History of England, Part I For the use of Middle Forms of Schools
Tout, T. F. --Powell, F. York
1898
CHAPTER IV: Henry III of Winchester 1216-1272
1. William the Marshal, with the Earls of Chester and Derby, Savary, Fawkes, and the foreign captains, by the advice of Bishop Peter and Walo the Pope's legate (who had come to England to help against Louis), now had , 's eldest son, a child of nine years, crowned at the King's Hall in Gloster, October 28. William was made warden of the king and kingdom, and a council was summoned at , where the Great Charter, save a few articles left for future settlement, was confirmed by the king and legate. Few of the English barons who had hated bore illwill to his child, and many feared Louis' rule. It was said that the Viscount of Melun, a French noble who had lately died in London, had revealed on his deathbed to those about him an oath taken by Louis and sixteen of his barons to banish all the English nobles who had left their king, as unworthy of trust. When it was seen that earldoms and castles were being bestowed on foreigners, and that Englishmen's rights were passed over, this story was believed. So on Louis going to France for a little while to gather fresh troops, the Earls of Salisbury, Warrenne, Arundel, with others came and did homage to . When the prince came back he sent the Earl of Perche, the best young knight in Christendom, and Robert Fitz-Walter, | |
132 | with 3 earls, 500 knights, and 20,000 footmen, all greedy for plunder, to beset Castle, which Nicola of Camville still held for . They took up their quarters in the town, and set to work to batter the fortress with their stone-casters and great war-slings. William the Marshal, Randulf of Chester, and the renowned Fawkes with 400 knights and 250 crossbowmen, hurried up to relieve it, and Walo laid the Pope's ban on Louis and all his partisans. [1] When the king's army drew nigh Robert Fitz-Walter wished to fight them outside the city, but the Earl of Perche would not listen to him, and merely closing the gates, went on with the siege. The Marshal and his knights attacked the north gate, but Nicola secretly let Fawkes and his crossbowmen into the castle. The barons were surprised by a shower of cross-bow bolts, from the walls, which laid many of them low, and killed their horses like swine. Before they could rally Fawkes made a furious sally upon them, while the Marshal, who had forced the town gate, attacked them in the rear. Cooped up in the narrow streets between two foes, the English barons, seeing no hope of escape or victory, gave up their swords; but the Earl of Perche swore he would never sur render to a traitor Englishman, and fought till the Earl Marshal slew him with his own hand. The rest of the Frenchmen now fled, but few escaped the vengeance of the English peasants, who killed all they could find. Fawkes and his men, encouraged by the legate to punish the disobedient clergy who had sided with the barons, plundered town and cathedral, and so great was their easily-won booty that the battle was long known as the Fair of . |
Louis now left , which he was again besieging, and fell back on London to await the fleet which his faithful wife, Blanche, had equipped with stores and 300 knights to help him. As soon as Hubert de Burgh, whom had made Justiciar before he died, heard that the fleet had sailed, he sent to Bishop Peter saying, But Peter answered, Hubert hastily got together about forty vessels from the Cinque Ports, and put to sea on S. Bartholomew's Day, 24th August, with Richard, a base son of King , the faithful Philip of Albiney with his crossbowmen, and a few more brave knights. Before he went on board he was shriven by his chaplain Luke, and gave solemn charge to those he left to | |
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keep . He held towards Calais till he got the weather-gauge of the French fleet, not far from Sandwich, when he bore down on them, though they were at least eighty sail, as fast as a fair breeze could take him. The English were quickly within range, and began to shower arrows and cast quick-lime down the wind into their enemies' faces, while they, shooting against the wind, could do little hurt. When they got alongside the French ships, Hubert bade his men board the enemy and cut away their rigging and sheets, so that masts, sails, and yards soon came rattling down about the Frenchmen's ears, and, caught like birds in a net, they were easily overcome. Hubert gave them all quarter save their commander Eustace the Monk, a famous pirate who had once been in 's service but had deserted him. He offered a great sum for his life, but Richard Fitz-John said, and cut off his head. When Hubert sailed into harbour, towing the French ships behind him, the people and clergy met him with crosses and banners, singing psalms and praising God for this wonderful victory; but Louis was more grieved at the news than he had been for his loss at , for his last hope of succour was gone. |
The Marshal now blockaded London, and the French prince willingly came to terms with him and Walo, who earnestly wished to be rid of him. By the treaty of Lambeth, September 11, Louis promised to give up all the lands that he or his had won in England, to go to France with his men, never to come back as a foe, and to try and make his father give up the lands he had seized from . He also swore obedience to the Pope before the legate. The king, the Marshal, and Walo agreed to set free all prisoners, and give the barons back their lands and all the liberties laid down in the charter. further gave Louis 1000 marks for his pains, and he in all good love went home to France. | |
Walo now punished the clergy who had disobeyed the Pope's orders, making some pay heavy fines, and taking others' benefices away to give to his own followers. The Marshal had the Charter confirmed again with some new articles- | |
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He further put forth the Forest Charter promised by , which-
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Randulf, Earl of Chester, Robert Fitz-Walter, Saer, Earl of , Savary, with other barons of both parties went off next year to join the Crusaders in Egypt, where they did valiantly. In the midst of the peace he had won, , full of years and honours, William the Marshal died. Gaining the earldoms of Pembroke and Leicester by his marriage with Isabel, 's daughter, he had, as the friend and servant of the and the brothers and , ever shown skill, courage, and faithfulness; but the statesmanship by which, within a few months, he had ousted the French prince, brought the king and the legate to confirm the charter, and ended a bitter and lengthened civil war, had earned him the thanks of every Englishman. | |
2. [2] Bishop Peter now took charge of the boy-king, while , by the help of Pandulf, who followed Walo as legate, governed the kingdom. He had the greatest trouble with the led by Bishop Peter, many of whom, and refused to give up the castles and lands trusted to them during the war till should be of age. In the Earl of Albemarle seized Fotheringay, a castle of Earl Randulf; but Pandulf excommunicated him and his friends, and took his stronghold Biham, so he sued for peace and forgiveness, which, because of his former good services, were granted him. | |
