in England and so without Fear it is answer'd that even so it was not without Fear when there was a fear of losing the whole Dukedom aforesaid by reason of an Army then ready to invade the King himself in the Dukedom and in England by the way of Scotland and that the said Letters were sealed while the said King was notoriously under Age as aforesaid not of the perfect Knowledge of the said King nor upon due Notice of his Right or Prejudice as neither by reason of the frailty of his Age could then be had Besides he the said King ought to be restored in full in this Case within the Times thereto limited if he had had a Competent Judge and because he had not a Competent Judge he used in due time other Remedies whereby there was taken better Provision as to his Right And the King of England would have our Lord the Pope to be more surely informed that the said King never did any thing on purpose to the Lord Philip bearing himself as King of France for which he ought to cease or desist from the Prosecution of his said Right or for which he thought or doth think his Conscience wronged in this part and that it was so He calls God to Witness As to the Objection wherein 't is said that the said Lord the King of England is not of the Blood of France but by means of a Woman who is not capable of the Right of the Hereditary Realm of France it is answerd that althô by the Custom of the Realm of France a Woman of the Royal Blood be excluded from the Hereditary Rights of the Realm of France yet hereby it doth not follow that her Son being a Male and able to Reign ought to be excluded from the Succession of his Forefathers devolved unto Lawfull Heirs because the King of England claims the Succession of his Uncle the Lord King Charles deceased according to the Prerogative of his Degree as next of Kin to the deceased King who ought not to be excluded from the Inheritance of his Uncle or his Grandfather by any Kindred more remote in Degree even althô the Mother of the said King by reason of her Sex should be excluded or put by And if it be said that some Nephews and Kindred of the Lords Lewis and Philip Brethren of the said Lord King Charles successively have been excluded from the Royal Succession upon that Account that they were only allied to the said Kings by the means of Females as also the King of England was allied to the said Lord King Charles by means of a Female only namely of his Mother it is answer'd that not upon that account were the said Nephews excluded but upon this that none of the said Nephews was in Being at the Time of the Death of the said King about whose Inheritance the Controversie was and this will evidently appear by matter of Fact underwritten For it is to be known that the Lord Philip the Fair King of France deceased leaving behind him three Brothers namely Lewis the Eldest Philip the Long the Second Born and Charles the Third and Youngest and one Daughter namely Isabell Queen of England Lewis the Elder Son succeeded his Father Philip the Fair immediately in the Kingdom of France and got one Daughter after which King Lewis died leaving the said Daughter which had no Issue during the Life of the said King Lewis and his Wife impregnate who after the Death of the said King brought forth a Male Child named John who after Nine Days wherein he was accounted King of France deceased And Philip the Long the Middle Brother of the said Three succeeded him immediately in the said Kingdom This King Philip begat three Daughters but no Male the Elder Daughter whereof was coupled in Matrimony to the Duke of Burgundy the Second to the Dauphin of Vienna the Third and Youngest to the Earl of Flanders Of the First Daughter married to the Duke of Burgundy was born a Male Child called as is said Robert during the Life of King Philip but that Robert died before King Philip his Grandfather and so was not in Being at the time of the Death of the said Lord Philip his Grandfather Of the Second Daughter married to the Dauphin there was no Issue at all during the Life of the said King Philip as neither of the Other who was married to the Earl of Flanders After the Death of the said King Philip his Third and Younger Brother namely the Lord Charles immediately succeeded who in the end leaving two Daughters unmarried deceased without Issue Male. From all which it is evident that the said Lord Charles was True and Lawfull King of France and by Consequence that the Lord the King of England who was Son of the Lady Isabella Queen of England Sister to the said Charles as aforesaid ought as his Nearest Kinsman to succeed him in the Kingdom These Instructions were given to Nicolas de Flisco and his Son Andrew who were to be follow'd by others with Letters from the King to his Holiness sealed with the Arms of England and France which New Seal was not yet made But while the foresaid Nicolas de Flisco remained at the Court of Avignon under the Pope's Protection certain wicked Persons thinking to curry Favour with the King of France about Midnight on Good Fryday Eve enter'd his House by Violence broke open his Chamber and hardly giving him time to put on one thin Garment hurried Him and his Son and one young Gentleman away and carried them down the Rhosne to a certain Tower where they kept them close till Saturday and then convey'd them into the Parts of France At which Injury his Holiness was so moved that he began to thunder out the most heavy Edicts against the Authors and Accomplices of that Crime and put France under Interdict as appears by an Expostulatory Letter of King Philips to the Pope Wherein calling God to Witness that this Violence was neither done by his Command nor Will or Knowledge and that when he heard the English Men thus taken were within his Kingdom he had given Order to make diligent Search for them and to return them to Avignon again he complains that those Processes were too sudden and too rigorous since he was wholly innocent of the matter and so to the blackning of his Honour and that for the future he would not be so hasty in acting against him without giving him Notice c. Dated at Moncell near Pont St. Maixence 21 of Maii. To which the Pope return'd That he could never think the Knowledge of that Fact did belong to him however it was so horrid that the Severity which he had used was necessary But that his Paternal Affection toward him was no way diminished thereby nay he would rather conspire with him in a mutual Agreement of Good-will and kind Offices Dated at Avignon iii Kal. Jun. Anno Pontif. vi Soon after at King Philips Command Nicolas
de Flisco and Andrew his Son with the Gentleman their Servant were brought back and restored to the Pope whereupon he return'd his Thanks to the King of France and took off the Interdict but as the Author of his Life says hang'd all those of his own Family who had a hand in the matter before the Doors of the House which they had broke open But as for his own Master of the Horse who was consenting to the Deed when being in Prison for anguish and shame he had slain himself after it was found willfull Murder he gave Order that his Body should be expos'd on a Gibbet to be devour'd by the Birds of the Air. II. But to return to the King of England who had lately taken upon him the Arms and Title of King of France as we shew'd He the mean while presently found the expected Effects of this Contrivance of Jacob van Arteveld's for now immediately upon the same all the People of Flanders n Knighton p. 2576. and Stâ—w p. 236. yielded unto him as True and Rightfull King of France and consequently their Superior Lord their Homage and Fealty and submitted themselves and their Country to his Government and were long after in all matters obedient unto him as to the King of France both by Right and Conquest After things thus done it was determin'd in this Parliament that o Frois c. 43. the next Summer the War should be hotly pursued in France being to be begun with the Siege of Tournay Which was the thing chiefly desired by the Flemings For they made sure to be able to get it and then they hoped easily to recover Lille Douay and Bethune with the Appurtenances With this Resolution the Council brake up and the King within a few days returned to Antwerp But the Queen who was then big with Child remain'd still at Gaunt where she was very honourably entertain'd and visited especially by Jacob van Arteveld Walsingh hist p. 133. and Stow p. 236. and the chief Lords and Ladies of Flanders And within a while after was happily deliver'd of a Lovely and Lively Boy her Fourth Son who was named John and sirnamed of Gaunt from the place of his Birth This John of Gaunt in time became a Noble and Mighty Prince himself being both Duke of Lancaster and King of Castille and Leon his Son Henry of Bolingbrook was afterwards King of England by the name of Henry the Fourth who was Father to the Conquerour Henry the Fifth but that Kingly Dignity was extinguish'd in his Son Henry the Sixth However from John of Gaunts Loins q Sandford Geneal Hist p. 248 by the Mothers Side was descended Henry the Seventh who was the Son and Heir of r Mill's Catal. Nobility p. 613. Edmund of Hadham Earl of Richmond by his Lady Margaret the only Daughter and Heir of John Beaufort Duke of Somerset Nephew of John of Gaunt by his Son John Beaufort And he marrying the Lady Elizabeth Daughter of King Edward the Fourth who had the Blood and Right both of Prince Lionell and Edmund of Langele Third and Fifth Sons of King Edward the Third got of her the Lady Margaret his Eldest Daughter from whom the Kings of Scotland is descended our most Gracious Soveraign James the Second King of England Scotland France and Ireland whom God grant long and happily to reign III. But it must not be omitted that before King Edward left Gaunt Å¿ Rot. Franc. 14 Ed. 3. m. 1. and Ashmole p. 651. he sent his Letters Patents to the Prelates Peers and Commons of France thereby signifying that Charles late King of France his Mothers Brother being Dead the said Kingdom was devolved to him by manifest Law. And that Philip of Valois Son to the Uncle of the said King had by Violence and Injustice intruded into it during his Minority and even yet wrongfully detain'd it Lest therefore he should seem to neglect his own Right He now thought good to own the Title of France and take upon him the Defence and Government thereof and having offer'd the said Philip divers Friendly Conditions of Peace to which he refufed all Condescention he was therefore necessitated to defend himself and recover his Right by Force of Arms And therefore all such Subjects as would submit to him as True King of France by Easter then next ensuing should be received into his Royal Grace and Protection AN. DOM. 1340. An. Regni Angliae XIV Franciae I. But here the Stile of France is set first and the Title of Duke of Aquitain omitted it being immerged in the more General Title of King of France This is the Summ of his Letters which he caused to be sent t Speed p. 572. a. to the Frontiers of the French Dominions and to be fixed upon the Doors of Churches and in other Publique Places But to satisfie the Curious I shall adjoin a full Copy of the Letter it self the Tenour whereof was this EDWARD by the Grace of God King of France and of England Lord of Ireland unto all Prelates and Ecclesiastical Persons and to the Peers Dukes Earls Barons and to the Commons of France Greeting u u Fox Acts and Monum p. 346. The High Lord and King above althô his Will be in his own Power yet is pleased to make that Power Subject unto Law commanding every thing to be given unto Him which is His thereby declaring that Justice and Judgement ought to be the Preparation of a Kings Throne Wherefore seeing the Kingdom of France thrô the Providence of God is by the Death of Charles last King of France of Famous Memory Brother German to Our Lady Mother devolved and fallen unto Us by plain and manifest Law forasmuch as the Lord Philip of Valois Son of the Uncle of the foresaid King and so remov'd from that Crown by a farther Degree of Consanguinity thrô Force and Usurpation hath intruded himself into the foresaid Kingdom while We were yet in Our Minority and so contrary both to God and Justice doth still detain and occupy the same Now least We should seem to neglect Our own Right and the Gift which God hath given Us or not to submit Our Will to Gods Ordinance We have thought Good to acknowledge the Title of France and by support of the Almighty King have taken upon Us the Defence and Government of the said Kingdom firmly purposing within Our Selves as every Good Man ought to do Graciously to Administer Justice to every One according to the Rights and Laudable Customs of the foresaid Kingdom Also to Renew the Good Laws and Customs which have been in the time of Lewis Our Progenitor moreover adding thereto what shall seem Expedient according to the Condition and Quality of the time But as for any Change of Coin or any Inordinate Exactions We intend not to seek Our Profit by Your Detriment Because the Almighty be Praised We have enough and abound And as concerning the Affairs of the
