Pence a fat Mutton for four Pence a Sheep for two Pence a Lamb for two Pence and a Pork for five Pence one Stone of Wooll for nine pence and other things went at the same Rate in England But now the state of Affairs was alter'd and besides the prodigious Decay of Cattle aforesaid there succeeded also a great Death of Corn in many Parts of the World not so much thrô any defect or Parsimony of Nature for the Fields were sufficiently cloathed with Grain in many Parts especially here in England as partly thrô an inordinate desire of Gain in some and also partly from the want of Men in most Places to gather it in Particularly this Year about Harvest-time a Reaper was not to be had for Money under eight Pence a Day nor a Mower under twelve Pence besides Victuals which in those Days was excessive Wages Mony bearing then almost a Decuple value to what it doth now So that the King was fain k Knighton p. 2600 l. n. 37. to issue out his Commands thrô all the Counties of England that Reapers and other Labourers should neither demand nor take any more than formerly was used in the 20 Year of his Reign or other five or six Years before on Penalties limited in the said Statute which bare Date l Vid. Statute Beck 23. Ed. 3. p. 90. licet maiè ibi 23. Ed. 3. pro 25. ut videre est M.S. Record Parl. p. 71 Sr. Rob. Cotton's Alridgm p. 3. §. 6. 14 of June Anno Regni Angliae XXIII Franciae verò X c. But this Sort of Men being lightly puffed up with Thoughts far beyond what was agreeable to their Condition when they saw the absolute necessity Men stood in of using their Assistance set at nought the Kings Commands and became peremptory in this either not to work at all or to have what they should demand for their hire But this King who knew as well how to reduce a refractory and disobedient Subject as to conquer a Foreign Enemy undertook to tame their insolence such a way as both wholly cured their madness and prevented that ruine which was like to ensue thereby and also at the same time enriched his own Coffers in order to the carrying on of his great and chargeable Affairs For having understood that many Abbeys and Colleges and such Persons or Societies and Corporations who held great Possessions rather than loose their Corn and other Fruits had contrary to the Statute aforesaid given unto their Labourers larger stipends than were there appointed He first of all levied considerable Amerciaments upon the Abbots Priors Barons Knights and Others of all Degrees of some 5 l. of others 4 l. 3 l. 2 l. 1 l. and of every Carucat Hide or Plough-Land over all England 1 l. and yet in general one Fifteen besides Then he caused many Hundreds of the said Labourers especially the Master-workmen to be apprehended so that many who had offended in that kind having intimation of the matter were fain to retire into Woods and Forests where they skulked about living hardly for a while but those that were taken were severely fined and after the discipline of a temporary Imprisonment being first sworn to take for the future their Day Wages according to the old usage only were dismissed Other m Knighton ib. lin 61. Artificers also in Towns and Burroughs were served in the same manner For by reason of the scarcity of Men these People began to demand most unreasonable Rates for all their Work and Services till now at length this other Plague of their insolence was removed by the healing hand of King Edwards Justice As may be seen at large in the n 25 Ed. 3. v. d. Statute-â—â—ok p. 91. 92. Statute where all the Prizes are appointed for all such Labourers and Artificers according to the Rate of Money in those Days to which I refer the Curious Reader However vast quantities of Corn were already lost for want of Hands to gather it in but a timely Remedy being so seasonably applied a greater Famine was prevented in this Nation Thô in many other Parts it raged most immeasurably For soon after the Pestilence a Famine beginning in Barbary and Morocco the Christians of sundry Nations in hopes of inordinate Gain from these Infidels carried thither such huge Quantities of Corn as thereby they occasion'd a greater Famine in Spain o Giov. Villani ad ann 1346. c. 72. p. 883. Stow p. 247. a. b. vid. Frois c. 153. Lanquet ad ann 1351. de Fame in Gallia Italy France and other Parts of Europe So that at the most there was but three Ounces per diem allowed for every Man. And soon after there happen'd in most Parts of the World great and strange Inundations with Presters and frequent and unusual