Lancaster founds an Hospital at Leicester The Pope's Opinion about the Souls of the Departed The Lord Douglas dies in Spain Edward Bailiol claims the Crown of Scotland Hector and Buchanan found tardy King Edward represses certain Outlaws A Parliament The Earl of Oxford dies John of Luxemburgh King of Bohemia conquers in Italy From p. 55. to p. 65. Chap. V. A Parliament The true Grounds of the Scotch War. A Recapitulation of the Scotch Affairs The Scots Preparations against the War from England King Edward's preparations against Scotland A Parliament at York The Earl of Gueldre marries King Edward's Sister Edmund the young Earl of Kent dies Queen Philippa deliver'd of a Daughter From p. 65. to p. 70. Chap. VI. The Lord Robert of Artois flies into England King Edward summons the Scotch King to his Homage and on his refusal defies him and lays siege to Barwick The Ancestry of James Cecil the present Earl of Salisbury A Combat The Battle of HALIDOUN where King Edward obtains a mighty Victory King Bailiol prosecutes the War in Scotland King David flies into France King Bailiol plays the King in his Absence The Death of an Archbishop a Bishop and a Lord. From p. 70. to p. 83. Chap. VII A Parliament at York King Bailiol does Homage to King Edward as likewise the Duke of Bretagne A Council at Nottingham A Parliament at Westminster King Edward designing for the Holy Land sends Ambassadors to the French King. King Bailiol displeases his Friends and growing weak thereupon reconciles them and recovers King Edward goes towards Scotland The Lord Edward Bohun drown'd From p. 83. to p. 88. Chap. VIII King Philip of Valois undertakes the Croisade but doubting King Edward sifts Him first He rejects K. Edward's Conditions The first Seeds of the French War. Hugh Courtney made Earl of Devonshire A Parliament at York King Edward's Scotch Expedition The Earl of Namur taken by the Scots and the Earl of Murray by the English John Earl of Cornwall's Success in Scotland King Philip of Valois tryes King Edward again The Scotch Nobles submit to King Edward King Philip makes frustrate their Agreement David Earl of Athol slain Two Prodigies with the Death of two great Barons From p. 89. to p. 101. Chap. IX Certain English Lords besiege Dunbar but in vain King Edward orders King Bailiol to take the Field and soon after joyns him King Philip sends a Fleet against England King Edward commissions his Admirals to defend the English Seas He heaps up Money for the War but makes fair Overtures for Peace His Considerations on the French War and the Opinion of his Council thereon His Embassy to the Earl of Hainalt The two Kings put themselves in a Posture John Earl of Cornwall dies A Scotch Tale of his death refuted The Earl of Lincoln dies The Queen of England deliver'd of her Second Son William of Hatfield A Comet with other Prodigies From p. 101. to p. 108. Chap. X. King Edward's second Embassy to the Earl of Hainalt Five hundred English Voluntiers under a Vow King Edward's Methods to reduce the Flemings The Rise and Power of Jacob van Arteveld King Edward makes his Son the Black-Prince Duke of Cornwall and creates seven Earls A Parliament Affairs of Ireland All Aliens Lands seised into the Kings Hands and let to Farm. The Earl of Hainalt dies King Edward challenges the Crown of France and makes Friends in the Empire King Philip attempts the Flemings in vain He sets a Garrison in Cadsant which King Edward beats out King Edward treats with King Philip but finding no good there treats with his Allies The Pope interceeds From p. 108. to p. 120. Chap. XI A Parliament The Cardinals with King Edward's Commissioners return into France Their Overtures rejected King Edward at Antwerp summons his Allies with whom he holds a Parliament and another at Halle He sends to the Emperour and invites his Queen over She is deliver'd at Antwerp of her Third Son Prince Lionel Thomas of Brotherton the King's Vncle dies Naturalization An Enterview between the Emperour and King Edward who is made Lieutenant of the Empire King Edward holds a Parliament in Brabant A Day limited for the Confederate Lords to joyn King Edward who keeps his Court at Antwerp The Duke of Brabant makes fair with the French King. The Black-Prince holds two Parliaments in his Father's Name and obtains a mighty Aid for him The English Navy reinforced From p. 120. to p. 125. Chap. XII King Edward prepares to open the Campaign His Letters to the Pope and Cardinals setting forth his Right to the Crown of France The Pope's Answer thereto From p. 126. to p. 133. Chap. XIII King Edward summons the German Lords to meet at Mechlin They altogether send their Defiances to King Philip. The Lord Walter Manny begins the War. The Earl of Salisbury makes an Incursion into the Bishoprick of Liege The French King's Preparations The French burn Southampton K. Edward lays siege to Cambray And on King Philip's approach rises to meet him The two Kings face one another at Vironfoss A Day appointed for a Decisive Battle King Philip steals away King Edward returns to Antwerp sends for his Eldest Son and keeps Christmass there The Pope's Letters to King Edward The King's Answer Two Parliaments at Westminster From p. 134. to p. 153. Chap. XIV King Edward holds a Parliament at Brussels where he assumes the Arms and Style of France The Reasons why he did so The Queen of England deliver'd of her Fourth Son at Gaunt King James the Second his Pedigree from him by the Mothers Side A Copy of King Edward's Letters Monitory to his French Subjects He returns into England informs the Pope of his Reasons for using the Style and Arms of France The Pope's Answer From p. 154. to p. 162. Chap. XV. The Lord Oliver Ingham routs a French Army King Philip reinforces his Navy and sends to wast the Lord John of Hainalt's Lands The Lord Walter Manny's Brother slain The French King orders an Invasion upon the Lands of the Earl of Hainalt who therefore sends him a Defiance and having revenged himself on the French makes an Allyance with King Edward John Duke of Normandy invades Hainalt King Philip procures the Pope to interdict Flanders Jacob van Arteveld invites the Earl of Salisbury to joyn him before Tournay the said Earl and the Earl of Suffolk's Eldest Son taken Prisoners sent to the French King their Lives saved by the Old King of Bohemia The Duke of Normandy's Success in Hainalt he returns to Cambray Mutual Inreads into France and Hainalt The Duke lays siege to the Castle of Thine l'Evesque The Earl of Hainalt goes to raise the Siege From p. 162. to p. 177. Chap. XVI A Parliament King Edward being inform'd of the strength of the French Navy makes himself strong takes the Sea and engages the French Fleet. His Victory at SCLUCE Neale Loring Knighted for his Valour King Edward's Letters to his Clergy How King
ever since the Battle of Sterling whatever English Archer he could lay his Hands on it was his manner to cut off his Right Hand and to pluck out his Right Eye that he might thereby be rendred Useless for the Bowe We read the like to have been done indeed by the Amazons to those Male Children which themselves brought forth before they put them away to their Fathers And surely such ungenerous Cruelty better became that fearfull and therefore less humane Sex than so Famous a Knight as this Douglas to whom it rather belonged to be fierce and cruel to those that resisted but Mercifull and Gracious to his Captives and such as he had Conquer'd At his Death however the poor Archers of the North of England rejoyced 〈◊〉 but the whole Realm of Scotland was dejected especially now she saw a Storm approaching which no humane Power was more likely to avert than this her Valiant Commander the Lord Thomas Randulph also surviving him but a little while III. But before we fall upon that Story it will not be amiss by way of Preparation to repeat the Original of the matter something whereof We remember to have spoken n p. 4. §. 5. in the first Chapter of this our History Namely how upon the Vacancy of the Crown of Scotland upon the Death of Alexander the Third the Lord John Bailiol an English Baron was by King Edward the First adjudged to have the best Right of all the Pretenders to that Realm as he that claimed from the Eldest Daughter of David Earl of Huntingdon Younger Brother to William King of Scots and Great Uncle to Alexander aforesaid And how this John Bailiol made Fealty and Homage to King Edward the First of England for the said Crown of Scotland and how afterward he withdrew his Homage thrô Counsel of the French King the Abbot of Melros and others and in the Year of our Lord MCCXCIV sent unto the Pope that thrô false suggestion he had made his Oath unto King Edward both contrary to his Dignity and against his Will and therefore beg'd to be assoyled thereof which Request the Pope granted Thus o Fabian p. 140. M. S. vet Angl. in Bibl. C. C. C. c. 223. did John Bailiol begin to Rebell against the King of England who had set him up but King Edward soon after went against him and took the Town and Castle of Barwick with the slaughter of 26700 Scots so that Bailiol was obliged to yield himself up to the Conquerour by whom he was us'd with much humanity and at last deliver'd out of the Tower of London with all the Great Lords of Scotland that were taken at Barwick and upon his Oath and theirs had a safe Conduct to go into their own Country The other Scotch Lords forgot the Oath and Assurance they had made to King Edward but the Noble King John Bailiol had rather forsake a Crown than make it heavy unto him by perjury wherefore he took his Son Edward and his Family and went over the Sea to Quimper in Bretagne and lived there a private Life upon his own Lands And voluntarily forsook his Realm of Scotland Esteeming it less than his Faith and Honour Thô the Scots in Derision called him Sr. John Turnelabard because he was so shie of offending the King of England Thus John Bailiol kept in France till he died there and Sr. Edward his Son received his Heritage doing Homage to the King of France for his Lands of Quimper This Edward had in his Service an English Esquire born in Yorkshire named John Barnby whom he loved most intirely but one day John Barnby chanced upon a quarrel to kill a certain Frenchman whereupon he fled in all hast to the Castle for safety under the Protection of his Lord and Friend The Officers follow'd and demanded him to be deliver'd up as a Felon but Sr. Edward refus'd it for that time and at Midnight sent him secretly out of the Castle and he got safe over into England But the King of France was so displeas'd with this Action of Bailiol's that he siesed on all his Lands and flung him into Prison There he lay till the Lord Henry Beaumont came into France being drove out of England by the Power of Mortimer as we shew'd before Now this Lord Henry was Earl of Buquhain in Scotland in Right of his Wife but had been forced to relinquish the said Earldom when that shamefull Peace was made between England and Scotland at Northampton wherefore he thought no better way now of Recovering his Right than by the means of Sr. Edward Bailiol whom he look'd on as the true Heir to the Realm of Scotland and so desired to get him at Liberty if by any means he might prevail so far He was very Gracious with the King of France as being of his Blood and therefore beg'd of him That he would grant him of his Grace Sr. Edward Bailiols Body until the next Parliament that he might live on his own Rents in the mean time and then stand to the judgement of his Peers This Request the King Granted and upon Sr. Edward Bailiol's delivery from Prison the Lord Beaumont privily convey'd him into England and kept him closely at the Mannor of Sandall upon Ouse in Yorkshire with his Sister Isabell of Beaumont Lady Vesci Where privately he began to retain Soldiers on all hands in order to recover his own and the Bailiol's Right And Henry Lord Beaumont having first sounded the King this Year about the beginning of August the Lord Edward p Walsing â—ypod p. 112. n. 20 Hist p. 112. 113. Bailiol being attended by some 44 Knights of Almaine Captains of a few select Bands who follow'd him for hire or at a venture to partake of his Fortune came to London to our King Edward To whom he declared How his Father had been prefer'd as the Indubitate and Right Heir to the Crown of Scotland by Edward the First of England his Grandfather That for doing Just Homage therefore to the said King Edward he had been finally deserted by his own Subjects and afterwards supplanted by Robert Bruce That if it please the King He q Hector p. 312. n. 30. also would hold the Crown of Scotland of Him as Superior Lord of that Realm that therefore he humbly requested some Assistance from his hands whereby to recover his Ancient Right and Patrimony King Edward indeed was troubled not a little at the Dishonourable Peace struck up with the Scots in his Minority but it having been made in his Name he was resolved to keep it entirely for the promised term of four Years whereof hardly three were yet fully run out In his own Person therefore he absolutely r Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 507. a. Stâ—w p. 230. n. 50. refuses to assist the Bailiol as yet or so much as to let him lead any warlike Troops into Scotland thrô his Land both having a due respect to the foresaid Peace and for