and Seisin as they have at this Day in all those Goods Lands and Possessions which they hold or have any way acquired 10. Item That they shall go from one Country to another as well Merchants with their Merchandise as any other Subjects either by Land or by Water only paying their usual Customs freely and securely as they were wont to go and come in the time of the Predecessors of the said Kings Except such as are banished the said Realms for other causes than for the Wars of the said Kings But the Barons of Gascoign and others banished out of the said Dukedom are contained in the said Truce and may come and go during the Truce so often remembred Only the Banished and Fugitives of the Country of Flanders who have been on the part of the King of France shall not during the Truce return into Flanders 11. Item The said Truce shall contain and comprise Spain Catalaunia Genoua Provence the Bishop and Chapter of Cambray the Castles of Cambresis the Lord of Albret the Vicount of Fronsac the Lord of Tricouleon the Lord John de Vernon and the Lord of Roye 12. To all which Articles and Agreements the Lord Otho Duke of Burgundy the Lord Peter Duke of Bourbon with the Earls of Boulogne Auxerre Sancerre Joigny and Porcien the Lords Milo de Nogheres and Ingelram de Coucy upon the Soul of the Lord Philip King of France and the Lord Henry de Lancaster Earl of Darby the Lord William Bohun Earl of Northampton the Lord William Montagu Earl of Salisbury Ralph Lord Stafford Bartholomew Lord Burwash Nicolas Lord Cantilupe Reginald Lord Cobham Walter Lord Manny Maurice Lord Barkley and Doctor John Hufford Archdeacon of Ely on the Soul of the Lord Edward King of England according to a Commission by the said Kings to them made have taken their Corporal Oath by laying their Hands upon the Holy Gospel Given in the Priory of St. Mary Magdalene in Malestroit of the Order of St. Benedict in the Dioecese of Nates 19 January 1343. Thus the Articles of the Truce being solemnly confirmed by the Oaths of the Lords abovemention'd the Cardinals caused a Charter thereof to be drawn up in the form aforesaid to which all the said Persons set to their Hands and Seals on the Day and Year above written in the presence of the Cardinals themselves and many great Lords Knights and Gentlemen of either Nation And thus We end the Transactions of this Year relating to the Wars of Bretagne and shall therewith conclude this Chapter also when We have after our usual Custom added two or three Occurrences which could not be properly ranged in any other place or method This Truce thus taken i Hecsemius in Alphonso c. 28. many great Lords and valiant Knights of England France and Bretagne took their journey with all haste into Spain to help King Alphonso against the Saracens of Granada among whom are reckon'd the Noble Lord k Knighton p. 2583. n. 20. Hocsem ibid. ubi pro Darby legit Arbidi pro Salisbury Soluz beri satis imperitè Henry Earl of Darby William Earl of Salisbury Sr. Maurice Son to the Lord Thomas Berkley with a goodly Band of young Gentlemen Voluntiers They found King Alphonso at the Siege of Algezira before which he had now layn a long time and here among others the Earl of Darby and his English Troops who had fought twice with the Pagans who came to relieve the place to their great Honour behav'd themselves so well together with the other Christian Worthies that now at length after a Siege of three Years the City was yielded up to the King of Spain and Jutzeph King of Granada who had held the place against him became l 1 Walsing hist p. 154. n. 20. Odoric Rainâ—ld ad an 1344. §. 51. ad §. 53. thenceforth his Vassal and paid him a Yearly Tribute of 12000 Florens The Pope l 1 Walsing hist p. 154. n. 20. Odoric Rainâ—ld ad an 1344. §. 51. ad §. 53. hearing of the taking of this City made it an Episcopal Seat and subjected the Bishop thereof as a Suffragan to the Metropolitan Church of Hispalis or Sevil. But the two English Earls went not only this tiem in Quality of Champions of Christ but also of m Râ—t Fran. 17. Ed. 3. m. 12. ex Dudg 1 Vol. p. 784. Ambassadors from the King their Master to treat with Alphonso King of Castille for the composing of certain differences betwixt the Subjects of that King and the Subjects of King Edward especially Mariners and Citizens of Bayonne All which Matters both of War and Peace being happily by them performed they shortly after return'd home with great Glory On the n Mezeray p. 21. 28 or as others say on the * Scipio Mazzella's Hist of Naples p. 157. 20 of January this Year 1343 that most Noble and Learned Prince Robert King of Sicily Naples and Jerusalem departed this Life after he had Reigned 33 Years 4 Moneths and 24 Days He was as Mazzella Collenutius and other Neopolitan Writers testifie a Wise and Learned King and much Renowned for his Skill in Astrology as We have more then once intimated He made Honourable Wars with Henry the VII Emperour of Germany and Father to John of Luxemburgh King of Bohemia also with Frederick King of Sicily and lastly in Tuscany in behalf of the Florentines where in the Famous overthrow of Montacatino in a Battle fought between the Guelphs and the Gibellines he lost Philip Prince of Tarentum and Peter Earl of Gravina his Brothers He sent his Son Charles firnamed Sans-Terre against Frederick King of Sicily and went himself against Castruccio Castricani the Head of the Gibellines at what time the Dominion of Florence was given unto Charles Sans-Terre He was a Religious Prince and a Lover of Learned Men as who could best judge of them whereof We shall produce but two instances the One That Marvellous stately Church and other things which he builded in Naples and the Second may be the Great Familiarity which he constantly held with those bright Lights of Tuscany Petrarch and Boccace Our Stories do mention a Son of his slain at Southampton when that Town was fired by the French but I find no other Son that he had except Charles Sans-Terre whom being Famous for his Prowess and Valour I dare not avouch to have died then However he left his Kingdom to Joan the sole Daughter of his Son Charles aforesaid who o Giovanni Villani l. 12. c. 50. 51. being enslaved with the Love of her own Cousin Lewis Prince of Tarentum and not satisfied with the cold embraces of her Husband Andrew Son to the King of Hungary caused him to be hanged in a silken Sash out of her Chamber Window But his Father Charles Humbert in Revenge hereof did so much interrupt her unlawfull Pleasures that ever after she lived in no less disquiet than Disgrace till
the said Duke of Hainalt and yet by many other Ties were they obliged to the English Interest and each of them was by Covenant retain'd to serve King Edward with a 1000 Spears apiece at their own Charges And therefore they not only advised the King now to bring over Duke Albert but they also Themselves joyn'd their Perswasions so that what by their Means and the English Gold he was at first won to declare himself for England But when the Lord of Cominges who was then in the Court of France heard thereof he hasted into Hainalt where he menaged Matters so cunningly with the Lord John Verchin Seneschal of Hainalt by whose Advice all the Dukes Matters were chiefly order'd and who in his Heart lov'd the Interest of France beyond that of England that by the Concurrence of the Earl of Blois and the Lord John of Blois his Brother together with the Lord of Ligny and the Lord of Brabanson who were all well belov'd with the Duke and Dutchess of Hainalt King Edward's Design was wholly quash'd and the labour of his Ambassadors overthrown Thô even they could obtain no more of the Duke than this that both He and his Country would stand Neuter in the Affair and the same Answer was also return'd by the Lady Jane Dutchess of Brabant For at that time her Husband was absent being in France where he contracted secretly a League with that King. VI. And surely King Charles of France who was a notable Politician had secretly prepared himself many Friends both in Hainalt and Brabant almost two years before and had brought over to his Interest the greater part of the Chief Counsellors and Friends of all the Great Lords of both Dukedoms And now to put the better Gloss upon his renewing the War and to make his Cause more plausible in the Eyes of the World he copied out divers Extracts of the Letters relating to the Peace made at Bretigny and ratified at Calais and therein he set forth the Substance of what he according to his Obligation had done and of what the King of England and his Children had not done thô by Oath and Honour bound thereto All along producing such Articles and Points as made for Himself and against King Edward but cunningly concealing smothering or colouring what made to a contrary purpose So that his Cause seem'd only just and the English bare all the Blame And also he privately caused certain Learned in the Laws to be Feed to set forth their Opinions at large concerning the Right of the French King against the King of England both as to the Matter of the Crown and also to the Superiority and Resort of Aquitain and there are yet f M.S. Reverendi Dr. Joh. Spencer S.T.P. C.C.C. apud Cantab Magistri Decani Ecclesiae Cathed Eliensis Extant two Discourses on that Point written by two Famous Doctors of those Days belonging to the University of Bononia in Italy whose Names were John de Lyana and Richard de Salicete Many of which Papers and others of the like Nature together with his own Letters the French King procured to be published in the Courts of all the Princes and Great Lords his Neighbours the better to prepare them to allow of his Quarrel So that King Edward to save his Credit was obliged also to use his Pen against this New sort of Enemy and to justifie and defend his Claim and to prove the Breach of the Peace to lie wholly at the French Kings Doors which he performed notably by his Letters sent into Germany