but is reconciled to the French King. The War breaks out again between England and France The Black-Prince his Exploits in Gascogne The Lord John Lisle Knight of the GARTER slain Two Letters of Sr. John Wingfields relating the Prince's Exploits King Edward goes into France obtains a Truce and returns into England Barwick taken by the Scots Queen Philippa deliver'd of her Seventh Son Thomas of Woodstock Nantes taken and Recover'd A strange Malady of Aversion The Death of Peter Lord Mauley From p. 478. to p. 489. Chap. XIV King Edward recovers Barwick King Bailiol resigns his Right and Title to Scotland into King Edward's Hands King Edward wasts Scotland but losing a great part of his Navy is obliged to return He brings Bailiol into England with him A Parliament at Paris A Sedition at Arras supprest King John of France seises the King of Navarre confines him and executes several of his Friends The King of Navarre's Brother Philip obtains Assistance from England and being reinforced by the Duke of Lancaster makes hot War in Normandy King John goes against him but upon News of the Black-Prince's being in France turns back to oppose him The Duke of Lancaster having settled Affairs in Normandy goes into Bretagne to the Dutchess From p. 489. to p. 494. BOOK III. CHAP. I. KING John prepares to go against the Black-Prince The said Prince's Victorious Progress thrô Quercy Auvergne Berry and Touraine The French King follows him Two Cardinals haste after him in hopes to reconcile Matters Some French Troops cut off by the Prince King John having Order'd his Battails a Cardinal perswades him to desist a while till he had try'd to compose Matters But the French K. demands more than the Prince would grant A Quarrel between the Marshal of France and the Lord Chandos The Cardinal despairing of Peace leaves the Field Prince Edward encourages his Men. The Names of his Chief Leaders His speech to them His New Device against the Enemy The Lord James Audley and Sr. Eustace Dambreticourt begin the Fight The Famous Battle of POICTIERS wherein King John is made Prisoner The Prince of Wales his Bounty to the Lord Audley his Obliging Deportment to the French King. He returns to Bourdeaux King Edward's Moderation at the News of his Sons Success The Pope applauds the Prince of Wales for his Humanity to the Captive King. The several claims concerning the taking of the French King adjusted The Duke of Lancaster's proceedings in Normandy and Bretagne after the Battle of Poictiers The Troubles of France freshly fomented by a Seditious Parliament The Lord Godfry of Harcourt slain The Pope stirs up the Emperour to endeavour to compose Matters between the two Kings A Diet at Metz in Lorraine Seals changed in England From p. 495. to p. 525. Chap. II. The Black-Prince brings King John of France into England King Edward receives the Captive King with much Humanity Henry Duke of Lancaster holds a Siege before Rennes The Cardinals obtaine a Truce between the two Kings King David is redeem'd and returns to Scotland The Duke of Lancaster takes Rennes by Composition Sr. Robert Knolles beats the Marshal of France in Normandy The Lord of Granville takes the Castle of Eureux by a slight The Rise of Sr. John Hawkwood and Sr. Robert Knolles The Original of a sort of Free-booters call'd Companions in France The Insolence of the Parisiens and their Provost toward the Dauphin King Charles of Navarre gets at Liberty and grows Popular From p. 525. to p. 535. Chap. III. King Edward holds St. GEORGE'S day with great Solemnity A Friendly Treaty held between King Edward and King John but 't is dash'd The Jaquerie in France with their Cruelty and Extirpation Quarrels between the King of Navarre and the Dauphin and between the Dauphin and the Provost of Paris The King and Duke reconcil'd but the Provost continues Plotting The English Navarrois revenge the Death of their Countrymen on the Parisiens The Provost designing to betray Paris is discover'd and slain The King of Navarre breaks again with the Dauphin His several Garrisons the Dauphin's Difficulties The Confusion and Miseries of France The Constable besieges St. Valery The Captal of Busche comes to the King of Navarre's Assistance The several Garrisons of the Navarrois The Lord Canon Robsart discomfits a Party of them The happy Estate of England Two Kings keep Christmas with King Edward The Death of the Queen Mother of England of the Queen Consort of Scotland and of Orcanes the Great Turk A Quarrel between the Bishop of Ely and Blanche Lady Wake And another between the Four Orders of Predicants and the two Vniversities of Cambridge and Oxford From p. 536. to p. 552. Chap. IV. A Method of Agreement pitch'd upon by the two Kings but rejected by the French Parliament Whereupon King Edward resolves for War. St. Valery yielded up to the French. Sr. Peter Audley fails in his Design upon Châlons The Earl of Roucy taken Prisoner a second time Melun besieged but the Dauphin and Navarre are reconciled The Lord Eustace Dambreticourt taken Prisoner by the French. A Judgment on a Sacrilegious Souldier The Navarrois decline suddenly Vpon Sr. Peter Audley's Death Sr. Eustace Dambreticourt is redeem'd by the Navarrois and made their Captain Sr. Robert Knolles his Expedition He retires being overmatch'd Submits to the King and obtains his Pardon The Flemings revolt from King Edward King Edward with his Four Sons and others holds a Solemn Justs in the Name of the Mayor and Aldermen of London John of Gaunt Earl of Richmond Marries the Duke of Lancaster's Daughter King Edward chooses the Place of his Sepulture in Westminster Abbey From p. 552. to p. 564. Chap. V. King Edward sends the Duke of Lancaster to Calais and follows himself with an Army of an Hundred Thousand Men. The Names of his Chief Captains with the Order of his Army The King Marches from Calais toward Rheims in Champaigne An adventure between the Lord Galahaut de Ribemont and the Lord Van Boulant The Lord Bartholomew Burwash takes the French Master of the Cross-bows Prisoner King Edward lays Siege to Rheims The Lord Eustace Dambreticourt sends relief to the English Army Several Places taken by Detachments from the Camp before Rheims The King of Navarre breaks with the Dauphin again The Lord of Gomegines taken Prisoner by the French. The Lord Bartholomew Burwash takes Cormicy and rases it From p. 565. to p. 574. Chap. VI. The Duke of Normandy's Methods to resist King Edward The French take Land at Winchelsea and having done much harm are beaten off Order taken to prevent the like for the future King Edward rising from before Rheims Marches thrô Champaigne Roger Mortimer Earl of March dies The Great Pomp and Order of the English Army King Edward is bought off from destroying Burgundy and turns toward Paris He sits down before Paris Two Treaties offer'd at in vain The King Challenges the Dauphin forth to Battle The Lord Manny
1 Vol. p. 802. Antwerp while the King held a Noble Turneament there on the Vigil of St. Andrew or the 29 of November 1338. The Infant was Baptised with the Name of Lionell and sirnamed from the Place of his Birth Lionell of Antwerp who became in time Earl of Vlster Duke of Clarence and a Person of Extraordinary Features of Body and which is a more aimable Beauty Valour and other Princely Endowments But as the Queens Fecundity did on one hand make the Royal Family to flourish so on the other Fatal Necessity was busied in lopping off a Princely Branch from that Regal Stem For this very z Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 64. Year the Kings Uncle Thomas Plantagenet sirnamed of Brotherton from a place of that Name in Yorkshire where he was Born being Earl of Norfolk and Marshal of England departed this Life and was a Weevers fun Mon. p. 726. buried in the Choire of the Famous Abbey at St. Edmunds-Bury in Suffolk where there was a goodly Monument erected to his Memory but it is now wholly buried in the same Ruines into which the Fatal Dissolution cast both that and many other Religious Houses He left Issue by the Lady b Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 65. Alice his first Wife Daughter of Sr. Roger Hales of Harwich two Daughters his Heirs the Lady Margaret and the Lady Alice the former first Married to the Lord John Seagrave and after to the Famous Sr. Walter Manny the latter to Sr. Edward Montague Brother to the Earl of Salisbury He is c Mill's Catal. Hâ—nor p. 510. said to have had also a Wife named Anne before the Lady Alice by whom he had a Son Edward who died without Issue and also another after her by whom he had a second Son named John who became a Monk in the Abbey of Ely. Upon his Death however the Earldom of Norfolk and Office of Marshal for want of Issue Male fell into the Kings hands by Escheat But the Lord William Montague Earl of Salisbury in consideration of his many Eminent Services both in War and Peace abroad and at home obtained presently after a d Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 646. ex Pat. fact apud Antwerp 12. Ed. 3. p. 3. m 7. Grant bearing Date at Antwerp the 15 of September of the Office of Marshal of England During this the Kings Stay in Brabant the Lady e Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 52. Eleanora Plantagenet Fifth Daughter to Henry de Torto Collo the old Earl of Lancaster and Sister to Henry Earl of Darby brought forth to her Husband John Lord Beaumont of England Son to Henry Vicount Beaumont Earl of Buquhan a Son called Henry Whereupon two Years after Sr. John the Father obtain'd the Kings Special Letters Patents declaring That notwithstanding the said Henry the Son was begotten and born in Foreign Parts yet since it was occasion'd by Sr. John's and his Lady's Attendance on the King and Queen he should be reputed a Lawfull Heir to inherit his Father's Lands as well as thô he had been born in England Now that it may appear how King Philip was much more in the Pope's Books than our Edward it is observable that when he heard of King Edwards Arrival at Antwerp as one that saw a Dreadfull Tempest of War hanging over France he wrote a f Extat apud Odoric Rainald ad hunc annum §. 55. Letter to King Philip bearing Date at Avignon V. Id. August Anno Pontificatûs IV. Wherein piously indeed he stirs him up to implore the Divine Assistance and to the end he might obtain the Favour of God to put away all things that might offend his Majesty and first to pacifie his own Conscience lest he should nourish a War within himself to desist from Oppressing the Clergy and the Poor lastly he advised him to admit of honest Conditions of Peace and upon Occasion to offer the like For whereas in that War much Christian Blood was like to be shed he would then appear clean of the Sin of all that should be shed both before God and Man but that he should not put his Confidence in the Power of his Forces but in the Divine Assistance As for his Part that he together with the Whole Church would power forth his Prayers unto God for him IV. King g Knighton p. 2571. n. 50. vid. Rebdâ—rfii Annales de hâ—c anno Edward the mean while according to the Emperors Request went forth Royally attended to give him a Meeting he being then in High Germany about 7 Diets beyond Colen But when he heard of the King of England his Brother-in-Law's Approach toward that City he also set forward with Imperial Pomp till he came to h Alii dicunt lâ—cum fuisse Confluentias alâ—i Francofurtum Cologne where he was met by King Edward The Enterview was very Glorious and Magnificent the Emperor greatly Honouring the King of England thô some i Walsingh hist p. 132. say at the first Meeting he took it ill that King Edward refus'd to submit himself to the Kiss of his Feet as it should seem Kings were wont to do to Emperours but our Edward gallantly k Selden's Titles of Hon. part 1. c. 3 p. 29. answer'd That He Himself was a King Sacred and Anointed and had Life and Limbs in his Power being accountable to none but God as Supream and Independent of all Others being also Lord of Sea and Land and Wearing no less than an Imperial Crown Wherefore he ought not to abase himself to any Mortal Potentate whatsoever This Answer was accepted And presently l Knighton p. 2571. n. 60. two Royal Thrones were erected in the open Market-place One for the Emperour the Other for the King the Emperour took his Place first and King Edward sate down by him In which Honourable Enterview there were for Assistants four Great Dukes three Archbishops and six Bishops thirty seven Earls and of Barons Banerets Knights and Esquires according to the Estimation of the Heralds Seventeen Thousand The Emperour held in his Right Hand the Imperial Scepter and in his Left the Golden Mound or Globe which denotes the Government of the World a Knight of Almain holding over his Head a Naked Sword. And then and there the Emperour publiquely declared the Disloyalty Falshood and Villany which the King of France had used towards him whereupon he defi'd him and pronounced that both He and his Adherents had forfeited the Protection and Favour they might expect from the Empire and had justly incurred whatever Displeasure might be done unto him thereby And then He m Ashmole p. 649. Frois l. 1. c. 34. f. 19. made ordain'd and constituted King Edward his Deputy and Vicar General of the Sacred German Empire granting unto him full and absolute Power over All on this side as far as Cologne Of all which he gave him his Imperial Charter in sight of all that were present The next day these two Illustrious Persons with the Great
and Seisin as they have at this Day in all those Goods Lands and Possessions which they hold or have any way acquired 10. Item That they shall go from one Country to another as well Merchants with their Merchandise as any other Subjects either by Land or by Water only paying their usual Customs freely and securely as they were wont to go and come in the time of the Predecessors of the said Kings Except such as are banished the said Realms for other causes than for the Wars of the said Kings But the Barons of Gascoign and others banished out of the said Dukedom are contained in the said Truce and may come and go during the Truce so often remembred Only the Banished and Fugitives of the Country of Flanders who have been on the part of the King of France shall not during the Truce return into Flanders 11. Item The said Truce shall contain and comprise Spain Catalaunia Genoua Provence the Bishop and Chapter of Cambray the Castles of Cambresis the Lord of Albret the Vicount of Fronsac the Lord of Tricouleon the Lord John de Vernon and the Lord of Roye 12. To all which Articles and Agreements the Lord Otho Duke of Burgundy the Lord Peter Duke of Bourbon with the Earls of Boulogne Auxerre Sancerre Joigny and Porcien the Lords Milo de Nogheres and Ingelram de Coucy upon the Soul of the Lord Philip King of France and the Lord Henry de Lancaster Earl of Darby the Lord William Bohun Earl of Northampton the Lord William Montagu Earl of Salisbury Ralph Lord Stafford Bartholomew Lord Burwash Nicolas Lord Cantilupe Reginald Lord Cobham Walter Lord Manny Maurice Lord Barkley and Doctor John Hufford Archdeacon of Ely on the Soul of the Lord Edward King of England according to a Commission by the said Kings to them made have taken their Corporal Oath by laying their Hands upon the Holy Gospel Given in the Priory of St. Mary Magdalene in Malestroit of the Order of St. Benedict in the Dioecese of Nates 19 January 1343. Thus the Articles of the Truce being solemnly confirmed by the Oaths of the Lords abovemention'd the Cardinals caused a Charter thereof to be drawn up in the form aforesaid to which all the said Persons set to their Hands and Seals on the Day and Year above written in the presence of the Cardinals themselves and many great Lords Knights and Gentlemen of either Nation And thus We end the Transactions of this Year relating to the Wars of Bretagne and shall therewith conclude this Chapter also when We have after our usual Custom added two or three Occurrences which could not be properly ranged in any other place or method This Truce thus taken i Hecsemius in Alphonso c. 28. many great Lords and valiant Knights of England France and Bretagne took their journey with all haste into Spain to help King Alphonso against the Saracens of Granada among whom are reckon'd the Noble Lord k Knighton p. 2583. n. 20. Hocsem ibid. ubi pro Darby legit Arbidi pro Salisbury Soluz beri satis imperitè Henry Earl of Darby William Earl of Salisbury Sr. Maurice Son to the Lord Thomas Berkley with a goodly Band of young Gentlemen Voluntiers They found King Alphonso at the Siege of Algezira before which he had now layn a long time and here among others the Earl of Darby and his English Troops who had fought twice with the Pagans who came to relieve the place to their great Honour behav'd themselves so well together with the other Christian Worthies that now at length after a Siege of three Years the City was yielded up to the King of Spain and Jutzeph King of Granada who had held the place against him became l 1 Walsing hist p. 154. n. 20. Odoric Rainâ—ld ad an 1344. §. 51. ad §. 53. thenceforth his Vassal and paid him a Yearly Tribute of 12000 Florens The Pope l 1 Walsing hist p. 154. n. 20. Odoric Rainâ—ld ad an 1344. §. 51. ad §. 53. hearing of the taking of this City made it an Episcopal Seat and subjected the Bishop thereof as a Suffragan to the Metropolitan Church of Hispalis or Sevil. But the two English Earls went not only this tiem in Quality of Champions of Christ but also of m Râ—t Fran. 17. Ed. 3. m. 12. ex Dudg 1 Vol. p. 784. Ambassadors from the King their Master to treat with Alphonso King of Castille for the composing of certain differences betwixt the Subjects of that King and the Subjects of King Edward especially Mariners and Citizens of Bayonne All which Matters both of War and Peace being happily by them performed they shortly after return'd home with great Glory On the n Mezeray p. 21. 28 or as others say on the * Scipio Mazzella's Hist of Naples p. 157. 20 of January this Year 1343 that most Noble and Learned Prince Robert King of Sicily Naples and Jerusalem departed this Life after he had Reigned 33 Years 4 Moneths and 24 Days He was as Mazzella Collenutius and other Neopolitan Writers testifie a Wise and Learned King and much Renowned for his Skill in Astrology as We have more then once intimated He made Honourable Wars with Henry the VII Emperour of Germany and Father to John of Luxemburgh King of Bohemia also with Frederick King of Sicily and lastly in Tuscany in behalf of the Florentines where in the Famous overthrow of Montacatino in a Battle fought between the Guelphs and the Gibellines he lost Philip Prince of Tarentum and Peter Earl of Gravina his Brothers He sent his Son Charles firnamed Sans-Terre against Frederick King of Sicily and went himself against Castruccio Castricani the Head of the Gibellines at what time the Dominion of Florence was given unto Charles Sans-Terre He was a Religious Prince and a Lover of Learned Men as who could best judge of them whereof We shall produce but two instances the One That Marvellous stately Church and other things which he builded in Naples and the Second may be the Great Familiarity which he constantly held with those bright Lights of Tuscany Petrarch and Boccace Our Stories do mention a Son of his slain at Southampton when that Town was fired by the French but I find no other Son that he had except Charles Sans-Terre whom being Famous for his Prowess and Valour I dare not avouch to have died then However he left his Kingdom to Joan the sole Daughter of his Son Charles aforesaid who o Giovanni Villani l. 12. c. 50. 51. being enslaved with the Love of her own Cousin Lewis Prince of Tarentum and not satisfied with the cold embraces of her Husband Andrew Son to the King of Hungary caused him to be hanged in a silken Sash out of her Chamber Window But his Father Charles Humbert in Revenge hereof did so much interrupt her unlawfull Pleasures that ever after she lived in no less disquiet than Disgrace till
Place they came to was Ville Franche in Agenois which together with the Castle was taken by Assault and here the Earl made an Esquire of his named Thomas Cook Captain whom thereupon he Knighted Thus the Earl of Darby without any Resistance overran the Country and conquer'd Towns and Castles and wan much Spoil and great Riches all which like a Noble Prince he distributed among his Men. IX From hence he rode to u Frois c. 113. Mirapont in his way toward Bourdeaux for all this while the Currours of his Army never went near St. Mary-Port which having held out three Days yielded on the Fourth and this Place he committed to the Care of a Valiant Esquire of his John Bristow Thence he sent out a Detachment which took in a little enclosed Town called Tonneins standing on the River Garonne and after that a strong Castle named Damasan a little lower on the other side the said River which was furnished with a convenient Garrison Then the Earl went up higher into Angoulemois and sat down with all his Forces before the great City of Angoulesme saying he would not stir thence till he had it at his Pleasure But the Citizens being terrify'd with his Successes made a Composition with him to send 24 of their Chief Burgesses their Hostages to Bourdeaux That he should give them Respit for a Moneth Within which time if the French King send a sufficient Captain to keep the Field against him then they to have their Hostages restored and to be acquitted of all Obligation But if no such Forces appear then they without any more adoe to submit to the Government of the King of England Upon this Composition the Earl rode to Blaye in Saintogne wherein were two Valiant and Hardy Captains Sr. Guischard alias Sr. Richard Dangle afterwards for the English and in time one of the Knights of the Honourable Order of the Garter and the other was Sr. William of Rochechouart of no less Courage and Loyalty These Knights answer'd the Earls Summons That they would yield to no Man living Wherefore he laid to them a strong and close Siege and in the mean time sent out a Detachment to Mortagne in Saintogne by the Sea-side whereof was Captain a Noble and Hardy Knight named the Lord of Bouciquault Who Defended the Place so well that the Earl's Men despair'd to take it Wherefore after some loss they wheel'd off to Mirembeau and after that as far as Aunay both which also they found too tough for them and so return'd to the Camp before Blaye Here no Day passed without some notable feat of Arms performed and now first did Sr. Richard Dangle begin to bear some kind inclination to the English Nation but here he held out gallantly So that by this time the Moneth being compleat the Earl of Darby remembring his Agreement with the City of Angoulesme sent thither his two Marshals to whom the Citizens sware Allegiance in behalf of the King of England their Master Whereupon their Hostages were restored the City indemnified and the Earl at their Requests sent unto them for their Captain Sr. John Norwich a Valiant and Politick Commander and a x Dugd. 2 Vâ—l. p. 90. Baron of England thô y Frois c. 118. fol. 57. Froisard took him to be but an Esquire And now Winter being far enter'd the Earl seeing the stout Resistance at Blaye and the small Importance of the Place resolv'd to spare his Men for better Service and to raise his Siege till a more commodious season So he dislodged and repassing the River Garonne went back to Bourdeaux where he distributed his Men into Winter Quarters Now if any shall object that it seems incredible that all this while the King of France should lie still let such forbear their Censure till the beginning of the next Year where they will find that he sent a great Man against him but one who thought not fit to act at that time till he was considerably Reinforced as we shall see in due place CHAPTER the TVVENTY FOURTH The CONTENTS I. Henry the Old Earl of Lancaster dies c. II. Jacob van Arteveld having plotted to exclude the Earl of Flanders and his Posterity and to set up in his stead King Edwards Eldest Son proposes the Matter to the Representatives of that Country in Presence of the King. III. They abominate the Motion secretly but get off for the present IV. King Edward allows Jacob van Arteveld a Guard and pardons Sr. John Maltravers senior V. Jacob van Arteveld murther'd at Gaunt by the Commons VI. King Edward being angry therefore with the Flemings is appeas'd by their Ambassadors VII The Earl of Hainalt slain in Friseland VIII His Vncle John Lord Beaumont fetch'd over by the French King from King Edward's Service In whose room the Lord Godfry of Harcourt revolts from France to England IX John Earl of Montford being at liberty and assisted by England prevailes in Bretagne but in the midst of his Victories dies X. The Earl of Northampton combats Charles of Blois hand to hand and routs his Army at Morlaix After which he wins Roche D'Arien and so returns for England XI An Army of 30000 Scots discomfited by the English whereon ensues a Truce XII The Death of one Lord and two Bishops I. DUring the last Campaign of which we spake in the preceding Chapter word was brought over into Guienne to the Earl of Darby a Knighton p. 2585. n. 30. how the Good Old Earl of Lancaster his Father was departed this Life and had left him with his Blessing and a Greater Title a Fair Inheritance He was Younger Brother and upon his Death without Issue next Heir to Thomas Earl of Lancaster eldest Son to Prince Edmund Plantagenet sirnamed Crouchback who was Second Son to King Henry III. and Younger Brother to King Edward the First His Stile ran thus Henry Earl of Lancaster Leicester Darby and Provence Lord of Monmouth and Steward of England His true Sirname was Plantagenet but his usual Torcol or de Torto Collo because his Neck stood something awry Which Title is thrô mistake by b Sandford Geneal Hist p. 112 p. 113. Patronage of John Wickliffe Whereas his Sons Sirname was Grismond and Wickliffe's Friend John of Gaunt He had married the Lady c Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 783. Mill's Catal. Honor p. 323. Sandford's Geneal Hist p. 110 c. Maud sole Daughter and Heiress of Sr. Patrick de Cadurcis or Chaworth a Baron of the Realm By whom he had this valiant Son Henry Earl of Darby upon his Death Earl and afterwards created Duke of Lancaster and six Daughters Blanch Lady Wake Isabell Prioress of Ambresbury Maud Countess of Vlster Joan Lady Moubray of Axholme Eleanor Countess of Arundel and Mary Lady Piercy He died at Leicester and was buried in the Monastery of Canons there King Edward with his Queen Consort and the Queen Mother and almost all the Bishops and Barons of the Realm being present
