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
The Fourth day after the Siege began Don Lewis of Spain came again unto him after he had been detain'd in the City of Rennes six Weeks together by the Wounds he received in the Fields of Quimperlay which not till now were perfectly healed He was extreamly welcome to Sr. Charles of Blois for he was a Prince of great Courage and Conduct and very considerable among the Men of War. Besides the Accession of so notable a Person the French Army that lay before the Town encreased daily at a wonderfull rate For many Lords and Knights of France who had designed to go into Spain to assist King Alphonso and the Christians against the King of Granada as in their Passage thrô Poictou they heard of these Wars in Bretagne stop'd in their intended Journey and drew thither to the Part of the Lord Charles of Blois And now had the French reared against the Town fifteen or sixteen vast Engines of Battery But the Besieged valued them not for they had before by means of soft Woolpacks and the like Inventions provided against them sometimes the Townsmen would in contempt mock the Frenchmen from the Walls crying out in Derision Go go Messieurs and gather together your valiant Troops that lie idle in the fields of Quimperlay This Sarcasme was a Corrosive and a Stab to the Soul of Don Lewis of Spain who lost that Battle and his Nephew Alphonso therein and hardly escap'd away wounded himself Wherefore one day r Frois c. 87. he came to the Tent of the Lord Charles of Blois and by way of Friendship and in lieu of all the Service he ever had or should do for him desired only one Boon in the presence of several great Lords of France Sr. Charles besides the Respect he bore to his Quality had ever found him a constant and usefull Friend and so frankly promised to grant him whatever he should demand Sir said Don Lewis then I require that you would instantly send Order for the two English Knights who are Prisoners in Favoet that is to say Sr. John Butler and Sr. Matthew Trelauny to be brought hither and to be given to me to do with them as I shall think good This Sir is the only Boon that I desire of You They have chaced discomfited and hurt me and slain my Nephew Alphonso with many Hundreds of my Men. I know no better way to be revenged of these Englishmen who have done me all this Mischief than if I strike off the Heads of these two Knights before the Town in the sight of their Company The Lord Charles who was a most accomplish'd Gentleman was amaz'd at this ungenerous Procedure and made this Answer Certainly ſ Frois c. 87. fol. 46. 47. my Lord Lewis the Prisoners I yield unto you with a very good will since you have desired them of me But doubtless it would be a dishonourable Action to put to Death two such valiant Knights as these in cold Blood and it will give Occasion to our Enemies to deal in the same manner with us if we shall fall into their Hands Which since War is so uncertain we know not when we may If they have affronted you provoked you wounded you slain your Nephew they were your Enemies they did it in open Field you could expect no otherwise nay youl 'd have done the same to them Now revenge all this in Gods Name I allow it but do it in an honourable way let not two Innocent Men whose hands are ti'd be a Sacrifice to the Anger of the Noble Don Lewis Dear Cosin I desire you of all love to be better advis'd and ask of me any other thing that I may not be asham'd to grant you Don Lewis who was nothing at all mov'd with these Words repli'd sullenly Sir if you will not keep your Word with me be assured that I shall forsake both your Company and Cause and never after either serve or love You again while I live When Sr. Charles saw him so peremptory and that nothing could perswade him to alter his Mind he sent to Favoet for the two English Knights who were brought the next Morning early to his Tent. Then the Lord Charles renew'd his Requests in their behalf to the angry Don Lewis but for all that could be said he was inexorable and sware by God and St. Jago they should both loose their Heads after dinner in sight of the Town XVI But it pleased God that all this Discourse and the Resolution taken about these poor Gentlemen was presently brought to the Lord Walter Manny with the exact time when they were to suffer Sr. Walter being mightily concern'd calls a Council of War to consider of the matter Some said one thing and some another but none could see any Remedy in the case For the Lord Charles his Forces were not to be fought with in plain Field by those of the Town At last the Gallant Lord Manny stood up and said Gentlemen it would certainly redound much to our Honour if we could deliver yonder two Knights from Destruction And if we should but endeavour to save them thô we fell short of our Purpose yet King Edward our Master would give us many Thanks and so would all Persons of Honour that should afterwards hear of the Case For they will say that however we did our Devoir to save the Lives of our Companions in Arms. Methinks therefore a Man that dare look Death in the face should not scruple to venture his life for the Safety of two such valiant Captains his Friends and Countrymen Now this is my Advice that we divide our whole Power into two Parts the one to pass out at the Great Gate immediately and to range themselves along on the Dike thereby to provoke the Army as I believe every Man of them will to draw that way The other Party in the mean time to try another Experiment You my Lord Emery Clisson shall be Captain of the First Company and shall take with you Six thousand good tall Archers and Three hundred Men of Arms and I the mean while with an hundred Men of Arms and 500 Archers on Horseback will sally privily out at the Postern and taking a Course will dash into their Camp among the Lodgings behind which I verily think to find as good as unguarded Here I have such Men with me as will shew me the Tent of Charles of Blois where I am sure to find the two Knights Prisoners and then let me alone to bring them off This Project took immediately and so they prepared to put it in Execution About Dinner-time the Lord Emery Clysson set open the chief Gate which look'd toward the Enemy and marched out with all his Company some whereof struck suddenly in upon the Skirts of the Host and slew and hurt divers The whole Army was alarm'd at this unexpected boldness of the Besieged and made all the haste possible to chace them back again into the Town They for their