and other Places where he valued his Reputation or thought to have any Friends From which Humour of both the Kings g Paul. Aemyl p. 294. c. Paulus Aemylius rather ambitious to shew his Rhetorick than Historical Fidelity has invented two notable Declamations which he ingeniously enough fancies to have been said before Charles the Emperour and his Son Wenceslaus the one by an English Orator in Behalf of his Masters Cause and the other by a Frenchman who holds the contrary opinion Whereas if that Author had consulted Decorum he would have remembred that King Edward often protested to acknowledge no Mortal whether Pope or Emperour as Judge of his Controversie and that he had but little Reason to expect to find the Emperour any thing favourable to him since he slew his Father at the Battle of Cressy and could not be ignorant how mightily he was addicted as well as more nearly allied to King Charles and the House of France Wherefore we who religiously endeavour to avoid these Gaudy Vanities thô we have Matter enough of Authentick Arguments to fill up a Speech or two yet preferring the venerable simplicity of Truth to all the Fucoes of Vain-Glory shall here set down the Arguments on both Hands as they were then really stated by the Best Lawyers of both Kingdoms in which doing 〈◊〉 where our Authorities cannot be seen our Faith be called in question We declare not only that our selves are wholly ignorant in this as well as many other Sorts of Learning but that the Ancient Copies are to be seen in Latine in a M.S. of the Reverend Dr. Stillingfleet Dean of St. Pauls and in English in another M.S. of the Reverend Dr. Spencer Dean of Ely and Master of Corpus Christi College in Cambridge which English Copy appears to have been with much Care translated from the other by some Person of Quality for the Use of that Most Noble Prince of Wales Henry Eldest Son to King James the First And to omit the several Preambles touching Succession of Women and Succession by Representation as also touching Distance of Degrees and Collateral Succession I shall the readiest way come to the Matter but first thô in some measure we have more than once stated the Case before it is necessary for Evidence sake here again to set down the Matter of Fact as it happen'd in the Realm of France Videlicet That King Philip Son of St Lewis King of France had two Sons lawfully begotten Philip the Fair and Charles of Valois And that the said Philip being Eldest after the Death of his Father obtain'd the Kingdom and that Charles deceased leaving behind him Philip of Valois his Son lawfully begotten That afterwards Philip the Fair begat Three Lawfull Sons Lewis Philip and Charles and also One Daughter named Isabel who was married to the King of England and brought forth Edward the Third whilst the foresaid Philip Grandfather to the said Edward remain'd alive That at last Lewis and Philip Brothers to Isabell being Dead without Issue Male King h This to be favourably taken for Philip died first and then his Three Sons in order succeeded Arguments for the French Kings Right Philip their Father also died That after him reigned the foresaid Charles his only Son surviving who likewise died without Issue Now according to the State of the Fact the Question doth rise in Law to be this The Lady Isabell next
they are not yet it seemeth that King Edward is to be preferred For Right of Inheritance in proper Nature is principally due unto Descendants whereupon the Law z L. Nam eâ—si parentibus ff de inoff testam saith that in Succession to those who die intestate the First Place is given to Children because they are a Inst de Her. qui ab intest in princip Descendants But it is certain that in respect of King Charles of whose Succession we now do treat King Edward is in the Third Degree of the Collateral descending Line But Philip is in the Fourth Degree in the equal Collateral Line Therefore seeing that King Edward not only hath Prerogative of Degree but also is favoured by reason of Descent it followeth that He is to be preferred before Philip c. Nonnulla desiderantur VII The Reasons which the French alledge for excluding Edward the Third King of England and his Posterity both from the Kingdom and the rest of his Inheritance in France for Brevity sake I shall reduce to these few Heads That either a Woman had Right to succeed or not if a Woman had then the Three Daughters of Lewis Hutin Philip the Long and Charles the Fair should have had the Right before the Mother of King Edward who was but Sister to those three Brethren Kings because the Daughters ought to be preferred before the Sister in the Succession of their Fathers as every Man doth know But here lies the Fallacy that whereas 't is acknowledged on King Edward's Part that the Daughters Persons are excluded and the Sisters also but not their Male Issue those Daughters at the time of the Vacancy of the Kingdom by the Death of King Charles the Fair had neither of them any Issue Male but King Edward the Son of the Sister was then a Male and actually King of England Then is urged the Force of the Salique Law which is said to have been approved and confirmed by Charles the Great by which means say they King Edward could not be admitted to the Crown of France since he could lay no Claim but by his Mother who could not give that to Him which she her Self never had nor in Right could or ought to have And to this purpose or effect the Use and Custom hath been at all times notoriously observed within the Realm of France that when a Woman is expelled from any Succession or from Succeeding in a Fee the Sons which are descended of her are always precluded and excluded from the same Neither shall it ever be found that a Woman hath succeeded to the Crown of France or b The Falsity of this appears l. 1. c. 22. §. 1. p. 289. given Right of Succession to a Man or to a Woman And so it appeareth evidently that the Law whereby a Woman is utterly debarred from the Succession to the Realm of France was not made in the Time of King Edward nor of his Mother nor in Prejudice of them For in Case a Woman might or should succeed to the Crown of France that Law should have been prejudicial to the Daughters of the Three Brothers Kings who Reigned successively in France and not to the mother of Edward who was but Sister of the said Three Brothers Then it is urged that King Edward before he began the War had done Liege Homage unto King Philip de Valois and it could not stand that King Edward should be Supream Lord and also Vassal of one and the same Thing And that this Liege Homage remain'd in the Treasury of the Kings Charters at Paris in the Letters Patents of King Edward with a silk Label and green Wax the Transcript whereof is extant c Vid. Lib. 1. c. 3. §. 1. p. 37. in the former Part of our History That yet notwithstanding King Edward unjustly and without good Tittle made mortal War by notorious Attempts upon the King of France his Leige Lord he laid Hand also upon the Person of his said Lord incurring the Crime of Felony and Treason wherein the said King Edward grievously offended and so lost by way of Confiscation all that which he had within this Realm whether in Aquitain or any other Place Insomuch as yet further neither he nor his Successors were afterwards capable or ought in Terms of Justice to have the same Lands and Dominions So much is the Crime of Treason by all Laws by all Rights by all Men of just Judgment disallowed and condemned That afterwards King John being taken Prisoner by Misadventure of War a certain Treaty was made at Calais in the Year 1360 whereby the English had the Dutchy of Aquitain and the County of Ponthieu and Monstreul and should have had also a certain Summ of Money whereof they received Fourteen Thousand Pieces of Gold which was no otherwise consented unto but that they should avoid all the Villages and Fortresses which their Followers or other Adherents then held in the Realm of France And further King Edward should have sent his Messengers or Procurators unto Bruges within a Year after that Treaty to accomplish certain Matters which both He and his Sons and other Great Lords of England had taken Oath upon the Holy Evangelists and upon the Holy Sacrament to perform And yet they neither came nor sent to the said place of Bruges And so the Messengers of the King of France expected them a long time for performance and accomplishment of that which had been agreed and promised on his Part. And as for the Avoidance out of the said Towns and Castles many Knights and Esquires and Others yet alive do know and can testifie as they who oftentimes armed themselves and travelled for Recovery of them by Sieges Assaults and other Means to the great Charge of the King of France Whereupon it followeth that the English are bound to the Restitution of all that which was deliver'd unto them by the said Treaty of Calais upon Condition and Limitation before expressed together with the Charges and the Interest since that time and the same Treaty is to be held void in Law. Then 't is declared how King Philip who was Earl of Valois succeeded to the Crown of France as next Heir Male of the said Crown drawing his Descent from Male to Male by the Right Line of Holy King Lewis Whereas it is but 214 Years or thereabouts since the English had first any thing in Aquitain It is further alledged how the English by acting many Outrages and Mischiefs disabled themselves from holding the Dutchy of Aquitain and the County of Ponthieu and Monstreul unless they would acknowledge the King of France for their Sovereign Lord. And therefore that the said King of France hath resolved by strong Hand and by way of Affecting the Execution of Justice to cause the said Lands and Dominions to be reduced into his own Possession and to be annexed to the Right of the Crown of France For that a Soveraign Lord hath no clearer Means of Purchase