Storms and Tempests which were succeeded by monstrous and terrible Sights and Flames of Fire in the Air gastly and dismal Spectres and Apparitions and then extream Droughts and want of Waters All which in their several Capacities in divers Places and at several Times did no small harm to all living Creatures in the Air Sea and Land and to all Sorts of Vegetables as also to many goodly Structures and Edifices And p M. S. vet Ang. in Bibl. C.C.C.c. 228. ad finem this was generally observed of all those who were born next and immediately after this wonderfull Plague that when the time came for the growth of their Teeth they had two Cheek-Teeth in their heads less than they had afore XIII And yet q Gesta Clement Vl. apud â— sq Alb. Argent in Chron. vid. Oder Rainald ad ann 1348. n. 33. to all these Evils there was added one more for there arose a certain
Men as the World could afford namely John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster the Lord John Chandos Sr. Gaischard Dangle Sr. Stephen Cossington the Lord John Greilly Captal of Busche the Lord Oliver Clisson the Lord William Beauchamp the Lord of Raix Sr. Hugh Calverley Sr. Matthew Gournay Sr. John Tyrrel Sr. William Clayton also the Lord Lewis of Harcourt the Earl of Armagnac the Lord of Pons the Lord of Partenay the Lord of Albret the Lord of Pamiers and his two Brethren the Lord of Mucidan the Lord of Rozan the Earl of Perigort the Earl of Cominges the Earl of Carmain the Lord of Coudon the Lord de L'Esparre the Lord of Chaumont Sr. Bartholomew du Cande the Lord of Pincornet Sr. Bertram de la Brett the Soldiche de l'Estarrac Sr. Petiton of Coutras and Others aforenamed who all deserve Immortal Memory A little beside the Prince was James the young King of Majorica and his Company nothing inferior to the Rest he fought with as much Animosity here as if the success of the Battle had been to restore his own Kingdom unto him but the Lord Martin Carre who represented the King of Navarre's Person was with the Prince doing Actions nothing unworthy of his Character There was none that time of all the Princes Army that did not his Best as indeed they had all need enough so to do for there were of Spaniards and Castillians and Others more than an 100000 in Harness and yet the Battle was fought in Plain Field without the benefit of any stratagem on either Side So that by reason of the vast Numbers of the Enemy and the Courage of their Captains which often obliged them to renew the Fight it was long before the Victory could be won King Don Pedro especially rag'd about like a wild Boar being much chafed by the stiff Opposition he met withall and extreamly desirous to meet his Brother the Bastard saying Where is this Son of a Whore that calls himself King of Castille Let me see his Face now if he dare And yet at the same time Don Henry fought nothing worse in the parts where he was thô his Lords would not let him cope with Don Pedro and yet besides he had much ado that Day to hold his Men together so long as he did Ah! Ye good People would he often say You have Crowned me your King therefore help me now to keep what your selves have given me and swore to preserve unto me And by these and other such Words as he spake he inspired many with an unusual Courage and made them stay and die in the Field because they could not for shame leave the place in his Sight Sr. Bertram b Frois â— 238. f. 139. b. of Clequins Battail fought the best and held the longest together entire for there were many noble and expert Knights and Gentlemen who behaved themselves with all the Courage imaginable And on the English side especially the Lord John Chandos gave pregnant Instances of his Personal Valour and Conduct for that Day he guided and menag'd the young Duke of Lancaster as he had done the Prince at the Battle of Poictiers and the Duke of Bretagne lately at the Fight before Auray in all which Cases he ought to be highly renowned And all that Day he had no care of taking any Prisoners with his own hands but he still sought and pressed forward toward the main Point And yet by his Men and under his Banner were taken many good Lords Knights and Esquires both of Aragon and France especially Sr. Bertram of Clequin himself with whom fell the Hope of that Battail and the Lord Arnold D'Endreghan Marshal of France the Beague of Villaine and above Threescore more Prisoners of note Among others the Earl of Denia in Valencia c Vid. Walshist in Ricard 2 p. 216. Weevers Fâ—n Mâ—num p. 438. M.S. Rot. Parl. 