Christendom he sent r Odor c. Rainald ad 〈◊〉 annu◠§. 61. 62. his Letters to the Pope shewing how King Philip had despightfully slain and put to Death Good and Loyal Knights and Gentlemen upon his Account and for hate of his Person whereby he had notoriously violated the Truce lately taken between them which as he could not but highly resent so he was preparing to revenge it But yet if King Philip would according as Reason requireth retract for what he had done amiss and offer Satisfaction for these injuries he would at the time appointed send other Ambassadors to the Apostolick See and give them Instructions for making Peace The Pope having heard thus much return'd an Answer to this Purpose After having manifested to King Edward in how great Dangers the whole Christian World was tossed and that this Mortal War thus kindled between France and England did grievously afflict the Church he then told him that King Philip had granted Letters of safe Conduct as the English Ambassadors had required and as to the Death of the Lords Esquires and Others King Philip had wrote unto him that they for their enormous Crimes Murders and Rapines had been justly put to Death by him not thereby to break the Truce but by the fear of their Punishment to terrifie others from the Breach thereof and that he had added how the King of England's Garrisons had attempted many things against the Truce Then he begg'd the King to let him know his Secret Resolutions for that he would never divulge them but use his utmost to make a final Peace which was so profitable and advantagious to the Expedition against the Turks And he assured him that hitherto he had defer'd to dispence with the Canon-Law for the Marriage between his Eldest Son and the Duke of Brabant's Daughter in hopes that by that Bond of Affinity tied in France a sure Peace would ensue c. Thus the Pope neglected not to heal these Wounds of Bleeding Christendom but King Edward was too much exasperated by his Adversary to stop now since nothing of Satisfaction was offer'd but only frivolous and false Excuses Wherefore in order to enable himself the better to carry on this War he now held his High Court of Parliament at Westminster on the 7 Day of June being the Å¿ M.S. Pâ—t Pâ—â— p. 56 18 Ed. ◠§. 1. Sr. Râ—b Cottens Abridgment p. 44 c. v. Statute Bâ—cks Monday next after the Octaves of Holy Trinity On which day in presence of the King certain of the Lords and Commons being then assembled in St. Edwards Chamber otherwise called the Painted Chamber and the Lord Chancellor at the Kings Command declared how sundry things of the last Parliament were left to be done at this And that the Archbishop of Canterbury had against the time of the said Parliament called a Convocation of his Clergy At which Parliament and Convocation sundry of all Estates were absent c. Whereat the King did no less muse than he was thereat offended Wherefore he charged the Archbishop for his part to punish the Defaults of the Clergy and he would do the like touching the Parliament Hereupon Proclamation was made that none should wear Armour or Weapons in or about London and Westminster during the Session of the Parliament Receivours of Petitions for England Gascogne Wales Ireland Bretagne Scotland and the Foreign Isles and other Places beyond the Seas Sr. Thomas Drayton appointed Clark of the Parliament and this is all was done that Day being Monday On the Tuesday the Names of the Lords of the Parliament were examined before the King that such as made default in being absent might abide the Kings Order On Tursday after the Chancellour in full Parliament in Presence of the King and of his Son the Prince of Wales declared the Cause of the same Parliament viz. The Articles of the Truce and the Breaches of the same by the French King which were there particularly instanced Whereupon the Three Estates were willed to advise upon the Premises and to shew their Opinion of them by Monday next ensuing The same Monday they had their time enlarged untill Wednesday in the Week of St. John being the 23 of June on which day every of the Lords and Commons by themselves with one Assent required the King to end the same War either by Battle or Honourable Peace And if the King shall attempt War eftsoons that he do not stay the same at the Letters or Requests of the Pope or of any whomsoever but to end the same by Dint of Sword. Whereunto the King agreed but forasmuch as the same could not be atchieved without Aid the Clergy of Canterbury granted unto the King a Desme Triennial And the Commons granted unto him Two Fifteenths of Counties and Two Desmes of Cities and of Towns on Condition that the same be leavied in such manner as the last was that the Commons Petitions be Granted and that the same may be imployed upon the Wars with the Assent of the Lords That the Prince and Sr. Edward Bailiol may lie on the North-Marches And because the King should pass over the Seas in Person to end this Quarrel they further grant unto the King a Third Fifteenth Then after the Petitions of the Commons and Clergy with their Answers the Commons by their Petition recite the Act of Provision made in the last Parliament and because no Penalty was provided therefore request that such as incurr the breach of the same by receipt procuring or Counsel in stay of any temporal judgement shall lie in perpetual Prison or be forejudged the Land And that all Justices of Assises Goal-Delivery and Oyer and Terminer may determine the same And that the Act of Provision may continue for ever That if any Archbishop or other Person Religieux or other do not present within four Moneths some able Clerk to any Dignity whereof any Person hath obtained from the Court of Rome any Provision but surcease the same that then the King may present some able Clerk himself That 〈◊〉 any Bishop Elect shall refuse to take such t Ità M.S. sed Brother in Sr. Rob. Cotten Bishop other than by such then such Clerk shall not enter nor enjoy his Temporalities without the Kings special Licence That the King shall dispose of all such Benefices and Dignities of such Aliens his Enemies as remain in such Countries of his Enemies and employ the Profits thereof to the Defence of the Realm That Commissions be sent into all the Kings Ports to apprehend all such Persons as shall bring in any such Instrument from the Court of Rome and to bring them forthwith before the Council to answer thereto That the Deanery of York which is recoverable by Judgement in the Kings Court may be bestowed upon some Able Man within the Realm who will maintain the same against him who holdeth the same by Provision from the Court of Rome being the Common Enemy to the King