as Ringleaders of the foresaid Dissentions had been by the French King adjudged to death for King Edwards sake were only now banished At this time also the Articles of the former League were restored and publique Instruments thereof made at Marmanda the October following and on the 20 of February in the beginning of the next Year were signed at Paris with the Kings Seal But this Peace was intricate and doubtfull because King Charles died before he had restored the Lands to his Nephew King Edward which had been taken away in Aquitain But hereupon Philip of Valois who had been present at the Ratification of the Peace being raised to the Throne neither would restore those Places won by his Father nor could by the Pope's perswasions be moved thereto and so dealing more hardly and too unkindly as well as unjustly with King Edward never remitted any thing of his Haughtiness till he had obliged the Young Prince to begin a War in the behalf of his Right which had almost brought the Kingdom of France to utter destruction But of this hereafter III. This mean while King Edward doubting what might happen resolv'd to be beforehand with his Enemies and as he question'd not but that a War would soon be open'd from France so he wisely design'd by a full Conquest to stop it the other way from Scotland Soon after Christmas therefore he went to Newcastle that he might bear an especial Eye to the Affairs of that Realm From whence b Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 638. he made the Lord Hugh Courtney a valiant old Gentleman Earl of Devonshire upon this occasion This Hugh had for many years after the Death of Isabell de Fortibus Countess of Albemarl and Devonshire quietly possessed the Lands and Fees of the Earldom of Devonshire as being c Vid. quemedo Mill's Catal. Hener p. 465. sole Heir to the foresaid Countess thô he had neither the Title nor Investiture of an Earl But at length there arose great difference between him and the Kings Officers of the Exchequer concerning the payment of the third Penny which as they said he being no Earl ought not to receive and thereupon the Sheriffs of Devonshire declin'd to pay it him any longer Wherefore he wrote his letters Supplicatory to the King being then in Scotland who immediately directed his Precept to the Lord Treasurer and Barons of his Exchequer requiring them to make search into the Records and Memorials remaining in their Hands and to certifie him thereof Which being done the King having well consider'd the Matter and the Merit of the Man return'd this Answer Rex Dilecto Fideli suo Hugoni de Courtney seniori Comiti Devon. Salutem c. d Claus 9. Ed. 3. m. 35. in derso Mill's Cat. Honor p. 465. Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 638. Time's storehouse p. 524. The King to his Well-beloved and Trusty Hugh Courtney senior Earl of Devonshire greeting Whereas you as appeareth by your Petition exhibited to Us and our Council have for some time been sued for the Annual Payment of xviii l. vi s. viii d. of the yearly Fee of the Earldom of Devonshire which Isabell de Fortibus late Countess of Devonshire whose Heir you are and the Predecessors of her the said Countess and yours Earls of Devonshire yearly received at the hands of the Sheriffs of that County that were for the time being and which you likewise after the Death of the said Countess as her Heir received for some time And whereas the said Summ hath since been from you detained because you have not used the Name and Title of an Earl as by the Certificate of our Treasurer and of the Barons of our Exchequer by our Commandment made into our Chancery doth appear Forasmuch as the Inheritance of the foresaid Countess and of her Predecessors and yours Earls of Devonshire is unto you descended by Hereditary Right and that you at this present do hold the said Inheritance We therefore willing to provide as well for our own Dignity and the Equity of our Kingdom as for your Honour and Support Will and Command you in requesting you that by taking to you the Name and Honour of an Earl you cause your self henceforward to be called Earl of Devonshire being assured that we will cause the foresaid Fee to be yearly paid unto you as it hath been wont to be paid to the Earls of Devonshire your Predecessors Witness the King at Newcastle upon Tine the 22d of February and in the Ninth Year of our Reign Edward R. And to enforce this the more he sent his Precept to the then Sheriff of Devonshire the Writ beginning Rex Vicecomiti Devoniae Salutem c. Commanding him forthwith by publique Proclamation both in his County and all other places of his Bailywick to require all Persons thenceforth to esteem and call him Earl of Devonshire And likewise another Precept to the Lord Treasurer and Barons of his Exchequer that they should cause the said Summ of xviii l. vi s. viii d. to be annually paid unto him nomine Comitis by the Title of an Earl as his Ancestors formerly had received it Now c Walsing Hypod p. 113. n. 30. Holinshead 898. R. Southwell c. about the Feast of the Ascension the King held his Parliament at York concerning his Affairs then in hand relating to the Scotch War at which time were Enacted sundry Statutes very serviceable for the Peace and Weal of the Realm And here by the Intercession of King Philip who sent thither the Bishop of Auranches and others for that purpose he granted the Scots a Truce till the Feast of St. John Baptist then next ensuing IV. But about Midsummer the Truce being near expired he went in the Head of his Army to Newcastle again whither King Bailiol came unto him from Carlile And here it was finally agreed between them and their Council that King Edward of England should pass to Carlile and on the 12 of July enter Scotland that way in Hostile Manner with these Lords and Captains in his Company Prince John Plantagenet sirnamed of Eltham Earl of Cornwall the Kings own Brother the Lord Henry Plantagenet Son to the Earl of Lancaster the Kings Cosin Thomas Beauchamp Earl of Warwick John Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex John Vere Earl of Oxford the Lord Bartholomew Burwash Senior the Lord Adam Wells Ralph Lord Bulmer the Lord Ebulo le Strange who dying this Year left his Wife and Title of Earl of Lincoln to Hugh de Frenes who was also in this Expedition together with John Lord Willoughby Henry Lord Fitz-Hugh Robert Lord Ferrers William Lord Montague the Lord Hugh Audley junior the Lord William Clinton the Lord John Norwich the Lord John Bardolph the Lord John Tibetot or Tiptot and the Lord John Grey of Codnore with Sr. Mawrice Barkley Brother to Thomas Lord Barkley and many others of High Quality and Courage On the other Hand King Bailiol was appointed to go to Barwick
us any agreeable Method of Peace to which the said Philip shall consent presently when we shall be once assured thereof we will take Deliberation thereupon and with all speed return such an Answer as ought to seem reasonable and acceptable to your Holiness and to All that have a solid right and ordinate Reason And if perchance in the foresaid Method of Treating the Consent of our Friends and Allies should seem requisite to be obtain'd We our selves will put too all possible Diligence insomuch that it shall appear not to be our Fault that a firm Peace doth not follow thereupon if the other Party will but condescend to Reason We therefore heartily beseech your Clemency that if it please you you would duly weigh our Justice and Intention founded upon Truth and incidently cherish Us who continue in all fulness of Devotion to You and the Holy Roman Church with the favour of solid Love and Charity esteeming of Us as of a most Devout Son. For God the Lord of Consciences is our Witness that We desire to augment the Honours and Liberties of the Church and if God shall grant us to prosper with devout and humble Affection we aspire to fight his Battles against the Enemies of his Faith. God preserve your Holiness c. Given c. XI Before this there were two Parliaments this Year held at Westminster One being called by the Duke of Cornwall who had Commission thereto from the King his Father The Other by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Others who in the Absence of the King and his Son Prince Edward Duke of Cornwall had the same Commission The First was held on the Quindene of St. Michael or the 13 of October * C. Lit. Dom. which then fell on a Wednesday At the Opening h M.S. Rot. Parl. p. 23. Sr. Rob. Cotton p. 17. §. 1 2 3. c. whereof its Causes were declared to be Three First to take care for a strict Observation of the Kings Peace Secondly to provide for Defence of the Marches toward Scotland For that People being thereto instantly urged by their Kings Letters from France and the promised Assistance of the French King began to stir again notwithstanding the Truce And the Third and last Reason was for the better keeping the Sea To all which was added a Demand of a Supply for the King in his Wars After this the Archbishop of Canterbury who together with Dr. Richard Bury Bishop of Durham and Sr. Michael de la Pole came from beyond the Seas as the Kings Messengers to the Parliament made a Narration of the Kings Exploits which he had atchieved in those Parts at that time and the present Hazards both He and his Men were exposed to without liberal and speedy Supplies out of England The King as then lay near St. Quintin accompanied with 15000 Men of Arms and of Archers and Others more than 30000 as appeared by his Letters to the Lord William Clinton Earl of Huntington who was then i Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 531. Admiral of the River Thames and Warden of the Cinque-Ports and to the Merchants at Pearch besides what we have related before of this Expedition It was also further declared that the King and Others about him for the procuring of his Allies to assist him thus far and for his own necessary Expences in this War stood bound in Three hundred thousand Pounds which in Honour he could not but pay before he left those Parts Wherefore the Result was he wanted liberal Contributions Hereupon the Young Prince Edward Duke of Cornwall and Warden of England with the other Lords granted unto the King the Tenth Sheaf of all the Corn of their Demesnes except of their bound Tenants the Tenth Fleece of Wooll and the Tenth Lamb of their own Store to be paid for two Years Desiring withall that the Maletoste or Wrong set upon Wooll be revoaked and that this Grant turn not into a Custom All which was allow'd by the Prince in the Kings Name For he had full Commission by the Kings Letters Patents to grant what should appear reasonable to the Lords and Commons The Lords demand that the Keeping of the Kings Wards Lands may be committed to the next of Kin to the said Ward And that Remedy be provided against those who dying pass away their Lands to defraud the Lord of the Wardship or the King himself To this the Commons answered that as they knew well so they heartily tendred the Kings Estate and were ready according to their Duty to maintain the same But this being a new Point they durst not determin about it till they had further conferred with their Counties that sent them And so desiring Respite till another time they promise to travel and enquire throughout their several Counties To the Three Causes of their Assembling at this time the Commons answer'd thus First as to the Keeping of the King's Peace that would be kept sacred if good and couragious Justices were appointed in every County and such as were permitted to Main-prise do put in good Sureties as Esquires or Gentlemen and if no Pardon were granted but by Parliament These Matters once established they humbly conceive the Peace could not be violated Then as to the Defence of the Northern Marches they thought that would best be performed if all who had Lands in those Parts were obliged to live upon them As for the Keeping of the Seas they proposed that the Cinque-Ports or other Haven Towns which are discharged of all other Contributions should look to that especially and also that those who had Lands either there or elsewhere upon the Sea coasts should repair thereto and dwell upon them Then the Commons demanded a few things First that the King will pardon all Felonies Escapes Trespass for the Forests and otherwise all Aids to make the Kings Son a Knight or to Marry his Daughter That all Purveyors as well with Commission as without shall be arrested if they make not present Pay. That the King would pardon old Debts and Duties from any time to before his Coronation That all Customs of Wooll and Lead may be taken as they have been and not as lately enhanced with Common Assent and that if they be Resistance may be made And lastly that knowledge may be had how these things may be assured But their Art to provide against the Scarcity of Mony was this that every Merchant for every Sack of Wooll exported should be obliged to bring in at least 40 s. of Bullion to be coined within the Realm For the upholding the Kings Navy it was Enacted that the Navy of the whole Realm except what should be Actually in the Kings Service for the time being should remain in some certain place without any scattering by any private Men till further Order be taken 'T is agree'd that the Archbishop of Canterbury and other Nobles should by their Letters require the Archbishop of York and his Clergy largely to contribute for the