Arms for that was try'd in vain but by the Faith he reposed in Your Princely Honour which all Kings should take the utmost Care to keep inviolate My Lord and Father let it not be said that the Heir of France after a Fruitless Siege of many Months was fain to falsifie his Word confirmed with his nay with Your Royal Seal to trepan a Generous Enemy into an Ignoble Death For thô all this proceeded of Your Majesties Pleasure alone yet there is no Man but will believe that it was I who betray'd him and so they justly may unless they shall see him set free again by my Endeavours Set Free again reply'd the incensed Prince let me see who dare pretend to dispose of my Prisoners otherwise than I shall think Convenient Be this your satisfaction that your Father and your King is resolved He shall die For I look upon him as One of my most Deadly Enemies and so would You if You knew how he aims to ravish away for another that Crown which You may one Day Wear Father said the Duke if this be Your final Determination surely I shall never bear Arms on Your behalf against the King of England nor shall any of those on whom I have any Influence For I am not greatly Ambitious to Wear a Crown that is upheld by any Unjust Action and then going out of the Presence in Great Displeasure he repeated his former Words Vowing on that Condition never more to bear Arms for the King his Father again Thus the Matter stood a while King Philip in doubt whether to appease his Son or rid himself of an Enemy the Prince in deep Sorrow Shame and Displeasure and the Lord Manny in great Danger of Death But there was at Court a Worthy Knight of Hainalt named Sr. Mansart de Sue who made it his sole Endeavour to deliver the Lord Manny he held about this Matter several private Conferences with the Duke of Normandy and by his means with the greatest Peers and Barons of France whereupon at last King Philip was so importun'd by their joynt Prayers and Remonstrances that he was content to let him go out of Prison with all his Men their Horses Goods and Armour and all their Costs paid And because now the King himself was ashamed of what he had done he sent for the Lord Manny to his Palace of Nesle in Paris and made him sit down with him at Dinner at his own Table All which time the King spake so familiarly with him and shew'd him so good a Countenance as might become the most Gracious King in Europe to use with his most Loyal Friend and Favourite After all he presented him with great Gifts and Jewels to the Value of a 1000 Florens of Gold. But Sr. Walter would not receive this Present saving on this Condition that if his Master the King of England upon his Arrival before Calais should allow thereof then he would keep them as Tokens of his Princely Bounty but otherwise he must crave Pardon thô he send them all back again to the Royal Donor The King said how he spake like a Man of Honour and so the Lord Manny took his leave and rode Northward till he came into Hainalt where he had his Birth and having only tarried three Days at Valenciennes he proceeded till he came to Calais where he and all his Men were welcome to the King of England But when he had shew'd the King the Particulars of all his Journey and the Danger he was in at first as also how afterwards on certain Conditions he had accepted of Gifts from the French King Edward took him aside and said Sr. Walter You have hitherto served Us with much Loyalty and We doubt not but You will continue so to do Send again to Philip of Valois his Presents You have no need of them We thank God We have enough for our selves and for You too And surely We design for You both great Honour and other Rewards according to the Good and Laudable Service You have done Us. Upon these Words of the King the Lord Manny took immediately all the foresaid Jewels and delivering them to a Cousin of his named Sr. Mansel a young Gentleman of Gallant Shape Deportment and Courage thô at that time of no considerable Office because of his Youth he said Cousin Mansel ride into France to the King there and recommend me to him and tell him that I thank his Majesty a Thousand times for the Favours he was pleased to shew me and the Gifts he gave me But let him know that it is not the Pleasure of the King my Master that I should keep them Wherefore I now send them again unto him This young Knight rode to Paris accordingly and deliver'd his Message with the Jewels to the King But he thought it agreed not with his Honour to take them back again wherefore as Sr. Walter had imagin'd He bad Sr. Mansel take them to himself He for his part as one whose Place laid no such Obligation upon him as the Lord Manny's did thanked his Majesty heartily and made no scruple to bring them along with him to Calais XI Now as soon g Frois c. 136. Ashuncle p. 681. Du Chesne p. 665. Holinshead p. 938. Meâ—â—crâ—y p. 28. Grev. Villan l. 12. c. 76. p. 887. as the Duke of Normandy had Raised his Siege from before Aiguillon and was returned to Paris Henry Earl of Lancaster and Darby who during the Siege had kept at Bourdeaux or la Reole and thereabout when he heard of the Duke's Departure sent his Summons throughout Gaseogne to all the Lords Knights and Esquires of England besides such Gascogners as held for King Edward Among whom were the Lord of Albret the Lord de Le Sparre the Lord of Rosam the Lord of Mucidan the Lord of Pamiers the Lord of Tourton the Lord of Bouqueton Sr. Emery of Traston and others so that the Earls Forces amounted in all to 1200 Men of Arms 2000 Archers and 3000 Foot. With this small but well compacted Army he passed the Garonne between Bourdeaux and Blaye and marching up the way toward Saintogne came to Mirembeau which he took by Storm both Town and Castle and set therein a Garrison of English Then he turned to Mortagne by the Sea-side in Poicton which he took by Assault and Garrison'd also From hence he rode to Taillebourg and wan the Bridge Town and Castle putting all whom he found to the Sword in Revenge of the Death of a Knight of his who was slain in the Assault After this he advanced to Aunay Surgieres and Benon all which he took but the Castle of Marans beyond Rochelle he could not prevail upon by any means Then he went and laid Siege to the Fair Town of St. John the Evangelist called in French St. Jean D'Angely and gave there a great Assault which lasted till almost Night There were no very Expert Captains at that time in the Place wherefore Sr. William de
l. out of his Custom of the Town of Barwick upon Tweed till 500 l. lands were firmly settled upon him for him and his Heirs for ever And there it appears that the King gave him further for his good Service at the Battle of Durham with one hundred Men of Arms one hundred Pounds per annum out of the Custom of the Kings Port of Newcastle upon Tine till he should settle upon him so much in Land for him and his Heirs for ever After so truly a Royal Bounty King Edward enquired of him concerning what he knew as to the Particulars of that Battle and afterwards he was fain to repeat this News to a great many Lords and Gentlemen of the Army But on the third Day he went on Board and return'd for England and with him there went a q Knighton p. 2591. n. 20. Command from the King to all and singular High-Sheriffs and Others that no Scotch Prisoner should be deliver'd for any Ransom whatsoever but that they should be all kept in safe Custody and the King himself would satisfie all those who took them for the Redemption of all and every of their Prisoners And this Command of the Kings was generally published throughout all England to be observed on forfeiture of Life and Limb. XIV Sr. John Copland for so now we shall call him being come into England r Speed. p. 580. went to York where the Queen was and there made his Excuse before the Queen and the Lords of the Council in so dutifull and rational a manner that they were all very well satisfied with his Conduct in that Affair and immediately took Order how and with what Forces and at what time the King of Scots should be conveyed to the Tower of London After this Sr. John Copland went home to his own Castle of Ogle and assembled his Kindred and Friends who together with those of the North-parts and Others made up 20000 fighting Men With whom Sr. John Copland the Lord Ralph Nevil and the Lord Henry Piercy convey'd him to the Limits of Yorkshire Å¿ Ashmole p. 656. ex Ret. Sect. 20. Ed. 3. m. 2. Decemb. 20 mo where on the 20 of December he was deliver'd according to the Kings Command to Sr. Thomas Rokeby High-Sheriff of Yorkshire who received him from the Lord Ralph Nevill by Indenture And this Sr. Thomas Rokeby with all the Forces aforesaid conducted the King of Scots up to London where the said King being mounted on an huge Black Courser was at the Kings Command signifi'd in his Letters received by the Mayor Aldermen and Citizens of London with great Pomp and Solemnity every Company in their Proper Liveries attending the Cavalcade from Street to Street vast Multitudes of People following him and infinite Numbers from Belconies and the Tops of Houses beholding this Triumphant Spectacle And being thus brought to the Tower of London he was lastly deliver'd up from the Hands of Sr. Thomas Rokeby aforesaid by t Ashmole p. 656. ex Claus 20. Ed. 3. p. 2. m. 1. Derso Indenture dated the second of January to the Lord John Darcy senior Constable of the Tower of London there to be kept in safe Custody King David himself was thus secured in a safe but respectfull manner and the rest of the Scotch Prisoners bestow'd in other Places of Safety But in February following u Knighton p. 2592. n. 30. Holinsh Scotl. p. 241. Stow p. 245. John Earl of Menteith forasmuch as he had done Homage and sworn Allegiance to King Edward of England and had now contrary to his Oath and Duty broken his Faith and taken up Arms in behalf of David Bruce against the King of England and the Bailiol was by the said King of Englands Command indited of High-Treason and thereupon arraign'd condemn'd hang'd drawn and quarter'd as also the Earl of Fife was at the same time condemn'd to the same punishment XV. This Winter the Noble and Valiant x Knighton p. 2592. n. 20. Earl of Lancaster and Darby together with the Earl of Pembroke and some of their Chief Knights and Captains things being first settled in Gascogne return'd for England In which Voyage on the 8 of December they were taken in a Storm and in great Danger according to the King their Masters Fate who usually was thus handled at his return for England But God deliver'd them also this time and they arrived safe whither they were bound After the Battle of Durham y Frois c. 139. fol. 68. b. Queen Philippa made good Provision for the Defence of the Cities of York and Durham for the Castles of Roxborough and Newcastle upon Tine and other Frontier Towns on the Marches of Scotland and having set the Lord Henry Piercy and the Lord Ralph Nevill as Governours over that side of the Country she went from York to London Where having taken order for the safe Custody of the King of the Scots and the rest of the Prisoners she then went with an Honourable Company of Ladies of the Highest Quality whose Husbands Fathers Brethren and other Friends lay then before Calais and with a good Convoy among whom was the Bishop of Durham and many other great Personages took the Sea and had so good a Wind that She arrived safe in the Camp that same day being three days before the Feast of St. Andrew The King received her with extream delight and satisfaction and made a great and splendid Feast for all the Lords and Ladies that were with him especially for those that came with the Queen For the Sea being his own he had all things that might serve either for Use or Pleasure in great Abundance But the City of Calais began to be very much straitned for want of Victuals XVI And yet all this while many Overtures were made by his Holiness toward the Concerting of Matters insomuch that by the instant Mediation of the Cardinals of Naples and Cleremont five z 22 Octob. Rot. Norm 20. Ed. 3. m. 18. Ashmole p. 656. days after the Battle of Durham a Commission was made out to William Marquess of Juliers William Bohun Earl of Northampton Constable Thomas Beauchamp Earl of Warwick Marshall the Lord Bartholomew Burwash the Lord Richard Talbot Steward of the Kings House Dr. Thomas Bradwardin Chancellor of London John Thoresby Canon of Lincoln and Andrew Hufford Canon of York either to all Eight or to any Seven Six Five Four or Three of them to treat and conclude with the said Cardinals of and upon all Quarrels and Controversies depending between the King and the Lord Philip of Valois and their several Allies But we shall say no more of this Meeting because it took no Effect the Concessions of France being no way answerable to King Edwards Demands So that this Year passed away without closing that Breach which threatned to prove an Inlet to many great Calamities the Year following CHAPTER the SIXTH The CONTENTS I. King Philip holds a Parliament at Paris II.
so much long'd for and have likewise so dearly paid for Wherefore if he cannot pass this way to meet with me let him take what way he can for I will not flinch from him no more than I will unadvisedly give way for him to refresh the Town with Victuals XVIII With this Answer the French Lords were dismiss'd being convey'd beyond the Bridge by the Earl of Lancaster and his Guard of Partizans But that very Morning while the French King was thus busied in contriving how to relieve the Town there came k Frois ibid. Du Chesne p. 668. Holinshead p. 942. Oder Rainald ad hunc annum §. 24. thither two Cardinals Annibald Bishop of Tusculum and Stephen of the Title of St. John and St. Paul who were sent from Avignon by the Pope to mediate about a Truce or if they might a final Peace between the Two Kings King Philip having understood their Errand remitted them to the English Camp to know what his Adversary would do in this case And he upon their earnest Importunities and solemn adjurations in Reverence to Religion admitted of a Truce for Four Days if within that time any equal Proposals might be offer'd him Commissioners for this Treaty on the French part were the Dukes of Burgundy and Bourbon the Lord Lewis of Savoy and John Lord of Beaumont in Hainalt On the English side were Henry Earl of Lancaster William Earl of Northampton the Lord Reginald Cobham and the Lord Walter Manny And the Two Cardinals were as Moderators between both Parties Among other things l Knighton p. 2594. n. 10. 20. the French offer'd to King Edward all Gascogne and Ponthieu and the Marriage of his Son John and rather than fail to yield unto him the Town of Calais saving the Lives and Limbs of the Inhabitants To which the English answer'd briefly Small Thanks for giving a Part which was theirs before now the whole was due That the Town and all therein was now at King Edwards Mercy and not therefore at the Dispose of King Philip. Then the French Commissioners required that Five or Six being chosen out on both sides might be authorised to discuss and adjust the Right of both the Kings and that the Place where they should meet might be assigned by the King of France To this the Earl of Lancaster replyed that then the Place ought to be assigned by King Edward who was the Natural and Right Heir both of England and France For Philip of Valois had no Right at all This was the Sum of the Three Days Treaty during which time m Knighton ibid Stow p. 244. eâ— Tho. de la Mâ—re several French Knights came to the Causey to just with the Englishmen but King Edwards Commissioners would by no means admit of the French Concessions So that the Cardinals were fain to retire to St. Omers and both Armies prepared for Battle for just then there came to King Edward a strong Reinforcement n Stow ibid. eâ— eidem Knâ—ghton p. 2â—94 n. 42. of 17000 Fighting Men English and Flemings Whereupon he offer'd at his own Cost and Charges to fill the Trenches and to remove all Impediments that the French Army might have free access to come and joyn Battle with him on Condition he might have sufficient security that nothing should be convey'd into the Town the mean while But King o Frois c. 145. fâ— 71. M.S. Vet. Angl. in Bibliâ—th C.C.C. c. 228. Philip despairing to do any thing at that time on the Thursday Morning betimes set fire to his Tents and began to Decamp and March off taking his way towards Picardy to go to Amiens where being come he Disbanded his Army But however upon his first Removal the Earls p Stow p. 244. of Lancaster and Northampton followed him at the Tayl and wan Sumpters Carts and Carriages Horses Wine and other things and slew several and took many Prisoners whom they brought to the Camp before Calais XIX Now the Calisians upon this first Arrival of their King had made their Condition known to him in this Manner The first day they set up his Ensign Royal upon the Chief Tower of the Castle together with other Banners bearing the Arms of the Dukes Earls and Barons of France and a little after the close of the Evening they made a Great Light on the Top of their Highest Tower that was directed toward the French Army and at the same time gave a shout and made a Merry Noise with Trumpets and other Instruments of Martial Musick The second Night they did the same only the Light and the Noise was much less than before But on the third Night they made a very small Fire accompanied with a most Lamentable and Dolefull Noise to signifie that their Hopes were almost extinguished and their Condition very Deplorable and then they took in all their Flags and Streamers but only the Standard of France But when at last they perceived that their King was Decamped from Sangate and took his March homeward they pull'd down q Knighton p. 2594. Stow ibid. their Standard of War and with great sorrow cast it into the Ditch and reared up in its stead the Standard of King Edward with the Arms of England and France quarter'd making at the same time a most Lamentable Cry for Mercy Then at the Request of the Inhabitants the Captain of Calais Sr. John de Vienna r Frois c. 146. went to the Walls of the Town and made a sign to speak with some body Upon notice hereof King Edward sent unto him the Lord Walter Manny and the Lord Ralph Basset of Sapcote to hear what he had to say And them the Captain accosted thus Gentlemen I know You are Knights of great Honour and Renown for Deeds of War wherefore I more willingly appeal to Your Judgement in what concerns Us at this time You cannot be ignorant how the King my Master sent me and others to this Place with a Command to keep it to our Power in his behalf so that We neither incurred any blame to our selves nor suffer'd any Loss to fall upon him According to which Command and our Duty We have hitherto maintain'd our Charge to our Ability But now since our Succours have failed Us We are brought so low that We must all either die by the Sword or Famine unless that Noble and Generous Prince Your Master will vouchsafe to take pity on Us. Which that he would please to do We desire You Worthy Lords to be our Intercessors praying him on our behalf that he would permit Us to go out with our Lives and Apparel only and be content to accept the Town and Castle and all the Goods and Riches that are therein which I 'll assure You are in great abundance Sir said the Lord Walter Manny We know something of the King our Master's mind already for he hath upon this occasion before discover'd something of his Resolution concerning the People
the Earl of Warwick Thomas Son to the Earl of Oxford and John Son to the Lord Moubray On the 2d of November or rather on All-Saints Day which is the First as we shall prove by and by the King began his March from Calais towards St. Omers whither he heard the King of France was come from Amiens wasting all the Country as he went. As he was between Guisnes and Ardres there came to him h Frois c. 155. the Marshal D'Endreghan the Lord Bouciquault and Others from King John that i R. Avesbâ—ry Holinsh Eng. Chron. p 951. a. n. 20. under pretence of Discoursing Him they might take a full view of all his Forces And accordingly they returned with such a Report of his Strength that the French King was now determin'd not to hazard a Battle with him But rather to pass on before k Knighton p. 2610. n 60. breaking the Bridges behind him and gathering up or destroying all sorts of Provision that so the English might be forced for want thereof to return back for that time Whereupon l R. Avesbury Holinsh Eng. Chron. p 951. a. n. 30. Walsingh hist p. 263. M.S. vet Ang. in Bib. C.C.C. Cantabr c. 229. as he design'd it came to pass for King Edward was so streightned thereby that he was obliged to return to Calais his Army having drank nothing but Water for three Days and all other Provisions being extream scarce The French Writers and Froisard m Frois c. 155. ibid. Mâ—zeray ad hunc an c. also himself for I am resolved to dissemble nothing say that King John by these Messengers offer'd King Edward to fight him either Body to Body or Power against Power whensoever himself should appoint but that King Edward declin'd the Offer and so went home again for England Surely I desire by no means to rob the French Nation of any real Flower of Honour but neither do I think it the part of a just Historian to receive any thing without an exact Scrutiny or to let Improbabilities and Indecorums to pass without the least Remark thô never so well attested It is evident both by the Challenge which King Edward sent formerly to this Kings Father as from sundry Authors of both Nations we n Vid. Lib. 1. c. 17. §. 2. p. 188. have shewn and from the nature of that Princes Circumstances as well as his ordinary Custom that it was better for him in his own Opinion to make a quick Dispatch of the War to which Opinion it must be allow'd his Courage was no way wanting so he could not have been brought over so often in Person without his own Will and that it was ever his Aim to obtain a Battle and that when offer'd he never refused to accept it and if he had had been laugh'd at by all the World since his only way was to win the Crown he claim'd by Fighting Nor was King John a better Man at Arms or better furnished for the War than his Father Philip or King Edward who was now in the Prime of his Manhood being but 43 Years old either of less Courage or Art or Strength either of Person or People than when he sent his Chartel of Defiance to King Philip of Valois That he should need to decline the same at this time And thô for this Assertion of theirs they bring no Record nor Authority but the Word of one ancient Author who might herein be misinformed yet we shall add to these our Reasons a more Authentick Testimony from our Records of Parliament which to establish my Opinion most expresly o M.S. Rot. Par. p. 86. n. 9. Sr. Rob. Cottons Abridgm of the Recor. p. 90. n. 9. ad an 29. Ed. 3. n. 9. witness That on All-Souls Day the King marched toward his Enemy and profer'd him Battle which his Enemy by all means refused Wherefore having wasted and spoiled the Country seeing his own Army languish he returned to Calais where he made Honourable Peace and so came back into England to his Parliament Which he had summon'd to sit at Westminster on the p i.e. 12 Novemb Morrow after St. Martin the Bishop Now Froisard who happen'd by some Misinformation to give the first Authority to this Story q Frois c. 155. ibid. doth yet witness with Others that King Edward rode with a great Host as far as Hesdin where he brake up the Park and burnt the Houses within and about it thô he entred not either the Town or Castle And then as our Writers agree for want of Provisions he returned back to Calais on St. Martins Day being the r These to be taken inclusively For St. Martin the Bishops day is on the 12 of November and St. Martin the Pope's on 13 but this not meant here Eleventh after his Setting forth according to those who say He set forth on the 2d of November but the r These to be taken inclusively For St. Martin the Bishops day is on the 12 of November and St. Martin the Pope's on 13 but this not meant here Twelfth according to the Records which affirm how he marched forth of Calais on All-Souls or All-Saints Day That same Day being * Lit. Dom. D. a Thursday and the 12 of November the Å¿ R Avesbury Holinsh Eng. Chron. p 951. n. 40. a. Constable of France and other French Gentlemen came indeed to the end of the Causey of Calais with Credential Letters offering unto the King of England in presence of the Duke of Lancaster the Earl of Northampton and the Lord Walter Manny to give him Battle on the Tuesday next following in answer to which Challenge the said Lords of England having full Power and Authority so to do offer'd unto the Constable in the King their Masters Name that he the said King of England to avoid shedding of Christian Blood would fight with the French King their Master Body to Body so to decide his Right or if that Offer should not take place then the two Kings to select Three or Four Knights apiece such as should be the nearest in Blood unto them and together with these to try the Matter But when both these Offers were rejected the English Lords offer'd to give Battle to the whole French Army either the next Day being Friday or on Saturday the Day after whether they would but the Constable and his Fellows continuing still in their first Demand refused both those Days Then at the last the English Lords said how they accepted of Tuesday the Day by them assign'd on this Condition That if they did not bring the King of England to a Battle on that Day then they would engage to yield themselves Prisoners to the French so that they would likewise undertake to yield themselves if their King kept not the promised Day To this equal but unexpected Proposal when the Constable of France having nothing ready to reply had made some Demurr at last upon
to this Point may refer themselves to the Authors quoted in the Margin of this latter part of the Chapter CHAPTER the FOURTH The CONTENTS I. AN. DOM. 1359. An. Regni Franciae XX. Angliae XXXIII A Method of Agreement pitch'd upon by the two Kings but rejected by the French Parliament whereupon King Edward resolves for War. II. St. Valery yielded up to the French. Prince Philip coming too late to its Rescue hardly gets off well III. Sr. Peter Audley attempts Chalons but gains little IV. The Earl of Roucy taken by the Navarrois a second time V. Melun besieged but the Quarrel is ended by the Reconciliation of the King of Navarre and the Regent VI. The Lord Eustace Dambreticourt taken Prisoner by the French. VII A strange Judgment upon a 〈◊〉 for Sacrilege VIII The Garrisons of the Navarrois decline suddenly IX Vpon the Death of Sr. Peter Audley Sr. Eustace Dambreticourt is redeemed by the English Navarrois and made their Captain X. Sr. Robert Knolles his Expedition he retires being overmatched Submits to the King and obtains his Pardon XI The Flemings revolt from King Edward XII A solemn Just held by King Edward his Four 〈◊〉 and Nineteen Great Lords in the name and stead of the Lord Mayor and Aldâ—râ—â—â— of London XIII John of Gaunt marries the Duke of Lancasters Daughter XIV King Edward chooses the place of his Sepulture in Westminster Abbey I. NOW on the Feast of St. John Baptist or the 24th of June the Truce between England and France which from the Battle of Poictiers had been continued till then with expectation that a full Peace should be established thereby was wholly a Frois c. 2â—1 f. 107. â— expired And thereupon all the Garrisons in France as well Navarrois as English began to make War in the Title of King Edward as before most of them had done in the Title of the King of Navarre who was now again outwardly reconciled to the Dauphin But least any way should be left untir'd for the prevention of those Miseries which are necessarily attendant upon War. Some Months before the Expiration of the said Truce King b 〈◊〉 f. ibid. Dâ— Chesne p. 681. D. 〈…〉 lyd 〈…〉 19 p. 3â—3 Edward with his Son the Black-Prince and King John with the Lord James of Bourbon held a friendly Treaty at London between themselves only Where at last a Peace was consented to and agreed on between both the Parties on these Conditions viz. 1. That Aquitain should remain entirely to King Edward and his Heirs for ever together with Gascogne Poictou Touraine Santogne Perigort Quercy Limosin Angoulesmois Calais Guisnes Boulonois and the Earldom of Ponthieu without any Resort or Homage or Tribute to be paid therefore even as Absolutely as he held his Kingdom of England 2. Item That King John should pay four Millions of Crowns of Gold for the Ransom of Himself and the other French Lords Prisoners that is to say three Millions for Himself and the Fourth for the Lords of France In Consideration of all which King Edward would give over and wholly remit all his Right in and to the Dutchy of Normandy Anjou and Maine and renounce and lay aside the Right which he had to that Crown and never after take upon him the Stile Quality or Title of King of France This Agreement was Signed and Sealed by both the Kings on the 24 of March and a Copy thereof sent into France to the Duke of Normandy by the Lord James of Bourbon and the Lord Arnold D'Endreghan which latter was still a Prisoner and lately before returned into England having obtained leave to visit France upon Parole These Lords crossing the Seas landed at Boulogne whence they rode to Paris where they found the Duke of Normandy and his Council together with the King of Navarre unto whom they produced King Johns Letters The Regent having perused them asked Counsel of the King of Navarre who remitted him to the Three Estates who being assembled it seem'd unto them that the Conditions of the Agreement were too grievous to be born whereupon with one Voice the King of Navarre and the Dauphin also concurring they returned this final Answer unto the two Lords That the Contents of the Letters which they had brought were so prejudicial to them and to their Country that they had much rather endure far greater misery than they had already done than ever suffer so considerable a loss and empairment of the Realm of France and that they could not either in Honour or Conscience desire the Liberty of their King himself when it could not be effected without Enslaving the Kingdom When this Answer was brought to King John into England he shook his Head for Anger and said Ah! Son Charles Son Charles You are lead by the King of Navarre who is too cunning for you and will deceive Fourty such as you are And therewithall turning to King Edward who was present he said Sir the fatal Obstinacy of my infatuated People is providing another Trophy for your Victorious Arms You must again shew them the Effects of War before they will understand the Advantages of Peace But thrice-unhappy I who cannot be at Liberty till I see my Subjects once more vanquished nor can oblige them to their Duty but by the Arms of my Conquerour King Edward was of himself sufficiently enraged at this Dealing of the French and sware that when the Truce was expired They should see War in the Bloodiest shape that he could dress it in Surely said he before next Winter be past over I shall invade the Realm of France with such a Power and shall tarry there so long that I will either end the War to my Satisfaction or make Peace to my Pleasure and Honour And then he sent Word to the Dauphin to look to Himself for when the Truce was out he would most certainly give him a Visit at Paris to see how able he was for a War which himself had thus pull'd upon his own Head. At which time he set about the greatest Preparations that ever he had made before in all his Life About which we shall now leave him for a while and resume somewhat of those Matters which we left unfinished in the preceding Year II. We then shew'd as we remember how the c Frois 〈◊〉 1â—â— f. 1â—4 Constable of France and the Earl of St. Paul with the Lords and Knights of Picardy Artois Ponthieu and Boulonois had sat down before St. Valery where they held a long and hard Siege and made many brisk Assaults employing at the same time Engines of Battery and other Instruments of War. Among other Chances that fell during this Siege it happen'd that the Lord of Baugency approaching the Castle one day in a Vessel to consider of its Strength that way was stricken with a Springal and slain Wherefore this Siege continued from the beginning of August 1358 untill March this Year the besiegers designing to reduce the Place by