In there was trouble in London. At a wrestling match near the abbey, between the champions of London and Westminster, the abbot's steward, with a band of armed partisans, treacherously set upon the defenceless Londoners who had come out to see the match, and drove them, beaten and wounded, into the city. A meeting was quickly called to settle how this cowardly assault was to be punished. The mayor, Serlo the Mercer, wished to ask the abbot for damages, but , Ethelwulfs' son, a rich and well-liked | |
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burgess, urged that the citizens should turn out in arms and pull down the houses and buildings of the abbot and his steward, and this plan was carried. With shouts of
[the French war-cry,] led an armed mob to Westminster, where they destroyed the abbot's palace. As soon as heard of it, he sent for Fawkes and his soldiers, marched to the Tower, and called on the chief citizens to answer for their treasonable and riotous behaviour. Constantine told him openly, whereon he was doomed to death without more ado, and hanged early next morning, with his nephew and Geoffrey his follower, before the citizens could rescue them. The other ringleaders were maimed, the mayor and aldermen changed, and the city fined. However, Louis complained that his friends had been hardly dealt with, and next year, when he became king, not only refused to give up Normandy, but even seized Poitou. |
Archbishop Stephen was now come home again, and by his help determined, in spite of Peter's angry outcry, to make the barons give up the royal castles. He therefore got letters from the Pope (who was very desirous of doing his best for England and for his young vassal) declaring of age, and bidding all who held charge of royal strongholds or lands give them up at once on pain of his curse. Thus outwitted, and fearing Stephen's threats, they came to Northampton, , and one by one gave up charge to the king. | |
Next year got rid of Fawkes, who was as troublesome in peace as he was helpful in war. He was found guilty at Dunstable assizes of seizing the lands of thirty-two yeomen at Luton and heavily fined. In his rage he carried off one of the judges, Henry of Braybrook, an old foe of his, and put him in chains in Bedford Castle, under the keeping of his brother, William of Breaute, while he hurried west to try and bring Earl Randulf and others of the king's friends who bore no goodwill to to rise with him. The judge's wife went to Northampton (where a great council was being held to talk over the Normandy and Poitou business), and with tears prayed for justice before the whole meeting. Putting aside all else, the king and all the council at once set off to Bedford. William of Breaute would neither give up his prisoner nor the castle, saying that he was his brother's vassal, not the king's, and as the fortress was very strong (Fawkes having lately rebuilt it), he was able to hold out two months | |
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in spite of the archbishop's curse and the king's oath to hang the garrison unless they surrendered. But wall after wall fell, sapped by the miners and battered by the engine bullets, and on August 5 the keep was stormed and the judge set free.
Fearing lest Bishop Peter, Fawkes' friend, might win the king to break his oath, had William and twenty-three of his men hanged at once while was at dinner. Fawkes, finding no help, now gave himself up. All his castles and lands were taken away, his wife, an heiress whom he had carried off by force, divorced from him, and he was doomed to banishment. With some money he had managed to save he went to Rome to beg the Pope to speak for him; but when the legate Otho asked to undo the judgments against him, he answered, In , poor and friendless, the once died of poison at S. Cyriac. |
In the same year dismissed Bishop Peter from his office, saying that as he was of age he no longer needed a guardian, and put all his trust in , whom he made Earl of . But while he took this wise step he was foolish enough to destroy the Forest Charter (as being against his interest and granted while he was under age), and to deny his brother Richard a trial in a dispute about a manor. However, Richard, who had been made Earl of Cornwall and Poitou in , and sent to Gascony, where he had ruled well and defeated the French, was upheld by the nobles, who met in arms under Earl Randulf and William Williamson, the Marshal (who had married the king's sister Eleanor), and forced to do him justice. always wished for peace, because he knew the risks and cost of war, and saw, from his defeats in the petty Welsh forays, that would never make a good soldier; so when the Gascons and Normans and discontented French barons begged the king to attack France and win back his heritage, he counselled delay. But the satires of Savary and the Southern barons, and the messages of the Earl of Brittany, seem to have stung to act in , and he called a great host together to Portsmouth at Michælmas. When they came to embark, there were not half enough ships for them. In high displeasure turned on , and drew his sword to slay him. But Randulf got the Justiciar out of the room, and the Earl of Brittany told the king that he had better wait till next year to invade France; so his anger was | |
137 | cooled, and he was reconciled with his minister. Next spring he crossed to Brittany, and marched through Anjou and Poitou to Gascony, where he was blithely welcomed. Still would not let him risk a battle, so after spending much money to little end, he came home, leaving Randulf and the Marshal, with 5000 knights and 1000 mercenaries, to bring the war to an end, which they did by beating King Louis and settling a truce in . |
was at this time warring against the , and he called on all Christians for a tenth of their income to help him. was willing enough, but the barons flatly refused to bind themselves by paying tax to Rome, though the clergy, fearing the Pope's curse, paid it, save on Earl Randulf's estates, for he stood out like a man and forbade his clergy to send a single penny to the Pope. Honorius had formerly offered to hear appeals without fee if he were allowed a certain number of livings in England, which was refused. Yet Gregory went on thrusting Italians into English livings against the law, till in a number of gentry and clergy banded themselves together under Robert of Twenge (who called himself William Wither), and with 's secret approval, forbade tithes to be paid to Rome, and carried off all the rents and corn of Gregory's Italians to give to the poor. The king, however, stopped these doings, and sent Robert to complain to the Pope himself. | |
3. [3] All was now quiet, but Bishop Peter, who had come home after a five years' crusade, was trying to turn the tables on by working on the king, who was always too ready to distrust his friends and listen to his foes, and in he managed to persuade that his justiciar was robbing him. In one of his senseless rages the foolish youth dismissed his faithful counsellor, calling on him to give full account of all he had spent since he took office, and charging him with favouring law-breakers, giving selfish advice, and behaving treasonably. asked for time to answer, and took refuge in Merton Chapel (). Onlyhis old chaplain Luke, now Archbishop of Dublin, dared speak for him, the Londoners clamoured to the king to try him for murdering , and his other enemies brought unjust accusations against him. Fearing injustice, he begged a further delay; but the angry king bade the mayor ring the City bell and summon the citizens in arms to bring the earl before him dead or alive. Happily Randulf got this cruel order | |