160. Sr. Rob. Cotton's Abridgm p. 157. was taken by the hands of Robert Hawley and John Shakel two Esquires of the Lord Chandos his Retinue the Story whereof with the ill Consequences ensuing thereupon and the Murther of Esquire Hawley and the Earl of Denia's Son 's wonderfull Fidelity to his Master Esquire Shakel with whom he was then left a Pledge for his Fathers Ransome All this is well worth the Relating but because those Tragical Matters happen'd not till after King Edwards Death and also is something over-long to tell it cannot by the Rules of History be properly inserted in this Place wherefore now We return again to the Matter in hand So then at last this strong Battail of Sr. Bertram of Clequin was by fine Force open'd and discomfited and all that were therein taken and slain as well the Frenchmen as Aragonians and Others There was slain the Beague of Villiers and many Hundreds with him and taken beside those aforemention'd the Lord Dantoign of Hainalt the Lord of Brusnel Sr. Guy Bailleul Sr. John of Bergues Sr. Almain of St. Venant and divers Others of Prime Note And this Battail being thus utterly overthrown the Duke of Lancaster the Lord John Chandos and the two Marshals rally'd their Men together under the Banner of St. George and then went freshly to succour the Prince of Wales and fell in on one side upon the Battail of Henry crying out all together with an High and terrible Voice St. George Guienne Then the Spaniards and their Associates who even before contended but faintly could no longer endure but began to give ground and open apace But We must say something of what was done in this Battail before the coming of the Duke of Lancaster and the Marshals The Captal of Busche and the Lord Clysson fought on their part with excessive Fury the same did the Lord Eustace Dambreticourt Sr. John Devereux the Soldiche of Estarrac and others But the Prince of Wales especially behav'd himself Worthy of his Name and Character encouraging and directing his Men and performing the Office both of a good Souldier and of an Accomplisht Captain He was always in the heat of Action and whereever the greatest stress of the Matter lay thither he constantly moved carrying along with him Assurance to his Friends and Terror to his Enemies King Henry for his part acquitted himself with much Honour and rallied and brought back his Men as we observ'd three times that day For upon the first flight of the Earl of Sancelloni with 3000 Horse who followed him the other Spaniards were so disheartned that it required all the Care in the World to keep them firm together wherefore King Henry was always ready now here and now there saying My Lords what is it You intend to do Why will You thus forsake and betray me whom You have made your King and set the Crown on my Head and put the Inheritance of Castille into the Hands of me and my Heirs Return back with Courage and help vigorously to defend me but a while and do but stand still by me and by
taken therein having a like Fate with St. Augustin whom he had translated for he also died as he had desired before he saw the Ruines of Hippo his dearest City CHAPTER the EIGHTH The CONTENTS I. AN. DOM. 1371. An. Regni Angliae XLV Franciae XXXII The Surprisal Redemption and Death of the Lord Eustace Dambreticourt II. The Danger and Escape of the Lord Raimond of Marvejols III. The Death of Edward Plantagenet Eldest Son to the Black-Prince The said Prince◠having appointed his Brother of Lancaster his Lieutenant in Aquitain returns with his Family for England IV. The Castle of Monpaon being betrayed to the French is recover'd by the Duke of Lancaster V. The Lord of Pons revolts from England and Poictou divided VI. The Castle of Moncoutour won by the English VII Sr. Bertram of Clequin prevails in other Parts VIII A Parliament at Westminster IX Pope Gregory endeavours a Peace between the Two Crowns X. The English obtain a Naval Victory over the Flemings XI The Flemings submit to a Peace XII James King of Majorica dies XIII The Duke of Lancaster and the Earl of Cambridge marry the two Daughters of Don Pedro King of Spain whereby Don Henry being alarum'd enters a Confederation with the French King. XIV The Pope endeavours to make Peace between England and France the Copy of his Letters to the Captal of Busche XV. The Duke of Lancaster and the Earl of Cambridge return with their Ladies into England I. THIS Winter the Valiant and Generous Captain a Frois c. 286. Sr. Eustace Dambreticourt was in great danger of