manner of his coming to the Crown of England III. He is excus'd from being Guilty of his Fathers Deposition his peace is proclaim'd and a General Pardon IV. Twelve Guardians appointed him Mortimer's Greatness and the Queens excessive Dowry V. The Present State of Scotland the King whereof Robert Bruce sends a Defiance to King Edward VI. King Edward's Expedition against the Scots VII The Particulars of the Murder of King Edward the Second VIII King Edward the Third's Return to London the first Year of his Reign concludes with the Death of sundry great Personages Princes and Prelates I. KING Edward the Third of that Name from the Conquest AN. DOM. 1312. was the first Son of King Edward the Second of England sirnamed Caernarvon by his Queen Isabella the Daughter of Philip the Fair King of France a Frois c. 3. fol. 2. accounted in her time one of the most Beautifull Ladies in the world He was born at the Castle of Windsor whence he had his sirname after the manner of that Age on the b Sandford p. 158. thirteenth day of November at c Ashmole p. 644. fourty Minutes past Five in the Morning being the d Claus 6. Ed. 2. m. 22. Dorso Lit. Dom. B.A. Monday next after the Feast of St Martin the Bishop and the very day e H. Knighton p. 2533. n. 10. after the day of St Brice Bishop and Disciple of St Martin in the sixth year of his Fathers Reign and the year of our Lord God MCCCXII Prince f Walsingh hist p. 77. Lewis eldest Son to the King of France and Brother to the Queen of England being then with many of the French Nobility at the English Court labour'd earnestly that this Princely Infant might be named after King Philip but against this motion the English Nobility prevail'd and so on the Thursday after he was Baptised by the Name of Edward after his Father and Grandfather the Ceremony being performed by the hands of g Victorellus p. 839. ad hunc annum Arnold h Claus 6. Ed. 2. Priest-Cardinal titulo Sanctae Priscae in the old Chappel then of St Edward in the said Castle of Windsor his Godfathers being i Ibid. Ashmole p. 644. Richard Bishop of Poictiers John Bishop of Bath and Wells William Bishop of Worcester Lewis Earl of Eureux the Queens Brother John Duke of Bretagne and Earl of Richmond Emery of Valence Earl of Pembroke and Hugh le Despencer alias Spencer a Great Man in those Days The News of his Birth was k Walsingh ibid. an occasion of great Rejoycing over all England and the only thing l Speed p. 556. able to cheer up the mind of his Royal Father from that excessive sorrow which the late Death of his Favourite Piers Gaveston had flung upon it and from that Day the King forgot by Degrees his former loss rejoycing in his present Happiness For m Pat. 6. Ed 2. so pleasing to his Father was the Birth of this Hopefull Prince that on the Sixteenth of December following he gave to John Launge Valet to the Queen and to Isabel his Wife and to the longer liver of them for bringing to him so desireable News twenty four pounds per annum to be paid out of the Farm of London Within n Pat. ibid. Par. 2. m. 5. Ashmole ibid. few days after this Prince's Birth the King his Father granted him the County of Chester except the Mannors of Mecklesfield and Shotwike to hold to him and his Heirs Kings of England for ever And likewise the County of Flint and Rothelan to hold as before except the Mannor of Overton the Lands of Mailor Seysnoke and the Castle and Mannor of Holt after which he was thus stiled by the King Edvardus Comes Cestriae filius noster Charissimus But leaving his Infancy we will now proceed to his Youth and the occurrences that attended his Ripening years when we shall first have given some small taste of his Character the fulness thereof being purposely remitted till the end of his Life and this our Work because then it may better be consider'd from the whole tenour of his History From his Birth he was carefully bred up in all things that seem'd necessary or proper for Princes to excell in so that thrô the Vigour of his Parts being rendred very apt to imbibe the best Principles he made a speedy and extraordinary improvement in all Noble Qualities For he was of a very o Pitsaus de Illustr Angl. script p. 517. pierceing Judgment Sweet-nature and Good Discretion and considering the many weighty affairs that employ'd his whole Life not only kind to the Muses but much befriended by them as appears by those Learned Writings of which Pitsaeus says he was the Author When he was capable of receiving more ingenuous Education a Man of Great Reading Erudition and Honour was provided from Oxford to be his Tutor who thô commonly called p Godwin Catal. Bishops p. 661. Richard Bury from the place of his Birth was indeed Son to one St Richard Aungervile Knight but was afterwards by this his Royal Pupil made Privy-seal and q Philipot's Catal Chancellers and Treasurers p. 32. Treasurer of England then Dean of Wells and lastly Lord Chancellour of England and Bishop of Durham II. In a Parliament holden at York in the Sixteenth of the King his Father He was by him created r Speed p. 564. Holinshead p. 869. Catal. Honor p. 315. by Tho. Milles. Prince of Wales as some say thô he is no where found to have used that Title The occasion perhaps being because he was not long after invested with a Greater King Edward his Father ſ Ashmole p. 644. being often summon'd to the Court of France to do homage for the Dukedom of Aquitain and still upon some account or other delaying till the French King had siezed thereon it was at length concluded that he should give unto this Prince his Son the said Dukedom for which he doing Homage should enjoy the Lands Whereupon preparation was made for his passing into France But before he went being then at Langedon Abbey near Dover the King his Father t Pat. 19. Ed. 2. p. 1. m. 25. Ashmole ibid. on the second of September in the nineteenth year of his Reign gave unto him his Heirs and Successours Kings of England jure haereditario in perpetuum the Counties of Ponthieu and Mutterel or Monstroile and on the tenth of the same Moneth he being then at Dover granted unto him the Dukedom of Aquitain and all the Lands he had or ought to have in the Kingdom of France Habendum as before Two u Claus 19. Ed. 2. m. 28. Dorse days after which our new Duke took shipping at Dover thence passed into France and performed his Homage to King Charles of France his Uncle In this his Journey it was thought fit that the Queen his Mother should bear him company in regard her Lands in that Kingdom had
lived but Miserably The Principal Authors in due Season we shall see brought to Condign Punishment VIII The young b Walsing hist p. 109. n. 20. Fox Acts and Monuments p. 345. King in his return to London was heartily welcomed by the Mayor and Aldermen and the whole City For he was a Prince of great hope and had much vivacity in his Countenance and courage in his Breast upon which account all his Subjects lov'd him entirely The gratefull Prince to set a Mark of his Royal favour upon that famous Metropolis in a Parliament held at Westminster c Joh. Tinemouth Aur. hist p. 229. a. in Bibl. Lambeth which began on St. Brices Day of his own accord confirmed unto them their former Liberties and granted new ones which they never had before Ordaining that the Mayor of London for the time being should sit in all Places within the Liberties as the Kings Chief Justice and that every Alderman who had been Mayor should while he continued true to the King and his Laws be always Justice of the Peace within his own Ward He also granted unto the Citizens the Fee Farm of London for three hundred Pounds per annum And that the lawfull Franchises of the City should not be seized into the Kings Hands but only on Occasion d Inst par 2. f. 20. Mirror c. 5. §. 2 Fleta l. 2. c. 48. Plowd com fol. 40. Instit par 4. f. 253 Rich. Grafton p. 217. of Abuse or Misuse e Stow's Survey London p. 248. p. 604. or for Treason or Rebellion countenanced or done by the whole City Further he ordain'd that Southwark should be under the government of the City and that the Mayor of London as Bailiff of Southwark should depute after his own pleasure the Bailiff of that Burrough under him About the same time also he made the Company of Skinners in London a Corporation as they have ever since honourably continued even to this day Himself for their greater Honour vouchsafing to be of their Brotherhood as afterwards other Kings did in imitation of so great a Precedent namely Richard the Second Henry the Fifth Henry the Sixth and Edward the Fourth Nor hath this Honourable and Ancient Company been ungratefull to the Memory of this their Glorious Founder but take all occasions to testifie their Respect to his Name and to preserve his Glory to Posterity Particularly of late they have at their own proper costs and charges erected his Statue among the Kings of this Land in the Royal Exchange in London To accompany the late unhappy King of England to his Grave there died about this time many other Potentates Princes and Prelates thô none so unfortunately and by such treacherous Cruelty as our Edward of Caernarvon And first there died Charles Earl of Valois younger Brother to Philip the Fair late King of France and Uncle to Charles the Fair then King of France and Father to Philip of Valois afterwards in Opposition to King Edward the Third made King of France He had been all his time a right Frenchman that is an inveterate Enemy to the English Nation Nor did his Nephew Charles King of France himself long survive him But departed this life without Issue being then about 32 years of Age on the Kalends of February Anno Dom. MCCCXXVIII when he had Reigned six Years and one Month leaving his Queen big with Child which notwithstanding died shortly after the Birth So that the Right to the Crown devolved thereupon to our King Edward the Eldest Son and Heir of Isabella the said Charles his only Sister surviving and the Daughter of Philip the Fair. But the French Nation either despising King Edwards Youth or moved by their own evil Genius for it was afterwards the occasion of unspeakable Calamities to that Kingdom prefer'd Philip of Valois the Nephew of Philip the Fair before King Edward the Son of Philip's Daughter to the Throne of France Accordingly on the 29 day of May following * Lit. Dom. CB. Pascha 3 April being then Trinity-Sunday he was Crowned at Rheimes f D'Avila l. 2. ad An. 1561. where the Holy Oyl wherewith Cloüis their First Christian King was anointed is still kept with great Veneration But the ill consequences of this his Coronation will abundantly appear hereafter There died also this Year the Lord g Buchan p. 277. Walter Stuart of Scotland Son in Law to King Robert Bruce and by the Lady Margaret Father to Robert Stuart who was afterwards King of Scotland the First of that Glorious Family From whom is descended our Present Gracious Soveraign King James the Second whom God grant long and happily to Reign About the same time Elizabeth Queen of Scotland deceased and not h Id. Junii An. 1328. long after there departed this life the King himself Robert Bruce that valiant Captain very old and as was said infected with the Leprosie leaving behind him David his only Son and Heir a young Prince of about Eight Years old of whom we shall say much in the Process of this History This King i Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 447. Robert Bruce was by birth an English Baron as was also John k Id. ibid. p. 523. Baliol his Competitor thô by Marriages of their Houses with the Royal Line of Scotland they Both at last had a Title to the Crown of that Kingdom King Robert beside his Brother l Speed p. 558. §. 33. Edward who was slain in battle by the English in Ireland had a younger Brother named Bernard Bruce from whom descended the Noble Edward Bruce of Kinlosse in Scotland a Person of great esteem and Merit in the Court of our English Solomon King James the First His Son m Wright's Hist of the Antiq of Rutlandshire p. 50. c. Thomas Lord Bruce was by Letters Patents dated the 21 of June in the Ninth of the said King James created Earl of Elgin in Scotland and on the First of August the Seventeenth of King Charles the First advanced to the Degree of a Baron of this Realm as his Ancestors for many Ages before had been by the Title of Lord Bruce of Wharlton in the County of York Whose Son and Heir Robert Lord Bruce was a Person of such eminent merits as well for his signall Loyalty in the late unhappy Defection as since the Happy Restoration of Monarchy that for a further addition of Honour King Charles the Second of Blessed Memory by Letters Patents bearing Date the 18 of March in the Sixteenth Year of his Reign advanced him to the Titles of Lord Bruce of Skelton in the County of York Vicount Bruce of Ampthill in Bedfordshire and Earl of Aylesbury in the County of Buckingham And being also Hereditary High Steward of the Honour of Ampthill Lord Lieutenant of the Counties of Bedford Huntington and Cambridge Lord Chamberlain of the Kings Houshold and One of the Lords of His Majesties most Honourable Privy Council he lately departed