138 | recalled, and gave more time; but repenting again, he sent Godfrey of Craycombe with 300 soldiers to bring him to the Tower. Godfrey dragged the earl out of church and sent for a smith to fetter him. When the man came and found whom they wished to iron, he cast down his tools with a heavy sigh, and said, But Godfrey, knowing that the king had sworn to hang him if he came back without , bound him with ropes and bore him off. The bishops would not suffer sanctuary to be broken, and made send him back next day, but the royal officers blockaded the church till the earl was obliged to give himself up for lack of food. The king, however, grew ashamed of his violence, and let him live quietly at Devizes Castle under care of Richard, Earl of Cornwall (who had wed Isabel, the Marshal's sister, in by 's advice), the Earls of Warrenne and Derby, and the Marshal Richard (who had lately succeeded his brother William). |
Bishop Peter now swayed as he would; his friend, the cowardly and clever Stephen of Segrave, was made Justiciar, his son, Peter of Rivals, treasurer. He drove the English judges, sheriffs, and castellans from their offices as traitors, and filled their places with poor and greedy Bretons and Poitevins, who flocked over in crowds to taste the king's bounty; so that outlaws were set to uphold the law, malefactors to keep the peace, and robbers to maintain the realm. The English barons were not likely to suffer their rights to be swept away, and the charters broken by these aliens without resistance, and in they told plainly that unless he got rid of his foreign counsellors they must choose another king. Peter bribed some of them to join him, tried to lure their leader, Richard the Marshal (for the prudent and powerful Earl Randulf had died in ), to court to seize him, and sent to Devizes to slay . But the Marshal was warned in time, and went off to his Welsh earldom, | |
139 | where he was joined by , who had been rescued by his soldiers. The bishop then proclaimed Richard a traitor, and when he asked to be tried by his peers, answered that the king could punish an evil-doer without trial if he chose. Richard and the barons now made a league with Prince of Wales and resolved to take up arms to defend themselves, for the bishop had sent for more hired soldiers from abroad. In August, when marched into the Marshal's earldom, they surprised him at Grosmont, November 11, and put him to disgraceful flight, and twice beat his captains at Monmouth, November 25 and December 26. Following up these victories, and Richard took and burned Shrewsbury in January, and laying waste the lands of Peter and Stephen of Segrave, drove the king from Gloster to . Still remained stubborn, and would not listen to any one but Peter, till on April 9, Edmund Rich, the newly chosen Archbishop of (Stephen had died , and his successor Richard in ), a pious and righteous man, came before him with a great number of clergy and said, 's eyes were at last opened, he dismissed Peter to his diocese, drove his son and Stephen of Segrave from their posts with threats and reproaches, and sent Edmund to treat with and the Marshal. |
But it was too late to undo the ill that had been done. Peter had written to some barons of Ireland bidding them seize Richard's lands there, and the Marshal hurried over sea to repel his foes. He carried all before him till Geoffrey of Marsh, a false friend who had agreed to betray him, led him to meet the chief Irish barons near Kildlare, April I, to talk over a truce. The meeting ended in a battle, on which Geoffrey treacherously withdrew his troops, and left the Marshal with fifteen knights to withstand an enemy ten times his number; for he refused to fly. He held his own for several hours, like a lion at bay, slaying eight men with his own hand; for he was one of the strongest and most skilful knights alive, and he was not overcome till they set their Irish kernes to hough his horse, when he fell and was stabbed in the back before he could gain his feet. After a few days in prison he died of his wounds to the grief of all England, wept when he heard the news, but he let the murderers have the Marshal's lands, and though he made peace with , , and the rest of their party, he did not take the lesson to heart. He would not make a new justiciar or treasurer, but tried to do their work himself; and as he only worked by fits and was wont to lay aside his rightful business to take up great designs which were never carried out, people soon had cause to complain of neglect and delays of justice and waste of money. New favourites came too, who were no better than the old, and so fresh troubles arose. | |
4. [4] 's sister Joan had wed the King of Scots in . He now gave the third, Isabel, a fair and courteous lady, to Frederick the Emperor to wife, a match which was well thought of, and next year, , himself married Eleanor, daughter of the Earl of Provence, amid great rejoicings. The streets of London were swept and cleaned, the houses were hung with garlands, banners, and lanterns; and a body of 360 burgesses, in silk gowns and hoods, mounted on fine horses with new trappings, rode out to welcome the bride. The wedding feast was splendid; the great earls acted as cupbearer, steward, almoner, and the like; the citizens of saw to the cooking, and the Londoners to the wines, and the good men of the Cinque Ports bore the canopy over the king and queen. Unhappily Eleanor soon made herself dis-liked. She was proud, did not care for the English or their ways, and encouraged her kinsfolk to come to England, where the king, ever fond of new faces and foreigners, married them to rich English heirs and heiresses, and loaded them with lands, gifts, and offices. | |
In , by of Burgh's advice, secretly married his sister Eleanor (the younger William Marshal's widow) to a newcomer, , and drew down the anger of Earl Richard of Cornwall and Gilbert the Marshal his brother-in-law and a warning from the Pope not to estrange his loyal subjects for the sake of new friends. But was not really an alien. His grandfather had married Amisy, sister and heiress of the Earl of Leicester. His father, the famous warrior Simon, had led the French crusade for the Pope against the Pure Christians of Albi and Beziers, who denied his authority, slaying the King of Aragon, who came to their rescue at Moret, and breaking the power of their lord the Earl of Thoulouse, whose lands soon after fell into the hands of the French king. But , who did not wish to see the Pope or French king profit by his brother-in-law's ruin, would not let hold the earldom of Leicester, and gave it into the care of Randulf Earl of Chester. When he died the great crusader's sons agreed to divide their dead father's lands, Almeric taking the French and the English fiefs. had therefore come to England, and not only gave him his father's earldom, but heartily favoured his marriage. However, his favour seldom lasted long, and in I239 he suddenly accused his brother-in-law of dishonourable behaviour, and of giving traitorous counsel. answered boldly, But , disgusted, went abroad, and next year joined Earl Richard of Cornwall, with whom he had made friends on a crusade; for Richard, too, was tired of the king's fickleness and folly, and grieved to see England so ill-ruled. Richard ransomed many Christian prisoners, and rewalled Ascalon, and showed such wisdom and prowess that the barons of Jerusalem asked him to take care of their realm till their young king was of age, but he had duties to do in England, and came home with his brother-in-law in . | |