his Blood should yield to try a Combat before a King his Enemy was mortally displeased at him and thô he had gain'd such Honour both in the Holy Wars and in the late Duel absolutely deny'd to admit him into his Presence But after a few days having with much adoe and earnest Intercession obtain'd admittance the said Lord Thomas as one that was desirous to shew himself a true Subject and so to recover his Brothers favour besides his declaring the necessity which the Christian Lords had put upon him to go into England began among his excuses highly to extoll the Generosity of King Edward and to shew how justly his Fame was spread throughout the whole World Nor did he forget to commend his Equity which he had shewn in his cause not at all accepting the Person of the Cypriote althô it was well known what a Friend he was to the King of Cyprus himself but Prefer'd and Honoured and Rewarded me said he thô I am a Frenchman and Brother and Servant to you my Lord the King of France These Words the Noble Earl of Ewe and of Guisnes and Constable of France then Present not knowing how distastfull they were to King John confirmed by his own experience and rose up and shew'd among other instances n Knighton p. 2607. n. 1. c. how far that Noble King had banish'd all envy and hatred from his Bâ—east insomuch that lately in a solemn Tourneament at Windsor he had not only admitted him being a Prisoner to that Honourable Exercise but gave him an allowance of all necessary accoutrements and at last rewarded him with a Rich Pâ—ize and new had sent him home upon his Parole in trust of a small Ransom and other as Negotiator for the Redemption of others than a Prisoner himself whereby said he I am put in a Capacity to serve your Majesty as I served your Father or blessed Memory These true Praises of King Edwards Princely Disposition enflam'd the envious heart of lâ—ing John with Madness so that immediately without any in thâ—â— consideration or process of Law he caused them both to be apprehended and sâ—ung in Prison and the third day after o Frois c. 159. Me. 〈◊〉 ad 〈◊〉 namely on the 19 of November to be beheâ—ded by night in the Presence of the Duke of Bourbon and seven or eight other Lords of Note before whom the Earl of Ewe is said to have confessed certain points of Treason whereof he stood guilty But however all the Treason that Envy it self could lay to the Bastards Charge was only that as he was bound by Oath to 〈◊〉 the Christian Princes in the Holy War he had accordingly committed his cause to the Arbitration of the King of England And as for the Earl of â—â—we whatever at that time was devis'd to blacken him he was notoriously a Person of such Gallantry and had already so eminently signaliz'd his Loyalty that to this day it could never be believed that he could be really guilty of any manner of Treason tho some rather by way of conjecture than proof pretend to colour the Matter that his require passing too and fro between England and France which he did in order to hasten the Redemption of his Fellow-Prisoners was with Designs in favour of the 〈◊〉 Others say p Stâ—w p. 251. that he was suspected of being over Familiar with the French Queen and that therefore King John after the fall of these two Great but Unfortunate Gentlemen famished his Queen to Death thô she was Daughter to John of Luxemburgh that Noble King of Bohemia who lost his Life at the Battle of Creâ—â— in the cause of France But this is a most false and irrational Story for King Jâ—hus first Wife q L. 2. c. 7. §. 13. p. 427. who indeed was Daughter to the said King of Bohemia died as we shew'd two Years before And his second Wife his Queen at this time who was Daughter to William Earl of Boulogne lived in his Favour and died not till many Years after However the Earl of Ewe's Lands and Honours r Frois c. 153. Mezeray ibid. Mâ—rtâ—â— p. 125. Knight n ibid. c. were parcell'd out to otheâ—s his Office of Constable of France in January following was by the King confer'd on the Lord Don Carlos de la Cerda of Spain whom already he had made Earl of Argulesme his Earldom of Eu he gave to the Lord John of Artois Eldest Son to Sr. Robert of Artois of whose Revolt from France and Friendship to King Edward we have spoken in the first part of this our History Only the Earldom of Guisnes he left with the Lady Jane sole Daughter of the Defunct Earl of Ewe who was then Married to Walter Duke of Athens and after his Decease to Lewis Earl of Estampes of the house of Eureux from whom are derived the present Earls of Eu Princes of the Blood. VIII About this time the Scots not yet agreeing to redeem their King David who was still a Prisoner here nor admitting of any just offers of Composition but rather provoking the King of England farther by their Insolencies Cruelties and Depredations He for his part considering that the Truce with France would either be soon ended by violation or of its own course sent his Å¿ Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 160. p. 275 p. 294. Commissioners viz. Dr. Thomas Hatfield Bishop of Durham the Lord Ralph Stafford the Lord Henry Piercy and the Lord Ralph Nevill to treat with the Lord Robert Stuart Prince of Scotland and other Nobles of that Realm then met at York about a firm and final Peace between the two Nations And this Treaty was held on with good hopes of Success even till the end of the next Year for we find that it was at last between them agreed t Rot. Sectiae 25. Ed. 3. m. 3. Ashmole p. 657. that upon the coming into England of the young Lord John Eldest Son and Heir of Robert Stuart and several other young Noblemen Hostages for the said King he himself should be permitted to go into Scotland and upon his return back the Hostages should be deliver'd The Kings Letters of safe Conduct to the Hostages and of Power to certain Commissioners to receive them and to take King Davids Oath for his Return and the Command for his safe Custody at Newcastle till the Hostages were all come bear date the 5 of September an 25. Ed. 3. to continue in force till the Quindena of the Purification next following and on the 3 of November after they were renewed with a further term even to the Feast of St. Philip and James ensuing According to this agreement the Hostages being come and disposed into the Castles of York and Nottingham King Edward sent his Command u Râ—s Sectiae 25. Ed. 3. m. 3. bearing date the 5 of October to Sr. John Copland High-Sheriff of Northumberland the same who first took the King of Scotland
before the Parliament where King John sat on high in the Tribunal Seat attended with his Peers the Cardinal of Bologna the Pope's Legate and divers other Prelates The Criminal having asked pardon in a formal and studied Harangue composed of Complaints and Excuses the Lord James of Bourbon h Paul. Aemyl p. 184. Brother to the Duke of Bourbon and Constable for that time was order'd to Arrest him only for Form which he did by setting his Hands upon the King of Navarre's Hands and causing him to go backwards out of the Presence and to tarry in a Chamber adjoining till further Order was taken The mean while the two Queens Dowagers of France Jane the Relict of Charles the Fair and Blanch the Relict of Philip of Valois and German-Sister to the King of Navarre on their Knees beg'd his Pardon of King John. Which being granted the Constable and Marshals introduced him again where after a grave Remonstrance from the Legate the French King declared him absolved But this Haughty Young Prince gather'd nothing but Rancour from that pompous Indignity which afterwards he shewed to the great mischief and Danger of the Realm of France For soon after this Reconciliation he stole away to Avignon as we intimated before where he began to conspire against his Native Country and althô King John upon Apprehensions of the Duke of Lancaster had again now by his Son Charles appeased his turbulent Mind yet within a while we shall see him again fly out into wonderfull Extravagances partly of his own unquiet ambitious Nature and partly being irritated by the rough Dealing of his Father-in-Law For the Year following King John i Du Châ—sne p. 675. being too far provoked with his Insolencies came suddenly upon him as he was at dinner in the Castle of Rouën with 200 Men of Arms in his Company and seised him on the Fifth of April and committed him to Prison but immediatly caused the Heads of Four of his Great Lords to be struck off in a Field by the Castle III. Till this time thô not without much ado many hazards of Relapsing constant Care of the Pope and other well-disposed Personages the unstable Truce first taken at Calais between England and France made a hard shift to hold indifferently well for the space of near upon Eight Years But now the evil Genius of France which hath heretofore been observed to extract the Original of its own Troubles from within it self began to work upon Prince Philip Brother to King Charles of Navarre to rouse the English Arms against his own Blood of France as we shall see hereafter But as yet the King of Navarre was not seised nor was his first Reconciliation as yet known to King Edward as will presently appear when we shall come to speak of his Expedition into France Now k Knighton p. 2608. n. 40. Stow p. 256. a little after Whitsuntide to wit about the end of May or the beginning of June the Truce being to expire the 24 of the said Month both Kings began to put themselves in a Posture and King Edward resolving not to be behind-hand with his Enemies prepared to send over the Prince of Wales into Gascogne attended with the Earls of Warwick Oxford Salisbury and Suffolk and 800 Men of Arms with 2400 Archers himself intending the while to wait the French Kings Motions and shortly after to joyn the King of Navarre about the Isle of Jersey Wherefore King Edward l 10 Julii Ret. Vasc 29. Ed. 3. m. 6. vid. Ashmâ—les Garter p. 671 c. constituted his Son the Prince his Lieutenant in the Dukedom of Aquitain and other Places in France whither he should happen to march as well for the Reformation of the State of that Dukedom and other Places in France as for the Recovery of his Lands and Right possest by the Rebels And by another Commission of the same Date he gave him Power to make Alliances with all Persons of what Nation Dignity or Condition soever to retain Men and pay them Wages and Rewards A third Commission gave him Power in the Kings Stead and Name to receive Homage and Fidelity from the Nobility and Others within the said Dukedom and Realm of France For the Prince's Passage thither the King assigned Richard de Cortenhale and Robert Bauldron Serjeants at Arms to arrest array and equip all the Ships and Vessels of 20 Tun and upward in all Ports and Places from the River of Thames unto Lynn as well within Liberties as without to furnish them with Men and other Necessaries and to bring them to Southampton by St. Barnaby's Day at the furthest as also to press Mariners for the Voyage at the Kings Wages and further he had given Commission to John Beauchamp Admiral of the Sea Westward and to Thomas Hogshaw Lieutenant to carry the Prince over with Power to hear and determin all Crimes and Trespasses committed on Board and to punish Delinquents according to Maritime Law and to do all other things appertaining to their Places Before their Setting forth * Knighton p. 2608. n. 57. there was seen a Prodigy in the Air which was construed to portend Victory to the English For there appeared two great Banners in the Firmament the one Gules the other Azure which were evidently observed in many Parts of the Kingdom and seem'd as it were in manner of Combating to rush violently against each other But in the end the Banner Gules overcame that which was Azure and seem'd to lay it prostrate on the Ground Soon m Stow ibid. after the Prince of Wales sailing prosperously from Seton-Haven in Devonshire landed in the Port of Garonne where he was honourably welcom'd by the Lords and Prelates of Gascogne who together with the People of that Country received him with great joy and proffer'd as unto the Son of their Liege Lord themselves and all they had and even to live and die with him on Condition that he would tarry in those Parts for their Defence King John had before this disposed his Armies in several Places about the Havens in Normandy and in other Parts to impeach the Landing of King Edward and of the Prince his Son But these Frenchmen lay so long thereabouts that together with their Auxiliaries hired from foreign Parts they wasted their own Country as bad as if they had been Enemies themselves and idly consum'd out of the French Kings Cossers so many thousand Crowns that afterwards he was so thinly attended that upon King Edwards Arrival he was not able to encounter him but fled before him burning his own Towns and destroying all manner of Provision that the English might find neither Meat nor Harbour For thô King Edward and his Son intended an early Campagne this Year yet they were both hindred by ill Weather for above fourty Days All which time the French stood ready to receive them but being with this long stay wearied out and their Provision wasted when the English came to land