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
Army with Provision By Chance he was met by the Lord Manny who neither well could nor much car'd to avoid him There happen'd between these two Lords a most fierce Rencounter and many were unhorsed hurt slain and taken on both sides For the p Frois c. 120. French were Five to One. While this Medley lasted News thereof was carried to Aiguillon Whereupon the English Lords prepared hastily to relieve their Fellows and first the Earl of Pembroke with his Men rode forth and being come to the Skirmish he there found his Noble Friend Sr. Walter Manny q Frois ibid. on Foot surrounded by his Enemies but doing wonderfull Deeds of Arms. To him the Earl presented a lusty fresh Horse and it was well in the mean time some Frenchmen drove the Cattle away toward their Camp For else they had lost both them and themselves too For the English that made this Sally set upon the French with so much Fury that they presently put them to the Rout and deliver'd all their Friends and took many of their Enemies Prisoners So that the Lord Charles of Monmorency himself had much ado to make an Escape And such Rencounters happen'd frequently almost r Frois ibid. every Day beside the Assaults made upon the Castle One day above the rest the whole Host was armed and the Duke of Normandy gave Order that the Men of Tholouse Carcassone and Beaucaire should make an Assault from Morning till Noon and those of Rodes Cahors and Agen from Noon till Night and he himself promised that whoever could win the Bridge of the Gate should have for his Reward an hundred French Å¿ Fr. Crown 6 s. 8 d. Crowns of Gold. And the better to render this Days work effectual he mann'd several Ships and Barges on the River some whereof ply'd by the Bridge and others passed the River to divert the Defendants At last certain of the Frenchmen came in a Boat under the Bridge where they cast up great Hooks of Iron to catch hold on the Draw-Bridge and having so done never left pulling till they had broke in sunder the Chains that held it and so laid down the Bridge by Force Then Others that were ready for that purpose leap'd thereon so hastily that one overthrew another they were all so greedy of the 100 Crowns The mean while the Defendants when they saw the Bridge as throng'd as ever it could be threw down plentifully among them vast Bars of iron massy pieces of Timber Pots of quick Lime with burning Pitch Tarr and scalding Oyl so that many were brained and scalded to Death grievously wounded and overthrown Dead and half-dead into the River and into the Ditch However the Bridge remained for that time in the Possession of the French but it signified little for they could not win the Gate for all that So at last when it was late the Retreat was sounded to the French and they being retired to the Camp the Defendants open'd their Gates and raised up the Bridge again and made it stronger than ever it was and bound it fast to great Rings in the Wall with thicker Chains of Iron The next Day there came to the Duke two Cunning Carpenters well skill'd in Mathematicks who said Sir if your Highness will allow us Timber and Workmen to follow our Directions we will make you Four strong Scaffolds as high or higher than the Walls of this Castle whereby your Men may come hand to hand with the Defendants The Duke commanded they should do so and empower'd them to press Carpenters about in the Country at his Pay and promised them liberal Rewards So at last after a long Time excessive Labour and vast Expence these four Scaffolds were ready being built on the Decks of four Great Ships and such as were appointed for that Work were disposed in them But having passed scarce half way in the River to give the Assault the Defendants who having observed all these Preparations had by this time provided a Remedy set up against them four tight Engines which they had newly made to resist the Scaffolds These four Engines cast such huge Flints and Stones with such a force and hit the Scaffolds so luckily that presently they were all so uncover'd and broken that they could yield no Defence to those that were within Wherefore they were all commanded back again but before they reach'd the Land one of the Scaffolds Ship and all sunk in the River and the greater Part of those within it were drown'd Which was a great Loss for none were there but good and valiant Knights and Gentlemen who only courted Honour by this Hazardous Enterprise When the Duke saw that whatever way he went was thus rendred unsuccessfull he let the other three Scaffolds lie still and repented much that ever he came thither For now he saw no likelihood of Winning the Castle and yet at his first coming thither he had t Giov. Villani l. 12. c. 46. p. 856. swore a solemn Oath that he would never rise thence till he had the Place at his Devotion Then he sent the Constable of France and the Earl of Tancarville to Paris to the King his Father to let him know the State of the Siege before Aiguillon and it was the Kings Pleasure that the Duke should lie there still till he had won them by Famine since he could not by Assault But this latter Device signified as little as any of the former for this Garrison was so far from allowing themselves to be pent up within Walls that having heard of two u Giov. Villani l. 12. c. 46. p. 856. Great Ships which were coming from Tholouse to the Army laden with Provision of Victuals and Armour they adventur'd forth both by Land and by Water those beating up the Enemies Quarters in their Camp and these fetching away the Ships which they brought into the Castle to their great Comfort and the infinite Loss and Vexation of the Duke of Normandy This Action happen'd on the 16 of June VIII During this famous Siege before Aiguillon x Giov. Villani l 12. c. 60. p. 870. Holinshead Engl. Chr. p. 928. the Seneschal of Guienne under the French King departed from the Duke of Normandy with a Detachment of 800 Horse and 4000 Foot designing to take in a Castle belonging to a Nephew of the Cardinal de la Motte which was about 12 Leagues distant from Aiguillon The Archdeacon of Vnfort who was Lord of the Castle and held for England understanding of the Frenchmens Approach to his Fortress went out privily and rode Post to la Reole where the Earl of Lancaster and Darby lay at that time with his little Army waiting for some Advantage against the Duke of Normandy Upon the Information and Request of this Man the Earl appointed a certain Number of Horsemen and Archers to ride along with him With whom the Archdeacon going back came on the 31 of July early in the Morning before his