Peace and Concord would not only be rendred difficult but which God of his infinite Mercy avert impossible And moreover it doth not seem less worthy of consideration how mightily by occasion of the present Wars your Majesties Subjects are as it is said many ways exhausted of their Mony and other their Goods and are like upon continuance of such Burthens which God forbid to be further grieved And that the Event of War is doubtfull but especially upon the Divine Indignation to be feared Wherefore We more earnestly in the Lord require and exhort your Royal Magnificence nevertheless beseeching You by the Mercies of God that taking the Premises and what else may occurr to your Royal Wisdom into your Princely Consideration you may by taking Truce with the said King and renewing the Peace obviate the dangers both of your Self most Dear Son and of your People and so please God who loveth Peace and delighteth in Peace-makers rendring thereby your self more acceptable unto Him and confirming the strength of your whole Kingdom And that therefore you would incline to the wholsom Admonitions and Perswasions of ourdear Sons Peter of the Title of St. Praxedis Priest and Bertrand of St. Mary in Aquiro Deacon Cardinals of the Apostolick See our Nuntio's who are zealous of your Royal Honour and Success and whom we have lately by Advice of our Brethren sent to those Parts for that purpose Truly considering the Premises and that we might prevent the like dangers and innumerable more which are ready to follow from the said Wars and that between You our most Loving Son and the said King who is by the near Tye of Blood and Affinity joyned unto You the fulness of Peace and mutual Charity may flourish We wish with most ardent desires a Reformation of this Peace and if perhaps it cannot be obtained by the Instance of the said Cardinals yet if You O most Dear Son and the said King disposing your selves to mutual Concord acceptable to God amiable to Men profitable to Christendom and many ways the best for both of You will but consent that We also in our own Person should intend as Friendly Moderators to the Reformation of Peace taking a mutual Truce and granting a Cessation from Arms for a convenient time wherein the Treaty of Peace may be begun continued and if the Lord of Mercies grant brought to an happy End We thô we are continually occupied with weighty and importable Affairs even above our strength do notwithstanding thrô Desire of the said Peace hereby offer Our selves ready as far as conveniently and with honesty may be done effectually to interpose in the Reformation of this Peace to the Quiet Profit and Honour of each Party our share of Sollicitude as it shall be administred unto Us from above Concerning all which we request your Royal Majesty upon the most mature Deliberation to write unto Us your Pleasure Given c. at Avignon x Kalen. Jan. Anno Pontif iv To this Letter of the Popes the King of England wrote this Answer * * Walsingh hist p. 130. To the most Holy Father in God Benedict by Divine Providence Bishop of the Holy Roman Church Edward by the Grace of God King of France and of England and Lord of Ireland Devout Kissings of his Holy Feet We received with due Reverence and Devotion the Letters of your Holiness sent last unto Us wherein your Goodness persuades us to renew the Peace or take a Truce with the Lord Philip of Valois graciously adding that You in your own Person would intend to the Reformation thereof as a Friendly Moderator if We and the said Philip would consent thereto Surely We considering in the Lord your Holinesses Affection which is so sollicitous for the quiet of your Sons do humbly return You all possible Thanks for that your wholsom Persuasion and an Offer so condescending and so pious and in a firm love and confidence of your Integrity we desire to follow your Counsel and particularly to conform Our selves to your Holy Pleasure But it is now notoriously known how the said Philip contrary to Justice hath usurped unto himself the Kingdom of France lawfully devolved unto Us by the Death of the Lord Charles of Famous Memory the last King of France our Uncle And not content with this he hath seised into his hands our Lands in the Dutchy of Aquitain as many as he was able in Hostile manner invading our Islands in the Sea and also our Kingdom of England with that very Fleet which under colour of an Holy Expedition beyond Sea he pretended to rig forth having sworn for the Cause of Christ He hath also excited the Scots to rebell against us designing altogether to oppress us that so according to his unsatiable Desire of Sovereignty he may the more freely withhold from us our said Kingdom of France and other our Hereditary Lands To whom as we remember we have written before to your Holiness We have offer'd many desirable Methods of Peace willing even to purchase Quiet of him thô with no small Resignation of our own Rights But he long holding us in suspense by divers specious Treaties and exposing us to vast Expences that so he might drain our Exchequer and render us thereby unable to recover our Rights hath at last took no care to give us any Satisfaction but still his Persecution encreased and rag'd against Us Wherefore necessity so compelling We are now come to the Parts beyond Sea to take unto us the Assistance of our Friends to revenge the Injuries done and to repulse those that would have been done by him unto Us and to obtain our Hereditary Rights Which certainly we intend not to neglect but will pursue them when we cannot by any other agreeable way by Force of Arms God being our Help And althô in Presence of the Reverend Fathers Peter of the Title of St. Praxedis Priest and Bertrand of St. Mary in Aquiro Deacon Cardinals and Nuâ—tio's to your Holiness who have laudably and sollicitously labour'd in the Affair of Peace the said Realm of France which by all Right is known to belong to Us hath been demanded and We have under certain ways of Peace caused our said Will to be sincerely open'd to the foresaid Cardinals always offering Our selves ready to embrace any reasonable Method of Peace on condition the Adverse Party will agree thereto Yet neither by the said Cardinals nor by Others could we know to this Day that he the said Philip would do or offer any thing of Satisfaction unto Us. And truly if then he had made but never so small Offers to shun the hazards of Wars and the prosuseness of Expences we should have made a reasonable Answer thereupon but now we see not what we can do farther with our Honour in the way of Peace But for all that if it shall now please the foresaid Lord Philip to offer us any Reasonable Way or if your Prudent Consideration or the said Lords Cardinals shall open unto
annum §. 9. extat apud Benedict Tom. 6. Epist secr 302. M.S. Dr. Stillingfleet sâ—â— incipiens Ut Sanctitati Domini nostri Summi Pontifiâ—is c. That it may be made evident to the Holiness of our Lord the Pope that our Lord the King of England doth justly by Hereditary Right claim the Kingdom of France the Information which follows was given in by the Ambassadors of the said King. The Matter whereupon the Lord Edward King of England saith He hath Right to the Crown of France is thus It is and hath been notoriously known that the Lord Charles the Younger Son of Philip King of France commonly called the Fair after the Death of the Lord Philip his Brother at which time the said Lord Charles immediately by Hereditary Right succeeded in the said Kingdom was true King of France and that unto him the said Kingdom of France was lawfully devolved by Right of Succession and that he the Lord Charles held and peaceably and quietly possessed the said Kingdom of France for the time that he Reigned as true King of France And that at last the same Lord Charles leaving no Brother then surviving deceased without any Heir Male begotten of his Body It is also certain de jure that in Hereditary Successions coming from one Intestate the next of Bloud to the Deceased being able at the time of the Decease to Succeed doth wholly exclude all the more remote of the Blood of the said deceased whether he was allied to the Deceased by the Person of a Male or Female And it is certain that at the time of the Death of the said Lord Charles King of France as aforesaid the foresaid Lord Edward King of England was his nearest Kinsman as who was Son of the Sister of the said Lord Charles namely of the Lady Isabella Queen of England being only removed from the same Lord Charles aforesaid in the Second Degree of Consanguinity But the Lord Philip of Valois who occupies the said Kingdom of France was Son of the Uncle of the said Lord Charles namely Son of the Lord Charles of Valois Brother to the foresaid Philip the Fair and so notoriously removed from the said King Charles in the Third Degree of Consanguinity And by Consequence in common Right the foresaid Lord Edward King of England Son of the Sister of the foresaid Lord King Charles deceased k The Original more full debait debet ought by Right of Succession to be preferr'd in the Succession of the said Kingdom to the foresaid Lord Philip of Valois who only is near to the said King. Charles in the Third Degree of Consanguinity l Hic in M.S. Dr. Stilling-sleet multa adduntur eâ— Pandect c. ad Jus Regis stabiliendâ—on allegata tum quâ—e sequuntar hic The Intention therefore of our Lord the King of England being founded on Common Right nothing remains but only to answer what may be objected And first it is objected on the part of the Lord Philip of Valois who bears himself as King of France against the King of England aforesaid that the same King of England did unto him as King of France make Homage for the Dukedom of Aquitain and for the Earldom of Pontive and did thereby recognise him the said Lord Philip to m The Original more full fore else be his Lord and King of France 2. It is also objected to the King of England that he made unto him Liege Homage and Oath and that of these things the foresaid Philip hath by him Letters sealed with the Seal of the foresaid King of England and moreover that these Letters were sealed in England 3. It is also objected to the foresaid King of England that he is not of the Blood of the House of France but by Means of a Woman namely of the Lady Isabell his Mother And that a Woman neither can nor ought an approved and lawfully prescribed Custom in the Realm hindring to be admitted to obtain the said Kingdom by Right of Succession and by Consequence by means of her her Son is not to succeed To answer these Objections the Information which follows was given in by the Ambassadors of the King aforesaid First that the Homage made ought not in effect to prejudicate the King of England because the same King of England at the time of making the said Homage was notoriously under Age nor had then compleated the 18th Year of his Age whereby he ought as other Minors when they are abused within the times provided by the Laws of Restitution to the full to be aided by a competent Judge if there had been a Competent Judge with the benefit of Restitution to the full But upon Defect of a Competent Judge the said King of England within the foresaid times of Restitution to the full used other Remedies of Law which ought to suffice him in this Part. Moreover the said King of England being under Age as aforesaid did before the making of his Homage by one of his Procurators especially constituted for that purpose protest openly and expresly that for any Homage whatsoever to be made to the Lord Philip of Valois then bearing himself as King of France by the said King of England for the Dukedom of Aquitain and the County of Pontive he did not nor would intend to renounce his Hereditary Right which he had to the Realm of France or any way from the said Right to derogate althô thereupon Letters should thereafter be signed with either of his Seals And he did protest that he made not any Homage to the said Lord Philip of his own Free Will but only he should do it for the just fear he had of Losing the said Dukedom and County and because he feared that unless he should do such Homage unto him he could not avoid other great Dangers and irreparable Losses And to the Truth of the Premises the King of England caused by his said Procurator an Oath to be taken upon his Soul by laying Hands on the Holy Gospel before many Witnesses called thereto As to the Objection concerning the Oath which the King of England in his Homage ought to have made or that he should have sworn so to have declared saving the Objectors Reverence it is not true because neither the Lord the King of England nor any of his Progenitors did ever swear in the Performance of any Homage as will evidently appear by the Inspection of the Registers containing the Forms of the said Homages nor is it contained in any Letters sealed with the King of England's Seal that such an Oath hath been made Nor can it be said that in the Homage made by the said Lord the King an Oath was tacitly implied hereby that the Letters were sealed with the King of England's Seal wherein it was contained that this Homage was Liege because the word Liege doth by its signification no way import the same And as to what is said that these Letters were sealed