graciously of the Prince just upon their taking leave they declared also unto him their great necessity to which their long stay in those parts had reduced them Desiring that his Highness would please to consider their Condition And he promised to do them what kindness he could Whereupon they all rode on to Calais-ward and the Prince marched after his Father Within two days the King sent three Knights to the Strangers then at Calais with this Message That he had not brought with him Treasure enough to fulfill their Desires and to answer his own Designs too But if they would bear him Company and partake with him in what should happen at a venture then if good Fortune should fall they should have their proportion on condition they demanded no Wages nor Reparation for any loss or damage For said the Messengers you know your selves that more than Three Parts in Four of you came hither of your own heads only and the King our Master hath brought with him enough of his own Subjects to serve for this Expedition This answer was not over-pleasing to the Strangers who had taken much pains and spent their Money and some had engag'd to leave their Horse and Arms for satisfaction in their Quarters But more than this they could not now obtain of the King except that he sent them indeed as much Money as might suffice to carry them home into their own Countries Yet for all this some of those Lords went again to the King to serve him on his Conditions for they thought it dishonourable to turn home again after such Preparations without doing any thing III. Thus King Edward marched forward with this great Army consisting of above an 120000 Men in all his Constable Roger Lord Mortimer Earl of March the second of that Name riding on before him with 500 Men of Arms and 2000 tall Archers Then followed the King with 3000 Men of Arms and 5000 Archers on Horseback besides Welchmen and others on Foot after him were 500 lusty Pioneers with Mattocks and Pick-axes to level the ways and make them fit for the Carriages Then came all the Carriages consisting of n Frois c. 2â—â— Holâ—â—h p. 965. 6000 Chariots Carts and Waggons every Cart having to it at least Four good Horses brought out of England to carry Provision for the Army and many other usefull things some such as had been seldom seen before in any Camp such as Hand-mills to grind their Corn Moveable Ovens and Forges the one to bake their Victuals and the other to make shoes for Horses and the like After all the Carriages came the Prince of Wales with his Three Brethren and their several Retinues of whom were 2000 Spears and 4000 Archers on Horseback besides the Infantry Bill-men and Bow-men all ready ranged for Fight But they marched not above Four Leagues a day because of their Footmen and Carriages In this manner it was that they were met by the Duke of Lancaster and the Lords Strangers in a fair Plain between Calais and the Abbey of Liques and immediately as I said joyn'd by the Duke and those Germans and other Strangers whom the King of England had retain'd And here I shall take leave to present unto the Reader the Names of the most eminent Leaders in this Army than which a Fairer never passed the Sea out of England either before or since that time as well such as came over with the King as those who went with the Duke of Lancaster before him First the most Magnificent and Invincible Monarch EDWARD the Third King of England and France and Lord of Ireland Then his Four Sons Edward of Woodstock Prince of Wales Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester Sirnamed the BLACK-PRINCE Lionel of Antwerp Earl of Vlster and afterwards Duke of Clarence John of Gaunt Earl of Richmond and Edmund of Langley afterwards Earl of Cambridge and Duke of York these were the Kings Four Sons the Fifth being a Child was left in England There was also Henry Plantagenet Duke of Lancaster the Kings Cousin-German Roger Lord Morttmer Earl of March Constable of England Thomas Beauchamp Earl of Warwick and Robert Hufford Earl of Suffolk Marshals of the Host Ralph Stafford Earl of Stafford William Montagu Earl of Salisbury and King of Man Humphry Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex and William Bohun his Brother Earl of Northampton and John Vere Earl of Oxford o Dugd. 1. Vol. p. 193. vid. â—and ad 〈…〉 fro Barenrgio who indeed went not over with the King by reason he had not made his Will but that being done he followed him soon after Besides these Princes Dukes and Earls there were these Lords that follow Dr. John Synwell Bishop of Lincoln and Dr. Thomas Hatfield Bishop of Durham the Lord Henry Piercy and his Eldest Son Sr. Henry who was afterwards the first Earl of Northumberland of that Name the Lord Ralph Nevill of Raby the Lord Edward Spencer Nephew to the late Lord Hugh le Despencer the Grandchild a most Noble and Warlike young Gentleman the Lord John Chandos the Lord Walter Manny the Lord Reginald Cobham the Lord John Grey of Codonore the Lord John Moubray the Lord Roger de la Ware the Lord Thomas Felton the Lord John Willoughby the Lord James Audley the Lord Ralph Basset of Drayton the Lord John Charleton the Kings Chamberlain the Lord Bartholomew Burwash the Lord John Fitz-Walter the Lord Edmund Pierpoint the Lord John Botetourt St. Richard Pemburge Sr. Nele Loring Sr. Stephen Cossington Sr. Hugh Hastings Sr. William p Dugd. Warw. p. 538. Trussel and many others too Long to Name besides the Lords and Gentlemen Strangers among whom were Sr. Henry Eam of Flanders with 200 Spears in his Retinue Sr. Frank van Hall with as many more Sr. Reginald Boulant with 60 Spears besides 500 Germans under the Marquess of Nuys and others whose Names I had rather omit than set them down as I find them unorthographically The Army rode thrô Artois passing by the City of Arras and took the same way which the Duke of Lancaster had gone before But they found nothing to live on in the plain Country for what had been left undestroy'd was gather'd into strong Towns. Tho besides the Continual Depredations made about in the Country by the Men of War the Earth had lain in a manner untill'd for three Years together So that if Oats and Wheat had not been brought out of Hainalt and Cambresis to supply those parts the People of Artois Vermandois Laonnois and Rhemois had died for Hunger Nor was King Edward ignorant of all this before he came out of England wherefore he made such wonderfull Provision of all things necessary except only of Oats Hay and Straw for which he made as good shift as he could But that which made the want of Litter more grievous was that soon after his coming the Weather was very Rainy and the Ways began to be deep which prov'd a great trouble both
Pope and the Emperour And moreover they made a solemn Renuntiation to all Wars against each Other their Heirs and Successors Realms and Subjects to both which League and Renuntiation their Eldest and other Sons signed and divers of the Nobility on both Sides were sworn And then also a Proclamation issued forth from King Edward to Thomas Holland Earl of Kent and to all other Captains of Towns Castles Forts c. held for the King in France for them to give Notice to all Places within their Command of this Peace and final Accord thus made between the two Kings After h Frois c. 213. all these Articles Letters and Commissions were made devised finished and deliver'd by the Advice and Consent of the Councils of England and France so that as to that Point both the Kings were well contented then they fell into a close Communication concerning the Lord Charles of Blois and the Lord John of Montford and their several Claims to the Dutchy of Bretagne for each pretended the whole and sole Right to that Heritage Some have been so bold in venting their Opinions as to say that King Edward and his Council were not over-warm in this Matter and surely in meer Policy he might well enough be supposed something cool For if now the Wars of Bretagne should be shut too there had been no Vent left for those many boistrous Troops which as yet lay in several Garrisons and upon their resigning those Fortresses must needs otherwise have filled England with Theeves and Robbers But certainly whoever impartially observes the honourable and sincere Practices of King Edward upon all Occasions and duly compares them with what relates to this Matter in the Articles and Letters foregoing will not so rashly attribute the ill Success of the Treaty of Bretagne to King Edwards Insincerity but rather to the Impracticableness of the Affair it self Since two such Valorous Young Princes had so fair a Pretence to so Noble a Dukedome that there could hardly remain any Prospect of deciding the Controversie without the Sword or the Death of one of the Parties But however it was when now upon Conference this New Treaty seem'd so hard to be brought to any good Issue Henry Duke of Lancaster who was a most valiant and expert Souldier but chiefly favour'd the Earl of Montford and wish'd his Advancement spake these words to the King of France in Presence of the King of England and the greater Part of both the Kings Councils Sir said he the Truce that was taken before Rennes between the Lord Charles of Blois and the Earl of Montford is not yet expired but is still to hold to the first Day of May next coming The King of England my Master here present by Advice of his Council and with Consent of my Lord the Prince his Son shall before that time send the Young Duke the Lord John of Montford with certain of his Council into France to your Majesty with full Power and Authority to confer and determine about the Right which the said Lord John ought to have as succeeding his Father in the Dutchy of Bretagne So then by You and your Council and by Ours together some agreeable Way may be taken between them for the better Security of which Affair I think it would be well to prolong the said Truce yet farther till the Feast of St. John Baptist next following According to this Device of the Dukes so it was done and concluded and the Truce relating to Bretagne prolonged to the Feast of St. John Baptist and then they fell to other Matters XX. And i Frois c. 213. f. 108. now that the Peace between England and France was fully confirmed King John was so elevated with the Assurance of Returning into his Country that he then first seem'd sincerely to rejoyce since his being taken Prisoner He shew'd unto King Edward such an hearty Good-Will that it appear'd plainly to have no mixture of Dissimulation and to his Nephew the Prince of Wales he declared all the endearing Signs of Royal Love and Affection that might be As also King Edward and his Son the Prince were exceeding Frank Generous and obligingly Open unto him These two Illustrious Monarchs who from this time till Death parted called themselves Brethren as a mutual remembrance of their Brotherly Amity gave now unto Four Knights of either Party such as chiefly in their stations had promoted this Peace 8000 Franks of Yearly Revenues for them and their Heirs for ever King John giving the said Summ to Four Knights of England and King Edward a like Revenue to Four Knights of France And at the same time because the Lands of St. Saviour le Vicount in Coutantine in Normandy were the King of Englands Right by a Deed of Gift and Sale from the Lord Godfry Harcourt deceased which Lands were not comprised in the Ordinance of the Treaty of Peace so that whoever held those Lands must do Homage therefore to the French King King Edward k Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 503. now in respect of the many Laudable and Heroick Services of that Valiant and Renowned Knight the Lord John Chandos gave unto him and his Heirs for ever a Grant of the Baronies of St. Saviour le Vicount aforesaid of Daunvers and Dongeville as also of the Lands and Knights Fees of St. Mary de Montefarsellis and Romilly and of all other the Lands and Possessions of the said Godfry of Harcourt Which Princely Gift King John at the Request of King Edward confirmed now unto the said Lord John Chandos he doing Homage therefore unto him bating that Allegiance which he owed unto his Master the King of England And now when all the foresaid Agreements were as well made and devised and as firmly established as Human Wit could contrive so that it seem'd by reason of the sundry strict and solemn Engagements Counter-bonds and mutual Obligations between the two Kings and their Sons that the Peace would prove everlasting and when the Hostages were all come to Calais and the 400000 Crowns of Gold were paid down to the King of England and the remaining 200000 secured which was the First Payment then King Edward made a most Royal and Magnificent Supper for the French King within the Castle of Calais at which the Black-Prince and his Three Brethren Lionel John and Edmund with the Greatest Lords and Barons of England served the two Kings bare-headed After Supper the two Kings bad each other Good Night in the most Obliging Manner imaginable King Edward remaining still in the Castle and King John going to his Lodgings in the Town which had been prepared for him upon his being set at Liberty The next Morning l Fabian p. 243. being the 25 of October and a Sunday King John and all those who were to go with him took his leave of Calais and rode forth of the Town in the Forenoon King Edward himself conveying him a Mile onward of his Way and then the two Kings took
the Eve of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin or as some say z Dugd. Warw. p. 165. ex Esc 35. Ed. 3. p. 1. n. 122. on the Tuesday after the said Feast which that Year fell on the 30th of March. England had less wanted him now that the War was ended if he had not been as Eminent for Counsel in Peace as he was remarkable for Military performances He was only Son to Henry de Torto-Collo who was younger Brother and next Heir to Thomas Earl of Lancaster who was Eldest Son to Edmund Sirnamed Crouchback Second Son to King Henry III of England and Brother to King Edward the First Grandfather to King Edward the Third This Illustrious Person in his life time did nothing degenerate from the Blood Royal of England of which he so largely partook as may be seen in those many foregoing Passages of this History which speak of his Warlike Actions His many Heroick Vertues obtain'd him the Glorious Sirname of Good he being generally called the Good Duke of Lancaster Wherefore his Death was universally Lamented especially by the Poor by the Clergy and by Scholars to whom he was a Constant Friend and Patron Nor was King Edward a Frois c. 216. less concerned for the loss of so Renowned a Kinsman and Captain as were also all the Barons of England Lords Knights and Esquires For he was in his Days an Ornament to the Nobility a Patron to the Church a Prop to Learning a Glory to the Souldiery and a shield unto his Prince He was b Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 789. buried on the South-side of the High-Altar in the Collegiate Church of Leicester which c Knighton p. 2625. Speed's Maps in Leicester himself had founded and set over it one Dean Twelve Canons Prebendaries as many Vicars and others all sufficiently provided with Revenues Besides he consummated the Hospital there which his Father had begun wherein were maintain'd an 100 Infirm and Poor people d Stow p. 265. 50 Men and 50 Women together with 10 lusty and able Women to serve the said Infirm Ones with Meat and Drink and other bodily Necessaries day and night Both which Hospital and College of Canons he sufficiently endowed for ever and indeed they were the Greatest Ornament of that City until the heavy Hand of King Henry VIII among other the like Foundations laid their Ruines at his own Feet At which time the College Lands d Stow p. 265. were valued at 595 pounds 7 shillings and 6 pence per annum He left behind him two Daughters his Heirs the Lady Mathilda the Eldest then 22 Years of Age at that time Married to William of Bavaria Son to Lewis the Emperour and Duke of Zealand Holland Hainalt and Friseland the other Daughter named Blanch then 19 Years of Age and the Wife of John of Gaunt Earl of Richmond but upon the Death of her Eldest Sister which happen'd shortly after without Issue in her Right Duke of Lancaster Earl of Darby Lincoln and Leicester Steward of England and also Lord of Brigerac Beaufort and Nogent Who had by her Henry Sirnamed of Bolingbroke who afterwards traiterously deposing King Richard the Second became King of England by the Name of Henry IV. Soon after his Death the Lady f Knighton p. 2625. Mathilda his Eldest Daughter came into England to claim her Purparty of the Inheritance where she died presently being g Id. p. 2626. n. 31. as was thought poison'd that the Inheritance might not be divided among Foreigners but go entirely as thereupon it did to her Younger Sister who was Married in England Besides this Great Prince there h Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 127. died this Year of the same Plague the Lord John Moubray a most Valiant and Noble Knight of England who was styled Lord of the Isle of Haxiholme and of the Honours of Gower and Brembre He died at York on the 4th of October leaving behind him John his Son and Heir a Valiant Young Gentleman then of full Age whom he had by his Wife the Lady Joan of Lancaster Sister to the Duke of Lancaster aforesaid But this Young Lord John Moubray brought more i Dudg ibid. p. 128. Honour and Possessions to his House and Name by taking unto him for Wife the Lady Elisabeth Daughter and Heir to John Lord Seagrave by Margaret his Wife Daughter and sole Heir to Thomas of Brotherton k Fifth Son but Second surviving Second Son to King Edward the First Earl of Norfolk and Marshal of England From which Marriage l Sandford's Geneal Hist p. 110. are Descended all the Dukes of Norfolk and Earls of Nottingham of the Sirname of Moubray and Howard the Earls of Suffolk and Barkshire and particularly the Thrice Noble Henry Lord Mordant the present Earl of Peterborough m Dugd. Bar. 2 Vol. p. 279. p. 312. Son of John Earl of Peterborough by his Lady Elisabeth sole Daughter and Heir of William Howard Lord Effingham Eldest Son to Charles Earl of Nottingham Nor ought We to forget the Death of the Valiant Lord n Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 653. Mills Catal. Honer p. 531. Edward Montague Brother to William the first Earl of Salisbury of that Name which happen'd in this Year he leaving behind him only one Daughter at that time XII Years of Age then Wife to the Lord William Hufford Eldest Son to the Earl of Suffolk Besides this o Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 68. there died the Lord Reginald Cobham a Baron of great Renown in those days leaving behind him a Son of his own Name and Character Also William p Id. 1 Vol. p. 447. Lord Fitz-Warine of the House of the Lord Fulk Fitz-Warine and Sr. Nicolas q Id. 2 Vol. p. 89. St. Maure alià s Seymor a considerable Baron of the Realm Besides whom there were now taken away six Bishops r Walsing hist p. 171. Gedw Catal. Bps Stow p. 265. as Michael Northborough alià s Northbrook Bishop of London who was succeeded by Simon Sudbury Reginald Brian Bishop of Worcester whose Chair was supply'd by John Barnet Thomas Lylde Bishop of Ely a good Benefactor to Peter-House College in Cambridge whose loss was repaired by the Succession of Simon Langham also Robert Stratford Bishop of Chichester into whose place came William Lenne alià s Lenlimere and John Synwell Bishop of Lincoln whose Successor was John Buckingham Lord Privy Seal but these two latter died in the beginning of the next Year There died also at this time that Famous Scholar Richard Fitz-Ralph Archbishop of Armagh Primate of Ireland and Chancellour of the University of Oxford of whom we Å¿ Huius hist l. 3. c. 3. §. 15. p. 552. have spoken more largely elsewhere Only it is here to be added that this Archbishop t Vid. Odâ—r Rainal ad ann 1358. § 6. Wad in Annal. Minor. Tem. 4. ad cund ann had such a Reputation for Holiness and Integrity of Life that he is said to
not to be left in silence Now on the 13 of November which was the Birth-Day of this Great Monarch at which time he had exactly finished 49 Years of his Age and was come to the Entrance of the Fiftieth King Edward as he was a Man of more exalted Thoughts than any other in his Days resolved to keep a Jubilee of his Age in the most remarkable and solemn Manner imaginable at least to the greatest Satisfaction of those under his Government Of Jubilees in general and of their Original we u Vid. L. 2. c. 10 §. 1. p. 449. have already spoken wherefore we shall repeat nothing of that in this Place but immediately dispatch our present Narration Only we shall observe this that King Edward had this extraordinary Privilege to see two Jubilees besides that of Pope Clement the Sixth this First being upon the Account of his having arrived to the Fiftieth Year of his Age and the other of which we shall speak in its Place because he had then Reigned as many Years But now we are entertain'd with this under our Hands On the 13 of November which was the First Day of our King Edwards Life and the Last of this Parliament when the Petitions of the Commons were answer'd and they with loyal and well-affected Minds had unanimously x Walsingh hist p. 172. n. 30. granted unto the King for three Years 26 s. 8 d. of every Sack of Wooll besides a Subsidy of Woolls Fells and Skins y M.S. Rot. Par. p. 90. Sr. Rob. Cottens Abridg. p. 92 c. then by the Kings Command rose up the Lord Chancellour Sr. Henry Green aforesaid and declared that the King being arrived to the Fiftieth Year of his Age intended to shew several Acts of Grace and Mercy unto his People and first that he design'd to advance unto Honour such of his Sons as were of full Age namely that his Son Lionel then being in Ireland should have the Title of Duke of Clarence to Him and to the Heirs Male of his Body lawfully to be begotten in Right of his Wife z Vid. Mills Catal Hon. p. 334. Elisabeth Daughter of William Earl of Vlster Son of John de Burgo by Elisabeth de Clare Sole Daughter and Heiress of Gilbert Rufus Earl of Clare the Name of Clare being changed into Clarence And hereupon a Id. Mills Catal Hon. p. 336. an Addition of the Arms belonging unto the House of Clarence was elegantly inserted into the Label of this Dukes Coat viz. Argent with the Fourth Part of a Scutcheon Gules The Lord Chancellor further declared that his Son John should be Duke of Lancaster in Right of his Wife for her Eldest Sister Daughter to the late Duke was now dead in England as we intimated before and lastly that his Son Edmund should be Earl of Cambridge in Fee. After which in b M.S. Rot. Par. p. 90. Sr. Rob. Cotton p. 94. full Parliament the King Girt his Son John of Gaunt with a Sword and set on his Head a Cap of Furr and a Circlet of Gold with Pearls thereon and created him Duke of Lancaster c Mills Catal. Honor. p. 326. with all the Liberties and Regalities of an Earl Palatine in the County of Chester as also Earl of Leicester Lincoln and Darby with the Office of High-Steward of England in the Right of his Wife Blanch whereof he gave him his Charter This done he d M.S. Rot Par. p. 90. S◠Rob. Cotton p. 94. Girt his Son Edmund with a Sword and Created him Earl of Cambridge whereof he gave him a Charter So that the incomparably Diligent Antiquary and Herald Sr. William Dugdale himself appears here to have slipt a little when he says e Dugd. Bar. 2 Vol. p. 54. that Prince Edmund thô he was then in Ireland at this time was created Earl of Cambridge The Mistake I suppose happen'd from the Words foregoing which take Notice that Prince Lionel was then in Ireland At the same f Polyd. Virg. l. 19. p. 385. Speed p. 584. Walsing Hist p. 172. Favine le Paris Theatre of Hen. l. 5. c. 1. p. 60. M.S. vet Angl. in Bibl. C.C.C. c. 232. time the King granted his General and Special Pardon to all without Fine or paying of Fees for the Seal set all Debtors and Prisoners at Liberty and recalled those that were Banished and for the better ease of his People in their Law-Sutes and also perhaps lest England should any longer bear those Marks of Slavery he ordained that hereafter all Pleas should be used in English and that all Law-Cases Pleadings Sentences Decrees Judgments and Contracts should be written and enrolled in the English or Latine Tongue the French being wholly laid aside But whether by length of Time the Custom had been too strongly radicated to be so suddenly broke off or whether by the Wit and Subtlety of the Lawyers this Law was not long after in part eluded For thô to this Day our Pleadings are in English yet our Law-Cases remain in French or rather as Polydore in the Norman Language which Custom was first introduced by William the Conquerour Only it is here to be observed that althô the Printed Statuto touching Pleading in the English Tongue Chap. 15. doth agree with the Record yer where the Print says that all such Pleas should be enrolled in Latine the Record doth nothing warrant the same Besides this King Edward now confirmed Magna Charta which in his whole Reign he is said to have done no less than 12 several times Nor shall I omit that althô of our Kings since his Days few have lived so long none have reigned so long wherefore they had no Opportunity to imitate King Edward in these things yet g Polyd. Virgil. idid Speed c. from Occasion of this Jubilee of his they have since used that Famous Custom on Maundy-Thursday being the Day before Good-Friday to bestow their Alms more largely than usually and in Imitation of our Saviours Humility to Wash Feed and Clothe as many poor People as they themselves are Years Old. V. The Parliament being ended the King rode forth with all the Chief Dukes Earls Barons and Lords of the Realm together with the French Hostages in his Company to several great Forests h Knighten p. 2627. n. 20. as Rockingham Forest in Northamptonshire Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire and Clunne Forest in Shropshire and many other Woods Parks and Forests where he hunted all sorts of Noble Game in Season and all the while he expended extraordinary an 100 Pounds one Day and an 100 Marks the other and so on while the Sport continued which was both long and very divertising About this time the i Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 4. Noble Lord Walter Fauconberg a Valiant and Hardy Baron of this Realm departed this Life leaving behind him Thomas his Son and Heir then seventeen Years of Age. And thô with all my Diligence I cannot find the manner or
ejus pedibas iter conficiunt Pedage * * Latinè Leuda quâ—d lego Feuda Vid. Glessaria Somneri Skinneri c. Fee Custom Maletolt or any other Impositions or Exactions imposed or hereafter to be imposed in our Kingdoms so that the said Men of the said Kingdom Country and Dominion of England and of the Principality of Wales in going staying or returning thrô our Kingdoms by Sea or by Land shall not be obliged to pay any Custom Pedage Fee Maletolt or any other Imposition or Exaction unless the said Men should buy any thing for the sake of Merchandise or for Merchandising In which case whether they be bought for the sake of Merchandise or no by our Officers and Receivers of the said Pedages We will stand to the Oath of the said Men of which things so bought for the cause of Merchandise they shall not be compelled to pay nor shall any thing be exacted of them above what other Merchants use to pay And We swear on the Holy Gospels of God corporally by Us touched with our Hand and promise in the Word of a King to hold fulfill and inviolably to observe the foresaid Concessions Donations and Privileges and all and singular the things contained in these present Letters In testimony whereof and of singular the Premises and for their greater Confirmation We have in Presence of these undernamed subscribed with our own Hand and caused our Seal to be affixed thereto in pendant Willing and Granting and also requiring You Master John de London by Apostolick Authority Publick Notary that to the perpetual Memory of all and singular the Premises You with the Present Witnesses would subscribe and sign the present Letters with your usual Seal Dated at Libourne of the Dioecese of Bourdeaux on the Twenty third of September in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Three Hundred Sixty Six in Presence of our most Dear Cousin the Lord John Duke of Lancaster Son of the King of England and Brother of the said Prince and the Reverend Fathers in Christ the Lord Elias Archbishop of Bourdeaux the Lord Bernard Bishop of Sainctogne John Elect Bishop of Bath and Welles Chancellour of Aquitain John Chandos Constable and Thomas Felton Seneschal of Aquitaine Neal Loring Chamberlain of the said Prince Baldwin Freville Seneschal of Sainctogne and other Witnesses to the Premises f f i.e. I the King. YO EL REY And I John de London Clerk of the Dioecese of Winchester by Apostolick Authority Publick Notary on the Eleventh day of the Month of February in the Year of our Lord g g i.e. 1366 / 7. aforesaid in the Fifth Indiction and in the Fifth Year of our most Holy Father in Christ and our Lord the Lord Vrban the Fifth by Divine Providence the Pope within the Castle of the City of Bayonne in the Chappel of the said Castle was present together with the Witnesses undernamed when the said Lord King Pedro renewed and confirmed and by his Oath Established all and singular the Premises touching with his own Hands the Holy Gospels of God and when the said King subscribed himself with his own Hand and Required and enjoyn'd me to subscribe my self to the Present Letters and to set to my usual Seal The Witnesses who were present at these things together with me are the Lord Fryar h h Frater Martinus Lupi c. Martinez de Leyva master of the House of the Knighthood of Alcantara of the Order of Cisteaux Roger Lord de la Warre Gomez i i Magister dicti Domini Regis c. Tutor of the said Lord the King Paulo Gabriel Citizen of Sevil John Guttern Dean of the Church of Segovia and Master Robert Fregand Notary Chancellour of the Lord the foresaid Prince of Aquitaine and of Wales ✚ S PETRI DEI GRATIAE REGIS CASTELLE ET LEGIONIS ✚ S PETRI DEI GRATIAE REGIS CASTELLE ET LEGIONIS And at this time it was also agreed k Selden ibid. p. 270. that the Prince of Wales should have the Castle of Vermejo Lequitio Bilbao and Biscay as also the Castle of Vrdiales to hold to himself and his Heirs and Successors for ever and to dispose of them as he should please being wholly discharged of all Sovereignty and Resort and as free as the King had held it heretofore And accordingly We find the Prince to use besides his former Titles that of Lord of Biscaye and of the Castle of Ordiales as in an Instrument In Camer â Ducatûs Lancastriae Vid. Sandford Geneal hist p. 185. bearing date the 8 day of October in the Year 1370. Ano. 44. Ed. 3. Whereby he grants unto his Brother John Duke of Lancaster the Castle Town and Chastellanie of la Roche Sur Yon he styles himself Edward Eldest Son of the King of France and of England Prince of Aquitaine and of Wales Duke of Cornwall Earl of Chestre Lord of Biscaye and of the Castle of Ordiales And all these things were confirmed by King Don Pedro under the Great Seal of Castille both the Originals and Duplicates thereof remaining m In Thesaur Regis apud Westmonast in Bibl. Cotton ut ante with Us in England to this day which shew also that to the King's Seal his Oath was afterwards added being solemnly taken before the High-Altar in the Church of n Selden Burgos sed haec Vrbs in Hispaniâ tum fieri intelligatur pest Victoriam à Principe partam Potiùs verò Bourdeaux legendum duxi Bourdeaux XII When all these things were fully Ratified Established and Confirmed and all the great Men knew what they were to do the Prince of Aquitain sent his Heralds into Spain to certain Knights of England and Gascogne Subjects to him and his Father signifying unto them privately how it was his Pleasure that they should presently upon sight of his Letters take their leaves of King Henry the Bastard and come away with all speed to him for he said he had need of their Service and should speedily have an occasion to employ them When the Heralds had deliver'd their Letters to the Chief Captains in Castille and had secretly confer'd with them so that they perfectly understood the Prince's Design they embraced the first Opportunity of taking their leaves of King Henry in the most obliging manner they could devise without making the least Discovery of the Prince's Intention So that King Henry who indeed was of a Liberal Courteous and Honourable Disposition after many thanks for their good Service and many ample Gifts and Largesses dismiss'd them and gave them his Letters for their free Passage thrô his Country Whereupon Sr. Eustace Dambreticourt Sr. Hugh Calverley Sr. Walter Hewet Sr. John Devereux Sr. Matthew Gournay Sr. John Neville and all the other Lords Knights and Esquires of the Prince's Court with their Troops and Retinues having the Bastards Passport began their March out of Spain with all Expedition for fear of a Countermand if the Matter