that other 15000 Gennettours were disposed about as Wings in the First and Last Battails So that in all Don Henry had this day on his side no less than an 121000 Men one with another When all was rightly order'd He leap'd on a Strong Mule after the usage of that Country and rode about from Battail to Battail and from Squadron to Squadron with gracious and sweet Words praying and desiring every Man that day to do his utmost to defend and maintain his and their Right and Honour that they should remember how they were better Men and more numerous than their Enemies and that their Cause also was more just and as he spake he appeared so wonderfull Cheerfull and Magnanimous that every Man was glad to see him look so well and gather'd Matter of Courage to himself from so good a sign When Don Henry had thus encouraged his Men he return'd to his own Battail at which time the Sun began to rise and then he order'd his Banners to advance forward for he thought it more for his Honour to meet his Enemies than to expect them Rev. de Johanni Balderston S.I.P. Tutori suo sumÌ„e Colendo Coll EmÌ„anuelis apud Cantabr Magistro Socijsq ejusdem Coll Tabulam Hanc EDVARDI Principis Nigri Cognomi â—mati Gratitudinis â— Honeris ergo DDD Iosua Barnes Thô born unto and Meriting a Crown Unequal Fate allotted me a Grave Yet by my â—â—rmes Don Pedro gain'd his Thâ—â— To make a King than to bee Ones more strâ—â—â— XII As thus the two Armies approached near together the Prince went over a little Hill in the descending whereof he saw plainly his Enemies marching toward him Wherefore when the whole Army was come over this Mountain he commanded that there they should make an Halt and so fit themselves for Fight At that instant the Lord t Frois c. 237. fol. 133. Vid. Favine l. 7. c. 12. p. 270. Ashmole p. 42. Selden's Tit. Hon. p. 790. 791. c. John Chandos brought his Ensign folded up and offer'd it to the Prince saying Sir here is my Guidon I request your Highness to display it abroad and to give me leave to raise it this day as my Banner For I thank God and your Highness I have Lands and Possessions sufficient to maintain it withall Then the Prince took the Penon and having cut off the Tail made it a Square Banner and this done both He and King Don Pedro for the greater Honour holding it between their Hands display'd it abroad it being u Vid. l. 4. c. 2. §. 3. p. 698. Or a Sharpe Pile Gules as we have shew'd before and then the Prince deliver'd it unto the Lord Chandos again saying Sr. John behold here is your Banner God send you much Joy and Honour with it And thus being made a Knight Banneret the Lord Chandos return'd to the Head of his Men and said Here Gentlemen behold my Banner and yours take it and keep to your Honour and Mine And so they took it with a Shout and said that by the Grace of God and St. George they would defend it to the best of their Powers but the Banner remain'd in the hands of a gallant English Esquire named William Allestry who bore it all that Day and acquitted himself in the service right Honourably And now all the English and Gascogners quitted their Horses and ranged themselves on Foot in their former Order and so both Armies began a little to advance at which time the Prince of Wales having his Visor up x Frois ibid. lifted up his Eyes to Heaven and joyned his Hands together and said O Very God Jesu Christ who hast formed and created me grant by your Benign Grace that I may obtain this Day Victory of mine Enemies as what I do is in a Righteous Quarrel to sustain and aid this King whom they have Excluded from his Inheritance Which gives me the Courage to advance my Self against them thereby to re-establish Him in his Realm And therewithall being full of Faith and Courage he laid his Right Hand upon King Don Pedro who was next by him and said Sir King You shall know this Day whether ever you shall have any thing of the Kingdom of Castille or not Therefore advance Banners in the Name of God and St. George And just then the Duke of Lancaster and the Lord John Chandos approached their Enemies at which time the Duke said to Sr. William Beauchamp Lord of Bergavenny and Fourth Son to the Earl of Warwick Sr. William behold yonder our Enemies This Day you shall see me a good Knight or else to die in the Quarrel And with that Word he began to joyn Battle with Sr. Bertram of Clequin and the other Frenchmen and Aragonians and Strangers of divers Countries At the first Encounter there was a terrible Medley with Spear and Shield and for a certain while neither could open the others Ranks or prevail in the least so that many a noble Feat of Arms was performed and many a Man of Arms reversed and cast to the Earth who never after could be relieved Now while these two Battails of English and French were thus contending for the better the other were resolved not to stand long aloof but came on apace and joyned together with great Fury And first the Prince of Wales Himself with whom were Don Pedro King of Castille and the Lord Martin Carre who represented the King of Navarre's Person brought up his Main Battail and came against the Earl of Sancelloni and his Brother Don Sancho the Bastards Brethren But it seems he brought such Terror along with him that at the very first Shock the Earl and his Brother were so strangely surprised with Fear y Frois ibid. that they fled away suddenly they knew not why without either Order or Array with no less than 3000 Spears in their Company So that immediately that Battail was open'd and discomfited for the King of Majorica the Captal of Busche the Lord Oliver Clisson and their Battail follow'd on after the Prince and slew and hurt them at a prodigious Rate while the Prince who aim'd at a greater Matter marched directly forward and joyned freshly with the Third and Last Battail of the Spaniards where King Henry himself was with above 60000 Men Horse and Foot. Here the Fight began to be fierce and cruel indeed for the Spaniards and Castillians had Slings wherewith they whirled stones at such a rate that they clove and brake many an Helmet therewith and hurt and overthrew many a Man to the Ground The mean while the Archers of England shot fiercely from their Long Bows and slew many and did much Mischief both to Horse and Man. The one Party cried Castille for King Henry and the other St. George Guienne for the Prince of Aquitaine All this while the first Battail of England fought stifly being well match'd by the Frenchmen and here the Duke of Lancaster the Lord John Chandos the two Marshals Sr.
Manny at the same time resigning his Lands also had the Earl of Pembroke and all the other Prisoners rendred back For whom they were now to make their Bargain as well as they could For the Ransom of the Lord Thomas Percy the strong Castle of Liziniac was yielded up to the French But the manner of the Lord Gutschard D'Angoulesme's Redemption was thus It may be remembred how we shew'd before that the Lord of Roy was still a Prisoner in England and likely enough to continue so because King Edward loved him not Now this Lord who was of High Birth and Estate had no Children but only one Daughter a Fair young Lady his Sole Heiress During his Imprisonment at this time his Friends proffer'd this Lady in Marriage to Sr. Oliver Manny a Knight of Bretagne Sr. Bertram of Clequin's Nephew on Condition he could obtain the Delivery of the Lord of Roye by Exchange for any one or more of his Prisoners Whereupon Sr. Oliver Manny sent to King Edward of England to know what Knight next the Earl of Pembroke he would have deliver'd in Exchange for the Lord of Roye The King hereupon intimating his particular Esteem for Sr. Guischard Dangle the Exchange was made and Sr. Oliver Manny married the Lord of Roye's Daughter with which Fortune he was so well pleased that he procured the other English Lords and Knights with all the rest of the Prisoners to be deliver'd for very easie Ransoms But as for the Earl of Pembroke p Frois ibid. no less than 6000 Florens of Florence were set on his Head for which certain Merchants of Flanders engag'd being to pay the Money at Bruges upon News of his safe Delivery at Calais 'T is q Walsingh hist p. 185. n. 20. thought the Spaniards upon his leaving them had given him a Dose For soon after this Bargain for his Redemption he began to be so extream sick that the Constable of France fearing the loss of his Money by his Death made hast to convey him by easie journeys from Paris in an Horse-litter But a Feaver came so violently upon him that he died by the way at Arras and so the Constable lost his Money He departed this Life on the r Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 577. ex Esc 49. Ed. 3. n. 70. sixteenth Day of April in the Year of our Lord 1375 being the following Year till the beginning whereof this business of the Prisoners was not settled He left behind him Å¿ Dugd. ibid. p. 578. one Son his Heir named after his Name John then but two Years old and an half and not born when his Father was taken Prisoner Which young Child proving of a very forward Vertue exceeding Hopefull and Towardly was afterwards in the Flower of his Youth being but seventeen Years of Age slain in a Tilt by an unlucky slip of Sr. John St. John's Lance to the great Regret of the King and of the whole Court because he was a Person of so Noble a Disposition as well as Extract and in Courage Bounty and Courtesie exceeded most of his Age and Dâ—gree I do not love to trample upon the Dead and to kill them again in their Reputation But for Example sake we must not conceal what some have observed to have been the occasion of these Judgments upon this Noble Earl and his Family It is first said t M.S. in Bibl. Bodlei K. 8. Cant. 186. b. that ever since Emery de Valence Earl of Pembroke and Ancestor of this Hastings sat among those who gave Sentence of Death against Thomas Earl of Lancaster in the Days of King Edward the Second none of the succeeding Earls of Pembroke ever saw his Father so as to be sensible of him nor any Father of them saw his Child or but an Infant But as for this Earl John whom we observe to have been taken Prisoner on the Eve of St. John Baptist which it seems is the Festival of St. Ethelred the Virgin many in those Days took occasion thence to censure that he was thus pursued by God's Judgments for the injury he had done to the Church of that Holy Virgin at Ely in a Cause depending betwixt the Church of St. Edmundsbury and that before his last Departure out of England And that the Money so lost did no more good forasmuch as it had been extorted from Religious Houses and the Clergy Thô surely u Walsing ibid. n. 26. Walsingham is too precise in fixing his Death also on the Day of the same Virgin Saint since it appears by Record to the contrary as we have shewn But x Walsing hist p. 182. Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 577. others attributed this ill Success to his having lead an Adulterous Life being a Married Man also because he had in Parliament attempted an Infringement of the Churches Liberties and persuaded the King to lay heavier Taxes upon the Clergy than on the Laiety for the support of his Wars Which practice of Pilling and Polling the Church however the Temporal Lords were pleased therewith yet what Success ensued thereupon saith y Walsingh hist p. 182. Walsingham not only England but the whole World doth know I dare not accuse the Earl of these Crimes because 't is evident how the Monks in those Days were apt to attribute every Mischance that a Man met with to the Hand of God stretch'd out for their sakes wherefore I leave the Discussion of this Matter to the judgment of the Reader However the Earl of Pembroke dying thus in the Flower of his Age having then seen but twenty seven Years His Body was brought over into England and buried first in the Choir of the Fryers-Preachers at Hereford but afterwards for the Summ of an 100 l. Translated to the Grey-Fryers near Newgate in London now called Christ-Church This Earl John z Pat. 51. Ed. 3 m. 29 per Inspeâ—imus Esc 49. Ed. 3. n. 10. Claus 49. Ed. 3. in Dorso in the Fourty Third Year of King Edward having obtained Licence for that purpose of the King made a Feoffment to Walter Amias and others of all his Castles Lordships Lands and Mannors in England and in Wales to certain Uses Which Feoffment being left seal'd up in the Hands of his Feoffees to be kept till his Return from beyond the Seas was now upon his Death deliver'd up to the Kings Council who thereupon opening it found that in case he died without Issue of his Body the Town and Castle of Pembroke should come to the King his Heirs and Successors and the Castle and Lordship of Bergavenny and other his Lands in England and Wales to his Cousin William Beauchamp his Mothers Sister's Son in Fee provided he would bear his Arms and endeavour to obtain the Title of Earl of Pembroke But in case he should decline so to do then his Kinsman William Clinton to have them on the same Conditions IX There died a Jacob Meyer Annal. Flandr l. 13. p. 193. c. this Year the Famous