5. [5] Much against the archbishop's will, in begged the Pope for a legate to reform the Church, which indeed needed looking to; for there were continual outcries against the selfishness, pride, and greed of the monks; the injustice, harshness, and perjury of the bishops, officers, and archdeacons; and the simony, evil-living, and neglect of duty of too many of the parish priests, so that the poor, despised and uncared-for, were even falling back into devil-worship. Gregory sent Otho, a discreet | |
142 | man, but more eager to get money for his master than to deal with these deep ills, and the good counsel he did give was spurned when men saw his grasping hands. On his tour through England he came in to , where great schools had lately sprung up after the model of those of the far-famed Paris University. The scholars were most of them poor, and many of them lived by begging; but they sent Otho a gift of meat and wine, and went to see him at Oseney Abbey, where he was lodging. But his brother, who was steward of his household, a pompous person, nicknamed by the scholars Nabuzaradan, rudely thrust them from the doors, and when a poor Irish priest begged for a little soup, threw a ladleful of the boiling broth in his face. A Welsh student that stood by drew his bow and shot the steward dead. A fray began; the gownsmen swarmed out of armed with bows and short swords, and Otho only saved his life by flying up Oseney steeple. For this fray , to please Otho, fined the scholars heavily, and shut up their schools for a time. In Otho, having done little good, went away, taking with him, men said, more church money than he left behind. Grieved by the legate's taxes and the king's harsh enforcement of his grandfather's Constitutions, Edmund piteously besought the Pope and to stay their hand before the English Church was utterly destroyed, but he spoke in vain. So worn out by care, and hopeless of relief, he crossed the sea like , to seek peace at Pontigny, and breathed his last at Soissi. In the Pope declared him a saint for his good life and true heart, and the miracles said to have been wrought at his tomb. His archbishopric was given to the queen's uncle, Boniface of Savoy, a well-meaning but violent and self-willed young man. |
But better help was now at hand. Francis of Assisi, a young Italian nobleman, pitying the sick and poor, whom no man heeded, made up his mind to live, like the apostles, for their sakes and God's. He gave up his goodly heritage and all the common joys of life, and trusting to charity for his daily bread, clad in a single coarse undyed hooded woollen coat, girt with a cord, went about barefooted all day among the lepers and sick and poor, tending and teaching them. His kind heart and wonderful unselfishness drew followers to him, and he went to Pope Honorius to get leave to found an Order of Begging Brothers, or Mendicant Friars, who should vow to give up all that they had, to obey the Pope and the heads of their Order in all things, and to labour all their lives for the poor sick and helpless. When | |
143 | Honorius looked at his sad wan face, his untrimmed hair and beard, his mud-stained feet and dirty threadbare coat, and heard these hard vows, he despised him as a madman, saying, Francis bowed his head, and went to the first pig's wallow he could find and did as the Pope bade him; then, caked in filth from head to foot, he came back to the Pope. Honorius, touched by his humility, bade him go and wash himself and come back quickly, for he would grant him his whole desire. Francis' Grey Brothers soon spread in little groups of tens and sevens over all Christian lands, and even went as missionaries among the heathen. When they came to a town, they built a little shed outside the wall, among the huts of the poor and lepers, to sleep in, and with no other dwelling went forth to their work of healing and teaching those who had no other helpers. Brother Agnell was their first head in England, and within ten years of their coming here they had forty convents. The poor and the better clergy welcomed them gladly, and Adam of Marsh, the friend of Robert Grossetete Bishop of and of , was one of their first recruits. |
Dominick, a canon of Osma in Aragon, who saw that the heretic teachers of the Albi Pure Christians were winning their way against the Catholic Church by their fervent preaching and lives of self-denial, founded an Order of Brothers Preachers, who were to take vows, poverty, and obedience, and devote themselves to the good of their neighbours' souls. These Black Brothers soon came to England under the encouragement of the king and Archbishop Edmund, and did good work. They were followed by other orders, such as the White Friars, or Brothers Carmelites, and the Austin Friars, or Hermit Brothers, till there were two or three hospitals or convents of these zealous champions of faith and charity in every town, in spite of the opposition of certain lazy monks and selfish parish priests who did not like to see others doing the work they had so long left undone. | |
6. [6] After a Welsh war, ending in the submission of Prince David, 's son, at Alney, , received letters from Hugh the Brown, Earl of Marche (whom his mother had married after King 's death), begging him to come and free Poitou from the French king, who had taken it and given its earldom to his brother Alfonso. The English barons did not wish for war, | |
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and King Louis IX. was unwilling to fight his brother-in-law for a province which he held on doubtful title (for his father had sworn to give it back). However, the French barons would not hear of its surrender, and 's heart was set on its rescue. With 1600 knights, 700 crossbowmen, and 20,000 foot he landed in Poitou, , and pushed on to Taillebourg. But here he was outflanked by Louis, and his lines laid open by the sudden desertion of the Poitevins, Earl
Hugh declaring that the letters sent to England were forged by his wife without his knowledge, and refusing to fight. But for a day's truce, granted at Earl Richard's request in return for his ransoming so many French prisoners in Palestine,
Louis must have taken and all his host. Twelve hours' delay gave time for a rapid retreat; but an English division was beaten at Saintes two days later, and was driven into Gascony, where he passed the winter, lavishing the money that might have won back Poitou on worthless Gascon favourites. In the spring he made peace, yielding Poitou to Louis, and promising him £1OOO a year.