be broken by this Blow he soon after dispos'd of his Men into Winter Quarters and return'd himself into England to provide more effectually against the next Campaigne The Earl of o Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 193. ex Châ—â— Fr. Joh. Clinne M.S. in Bodlei Bibl. f. 99. Tom. 4. p. 70. Oxford also having first been in Bretagne took the Sea about the Feast of the Blessed Virgin and by Tempest was cast upon the Coasts of Connaught in Ireland Where he and his Company suffer'd much Misery from those Barbarous People there who pillaged them of all they had So that with much difficulty they escaped alive out of their hands and afterwards came safe into England XVI About this time was Queen Philippa of England brought to Bed of a Fair Daughter named Mary who was afterwards married to John Montford who in time obtain'd the firname of Valiant and having conquer'd his Enemies became Duke of Bretagne His Father John of Montford of whose Taking at Nantes we spake before was by vertue of the late Truce at Malestroit most p Mezeray ad huncan Fabian p. 270. c. certainly deliver'd out of Prison this Year on Condition that he should not depart from Court But this notwithstanding he made his Escape and put himself in the Head of his Troops in Bretagne having obtained succour from England as we shall shew hereafter But because in the September following he died his Release from Imprisonment was not taken notice of by some Authors This Year there died at Bourdeaux the valiant Lord q Dugd. 2. Vol. p. 104. Oliver Ingham Seneschall of the said City in the Fifty Ninth Year of his Age without Issue Male Wherefore his younger Daughter Joan Wife to the Lord Roger le Strange of Knokyn and Mary his Grandaughter by Elizabeth his eldest Daughter and her Husband Sr. John Curson became his Heirs CHAPTER the TWENTY THIRD The CONTENTS I. King Edward demands of the Pope Satisfaction on the French Kings Part or declares that he will renounce the Truce II. The Earl of Northampton commission'd to defie the French King c. III. King Edward's Manifesto touching the Dissolution of the Truce IV. He sends Henry Earl of Darby into Aquitain V. A particular Account of his Actions there during the Campaign VI. The Lord Manny finds his Fathers Bones in the City of Reole VII The strong Castle of Reole yielded the Town being taken before VIII The Earl of Darby proceeds in Taking of Towns and Castles IX He wins Mirapont Tonneins Damasan and Augoulesme where he makes the Lord John Norwich Governour and so returns to Bourdeaux I. BEfore this Expedition of the Earl of Darby's into Gascogne we shew'd how the Pope endeavour'd to compose Matters with King Edward to whom we do not find that the King return'd any Answer till after the Earls Arrival at Bourdeaux when he made a solemn Complaint to him bearing Date the a 4 Aug. Rot. Franc. 18 Ed. 3. m. 3. Ashmele p. 654. Fourth of August which he sent by John Hufford Dean of Lincoln Sr. Hugh Nevil and Nicolas de Flisco willing them to demand a Reformation and Security for the Observance of the said Truce untill the Expiration of the Term appointed and sworn by each of the Kings Deputies And in case that should not be done as it was not expected then they to surrender the Copy of the Truce into the Pope's Hands and to defie Philip of Valois as the Kings Enemy Yet notwithstanding these Amicable and Christian-like Desires of the King of England met with nothing but Flams and Dilatory Answers For on the 20 of October following Dr. William Bateman Bishop of Norwich John Hufford Dean of Lincoln and John Thoresby one of the Canons of Lincoln Sr. Hugh Nevil and Sr. Ralph Spigurnel Knights together with the foresaid Nicolas de Flisco were Commissionated to declare before the Pope in what Particulars the Truce had been broken and instantly to demand Reparations II. But after all this little Satisfaction being offer'd AN. DOM. 1345. An. Regni Angliae XIX Franciae VI. and none at all given to the King his Majesty seeing the Truce manifestly and openly violated and that the Pope and his Legates were too evidently Partial on the French Side gave Commission to William Bohun Earl of Northampton bearing Date the 24 b Asâ—mâ—le p. 654 ex Râ—t Franc. 19 Ed. 3. m. 4. p. 1. of April to defie Philip of Valois as a Violator of the Truce an unjust Usurper of his Inheritance of the Realm of France and his Capital Enemy Which Defiance being made he was order'd to go with John Earl of Montford into Bretagne as the King of England's Lieutenant General to defend that Dutchy against the Lord Charles of Blois being empowred to receive the Fealty and Homage of those People in the Kings Name which was due unto him as True King of France a like Power having c Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 185. ex Râ—â— Fr. 16 Ed. 3. n. 25. three Years before been given him in the same Parts And shortly after the King set forth a Manifesto bearing Date the d Ashâ—cle p. 654 14 of June touching the Dissolution of the Truce wherein the Causes were declared at large being in Substance the same with those Letters which he had sent to the Pope and Four Cardinals bearing Date e Rot. Rem 19. Ed. 3. m 2. n. 4. 26 of May the Month preceding the Date of this Defiance a Copy whereof followeth agreeing with the other which is to be seen in the Original Latine both in Adam Murimouth's M.S. and also in Dr. Stillingfleets aforemention'd III. f Fâ—â— Acts and Mâ—n An. 1345. Adam Mâ—â—imoâ—th M.S. Dr. Covel M.S. Dr. Stillingâ—â—eet qu â—as cum Foxo 〈◊〉 â—â—itus faâ—es â—ut peritia videbâ— tur defideraâ—â— EDWARD by the Grace of God King of England and France and Lord of Ireland to all and singular to whom these Presents shall come Greeting We doubt not but it is now publiquely known how that after the Decease of Charles of Famous Memory King of France and Brother to the most Serene Lady Isabella Queen of England our Mother the Crown of the said Kingdom being incommutably devolved unto Us as unto the next Heir Male of the said King then being alive the Lord Philip of Valois who is but Son to the Uncle of the said King and so related unto him in a more remote Degree of Consanguinity did in the time of our Minority by Force and contrary to God and Justice usurp the said Kingdom and still doth usurp and detain it Invading moreover and spoiling our Lands in our Dukedom of Aquitain and Confederating against Us with our Rebellious Enemies the Scots and otherwise to the utmost of his Power labouring and endeavouring to procure the Ruine and Subversion of Us and of Ours both by Land and Sea. And thô we to prevent the inestimable Dangers which it is probably feared may happen
Collateral to her Brother King Charles being disabled to Succeed by a continued Custom of that Realm or by a Statute lawfully published which excludeth Women from Succession in the Kingdom whether Edward her Son or Philip Son of the First Charles who was Uncle to this Last King Charles should carry the Crown and Kingdom of France according to the Lawfull Rules of Succession In which doubtfull Case I shall first lay down certain Reasons on the Behalf of Philip But before other Matters because the whole Knot of the Business is rooted upon the Custom and Statute whereof I have spoken lest the Foundation should fail I will strengthen that Statute with certain Reasons and First thus This Statute as it is presupposed in the State of the Question was lawfully made and published the Nobility of the Realm being thereto called and all those who had any Right or Interest in this Case to be called So that it proceeded from the whole Council of the Realm lawfully assembled Therefore whether Authority to make Statutes be a Matter of meer or mixt Empire or else of simple Jurisdiction the Statute is of Force and Good i Arg. l. Illicicitus §. Qui universis ff de Offic. Prasid l. Hâ—manum C. de â—egibus l. Omnes populi ff de just jure junctis ibi nâ—tatis Barth in primâ questione principali saae repetitionis unà cum notatis ejusdem in l. Imperium in quaest suà quae incipit Quer. quibus Judicibas ff de Jurisdict Omnium Judic in Law. Again this Statute is greatly confirmed by the Apparent Profit which by the good Provision thereof is much procured to the Realm of France Lest if a Woman should succeed the Weakness of her Sex might become Fatal to the k Arg. ad haec Inst quibut alie licet non vel in Fi. primire State Whereto strongly maketh the Law Faeminae ff de Reg. Juris with other Laws which affirm l ff derpostuland l. 1. §. seâ—um junct ib. gl fac l. in multis ff de statu Heminâ—â— that Women must not exercise such Offices as appertain to Men. This is also made good in that Law which was in Force in the Middle Time of the Empire of Rome bearing more Favour unto Men in Succession of Collaterals of which Quality is this now in Question did sometimes dispose m Inst de Leg. Agnat succ §. Câ—terum ubi benè facit ratio ejusdem §. posita ibi Quod ideò C. de Leg. ber l. Lege XII Tab. that Inheritances should pass from one to another among the Male Kindred althô they were in a very distant Degree But the Women Kindred should then only succeed in case they were Sisters If they were more remote whether descended of Sisters or any other they were held incapable For if that Law could exclude Women Kindred from Lawfull Succession as it did because otherwise the Correction thereof comprised in these cited Laws had not been necessary for that which is not n ff de injâ—st rupt irrit test l. nam eâ—si cannot be abolished broken or corrected Then this o Arg. praemiss ff de Legibus l. non est novum l. de quibus cum similibus Statute may do the same in the Kingdom of France Again that the Right of a Kingdom is carried by Hereditary Succession or by Prerogative of Custom it is brought in only by Positive and Civil Law p Le. no. 8. q. 1. c. Moses ibi glo Archid. to wit Custom