Town shall be rendred to King Philip to do with them after his Pleasure and as for the rest they may go come and tarry freely and have their Victuals for a days Journey but they may not supply Sainctes any otherwise than it is at this time This Treaty was followed with another made at Bois de Vincennes the Thirtieth day of May following and thereby it was further agreed that the Profits of the Land of Guyenne which for default of Homage were siesed by the late King Charles and converted to his Use after the Law shall be sequestred in the Hands of two Commissioners deputed on the behalf of either of the Kings Edward and Philip till both their Differences and Proceedings done since the Truce in the Year 1324 shall be amicably decided Finally King Edward having given that Declaration of his Homages which we have set down z P. 37. already went again in Person into France to appease the War at Sainctes At which time he requested of King Philip that he would remit unto him the Demolishing of the Castle of St. Croix and others which he then promised very Frankly to do and moreover granted unto him by a new Treaty made the 4th of July 1331 That the Town and Castle of Sainctes should be restor'd unto him in the same condition wherein they were and thirty Thousand pounds Tournois for his Interests and Damages notwithstanding the former Accord of the Ninth of March approved by his Majesty the Thirtieth day of April A Concession says Du Chesne which one would think ought to appease all disgusts whatsoever for a long time But the Murmurs which afterward began to run among the English that their King was nearer to the Crown of France than King Philip were so deeply rooted in their hearts that at last they occasion'd most Tragical and deadly Effects as we shall shew in due place V. On the a Knighton p. 2558. n. 60. seventeenth of the Calends of July being after our Account the Fifteenth of June and a Friday at b Sandford's Geneal Hist p. 181. Ashmole p. 670. ten of the Clock in the Morning the Queen Philippa of England was at Woodstock near Oxford deliver'd of her First-born Son a very Fair Lusty and well-form'd Infant who was Christened by the Name of his Father Edward Walsingham and Speed from him say indeed that he was Born on the 15 of June and on a Fryday but they place it a Year more forward both which notwithstanding are easily refuted if we consider that in the Year 1329 the 15 of June happen'd on a Thursday but this Year c Labbé Chron. Tecbn ad an 1330. G being the Dominical Letter it then indeed fell on a Fryday To which agrees that Ancient Writer d Jâ—h Tinemouth ec Aed Lambeth p. 229. John Tinemouth in his Golden History saying that this year on the Fryday before e St. Botolphi Ab. dies Junii 17. St. Botolph there was Born to King Edward his Son Edward the Fourth which Name Giovanni Villani the Florentine Historian calls him also by presuming that he would have lived to Succeed his Father So Welcome to the King was the News of his Birth that he gave to the Messenger thereof Thomas Prior a most Royal Reward and f Ashmole p. 670. Sandford Geneal Hist p. 181. ex Pat. 5. Ed. 3. p. 1 m. 33.4 Febr. 40 Marks per annum out of his Exchequer till he should settle Lands upon him to that Value And afterwards he gave very considerable Pensions to those who were concern'd in his Education as 10 pounds per annum to Joan of Oxford this Young Princes Nurse and 10 Marks annually to Mathilda Plumpton Bersatrix or Rocker to this Princely Infant Great hopes were immediately conceived of the Royal Babe by all that beheld the Beauty of his Shape the Largeness of his Size and the firm Contexture of his Body The Good Lady his Mother took such great Care of this first Dear Pledge of her Marriage Bed that she resolv'd to give him her own Breasts as indeed she did to all her Children after Yet for all that her Beauty and Flower of Youth was nothing impair'd thereby And truly it was not only the Manner of this Queen who exceeded most Ladies in the World for Sweetness of Nature and Vertuous Disposition thus to bring up her own Offspring her self But we find it Customary for the Queens of England and other Princesses to do so as well before as some time after However the Delicate Madams of our Time think it below their Care. And of the Empress g Gisb. Cuperi Apotheassis Homeri Inscripp p. 293. Theodora there is Extant a curious Medal wherein a Woman gives the Breast to an Infant with this Inscription PIETAS ROMANA whereby it is believed to be signified that Theodora gave suck to her Children her self according to the Duty of a Pious Mother which Plutarch and Favorinies do wonderfully commend This Laudable Custom was not quite laid aside in the Times of King Edward For of the Ladies of those Days in General it is observed in the Margin of h Mezeray Chr. Abbreg p. 78. vid. Bp. Taylor 's Life of the II. Jesus p. 18. ad p. 23. c. vid. lib. de Lib. Educ apud Gell. 12.1 Mezeray's History at the Year 1368 that even those of the Highest Rank were us'd to give the Breast to their Children And of the Lady Margaret Daughter of Philip the Bold Second Consort to King Edward the First this King's Grandfather this is Remarkably Observed that when i Walsingh Hist p. 46. ad An. 1301. Dugd. Bar. 2 Vol. p. 63. she gave her First-born Son Thomas of Brotherton the Milk of her own Breasts the Babe as if he had an antipathy against every thing that was French could by no means endure it but ever cast back again what he received yet when an English young Gentlewoman was brought to suckle him he took it eagerly and thriv'd kindly upon it And this because it had something of strange and unusual in it was often try'd with him but still it prov'd so that the English Lady's Breasts he freely took but his French Mother's he could never away with Whence it is reported the King his Father should say smiling God give thee Grace my Boy I see thou art right English in thy Nature and may'st one day shew thy self a notable Enemy to the French Nation Thô even this so probable Omen fail'd in part for Prince Thomas died just before the French Wars broke out as hereafter shall be declared But to return whence we have digressed The Birth of this young Prince Edward spread an universall Joy thrô the whole Land and was thought to make a good recompence for the late loss of one of the Kings Uncles Nay now as if all things conspired to make this Blessing more acceptable to the Nation a new Face of things began from this
out of Order by reason of their security and contempt of us Nor will they ever be able to recover for the terrour we shall bring among them And then manfully shall we beat them down before us so that thrô the Grace of Almighty God all the World shall speak of our valour and Chivalry To this Resolution of the Bailiols all the English gladly consented and having o Hector l. 15. f. 313. n. 10. for a mark of Distinction in the dark night tyed every Man a piece of White linnen about his arm they boldly pass'd over the Water at a place called Duplin p Knâ—ghton p. 2560. n. 60. Sâ—â—ed p. â—68 by Ernemouth being directed by Sr. Alexander Moubray who was best of all acquainted with the Passage Thus all in great silence and good Order at last got safe over except only Sr. Roger Swinnerton who by ill accident was drowned as some say But it is evident by the q Dagd Bar. 2. Vol. 112. Records that he lived at least till six years after Now the Scots were in r Hector Bachan two Camps almost five miles distant one from the other intending by acting separately to distract the Bailiol for they despised his Numbers But soon after midnight the English Army except the 44 Almaine Captains who with the rest of the Strangers stood aloof as well to observe those who should break forth of the Scotch Camp as to pursue those that fled was hotly engaged with the Scots in their First Camp At the first Alarm the Scots were in an horrid Confusion and they Å¿ M.S. prâ—fat c. 223. said among themselves What is now befallen unto us that so small a Company as the Bailiol hath doth us such mischief and sorrow Now surely it seems that he works by Grace for he is wondrous Fortunate in his Cause But certainly we will all die rather than yield unto him since his Father esteem'd so little of us But the English now prevail'd mightily and all the Captains were fierce and haughty against their Enemies wherefore the Scots by reason of the suddain surprise and the straightness of the Place which allow'd them no more room than they had time to Order their Battails in were by Day-break utterly broken and defeated For the Throng was so great among the Scots that many were crowded and trampled to Death so that while every Man thrust forward to come to the Battle he but holp to encrease the Disorder of those that were fighting insomuch that the Crowding prov'd as fatal as the Sword. When this Victory was thus gain'd the Englishmen who thought they had overcome the whole Power of Scotland drew together in the morning and began to repose and refresh themselves But the mean while the Noble Baron of Vesci and the Noble Baron of Stafford and the valiant Lord t M.S. id ibid. Roger Swinnerton falsly reported by some to have been drown'd the night before pricked their Horses up and down by the Hills to observe the Straights of the Country And as they pricked thus up and down they saw from the Hills a great Host in good Array ranged in Three Battails with Helmes and Shields shining marching towards them At this they return'd full speed to the Bailiol's Men among whom they said aloud Now for the love of Almighty God be of good comfort for you shall have another Victory presently and so they shew'd how another Army was coming against them Then stept forth Sr. Fulk Fitz-Warine a Baron of great Renown for Deeds of Arms and said in the Head of the English Now my Lords understand you what I shall say since I have in my time seen many and different Armies as well among Saracens and Jews in Spain as among Frenchmen and Scots and yet saw I never the Fourth part of any of those fight Wherefore if we will abide our Enemies We are enough to fight against them But if we be not of good Courage and Resolution 't is to no purpose to fight with them for surely We are too few to match so Great a Company And therefore for the Love of God let us take Heart and grow Bold neither thinking on our Wives not Children but only how to win the day and through the help of our Lord God. We shall overcome our Enemies And with that came the Scotch Host towards them Furiously in three Battails well arrayed But upon their approach when Donald Earl of Marr who had secretly combin'd with the Bailiol saw all this and how few the English were fearing they would be all lost he said to Robert Bruce Earl of Carrick and Bastard-son to the Late King Robert of Scotland Sr. Robert quoth he full sorry am I at my heart to think that all this People whom the Bailiol hath brought with him must die by dint of Scotchmens swords since they are Christians as well as we wherefore I think it would be great Charity to send unto them to yield themselves to our Mercy and Grace and so to ransom them at an High Rate forasmuch as they have invaded our Land and done so much mischief Now surely reply'd Sr. Robert I have well perceived that thou art an Enemy and Traytor unto Scotland since thou art willing to consent to save our deadly Enemies who have done us much sorrow and shame And now it plainly appears that You are of their Faction Surely Robert said Sr. Donald Ye lie falsly I am not of their Company and that soon shall you see For I will fight with them rather than the proudest Man here And certainly said Sr. Robert maugre your Head I shall assail them before you re And with that they both spurred their Horses on the Moor and their Battailions follow'd them in their Order and so they came and met the Bailiol at an hanging Gap of the Moor in a strait Passage and they came so precipitantly upon the Englishmen that hundreds fell to the ground each upon other on an heap both Horse and Man. Then the Bailiol and his men with a great shout flew fiercely upon them and kill'd the Scots upon the ground before they could Recover and stood upon them and foyned with their Swords and Spears till they were even weary with slaughter and all the while the English Archers shot thick among those that were farther off to the great destruction both of Men and Horses so that this Army being presently brought to Confusion became a Prey to the Conquerour the rest of the Scots quitting the field as fast as they could But Sr. Edward Bailiol and his Men follow'd the Chace beating them down till night In these two Battles of the Scots there fell more than u Walsing hist p. 113. Knighton p. 2561. n. 2â— 20000 Men among whom were Robert the Bastard Earl of Carrick Donald Earl of Marr the Lord Nigel Bruce and Sr. Alexander Bruce the Earls of Menteith and Athole for David Strabolgi who had the Right to that Earldom