and came though not without much Loss on the Right Side of the English Archers where they fell to Handy-strokes with the Prince's Battail right fiercely VII King Philip saw their Banners and would willingly have come on to their Assistance but if he had coasted after their manner all his Battails had been disorder'd and he thought it impossible yet to force a way thrô that great Hedge of Archers So that after much Valour shew'd in vain the Prince of Wales prevailed against this Battail of the French and there all their Men of Arms were beaten down to the Ground and cut in pieces by the obstinate Prowess of the English and Welchmen with the Prince Scarce was this done when three Fresh Squadrons of French and Germane Gentlemen rushing forward with great fury forced the Archers Battail to open and so came full upon the Prince with such Violence and such a Number of Men of Arms that the Young Prince was very hard put to it But then the Archers joyning their Ranks again and stepping several Paces forward the Earls of Arundel and Northampton sent out a strong Brigade of Men of Arms to help the Prince who falling in at their Reer and on their Flank the Enemy was almost enclosed while in the Front the Couragious Prince and his Men laid about them most furiously with Spear and Shield When first these Men broke thrô the Archers the Earl of Warwick doubting the worst and that the whole French Army follow'd them at the Heels dispatched a Knight away to King Edward who saw all the manner of the Fight from the Windmill desiring him to move forward and succour his Son. Sir said the Knight the Earl of Warwick the Earl of Oxford Sr. John Chandos and Sr. Reginald Cobham are so fiercely fought withall and so hard put to it by the French that they are in much danger wherefore they desire that You would please to set forward to their Aid For they are now disputing with the main Strength of the Enemy so that if any more Troops should break through upon them both They and the Prince your Son would go nigh to miscarry Well said the King is my Son Dead or Wounded or Fell'd to the Ground For I see the French Standards drop and conclude no otherwise but that things are yet in good Case No Sir replied the Knight Thanks be to God our Prince is yet well but he begins to want your Assistance Go you back said the King and bid them that sent you take care to trouble me no further while my Son is alive But let him take pains to win his own Spurs and to deserve the Honour of Knighthood which I so lately confer'd upon Him. For I am resolved by the Grace of God that the Reputation of this Glorious Day shall fall to his Portion and to those that are with Him. This Answer being brought back to the Prince's Captains they were wonderfully encouraged thereby being displeased with themselves that ever they should send so mean a Message to the King. But by this time the three Squadrons were utterly broken beaten down and slain by the Prince and his brave Companions That Morning King Philip had given a lusty black Courser to the Lord John of Hainalt who appointed his Standard-Bearer Sr. John Fussels to ride thereon This mettlesome Horse in the Heat of the Battle at the same time that the Archers were broken taking the Bridle in his Teeth carried his Master by force thrô the English Van between the Prince's Battail and the Earl of Arundels on the left Hand and as Sr. John thought to return he fell Horse and Man into the great Ditch which the English had made and there had perished had it not been for his faithfull Esquire who having followed him thrô the Archers saw now this Mischance of his Masters thô he was in no other Danger but what he might receive from his Horse For the Englishmen would never stirr that day out of their Ranks to take any Prisoner whatsoever Wherefore the Esquire securely alighted and relieved his Master from under the Horse but they went not back the same way they came but coasted far about and so at last came again in safety to the Lord John of Hainalt VIII And now the Prince and his Men being throughly chafed and enflamed with Courage began to March sorward the Archers being order'd to fall into a Wing on each Side and the Earls of Arundel and Northampton joyning the Prince The Frenchmen met them with equal Courage being refreshed with the Thoughts that now their Deaths should not be sent them at a Distance but that they might contend hand to hand for the Mastery And first the Marquess Charles Elect Emperour resisted the Prince with great Courage but his Banner was beaten to the ground his Men slain miserably about him and himself wounded in k Villani p. 878 Mezerâ—y p. 27. Three places of his Body wherefore thô not without much Difficulty he turned his Horse and rode out of the Field having cast away his Coat-Armour that he might not be known The mean while his Father John King of Bohemia who was Son to the Noble Emperour Henry of Luxemburgh althô he was near blind with Age when he understood how the Day was like to go asked of his Captains what was become of the Lord Charles his Son They told him they knew not but that they supposed him somewhere in the Heat of Action Then the good Old King resolving by no means to Disgrace his former Victories and Cancell the Glory of his Youth by a degenerous Old Age said unto them Gentlemen you are my Men my Companions and Friends in this Expedition I only now desire this last piece of Service from You that You would bring me forward so near to these Englishmen that I may deal among them One good Stroak with my Sword. They all said they would obey him to the Death and lest by any Extremity they should be separated from him they all with one Consent tied the Reins of their Horses one to another and so attended their Royal Master into Battle There this Valiant Old Heroe had his Desire and came boldly up to the Prince of Wales and gave more than one or four or five good Stroaks and fought couragiously as also did all his Lords and Others about him but they engaged themselves so far that there they were all slain and the next Day found dead about the Body of their King and their Horses bridles tied together Then were the Arms of that Noble King being the Ostrich Feathers with the Motto IGH DIEN signifying I SERVE taken and won l Sandford's Geneal Hist p. 182 by the Prince of Wales in whose Memory they have ever since been called the Princes Arms being also from that time worn by his Successors Princes of Wales Eldest Sons to the Kings of England With him also fell the Unhappy King of Majorica named James by the Hands of