go along with them as far as Peyrehourade a Town standing on the Gave which was nearer to the Prince and that thither the Prince and King Don Pedro should come to meet him and confer with him and so renew the former Covenants and clear what was left Doubtfull and determine how far either Party was to act or to expect And all this was thus contrived by that subtle King of Navarre that he might be the more certain of what was granted him before because he thought the Covenants were not as yet particular enough Wherefore thô indeed all was meant toward him bonâ fide yet he who himself was so great at overreaching others was now carefull to provide against a Trepan before he exposed his Country to the Mercy of another A thought not at all unreasonable if it had not been rendred unnecessary by former Precautions which were indeed binding enough but that Persons who have but little Integrity to boast of themselves are usually apt to misconster the most candid Intentions of those they deal with However upon this new Agreement the Duke of Lancaster and the Lord John Chandos having brought the King of Navarre as far as Peyrehourade left him there and rode on to the Prince and King Don Pedro then at Dax and shew'd them how they had succeeded The Prince and the King were well pleased with what they had done and soon after rode to Peyrehourade where they found the King of Navarre with the chief of his Council Here they all fell to a serious and close Debate and then it was certainly and particularly made out what every Man was to do or to look for the last Treaty was both renew'd and explain'd and it was positively and punctually set down what and how much the King of Navarre should possess in Castille and Don Pedro paid unto him the promised Summ of 20000 Franks and sware perpetual Love and Amity with him This done they parted all Friends and then the Army might pass when it should please the Prince for all the Avenues were left open and unguarded and Victuals was provided thrô all the Realm of Navarre to be had for ready Money The King of Navarre went after this to his City of Pampelona and the Prince of Wales with his Brother the Duke of Lancaster and King Don Pedro returned to Dax where they tarried a few days longer For at that time there were many Knights and Lords of Bretagne Poictou and Gascogne not yet come up to the Prince's Host but they tarried behind hitherto because it was not fully known that the Prince would be able to pass that way till the Conclusion of this last Treaty Nay in France it was confidently reported Men usually giving themselves liberty of foretelling what they desire should fall out that the Prince would not be able to pass that way at all but that the King of Navarre would in that place break the Neck of his Expedition which yet happen'd directly otherwise When therefore the Princes Knights who were still behind knew for certain that the Passages were now open then they quicken'd their March forward with all possible Hast for they were sure the Prince would not tarry long now nor return home again without Battle Thither came to the City of Dax the Lord Oliver Clisson of Bretagne with a gallant Company of Men of Arms thither also came the Noble and Valiant Lord John de Greilly Captal of Busche with a goodly Band of Spears and last of all with an evil will came the haughty Lord of Albret leading 200 Men of Arms and all the time of this Expedition he kept company with the Captal of Busche to whom notwithstanding he shew'd no manner of Discontent Now all the Substance of the Alliances and Confederations made last at Peyrehourade was presently known in France for there were Messengers and Spies perpetually going and coming who always reported what they saw or heard But when Sr. Bertram of Clequin who was then with the Duke of Anjou was assured how the Streights of Navarre were open'd and that the Prince was passed he quicken'd his Summons and raised all the Friends he could in Bretagne and in France for he knew the Business would not be decided now without Battle Then presently he took his way toward Aragon desiring to come to King Henry as fast as he could and all his Men followed by great Marches after him such as he had listed and enrolled besides many others out of France and other Places who went to advance their Honour or their Fortunes III. Now k Frois c. 234. fol. 134. between St. Jean Pié de Port and the City of Pampelona there are streight and dangerous Passages under the Pirenaean Mountains so that there may be found there more than an hundred Places in each whereof an Hundred Men might be thought able to defend the entrance against all the World. And yet besides these Difficulties there was another which proceeded from the Cold and Distemper of the Season for those Mountainous and unequal Passages being constantly bleaky and expos'd to Wind and every way less fit for travel were now rendred more difficult and uneasie upon the account of the Weather and unkind season It being but about the end of February when Prince Edward began to pass the Pirenean Hills However knowing that the whole Army could not pass at once he order'd that the Three main Divisions should take three several Days for their Passage On the Monday went the Vaward of the whole Army led by John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster and Brother to the Prince of Wales and the Lord John Chandos High-Constable of Aquitain who had twelve hundred Penons of his Arms namely in a Field l Ashmole's Garter p. 708. Plate 21. sed Froisard a field Argent c. Cui assentit Author Vitâ—e Domini Joh. Chandos in Bibl. Cotton p. 79. Or a sharp Pile Gules In the Front of this Battail marched the two Marshals of Aquitain Sr. Guischard D'Angoulesme commonly called Sr. Guischard Dangle and Sr. Stephen Cossington With whom was the Great Banner of St. George being the Red Cross of England In the Duke of Lancaster's Battail were Sr. William Beauchamp Lord of Bergavenny and Fourth Son to the Earl of Warwick the Lord Ralph Nevile who had in that Expedition 30 Spears at his own Charges because of his great Winnings at the Battle before Auray with him went his Eldest Son Sr. John Nevile Sr. William Clayton Sr. John Tyrrel Sr. Hugh Hastings Sr. Robert Cheney Sr. Richard Causton Sr. Robert Briquet Sr. William Boteler or Butler of Oversley in Warwickshire Sr. John Willoughby Sr. Garses of the Castle Sr. Emery de la Rochechoüart and Gerard de la Motte All these Lords and Captains with their Penons were under the Rule of the Lord John Chandos except those whom the Duke of Lancaster brought along with him out of England over whom he was Sovereign Captain and these amounted in all to
as then they heard to be in the County of Bigorre and to have won the Town of Bagneres whereby he had done much Mischief in those Parts And the Lord Chandos told the Prince that Sr. Bertram was so belov'd by all manner of Men of War that it was not safe to let him go till Don Pedro had paid what he ow'd the Prince lest he should again embroil his Affairs as he had done before On all which accounts Sr. Bertram could not obtain to be deliver'd at this time whatsoever Ransom he offer'd and so he was obliged to be content with his Condition Now while the Prince of Wales lay at Valladolid which he did in all for about three Months even the best part of that Summer among many Hundreds others James the young King of Majorica fell dangerously ill and kept his Bed so that when the Prince was ready to depart he sent the Lord John Chandos and Sr. Hugh Calverley unto him to let him know that he was just then upon taking his leave of Spain and would be glad of his Company as one whose Interest he had promised to embrace Wherefore he should be loth to leave him behind The King of Majorica replied that he thanked the Prince most heartily but that as then he could not ride nor endure to be carried till it should please God to restore him to a better Degree of Health and Strength Then they demanded if he was willing that their Lord the Prince should leave with him any Troops to wait on him and to conduct him into Aquitain when he should be able to ride Nay surely said the King I shall never put the Noble Prince to any such unnecessary trouble for God alone knows whether ever I shall be able to ride or no. So the English Knights took their leave and returned and declared all this to the Prince who said Well then be it as it shall please God and him For Necessity calls us away from this unfortunate Country And then he took the first Opportunity to march with all his Army and went to the City called Agreda and thereabout he rested in the Vale of Soria between Aragon and Spain where he was fain to tarry a Month because he found certain Passages closed against him on the Borders of Aragon And it was reported thrô the Army that the King of Navarre who was newly released from his Imprisonment had agreed with the Bastard of Spain and the King of Aragon to hinder the Prince's Return thô there was no such Matter as it afterwards appeared However as then the Prince was the more enclin'd to believe this Report because the King of Navarre came not unto him thô he was at Liberty Whereupon he began to treat with the King of Aragon certain Commissioners on both sides meeting on the Marches for that Purpose Between whom it was at last concluded that the King of Aragon should open his Country and permit the Prince and his Army to pass thrô freely they paying courteously for what they should take up among his People After this Agreement was established the King of Navarre and Sr. Martin Carre came unto the Prince and then the King of Navarre seeing how Matters stood between the Prince and the King of Aragon shew'd all the Respect and Honour imaginable to the Prince and readily offer'd free Passage to him and his Dear Brother the Duke of Lancaster and all the Knights and Lords of England and of Gascogne but by no means would he permit the Companions to take their way thrô Navarre He said he had had enough of them already Then the Prince order'd the Companions to accept of his Agreement which he had made with the King of Aragon and to pass thrô his Country but as for Himself because he saw the Way thrô Navarre more commodious than the other he chose to go that Way and was convey'd with the rest of the Army quite thrô that Realm even beyond the Passages of Roncevaux From thence the Prince marched at his ease till he came to Baionne where he was received with great joy and tarried there four Days to refresh Himself and his Men. Then he proceeded toward Bourdeaux where he was received in Triumph being also met and welcom'd Home by his Beautifull Princess with her Eldest Son Edward who was then about Three Years of Age. Here the Prince disbanded his Army and sent the Lords and Captains of Gascogne and others to their several Homes having first declared his Obligations unto them and promised to pay them every Man punctually when he could raise Money enough even thô King Don Pedro should not keep Touch with Him For He said they should suffer no Loss however since they had served him so well and for his own Part Honour should be his Reward At the same time the Companions that went thrô Aragon came into the Principality where they had Quarters assigned them till they should be paid their Wages XXII King Henry the Bastard this mean while hearing of the Prince's Return thought it no time for him to expect any Advantage in those Parts wherefore immediately he removed with all his Men into Aragon and had his Recourse to the King of that Realm who loved him entirely and made him extream welcome There he tarried all that Winter and renewed his former Alliance with that King who promised to aid him in his War against the King his Brother and forthwith the Bretons that were with Don Henry as Sr. Arnold de Limousin Sr. Geoffry de Ricons Sr. Pontius Laquenet Sylvester Budes Eliot du Carhais Alan du St. Pol and the rest of the Bastards friends had order to go to the Frontiers of Spain and begin to make War on King Henry's behalf And thus have We ended this Great and last Expedition of the Prince of Wales I say his last For whether God Almighty was displeased with him for assisting so Wicked a Tyrant thô We shew'd before what good Grounds he went upon or whether the Sins of England being now also ripe began to call for Vengeance from this time We may be bold to period the Happiness of King Edward's Wonderfull Reign For We shall find that l Virgil. Aen. l. 2. v. 169. c. Exillo Fluere retrò sublà psa referri Spes Anglûm Fractae Vires Aversa Deûm Mens From thence the English Hopes did Ebb and fail Nor could their Fortune or their Arms prevail From this time the swelling Tide of Prosperity was found to Ebb apace the Prince of Wales begins to be sick of an Incurable Disease Prince Lionel is taken away in the Flower of his Age Queen Philippa soon after dies and King Edward who hitherto was both Glorious and Fortunate shall from this time be less Fortunate thô not one jot the less Glorious For We shall find that never any Prince contended more bravely with Froward Fortune nor ever was more Worthy to have succeeded still XXIII This Year m M.S. vet
found his Adversary of France wanted no Cunning nor Industry whereby to oppose him And he heard particularly how the Scots also had engaged against him in a new Alliance with the French King and design'd to give him a Diversion at the Back-door Whereat he was grievously displeased for he doubted the Scots more than the Frenchmen not only because they were a more implacable and obstinate People and kept their former Losses in mind but also because they were his near Neighbours and could do him an Injury more easily and escape Revenge more securely Wherefore first he sent a considerable Number of Men of Arms Archers and Others to the Frontiers of Scotland as to Newcastle to Caerlile to Barwick to Roxborough and other Places Besides which he rigged forth a good Fleet which was to ply about Southhampton Jernsey and the Isle of Wight For he heard how the French King was setting forth a great Navy to Sea which was to come and invade England or as others said Ireland wherefore thither also he was obliged to send no small Reinforcement under the Command of the Lord William Windsor d Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 509. ex Pat. 43. Ed. 3. p. 1. m. 27. who being at the same time constituted Lord Lieutenant of Ireland had in consideration thereof for his better Support in the Kings Service a Grant of a 1000 Marks per annum to be paid him out of the Kings Exchequer untill such a time as the King should settle upon him Lands and Rents of that Value for Him and his Heirs for ever and immediatly thereupon he had a Grant of the Mannor and Castle of Dungarvan as also the Castle called the Black-Castle to Him and the Heirs of his Body With him went in this Irish Expedition e Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 4. ex Pat. 43. Ed. 3. p. 1. m. 32 the Lord Thomas Fauconberg and other Persons of Rank and Conduct for King Edward not knowing on which side the storm would fall was obliged to take Care on all Sides Though indeed he himself was not without some anxious Thoughts by reason of the unexpectedness of this Alarum But having thus for the present provided for all as well as he could he calls together his High Court of Parliament f M.S. Rot. Par. p. 103. Sr. Rob. Cottons Abridg. p. 108. which according to the Summons met at Westminster in the Octaves of the Holy Trinity At which time William of Wickham Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor of England declared in the Painted Chamber in Presence of the King Lords and Commons the Reasons of their present Assembly saying How the King had always in his greatest Affairs used their Advice and Counsel and especially in making the last Peace with the French which was yet made on Condition that by such a Day the French King should surrender up unto him certain Countries beyond the Seas that within such a time he should pay unto the King certain Sums of Money and that he should never pretend for the future to any Jurisdiction or Soveraignty over Gascogne or the Parts thereabouts in Consideration whereof the King of England should from thenceforth lay by the Stile of France which he had accordingly done That whereas he for his Part had not slacked his Duty the French King had done the quite Contrary for neither had he made a full and due Payment of the said Monies and also he had summon'd the Earl of Armagnac the Lord of Albret and Others who were of the Kings Allegiance to answer to certain Appeals at Paris nay further he had summon'd the Prince of Aquitain himself who was also of the Kings Allegiance to appear among the Rest Besides all which he had sent certain Troops into Ponthieu where he had surprised several of the Kings Garrisons and Forts Whereupon the Prince of Wales and of Aquitain by Advice of his Council had sent to the King his Father wishing him to Resume the Title and Stile of France And therefore the Chancellor desired the Lords and Commons to take Counsel in the Matter and to advise the King to the best of their Power about the Premises Then there were appointed Receivers of Petitions for England Ireland Wales and Scotland and also for Gascogne and other Foreign Places and Isles and after that Triers of the said Petitions for all the said Places On the Wednesday after the Bishops Lords and Commons answered the King with one Consent That considering the Premises He might with a Good Conscience take up again the Stile and Name of King of France and use his Arms as before Accordingly the King at that instant took upon him the Name Stile and Dignity of France and on the Eleventh Day of June being a Monday and St. Barnabas Day his Seal of England being safely laid up another Seal engraven with the Stile and Arms of France was taken and used and several Patents Charters and Writs therewith sealed and the same Day all the Kings other Seals were Changed one g Ashmole p. 665. being circumscribed with the Word Franciae in the first Place and the other with Angliae as at the Beginning From which Time even to this Day the Kings of England his Successors continue their Arms Quarter'd with France in token of that Right to which King Edward so justly now renew'd his Claim After this upon a full Account given of the Kings great Necessities the Lords and Commons granted unto him for Three Years following of Denizens for every Sack of Wooll Fourty Three Shillings Four Pence of every Twenty Dozen of Fells Fourty Three Shillings Four Pence and of every Last of Skins Four Pounds But of Aliens for every Sack of Wooll Fifty Three Shillings Four Pence of every Twelvescore Fells as much and of every Last of Skins Five Pounds Six Shillings Eight Pence over and above the Old Customs Then it was Enacted That all the Kings Forts and Fortresses should be surveyed repaired and edified And it was caution'd by another Statute that no Religious Aliens should be left in a Capacity to discover the Secrets of the Realm and now again were all the Lands of Religious Aliens seized into the Kings Hands and lett to Farm to the Sovereigns of the same That Remedy may be had against the excessive Selling of Armour and the unreasonable Demands of Horse-Coursers The King will appoint the Officers of every Town to provide therefore That the Time of Prescription may be from the Coronation of King Edward the First The Old Law shall stand That Sylva Caedua may especially be declared The Statute shall be observed That Sheriffs be no further charged than they shall receive The Party grieved upon Complaint shall have Remedy That the Indicted upon any Trespass or Felony may upon Issue joyned have a Nisi Prius against the King. So the same concerneth Treason the Chancellor or Keeper of the Privy Seal shall therein do Right That such as dwell upon the Sea-Coasts may set up Poles
the good Country of Poictou but he found it so well furnished with Men of War both Knights and Esquires that no considerable Advantage was likely to be gained here Yet besides all this Power of the Duke of Berry's there were at the same time in the Marches of Touraine Three considerable Captains of the Companions who held Garrison there for France as Sr. Lewis of St. Julian Carlonet the Breton and Sr. William de Bourde who all made War upon the English There was also at that time an English Esquire named Percival Damorie whom the Duke of Lancaster had left Captain in a Castle of his called Beaufort between Troyes and Châlons This Man seeing the War now open renounced his Allegiance to his Natural Lord the King of England and turn'd to the French side and sware Allegiance to King Charles who received him gladly Rewarded him well and left him still Captain of the said Castle adding unto him another Esquire of Champaigne named Owen so these two did much mischief to the English thereabouts being Persons of great Valour and Experience in the Wars But to recompence the Loss of this English Esquire the Noble Lord Canon of Robsart who had hitherto been all along on the French part came over voluntarily to the King of England and sware unto him Faith and Obedience for ever against all Men living Whereat King Edward was well pleased not only upon the account of the Man's Valour and Nobility but also of his known Judgement and Integrity which were sufficient to add Reputation to a Cause he was pleased to own The Duke of Anjou wan over to his side certain Gascogners Captains of the Companions as Sr. Perdiccas of Albret the Little Mechlin the Bourg of Bartuel Edmund Ortingo Perot of Savoy Ralph Braye and Nandon of Pons who all with their Troops turn'd to the French to the great Displeasure of the English on the other part who were much weakned thereby But Nandon of Bergerac the Bourg de l'Esparre Sr Robert Briquet Sr. Robert Thinne Sr. John Freville Sr. Galiard du la Motte and Emery of Rochechoüart remain'd still for the English Interest Thus Knights and Esquires chang'd their Copies on both sides as Hope or Affection perswaded them especially the Captains of the Companions for they all took part either with the English or the French none of them remain'd Neuters The Companions of the English side lay for the most part about the Bishoprick of Mans and also in base Normandy where they had taken the City of Vire and destroy'd all the Country about II. But these Forces were too small to uphold the English Interest on that side the Sea wherefore King Edward sent his Son Edmund of Langley Earl of Cambridge and his Son-in-Law John Hastings Earl of Pembroke to go into the Dutchy of Aquitaine to the Prince his Son and there joyn him with a certain Number of Men of War the Chief Captains whereof were the Lord Guy Brian the Lord Miles Stapleton Sr. John Trivet Sr. Thomas Banister and divers others beside the two Princes The Lord Guy b Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 151. Brian was Admiral of the Fleet toward the setting forth whereof King Edward had commanded his Son the Prince of Wales to impreset all such Ships as were in the Port of Kaermerdin of one hundred Tunns and upwards and to send them well-mann'd and victuall'd to Portsmouth by such a time to be employ'd by the said Sr. Guy in the Kings Service All things being ready they took the Sea as early as they might being in all c Mezeray p. 81. 500 Men of Arms and 4000 Archers who sailing toward Bretagne had Wind at Will and arrived safely at the Port of St. Malo in the Isle When John of Monford Duke of Bretagne heard of the Arrival of his Brethren of Cambridge and of Pembroke he was very well pleased and immediately sent certain of his Knights to bid them Welcome the Chief whereof were Sr. John de Lantriguer and Sr. John St. Augustin This Kindness of the Duke 's highly satisfied the two Earls for till then they were not assured that the Lords Knights and Good Towns of Bretagne would give them leave to pass thrô their Country But now they boldly desired that Favour of the Duke who whatever new obligations he had to France could not in Honour deny this Request to those by whose Aid he had obtain'd his Dukedom wherefore he gave them leave only conjuring them to pay civilly for what they should take Then the two Earls sent for all those English Companions who now lay part in the Fortress called Chasteau Gontier in Anjou and part in the City of Vire in low Normandy all whom they took along with them and so passed by the River of Loire at the Bridge of Nantes without doing any harm to the Country Now from the time that Prince Edward had finish'd his Spanish Expedition Sr. Hugh Calverley was order'd to lie about the Marches of Aragon with 6000 able Men of War of the Companions in his Company in order to receive the Moneys for which Don Pedro stood engag'd unto the Prince Thô all that expectation proved fruitless by reason of the Death of the said King who was slain as we have shew'd by his Bastard Brother When this Sr. Hugh Calverley heard how the French King made War upon the Prince his Lord he marched hastily thrô Aragon and Foix and came into Bigorre and soon after went and presented his Service to the Prince at Angoulesme who received him joyfully and kept him still with him till his Brother the Earl of Cambridge should come to him with the rest of the Companions out of Normandy and Anjou they having already sold their Fortresses with Design to come to his Service And when the Earl was come he made Sr. Hugh Calverley Chief Leader of all the Troops of Companions and sent him into the Lands of the Earl of Armagnac and the Lord of Albret there to make War and burn waste and pillage the Country Now it is to be remembred that the Earls of Cambridge and Pembroke tarried still at St. Malo till all their Company had passed the Loire as the Duke of Bretagne had agreed and when they had tarried there to refresh themselves Four Days they went after their Men to the City of Nantes where the Duke received them with great Demonstrations of Kindness and entertain'd them and their Servants Three days On the Fourth they took their leave of the Duke and passed over the great River of Loire at the Bridge of Nantes and so began to enter into Poictou continuing their journey till they came to Angoulesme where they found the Prince and Princess Prince Edward was extream glad to see his Brother and Brother-in-Law and enquired of them how the King his Father and the Queen his Mother did and having enjoy'd them for Three Days he then sent them upon an Expedition into the Earldom of Perigort So they took