wholly acquitted thereupon As indeed by this time both his Father and Grandfather too might have been had not the too speedy violence of their Enemies taken them both out of the way Yet 't is observable by this Sr. Hugh the younger whose Manuprizors were Sr. Ebulo le Strange and eleven other Knights as also by Thomas Lord Barkley who had as many Manuprisors thô he was acquitted the last year that it was a custome to say no more in those days when any one had been tryed as an Offender against the King thô he were thereof acquitted or had his Pardon yet ſ M. S. p. 15. 16. Sr Rob. Cotton p. 10. notwithstanding he was to provide Twelve of his Peers to be Sureties for his Forth-coming during the Kings pleasure The Discontinuance of which custom has been too usefull to Traytors in our days It was also here moved by the whole Parliament either in compassion of Innocence or because all their Rancour was satisfied in the execution of Mortimer that the King's Majesty would be graciously pleased to extend some Favour to Sr. Edmund Eldest Son to the late Earl of March. At which bold request the King being offended as imagining they petition'd for his full Restoration to his Fathers Lands and Honours asked them with some Emotion What they would have since the King his Father had been murder'd by the procurement of the said Earl The Parliaments Answer was they only spake in the Young Man's behalf for some certain Lands Intail'd to which the King replied That he himself would do what to him should seem best at his Pleasure Which severity went so near to the heart of the young Lord that before the end of the Year t Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 147. he died in the Flower of his Age leaving behind him Roger his Son and Heir then but three Years of age which Roger three and twenty Years after was fully restor'd to all the Lands and Honours of his Grandfather It is u M.S. p. 14. §. 5. Sr Rob. Cotton p. 10. §. 5. c. agreed that all Feats of Arms shall be defended as well by the Justices as Others untill the King and his Council do otherwise appoint It is agreed that Queen Isabell the King's Mother shall have yearly four thousand Pounds in Rents or Lands All the Estates in full Parliament do agree that none of them shall retain sustain or avow any Felon or other common Breaker of the Law. It is enacted that no Purveyance be made but for the King Queen and their Children and that by good Warrant and ready Payment The King shall appoint certain Persons to determine the Office of Thomas de Ferrers and Other his Brethren of the Parsonage of Marleston in the County of Leicester Commandment is given to the Abbot of Crowland and Thomas Lord Wake of Lidel between whom there had been debate to keep the Kings Peace The like command was given to Sr. William de la Zouch of Ashby and Sr. John Grey of Rotherfield Stephen Gravesend Bishop of London was taken into the Kings Privy Council and took his Place at the Board accordingly At the request of the whole Estate the King now at last dischargeth the Lord Thomas Barkley of his Mainprisors day being given to him to appear at the next Parliament Whereas Sr. Henry Percy for the Yearly Fee of 500 Marks stood bound to serve the King with a certain number of Men as well in Peace as in War The King in release of the said Fee granteth to the said x In my M.S. and Sr. Rob. Cotton too he is here called an Earl thô the First Percy Earl of Northumberland was not till the Coronation of King Richard the Second An. 1377. vid. Mills Catal. He p. 718. Sr. Henry in Fee the Castle of Workworth in Northumberland and the Mannor of Rochbury In this Parliament Sr. Robert y Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 154. Benhale who was then or soon after a Baron of the Realm and a most noble and couragious Knight in his time as we shall have Occasion to see hereafter with William Clopton and John Clopton all young spritely Gentlemen having been convicted before the Justices of Assize in Norfolk and Suffolk of certain Ryots and other youthfull Extravagancies were brought to appear in full Parliament with several Knights and Esquires their Sureties where each of them was fin'd and further bound with other Sureties for his good Behaviour For at this time Justice being provok'd by the Insolence of those who took too great liberty during the Kings Minority was every where severely administred as in the next years Parliament we shall see more particularly Sundry Merchants of Brabant having been arrested by English Merchants for Wools taken up to the use of the Duke of Brabant upon the said Duke's request the King commands all the said English Merchants to appear before the Council and abide further Order therein About this time King Edward z Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 148. confer'd on the young Sr. Walter Manny Carver to his Queen the Honour of Knighthood here in England by Bathing and other sacred Ceremonies with allowance of Robes for that Solemnity out of the Kings Wardrobe as for a Baneret And in the Sequel of this History we shall see how worthily he behav'd himself in this Honour VII There a Mill's Catal. Hener p. 683. departed this life on the 19 of April this Year the Lord Robert Vere called the Good Earl of Oxford Lord of Bolebec Samford and High-Chamberlain of England So Valiant that King Edward the First often employ'd him in his greatest Affairs with equal success so Temperate that he had the common Repute of a Saint He was solemnly interred at the Priory of Colne and because he left no Issue of his Body was succeeded in his Honours by his Nephew Sr. John Vere son of his Brother Alphonso who was now about Nineteen years of Age The Arms of this Honourable Family are Quatterly Gules and Or in the First a Mullet Argent which have belonged to the Earls of Oxford of that House and Name from the Year of our Lord 1140 even down to our days In these days John of Luxemburgh Son and Heir to Henry of Luxemburgh once Emperour of Germany the most valiant King of Bohemia * Lanquets Chread hunc annum invading Italy brought under his subjection Brescia Bergamo Lucca Parma Reggio and Modena of whose noble Exploits and Death we shall have Occasion to speak hereafter But the Occasion of his Wars in Italy may be seen in the Writers of that Nation and no where more particularly than in Odoricus Rainaldus his Continuation of Baronius his Annals of the Church at the Year of our Lord 1330 and after CHAPTER the FIFTH The CONTENTS I. A Parliament at Westminster II. The true Grounds of the Scotch War enquired into III. A Recapitulation of the Scotch Affairs from the first Invasion of Bailiol to this time IV.
this latter is not a mistake of kin to the former About this time there e Ashmole p. 700. Stow ibid. Sr Thc. de la Mere. died in the parts of Gascogne on the Tuesday next after the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel Sr. Thomas Wale Knight of the most Noble Order of the Garter being a Person of great Worth and Vertue So that of all the Stalls of the first Founders his first became void into which succeeded Reginald Lord Cobham of Sterborough Sr. Thomas Wale bare for his Arms Argent a Cross Sable and Sr. Reginald Cobham Gules Three Mullets Sable on a Cheveron Or. XI King f Stow p. 253 Edward understanding at this time that the Brittish Seas were infested with Pirates order'd seven Men of War to be fitted out with certain Pinnaces to attend them Of which Fleet Sr. Thomas Cook and Sr. Richard Tottlesham were Admirals who scoured the Seas about the Coasts of Picardy and Normandy and at last return'd with safety and Honour This Year g Knighton p. 2603. n. 20. William of Bavaria Son to Lewis the late Emperour of Germany and in his Mothers Right Earl of Hainalt Holland and Zealand came into England and Married by the Kings leave the Lady Mathilda Eldest Daughter to Henry Duke of Lancaster and Relict of Ralph Eldest Son of Ralph Earl of Stafford who dying three Years before left her a Fair young Widow This William was Duke of Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine and lately upon his Mother the Lady Margaret her Death Earl of Hainalt c. But about six Years after upon what occasion is not known h Tune 's store-house p. 721. he fell distracted and slew a Knight with a blow of his Fist Whereupon he was shut up under a good Guard in hopes of Recovery his Brother Albert managing the Government in his stead till about 19 Years after he died in that sad Condition leaving no Issue by his Wife who continued in a manner a Widow during that long time of his Distraction XII This mean while Henry the Great Duke of Lancaster Father to the said Lady Mathilda when he saw the Truce taken between the two Realms the last Year being desirous to bestow what time was his own to the Honour of God and the propagation of Religion l Dudg 1 Vol p. 786. ex Pat. 25. Ed. 3. m. 6. obtained the Kings Licence to take a journey into Prussia there to fight against the Infidels In which Licence the King granted that in case he should depart this Life before his Return his Executors should retain all his Castles Lands and Mannors in their Hands till his Debts were discharged Together with this Noble Prince went at the same time k Monast Angl. 1 Vol. p. 728. b. n. 20. Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 550. William Lord Ros of Hamlake and several other Persons of Quality but the said Lord Ros died this Year before his Return in the 26 Year of his Age without Issue leaving Thomas his Brother Heir to his Great Inheritance then but 14 Years of Age. The Duke of Lancaster passing thus towards the Holy Land with a gallant attendance of Valiant Knights and Gentlemen was l Knighton p. 2603. n. 10. suddenly in High-Germany together with several of his Company arrested and obliged to lay down 300 Scutes of Gold for his Liberty Which affront we shall shortly find how ill he resented But however for the present he proceeded on his journey being honourably attended and convey'd from Country to Country by the special Command of those Christian Princes thrô whose Dominions he passed But before he came into Prussia he heard that a Truce for several Years had been already taken by the Christians and Pagans whereat being much displeased he returned back again the same way In his return m Knighton p. 2603. n. 30. c. Dudg 1 Vol. p. 786. b. c. Frois c. 153. Stow p. 253. Fabian p. 230. Grafton p. 292. Walsingh Hist p. 162. n. 14. being then at Cologne a certain German Knight informed him how the Duke of Brunswick was He who had caused him to be so arrested intending in favour of the King of France to have him secured and sent back unto the said King. Wherefore now he declared openly in the Cathedral of Cologne in presence of the Marquess of Juliers and many other Nobles how basely Otho Duke of Brunswick had caused him to be arrested with design to hinder his Pious Pilgrimage thô he had never given him any the least occasion of Offence as he knew having no acquaintance with him or knowledge of his Person And he affirmed that it did not become a Gentleman of Quality to deal so rudely with a Knight Stranger who had never offended him and that in case he had a mind to meddle he should find him ready to perform the part of a Souldier at any time Now when the Duke of Lancaster was safely return'd into England as he did before Ascension-day this Year these his Words were related in Order to the said Duke of Brunswick who thereupon presently sent a Challenge to the Duke of Lancaster in this form Otho by the Grace of God Duke of Brunswick Lord of Thuringen and Son to the Great Duke of Brunswick unto the Excellent Prince and Noble Duke of Lancaster Know You that the Words which You spake personally with your own proper Mouth in the Chief Church of Cologne by Name St. Peters on the Friday next after Easter last past before the Noble Prince the Marquess of Juliers and many other Worshipfull Knights and Esquires in the presence of the Citizens of the said City unadvisedly rashly and shamefully were false and by no means true Which things We will maintain by our own Body against your Body as a true and Loyal Lord is bound and obliged to demonstrate against a rash and false and wicked Man. And this We will perform between the Castle of Guisnes and St. Omers or where else the King of France our Lord shall assign a place For thither shall be brought a safe Conduct from the said King lest We should prolong the Matter Dated c. This Challenge being brought into England to the Duke unsealed n Stow ibid. lest he might expose himself to scorn by giving too much Credit to such unauthentick Letters he presently sent back unto Otho two Knights to learn the truth of the Matter and to demand thereupon his Letters Patents sealed with his Seal of Arms. Upon the return of these Knights with his Letters sealed he obtained leave of the King his Master and wrote back that by such a day he would not fail to meet him and by the Grace of God to maintain his Words in his own proper Person as Truth and Honour required Accordingly having with much adoe obtained a safe Conduct from France he furnished himself after his Quality and went strait over to Calais with 50 Knights in his Company