know well Sir that I have entrusted to your Charge that Thing which in this World I love best next my Wife and Children that is to say the Castle of Calais whereby the Town also is commanded And yet this Castle have you traiterously sold to the French Wherefore what can you say now why you should not suffer a shamefull Death Then the Lombard fell down upon his knees and said Ah! my Gracious Master I humbly crave your Mercy What you say I acknowledge is all true but Sir the Bargain may easily be broken for as yet I have not received one Penny of the Mony. Now the King who had long had a great Favour for this Lombard began to take pity of him and said Emeric I give you your Life and continue you in your Office in trust of your Amendment And I would also have you go on with your Bargain and get as much Mony of my Enemies as you can But let me have true Information of the Day and Hour appointed for the Delivery of the Castle and let no Soul living know of this our Communication and on this Condition I forgive you your trespass According to this Agreement things were settled and the Lombard return'd back to Calais and kept all very close resolving to be true to so indulgent a Master and to put a Trick on those who had thus attempted to debauch his Loyalty The mean while Sr. Geoffry Charny not doubting but to succeed in his intended Enterprise upon Calais near the time appointed had furnish'd himself with r Mezeray p. 32 a thousand choice Men of Arms and a proportionable Number of Others thô few or none of all his Company had the least knowledge of what he design'd 'T is thought that he never acquainted the King his Master with his Purpose for fear that in Honour he should not give his Consent because of the Truce but he doubted not when once the Matter was happily effected not only to gain a Pardon but Thanks for such a piece of Service The Time on which the Castle of Calais was to be deliver'd was fixt on the last Night of December or the first Morning of the New Year Of which Bargain the Lombard sent secretly by a Brother of his a distinct Notice to King Edward who was then at Å¿ M.S. vet Ang. in Bibl. C.C.C. c. 228. Holinstead Eng. Chr. p. 944. Havering at the Bower in Essex where he kept his Christmas X. The King being thus acquainted with all the Minutes chose privately unto him t Mezeray p. 31 Frois c. 151. 800 Men of Arms and 1000 Archers and taking Ship at Dover arrived safely that Evening at Calais so secretly that none but his Friends had the least inkling thereof And so immediately he began to dispose of his Men in Ambush in the Dungeon and other Places of the Castle And having done thus he said to the Lord Walter Manny Sir Walter I have a mind to grace you with the Honour of this Enterprise For both I and the Prince my Son intend to fight under your Banner Now this mean while the Lord Geoffry Charny on the last Day of December after Noon began to march from Arras toward Calais and came thither about 8 of the Clock at Night and then made an Halt waiting for those that were not yet come up and set his Men in order for Battle Which being done and all his Men he expected being come about twelve of the Clock he sent two Esquires to the Postern Gate of the Castle who finding Sr. Emeric of Pavia ready there to receive them demanded of him if it was time that the Lord Geoffry might come and he said Yes high time With this Answer they return'd to their Master who thereupon made his Men pass New-land Bridge in good Order of Battle Before whom he sent twelve Knights with an 100 Men of Arms to go and take possession of the Castle for he judg'd rightly that when once he had secur'd that to himself he should presently get the Town Since he had such a Number of Men with him no less than 20000 and might have more from the Country about at his Pleasure When he sent these Men he also deliver'd into the hands of Sr. Edward of Renty their Chief Captain 20000 Crowns of Gold in a Bag to give unto the Lombard according to their Agreement and while those went to take the Castle he himself hover'd near the Town in great silence with his Banner before him For it was his Resolution to enter the Town by the Gate or else not at all Now the Lombard Captain had let down the Bridge of the Postern and permitted the 100 Men of Arms to enter peaceably Sr. Edward Renty having at the Postern deliver'd into his Hands the 20000 Crowns in a Bag which he took saying I hope here is the full Summ thô I am not at leisure to count it now for anon it will be Morning And we have not done all our Work yet And thereupon he cast the Bag and Crowns and all into a Chest and said to the Frenchmen Come on Messieurs you shall first seise on the Dungeon and then you are sure to be Masters of the Castle And therewithall upon their Approach thither he drew aside the Barrs and open'd the Gate wide for them to enter Within this part of the Tower was the King of England with 200 Men of Arms who at that instant sallied out upon the Frenchmen with their naked Swords and Battle-axes in their hands crying out A Manny a Manny to the Rescue What do the Frenchmen imagin with so few Men to take the Castle of Calais The French were both suddenly surprised and far outnumbred wherefore seeing 't was in vâ—in to resist they strait yielded themselves Prisoners so that few or none were hurt or slain and immediately they were all disarmed and clapt up together in the same Tower of the Dungeon Then the Englishmen with the King issued out of the Castle into the Town all mounted on Horseback for the Frenchmens Horses were all now in their Hands and an hundred English Archers leapt thereon and accompanied the King and his two hundred Men of Arms and others on Foot to the Gate that looks towares Boulogne Where the Lord Geoffry Charny stood with his Banner before him which was Gules Three Escutcheons Argent He was very desirous to be the first that should enter the Town and said thrô impatience to the Captains that were about him Except this Lombard open the Gate quickly we are like to starve here with Cold. Oh! Sir said Sr. Pepin de la Gueret these Lombards are covetous and subtle Fellows I 'll warrant he is looking over our Crowns now to see whether they be all Current or no and to find whether it be the full Summ. And with that Word King Edward and his Son the Black-Prince were ready at the Gate being Both incognito under the Banner of the Lord Walter Manny