Followed by a throng of greedy foreign courtiers, came home, and at Westminster in told his council that he was deep in debt, and must have a grant of money from clergy and laymen too. The barons were a little distrustful of the clergy since Stephen of Langton's death, accusing them of looking only to their own good, and so obeying the Pope's unrighteous demands and trying to force the Church Law upon the country. This had led to their famous protest at Merton, , But when Robert Grossetete rose and told them that the only way for them to withstand the wrongful claims of Pope or king was for the clergy and barons to act together, they agreed to name a joint Board of Twelve to speak for them all. The Twelve told the king that the charters were broken over and over again, and that they must choose a justiciar and chancellor to build up the falling realm; but on the king's own word that he would keep his oaths, they let him have a scutage, refusing him any more money till things were better. |
7. [7] At this very time Master Martin, Pope Innocent's agent, by blank orders, which he filled up as he pleased, and other wrongful devices, was wringing vast sums from the English Church for the war against Frederick the Emperor, who wrote to warn the English barons against granting him any money to his damage or theirs. They determined to stand | |
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by their Church, drove Martin from the kingdom, and sent
Roger the Bigod and others to the Council of Lyons in to tell the Pope that he had no right to tax the Church or realm of England, 's cession being bad in law. Next year the king and all the council sent him a second protest, in which they complain-
But when Innocent wrote threatening to dethrone as he had dethroned his brother-in-law Frederick, the king and Earl Richard gave way, the leaderless nobles let the matter drop, and the clergy were forced again
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The king's mother died in , and his half-brothers came to England with more Poitevin courtiers. welcomed them warmly, loading Guy of Lusignan with presents, marrying William of Valence, whom he made Earl of Pembroke, to a rich heiress, and forcing Ethelmar into the rich bishopric of . The haughtiness, greed, and reckless violence of these new-comers, and their outspoken contempt for the English and their laws, made them hateful even to Boniface and the Provencals. | |
8. [8] In the king was again in distress; ill-ruled and torn by feuds, Gascony was fast falling a prey to the treachery of its nobles and the ambition of the King of Castile. The English barons would grant no more without instant reforms. despaired. His brother (from whom he had taken the dukedom for his own son Edward) would not help him, but generously agreed to go out as a governor, and enough was scraped together from the sale of the crown jewels, the plunder of the Jews, and loans, to equip a small army for him. In spite of bitter resistance, 's stern rule brought back order, peace, and trade, and saved the dukedom. In he came home for fresh supplies, and his enemies, knowing 's | |
146 | distrustful temper, cunningly and falsely charged him with robbery, cruelty, and treason. Being proved guiltless he sharply rebuked the king for his ungrateful behaviour. " he went on, said angrily. He kept his word, and having gained a signal victory, gave up his toilsome post in . |
9. [1] Meanwhile , wishing to go to Gascony himself, and determined having taken the cross, got the Pope to order the English clergy to pay him a tenth of their income for his pilgrimage. The nobles laughed. But the clergy doubted whether he meant to go to Palestine, and were hard put to it
said Ethelmar. answered the Bishop of Ely. But Grossetete said, The song shows the feeling of the clergy:-
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However, on agreeing to confirm the Charters by | |
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oath, while the bishops excommunicated all who should break them, a sum was granted him in , and he went to Bordeaux. But he was stern when he should have been mild, and pardoned when he should have punished, and the unruly Gascons defied him till (who had refused the regency of France lest he should be thought to desert England) joined him, when the rebels fled, then made peace with Alfonso of Castile, by marrying his son to the Spanish king's daughter Eleanor, and started homeward by way of Pontigny and Paris to visit S. Edmund's tomb, to see his brother-in-law Louis, who welcomed him with feasts and merry-making. He reached England in so deeply in debt that he dare not let his nobles know how much he owed, and fresh troubles arose. |
Grossetete died before they came, but he had foreseen them. He drew up a list of the Rights of the English Church, which might serve as a standard against royal attacks, and boldly reproved the envoys of the Pope (whose foreign nominees drew 70,000 marks a year from English livings) for ordering him to give Innocent's nephew a living for which he was unfit. he wrote, Before his death he also solemnly charged of Montfort (whom he loved as he had loved Richard the Marshal) never as he cared for his soul to forsake the cause of the people he had come among, but to stand up even to the death, as might most likely be needful, for a true and righteous government. | |
10. It was not long ere his help was called for. On the Emperor's death, Innocent had offered the crown of Sicily to Earl Richard, who of course refused the costly gift; but was foolish enough in to accept it from Pope Alexander for his second son, Edmund. The Pope was to carry on the war against Manfred, Frederick's son, who now held it, at 's cost, till he could come to Sicily himself, and the English clergy were to give the king their tenth as if for a crusade. Nobles and clergy both withstood this mad scheme, which could profit none but the Pope's officers; but persisted, and in had to confess that he had | |