Staple in the Statute-Book because it agreeth exactly with the Record containing 28 Chapters The Seventh day of October Sr. Bartholomew Burwash the Kings Chamberlain in the Presence of the King Lords and Commons sheweth how the King had attempted and pursued War against the French without Charging of the Commons And to end the same he had made great means to the Pope but that since he could not obtain any good end of the War he now required the Commons to grant him the Subsidy of Wooll who thereupon by whole assent granted him the same for Three Years The Print against Provisors that sue to the Court of Rome c. 1. agreeth with the Record the Print that all Suggestions shall be put into Pardons c. 2. agreeth with the Record The Print that Justices of the Peace should look after Victuallers c. 3. agreeth with the Record But the Statute of Wines in the Print c. 5 6 7 and 8. is not in the Roll nor in the Printed Calendar of Parliaments The Commons Petitions are as followeth viz. That the King would revoke the Office of Alnage and take three pence of every Cloth. Let the Commons talk with the Chancellour and Treasurer to the end good Recompence be made for the said Alnage That the Subsidies and other Aids granted may be employed only in the Wars It pleaseth the King. That the Coin may be reduced into old Sterling It was answer'd the last Parliament That the Staple may be appointed at Worcester Nottingham Hull St. Botolphs Stamford Lyn Ipswich and Canterbury One shall be at Canterbury and that only in Honour of St. Thomas That the Lords and Commons may by Easter following appoint out three Sorts of Wolls which shall then Commence The King will be advised That the outragious Fines taken by Sr. John Molins and such other Commissioners may be remedied Vpon Complaint Redress shall be had It is Enacted that all the Articles of the Staple shall be proclaimed throughout the Realm and confirmed at the next Parliament VII Thus this Year ended and on the 15 of March following King Edward sent forth his Writs of Summons to his Barons to meet him in Parliament on the Monday after St. Mark the Evangelist or the 28 of April On the q M.S. Rot. Par. 28 Ed. 3. m. 1. p. 579. Sr. Rob. Cotton p. 85. Monday aforesaid the Lord Chief Justice Sr. William Shareshull in the Painted Chamber made open Proclamation before the King Lords and Commons that the Parliament was called for three Causes First For the Establishing the Staple within the Realm and for Confirmation of the Ordinances made at the last Great Council Secondly How they might treat of a Peace with France for that by War the King saw his Subjects greatly wasted and Thirdly For Receiving of Petitions and redress of Enormities all which without a Parliament could not be effectually ended Here Roger Mortimer Lord of Wigmore being Grandchild to the old Roger Mortimer Earl of March who had been executed for Treason r Vid. l. 1. c. 3 §. 6. p. 46. ad p. 54. An. 4. Ed. 3. twenty three Years before had such favour as Å¿ M. S. ibid. Sr. Rob. Cotton ibid. Ashmole p. 692. Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 147. upon his Petition to obtain a Reversal of the Judgment given against his Grandfather aforesaid as erroneous and utterly void for that he that said Earl was put to Death against Law having never been called to open Answer before his Peers Whereupon this said Roger from thence forward bare the Title of Earl of March and had again Restitution of the Castles and Lordships of Blenleveny and Bulkedinas whereof his Grandfather died seised as also all his other Lands which upon that Forfeiture coming to the Crown had been bestowed on William Lord Montagu and Others But the Charter of his Restitution t Tho. Mills Catal Hen. p. 576. bears a later Date viz. on the 19 of Novemb Anno Regni 29. 1355. In u Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 317. M.S. Ret. Par. p. 80. §. 13. c. Sr. Rob. Câ—tton p. 86 c. like manner Richard Fitz-Alan Earl of Arundel upon his humble Petition wherein he remonstrated that Edmund Earl of Arundel his Father had been unjustly put to Death was thereupon as Heir unto him fully restored And because the Death of his Father had been occasion'd by the means of Roger Mortimer Grandfather to the foresaid Roger Earl of March to prevent all further Heart-burnings between the two Families it was now x Dagd 1 Vol. p. 317. 〈◊〉 Claus 28 Ed. 3. in dâ—rse m. 10. by Indenture made betwixt this Earl Richard and the said Earl Roger agreed that Edmund Son and Heir to the said Richard should take to Wise Alice the Daughter of the said Roger and that she should have Three Thousand Marks for her Portion viz. one Thousand at the Sealing of that Agreement upon their Marriage at her Seventh Year of Age one Thousand more and at her accomplishing the Age of Thirteen the remaining Thousand Now before this as we have already observed the King in Council resolved to withdraw the Mart or Staple of Woolls from the Towns of Flanders because that People thô they received much Advantage thereby had not kept true Touch with him and accordingly he commanded the same to be kept at y Holinsh Engl. Chren p. 948. Statute-Beek p. 102. Westminster Chichester Lincoln Bristow Canterbury Hull and other Places In pursuance of which wholsom Device it was z M.S. Rot. Par. p. 80. n. 16. Sr. Rob-Cotton p. 86. ibid. c. now Enacted that all the Ordinances made in the last Great Council assembled at Westminster touching the Staple be confirmed to continue for ever It is Enacted that the Justices of the Peace shall be of the Best in every County that upon the Displacing of any of them others be placed at the Nomination of the Knights of the same County that they sit four times at least every Year That none be displaced without the Kings Special Commandment or Testimony of their Fellows It is Enacted that no Purveyor being arrested for any Misdemeanour shall have any Privy-Seal to cause such as arrested him to come before the Council to answer the King but have his Remedy at the Common Law. The Commons Petitions with the Kings Answers thereto were these That the Surplusage of the Fines of the Statute of Labourers may be entirely distributed among the Poor of the whole County and not to poor Towns only It shall be parted among the poor Towns only That the Writ of Estreat may lie in every Action where the Party shall recover Dammages of Estreats after the Writ purchased The old Law shall be continued That Remedy may be had in such Cases where the King receiveth the Profits of the Wards Lands as well of Soccage as otherwise where no part of the same is holden of him The Law heretofore used shall continue That it may be order'd
English who were not ignorant thereof took care of all their Traps neither venturing to ride loosely nor to leave the High-ways for fear of Ambushes they constantly Marched in Battle Array as ready for Fight And in this Manner they rode thrô Vimeux and the Earldom of Eu and entred into the Archbishoprick of Râ—üen and passed by Dieppe till they came in sight of Harfleur where they began to pitch their camp but the Earl of St. Paul had gotten into the Town beforehand with 200 Spears Three Days the English lay before the Place but gave no Assault for they saw this Succour rendred their Design fruitless so on the Fourth Day they began to Decamp and returned thrô the Lands of the Lord Stouteville where they burnt and destroy'd most part of his Country and wasted the Region called le Pais de Caulx whence they took their way thrô le Vexin Normand and having left severe Marks of their Displeasure whereever they came at last they approached toward Oisemont to repass the River of Soame at Blanchetteaque XXIX At this time the Captain of Abbeville for the French King was Sr. Hugh de Chastillon Master of the Crossbows of France who perceiving that the Duke of Lancaster Designed to pass the Soame Armed himself and only Ten or Twelve more of his Men with whom he took Horse saying How he would go and visit Rouvray and see how the Gate there was Defended because if the English passed that way they should not say but that it was carefully provided for This was done early in a Morning and it was a great Mist for it was now the bleaky Month of November At the same time there was in the Army with the Duke of Lancaster a Valiant English Gentleman named Sr. Nicolas Lovaine who had been Seneschal of Ponthieu for the King of England but was taken Prisoner as We shew'd the Year before by Sr. Hugh de Chastillon who Ransomed him at 10000 Franks This Ransom stuck grievously in his stomach and he sought all Opportunities to make a Reprisal It chanced so well for him that this very Morning whereon Sr. Hugh de Chastillon went abroad so slightly attended this St. Nicolas Lovaine had left the Army with Twenty Men of Arms in his Company as One that knew all the Passages Streights and Avenues of the Country for he had been acquainted thereabout for the space of three or four Years even during all the time of his Government For once therefore he resolv'd to venture himself between Abbeville and the Castle of Rouvray And so he rode by a little streight Passage thrô a Marish and planted himself and his Men among certain old waste and broken Houses but they stood so near to Abbeville that a Man would never have suspected that any English Men durst have laid an Ambush in that Place However here Sr. Nicolas and his Men lay close observing as well as they could with their Eyes and Ears who ever should pass that way backward or forward At last came Sr. Hugh of Chastillon thrô the same narrow way with Ten or Twelve Men in his Company himself all Armed except his Helmet which his Page bare after him riding on his Masters great Courser and so he passed over a little River that was there thinking to go and speak with the Crossbow Men that kept the Gate to know what they heard of the English By that time the Mist was pretty well clear'd up and Sr. Nicolas Lovaine saw and knew him perfectly and could not have been better pleas'd if One had given him 20000 Franks Then he came out of his Ambush and said to his Men Come on now Sirs lustily yonder 's the Man I look for 'T is the Master of the Crossbows whom I desire to have above all Men living And with that he couched his Spear in his Rest set spurs to his Horse and came upon Sr. Hugh de Chastillon all of a sudden and said aloud Yield your self Chastillon or You are but a Dead Man. Sr. Hugh much wonder'd whence these Men of Arms should come so suddenly upon him for he had not time to clap on his Helmet nor to mount his Courser which his Page rode on while he us'd a light Gelding So that being sensible of his Disadvantage he asked who he should yield to Sr. Nicolas answer'd to your old Acquaintance Lovaine There Sr. Hugh was fain to yield himself but in taking of him and his Men there was slain a Valiant Citizen of Abbeville called Laurence Denson which was a trouble to Sr. Hugh but 't was his own fault for he made Resistance When Sr. Nicolas had taken Sr. Hugh de Chastillon he said unto him Come on Sr. Hugh See yonder there Marches the Duke of Lancaster and his Men who intend to pass the Soame hard by And thus Sr. Nicolas Lovaine by good Fortune took Sr. Hugh de Chastillon Master of the Crossbows of France and Captain of Abbeville for whose Loss the said City was much troubled but the Duke of Lancaster and the English were well pleased And afterward Sr. Nicolas made him pay a Ransom of Twenty Thousand Franks which was Double the Sum Sr. Hugh had before extorted from him XXX That Day the Duke of Lancaster passed the River of Soame at Blanchetteaque after which he Marched toward the strong Town of Rue on the Maye and so to Montrevil till at last by several Journeys he return'd again in safety to Calais But the Renowned x Walsing hist p. 178. n. 40. M.S. vet Angl. in Bibl. C.C.C. Cantab. c. 233. Thomas Beauchamp Earl of Warwick died in the way of the Plague as some say thô I am not enclin'd to Credit that any more than what the same Author says of his frighting away the French Army and of his going up as far as Normandy and wasting the Land of Caulx whereas we find the Duke of Lancaster the Head of this Expedition and the Earl one of his Marshals But Walsingham flourish'd in a time when the House of John of Gaunt was commonly hated and slander'd as it was in the Days of Richard the Second so that no doubt common Report did more readily attribute all Successfull Matters to any other than to the said Duke of Lancaster However that part of this Great Earls Character deserves our Credit where t is said that he hardly left his Equal behind him for Courage and Loyalty His Death happen'd y Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 234. on the 13 of November in the 62d Year of his Age and his Body was afterwards brought over into England and Solemnly interred in the Midst of the Choire of the Collegiate Church of Warwick according to the Direction of his last Will and Testament Where his Tomb is still to be seen with the Statues of him and his Countess in White Marble excellently Cut the Sculp of which Monument is to be seen in Sr. William Dugdale's z P. 318. Antiquities of Warwickshire He left many Children