being utterly lost thrô his own too free Confidence in an old Acquaintance For he rode one Evening to pay a Visit to the Lord of Pierre Buffierre whom he look'd upon as his special Friend and Lover and also of the English Interest For as we b Vid l. 4. c. 7. § 2 p. 789. shew'd before the French King himself could not persuade him to renounce the Homage which he had made to the Prince of Wales In the Christmas Holydays Sr. Eustace rode to his Castle designing to make merry with him but his Entertainment was much otherwise than he expected For his unkind Host admitted Sr. Tibauld du Pont a Knight of Breton and an Enemy to England into his Castle whom he suffer'd to seize upon Sr. Eustace while he suspected no harm and to lead him away Prisoner And now he had certainly been put to a shamefull Death because he had been a Captain of the Companions and so great an Enemy to the Realm of France But then the Duke of Bourbon was pleas'd to remember the good Turns he had done him in releasing his Mother who was taken at Bellepeche and so to requite him interceeded effectually for his Life at this time and compounded for a Ransom of 12000 Franks 4000 whereof Sr. Eustace paid down leaving his Son Francis Dambreticourt in Hostage for the Remainder with the Duke of Bourbon who thereupon repledged him engaging his own Word for the Residue to Sr. Tibauld Sr. Eustace being thus acquitted went and lay at Carentan beyond the Marches of St. Clement in Base Normandy a Town which the King of Navarre had given him And there he shortly after died having been in his Days a most Valiant Knight and a sworn Servant to the Ladies II. About the same time there fell another Adventure which I presume worth the Relating because therein will appear the ill Consequences that attend Treason with the great Power of natural Sympathy and Commiseration and the agreeable Prospect of an unexpected Turn of Fortune We shew'd before how the Lord Lewis of Maleval and his Nephew the young Lord Raimund of Marvejols had without any Constraint or Provocation revolted from the Service of the King of England and began to make War against the Prince of Wales Now the Lord Raimund of Marvejols hearing at this time that all his own Country had followed his Example and were turned French took his leave of the Court at Paris intending to go home But by the way he was suddenly met by two or three Troops of Sr. Hugh Calverley's Men who were led by Sr. Geoffry Argentine Captain of a Castle in Poictou He fell so unluckily within their Power that he could not possibly avoid them so he was forthwith taken Prisoner and carried into Poictou unto the said English Knights Castle When it was known in England that the Lord Raimund of Marvejols was taken and in sure Custody King Edward wrote his Letters to Sr. Geoffry Argentine who had him in his Keeping commanding him with all speed to send over unto him his Enemy that false Traytor Sr. Raimund of Marvejols saying how he would take such Vengeance on him that all others should take Example by him and further he promised the Knight for his acceptable Service in taking him 6000 Franks Sr. Geoffry Argentine resolv'd by all means to obey the King his Masters Commands and said he would surely fulfill his Pleasure as soon as he could meet with an opportunity of Transporting him with Security and began presently to seek out for a Vessel and Company to have him convey'd into England Of all this Sr. Raimund had knowledge wherefore he was much more nearly concern'd than ever For before he hoped to get off by Ransom but now he saw there was no other Remedy but inevitable Death and that in all likelihood to be as full of Torment as Ignomy for he knew how Traytors were usually punish'd as well in England as elsewhere He was then in the Flower of his Age a Proper Young Handsom Valiant Gentleman of a fair Estate and Fortune in the World and perhaps not so fit to die as those who have not met with the Temptations which attend so high a Condition No wonder then if he was very much affected with these Apprehensions of Death He began to make the most dolefull Lamentations imaginable and always when his Keeper came near he heard him bewail his untimely End and complain of his Misfortunes so pathetically that it was impossible for Flesh and Blood not to sympathise therewith The Keeper who was an Englishman had the Curiosity to ask him the occasion of so great Sorrow and while he declared it in the softest Terms that could be devised wept along with him for pitty and afterwards gave him all the Consolation that might be telling him how King Edward was a very Mercifull Prince and thô terrible to those that resisted him yet always Gratious to those whom he had in his Power and much more he said with great Tenderness out of a Pious Consideration of his Prisoners dejected and forlorn Condition Sr. Raimund who knew his Life lay at stake saw little or no Comfort in all these Words but only observing how wonderfully concerned his Keeper was for him he began to repeat his Moans thereby to raise his Compassion and at last said unto him Ah! my dearest Friend Next unto God it is in