148 | bound himself to pay 140,000 marks to Alexander for past services. [9] The clergy, pressed by the Pope's agents, gave him a little money, but the nobles withheld all supplies till reforms were made. These could not be put off much longer. The king's judges, sheriffs, and foreign favourites were breaking the law unchecked and unpunished; the king was disgracefully driven back in an attack on Prince of Wales (who had succeeded his uncle David), and a wet season was followed by a grievous famine. |
Earl Richard had formerly advised his brother well, but since his marriage with Sancha the queen's sister in , he stood aloof from English affairs, and was now in Germany, where he had by his wealth and wisdom got himself chosen Emperor. Prince , who was to show his worth later, was now hand in glove with Roger of Mortimer and the wild Lords Marchers, sons of King 's friends, wholly taken up with tournaments and the Welsh border war. was the only man akin to the royal house from whom help was to be looked for, and in , when Richard of Clare Earl of Gloster, came forward in Parliament, and declared that the royal mistakes called for spfecial treatment, he gave him hearty support. There was a hot debate, the king's friends holding that must be free to override the laws in case of need, to choose his own officers, and manage the realm as he would. The barons answered, as one of 's friends sang- The armed barons at last made consent that a Board of XXIV. (half chosen by him, half by the barons) should reform the realm. On June 11, at , this board, having appointed a justiciar, Hugh le Bigod, a chancellor and treasurer, and named a temporary committee to see to the king's wants and debts, presented to the Parliament a list of Thirty Grievances (chiefly touching the employment of aliens and the evil conduct of royal officers), and a New Constitution, known as the Purveyance or Provisions of Oxford. | |
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This new Constitution, which bound more tightly than the Charter tied his father, was accepted and sworn to by the barons and proclaimed by the king in letters written in French, Latin, and English. The aliens, headed by 's half-brothers, fled over sea. Their posts were filled by Englishmen; and next year, on the motion of and Prince , at the demand of the Bachelery [knights, country gentlemen, and merchants], to complete the reform, Parliament gave remedies for the Thirty Grievances, promised that the nobles should treat their vassals as the king treated them, and agreed to the sheriffs being chosen by the shire-moots. | |
and the king then went over sea to make a final treaty with France, and at Paris, , gave up all claims to Normandy in exchange for the Limousin, Quercy, and Perigueux, and the pay for 500 knights for two years. | |
11. The Purveyance held good for five years, though till his death in Richard of Clare showed great jealousy of and the Bachelery, in spite of the people's warning:- And the queen and John Mansel, by taunting the king with giving up his rights, led him more than once to strive to free himself from control. But drove out the aliens he had recalled, and the king's brother (now back in England as King of the Romans) and Prince stood firm to their oaths. | |
At last the Londoners' insults to his mother, whom they pelted and hooted as a witch, and the deadly feud between 's friend and his friends and neighbours Roger Lord Mortimer and the Marchers, made the prince turn, and both sides made ready to fight it out. To save bloodshed it was settled to refer the whole dispute to King Louis. His award, the , 23rd January , swept away the Purveyance, gave the king power to choose his own ministers (whether aliens or no), but confirmed the charters. A few days later Pope Urban freed from his oath, and declared the New Constitution null and void. King Richard, Lord Clifford, and many of the northern barons, Lord Mortimer and the Marchers, and most of the bishops and earls now deserted the reformers; but said, and bitterly added, Chief among the faithful few were Hugh le Despenser the Justiciary, Gilbert the young Earl of Gloucester, and the midland barons; but the Cinque Ports and London, the scholars and the' Franciscan friars were 's warmest partisans. As in 's days, the barons' strength lay in the south and east, the king's in the west. | |
[10] Prince and the Marchers took Gloucester, and joined at in March. Having taken the earl's son and eighty of his knights at Northampton, turned south to crush the | |
151 | Cinque Ports, cut off London, and relieved Rochester, which was besetting. The king's army plundered freely, and made the towns pay heavy ransom; and the barons, on a rumour that the Jews were betraying them, killed all they could take and laid hands on their money. started to meet the king, sending to offer King Richard £ 3000 if he would settle a peace, and to assure that he only wished to free him from his foes; but his words were despised, and he was defied as a traitor. In the dawning of the 14th May, having surprised the royal outposts, marched over the downs on Lewes. When he saw the spire of the priory where the king lay he halted his men, and, all dismounting, spoke: The soldiers then fell upon the ground and prayed, stretching their arms out crosswise, while the brave old Bishop of Worcester blessed them. now drew up his army, and having knighted the Earl of Gloucester and other young |
| squires, waited for the king's attack. Prince , eager to avenge his mother, began the battle, falling on the Londoners | |
152 | had sent to outflank him, and driving them before him with heavy slaughter four miles off the field.