Lewis Earl of Eureux and so held in her Hands at that time the Counties of Artois Boulogne Auvergne and divers other Lands and after the Death of Eudo Duke of Burgundy which happen'd this Year that t Favine l. 4. c. 3. p. 6. Dutchy also during the Minority of her Son Philip who was Heir thereof And thus King Philip remained a Widower not quite a Month and his Son John scarce out Half a Year CHAPTER the EIGHTH The CONTENTS I. Several Prodigies forerunners of an Vniversal Plague which happen'd in these Dars as a Notable Conjunction Eclipse c. II. Divers other Presages as Comets Fiery Pillars Strange Births Inundations Earthquakes c. III. The Original of this Plague with its horrid Effects and Symptoms IV. A Description thereof from John Cantacuzenus at that time Emperour of Greece V. The vast Numbers of those that died thereof in the Heathen and Christian World. VI. It comes into England with the great Havock it makes there The Foundation of the Charter-house in London and of East-Minster by the Tower occasion'd thereby VII The Pope takes hence obcasion of exhorting King Edward to a Peace with France which produces a Truce VIII The Pope's Charity to the Living and the Dead at this time IX The Names of those few of the English Nobility and Clergy that died of this Visitation X. The Inferiour Clergy mightily exhausted thereby XI It comes into Wales and Ireland and how the Scots brought it to their own Doors XII Divers Miseries succeeding it as Murrain of Cattle Dearth of Corn and Insolence of Workmen and poor People which latter Mischief King. Edward represses by wholsom Laws XIII The Jews being falsly suspected as Occasioners of the Plague by their exquisit Arts of Empoisoning are most cruelly persecuted by the Christians The Plague ceases in England I. HAving toward the latter end of the preceding Chapter made mention of the Death of Sr. John Mongomery Captain of the Town of Calats and a Baron of this Realm who together with his Lady died a little after King Edwards Exploit there of a Pestilence that then began now We following the Example of no a Thaeydides who elegantly describes the Plague of Athens Thucyd. l. 2. Lucret. l. 6. Virg. Georg. l. 3. mean Historian are inclin'd to think it not unworthy of our present Work to insert therein a more particular Account of that Plague Since for its strange and manifold Prognosticks universal Contagion wonderfull and fatal Events and long Continuance it was not only as memorable as the Plague of Athens but perhaps the Greatest that ever happen'd in the World. Now in the b De hâc famosá Pestilentià vid. Francisci Petrarch de Rebus Famil Epistol l. 8 ep 7. Johan Cantacâ—zen l. 4. c. 8. Odoric Rainald ad Annum 1348. §. 1. 30. ad §. 33. Giovanni Villani Matth. Villani M. S. Vet. Angl. in Bibl. C.C.C. c. 228. Knighton Walsingham Fabian Holinshead Stow Lanquet Speed Fox R. Avesbury Godwins Catal. Bishops Sandfords Geneal History Mezeray Cluverius Epit. Hist Polydor. Virgil. l. 19. p. 377. Bâ—cholcerus Isagog Chron. Lampad Pezel in Sleidan c. Year 1345 being three Years before this Fatality came into England on the c Giov. Villani l. 12. c. 40. p. 848. 28 of March a little before Nine of the Clock according to the Adequation of a great Mathematician and Astrologer called Doctor Paulo di ser Piero there was a Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in 20 Degrees of Aquarius with those Aspects of the other Planets as we shall shew herereafter But According to the Almanack of d Profatius a learned Jewish Astrologer who wrote about an 100 Years before this time a Perpetual Almanack c. vid. Esq Sherburn's Catal. of Astronom at his Sphere of Manilius p. 33. Profazio a Jew and the Tables of Toledo that Conjunction should be fixt on the 20 of the said Month of March and the Planet of Mars was with them in the said Sign of Aquarius 27 Degrees And the Moon suffer'd a total Ecclipse on the 18 of the same Month in 7 Degrees of Libra And on the 11 of March when Sol enter'd Aries Saturn was in his Ascendant in 18 Degrees of Aquarius and Lord of the Year and Jupiter was in 16 Degrees of the said Sign of Aquarius and Mars in 22 Degrees of the same But if we follow the Equation of the said Dr. Paulo who was the most Eminent of the Moderns in those Days and says that by the Help of his Instruments he saw visibly the Conjunction on the 28 of March the said Conjunction being in an Angle of the East that the Sun was well-nigh in the Mid-Heaven a little declining to the Angle of 16 Degrees of Aries and in his Exaltation and Leo his House was in his Ascendant 13 Degrees and Mars was now already in 16 Degrees of Pisces Venus in 12 Degrees of Taurus her House and in the Mid-Heaven Mercury in the first Degree of Taurus and the Moon 4 Degrees in Aquarius But according to the Calculation of Mr. John Ashindon and Mr. William Read two English Astrologers of those Days of Merton College in Oxford which they made for the Latitude of Oxford e Vid. Antonii Weed Antiq. Oxon. Acad. l. 1. p. 172. on the said 18 Day of March the Moon was totally Eclipsed at fourty Scruples past Nine of the Clock the Sun being in 22d Degree of Aries and the Moon in the 22d of Libra But the Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter was most notable in the 19 Degree of Aquarius on the 20 Day of March in the Evening at Eight of the Clock and one Scruple From which Eclipse the said Ashindon and Read and another Oxford Man named Geoffry de Meldis undertook to foretell Wars Famine and Pestilence Particularly Ashindon predicted that the Influence of that Eclipse should continue for eight Years and five Months but that the Effects of the Conjunction should prevail for the space of three Years onely And indeed the foresaid Conjunction with its Aspects of the other Planets and Signs according to the best Astrologers did naturally f Giov. Villani ibid. vid. Sr. George Wharton's Works put forth by Mr. John Gadbury p. 133 c. signifie God permitting some Grand Event to the World as Battle and Slaughter and remarkable Mutations of Kingdoms and People and the Death of Kings and Translation of Dominions and Alterations in Religion and the Appearance of some Prophet and new Errours and Fallings from the Faith and the sudden Arrival of New Lords and Strange Nations and Dearth and Mortality near at hand in those Climates Kingdoms Countries and Cities to which the Influence of the said Signs and Planets belongs and sometimes is attended with some Comet in the Air or other Prodigies or Inundations and Floods and excessive Rains Because that Conjunction being of it self important is so much the more to be feared from the Propinquity of Mars and