moi na si Veritie non Et st ore me veissez Ie me quide pas qe vous deissez Ne je eusse onques home este Si su je ore de tant changee Pour Dieu priez au Celestien Roy Ne Mercie ait de l'alme de Moy Touz ceulx qe pur Moy prietont Du a Ditu m' accorderont Dieu les mette en son Paradis Du nul ne poet estre chetiss Thou who silent passest by Where this Corse interr'd doth lie Hear what to thee I now shall show Words that from Experience flow As thou art once the World saw Me As I am so thou once shalt be I little could my Death divine When Life's bright Lamp did sweetly shine Vast Wealth did o'r my Coffers flow Which I as freely did bestow Great store of Mansions I did hold Land Wardrobes Horses Silver Gold. But now I am of all bereft And deep in Ground alone am left My once admired Beauty 's gone My Flesh is wasted to the Bone. A Narrow House doth me contain All that I speak is True and Plain And if you should behold Me here You ' ld hardly think I justly fear That e'r the World to me did bow I am so chang'd and alter'd now For God's sake pray to Heaven's High King To shade my Soul with Mercy 's Wing All those that try on bended Knee To reconcile my God and Me God place them in his Paradise Where neither Death can be nor Vice. The Judicious Reader will attribute the Weakness of these Lines to the Age wherein they were made but surely this Hero's Victories at CRESSEY POICTIERS and NAJARA in Spain shall prove both a more Elegant Epitaph and a more Durable Monument to his Name V. When his Dear Friend the Lord John Greilly Captal of Busche who was still a Prisoner at Paris heard of his Death he began to neglect himself and at last abandon'd all Care of the World or hopes of Life or Liberty insomuch that it is said he abstain'd from Sustenance and gradually pin'd away thrô Excess of Grief for the loss of so Brave a Commander VI. Thus his Friends both at home and abroad took the Death of this Gallant Worthy for indeed he was of so Obliging a Character that he won the Hearts of all Mankind especially of those who delighted in Martial Performances and in General He was a Prince of such Excellent Demeanour r Mill's Catal. Honor. p. 315. so Valiant Wise and Politick in his Doings that the very perfect Image of Knighthood appear'd most lively in his Person And such was his Towardliness or rather Perfection in Princely Government that every Man judg'd if he had lived to attain the Crown he would surely have exceeded the Glorious Renown of all his Ancestors He left behind him one onely Son Richard sirnamed of Bourdeaux then in the Tenth Year of his Age and after the Death of his Grandfather King of England by the Name of Richard the Second But in all Probability he had left a more Numerous Issue but for the Spanish Expedition for from that time that he left Spain where first he was infected with that fatal Malady he never had any more Children thô before that he had two Sons within the Compass of two Years But it is reported that he had also Å¿ Sr. Rich. Baker's Chron. p. 143. Mr. Ashmole p. 676. Sandford's Gen. Hist p. 189. ex l. 10. s 39. lib. in Collegio Armâ—rum two Natural Sons Sr. John Sounder of whom we read nothing and Sr. Roger Clarendon to the latter whereof he gave by his Will a Silk Bed with all the Furniture thereunto belonging He became afterwards one of the Knights of the Chamber to his Half-Brother King Richard the Second and bare for his Arms Or on a Bend Sable Three Ostrich Feathers Argent the Quills transfixed thrô as many Scroles of the first being as is thought Ancestor to the Family of the Smiths in Essex VII On Wednesday t M.S. Râ—t Par. p. 120. § 40. St. Rob. Cotton's Abridgment p. 123. n. 41. §. 