Therefore it followeth that it may be taken away by the same Law and consequently by the Law of this Statute q Ar. ff de Reg. jur l. Nil tam naturale Inst de jur natur Gent. Civ §. Sed Naturalia inst de legit Agnat tutela §. Fi. or Custom By which it seemeth to be as clear as the Light that the Lady Isabell could not come to the Crown of the Realm of France as being altogether disabled and excluded by Statute So then upon this Foundation thus laid beforehand many Reasons may be raised against King Edward For lawfull Successions proceed by Degrees that is from one Degree to another So that as a Man is nearer in Order of Degree so r Inst de legit Agnat Sâ—ccess §. Placebat ibi not is he stronger in Right of Succession But in Case of our Question the nearer and stronger Degree of Isabell is plainly disabled from Succession by Statute Therefore this Lawfull Succession as interrupted or stopped by Her cannot proceed to a further Degree viz. to King Edward Because Succession goeth on by Steps and not per saltum Å¿ In. tit qui feud da. poss §. quia facit l. ut Gradatim ff de munere oner injunct l. qui indignus ff de Senateribus as Baldus noteth And this Sequel is proved for t Lâ—tria praedia ff de servit rust praed that the Overthrow of Order is also the Overthrow of that which is to be Ordered And upon u ff de Officâ—ejus cui mandaest Jurisdictio l. 1. §. hajus rei argumentum Destruction of the Antecedent the Destruction of the Consequent doth ensue Again if King Edward should make Claim of any such Succession this must be by reason of the Royal Blood derived unto him from King Philip his Grandfather by the Mothers Side by the Mean of his Mother But the Mother had no such Blood in her self capable of Succession as it appeareth by that which hath been said Ergo x Arg. l. Nemo ff de Reg. Jur. l. traditio ff de acquirendo rerum Dommie She could not convey the same unto her Son. Again every y ff l. Plenum ff sinsus minister ii ff de usu hab Right by Derivation thereof is made more feeble Therefore if this Blood was not of Ability to succeed in the Mother as it appeareth before much less shall it be of that Ability being conveyed and deriv'd into King Edward The Form of Proof is taken à Majori ad Minus To the same Purpose an Argument may be drawn from z Filius familiâs ff de acquir Haered another Law where a Son being in the Power of his Father cannot appoint his Son and the Grandchild of his Father who holdeth Authority over both to take upon him to be the Heir of his Mother deceased upon Consideration of this Reason that the Father who giveth Authority is in that Case that by Himself in Person he cannot enter into such an Inheritance Therefore by parity of Reason in the Case of this Question the Mother Isabell cannot give Right of Succession to King Edward because by her Self in Person she is not able to succeed To the same purpose serveth the Law Filium habeo ff ad Senatusconsultum Macedonianum Again where a Nephew or Grandchild hath a Grandfather and a Father of divers Conditions the
or Encrease than by way of Confiscation especially of that which riseth upon the Crime of Treason as it is in this present Case It was also set forth at large by the Letters and Rescripts of King Edward how the King of France never renounced either the Reversion or Soveraignty of those Lands which were deliver'd to the King of England by the Treaty of Calais And it was said by way of Corollary that neither the Dutchy of Aquitain nor any other Lands whatsoever ought ever to be deliver'd to the English upon any Respect because among other Reasons the English never yet had althô it were but one Foot of Land in France whether it were by Marriage or otherwise but in the end they always raised Wars and Troubles against the King and State of France And further there were noted and set down many Expeditions made into Aquitain both before and since the time of Charles the Great occasion'd by Justice of the Kings of France for Condemning and Depriving many Dukes of Aquitain because of their Rebellions and other bad Behaviour declaring manifestly that the said Dutchy of Aquitain was sometime the Proper Right and Inheritance of the Kings of France and that did evidently appear in that Charles the Great made and ordained Lewis the Gentle his Eldest Son King of the said Country of Aquitain as King Dagobert long before made Hubert his Brother by the Fathers side only Many other things are there contained which pretend to answer all that the English could say or alledge But We shall now hear what the King of England could say in his own Behalf when We have first set down a short Genealogical Table of the Descent from St. Lewis to King Edward and Philip of Valois VIII THE PEDIGREE OF THE Kings of FRANCE From Philip the Son of St. Lewis untill Charles the Fair. King Philip the Son of St Lewis King Philip the Fair. King Lewis Hutin Jane Countess of Eureux King Philip the Long. Margaret Countess of Artois King Charles the Fair. Blanch Dutchess of Orleans Isabell Queen of England Edward the III. K. of England Charles of Valois Philip of Valois IX Reasons alledged by the KING of ENGLAND for his Right and Title to the Kingdom of FRANCE UPON Supposal as it is evident and notorious in Fact that Philip of Famous Memory sometime King of France the Father of Charles of Honourable Remembrance King of France last deceased and of the most Gracious Lady Isabell Queen of England our Mother 1 Reason Proximity in the Descending Line was our Grandfather by the Mothers Side Then was no Male surviving nearer than We to the same King Charles at the time of his Death of all those who were descended with him from our Grandfather Philip Uncle to our Adversary Now the Person of a Woman is not capable of that Kingdom by a Law therein anciently observed which Law by way of final Cause respecting the Favour of that Realm lest the State thereof should decline under the Weak Government of a Woman by Excluding the Person of a Woman doth not therefore exclude the Person of a Man descended of a Woman so excluded Lest Matters Odious should be extended which is Odious in Law from Person to Person from Sex to Sex from Cause to Cause from Hatred to Favour And lest the Feminine Gender which is contrary to all Rules of Law should comprise the Masculine 2 Reason Restraint of things odiouâ— 3 Reason the Femin Gender compriseth not the Mascaline 4 Reason Derivation of Right from the Grandfather by the Mother 5 Reason Absurdity in Law. 6 Reason The Descending preferred before the Collateral 7 Reason the cause or reason of the Law ceasing especially in a case of an Odious Nature For to this end the Law before mention'd excludeth the Weakness of Women from bearing Rule that more Profitable Provision might be made for the State and that the next Male no otherwise debarred might be Assumed into her Place especially to that Right which did not first spring from the Mother so excluded but is originally derived and propagated from the Grandfather to the Grandchild Otherwise by this odious Enlarging another Absurdity in Justice would ensue that the Nearer Collateral should be excluded and the more distant and remote brought in Seeing that by the Law of Nature and of Nations Brothers and Sisters and their Sons are preferred in mutual Succession before other Collaterals in another Line So that upon this Statute which is made in Favour of the Kingdom and in Hatred of a Woman being debarred from the Kingdom Occasion should arise both of Violation to Law and of Injury to such Males as are descended from a Woman Neither can We conceive that the Intent of the Law here mention'd is so unjust as that the Mother and the Son upon Dislike Reason should be condemned and punished alike Yea by the Contrary Judgment of the same Law whereby the Mother is expelled from Succession the Son entring into the same Degree of his Mother succeedeth in her Place like unto that Son who riseth into the Degree of his Father or Mother deceased 8 Reason the Son entreth into the Degree of his Mother to succeed his Grandfather 9 Reason One vexation not to be added to another that he may be received in equal Terms with his Uncles to the Succession of his Grandfather That so the Sorrowfull Mother being stripped of her Royal Inheritance by Rigour of this Statute should in Right receive some Solâ—ce by Substitution of her Son and not one Heaviness to be heaped upon another which the Upright Consideration of Law doth abhorr as we see even where a Charge of Calamity cometh not by the Law but by Misadventure as in that Law whereby the Custom is condemned which permitteth another Man to take the Goods of them that suffer shipâ—reck By which Reason that which is corrected in express Disposition of Law for avoiding an Encrease of Grief is more strongly prohibited in the secret Disposition Let it therefore more than fully suffice that by the Law of the Realm of France the Mother is cut from the Royal Stem not by any Default in her Self but by the Fact of Nature which framed her a Woman And that by Express Law she suffereth a certain Shipwrock in her own Disinheriting althô she be not by any secret Consequence of the same Law contrary to the Course of Justice wrecked again with her Disinherited Son 10 Reason One not to be burthen'd with anothers Hate And so against all Rules and Reasons of Law one should be burthen'd with anothers Hate Whereas the Right from which the Mother is excluded is in such sort given unto the Son that the Mother receiveth nothing by this Office and Charge of the Son. So likewise we shall find Punishment enlarged without Offence whereas it should be mollified and restrained 11 Reason Punishments to be restrained 12 Reason from an Instance of great Authority even where there
intend to the Cause of our Saviour which is neglected and may thereby be attributed to the great shame and ignominy of every Christian King thô never so well deserving But we know not for what Offence it happens that from the meek Offers of Peace from whence Friendship ought to arise there hath grown a Swelling of greater Anger and Obstinacy in our Persecutors Mind against Us Thô God and our Conscience bearing Us witness We have not provoked Him by any one fact or attempt made by Us against Him. Nay the Eyes of all the World our publique Witnesses do see with how many and great Indignities our foresaid Persecutor who stiles himself King of France doth daily wound and defalcate Us and our Rights He is at this Present an Invader and unjust Usurper of the Realm of France it self which is known to belong to Us by all true Right of Succession not having been asham'd to withhold by Force that Crown which he ought rather to claim by Law and Equity We being called and heard thô We were a Male and it could no way be doubted but that We were a Person principally concern'd in the Matter and Our Right was as Notorious in that very Realm as it is founded on the Law of Nature The matter of Fact being Evident that Philip of Famous Memory late King of France Father of Charles King of France last-deceased and of the most Serene Lady Isabella Queen of England Our Mother was our Grandfather And that to the same Charles at the time of his Death no Male living of those who together with him descended from the same Philip was nearer than Our Selves And thô the Female Person by Custom Anciently observed in that Kingdom be rendred uncapable of inheriting that Crown this Law being principally intended for the Good of the Realm that under a frail Womans Government the