Licence From whence he obtain'd Obedience from the Souldiery Good-will from the Country People and Love from his Prince by whom he was Honour'd with the Seneschalsy of Poictou While he bare that Office the Commons were not opprest with unjust exactions nor vexed with the Rapines or frequent Incursions of the Enemy to all which they were abundantly exposed after his Death In the Battles of Since of Cressy of Poictiers of Auray of Najara and others he gain'd much Renown as will appear by several Passages of this History however at last by Mischance he received his Fatal Wound at Lussac He was Honourably interred in the Fortress of Mortimer where he died leaving no Issue of his Body behind him for he was never Married Whereupon i Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 503 ex Rot. Fin. 50. Ed. 3. m. 21. Ashmole p. 704. ex Commun Term. Mich. an 3. H. 5. Elizabeth and Eleanor two of his Sisters the Latter being then the Wife of Sr. Roger Collings and Isabell Daughter to Margaret the Third Sister at that time Married to Sr. John Annesley were found to be his next Heirs Thus Rest Immortal Heroe for thy Name Shall last till Heaven and Earth's devour'd by Flame And thô Base Envy at these Works repine Yet even they shall if Mortals can Divine Live for the Great Black-Prince's Sake and Thine II. Upon the Death k Frois c. 271. fol. 166. of the Renowned Lord John Chandos who left his Dear Lord the Prince of Wales Heir to all that he had in Normandy which amounted to the Yearly Revenue of 40000 Franks or 4000 l. Sterling the Lands of St. Saviour the Vicount fell into the King of England's Hands to bestow as he should think fit Wherefore he gave the Charge and Government thereof to a Knight of his House a Valiant and Expert Leader called Sr. Alan Boxhull who l True Use of Armory in the Life of the Lord Chandos p. 108. Ashmole Plate 52. bare for his Arms in a Shield Or a Lion Rampant Azure cover'd with a Fret Argent he to defend the Place and to menage the Revenues thereof for the Profit of the King and of the Prince To him shortly after succeeded William Lord Latimer who bare * Ashmole Plate 42. Gules a Cross Pateé Or and being Steward of the King's Houshold was before the end of this Year m Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 32. made Lieutenant Captain and Governour of the Castle Town and Vicountie of St. Saviour And the Office of High Seneschal of Poictou being void also by the Death of the Lord Chandos the Prince of Wales gave it to Sr. Thomas Piercy a Gentleman of Great Valour and Experience n Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 285. who was Younger Brother to Henry Lord Piercy and afterwards was created Earl of Worcester Soon after the Frenchmen who were taken Prisoners at the Bridge of Lussac having by the Assistance of the French King in whose Service they were taken paid the several Ransoms which were set upon them returned all back again to their several Garrisons as Sr. Lewis of St. Julian Carlonet the Breton Sr. William Bourde and others of whom we shall say more anon At this same time there were several Barons and good Knights of France who became very much concerned when they saw the War of the two Crowns grow hotter and hotter every day especially the Lord Ingelram Coucy whom it affected deeply for he had a Fair Inheritance in England as well upon his own account for his Fathers had been Barons of that Realm ever since the days of King John of England as by the Lady Isabell his Wife who was Daughter to King Edward Which Lands he must not only Renounce but prove ungratefull to his Friend and Father-in-Law if he should serve the King of France and yet on the other hand he would seem no better than unnatural and a Traytor if he should bear Arms for England against the King of France to whom he was both an Ally and Subject And yet he thought to stand Neuter would be to befriend neither but rather to disoblige both Wherefore he took a Fourth Course resolving for a time to bid Farewell to France and to go and Travel abroad to inform his mind and to seek Adventures So having discreetly taken his leave of the French King he set forth with a small Retinue and went into Savoy where he was Honourably received by the Earl and by the Barons and Knights of his Court. Having spent some time there he rode forward into Lombardy and went to the Lords of Milain Galeas and Bernabo to whom he was welcome In the same Manner thô upon another occasion the Lord Edmund of Pamiers one of the most Loyal Knights in the World went away from the Prince's Service the reason was this In those days when there were so many Lords of Gascogne and others who daily revolted from the Prince to the French King's side it could be no otherwise but that the Prince and his Officers should be very jealous of the Faith of those who gave but the least umbrage of Discontent But however it was in this case whether only Suspicion or something more solid the Lord Thomas Felton o Frois Vol. 2. c. 1. Gallice c. 318. fol. 199. B. Angl. who was Seneschal of Bourdeaux for the Prince of Wales and so consequently Lieutenant for the King of England caused the Lord William of Pamiers and a Lawyer his Secretary and one of his Council named John Coulon a Native of Bourdeaux to be apprehended and flung into Prison Being brought to their Tryal it was proved home upon them as was then affirmed that the said Lord of Pamiers had covenanted to yield himself and all his Castles to the Protection of the French King and had actually deliver'd his Castle of Fronsac into the French Hands of all which the said Lawyer and Counsellour were conscious and accessary thereto wherefore neither the Lord of Pamiers nor his Clerk nor the other having any thing to say why sentence of Death should not proceed against them they were all three condemned by the Judgement of the Lord of L'Esparre and other Loyal Gascogners and openly beheaded in the City of Bourdeaux before an infinite concourse of People to the astonishment of many But especially those of the Lord of Pamiers his Kindred took this Execution hainously and upon this occasion it was that the most Gallant and Noble Knight in the World Sr. Edmund of Pamiers Uncle to the foresaid Lord William of Pamiers left Bourdeaux and Bourdelois resolving however in his Mind neither for that nor any other Provocation on Earth to turn Traytor to his Lord the Prince of Aquitaine but with all he took the Death of his Nephew so ill that he sware never from that time to bear Arms for the King of England or his Son the Prince while he lived And so he went on divers Pilgrimages to Cyprus to the Holy sepulchre