42. which was the Day after St. John Baptist or the 25 of June at the earnest request of the Commons there came into open Parliament before the Lords the Young Lord Richard of Bourdeaux Son and Heir of Edward late Prince of Wales and so consequently Heir Apparent of the Realm of whom after the Archbishop of Canterbury had spoken Words of Commendation the Commons with one Voice prayed that the Lords would make him Prince of Wales as his Father was But the Lords with more Discretion answer'd that it lay not in them but in the King only so to do to whom however they promised to be Mediators for that purpose But because the King was sick at Eltham the Lords and Commons went thither about the Premises and to have a Confirmation and Answer to these Petitions which follow Petitions of the Commons with the King's Answer That the Great Charter and the Charter of the Forest may be kept in all points The King granteth thereto That the Sheriffs in all their Returns of any Inquest do return the most Honest and Nighest Neighbours and that in every weighty Cause the Sheriff be sworn to view the Panel before he return the same The Statute therefore made shall be executed and withall adjoyned to the Oath of every Vnder-Sheriff that He in his own Person shall survey the Panel before he return the same A Motion was made that all Liberties granted to any Mystery or Occupation in any City or Town be revoked and no more granted so as the Mayor and Bayliffs of every City and Town may see things amended But this was quash'd before it came to the King. That divers Commissions for Extortions or such like granted heretofore to sundry Persons of Evil Name may be Repealed and no such granted hereafter but to Lords and others of best Reputation in their Countries The King granteth thereunto and that no such Commissions be hereafter made but to the Justices Serjeants and others Learned in the Law. For the saving of Salmons and other Fry of Fish in the Thames almost destroy'd by certain Engines as the King himself hath often found that therefore all Trunks between London and the Sea may be overthrown and that no Salmon be taken between Gravesend and Henley upon Thames in the u i.e. Spawning time à Belgico Kippen pullos edere ova ezcladere Kipper-time viz. between the x Inventio Crucis 3 Maii Epiphania 6 Januarii Invention of the Cross and the Epiphany and that no Nets be laid in the Thames unless the same be of large Mash of Assize The Statutes therefore made shall be kept and Commission given out for enquiring after the same That the Wears upon the River Brent in the County of Middlesex a parcel of the Thames be taken away The Statutes therefore made shall be executed That all those Lombards called Broakers who only maintain Usury
departed with all his Men to Calais where Sr. Hugh Calverly seized upon him and sent him into England to answer for the Fact. He was for the present committed to the Tower but during King Edward's Reign was proceeded against no further The Duke of Bretagne q Frois c. 314. s 196. id Gallicè fol. 267. b. who had been more than a Year with his Cousin the Earl of Flanders seeing now the War open again took leave of the Earl and went to Graveling whither there went to meet him the Earl of Salisbury and Sr. Guischard Dangle with a Select Body of Men of Arms and Archers and so conducted him safely to Calais The next Day some of their Retinue r Stow p. 276. to the number of about Fifty suddenly of their own Heads took Ship thinking so to pass securely to Dover But they were presently snapt by some French Gallies and every one of them except two Men and two Women slain in the sight of the Calisians who were not able to give them any help at that time Sr. Hugh Calverley who was then Captain of Calais took this in very ill part especially because the Injury was done to such as being concerned in the Treaty had the French King's Security to come and go without Danger but since it was impossible to remedy the Matter he resolved to revenge it and presently taking with him some Choice Troops he made an Inroad into the French Pale where he slew many Men retook the Castle of Outwick and returned safe with a great Booty of Artillery and Cattle And indeed many Å¿ Vid. Walsing hist p. 199. c. notable Actions were afterwards done by this Valiant English Knight of which notwithstanding We are forbid to speak because they will not fall within the Compass of our History XV. When t Frâ—is ibid. the Duke of Bretagne the Earl of Salisbury and Sr. Guischard Dangle with their Company had tarried now about a Month at Calais having at last got a sufficient Convoy they set Sail for England about the Middle of June and arrived safe at London And from thence the Lords and Knights took Boat and went to Sheen in Surry by the Thame's side where at that time King Edward lay very sick and soon after departed this Life on the XI of the Calends of July that is on the 21 of June being the Day of St. Alban the Protomartyr of England and a Sunday in the Year of our Lord MCCCLXXVII which was the One and Fiftieth of his Reign of England but of France the Thirty Eighth and of his Age the Sixty Fifth In Memory whereof his Anniversary Obit was ordain'd to be held for ever on the u Ashmole's Gâ—rter p. 151. 