to take part with the King of England against our Sovereign Lord the French King We will all forsake your service and take our leave of Bretagne But for all this Declaration of theirs the Generous Prince could not conceal the Courage of his heart but told them plainly they did wrong both to him and to the King of England and that if they should continue to forget their Country and Him he hoped to bring it again to their Remembrance and other high Words he spake unto them which they resolved to take no notice of till they should find him acting against France And the French King who by his Arts had debauched the Faith of all the Lords of Bretagne and other the Duke's Friends except that of Sr. Robert Knolles who continued firm and unshaken had instructed them that as soon as ever they should see the Duke begin to take Arms they would send him word thereof and he would provide a Remedy But the Duke who saw by these Words of his Lords and other evident Circumstances how they suspected him and had a constant Eye upon all his Actions began to doubt lest some of them should proceed to seise upon his Person and so send him to be a Prisoner at Paris as his Father had been before Wherefore he sent secretly to King Edward representing the Danger he was in from his own Subjects and desiring him that he would send him some Troops for his Defence upon occasion The King who always lov'd him entirely sent him 400 Men of Arms and as many Archers under the Command of the Lord John Nevil who arrived at St. Mahè de Fine poterne and lodged there in the Town without doing any Injury or Violence for they all lived regularly and paid justly for what they had And the Duke never offer'd to put them into any Fortress but let them Quarter there all that Winter The Lords of Bretagne however took great Indignation at this Action of their Lord's that in spite of them he had brought Englishmen into their Country wherefore they fortify'd their Castles and began to stand upon their Guard breathing nothing but War and Defiance against the Duke and his Adherents and in this ticklish Posture stood the Affairs of Bretagne all this Winter Before this b Sâ—ndfâ—rd's Geâ—â—â— Hist p. 243. Dagd 2 Vol. p. 11â— e. c Pâ— 46. Ed. 3. n. 35. namely on the 25 of June John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster and King of Castille and Leon had resign'd into the Hands of the King his Father his Earldom of Richmond with all the Castles Mannors Lands and other Perquisites thereto belonging In lieu whereof he had a Grant in general tail bearing Date the same Day of the Castle Mannor and Honour of Cykehill and several other Castles Mannors Advousons Free-chases Bayliwicks and Privileges mention'd in the Patent besides the yearly Farm of 200 Marks which the Abbot and Covent of St. Maries at York ought to pay for the Mannor of Whitgift And this Exchange and Resignation was made for the sake of the Duke of Bretagne whose e Vid. Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 46. Câ—tâ—l Hâ—n p. 58â— Ancestors had been Earls of Richmond from the time of William the Conquerour and Alan Fergaunt Earl of Bretagne For as it appears that the Year d Rot. Franc. 45. Ed. 3. m. 7. foregoing upon a certain Agreement then made between King Edward and John Duke of Bretagne the King had granted unto the said John in general tail divers Lands and Castles in Aquitain to be held of the Prince of Aquitain by Homage as also the whole Dukedom of Bretagne to be held of the King himself as King of France by Homage he rendring unto the King divers Lands and Castles So now upon a e Pat. 16. Ed. 3. p. 2. m. 33. Vid. Sr. Will. Dudg Bar. 1 Vol. p. 52. further Agreement betwixt the King and Him for the special Affection which the King bore unto him as the Words of the Patent do import and to the end that He and the Heirs of his Body should keep those Covenants which were then newly made betwixt them the King gave unto him and to his Lady and their Heirs lawfully begotten the Castle Town and Honour of Richmond in Yorkshire with all the Castles Mannors and Lands thereto belonging as also the Earldom of Richmond which John of Gaunt had now resign'd XXV But the most Heroick Prince of Wales thô not yet brought to extremity perceiving by this time that it was hardly possible for him to recover any tolerable Degree of Health again f Selden's â—â—tl Hon. p. 493. ex Rot. Vaye surrendred up into his Fathers Hands his Principality of Aquitain with all his Right and Title thereto the Surrender bearing Date V Octobris in the Fourty sixth Year of the King his Fathers Reign and the Year of our Lord MCCCLXXII From which time the King govern'd those Countries again by Lieutenants as he had before he gave it to his Son the Prince This Year there deceased Three Famous English Gentlemen the One was the good Old Warrier Ralph Stafford Earl of Stafford and Baron of Tunbridge who died on the last of August having arrived to the Age of Threescore and Ten For he was g Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 159. a. found to be one and twenty in the Seventeenth Year of King Edward the Second or the Year of our Lord 1323. He was an Eminent Commander of approved Valour and Conduct and now dropt into the Grave full of Age and Glory being Honourably interred in the Priory of Tunbridge in Kent He left behind him Hugh Lord Stafford his Son and Heir who being h Dugd ibid. p. 161. at that time 28 Years of Age but long before in Action followed the steps of his Noble Father in his Valiant Exploits against the Enemies of his King and Country The other was i Weever's Fun. Mon. p. 234 Stow p. 269. Sr. William Molineux who had done Valiantly in France and elsewhere and was made Knight Banneret by the Black-Prince at the Battle of Najara in Spain He died this Year at Canterbury being then newly come out of France about the Feast of St. John Baptist The last was Sr. John de Magnavillâ commonly called Sr. John Mandevil Knight and Doctor of Physick a Man Worthy of Immortal Memory He was k Sr. Richard Baler Pitzaus p. 511. of an Ancient and Honourable Family born at St. Albans but from his tender Years did so addict himself to Study that he seem'd to have no taste for any thing but Learning and Experimental Knowledge as well Divine as Humane He set not any Value upon his High-Birth or Alliance for l Wâ—rner's Albiâ—ns England p. 267. some say He married a Cousin of King Edward's but resolved to Cultivate his Mind and to ennoble his more precious Part with Wisdom Having therefore as the best Preparative furnish'd himself with a Competent Knowledge in the Scripture he directed
c. 236. Caxton c. that not long before the King had sent the Ambassadors aforesaid to Avignon to require of Pope Gregory that as to the Reservation of Benefices of England made in his Court he would supersede Medling for the future that Clergymen might freely enjoy their Elections to Episcopal Dignities and that it might be sufficient for them to be confirmed by their Metropolitans as was the Antient Custom Upon these and the like Abuses they required Remedy of the Pope concerning all which Articles the said Ambassadors had certain Answers from his Holiness touching which the Pope enjoyned them upon their Return into England to certifie him by their Letters of the King's Will and of his Realm and also that they would press the King to let him first know what he and his Council design'd to do before they proceeded to determine any thing as to the Premises The Result whereof we shall refer to the next Year However in this Parliament it was Enacted That Cathedral Churches should enjoy their own Elections and that for the future the King should not write against the Persons so Elected but rather by his Letters endeavour their Confirmation if need were But this Statute availed not much afterward The o M.S. Ret. Par. ut ante Sr. Rob. Cotton ibid. Burgesses of Bristow in this Parliament require that the said Town with the Suburbs thereof may be a County of it self and that the Perambulation of the same with the Bounds thereof returned into the Chancery with all the Liberties and Charters thereto granted may be confirmed by Act of Parliament The King is content to grant that the Charters Liberties and Perambulation aforesaid may be confirmed under the Great Seal That no French Prior Alien be permitted to dwell within twenty Miles of the Sea-Coast for several Reasons there specified The King by his Council will provide therefore That Remedy may be had that Men be not called into the Exchequer upon Suggestion without Process contrary to the Statute made in the 42 Year of the King. Let any particular Man complain and he shall find Remedy After this the Lord Chancellor in the Kings Name gave great Thanks to the Lords and Commons and so this Session ended It is to be observed that the Printed Statute touching the Assize of Broad Cloath Cap. 1. agreeth with the Record As also that Cap. 2. touching Scottish Silver Coin. XVIII This Year it is reported p Mezeray ad hunc ann p. 92. Odor Rainal ad an 1374. §. 13. ex Chron. Belg. Job Leyd c. that there happen'd in Italy France and England especially in the Lower Countries a certain Maniack Passion or Frenzy unknown to former Ages for those who were tormented therewith which for the most part were the Scum of the People stript themselves stark naked put Garlands of Flowers on their Heads and taking one another by the Hands went about in the streets and into the Churches dancing singing and turning round with such vehemence that they would fall down to the ground quite out of Breath This Agitation made them swell so prodigiously that within an Hours time they would burst unless some-body took care to bind their Bellies about with strong Swathing-bands Those who looked on them too earnestly were often tainted with the same Malady It was thought to have come by some Diabolical Operation and that Exorcisms did much prevail against it The Vulgar called it St. John's Dance XIX There died q Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 70. b. about this time a valiant Baron of England named the Lord Miles Stapleton one * Vid. Lib. 1. c. 22. §. 7. p. 298. of the Founders of the most Noble Order of the Garter leaving behind Thomas his Son and Heir then of full Age who yet died also this same Year without Issue leaving his Sister Elizabeth his next Heir she being then married to Sr. Thomas Metham Which Sr. Thomas having at that time Issue by her and doing his Homage had Livery of the Lands of her Inheritance There died r Walsing hist p. 183. Vid. Godwins Catal. Bish c. also this Year Dr. John Thoresby Archbishop of York and Dr. John Barnet Bishop of Ely besides the Bishop of Worcester of whose Death we spake at the beginning of the last Parliament Alexander Nevile succeeded in the See of York Thomas Fitz-Alan younger Son to the Earl of Arundel in that of Ely and Henry Wakefield in that of Worcester CHAPTER the ELEVENTH AN. DOM. 1374. An. Regni Angliae XLVIII Franciae XXXV The CONTENTS I. King Edward inquires into the Livings then in the Hands of Aliens with his Letters to the Bishop of Winchester for that purpose II. He sends Commissioners to treat with the Popes Legates about the Premisses with the Copy of their Commission and the Effect of their Treaty III. The Duke of Anjou's Expedition into Gascogne IV. A Truce between the Dukes of Lancaster and Anjou V. The Lords of High Gascosgne yield to the Duke of Anjou who takes in all 40 Towns and Castles from the English VI. Becherel for want of succour yields VII Sr. Hugh Chastillon Master of the Crossbows of France is redeem'd with an Adventure between him and the Lord of Gomegines Captain of Ardres for King Edward VIII A Treaty at Bruges concerning a Peace between the two Crowns wherein Care is had of the Earl of Pembroke and others taken formerly by the Spaniards with the Death of the said Earl of Pembroke and some Observations thereon IX The Death of Francis Petrarch Laureat Poet of Italy and some other Considerable Persons of England X. An Account of Madam Alice Perrers who was falsly said to be King Edward's Concubine I. KING Edward being perpetually alarum'd as well in Parliament as otherwise by his Subjects who complain'd of the many great Abuses done unto Him and his Authority by the See of Rome as of their Reservations and other Arts whereby they entrenched upon his Prerogative Royal and the Liberties of the Church of England exhausting his Kingdom to enrich Strangers and such as were his Enemies the King I say being now throughly awaken'd at these Cries of his People among other notable Ways whereby he encountred these Usurpations began a Fox Acts Monum p. 560. at this time to require an exact Survey of all Benefices and Dignities Ecclesiastical throughout his Dominions which were then in the Hands of Italians Frenchmen or other Aliens with a true Valuation of the same and sent unto all his Bishops his Royal Commission to make such Enquiry the Tenor whereof followeth EDWARD by the Grace of God King of England and France and Lord of Ireland to the Right Reverend Father in God William by the same Grace Bishop of Winchester Greeting Being willing for certain Reasons Us thereunto moving to be certified what and how many Benefices as well Archdeaconries and other Dignities as Vicarages Parsonages Prebends and Chapters within your Dioecese there be