exclude a Man from impugning an Act by reason of his Minority in years Of whom some moved perhaps by too free favour to prevent and provide against the Grievances of Minors do then only admit of this Authenticall when full Puberty to wit the Age of XVIII Years is accomplished That the Written Rigour to the cruel undoing of Minors may so proceed that it shall rather fall than rise But here it was not sworn in that manner or by such a Person the Minor being within the Compass and Course of that time Yea the Truth is That no Oath was made at all Thus were the several Causes of the two Kings set forth and maintain'd by Law and Argument but 't is seldom heard that ever a Crown was won by pleading the sword being too Powerfull for the Law and Prejudice more prevalent than Justice or Reason Wherefore now we hasten to the second Argument which was to be discussed in the Field but as yet the two Main Disputants were not matched together However a Frois c. 252. f. 153. first of all the Duke of Guelders and the Duke of Juliers who were perfectly English in Heart as well as in Blood took it in extream Indignation that the French King had sent a Defiance to so Mighty a Prince as King Edward by the Hands of a mean Valet horribly in their minds blaming both him and his Council for putting so unworthy an Affront on so Honourable a Monarch For said they the War between two such Potent Kings ought surely to have been published and denounced by Persons of the best Rank and Quality as Prelates either Bishops or Abbots or some Noble Baron or Valiant Knight at least and not by a simple Valet as the French King had most insolently and presumptuously done Wherefore they vow'd forthwith to send and defie the French King resolving shortly after to invade France with Fire and Sword and there to leave such Marks of their Resentment as should be legible for more than 20 Years following Althô this their Resolution was disappointed by the Celerity of the French King For hereupon the Earl of St. Paul being order'd to joyn with the Duke of Brabant went against these two Dukes of Juliers and Guelders Toward the Declining of this Year b Mezeray p. 83. the two Parties met together in a place called Baeswilder between the Rhine and the Meuse where after a Bloody Fight on the one side the Duke of Juliers was slain and on the other the Duke of Brabant taken Prisoner but soon after by the Emperours means he was deliver'd and so this Matter was ended CHAPTER the SIXTH The CONTENTS I. The Duke of Burgundy Marries the Earl of Flanders his Daughter II. King Edward renews Friendship with the King of Navarre III. Sr. Eustace Dambreticourt sent by the Prince of Wales to Montauban IV. The French lay Siege to Ardres but rise in Despair V. Realville taken by the French The English make fierce War in the Lands of the Rebel Lords of Gascogne VI. Sr. Thomas Wake maintains his Post La Roche de Pozay taken by the French the Lord of Chauvigney falls off to the French and the Lord of Rochechoüart imprison'd upon suspicion VII The Lord James Audley makes havock in the Lord of Chauvigney's Lands VIII Sr. Robert Knolles sent forth by the Prince upon an Expedition brings over Sr. Perdiccas of Albret and 300 Companions to his side and lays Siege to Durmel where he is joyn'd by the Lord Chandos and others from Montauban by whom Moissac was taken in their way IX The English rise from before Durmel and sit down before Domme but get nothing there however they take Gavaches Foines Roquemadour and Villefranche X. The Earl of Cambridge takes Bourdeilles after a long Siege by stratagem XI The Lord Chandos returns to the Prince having settled Affairs XII The English Companions take Bellepeche and therein the Duke of Bourbon's Mother XIII King Charles preparing to invade England King Edward sets himself in a posture to receive him XIV And sends over the Duke of Lancaster with an Army to Calais XV. The English take the Castle of La Roche Sur Yon. XVI The Lord James Audley Seneschal of Aquitaine returning into England is succeeded by the Lord John Chandos XVII The Vicount of Rochechoüart being released from Prison revolts from the Prince and defies him XVIII John Duke of Lancaster makes great havock in Ponthieu at which News King Charles leaves off his Design of invading England and sends the Duke of Burgundy against him with a Mighty Army XIX The Duke of Lancaster goes forth to meet him and encamps at Tournehan The two Armies confront one another for many days XX. The Lord Chandos intending an Expedition desires the Earl of Pembroke's Company but is deny'd however he goes forth and does what he pleases in Anjou Touraine and the Lands of the Vicount of Rochechoüart and on Prospect of a great Advantage over the French sends again to the Earl of Pembroke to come and joyn him but is again deny'd Whereupon the Lord Chandos desisted for that time XXI The Earl of Pembroke deals severely in Anjou and Touraine and the Lands of the Vicount of Rochechoüart but being surpris'd by the French at Puirenon loses many Men and is besieged in a Church-yard whence he sends to the Lord Chandos for Succour and being hotly assaulted the next day sends again XXII The Lord Chandos hardly at last resolves to help him but upon News of his approach the Frenchmen retire XXIII The Death of Philippa Queen of England her Tomb Epitaph and Praise XXIV The Lord Robert of Namur's Quarters beaten up by the French but he beats them back XXV A story of the Earl of Warwick exploded XXVI The Frenchmen break up and march off in the Night whereupon the Duke of Lancaster returns to Calais to refresh his Men. XXVII The Earl of Pembroke makes another Expedition into Anjou and takes Pont de Cè St. Maure and other places XXVIII The Duke of Lancaster's March thrô Picardy into Normandy with Design to burn the French Fleet. But the Earl of St. Paul being got into Harfleur with 200 Spears saves the Town and prevents their Design XXIX Sr. Nicolas Lovaine takes the Lord Hugh de Chastillon Master of the Crossbows of France XXX The Duke of Lancaster returns to Calais The Earl of Warwick dies XXXI The Duke of Lancaster returns into England and finds himself a Widdower The Death of the Earl of Suffolk and of the Bishop of Excester XXXII The French King raises a Tax I. WE spake before how King Edward labour'd earnestly about Five Years ago to make up a Match between the Daughter of the Earl of Flanders who was Dowager to the last Young Duke of Burgundy a Mezeray p. 78. and the most Wealthy Heiress in all Christendom and a Son of his named Edmund Earl of Cambridge all the particular Negotiations of which intended Match are both too long and
taken therein having a like Fate with St. Augustin whom he had translated for he also died as he had desired before he saw the Ruines of Hippo his dearest City CHAPTER the EIGHTH The CONTENTS I. AN. DOM. 1371. An. Regni Angliae XLV Franciae XXXII The Surprisal Redemption and Death of the Lord Eustace Dambreticourt II. The Danger and Escape of the Lord Raimond of Marvejols III. The Death of Edward Plantagenet Eldest Son to the Black-Prince The said Prince◠having appointed his Brother of Lancaster his Lieutenant in Aquitain returns with his Family for England IV. The Castle of Monpaon being betrayed to the French is recover'd by the Duke of Lancaster V. The Lord of Pons revolts from England and Poictou divided VI. The Castle of Moncoutour won by the English VII Sr. Bertram of Clequin prevails in other Parts VIII A Parliament at Westminster IX Pope Gregory endeavours a Peace between the Two Crowns X. The English obtain a Naval Victory over the Flemings XI The Flemings submit to a Peace XII James King of Majorica dies XIII The Duke of Lancaster and the Earl of Cambridge marry the two Daughters of Don Pedro King of Spain whereby Don Henry being alarum'd enters a Confederation with the French King. XIV The Pope endeavours to make Peace between England and France the Copy of his Letters to the Captal of Busche XV. The Duke of Lancaster and the Earl of Cambridge return with their Ladies into England I. THIS Winter the Valiant and Generous Captain a Frois c. 286. Sr. Eustace Dambreticourt was in great danger of being utterly lost thrô his own too free Confidence in an old Acquaintance For he rode one Evening to pay a Visit to the Lord of Pierre Buffierre whom he look'd upon as his special Friend and Lover and also of the English Interest For as we b Vid l. 4. c. 7. § 2 p. 789. shew'd before the French King himself could not persuade him to renounce the Homage which he had made to the Prince of Wales In the Christmas Holydays Sr. Eustace rode to his Castle designing to make merry with him but his Entertainment was much otherwise than he expected For his unkind Host admitted Sr. Tibauld du Pont a Knight of Breton and an Enemy to England into his Castle whom he suffer'd to seize upon Sr. Eustace while he suspected no harm and to lead him away Prisoner And now he had certainly been put to a shamefull Death because he had been a Captain of the Companions and so great an Enemy to the Realm of France But then the Duke of Bourbon was pleas'd to remember the good Turns he had done him in releasing his Mother who was taken at Bellepeche and so to requite him interceeded effectually for his Life at this time and compounded for a Ransom of 12000 Franks 4000 whereof Sr. Eustace paid down leaving his Son Francis Dambreticourt in Hostage for the Remainder with the Duke of Bourbon who thereupon repledged him engaging his own Word for the Residue to Sr. Tibauld Sr. Eustace being thus acquitted went and lay at Carentan beyond the Marches of St. Clement in Base Normandy a Town which the King of Navarre had given him And there he shortly after died having been in his Days a most Valiant Knight and a sworn Servant to the Ladies II. About the same time there fell another Adventure which I presume worth the Relating because therein will appear the ill Consequences that attend Treason with the great Power of natural Sympathy and Commiseration and the agreeable Prospect of an unexpected Turn of Fortune We shew'd before how the Lord Lewis of Maleval and his Nephew the young Lord Raimund of Marvejols had without any Constraint or Provocation revolted from the Service of the King of England and began to make War against the Prince of Wales Now the Lord Raimund of Marvejols hearing at this time that all his own Country had followed his Example and were turned French took his leave of the Court at Paris intending to go home But by the way he was suddenly met by two or three Troops of Sr. Hugh Calverley's Men who were led by Sr. Geoffry Argentine Captain of a Castle in Poictou He fell so unluckily within their Power that he could not possibly avoid them so he was forthwith taken Prisoner and carried into Poictou unto the said English Knights Castle When it was known in England that the Lord Raimund of Marvejols was taken and in sure Custody King Edward wrote his Letters to Sr. Geoffry Argentine who had him in his Keeping commanding him with all speed to send over unto him his Enemy that false Traytor Sr. Raimund of Marvejols saying how he would take such Vengeance on him that all others should take Example by him and further he promised the Knight for his acceptable Service in taking him 6000 Franks Sr. Geoffry Argentine resolv'd by all means to obey the King his Masters Commands and said he would surely fulfill his Pleasure as soon as he could meet with an opportunity of Transporting him with Security and began presently to seek out for a Vessel and Company to have him convey'd into England Of all this Sr. Raimund had knowledge wherefore he was much more nearly concern'd than ever For before he hoped to get off by Ransom but now he saw there was no other Remedy but inevitable Death and that in all likelihood to be as full of Torment as Ignomy for he knew how Traytors were usually punish'd as well in England as elsewhere He was then in the Flower of his Age a Proper Young Handsom Valiant Gentleman of a fair Estate and Fortune in the World and perhaps not so fit to die as those who have not met with the Temptations which attend so high a Condition No wonder then if he was very much affected with these Apprehensions of Death He began to make the most dolefull Lamentations imaginable and always when his Keeper came near he heard him bewail his untimely End and complain of his Misfortunes so pathetically that it was impossible for Flesh and Blood not to sympathise therewith The Keeper who was an Englishman had the Curiosity to ask him the occasion of so great Sorrow and while he declared it in the softest Terms that could be devised wept along with him for pitty and afterwards gave him all the Consolation that might be telling him how King Edward was a very Mercifull Prince and thô terrible to those that resisted him yet always Gratious to those whom he had in his Power and much more he said with great Tenderness out of a Pious Consideration of his Prisoners dejected and forlorn Condition Sr. Raimund who knew his Life lay at stake saw little or no Comfort in all these Words but only observing how wonderfully concerned his Keeper was for him he began to repeat his Moans thereby to raise his Compassion and at last said unto him Ah! my dearest Friend Next unto God it is in
Reverend Brethren Cardin is of the Holy Roman Church viz. Simon of the Title of St. Sixtus and John of the Title of the Four Crowned Saints Priests-Cardinals Nuntio's of the Apostolick See. Lest therefore ô most Beloved Son the Eastern Parts do now irreparably run to ruine and fall irrevocably into the Hands of cruel Barbarians We thought good to have our Recourse to your Piety earnestly entreating and desiring you in the Lord JESVS CHRIST and also perswading you in Order to the Remission of your sins that considering the Premises with such pious Meditation as is fitting you would induce the said King of England and our Beloved Sons John Duke of Lancaster and Edmund Earl of Cambridge Sons of the said King to whom also We write to this very purpose to make a good and lasting Peace and Concord with the said King of France and to provide for some Succour as shall seem good to them in the said next Expedition when for such as shall be willing to pass the Seas a mighty Fleet will be equipped by the said Genoans So that such great Evils may soon be obviated and the said Peace being made which God grant who is the Author of Peace speedy Succour may be sent unto the said Eastern Parts For We request very many Princes and Nobles for speedy Succour by writing unto them effectually for that Purpose And what shall seem good to your Magnificence in the Premises forget not to write back unto Us as soon as may be Dat. apud Villam Novam Avenion Dioeces Kal. August An o Pontif. 1 mo Thus did his Holiness use his utmost Diligence to oppose the Success of the Infidels Arms by healing the Breaches of Christendom but the French King being now more confident upon the late League with Spain was less carefull to hearken to moderate Terms and so this Design fell and the War continued open as before XV. The q Frois c. 296. Duke of Lancaster and his Brother the Earl of Cambridge tarried at Bourdeaux with their New Ladies in great Jollity and Sporting till after Michaelmas about which time the Duke resolved to return into England not only because there was a Great Council to be held about Carrying on of the War but also that he might more particularly inform the King his Father of the Affairs of Aquitain But before his Departure he summoned all the Loyal Barons of Guienne to meet him at Bourdeaux Where he declared unto them How he design'd to go for England about certain Affairs relating to their Advantage and the Weal and Safety of all Aquitain and that by the next Summer at furthest he would be there again with them if so it should please the King his Father And all Men being highly satisfied with these Words he appointed the Noble and Valiant Lord John de Greilly Captal of Busche his Deputy Governour of all Guienne and with him he joyned as Assistants the Lord of Mucidan and the Lord of Lesparre In Poictou he set as Chief Governour the Lord Lewis of Harcourt and the Lord of Partenay and in Sainctogne the Lord Lewis of Argenton and the Lord William of Montendre and all his Seneschals and other Officers he left in statu quo priús Then there were nominated certain Representatives for the Good Towns of Gascogne Sainctogne and Poictou who were to go along with the Duke of Lancaster into England the better to inform King Edward of the State and Condition of Aquitain the Chief whereof were the Lord Guischard Dangle the Lord of Pinant and Sr. Emery of Tarse When they had all made themselves ready for the Voyage the Duke of Lancaster went on Ship-bord with his Lady the Dutchess and her Sister and his Brother the Earl and a great Company of Men of Arms and Archers so that the Fleet consisted of Threescore Good Vessels together with those that bore their Provision and Necessaries They had Wind at Will and so landed with safety at Southampton where having tarried two Days they went all to Windsor to the King. He was glad to see his two Sons the Duke and the Earl and his Daughters the two Spanish Princesses and also all the Lords and Knights Strangers But in especial manner he welcom'd Sr. Guischard Dangle for he was a most Valiant and Loyal Baron and one who had a Deep insight into Men and Matters CHAPTER the NINTH The CONTENTS I. The Death of the Earl of Northampton and the Lord Walter Manny II. Some Overtures for a Peace but both the Kings prepare for War. III. King Edward designs the Duke of Lancaster to invade France by Calais and Picardy and the Earl of Pembroke by Rochell and Poictou IV. The Earl of Pembroke being come before Rochelle has a sharp Engagement with the Spanish Fleet but on the second Day is beaten and taken Prisoner with many more V. Sr. James of Surgeres obtaining his liberty on easie Terms makes Relation of the Fight to the Rochellers The Spanish Fleet bear off with their Prisoners and set sail for Spain The Captal of Busche with a great Number of Men of Arms comes to Rochell all too late VI. An Account of one Owen or Evan a Pretended Prince of Wales He serves the French King against England VII He invades the Isle of Garnsey and overthrows the Governour thereof in Battle and lays siege to Cornet Castle but is call'd off by the French King and sent into Spain VIII King Edward's Concern for the loss of the Earl of Pembroke and his Designs for the Security of Poictou which are dash'd by new Affairs from Bretagne IX Owen of Wales being in Spain insults over the Captive Earl of Pembroke The English Prisoners presented to King Henry who uses them respectfully but commits them to safe Custody X. The Captal of Busche reinforces the Garrison of Rochelle and goes and clears the Country about Soubize of the Enemy XI The Constable of France takes Monmorillon Chauvigney Lusac and Moncontour Poictiers much strengthned by the Lord Thomas Percy and Sr. John Devereux XII AN. DOM. 1372. An. Regni Angliae XLVI Franciae XXXIII The Frenchmen laying siege to St. Severe the Captal of Busche the Lord Thomas Percy and Sr. John Devereux prepare to raise the siege XIII The Constable takes the Place before their coming and is invited to come and take Seisin of Poictiers which he does with all speed XIV The English and Gascogners hereupon separate the latter going to Thoüars the former to Niort which latter being shut against them is taken by Storm and Garrison'd for England XV. Owen of Wales brings a Fleet from Spain before Rochell Soubize being besieged by the French is rescued by the Captal of Busche but Owen of Wales coming suddenly upon him he himself is taken and so Soubize follows his Fate XVI The French take St. Jean D'Angely Angoulesme Taillebourg and Sainctes XVII Rochell Castle obtain'd by stratagem The Inhabitants submit to the French King on Composition XVIII Sr. Bertram
the Destruction of Christians but hath also lately administred unto many Infidels the Courage to seise on the Lands of Christians and to extinguish the a a Lat. aliàs ad Religionem Christiani Nominis extinguendam Name of the Christian Religion and that if the said Infidels shall perceive that Discord shall endure between the said Kings of England and France and Concord shall be banished of their wonted madness they will arise more Couragiously and boldly against the Christians and their Lands and will assume the greater Confidence to bring upon Christian Kings Kingdoms and People more heavy and pernicious Troubles than before to the Execution whereof the foresaid most wicked Infidels do already as is said prepare and dispose themselves And not being able any longer to endure the like War and Discord as also weighing and often revolving that We and our Predecessors Popes of Rome by frequent sending both Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church and divers other Nuntio's of the Apostolick See to those Parts have in this point shewn what Diligence We could since We cannot see any further Remedy if this Concord and Peace cannot be perfected We intend not any longer to delay but forthwith to proceed without any Favour Justice always being our Guide against that Party of the two which shall appear to be the Occasion thereof and all its Favourers Counsellers and Assistants whatsoever by Ecclesiastical Censures and other Remedies of Law. Dat. Aven III Non. Jan. Ano. Pont. II. The same b Tom. 2. Episecret p. 237. Vid. Odoric Runald ibid. Letters only mutatis mutandis were sent to the Ambassadors of the French King at the same time But the Rancour of their Minds was too great and the Difficulty of adjusting Affairs to both their satisfaction too impracticable to admit of any tolerable Agreement at this time Thô Simon of the Title of St. Sixtus and John of the Title of the Four-Crowned-Saints being sent unto the Two Kings and much stirr'd up by the Popes Letters are reported to have spared no pains in the Affair This was in the beginning of the Year as appears by the Date of the Pope's Letters but now when the Duke of Lancaster was thus upon his March thrô France and all things tended to a Desperate War the Pope sent again into France his two Legates the Archbishop of Rouën and the Bishop of Carpentras to treat of a Peace if possible between the Two Kings These Pious Prelates took much Pains in riding too and fro between the French King and his Brethren on the One Part and the Duke of Lancaster on the other but all to no purpose For all the while the English Duke rode forward as we have partly shew'd piercing thrô and ravaging from Artois and Picardy thrô Champaigne Burgundy Beaujolois le Forestes Auvergne and Limosin by the Loire even to the Lot Dordogne and Garonne Rivers of Guienne XVI Much part c Frois Gallicè fol. 257. a. of this long way being at that time the whole extent of the Kingdom of France gave indeed great trouble to the English besides those few Losses We have related for not to mention the many Difficulties incident to such a long March especially when Provision was so hard to be got the Duke of Lancaster lost many both Men and Horses thrô some secret indisposition From which neither were the Frenchmen free for there died several of them and particularly three Lords of Hainalt as the Lord Fatieres of Berlammont the Lord Bridol of Montagne and the Begue of Werlan But there was no such Matter as some Historians too rashly report namely that the Duke of Lancaster's Army of 30000 was reduced only to 6000 by that time he came to Bourdeaux unless it be meant that he had no more Horses left For of them it must be confessed how there perished a great Number for want of Fodder as well because all Provender was convey'd away into strong Places as because the French King by his several flying Parties kept them from Foraging So that whatever they got was dearly bought and not fetch'd in to the Army without many Hands Wherefore more wisely doth Honest d Fabian p. 258. Fabian say from the French Writers themselves that thô indeed this Expedition was Honourable to the English because they rode thrô the whole Realm of France unfought withall yet was it also exceeding troublesome and chargeable unto them considering the many mischiefs they met withall in their long March especially the great Loss of Horses When the Duke of Lancaster had past the Loire about Roanne he was informed how the Frenchmen prepar'd to entertain him as they should find opportunity with sundry Ambuscadoes Wherefore he presently e Polyd. Virg. Holinsh p. 994. set his light Horsemen with a Division of Archers in the Front and in the Main Battail where he himself was with the Duke of Bretagne the whole Force of his Footmen and Men of Arms on each side for Wings to cover them The Rest of the Horse with the other Division of Archers he appointed to be in the Reer and having commanded them all to March close together in this Order he thus frustrated all further attempts of his Enemies and came in safety into Poictou where in Revenge of their Defection from England he began a new spoil killing and ransoming the people wasting the Country and firing the Towns where-ever he came till at last he arrived at Bergerac in his way to Bourdeaux the Frenchmen always following till he came thither at the tail and coasting him as they saw occasion without any further Advantage than what we have mention'd But the Duke of Anjou having left Paris and joyn'd the Constable rode above towards Rouvergue Rodez and Tholouse but at last they return'd to Perigort where the two Legates then were having rode between the two Parties preaching and laying many sound Reasons before them to bring them to some Agreement but they were both so harden'd that neither would admit of Peace without some apparent Advantage which the other would not grant So about the beginning of November the Duke of Lancaster came to Bourdeaux where both he and the Duke of Bretagne lay all that Winter and the Lent following only some few taking their leave now the Campaine was over among whom the Lord Ralph Basset of Sapcote with his Retinue went back into England whereat the King was much displeas'd and chode him severely that he would offer to return without his Lord and General Of this Expedition we are to observe that some thrô largeness of speech have made it to begin in Flanders whereas it is to be understood as We have shewn at Calais which confines on Flanders And so Sr. William Dugdale is to be expounded who speaks of an Expedition this Year made into Flanders wherein he f Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 396. says were present the Lord Edward Spencer the Lord * Id 2 Vol. p. 173. John