Kingdom should not fall to ruine thô it excludes the Person of the Woman doth not yet exclude the Person of the Male descending from the Woman thus excluded d d Here a Clause of which I can make no good Sense is left out Beside by the foresaid Law the Female Frailty is excluded from the Kingdom that the Realm may be more Advantagiously provided for and the nearest Male be admitted Or else let him be admitted rather to that Right who doth not primarily proceed from the Mother so excluded but is to be look'd on as a Nephew propagated Originally from the Grandfather otherwise there would follow another absurdity of Injustice that the Collaterals of the same Line should be excluded and a more Remote Kinsman call'd in when by the very Natural Law of Nations Brothers and Sisters and their Children are in mutual Succession still Prefer'd to other Collaterals of another Line And thence the said Law arose in Favour of Kings and Hate of the Females Inability to Reign not that by the Injury done to the Female an Occasion also should be taken of Injuring the Male Descendant Nor yet is it to be thought that the intention of this Law could be so unjust as to condemn the Mother and the Son being of another Country Nay rather on the contrary by that very Judgement of the Law whereby the Mother is remov'd from the Succession the Son being seated in his Mothers Place and supplying her deficiency the Succession devolves unto him Just as a Son steps into the Right and Degree of his Father deceased so as to be admitted to the Succession of his Father among his Fathers Brethren Then well may the disconsolate Mother thô by the foresaid Rigour of the Law divested of her Royal Inheritance Rejoyce again and be Comforted that her Son is so substituted in her Place Nor then is Affliction added to Affliction which the Sacred Consideration of the Law abhorreth as we see even where the Law hath not laid an easie Burden of Affliction but a case in the Law which condemns that customary Law that yields the goods of shipwrack'd Persons to another Because it there expresly corrects it by this reason that we should avoid adding to Affliction much more for that very Reason is it forbid Let it therefore satisfie this Law of France that from a Mother more then Pregnant who yet was not made a Woman by any of her own fault but by necessity of Nature it fully cuts off the Root of Royalty And that so the Mother by the Law of her Disherison doth expresly suffer as it were a certain Shipwrack But let it not also be cruelly and against all Right concluded that she is in the Person of her disinherited Son to suffer a second and a worser Shipwrack or that without a Fault the Punishment should be doubled when even where a Fault is the Punishment ought to be mitigated Otherwise if because the Mother is not Lawfully admitted to the Throne the Son must be understood to be Lawfully expelled from the Throne Then had not the Kingdom of the Jews of Right belonged to the Holy Jesus which is against the Foundation of our Faith to assert Who notwithstanding he was the Son of God begotten in a Mystery without the Company of a Man of a Female of the Royal Stem of David even of the Virgin Mary who her self was not admitted to the Kingdom nor perhaps ought she to be admitted yet by the undoubted certainty of Faith became the True and Lawfull King of the Jews And God forbid that this Royal Succession of King Jesus should be either an untying or breaking of the Legal Observance since he came not to break the Law but to fulfill it Wherefore this most Excellent Instance of Lawfull Succession by Right of the Mother may reasonably put to silence the pretended Reasons of the Enemies of our Right in the said Kingdom of France That the Saviour of the World and We a Poor Mortal Sinner whom parity of reason as to this reconciles together may not be separated as to Our Lawfull Degree and Order of Succession by any vain Constitution or forced Interpretation of humane Laws And yet for all this there was not only not any due Citation of Us made nor our Defence thô in a Matter so highly Prejudicial to Our Right admitted but also Our Proctors who instantly desired that they might Legally appear for Us and Our Title were so far from being allowed an equitable Hearing as that they were rudely and unjustly repelled with horrible Menaces of no less than present Death Wherefore their Procedure thô the Deed of the Twelve Peers of France hinders Our said Title nothing at all since as to Us who were then Weak and in Our Minority they laying by the part of indifferent Judges perform'd the Office of Thieves and Robbers Whose Process thus made against Us to Our Prejudice even Our very Minority renders invalid in the Law. For neither could it have been effectual had it been made against an Adult Person that Just Defence being so deny'd which to every Freeman is allow'd
at last she also was caused to be hanged by Charles of Durazzo who succeeeded her in the Kingdom As may be seen at large in the Histories of Italy and Naples On the 16 of September this same Year p Mezeray p. 21. Philip King of Navarre Deceased whose Son Charles by the French firnamed the Wicked succeeded to the Crown being then under Age and in the Tuition of his Mother Queen Joan of France He was a Prince of extraordinary parrs of Mind and of Body of exquisite Beauty Courage and Address but his Inconstant Nature his unseasonable Ambition and his inveterate Envy to the House of France to which he was so nearly ally'd rendred him low and vile in the Eyes of all Men. Walsingham q Hist p. 153. n. 30. c. reports a strange and almost but that it is attested with such Circumstances incredible Story of an Accident that happen'd about this time in the North-parts of England to a certain Young Man of the Lord t Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 741. William Baron of Greystokes Family As this Young Man says my Author was riding thrô Corn-fields and beheld the Corn waving like the Sea growing thereby perhaps giddy he thought he saw a certain Ruddy-complexion'd little Pygmy-fellow to raise his Head by degrees above the Corn till the more he consider'd him still the more he seem'd to encrease in Stature who coming towards the Young Man took hold of his Bridle and whether he would or no led him into the corn to a place where it seem'd to him there sat a most Beautifull Lacy among many young Damsels like her self This Lady commanded him presently to be taken from off his Horse and to be torn and mangled over all his Body and after all to be slead Whereupon she her self as he thought having dissected his Scull in the middle took out his Brains and then clos'd up the empty Scull again This done she order'd him to be set again upon his Horse and so let him go Immediately upon which being wholly void and destitute of understanding he began to fall mad and to make furious gestures as it appeared when he came to the next Town Hereupon a certain young Damsel who also belonged to his Lords Family and had loved him most tenderly came to him with some Assistants and took care of him and lest he should do any Mischief to himself or those who tended him caused him to be lock'd in Fetters This Maid carried him to many Holy places beyond Sea for the recovery of his Wits but having found no Remedy there she at last returned with him into England and still he complain'd of being haunted by the little Red fellow who at first appeared unto him At whose presence thô bound with three or four Chains he would always break them Having remain'd in this condition for six Years he was then at the Shrine of St. John of Beverley in Yorkshire made whole again in this manner Being fallen into a gentle slumber it seem'd to him that another most Beautifull Lady did again open his Scull and restore his Brains which had been taken away by the former Lady to their right place Accordingly upon his waking being perfectly recover'd of his senses he Married the foresaid Damsel who had so lovingly taken Care of him in his Madness of whom in time he begat 15 Sons After which his Wife dying he went into Holy Orders and was made Priest and promoted to the Church of Thorp-Basset in Yorkshire But while one day he was celebrating Mass with Great Devotion and as the Custom was elevated the Host for the People to behold the foresaid Red Fellow appear'd unto him again saying From henceforth let him whom You hold in your Hand be your Keeper For he knows better how to keep you than I do As I give no credit so neither do I desire to gain any to this Story But I must needs Remark that with a strong Consonancy thereto Ariosto the Italian Poet. acccording to the Tradition of the Church hath made St. John the President and Healer of Mad-men And ſ Adan 1373. Mezeray tells us of a certain Plague of Frenzy which was called St. John's Dance This Year died t Walsingh hist p. 154. n. 10. Dr. Anthony Beck Bishop of Norwich being as was supposed poison'd by his own servants for his boisterous and turbulent Humour for his severity to the Monks of his Church and for his Appealing to the Court of Rome in opposition to John Stratford Archbishop of Canterbury Who by a strange mistake in Godwin u Catal. Bps p. 425. is called Robert Winchelsey when he himself in the Title of Canterbury acknowledges John Stratford Archbishop of that See and no where mentions the other after the sixth Year of Edward the Second In his stead William Bateman x Godw. Catal. Bps p. 426. Doctor of the Civil Law and a Cambridge Man of Corpus Christi College Born at Norwich and Archdeacon of the same Church was now elected Bishop by the general Consent of the whole Convent He is acknowledged the Founder of Trinity-Hall in Cambridge and to have given certain Lands to the Maintenance thereof Which College is now Worthily Governed by the Worshipfull Sr. Thomas Exton Knight Doctor of the Laws a Man in our Days Renowned for his Loyalty Wisdom and Generosity He also Founded the Hall of the Annunciation of our Lady and gave one of the University Chests Nor content to have done good himself he perswaded one Gonwell or Gonvill to Found another Hall in the same University which many Years after being much enlarged at the Cost and Charges of a Learned Physician named John Key or Caius is now called Gonvill and Caius's College in Respect of both the Founders And the Master hereof at this time is the Learned and Worshipfull Robert Brady Dr. in Physick and a stout Asserter of the Rights of English Monarchy in the worst of times Wherefore together with the foremention'd Sr. Thomas Exton our Loyal University hath more than once chose him for her Burgess in Parliament This Year also the Lady Mary de Valence Daughter of Guy de Chastillon Earl of St. Paul Kinswoman to King Edward and Third Wife of Emery de Valence Earl of Pembroke being y Mill's Catal. of Nobility p. 1096 desirous to advance Learning Founded a College in Cambridge called by her Title Pembroke-Hall Endowing it with Large Possessions From which Princely Seminary many notable Lights of Learning and Piety have continually been brought forth and many more are daily expected it being at present under the Care and Custody of the Reverend Nathaniel Coga Doctor in Divinity a Person of great Loyalty Judgement and Candour CHAPTER the TWENTY SECOND The CONTENTS I. Vpon the Popes pressing the two Kings to hasten the Treaty of Peace they send their several Agents to Avignon Some Heads of their several Pleas but nothing done II. King Edwards Resolute Answer to a Nip of the Popes