21 of June in the Famous Chappel of St. George at Windsor And thus by the Death of this Great Conqueror and his Son the Black-Prince we may see that no Worldly Grandeur can secure us from the Reach of Fate But Monarchs althô they bear the Stamp Divine And o'r the World their Awfull Scepters sway Thô Subjects their Commands obey To Death's High Hand must all their Crowns resign The Godlike Heroe that from every Field Reaps a Full Harvest of Immortal Fame To Conquering Fate his sinewy Arms must yield At whose First Frown the Fiercest Warrier's tame Beauty it self her Heavenly Lustre vails And all her dazling Glories die Those Swelling Charms puff'd up with Flattery 's Gales Shrink into Dirt and wound th' offended Eye When Death attacks the once-relentless Fair Cruel to her as she to them whom once she bad Despair But Vertue Heavenly Vertue that can save Th' Owner from wholly passing Lethe's Lake Vertue can even the Dead Immortal make And like some Heaven-born Plant sprouts fresher from the Grave Wherefore now it will become us to clear the Reputation of this Mighty Prince from those foul Reflections which Malice or Ignorance may have cast upon his Declining Age for till then the Fiercest Envy durst not attack him and lastly to sum up his Character and as in a Looking-Glass exhibit Him fully and faithfully to the World. XVI Most of our Historians taking it from one another x Walsing hist p. 189. Stow p. 276. Sr. Rich. Baker p. 145. Daniel p. 260. c. talk very dolefully of his forlorn Condition at the point of his Death and tell us that first his Concubine as they call her Alice Perrers took the very Rings off his Fingers and so left him after whom other Servants went away in like manner with what they could carry That at last only a poor Priest remaining in the Room out of Christian Piety and Loyal Respect to his dying Master went boldly up to him and admonished him to lift up his Heart to God in the Heavens and humbly with contrition to ask Mercy of Him whose Divine Majesty he must needs have grievously offended whereupon the King say they being awaken'd somewhat from his former Lethargy began by Signs for his Voice had by this time almost wholly fail'd him as by taking a Crucifix in his hands and kissing it with many Tears flowing from his Eyes to signifie a Declaration of his Faith and Repentance and so with much adoe making shift to pronounce the Adorable Name JESVS with that Sweet and Salutiferous Word He finished his Speech and Life together Well might the Death of this Monarch be in such a Penitent Manner whose Life had afforded so many Instances of Piety and Devotion But as for Dame Alice Perrers her Rifling him of his Rings from his Fingers it is no way credible not only from what We y I l. 1. c. 11. §. 1â— p. 872. said of her before and that upon her Convention in Parliament in the Year following there was no such thing laid to her Charge by her most inveterate Enemies but also because if she did it before Witnesses it must have come out and then could not but have been faral to her and if not it could not have been known And whereas it is said that this Woman flatter'd the King that He should still live untill his Speech fail'd him whereby he neglected to prepare for his Soul as he ought to have done this savours of a Monkish Lie too grosly and of that Spirit so visible in many of their Writings which either from any Judgment falling upon a Man presently attributes unto him some Failure against the Liberties of the Church or some Saint or else when they find the Person to have in any thing thwarted their Interest is apt to invent some Tale or other which may insinuate his Dereliction of God. And this use only doth z Vid. hujus Hist l. 2. c. 6. §. 3. p. 392. Odoricus Rainaldus make of this Story which none ever had before Walsingham and none since but from his single Authority Whereas not only the Silence of all other Authors before his time as to any such thing may evince the Falshood of this matter