The king's main body made for the standard-car, where they thought to find , but their straggling ranks were cut in two by the steady advance of the barons. When
came back from the pursuit, he found victorious. King Richard had been driven into a mill, where, to the mockery of his foes, he was taken by Sir John of
Bevs, a new-made knight, and King , driven back wounded and on foot (for his charger had been killed under him) to the river, had yielded to the Earl of Gloucester.
Next day the king sealed the , in which he vowed to keep the Charters and the Articles of Grievances, to live thriftily till his debts were paid, to employ no aliens, to refer the Purveyance to arbitration again, and to give his son
Edward and Henry, King Richard's son, as hostages for his good behaviour till a final reform was made. Great was the joy of Englishmen at this unhoped-for success (for the bulk of the barons' small army were raw levies), and deep their thankfulness to , as the friar's lay witnesses:-
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12. In June Parliament chose Three Electors (Earl , Earl Gilbert, and the Bishop of Chichester) to name the king's Standing or Privy Council anew, and lowered its number from Fifteen to Nine. They also did away with the Parliamentary Commissioners, for held it as much a man's duty to think and work for his country as to fight for her. The authority of the Electors, who were to watch the council, was only to last for a fixed time. | |
The queen, Archbishop , and those who had fled | |
153 | from Lewes had already gathered an army in Flanders to invade England and overthrow the new government. [1] therefore formed a camp at , and the Cinque Port mariners, stopping the Pope's legate, tore up the Bull against the barons which he wished to bring to England, and blockaded the queen's fleet till she disbanded her soldiers. In called a Parliament, to which he summoned not only earls, barons, clergy, and two knights (chosen by the shire-moot) from each shire, but also two burgesses from each city and town, which had never been done before; for he wished to have the approval of all classes for his plans, and this he got from his full Parliament. |
Not that his foes were all crushed. Earl Gilbert, like his father, grew jealous of another's leadership, and took offence at the somewhat proud behaviour of the younger Montforts. Roger Mortimer and the Marchers rose, William of Valence landed in South Wales with a body of crossbowmen, and an able and zealous leader was found in Prince , who escaped from his custody at Hereford. Getting leave to ride out in the country, he made his guards race their horses till they were tired out, when, leaping on a fresh and swift horse, sent him by Lord Mortimer, he galloped off to Wigmore, safe from pursuit. Earl with the king had gone west to cut off the rising on the March and get help from , sending his second son, , to Kenilworth to gather troops there and join him at Evesham, whither he now turned. But by a sudden raid surprised and broke up young 's camp, taking his banner and driving him into the castle till help came. Knowing that Earl had but few men with him, he then hurried off to Evesham to attack him, before young could gather his scattered troops and march to his father's help. | |
[11] On Tuesday morning, August 4, hearing that an army was drawing near, sent his barber Nicholas up Evesham belfry to see whose men they were. When he called out that he could see young 's arms on the hill the earl was glad, but when behind them he espied the standards of the prince and Gloucester, and saw the well-known banner of Mortimer flying over another division which was coming down the Kenilworth road to cut off all retreat, the truth was clear. cried the earl and pointing to Gloucester's | |
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battalion, he turned to his son, and his friends begged him to fly before Mortimer came up, but he would not. As soon as the good old Bishop of Worcester had blessed his little army (of which as at Lewes every man wore a white cross on his shoulder), advanced against 's great host. So furious was his charge that at first it seemed as if he would cut his way through them, though they had seven men to every two of his; but his Welsh footmen lost heart and fled, and Sir Warin of Basingburn rallied the prince's men with the cry, and the little troop of White Crosses was soon hemmed in. Henry |
| of Montfort was the first to fall, then, one after another' Piers of Montfort, his cousin John of Beauchamp, Hugh le Despenser the wise and upright judge, Guy of Balliol who bore the earl's banner, and many more, were struck down. himself was wounded and dismounted, but he fought | |
155 | on to the last like a giant for the freedom of England, till a foot soldier stabbed him in the back under the mail, and he was borne down and slain. The unequal fight had lasted from six to nine o'clock in the midst of the darkness caused by a great storm, and was so fierce that King , who had been forced to ride with to the battle, had much ado to save his life, being badly hurt by a javelin before he could make himself known to his son's soldiers. The conquerors savagely mangled the dead earl, and sent his head to Maud, wife of Roger of Mortimer, but the prince allowed the Grey Brothers of Evesham to bury his body. |
Those who knew praise his piety, admire his learning, and extol his prowess as a knight and skill as a general. They tell of his simple fare and plain russet dress, bear witness to his kindly speech and firm friendship to all good men, describe his angry scorn for liars and unjust men, and marvel at his zeal for truth and right, which was such that neither pleasure nor threats nor promises could turn him aside from keeping the oath he swore at ; for he held up the good cause As a statesman he wished to bind the king to rule according to law, and to make the king's ministers responsible to a full Parliament; and though he did not live to see the success of his policy, he had pointed out the way by which future statesmen might bring it about. | |
13. As soon as had left Kenilworth, young gathered his scattered troops and followed him towards Evesham; but having halted at Alcester for a meal, he was too late for the battle, and was obliged to go back in great grief to his castle, where many of his father's party who had not been at Evesham joined him. In October the king, wishing to put an end to the struggle, called a Parliament at Winchester, when all laws made since Lewes were annulled, and all who had fought against him disinherited. The city of London was fined and lost its charter, and the Lady Eleanor, 's widow, banished. [12] , seeing that they could get no mercy, determined to fight it out. Some threw themselves into Kenilworth with Sir Henry of Hastings, others fortified themselves at Axholm, and the Earl of Derby began plundering in the midlands. Young Simon was persuaded to yield, but soon after fled abroad. The Earl of Derby was made prisoner at Chesterfield, the isle of Axholm surrendered to Edmund the king's son, and Sir Adam Gordon was taken by | |