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
a like Distance from each other In the year 1346 being then in the Sixteenth Year of his Age he obtain'd that Memorable Victory at Cressy in Ponthieu in the Year 1356 being the 26th of his Age he took King John of France Prisoner at the Battle of Poictiers in the Year 1366 he undertook the Quarrel of Don Pedro upon which Account he Triumphed at Najara in Spain being then Thirty Six Years Old and now lastly in the Year 1376 being the Fourty Sixth of his Age he left this World for a better His last Will and Testament was finish'd k Ashmoles Garter p. 676. ex libro in Offic. Principal Cant. vecat Sudbary f. 90. b. but the Day before his Death all the former being then rendred void wherein he disposed of his Body to be buried in the Cathedral of Canterbury called Christchurch And such was his Care of those who had done him Service that he charged his Son Richard by his Will to continue unto them all the Payment of those Pentions which he had given them But 't is not material to reckon up here the Various Legacies that he gave as Silk-Beds Horses Armour Gold and Silver besides what he dedicated to Holy Uses as he had done many things of that nature in his Life-time We shall only remember the Names of his Executors as they were appointed in his Will viz. his Brother of Spain the Duke of Lancaster William of Wickham Bishop of Winchester John Harewell Bishop of Bath and Wells William Spridlington Bishop of St. Asaph Robert Walsham his Confessor Hugh Seagrave Steward of his Lands Sr. Alan Stokes and Sr. John Fordham And thus fell this Victorious Prince in whose l Walsing hist p. 186. M.S. vet Ang. in Bibl. C.C.C. Cantab. c. 238. Fall the Hopes of all England seem'd to be cast down While he lived they feared no Invasion they doubted no Warlike Encounter He never march'd against any whom he overcame not never besieged any City which he took not All Nations both Heathen and Christian dreaded his Fortune and Conduct in War as of another Hector nor did his * Churchill's Divi Britan. p. 245. Wisdom any way come short of his Courage Both which were equall'd by his Exemplary Justice Clemency Liberality Piety and Moderation Vertues but seldom sincerely embraced by Persons of High Condition He was a Prince m Daniel's hist p. 256. of whom we never heard any Ill nor received any other Note than of Goodness and the Noblest Performances that Magnanimity Generosity Courage and Wisdom could ever shew Insomuch as what Praise can be given unto Vertue is due unto Him. King n Frois c. 314. fol. 195. b. Gaâ—lic f. 266. b. Charles of France because he was of his Kindred performed his Obsequies in most Solemn Manner in the Holy Chappel of the Palace at Paris the greater part of the Prelates and Peers of his Realm being present A little before which time the Truce between the two Realms was again o Ret. Franc. 50. Ed. 3. â—â— 16. 21. prolonged unto the First Day of April which was to be in the Year of our Lord 1377. The mean while King Edward was sorrowfully busied with the unwelcome Cares of his Son's Funeral the last Office he could pay unto Him but p Polyd. Virg. p. 399. that 't is believed thrô Grief at this Loss that he was the rather content to loose Himself by following him sooner into the other World for we shall find that he surviv'd him but a Year and Thirteen Days Nor did he properly live that while neither for presently upon the Death of his Son he retired to Eltham in Kent endeavouring to concoct this hard Morsel of Providence thô it was every day ready to break his Heart The Body of this Famous Warrier being Embalmed lay in State and was then wrapped up in Lead to be kept till Michaelmas next coming that so it might be interred with the Greater Solemnity in the Presence of the Parliament as both Houses had desired And accordingly at Michaelmas He was carried in a stately Herse drawn with 12 Horses thrô the City of London over the Bridge the Whole Court and the Two Houses of Parliament attending him in Mourning till they came to Canterbury where he was buried with Great Solemnity in the Cathedral of Christ-Church as Himself had order'd in his Will on the South-side and near the Shrine of St. Thomas Becket and over his Grave was shortly after erected a Stately Monument of Grey Marble with his Pourtraiture lying thereon of Copper Gilt The Ends and Sides whereof are garnished with Escutcheons of Copper enamel'd with his Arms and Devises the One being the Arms of France and England Quarterly with a Labell of Three Points and the Other the Ostrich Feathers commonly called from Him the Prince's Arms with the Word Doumont on the Former and Ich Dien on the Latter On an Iron Bar over the Tomb are placed the Helm and Crest Coat of Mail and Gauntlets and on a Pillar near thereunto his Shield of Arms richly Diapred with Gold all which He is said to have used in Battle The Figure of this Noble Monument is exactly delineated in q Sandford p. 188. Mr. Sandford's Genealogical History of the Kings of England On the Monument there is this old French Epitaph circumscribed on a Fillet of Brass beginning at the Head * Extat apud Sandford â—â—l Weever's Fan. Mon. c. viz. By Gist le Noble Prince Monsleur Edward aisnez Filz du Tresnoble Roy Edward Eiers Iadis Prince d' Aquitaine de Galles Duc de Cornwaille Comte de Cestre qi mojust en la Feste de la Vrinite qestoit le viii jour de Juyn l'an de Grace Mill Trois cenz septante sisine Laime de qi Dieu tit Merrit Amen That is in English Here lieth the Noble Prince the Lord Edward Eldest Son to the Thrice Noble King Edward the Third late Prince of Aquitaine and of Wales Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester Who died on the Feast of the Trinity which was the Eight Day of June in the Year of Grace MCCCLXXVI On whose Soul God have Mercy Amen To which is added this French Rhyme beginning at the South-side of the Tomb and running on at the Foot of the North-side Tu qi passez oue bouche close Par la ou ce Torps repose Entent ce qe te dirai Si comme te dire le scay Tiel comme tu es autiel fu Tu seras tiel conune je su De la mort ne pensai je mie Cant comme javoy la vie Entre avoi grand Richesse Dont je y fis grand Noblesse Eette Mesons grand Tresor Draps Chivaux Argent Dr. Mes ore su jeo poures chetiss Perfond en la * An Terre tre gis Grand Beaute est tout allee Ma thar est tout gastee Moult est estroit ma Meson En
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