was marching Wherefore he desir'd that for the present he might be let alone on Condition that neither He nor His should make any War unless some Violence was offer'd on the French part But that if the Heritors and Lords of Gascogne should be reduced by him then he also would yield up unto him and in all things do as they should do To this the Duke agreed receiving of the Abbot Hostages for his true performance which Pledges he sent to Perigueux and so drew toward the Town of Lourde in Bigorre to which he laid his Siege and then summon'd the Garrison to yield The Townsmen would willingly have agreed to the motion but the Knight that govern'd the Place said stoutly That since the Earl of Foix had deliver'd it to his Care he was resolv'd by no means to resign it up into the hands of any other Person living With which answer the Constable and the Duke of Anjou were so nettled that they commanded a general Assault to be made So that at last the Place was carried by force and the Captain and most of his Men slain with all the Inhabitants Men Women and Children and the Town rased and given up to the Plunder Nevertheless they left a Garrison in the Castle at their Departure Thence they Marched into the Lands belonging to Chastel Bon ravaging all about as far as Chastelneuf which they took and thence Marching toward Bearn they enter'd the Land of the Lord of Lescar whence they rode till they came before a good strong Town and Castle named Sailles which held of the County of Foix thô all the Lands and Arrierefiefs lay in Gascogne The Black-Prince before his Expedition into Spain had intended to call the Earl of Foix to an Account because he paid not his Duties unto him for this Place And now also the Duke of Anjou who had by this time reduced in a manner all Aquitain and look'd upon himself as Master thereof resolv'd by any means to have this Place also So he laid his Siege unto Sailles which was not at all easie to be won and beside there was within a Valiant and Expert Captain named Sr. William de Pons When the Earl of Foix heard how the Frenchmen conquer'd in his Lands and Arrierefiess which in reason he ought to hold either of the French King or of the King of England he sent for the Vicount of Chastel Bon for the Lords of Mont Marsan of Chastelneuve and Lescar with the Abbot of St. Sever who being all come to him he purchas'd a safe-Conduct and so went before Sailles to the Duke of Anjou with the foresaid Lords in his Company There at last he agreed with the Duke That both He and they with all their Lands should remain in perfect Peace till the midst of August or the Feast of the Assumption of the blessed Virgin Mary At which time there should appear before the Town of Moissac on the Tarne in the Province of Quercy an Army of the French Kings or of the King of England's part And if the English Army could keep the Field then they would hold their Lands of the King of England and if the French Army could keep the Field that day either by Battle or Non-appearance of the Enemy then they would hold their Lands of the King of France for ever Which Covenant faithfully to perform both the Earl of Foix and the other Lords gave sufficient security and so the Duke of Anjou brake up his Siege and went back to Perigueux with his whole Army For he would not let a Man be disbanded IV. But however Pope Gregory XI did now so double his Diligence in plying the Christian Work of Peacemaking by his Legates that at last a Treaty began between the Duke of Lancaster and the Duke of Anjou assurances being given to the latter at Perigueux for the Former held himself as Chief being Regent as he said for the King of England his Father So at last a firm Truce was agreed on to be held faithfully and without Fraud between Them and all their Friends Vassals and Assistants untill the last day of August the Two Dukes engaging to be present in the Marches of Picardy about the beginning of September in Order to prolong the said Truce the Duke of Lancaster at Calais and the Duke of Anjou at St. Omers Which Truce being thus taken the said Duke of Lancaster with the Duke of Bretagne the Earls of Warwick Suffolk and Stafford the Lord Edward Spencer the Lord Henry Percy the Lord Chanon Robsart the Lord Willoughby and other Lords and Knights both of England and Gascogne went on board at Bourdeaux on the Eighth of July and set sail for England Upon f Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 115. Walsing hist p. 183. n. 40. which Return of the Duke of Lancaster the People of those Parts almost totally revolted nothing being left in Aquitaine but Bourdeaux and Bayonne In Bretagne also the Captains of Becherel as Sr. John Cornwall and Sr. John Appleyard who had now kept that Fortress a full Year against the French that besieged them when they heard how the Duke of Bretagne was gone back into England and that now they had no hopes of any timely Succour especially since their Victuals was almost spent upon Mature Advice resolved to treat with their Enemies and to come to some agreeable Composition The Lords of Bretagne and Normandy that lay there at Siege as the Lord of Hambie Stoneville Blanville and Granville were by this time very weary and would willingly enter into any kind of Treaty but they thought best to know the French Kings Mind first and when they found that he agreed to allow their Treaty they determin'd the Matter thus That if the Duke of Bretagne or some other from the King of England did not come personally between that time and the Feast of All-Saints then next coming strong enough to raise the Siege then they within were to yield up the Place their Lives and Goods saved Which was done accordingly None appearing at the time appointed in their behalf and Sr. John Cornwall and Sr. John Appleyard with their Men and Goods took the Sea and return'd for England V. When g Frois c. 312. the Middle of August drew near which was the time limited for the Decision of High Gascogne to be made before Moissac the Duke of Anjou drew thitherward with an huge Army and kept the Field before the Place six days together All which time no body appeared for King Edward For the English all thought that because of the Truce lately taken between the Dukes of Anjou and Lancaster which was to hold to the last of August the Design about Moissac was to be given over But the Duke of Anjou and his Council were it seems of another Mind and resolved to take all Advantages they could without troubling their Heads with unprofitable Scruples of Honour Faith and Justice So when the Duke of Anjou saw once the Feast
Wickliff Greeting Directing our Eyes to the honesly of your Life and laudable Conversation and Knowledge of the Learning wherewith the Most High hath endued your Person who are Master of Arts and having great Confidence in your Fidelity Circumspection and Industry We set you over our Hall of Canterbury lately by Vs founded at Oxford as Warden thereof and do by these Presents commit unto you the Care and Administration belonging to the Wardenship thereof according to our Appointment in this Part reserving unto our selves the Receiving of your Corporal Oath to be by you made unto Vs and due in this Part. Dated at Magfield Vto Idûs Decemb. An o Dom. MCCCLXV And from hence it appears that Wickliff did not obtain this Place by any Ill means as some have said thô it is to be believed that when by this Archbishops Successor he was afterwards ejected no good Arts were used for as then g Anton. Wood Antiq. Oâ—ond 14. 183. nothing in the World was laid to his Charge but that he was a Secular which sure he that set him there first knew as well as they But whereas h Histor Monast D. Albani Fox Acts Mâ—n p. 392. An o ult Ed. 3. he is accused for that as an Hypocrite he resorted much to the Orders of Begging Fryars frequenting their Company and extolling the Perfection of their Poverty this must seem absolutely false and inconsistent to any who hath but once heard of i Eâ—tat in Bibliothâ—câ Publ. Aâ—adem Cantabr Fig. 19.10.13 that Notable Treatise of his now Extant which he wrote particularly against the Mendicant Fryars containing 50 Chapters However this is certain that his Tenets were not received by the Generality of the Clergy in those Days For he affirm'd sundry Doctrines very disagreeable to the Genius of that Age as k Fox Walsing Knighton Oder Rainald Antiq. Britan. p. 258. c. That the Pope had no more Power to Excommunicate any Man than another Priest That if it be given by any Person unto the Pope to Excommunicate yet to absolve the same is as much in the power of another Priest as in his He affirm'd also That the Temporal Power might and ought to take away from the Clergy what the Piety of former Times had bestowed upon them if they shall be found to abuse the said Goods or to approve themselves unworthy thereof and that he proved to have been heretofore practised in England by King William Rufus which thing said Wickliff if he did lawfully why may not the same be done now If unlawfully then doth not the Church err in Praying for him As for the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist he proved against the Fryars who held the contrary Opinion l Wickliffe's Treatise against the Fryars c. 16. p. 33. That the Accidents of Bread remained not without the Subject or Substance i. e. that the Body of Christ is present not without the Bread. He m Speed l. 9. c. 13. §. 118. p. 610. also stoutly asserted the Regal Supremacy against Papal Vsurpation he wrote against the Mass Transubstantiation Merit Adoration of the Host of Saints Images and Reliques and against Pilgrimages and Indulgences He likewise held That the n Odor Rainal ad hunc ann §. 5 Walsing hist p. 188. p. 205 Knighton p. 2648. Roman Church was no more the Head of all Churches than any other Church That no more Power was given to St. Peter than to any other Apostle and that the Pope of Rome had no more Power of the Keys of the Church than any Other who was in Priestly Orders That the Scriptures were sufficient for Salvation and that all other Rules of Saints under the Observation whereof there are divers Religious Orders do add no more Perfection to the Gospel than Washing a Wall over with Lime doth make the Wall more perfect As for his Arguments they may be seen at large o Fox Acts Monum Johan Hus Opera Walsing hist p. 200 ad p. 209. Hist Monast D. Albani Knighton p. 2644. Nicol. Harpsseldius in Histor Wickliffiana Holinsh p. 998. in Mr. Fox his Acts and Monuments and more of his Opinions may be consulted in the Authors quoted in the Margin thô it is to be given as a Caution that they all vary one from another both as to the Number Order and Sense of the Articles VI. It is said that he was supported and upheld in these his Opinions by King Edward himself but this is certain that John of Gaunt the Great Duke of Lancaster and Entitled King of Castille and Leon who had now the chief Government of the Realm during his Father's Weakness was an Open Favourer and Patron of John Wickliff and his Doctrine But at the same time his Opinions were so distastfull to the Clergy that now there p Fox Acts Mon. ex Histor Mon. D. Albani Nic. Harpsseldus in Hist Wickliff c. 5. p. 683. came forth from Simon Sudbury Archbishop of Canterbury a Process and Order of Citation for the Author to be brought before the Spiritual Court the Time and Place being formally assigned When the Duke of Lancaster heard that his Client Wickliff was to appear before the Bishops fearing that he being single might be overcome by the Number of his Adversaries he took unto him Four Batchelors of Divinity of Good Learning and Skill in the Scriptures to joyn them with Wickliff for his surer Support On the Day appointed q D. Lit. Dom. Pascha 29 Martii which was Thursday the Nineteenth of February Dr. John Wickliff being accompanied with the Four Batchelors in Divinity aforesaid and also his Mighty Patron the Duke of Lancaster going along with him for the greater Honour and Countenance of his Cause went toward the Church of St. Paul in London the Lord Henry Percy High Marshal of England going before to make way for his Lord the Duke and the Doctor And all the way as they went Wickliffes Friends animated him all they could and bad him not fear nor shrink or be daunted at the presence of the Bishops who said they are all Vnlearned in respect of You And that he should not dread the unusual Concourse or Clamors of the People for they themselves would assist and defend him so that he should receive no harm With these Words of the Duke and other Nobles with him Wickliff being much encouraged came to St. Pauls where there was such a vast Throng of People that the Duke and the Lords with him could hardly pass thrô the Church for all the Lord Marshal made way with his Officers When William Courtney Bishop of London saw the stirr that the Marshal and his Men made in the Church among the People he said unto the Lord Percy that if he had known before how he would have plaid the Master in his Church he would have hindred him from coming thither At which Words of the Bishop the Duke disdaining extreamly answer'd him
John Copland an Esquire of Northumberland The Third and last Battalia of the Scots discomfited The time and place of this Battle certainly Assign'd A Gross Mistake of Hector Boëtius the Scotch Historian How long the Fight lasted the Loss on both sides The Names of the Scotch Nobility slain and taken John Copland bears away the King of Scotland the Queen sends to him for the King She returns to York and King Bailiol and the English invade Scotland John Copland being sent for to Calais by King Edward is Knighted and Royally rewarded King David secur'd in the Tower of London The Earls of Menteith and Fife executed The Earl of Lancaster returns into England and the Queen goes over to the Siege at Calais The Pope endeavours for Peace in vain From p. 376. to p. 385. Chap. VI. A Parliament at Paris Another at Westminster The Pope writes to King Edward to perswade him to Peace King Edward's answer Odoricus Rainaldus refuted King Philip seeks to bring over the Flemings but misses his Aim The Earl of Flanders confin'd by his Subjects because he will not match with a Daughter of England King Edward reinforces the Siege of Calais The Earl of Flanders escapes into France Two Frenchmen put to Death for favouring King Edward's Right The Duke of Normandy receives a Foil before Cassel The frequent Attempts to relieve Calais frustrated The Losses and Difficulties of the English Camp. Sr. Robert of Namur enters King Edward's service before Calais An account of the Scotch Affairs since the Battle of DURHAM An account of the Affairs of Bretagne Sr. Charles of Blois taken Prisoner at the Battle of ROCHE D'ARIEN by Sr. Thomas Dagworth Roche d' Arien taken by the French and the English Garrison murder'd by the Commons of the Country The French Navy defeated Five hundred more poor People thrust out of Calais The Calisians send an Account of their Case to King Philip. The Earl of Lancaster leading a Detachment towards Amiens upon News of King Philip's March returns to Calais The French Kings strength he desires leave of the Flemings to pass thrô their Country but is refused The Flemings Besiege Aire but upon King Philip's approach rise King Philip comes to Sangate and demands Battle of King Edward with the Answer Two Cardinals obtain a Treaty which comes to nothing King Philip goes off in Despair The manner how Calais was yielded Calais settled by King Edward A Truce between the two Kings King Edward returns for England A Brush between the English and Scots of the Borders Lewis the Emperour dies King Edward chosen Emperour refuses Charles King of Bohemia succeeds The Death of William Occam and Walter Hemingford A Law-Case From p. 385. to p. 415. Chap. VII The Glory and Prosperity of King Edward's Reign corrupts the Nation A Parliament Justs and Turneaments How Avignon came to belong to the See of Rome Philip of Valois and Edward of England could cure the Kings Evil. An Order concerning the Kings Purveyors The Truce between England and France prorogued for another Year King Edward solemnises the Translation of St. Thomas c. The Earl of Flanders does Homage to King Edward but afterwards rebelling is beaten King Edward being inform'd of a Design to betray Calais goes over privately and beats the Frenchmen He presents a Rich Chaplet to the Lord Eustace de Ribemont and sets him free Having settled Calais he returns for England The Death of the Queen of France and of the Dutchess of Normandy The two Royal Widowers Marry again From p. 416. to p. 428. Chap. VIII Treats of the Great Plague that happen'd in the Year 1348. From p. 428. to p. 442. Chap. IX King Edward Founds the Chappel of St. George at WINDSOR with the Copy of his Letters for that purpose The Pope furthers the Matter by two Bulls The Progress in Building Enlarging and Beautifying the Castle of WINDSOR The Institution of the most Noble Order of the GARTER Henry Earl of Lancaster Leicester and Darby made Earl of Lincoln and sent into Gascogne The Lord Thomas Dagworth slain in Bretagne Earl Henry's Exploits in Gascogne He brings the French to Terms A Famous Combat between 30 English and 30 French. Of certain who arrived to Great Wealth and Splendour by the Wars Of Sr. Thomas Rokeby Deputy Lieutenant of Ireland and of Sr. Robert Savage and his Son Henry Savage who lived in Ulster A Grant of the Black-Prince's to the Lord Henry Eam of Flanders confirmed at this time by the King he being then newly chosen one of the First Knights of the GARTER From p. 442. to p. 448. Chap. X. Pope Clement reduces the Bonifacian Jubilee from the 100th to the 50th Year The Original of Jubilees King Edward forbids his Subjects to go to Rome on that occasion with his Answer to the Pope's Expostulation thereon The Sect of Whippers rises and is supprest King Edward's Victory over the Spaniards at Sea. King Philip of France dies King John succeeds A Duel fought before King Edward between a Knight of Cyprus and the Bastard of France King John puts the Bastard of France and the Earl of Eu and Guisnes to Death Some steps towards a Peace with Scotland in Order to King David's Redemption From p. 449. to p. 455. Chap. XI A Parliament wherein King Edward advances sundry of his Grandees to Honour The Lord John Beauchamp Captain of Calais being taken Prisoner is succeeded by Sr. Robert Herle Sr. Robert's Acts. A Truce with France Another with Spain The Lord Guy de Nesle taken Prisoner Twenty four Christians Martyr'd by the Governour of Damascus who is therefore put to Death by the Soldan of Babylon King John of France renews the Order of the STAR The Castle of Guisnes taken by the English King John seeks to recover it in vain Sr. Charles of Blois set at Liberty upon his Parole The Lord Guy de Nesse slain by Sr. Walter Bentley The Earl of Stafford Lieutenant of Gascogne beats the French. The Death of Sr. Thomas Wale Knight of the GARTER King Edward provides for the Defence of the Seas William Earl of Hainalt Marries Mathilda Daughter of the Duke of Lancaster The Duke of Lancaster gets Honour of the Duke of Brunswick King Edward prepares against the French. Pope Clement dies and the Earl of Kent Two Malefactors beheaded at London From p. 455. to p. 467. Chap. XII An Hard Winter Storms Drought and Dearth A Riot at Chester The Black Prince's Munificence King Edward Founds a College at Westminster A Treaty with Scotland A Treaty and Truce with France A Parliament The Names of the Lords summon'd thereto Another Parliament A Treaty at Avignon which begets a short Truce The Foundation of Trinity-Hall in Cambridge A Quarrel between the Town and Vniversity of Oxford Two Fryars burnt at Avignon And a Third recants at Paris From p. 468. to p. 477. Chap. XIII The King of Navarre Murders the Constable of France and Invites the Duke of Lancaster to his Assistance
whom he is Godfather From p. 662. to p. 669. Chap. XIII A Parliament at Westminster wherein notice is taken of the Pope's foremention'd Demand of the King Peter-Pence forbid to be paid The Quarrel between the Fryars Mendicants and the two Vniversities taken up by the King. The Lord of Coucy made Earl of Bedford A Treaty of Marriage between Prince Lionel and the Lady Violantis Daughter to Galeas Duke of Milain Archbishop Islip dies his Foundation of Canterbury College in Oxford now called Christ-Church Dr. Langham Bishop of Ely translated to Canterbury On the French King's Complaint of the Companions King Edward prepares an Army against them But on the French King's being jealous desists The French King and the Pope endeavour to draw off the Companions into Hungary but it will not do From p. 669. to p. 672. BOOK IV. CHAP. I. DON Pedro's Character The Pope excommunicates him and legitimates his Bastard Brother The Companions joyn Sr. Bertram of Clequin and march against Don Pedro who being forsaken of all flies from place to place and absconds in Galizia Don Henry the Bastard is made King of Spain Don Pedro implores the Protection of the Black-Prince and arrives at Bayonne Prince Edward receives him with much Humanity The Reasons Pro and Con why the Prince should or should not assist him The Prince has his Fathers leave to undertake his Quarrel The King of Navarre is won The Copy of a Famous Grant of Don Pedro to King Edward and to the Prince and the Kings of England and their Eldest Sons for Ever Prince Edward sends for his Captains who were then in the Bastards Service The Bastard's surprise at the News of the Prince's Design Sr. Bertram goes back into France to raise Friends Divers Opinions touching this undertaking of the Prince's The Bastard renews his Alliance with the King of Aragon c. The Prince's Zeal for this War. The Lord of Albret engages to bring a 1000 Spears The Companions being besieged in Montabuan beat the French. James King of Majorica comes to Bourdeaux to implore the Prince's Aid against the King of Aragon The Prince by Advice of his Council countermands 800 of the Lord Albret's 1000 Spears From p. 674. to p. 694. Chap. II. A second Son Born to the Black-Prince named Richard. The Prince begins his March is joyn'd by the Duke of Lancaster He passes the Pirenaean Mountains the Order of his Army the Names of his Chief Captains Don Henry sends his Expostulation and Defiance to him The Lord Thomas Felton takes Navaret Salvatierra yields to the Prince The Lord Thomas Felton beats up the Bastard's Quarters and sends Intelligence to the Prince Don Henry goes forward but halts at St. Miguel The Prince expects him at Victoria The Earl of Sancelloni beats up the Prince's Quarters and takes the Lord Thomas Felton and all his Company The Discourse thereupon had in the Spanish Camp. The Prince passes the Ebro and answers Don Henry's Letters Don Henry's Resolution The two Armies move forward The Order and Number of the Spaniards The Lord Chandos made a Banneret The Prince's Prayer before the Fight The Famous Battle of NAJARA in Spain where the Bastard receives a Mighty overthrow The City of Najara taken The time and place of the Battle The Number of the slain on both sides The Prince obliges Don Pedro to grant a General Pardon All Spain comes in and submits to Don Pedro and the Prince The Prince demands his Souldiers pay of the King who goes to Seville but sends none The Great Renown of the Black-Prince after this Victory The Black-Prince returns home without his Money The first Change of King Edward's Fortune The Danish Fleet beaten by the English The Death of Don Pedro King of Portugal sirnamed the Justiceer From p. 695. to p. 718. Chap. III. Prince Lionel is Married to the Lady Violantis He falls sick and dies A Parliament at Westminster The Archbishop of Canterbury made Cardinal A Sea-Woman taken in the Zuyder-zea Sr. Bertram by a Fineness obtains to be ransom'd The Companions wanting their Pay prove troublesome to the Principality But at the Prince's Command they go away and do much Mischief in France The Prince taxes his Subjects which occasions a Revolt From p. 718. to p. 725. Chap. IV. Don Henry the Bastard finding the Prince of Wales embroyl'd returns into Spain surprises the King Don Pedro beats him takes him and kills him with his own Hands The King of France being urged by the Discontented Gascogne Lords Summons the Prince of Wales to appear before him William of Wickham made Bishop of Winchester c. The Prince of Wales falls sick of an incurable Disease He sends the Lord Chandos against the Gascogne Lords The French King surprises Ponthieu and defies King Edward Who in Parliament resumes his Title to France and obtains a Mighty Aid for his Wars The Black-Prince makes the Captal of Busche Earl of Bigorre which Creation is confirm'd by the King his Father From p. 725. to p. 742. Chap. V. The War begins in the Principality Mutual Losses and Gains The two Kings set forth an Account of their several Causes their Rights argued The Pedigree of the Kings of France King Edward's Reasons for his Right and Title to France From p. 743. to p. 758. Chap. VI. The Duke of Burgundy Marries the Earl of Flanders his Daughter Mutual Losses and Gains The Earl of Pembroke's Danger The Death of Queen Philippa The Duke of Lancasters Expedition The Earl of Warwick dies The Duke of Lancaster a Widower The Death of the Earl of Suffolk and of the Bishop of Excester The French King raises a Tax From p. 759. to p. 782. Chap. VII The Death of the Lord John Chandos The War hot in Gascogne The Death of David Bruce King of Scotland The Genealogy of his Successor Robert STUART An Old Error concerning King Robert's Children confuted Sr. Robert Knolles his Expedition into France The Black-Prince sacks Limoges and Sr. Bertram of Clequin made Constable of France Pope Urban dies Maximus Planudes flourishes From p. 783. to p. 812. Chap. VIII The Death of the Lord Eustace Dambreticourt The Danger and Escape of the Lord Raimond of Marvejols The Black-Prince his Eldest Son dies He returns into England sick The War in Gascogne A Parliament at Westminster King Edward beats the Flemings at Sea. James King of Majorica dies The Duke of Lancaster and the Earl of Cambridge Marry the Two Daughters of Don Pedro late King of Spain The Pope's endeavours for Peace The Duke of Lancaster and the Earl his Brother return with their Ladies into England From p. 812. to p. 826. Chap. IX The Death of the Earl of Northampton and the Lord Walter Manny The War hot in Gascogne The Earl of Pembroke taken by the Spaniards Poictiers and Rochelle yielded to the French. Thoüars besieged King Edward sets sail to raise the Siege but the Wind will not serve so Thoüars is lost The Duke of Bretagne made
is Proclaim'd which gave occasion to Succeeding Kings to grant a General Pardon at their first Coming to the Crown after the example of so great a Precedent I do not think it necessary to make any exact Narration of the Coronation of this Young Monarch because such things are so well known in general and others who delight in matters of less moment have not omitted a full Description thereof but I shall not forget to mention * Peâ—es Thom. Goldsmith ex Graii Hospitio one Medal which with many other of several devices was upon the Coronation Day flung among the People because we may thence make a guess at the ingenuity of that Age On the Pile was the Young Prince Crowned laying a Scepter on a heap of Hearts AN. DOM. 1327. An. Regni I. with this Motto POPULO DAT JURA VOLENTI And on the Reverse an Hand held forth as it were saving a Crown falling from on high with these words NON RAPIT SED RECIPIT IV. Now because of the Kings Tender Age for he was at that time but Fourteen Years two Months and eighteen Days old there were Twelve i H. Knighton p. 2556. Leland Collect. 1. vol. p. 685. Sr Rich. Baker Guardians appointed Him to wit Five Bishops Two Earls and Five Barons the Names of them were these Walter Reginald Archbishop of Canterbury William Melton Archbishop of York John Stratford Bishop of Winchester Thomas Cobham Bishop of Worcester and Adam Orleton Bishop of Hereford the two Earls were Thomas of Brotherton Earl Marshal and Edmund of Woodstock Earl of Kent both the Kings Uncles the Barons were John Lord Warren Thomas Lord Wake Henry Lord Percy Oliver Lord Ingham and John Lord Ros. But k Walsing hist p. 109. over and above all in especial manner by consent of the Lords in Parliament and the Twelve Guardians themselves the Thrice Noble Henry de Torto Collo Earl of Lancaster Lincoln Leicester and Derby the Kings own Cozen was deputed to have the chief Care of the Kings Person upon l Sandford p. 109. Whom also and his Heirs as Earls of Leicester was settled at the same time the Stewardship of England Nor let it be wondred that this Earl the Kings Cozen should be prefer'd to either of his Uncles in this matter since thocirc of great Nobility and Honour they were both of less experience being young men nor was it so agreeable to Policy to give them the Greatest Power who were nearest of Blood as was afterwards sufficiently experienced in the Protectorship of Richard Duke of Glocester who made away his two Royal Nephews to obtain the Crown All these were able Men and firm to the Kings Person and Interest but little more than Shadows in this Station Roger Lord Mortimer overtopping all by his great Power derived from the influence he had with the Queen Mother By his means it was that the said Queen had so m Walsingh hist p. 108. hypod p. 110. excessive a Dowry now assigned her that the King her Son had scarce one Third part of his Crown Lands remaining to Himself of which yet Mortimer made good use to advance his Friends and establish his own Authority and Greatness The imprison'd King this while being allow'd but one hundred Marks by the Month nor was he long permitted to enjoy that neither But we shall refer the prosecution of this to its proper place V. And now immediately there arises matter to exercise the Genius of the Young King whose Inclinations tend all to Glory and we shall see how eagerly He snatches at the first opportunity to obtain it But here before we enter upon the Scotch War it will not be amiss to set down a brief Account of the State of Scotland at that time In the Year of our Lord n Buchan p. 240. see Hect. Bâ—â—t f. 291. An. Dom. 1286. 1285. King Alexander the Third dying suddenly without Issue there arose several considerable Persons who being some way allied to the Royal Family claim'd a Right to the Crown of that Kingdom But all their Pretences were swallowed up in those of the Lord John Baliol and of the Lord Robert Bruce who had by far the Clearer Title King Edward the First of England Grandfather to our Edward by right of Superiority which he claimed became Umpire of the Cause and he adjudged the Realm of Scotland to the Lord John Baliol not only because his Title was the best he claiming in Right of his Wife Dornagill eldest Daughter to the Lady Margaret eldest Daughter to David Earl of Huntington younger Brother to William King of Scots and Great Uncle to Alexander the Third but also because he offer'd to hold the Crown of Scotland of King Edward as Superior Lord which Robert Bruce absolutely refused to do But the Scots were so disgusted at Baliol for this his abjectness of mind that they began to rebell against him and threatned to choose Robert Bruce for their King whereby he being terrifi'd renounced his Allegiance to Edward the First and defi'd him but he was too weak to make good his Defiance both he and his son Edward Baliol and shortly after the Lord Robert Bruce being seized on were put in custody and the Kingdom of Scotland lapsed to King Edwards hands But not long after this the Scots being miraculously excited by the extraordinary courage of the famous William Wallaâ—e and at last Robert Bruce o Dugd. 1. V. l. p. 451. Earl of Carrick escaping from London he was made King thô he prov'd unable to do any great feat but rather sculked about seeking advantages till the Days of King Edward the Second a Prince of far less Fortune and Conduct in the War than his Father Long-shanks Against him he obtained the Memorable Battle at Bannocksborn near Striveling where perished no less than 50000 English if Hector Boetius may be credited among whom fell q Fabian p. 167 42 Lords and Barons and 67 Knights and Banerets besides 22 Great men whom the Scots took prisoners Upon which success as the English of the Borders were without measure dejected so the Scots were inflamed with pride and disdain as may appear from this Rhyme which among others was sang about their streets Maidens of England sore may you mourn For your Lemans ye have lost at Bannocksborn With Heve a low What ho weneth the King of England So soon to have won all Scotland With a Rumby low From this time Scotland gather'd strength and reputation and easily obtain'd a Peace with England on very good Terms King Robert hereby was more firmly settled in his Throne being a Father of one Son named David a Prince of great hope and of two Daughters the Lady Margaret wife to the Lord Walter Stuart and by him Mother to the young Lord Robert Stuart a person of rare endowments and expectation besides that the other Lady her younger Sister had then or shortly after a Son too by her Husband the Earl of