156 | himself after a hand-to-hand fight. But the garrison of Kenilworth defied the whole royal army, for it was strongly built and held by stalwart men; and when the legate in his red cope excommunicated them, they dressed up their surgeon, Master Peter Porpoise, a cunning man, and set him on the wall to curse him back. In August, at a Parliament at Coventry, Prince got a Board of Twelve chosen to try and make a just award concerning the Disinherited. Henry of Germany was the chief of those chosen, and they drew up the Ban of Kenilworth, October , by which- |
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But the besieged refused this award as too harsh, and held out till Christmas, when for lack of victuals famine-fever broke out among them and they were obliged to yield. However, though his cause was now hopeless, Sir John d'Eyville set up a fortified camp at Ely, and issuing forth thence plundered and , carrying off the Jews and rich citizens for the sake of their ransoms, so that the king was obliged to march against him. By means of a bridge of hurdles and planks thrown across the fen, Prince carried the island, July , after much trouble; but Sir John got away and joined the Earl of Gloucester, who, fearing that his enemy Roger of Mortimer was plotting against his life, had raised an army, and having plundered Westminster Palace and occupied London, was besieging the legate in the Tower. The king hurried south, sent abroad for hired soldiers, and beleaguered the city for sixty days, till peace was made by the good offices of King Richard and Sir Philip Basset. of Wales was still in arms, and led an army against him; but the legate brought about a treaty between them at Shrewsbury, and soon after the work of peace was completed by a reissue of the remedies of the Thirty Grievances or Provisions of Westminster at a Parliament at Marlborough. | |
14. Next year Prince , his brother Edmund, Henry Prince 's of Germany, Gilbert of Gloucester, and many Crusade, . more took the cross at Northampton, meaning to join King Louis on his second crusade. By the time they reached Tunis the good king was dead of the | |
157 | plague, and they were only able to succour his suffering army. Henry of Germany and others now determined to go home with the returning Frenchmen; but Prince swore that if all left him, he and his groom Fowin would go on to Acre (which was being closely besieged by the Saracens) dead or alive, and so went his way with his faithful wife and his own men in thirteen ships only. Henry got as far as Viterbo, when and his brother Guy, who was living there with an Italian earl, his father-in-law, set upon him in the cathedral as he was praying after the mass and stabbed him as he clung to the altar praying for mercy. They then dragged him out of the holy place and mangled his body in revenge for the way the king's knights had treated their father's corpse. For this dreadful deed Guy was outlawed, but died before he could be brought to justice. King Richard was ailing already, but when he heard of his son's murder he rapidly grew worse, and shortly afterwards died. He was buried at his church at Hales by the side of his wife Sancha. He was a man who had given great promise of a finer career, and had he been content with his position in England might by his good influence over his weaker brother have prevented much of the trouble that fell upon the country during his life. |
In Easter reached Acre and raised the siege. He then pushed on to Nazareth and took it, and gained a battle over the Memlook army at Kakehow. In August, while he was staying at Acre, the Emir of Joppa sent him many messages pretending that he wished to become a Christian; and at last, as he was sitting on his bed in the heat of the day, a messenger bearing letters from the Emir was brought to talk with him. As the prince was listening to him the man suddenly drew a poisoned dagger and struck at him. The prince caught the blow on his arm, and thrust the assassin backwards with a blow of his foot, then leaping up, he wrested the knife from him and killed him before his chamberlains could run up. The wound grew worse, and it was feared that it might prove deadly, when an Englishman came forward and promised to cure him if he would let him cut out the poisoned sore. The princess wept for fear of the operation, but her brother-in-law Edmund and John of Vescy led her away, saying, and the surgeon treated the prince so skilfully that within a fortnight his arm was healed. However, having been called home by his father, | |
who was in his last illness, he stayed no longer in the Holy Land, and when he reached Sicily the news of the king's death at Bury, November 16, met him. | |
was a good man, merciful, pious, brave, fond of learning and a lover of art and poetry, a kind father and a fond husband, and ever desirous of doing his duty to his people and his Church ; but he had faults which made him unfit for the crown. He was extravagant, fickle, quick-tempered, suspicious, yet easily led, and full of false ideas of his duties and rights as king; but above all, he set so little store by his plighted word that no man could depend upon his promises, and it was this sin that led him into misfortunes and brought upon him the contempt and dislike of those who would but for it have loved and respected him. Had not his finer qualities enabled him to gain the friendship of those wiser than himself and secure the love of his son and his brother, he would certainly have lost his king. dom, and most probably his life. In person he was like his father, of middle height, well made, and handsome (save that one of his eyelids drooped somewhat over the pupil of the eye), his manners were courteous and graceful, and he spoke well and readily. | |
Footnotes: [] [1217. [1] Louis is obliged to leave England, 1217. [2] The wise rule of Hubert of Burgh, 1219-1232. [] [1224-1232.] [3] Peter des Roches and the aliens,1232-1234. [] [1232-1234.] [4] Henry and the Provencals, 1234-1241. [5] The Church and the friars. [] [1238-1241.] [6] Poitou lost, 1242. [] [1242-1252.] [7] Clergy and people oppressed by King and Pope, 1245-1248. [8] Gascony saved by Earl Simon, 1248-1253. [] [1252-1257.] [1] Grossetete opposes the Pope and King, 1253. [] [1258. [9] The Purveyance of 1258. [10] The war of Lewes, 1264. [] [1264-1265.] [1] Simon's full Parliament, 1265. [11] The murder of Evesham, Aug 4, 1265. [] [1265-1266.] [12] The Disinherited, 1265-1267. [] [1266-1271.] |