while to delay by reason of a War with the Flemmings which about this time he undertook on the behalf of the Earl of Flanders their Lord whom they had seditiously expell'd And indeed he found such c Frois c. 21. 22. Fabian p. 264 c. Success at Cassell that he slew 16000 of them and reduc'd all Flanders to his Obedience obliging them by Bond never to bear Arms against the King of France and so having restored the Earl to his former Authority being elevated with the conceit of this Success he began to look at Higher things But we are not yet called to Foreign Affairs Wherefore for a while we shall be content to speak of matters at home Inglorious truly for the most part and therefore Ungratefull but such as may bring Profit to the Observant Reader and are by no means to be omitted being necessary for the making out the Series of this Story and also very Usefull to inform Persons of High Condition how to bear themselves by the Example of others who went before them in the like Honours IV. Roger Lord Mortimer d Knighton p. 2553. now does all Influences all and Personates all He only places and displaces Great Officers and wholly Assumes the King's Authority and solely possesses his Ear. The e John Tinemouth Aur. hist ex Aed Lamb. p. 229. Earl of Lancaster himself cannot be permitted to approach his Lord and Master to inform or advise him nor any either Uncle or other Baron how Great soever unless of Mortimer's Opinion and even then whatever they said was watch'd by such as he had planted about the King for that purpose Among other instances of his Towring Spirit he presum'd to hold a f Knighton p. 2553. n. 50. Round Table at Bedford in imitation of King Arthur that Famous Breton Others confounding this Mortimer with a Former of the same Name place this Round Table at Kenelworth Castle in Warwickshire where they reckon up an hundred Knights and as many Fair Ladies besides other Guests and Spectators Many other Knights and Gentlemen repairing thither from Foreign parts for the Exercise of Arms by Tiltings and Martial Tournements While the Ladies sported themselves and delighted the Presence with the more feminine Diversion of Dancing being all richly clad in silken Mantles and other Ornaments agreeable to their Sex and Quality But here the Lord Mortimer appeared as the occasion so the Chief of all that were there both in the Ladies Eyes and the Opinion of the Knights themselves These Sports were begun on the Eve of St. Matthew the Apostle Mortimer perhaps out of a vain and cruel Pride insulting over the Ashes of the Dead King whom he had caused a year before to be murder'd on that Festival and so continued till the Morrow after St. Michael being the space of 11 days Let none conclude this last Reflection to be Malicious since not only the Day seems to warrant my Opinion but the place also of the Solemnity being that very Castle where that poor King first lost both his Crown and Liberty But in very deed this Round-Table at Kenelworth was g Monastic Ang. p. 223. a. another thing at another time and held by another Roger Lord Mortimer in the days of King Edward the First For thô a h Dugd. Warw. p. 164. b. Great Man calls that Roger Earl of March 't is done only by inadvertency for even this Roger was not yet Earl of March thô he was the * Catal. Hâ—nâ—r p. 574. First of that name ever so called But because the Round-Table is not only here mention'd but must hereafter be much more spoken of I shall here once for all observe i Cambden in Hamshire s 191 Dugd Warw. p. 154. that the Round-Table was devised to avoid Contention about Precedency and Athenaeus observes it to have been Customary among the Ancient Gauls to sit at their Round Tables their Esquires waiting behind with their Targets in their hands But to return to Mortimer this his High Carriage was so greatly stomacked by the King's Uncles and the Earl of Lancaster that they resolv'd to pull down the Pride of this Man or to die in the Undertaking But as yet there could none of them come to the private Speech of the Young King to lay before him the true State of Affairs they were so well watched by Mortimer On the Quindene k Dâ—gd 1 Vâ—l. p. 541. Catal. Hâ—â—â—â— â— p. 574. Thô the year there is said to bâ— 1327. by Mistake of St Michael a Parliament was called at Salisbury whither thô it had been Decreed that no Person whatsoever should presume to come Armed the Lord of Wigmore notwithstanding came with a great Rout of Armed Men at his Heels so that the Earl of Lancaster durst not come but for his own Defence put himself in Arms and then sent to the King his Reasons both of taking Arms and absenting from Parliament And it seems his Design was so apparently for the King's Honour that it was countenanced with the Presence of the King 's two Uncles Thomas Earl of Norfolk and Edmund Earl of Kent Stephen Gravesend Bishop of London and John Stratford Bishop of Winchester who was afterwards Arch-bishop of Canterbury Thomas Lord Wake Governour of Hertford Castle Henry Vicount Beaumont Sr. Thomas Rosselin Sr. Hugh Audley and others several whereof were of the twelve appointed to be the King's Guardians and the rest all Persons of Worth and Nobility The first occasion of this breach besides the Insupportable Pride and Avarice of the Lord Mortimer was this The Lord l M. S Vet. Aug. in Bibl. C. C. C. c. 218. Robert Holland who had in the days of King Edward the Second occasion'd the Death of Thomas Earl of Lancaster however he had thereby incurr'd the indignation of the people upon Queen Isabella's return into England was not only deliver'd from Prison but became very Gracious with the said Queen and was of her Council and of Mortimer's But for all that being about the Sessions of this Parliament taken m Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 73. in a Wood near Henley-Park as he was riding to Queen Isabell then at London by Sr. Thomas Withers the said Sr. Thomas smote off his Head and sent it to his Master Henry Earl of Lancaster then at Waltham-Cross in Essex as an acceptable present This was not so well receiv'd by the said Earl of Lancaster whose Brother had been betray'd by Sr. Robert Holland as it was resented by the Queen Mother who had a great Favour for him and therefore she instantly urged the King her Son to take vengeance of his Murtherers especially of Sr. Thomas Withers But him the Earl of Lancaster had concealed till being therefore threatned by the Queen Mother and also stirr'd up by the Publick Clamours of the People who were extreamly opprest by her and Mortimer whereof the King bare all the blame thô he was but young and of tender
Wherefore the Earl prayed heartily of his Holiness to grant him the favour that the foresaid Thomas Earl of Lancaster might be Translated Now 't is to be remembred that this Thomas who was Eldest Son to Edmund Crouch-back Second Son of King Henry the Third and Younger Brother of King Edward the First had been by King Edward the Second beheaded at Pontefract for Heading the Barons against the King But among the Common People he was look'd on as a Martyr for the Nations Liberties and meriting the name and honour of a Saint However the Pope answer'd Earl Edmund that he the said Thomas of Lancaster should not be Translated untill he should be better certified by the Clergy of England and had seen by their joynt Testimonies what thing God had done for the love of Thomas of Lancaster according to the Suggestion that the foresaid Edmund had made unto him And when Earl Edmund saw that in this request he should not succeed as to the Translation he then desired his Counsel in another matter relating to Edward of Caernarvon his Brother late King of England what he had best to do in order to his Deliverance from Captivity since it was a common Fame thrô England that he was alive whole and sound When the Pope heard him say that King Edward the Second was alive he commanded the Earl upon his Blessing to help with all the Power that he might to deliver him out of Prison and save his Body to the utmost of his Ability in order to which he assoyled him and all his Partakers ab omni poena culpa and promised to bear the charges of the whole Undertaking threatning him also with Excommunication if he did not make use of his best Endeavours to assert his Brothers Right and Liberty Soon after Earl Edmund return'd into England where he set himself about discovering as he thought the Truth more fully and then sent to Corfe Castle that Preaching-Frier of whom we spake One says x Leland Cell 1 Vol. p. 794. that he was also tempted by one of Mortimers Instruments who urging That King Edward the Second was alive and only wanted his Assistance to be deliver'd and restor'd to his former Dignity and the Earl thereupon promising his best Endeavours he was by the same Party accused of High-Treason Walsingham y Walsing hist p. 110. Dugd. Bar. 2 Vol. p. 93. produces an Imperfect confession of the Earl's which he made before Sr. Robert Howel Coroner of the King's Houshold and afterwards on the â—6 of March in the Fourth Year of this King's Reign own'd it for his Confession 1330. REGNI iv before the Lords assembled in Parliament at Winchester whereby we may perceive that he himself sought out to no Body but that others set on no doubt to ruine him came of their own accord to him as well to confirm in him the belief of the Old King 's being Alive as to pretend their Readiness and offering him their Service to deliver him But the whole Cheat will best appear from the Confession it self which amounts to thus much That the Pope had enjoyn'd him on penalty of being Excommunicate to use his utmost Endeavours to work the Delivery of his Brother late King of England promising himself to bear the whole charge of the Undertaking That a certain Predicant Fryer z R. Southwell's Addition to Adam Merimuth M.S. vet Angl. in Bibl. C.C.C. c. 213. named Thomas Dunhead in discourse with him at Kensington near London told him He had conjur'd up a Spirit which assured him that Edward his Brother late King of England was yet living That the Archbishop of York had sent him by his Chaplain Mr. Alleyn a trusty letter wherein he promised towards the delivery of his Brother five hundred Men or more William Iliffe also and William Warham Clerks and Thomas Bromfield Fryer promised him their Assistance in this Business Also that Sr. Ingelram Berenger had brought him word to London from William Lord Zouch that he was ready to lend him his help toward the Restauration of his Brother That Sr. Ingelram came to him again from the Lord John Peche proffering also his Service to the Work and saying that Henry Lord Beaumont and Sr. Thomas Rosselin who were sled the Kingdom for fear of Mortimer had at Paris in the Duke of Brabants Bed-chamber instigated them to this Attempt declaring they were ready to come into England to the furtherance of the same That Sr. Ingelram came unto him yet a third time at Arundel into his Bedchamber over the Chappel and assured him of the Bishop of Londons help That Sr. Robert Taunton brought him word from William Melton Archbishop of York that the said Archbishop had Men ready harness'd to compleat the design and that the said Sr. Robert with two Preaching Fryers Edmund and John Savage had a chief stroak in the Affair And that Sr. Fulk Fitz-Warine coming to him at Westminster told him 't would be the most honourable Action he could ever set about but to appear in the Attempt to which he had promised his best Assistance And lastly that the Letters which he had sent to Sr. Bogo of Bayonne and Sr. John Daverill were sealed with his Seal and that his Wife had wrote another Letter to the same effect and that all this was Truth so that he confesses he has offended and therefore he put himself upon the King's Mercy a M. S. Vet. Ang. in Bibl. C.C.C. c. 220. The truth of it is that by Mortimers cunning being induced to a belief that his Brother the late King was still living and in Corfe Castle he went himself to the said Castle and spake with the Constable thereof Sr. John Daverill and after many rich Presents desired secretly to know of him whether his Brother the late King was yet alive or dead and if he were alive that he might have a sight of him Now this Sr. John Daverill being Mortimers Creature answer'd that indeed his Brother was in health and under his Keeping but that he durst not shew him to any man living since he was forbid in behalf of the King that now was and also of the Queen Mother and of Mortimer to shew his Person to any One whatsoever except only unto them But the false Traitor lied unto him for the Old King was now in his Grave But Earl Edmund was so far deceiv'd by the Constables protestation that he deliver'd him a Letter desiring him to bear it unto his Brother which he promised to do but soon after carried it to Mortimer sealed with the Earls Seal It began thus To the Noble Knight Edward of Caernarvon Edmund of Woodstock worship and reverence with Brotherly Allegiance and Subjection Sr. Knight Worshipfull and Dear Brother if it please you I pray heartily that you be of good comfort for I shall so ordain for you that you shall soon come out of prison and be delivered of that Trouble which you are in And may
the Attaindure which pass'd upon him at the death of his Father and Grandfather For p Cart. 4. Ed. 3. n. 71. himself also and Joan his Wife Daughter of q Mill's Catal. Honer p. 575. Sr. Peter Jenevill in Fee divers ample Liberties and Jurisdictions to be exercised at his Castle of Trim in Ireland besides the Inheritance of all the Territory of Danahmain in Ireland with very large Priveleges thereto annexed Besides all which he procured a r Cart. 4. Ed. 3. n. 67. Grant to Geoffry his Son of the Castle of Donnington in Leicestershire as also the Mannors of Lechelade and Sodington in Glocestershire the Mannor of Wokking in Surry Byeby and Castre in Lincolnshire Ashburn in the Peke in Darbyshire Ryehale in Rutland and Kinely in Wiltshire late the possessions of Edmund Earl of Kent attainted and executed as we have shewn Also the Wapentake of Ryssey in Darbyshire the Wapentakes of Plumtre and Alreton in Norfolk the Mannor of Reseby in Leicestershire and the Mannor of Alreton with certain Lands in Drayton in Norfolk all parcel likewise of the Lands of the said Edmund late Earl of Kent from whose Fall he gather'd this fruit to himself and Family Being therefore so great in Authority and possessions he now drew after him more Attendants than the King himself nay ſ Stow p. 229. n. 20. he was so sottishly blinded with false Ambition that he would expect his Lord and Master to rise-first to him and if offer'd permit it nor would he in the least scruple to walk fast by the King as his Fellow nay sometimes walk on in state before him as his Lord looking back and more than familiarly laughing upon his Soveraign He had beside the fore-mentioned Round-Table at Bedford kept another t Leland Cellect 1 Vol. p. 685. Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 145. M. S. vet Angl. in Bibl. C.CC. c. in Wales in imitation of the Famous King Arthur For which and other too daring Tokens of his proud Spirit he was by his own Son Sr. Geoffry called in derision The King of Folly Which certainly was true since nothing appears more supreamly foolish and ridiculous than Pride and Arrogance Among others of his large Retinue he is said to have no less than u Draytons Bar. Wars l. 6. Stan. 16. M. S. id ibid. 222. ninescore Knights as his Attendants besides Esquires Serjeants at Arms and Footmen a Company well suiting with his ambitious Spirit and seemingly sufficient for his Security if long to remain secure was possible for those who are blinded with Ambition And besides this his unsufferable Insolence whereby he undervalued all the World but himself and esteemed no Lord of the Realm his Peer he was also extreamly given to heaping up Moneys and therefore he still follow'd the Court of Isabell the Queen Mother and had his Provision bought by the Officers of the Queens Houshold in the same manner as the King's Officers purvey'd for him and so he took up all things both as to his Victuals and Carriages after the King's Rates to the great enriching of himself but the no less Grievance and oppression of the People Wherefore all the great Lords of the Land both hated and feared him and the King and his Council took notice of all his Insolencies and ordained among themselves to pull him down at a Convenient Opportunity by the pure force of Law and Reason For it was now apparently manifest that King Edward the King's Father was through him traitrously murd'red in the Castle of Berkley But this their Design was discover'd to Mortimer by the Treachery of some Creatures of his in the Privy Council whereat he stormed and raged exceedingly against those of the Council that had accused him to the King of the Death of his Father and swore that he would be Revenged on them whatsoever befell him And indeed he wanted but little of bringing his purpose about For at this Parliament at Nottingham by his advise the Queen Mother took into her Hands the Keys of the Castle so that none might go in or out after such an Hour but at the Pleasure of him and of the Queen Mother neither any of the King's Council nor the King himself When the Vice-Constable Sr. Edward y Stew ibid. Bohun came at this Parliament to appoint Lodgings in the Castle of Nottingham for the King 's own Cozen Henry Earl of Lancaster a Prince of the Royal Blood he took him up at a high Rate roughly demanding how he durst presume without his Direction to prescribe Lodgings for any of the Nobles whatsoever especially in a place so near the Queen Mothers Person Whereat the Vice-Constable either for the Earl of Lancaster's Security or to raise Envy to Mortimer thereby appointed his Lodgings a Mile out of the Town where also John Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex High-Constable of England and the Vice-Constables Elder Brother with many other Great Men were lodged This very thing undid Mortimer by giving his Enemies Opportunity to confer Notes together and to advise one with another how to undermine him at this Distance which nearer at hand they durst never have undertaken to do for the Multitude of his Spies and Dependants planted about them But now immediately it was discours'd among the Nobles and privately whisper'd among the Common People That Mortimer the Queen Mothers Paramour The Old King's Murderer and the Young King's Governour sought by the Ruine of the Royal Family and by trampling the Nobility under Foot to aspire to the Regal Power It was also the more to enflame Mens minds privily rumour'd that the Queen Mother was impregnate by Mortimer thô never any effect appear'd after to that purpose However this with other Matters was handsomely convey'd to the Young King's Ear by some of his Faithfull Servants who upon his demurr at the Danger encouraged him boldly not any longer to endure such dishonour from a Man that had Murdered his Father Mislead his Mother and cut off his Uncle vowing in Defence and Vindication of his Royal Dignity to stand by him to the last drop of their Blood. The King hereat taking high Indignation and as High Courage at their promised assistance resolves forthwith to level this Bold Encroacher on Soveraignty and bring him to a severe Account for all his former Ill Services William z Dugd. Bat. 1 Vol. p. 641. Lord Montacute or Montagu for 't is the same was the Chief in this Concern and the Man that most Boldly lay'd open the whole matter before the King who immediately thereupon a Dugd. Bar. 1 Vol. p. 146. gave him Command to take to his Assistance some other Trusty and Resolute Persons which he did accordingly And the Names of his Associates as many as I have met with are these Sr. Humphry Bohun next Brother to Earl John the Constable Sr. Edward Bohun the Vice-Constable and Sr. William Bohun afterwards Earl of Northampton a Martial Man of that Age but
subtle and crafty insinuations he made himself Necessary to this Queens Counsels than that his Person could ever render him acceptable to her Bed She her self being accounted one of the most Delicate Ladies of that Age. Whereas He was not only a Married man but a Father of Eleven Children by most of whom he was at his Death a Grandfather Howbeit near this time the King being sensible of her Wickedness to the King his Father p Holinshead Engl. Chrâ—n p. 895. c. confin'd her to perpetual Imprisonment at Riseings near London being in Filial Piety obliged to do no more against the Mother nor no less for the Sake of his Father The Greek Tragedians might have sav'd Orestes from his Mothers Furies had they given him the Discerning Justice of this Young English Prince to Revenge indeed his Fathers Death but not so as by shedding of his own Mothers Blood. Nay herein he not only transcended the Vertue of a Pagan Heroe but shew'd himself both more Pious and more Discreet than that Christian Prince his Predecessor Edward the Confessor who only upon a bare suspicion of Adultery in his Mother Emma caused her to pass q Milton's Hist Engl. l 6. p. 287 Antiqu. Britann p. 98. Blindfold over Nine Burning Plow-shares after the Law of the Ordeal a Fiery Tryal indeed before any Proof made Immediately upon this Confinement of the Old Queens all her Vast and Immoderate Dowry was siesed into the King's Hands but some Plate and Jewels with other Furniture convenient for her Estate were still left unto her and besides the King her Son allow'd her during Life three Thousand Marks or a Thousand Pounds sterling which was afterwards Augmented to four Thousand Pounds per annum for her Maintenance and went himself constantly whilst she lived which was almost Twenty Eight Years after to visit her Once or Twice a Year Nevertheless He often sent her many Goodly Presents and Granted several Advantages as of Fairs and the like and for her Greater Diversion would frequently cause many Rare and Pleasant Shews to be Represented before her both within and without the Castle to which upon Occasion she was permitted to come But certain Limits were appointed and the Keeper of the Castle on Peril of his Head was to secure his Royal Prisoner CHAPTER the FOURTH The CONTENTS I. Henry Earl of Lancaster founds the New Hospital at Leicester The Popes Grant to King Edward with his Opinion about the Souls of the Departed II. The Lord James Douglas of Scotland kill'd in Spain III. Edward Baliol claims the Crown of Scotland against David Bruce with the Event IV. Hector and Buchanan found tardy V. King Edward represses the Licence of certain Outlaws VI. A Parliament at Westminster VII Robert Vere the Good Earl of Oxford dies King John of Bohemia his Victories in Italy I. THUS at last the Nation being by this due course of long-intermitted Justice cleans'd from the sin of shedding so much Royal Blood AN. DOM. 1330 An. Regni IV. began to smile again with new Hopes And now that the Heavy load of Rebellion and Murder was lay'd on the Heads of the Authors of either the whole Kingdom sprang out with new Joy and the Royal Throne became fixed and settled being arm'd with the Sword of just Authority and from this time all publique Transactions succeeded with an uninterrupted serenity For no doubt if we look seriously into the Dispensations of Providence we may safely conclude from a prospect of these Affairs that one Reason why hitherto our Arms were improsperous and so various Misfortunes daily encroached upon the rising Glories of this Young King was that Judgments were still owing to the Land for the late Rebellion and Treason which till now could not be throughly expiated The Good old a Knighton p. 2559. n. 40. Henry Plantagenet Earl of Lancaster High-Steward of England being now almost blind with age but having first seen the Redemption of his King and Country from the slavery go which Mortimer's Insolence and Cruelty had well nigh brought it in pious Gratitude to Divine Providence and in contemplation of his own Deliverance built and founded to the Honour of God the New-Hospital by the Castle of Leicester which he also endow'd with sufficient Maintenance for one Hundred Impotent and Aged People of whose Wants his own Age made him not a little sensible Which pious Work received its Completion from his Son Henry the first Duke of Lancaster This Year Pope b Walsing Hypod p. 112. n. 10 John the XXII to ingratiate himself with our Young King grants him the Tythes of all Spirituals for four Years reserving however one Moiety to himself So wisely liberal was his Holiness both to himself and others of what was not his own This c Victerel p. 871 Pope was of Opinion that the Souls of the Blessed shall not see the Face of God till the Day of Judgment as were also all the Cardinals of his Court except d Victerel p. 879 James Furnere Priest-Cardinal titulo Sanctae Priscae commonly called the White Cardinal who also immediately succeeded this Pope by the name of Benedict the XII Now it e Thorne's Chr. p. 2067. n. 20. ad n. 60. happen'd that Ralph de Berne alias Barnes Abbot of St. Austen's in Canterbury being dead Thomas Poncy D. D. was chosen Abbot whereupon he went to Avignion to be Consecrated of the Pope There being look'd upon as a Man famous for Learning and of deep knowledge in Divinity he was by the Pope enjoyned among many Others to study the Point and to deliver his Thoughts thereupon openly in the Consistory He would fain have excus'd the Matter as fearing thereby to disoblige the Pope and so to retard his own Business by saying That he had not his Books about him and that he came not thither to engage in Disputations but to dispatch his Business and that he could not make any long stay in those Foreign parts without being at vast expences But all this notwithstanding he was not suffered to depart till he should declare his mind as to the Premises the Pope offering him a free use of his Library Hereupon thô for the most part Others approv'd of the Pope's Opinion even against their Consciences least otherwise they should incurr his Displeasure our Doctor Thomas Poncy resolving rather to hazard all things than to contradict the Catholick Faith or his own Conscience held the Affirmative of the Question and stifly maintain'd it by Word of mouth and by Writing Which afterwards turned to his great Honour this same Pope upon his Death recanting his former Opinion as erroneous But for this small Digression we crave pardon II. Thô not much more to our purpose yet not altogether impertinent were those two memorable Battels fought this Year between the Pagans and Christians the One in f Knighton p. 2559. n. 30. c. Armenia upon the Plains of Lyas where Cassanus the King of Tharsis
of Provision This Victory thô not of it self considerable did yet prove a Mighty Refreshment to the dejected Minds of the Scots especially since the Numbers of each Party were so unequal that the English exceeded the Scots almost three times in Number For l Fourden one says that the Earl of Athol had 3000 Men the Bruceans being but 1100 beside those 300 fresh Men who by their sudden Sally quite turn'd the Scale of Victory Thô the most Resolute Men in the World being so surprised from behind in the heat of an Engagement when nothing is certain and as little can be deliberated may well be frighted into a Fatal Confusion Yet m Walsâ—nâ—â— Hyped p. 113. others report the matter something otherwise saying that upon this sudden Sally of the Scots the Earl of Athols Men thrô Treason or Panick fear fled all from him except about 13 who being content to partake of the same Honourable Fortune with their Valiant Leader were all slain with him This Earl David Strabolgi whom Hector and Buchanan erroncously call by the Name of David Cumin was a Baron also of England where he had large Possessions for he died n Dâ—â—â— 2 Vol. p. 96. b. seised of the Mannor of Gainsborough in Com. Linc. Bulindon in Com. Buck. Posewyke West-Lexham Styvely and Holkellam in Norfolk as also of the Castle of Mitford with two parts of the Mannors of Pont-Eland and Calverdon and certain Lands in Mollesdown in Northumberland beside what he held in Scotland leaving behind him David his Son and Heir then three Years of Age and Catherine Beaumont Daughter to the Lord Henry Beaumont his Wife surviving he himself being but eight and twenty Years of Age at his Death This Battle was struck on the last day of December from whence the distressed Bruceans Raised themselves with Hopes that the succeeding Year would prove more favourable to their Cause X. This Year o Wilingh hâ—st p. 118. there was found in the Forest of Wolmer a young Mule with two Heads and two Necks of equal bigness in other parts nothing different from another She was kept alive for some time after in the yard of Sr. Edward St. John Warden of the said Forest It is also p Id. ibid. Odoâ—ic Rainald cenâ—in ad Bâ—enium An. 1335. n. 58. reported that a young Woman named Joane living in the Parish of Kingsley in the Diocess of Winchester and the Decanate of Aulton being on the fourth of June at Night advised by a voice to go and meet her Sweet-heart William in the Forest of Wolmer aforesaid early in the Morning met with an Incubus in his Shape who then and there carnally knew her At her return home she fell into a grievous Malady and then upon Conference with her Sweet-heart William it appeared that she had been seduced to her Confusion by an Evil Spirit Whereupon with great Contrition and Lamentation she bewailed and confessed her sins all the house being filled with an intolerable and noisome Savour In this deplorable Condition she held for three days and then died having her whole Body extreamly swoln and her bosome and privy Parts most dismally Black and Dreadfull and so prodigiously heavy that eight lusty Men could hardly bear the Body to the Grave I know not how far it may please God sometimes for the Punishment of Impure thoughts and Unchast desires as well as for Example to others to permit Satan to Tyrannize by his Illusions Many Grave Authors have not doubted to attest Instances of the like Nature However be this true or not I leave it to the Decision of others and the credit of the Author King Edward this Year q Pat. 9. Ed. 3. par 1. Sandford Genealthist p. 109. Speed p. 539. §. 106. §. 107. confirmed to his Cozen Henry de Torto Collo Earl of Lancaster the County of Provence in France being the Inheritance of Queen Eleanor Wife of King Henry the Third of England and Second Daughter of Raimend Earl of Provence Grandmother to the said Earl Henry which Inheritance the said Queen Eleanor granted to her second Son Edmund sirnamed Crouchback Father to Thomas Earl of Lancaster who dying without Issue this Henry the younger Brother became his Heir I know not how valid this Grant of the Kings might be but sure at this time Provence was in other Hands as we shall shew hereafter This Year the Lord Ebulo le Strange who in Right of his Wise Alice Daughter and Heir of Henry Lascy Earl of Lincoln obtained the Title of Earl of Lincoln r Sâ—ndsâ—â—d p. 109. Dâ—â—d 1 Vol. p. 668. departed this Life in Scotland His Relict the said Lady Alice of whose Lasciviousness I shall say nothing here immediately upon his Death Married a certain Knight called Hugo de Frenes who likewise in her Right was entitled Earl of Lincoln but he also died the next Year in Scotland as we shall see in due place Ebulo's Heir was the Lord Roger le Strange of Knokin Senior his Cosin Besides there died the Thrice-Noble Lord John Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex and High-Constable of England he deceased Å¿ Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 184. at Kirby-Thure in Westmoreland on the Feast of St. Fabian and Sebastian and was buried at Stratford near London but leaving no Issue behind him was succeeded in his Honours and Estate by his next Brother Humphry a Man Famous for Military Affairs as we shall have Occasion to take Notice CHAPTER the NINTH The CONTENTS I. In the Revenge of the Earl of Athols Death the English Lords in Scotland lay Siege to Dunbar but are not able to take it II. King Edward sends word to King Bailiol to keep the field with his English Forces and himself leaving the Parliament sitting follows them in Person with his Exploits there III. King Philip endeavours to divert him from an entire Conquest of Scotland and sends out a Fleet against him with King Edward 's Commission to his Admirals about the Defence of the English Seas IV. King Edward furnishes himself with Money divers ways yet again makes overtures for Peace V. His Considerations about the War with France and the Advice of his Gouncil thereupon VI. He sends an Embassy to the Earl of Heinalt with the Result thereof VII The two Kings put themselves in a Posture VIII Prince John of Eltham King Edward 's Brother dies a Scotch Tale of his Death refuted The Earl of Lincoln dies The Queen deliver'd of a Son. IX A Comet forerunner of the French War with other Prodigies I. UPon the News of the Earl of Athols Death the Lord William Montague AN. DOM. 1336. An. Regni X. and the Lord Henry Beaumont his Father in Law were greatly displeased as were also the two Kings of England and Scotland For he was a Man of Considerable Power Valour and Conduct But especially the Lord a Hector l. 15. fol. 320. n. 50. Holinshead Scotland p. 237 n. 60. Beaumont
the other of Roger Normans do constantly attend the Pleasure of the said Richard in the Port of South-hampton Further that all the Inhabitants should remain still upon the Place to Defend the same on Pain of loosing all they have Sr. Richard was to have all the Ammunition and Warlike Furniture of the same Town to be deliver'd into his Hands by Indenture and was endued with a like Power in all things as the Earl of Warwick had been when he was Governour there The Sheriff of Southampton having a Writ of Attendance on him for Victuals and other Necessaries Mr. Stephen Butterly and Mr. William Weston Serjeants at Arms were to provide sufficient Timber Boards and other Necessaries for the said Town by Indenture Thus much for the Sea and the Sea-coasts Now as for the Defence of the Marches of Scotland and the Places thereabouts which might want Strength or Provision William Snoring and John at Fennes Merchants of Lynn-Regis Robert of Bayon and Henry Smith Merchants of Barton upon Humber do undertake at a certain Price and by a certain Day to deliver Ten Thousand Quarters of all kind of Grain at the Town of Barwick and in the Road of Leigh Every Quarter of Wheat and Malt at 9 shillings of Oats Beans and Pease at 5 shillings To which there was added a Caution that under Colour of this Licence they should not serve the Kings Enemies Sr. Thomas Rokeby who for finding out the Scotch Army in the first Year of this King was by him Knighted as we shew'd in due place being now a Person of great Reputation for Valour Wisdom and Fidelity took upon him to keep the Castles of Edenburgh and Sterling till Midsummer next ensuing And the Division of all the Grain aforesaid and of other Victuals for the said Castles and the Town of Barwick being proportionably made the greatest Share was allotted to the Castles Next in Order to preserve the Isle of Wight this Wise and Great Assembly provided First that the inhabitants of the same during the War should be respited the Payment of any Aid to the King and that None of them should by any Means be dispensed with to travel abroad or to absent themselves out of the said Isle nor should be impannel'd or warned at any Assise or Inquest during the said War. Also that due Provision of Wine Grain Coals and other Necessaries for the Castle of Caresbrook in the said Isle be forthwith made the Kings Butler being appointed to deliver the Wine to Sr. John Langford Constable of the said Castle and William of Rewinock was commanded to provide the rest of the foresaid Necessaries Sr. John Ferrers Captain of Jersey Island was now appointed to send thither a sufficient Deputy to whom like Rules were set and Provision allow'd for Defence of the same Command being also sent to Bayliffs there to seise upon the Goods of one William Payne late Jurate of that Isle who Revolted to the Enemy and to Choose another On the back-side of this Roll are seen the Numbers of such Souldiers as were arrayed and set out by certain Nobles Knights and Gentlemen of the Counties of York Nottingham Derby Lancaster Westmorland and Cumberland by their particular Rates which in the whole amounted to 7400 Men of Arms 200 Archers on Horseback and two Thousand Halberdeers Those of the three first-named Counties were order'd at the Costs of the Country to March to Newcastle upon Tine only and they of Westmorland Cumberland and Lancaster to Carlile only And the Captains and other being together shall lie and forrage upon Scotland and not upon the Marches of England A Clergyman was appointed for the defraying of their Wages having the Lords Percy and Nevile to oversee his Accounts and to speak with the Nobles Knights and Captains to execute these Orders and to bargain with Merchants for Shifts and returns of Money The Lord Richard Talbot who was late Captain of Barwick upon his undertaking the Charge of Southampton was now discharged for a while thereof Sr. Walter Clark being appointed to keep the same till Easter next ensuing Those who had directed unto them the Commissions of Array for Souldiers for the County of York were Thomas Lord Wake William Lord Roos Sr. Thomas Vghtred Sr. William de la Pole and Sr. Michael Wath only afterwards Å¿ Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 541. because the Lord Wake had been appointed Guardian of the Sea-coasts in Lincolnshire and had in that Service many Souldiers under him for whose support he had been at great Expences he was in consideration thereof discharged from finding such Men at Arms Hobelers and others as for his Lands in Yorkshire he had else been lyable to be charged with Those who had Commissions of Array for Nottingham and Derby were the Lord Nicolas Cantelupe Sr. Richard Willoughby and Sr. Thomas Longvillers all Noble Barons of the Realm For the County of Lancaster Sr. Henry Heydock and Sr. Robert Radcliff For Westmorland and Cumberland Anthony Lord Lucy Sr. Pierce Filliol Sr. Hugh Delowthrey and Sr. Robert Perning For Northumberland the Lord Henry Percy and Ralph Lord Nevill of Raby Ranulph Lord Dacres of the North Sr. John Fenwick and Sr. Thomas Helpscots all who were empower'd to Place and Displace Captains upon Reasonable Cause This is the Substance of the Parliament held at this time especially in Matters Relating to Scotland the Discourse whereof we shall refer to another Place and also to France CHAPTER the FOURTEENTH The CONTENTS I. King Edward holds a Parliament of his Allies at Brussels in Brabant Where he takes upon him the Arms and Style of France the Flemings entring an Alliance with him and rendring him their Homage thereupon II. The Queen of England deliver'd of her Fourth Son at Gaunt with the Mannâ—r of King James the Second's Pedigree by the Mothers side down from him III. King Edward Publishes his Letters Patents Monitory to his Subjects of France to own his Authority as of their Rightfull King and to come to his Peace and Protection with a True Copy of the Letters IV. King Edward returns into England with Design to hold a Parliament the time whereof he fixes on the Wednesday after Midlent-Sunday which then fell on the Twenty Ninth of March. V. King Edward informs the Pope of his Reasons for Vsing the Style and Arms of France with the Popes Answer I. THE Sacred Solemnity of our Saviours Nativity being now over King Edward by Advice of the Lords of the Empire his Friends went from a Frois c. 43. Antwerp to Brussels the Chief City of Brabant there to hold a Parliament and to consult with his Friends how to proceed farther in his French Wars These Lords being there met accordingly first perswaded the King to require the Aid and Friendship of the Flemmings in this his Cause and that for his Sake they would defie the French King and March whither he should lead or direct them For all which he should Engage to Recover Lisle Doway
and Bethune which three Towns the French King withheld from Flanders Upon King Edwards Request therefore Jacob van Arteveld came to this Parliament at Brussels with a great Retinue as if he had been Earl of Flanders and at his Motion all the Chief Burgesses of Gaunt and the other Good Towns of that Country by some called the Hanse-Towns of Flanders thô properly speaking they belong rather to the Four Provinces of Lubeck Cologne Brunswick and Dantzick All these were well pleased with the foresaid Promise of King Edward and thereupon desired to take Advice among themselves When having Retired and Debated sufficiently upon the Point they gave the King this Answer the Contrivance and Menagement of all which is Attributed to Jacob van Arteveld Sir You were pleased to require of Us that which of Our selves We would most willingly do if We might do it handsomly and without Loss or Dishonour But alas Sir We are Obliged both by Oath and a Bond of b Ashmole p. 650. Fox p. 340. Sandford p. 160 2000000 of Florens of Gold to be paid into the Popes Chamber never to make War against the King of France whosoever he shall be Which Forfeiture not only keeps Us in Aw but also the Danger of being Interdicted by the Pope if We break Our Oath made to him But Sir If You will but undertake to bear the Arms of France and Quarter them with the Arms of England and Own Your Self publiquely King of France as indeed You are and ought of Right to be Accounted then We will look upon You as the True King of France against whom We are not to make War and thereupon demand of You an Acquittance of Our said Bond which You may Grant Us as King of France By this means We shall be assured of Our Money and acquitted of Our Oath and then We will be ready to serve You in what You shall Command This Fine Trick was thus Invented by that subtle Demagogue Jacob van Arteveld to satisfie the unthinking Commons of the Equity of standing to King Edward against France notwithstanding all their Solemn Engagements to the Contrary However the King demurr'd at this their Answer For thô he knew he might Lawfully claim the Crown of France in Right of his Mother Queen Isabella yet he thought it neither Reasonable nor much for his Honour to take upon him the Arms and Kingly Title of that Realm before he had made Conquest of any Part thereof not being sure that ever he should be able to bring those Matters to effect On the other side he was very loath to refuse the Flemmings this their Desire because they might prove so Instrumental in his Service Whereupon he Advis'd in private with the Dukes of Brabant and Gueldre the Earls of Juliers and Blankburg Mons and Bergen the Lords of Hainault and Valkenburgh the Lord Robert of Artois and his English Peers by whose Advice he return'd this Answer That if they would Swear and Seal to this Covenant and Engage to serve him upon all Occasions in his War he would then readily do all this since in Equity he might and further undertake to restore them those three Cautionary Towns of Lille Doway and Bethune which they had deliver'd as Pledges of their Faith to the French King. To this the Flemmings agree'd and d Joh. Villani l. 11. c. 108. Odoric Rainald ad hunc annum §. 3. Hocsem l. 2. c. 25. so the 23 of January was appointed firmly to Ratifie these mutual Covenants and Conditions at Gaunt on which day the King and most of the forenamed Lords came to Gaunt where he was met by the Chief Burgesses of all the Towns of Flanders and then and there all the foresaid Agreements being ready Engrossed were rehearsed Sworn and Seal'd to and so the King took upon him the Style of France and Quarter'd the Arms of that Kingdom with those of England But thô e Speed p. 572. afterwards perhaps to gratifie the French Nation or because that was the more Ancient and Greater Monarchy he placed the Flowers de Lis in the Dexter and more Honourable Quarter yet it is highly probable that at their First Entermingling it was not so as appears not only by the Figure of this King in Armour trampling on a Boar by a Castle signifying France in a very Old Vellam M. S. now by me where the English Lions are ranged in the First and Last Quarters of his Shield but also from f Speed p. 572. a Seal of Queen Isabella this Kings Mother where the Arms of England as being those of the Husband's Line and therefore to have Precedence are Marshal'd where now the Flower de Luces shine But to put this out of all Doubt We shall further produce the Words of King Philip spoken at this time upon occasion of this Action of King Edwards to certain English Gentlemen sent to him about the present Affairs Our g Stâ—â— p. 236. Cosin says he doth wrongfully Quarter the Arms of England and France which notwithstanding doth not so much displease Us because indeed he is descended thô by the Weaker Sex of Our Kin and therefore as being a Batchelour We could easily be content to allow him part of the Arms of France but whereas in his Seals and Letters Patents he Styles himself King of England and of France in the One and sets the Quarter of his Arms with Leopards before the Quarter Charged with Lillies in the Other this is that which We disdain exceedingly For thereby it should seem he Prefers that Inconsiderable Isle of England before the Mighty Kingdom of France To this Complaint Sr. John Shoreditch the King of Englands Agent made Answer that it was the Custom of England to set the Title and Arms of their Progenitors before the Arms and Title of a Right derived from the Mother And thus said he doth my Lord the King of England Prefer his Paternal Coat both out of Duty and Reason But as it appears soon after they were alter'd even as now they stand at this Day only h Sandford p. 157. an Not. vid. eund ibid. in Notis p. 270. that when Charles the Sixth of France with Design to shew a Difference changed the Semee Flours de Lize into Three Our King Henry the V. also did the like and so it hath continued ever since Either at this time or soon after the King set at the Foot of his Shield beneath the Arms of France and England thus quarter'd this French Motto DIEV ET MON DROIT in English GOD AND MY RIGHT declaring thereby his Confidence to be only in God and the Equity of his Cause Which Motto with the Title of France hath been continued by the Kings of England his Successors even unto this day That King Edward might justifie his Title to the Kingdom of France whose Arms he thus undertook to Bear he sent his Ambassadors to the Pope with these Instructions following i Odâ—râ—â—uâ— Raynald ad hunc
de Flisco and Andrew his Son with the Gentleman their Servant were brought back and restored to the Pope whereupon he return'd his Thanks to the King of France and took off the Interdict but as the Author of his Life says hang'd all those of his own Family who had a hand in the matter before the Doors of the House which they had broke open But as for his own Master of the Horse who was consenting to the Deed when being in Prison for anguish and shame he had slain himself after it was found willfull Murder he gave Order that his Body should be expos'd on a Gibbet to be devour'd by the Birds of the Air. II. But to return to the King of England who had lately taken upon him the Arms and Title of King of France as we shew'd He the mean while presently found the expected Effects of this Contrivance of Jacob van Arteveld's for now immediately upon the same all the People of Flanders n Knighton p. 2576. and Stâ—w p. 236. yielded unto him as True and Rightfull King of France and consequently their Superior Lord their Homage and Fealty and submitted themselves and their Country to his Government and were long after in all matters obedient unto him as to the King of France both by Right and Conquest After things thus done it was determin'd in this Parliament that o Frois c. 43. the next Summer the War should be hotly pursued in France being to be begun with the Siege of Tournay Which was the thing chiefly desired by the Flemings For they made sure to be able to get it and then they hoped easily to recover Lille Douay and Bethune with the Appurtenances With this Resolution the Council brake up and the King within a few days returned to Antwerp But the Queen who was then big with Child remain'd still at Gaunt where she was very honourably entertain'd and visited especially by Jacob van Arteveld Walsingh hist p. 133. and Stow p. 236. and the chief Lords and Ladies of Flanders And within a while after was happily deliver'd of a Lovely and Lively Boy her Fourth Son who was named John and sirnamed of Gaunt from the place of his Birth This John of Gaunt in time became a Noble and Mighty Prince himself being both Duke of Lancaster and King of Castille and Leon his Son Henry of Bolingbrook was afterwards King of England by the name of Henry the Fourth who was Father to the Conquerour Henry the Fifth but that Kingly Dignity was extinguish'd in his Son Henry the Sixth However from John of Gaunts Loins q Sandford Geneal Hist p. 248 by the Mothers Side was descended Henry the Seventh who was the Son and Heir of r Mill's Catal. Nobility p. 613. Edmund of Hadham Earl of Richmond by his Lady Margaret the only Daughter and Heir of John Beaufort Duke of Somerset Nephew of John of Gaunt by his Son John Beaufort And he marrying the Lady Elizabeth Daughter of King Edward the Fourth who had the Blood and Right both of Prince Lionell and Edmund of Langele Third and Fifth Sons of King Edward the Third got of her the Lady Margaret his Eldest Daughter from whom the Kings of Scotland is descended our most Gracious Soveraign James the Second King of England Scotland France and Ireland whom God grant long and happily to reign III. But it must not be omitted that before King Edward left Gaunt Å¿ Rot. Franc. 14 Ed. 3. m. 1. and Ashmole p. 651. he sent his Letters Patents to the Prelates Peers and Commons of France thereby signifying that Charles late King of France his Mothers Brother being Dead the said Kingdom was devolved to him by manifest Law. And that Philip of Valois Son to the Uncle of the said King had by Violence and Injustice intruded into it during his Minority and even yet wrongfully detain'd it Lest therefore he should seem to neglect his own Right He now thought good to own the Title of France and take upon him the Defence and Government thereof and having offer'd the said Philip divers Friendly Conditions of Peace to which he refufed all Condescention he was therefore necessitated to defend himself and recover his Right by Force of Arms And therefore all such Subjects as would submit to him as True King of France by Easter then next ensuing should be received into his Royal Grace and Protection AN. DOM. 1340. An. Regni Angliae XIV Franciae I. But here the Stile of France is set first and the Title of Duke of Aquitain omitted it being immerged in the more General Title of King of France This is the Summ of his Letters which he caused to be sent t Speed p. 572. a. to the Frontiers of the French Dominions and to be fixed upon the Doors of Churches and in other Publique Places But to satisfie the Curious I shall adjoin a full Copy of the Letter it self the Tenour whereof was this EDWARD by the Grace of God King of France and of England Lord of Ireland unto all Prelates and Ecclesiastical Persons and to the Peers Dukes Earls Barons and to the Commons of France Greeting u u Fox Acts and Monum p. 346. The High Lord and King above althô his Will be in his own Power yet is pleased to make that Power Subject unto Law commanding every thing to be given unto Him which is His thereby declaring that Justice and Judgement ought to be the Preparation of a Kings Throne Wherefore seeing the Kingdom of France thrô the Providence of God is by the Death of Charles last King of France of Famous Memory Brother German to Our Lady Mother devolved and fallen unto Us by plain and manifest Law forasmuch as the Lord Philip of Valois Son of the Uncle of the foresaid King and so remov'd from that Crown by a farther Degree of Consanguinity thrô Force and Usurpation hath intruded himself into the foresaid Kingdom while We were yet in Our Minority and so contrary both to God and Justice doth still detain and occupy the same Now least We should seem to neglect Our own Right and the Gift which God hath given Us or not to submit Our Will to Gods Ordinance We have thought Good to acknowledge the Title of France and by support of the Almighty King have taken upon Us the Defence and Government of the said Kingdom firmly purposing within Our Selves as every Good Man ought to do Graciously to Administer Justice to every One according to the Rights and Laudable Customs of the foresaid Kingdom Also to Renew the Good Laws and Customs which have been in the time of Lewis Our Progenitor moreover adding thereto what shall seem Expedient according to the Condition and Quality of the time But as for any Change of Coin or any Inordinate Exactions We intend not to seek Our Profit by Your Detriment Because the Almighty be Praised We have enough and abound And as concerning the Affairs of the
Realm Our Purpose is not to proceed rashly or by Our own Will but by the Discreet Advice and Counsel of the Peers Prelates Nobles and other Our Faithfull Subjects of the kingdom so far forth as shall make for the Honour of God the Defence and Advancement of the Church which in all fullness of Devotion We Reverence and to the Advantage both Publique and Private of all the Subjects thereof with full Execution of Justice by the Grace of God to be Administred unto all and Singular Persons We being earnestly carefull for the Honour Profit and Tranquility of You all For as the Lord knoweth nothing will be more acceptable to Us than that by Our carefull Solicitude Peace may be engendred in General among all Christians but especially betwixt Us so that by Our Concord the force and Strength of all Christian Princes may be united together for the Recovery of the Holy Land which Our Saviour and Redeemer hath dedicated with his own Precious Blood whereunto We will endeavour Our Selves thrô the Grace of the Holy Ghost And forasmuch as We have offer'd to the foresaid Lord Philip divers Friendly and Reasonable Conditions of Peace whereunto he would neither condescend nor agree to any Conformity nay rather he moveth against Us unjust War to the Utter Subversion of Our State We are of Necessity compelled to the uttermost of Our Power for Our own Security and the Recovery of Our Right to Defend Our Selves by force of Arms Not seeking any slaughter of Good and Humble Subjects but desiring their safeguard and Profit For the which Cause all and singular such Our Subjects of the Kingdom of France as shall submit themselves unto Us as unto the True King of France between this and the Feast of Easter next ensuing professing unto Us their Fealty and doing unto Us as unto the King of France of Duty it appertaineth so as Our beloved Subjects of Flanders have done already or shall be ready to offer themselves so to do All such We willingly Admit and Receive to Our Peace and Grace under Our Protection to be defended them to maintain as is convenient from all molestation and trouble whatsoever in Person or Goods hereafter to be inflicted by Us or by Our Officers upon whatsoever occasion of Rebellion afore-passed And forasmuch as the Premises cannot easily be intimated to all and singular Persons We have provided the same to be fixed upon Church Doors and in other publick Places whereby the Manifest Notice thereof may come to all Men to the Comfort of You that are to Us Loyal and to the Information of those who thrô the Sinister dealing of Our Enemies are otherwise informed of Us. Given at Gaunt the 8 day of February in the Year of Our Reign over France the First and over England the Fourteenth IV. Presently after King Edward had thus assumed the Arms and Style of France and had caused his Great Seal to be Changed leaving the Earl of Salisbury and the Lord Robert Hufford le Fitz Eldest Son to the Earl of Suffolk in Flanders with his Queen and Children he took the Sea for England and Landed safe at x Claus 14. Ed. 3. p. 1. m. 42. derso Orwell in Suffolk on the 21 of February at Nine of the Clock in the Morning on which very day that his New Seal might be made more Publique he caused y 21 Febr. ibid. m. 33. in derso Impressions thereof and of his Privy Seal which was also alter'd to be made and sent to all the Sheriffs in England to be Published in the several Counties in regard he intended at the meeting of the Parliament on the z 29 Martii Wednesday next after Midlent-Sunday to acquaint them with the Cause wherefore he had added to his Style the Title of King of France And on the First of March following he deliver'd his New Broad Seal to Sr. John de St. Paul in the Cage-Chamber at Westminster the Old Great Seal being then deliver'd up to him by the said Sr. John which he gave to William de Kildesby to be laid up in his Wardrobe But it is to be a Vid. hujus sigilli Imaginem Sandford p. 124 remembred that upon this Change there were two Seals made alike in all things but only One was circumscribed Edvardus Dei Gratia Rex Angliae Franciae Dominus Hiberniae And the other was Edvardus Dei Gratiâ Rex Franciae Angliae Dominus Hiberniae the Style being varied in Respect of the Place as Our King is now in Scotland called Rex Scotiae Angliae but in England Anglia is put first But of King Edward and his Affairs in Parliament We shall not yet speak till We have given some account of other Matters of no small Consequence in other parts which fell after the two Armies had broke up at Vironfoss without engaging V. Only here We shall remember that the King of England upon this variation of his Seal to set forth the Equity of his Cause sent his Letters to the Pope wherein using the Style of King of France and the Lillies quarter'd he largely sets forth how the Realm of France was devolved unto him by Hereditary Right and that Philip of Valois had by Violence and Injustice usurped it M.S. Dr. Stillingfleet p. 1. apud Odoric Rainald ad An. 1340. § 4. ex Tom. 6. Epist Secret. 255. in Vatican to whom the Pope sent an Answer the Tenour whereof followeth Benedict the Bishop Servant of the Servants of God to his most Dear Son in Christ Edward the Illustrious King of England Greeting and Apostolical Benediction When lately the Letters of Your Royal Excellency were presented to Our Apostleship and the Contents thereof more fully understood as soon as ever a New Title therein described and the Impression of a Seal engraven with the Arms of France and England did at first view appear they Administred unto Us great Matter of Astonishment and Admiration For by how much We Embrace You with the Preheminence of a more Ample Charity by so much the more grievously are We afflicted inwardly while We perceive You to be led by Perverse and Deceitfull Counsels and to be induced to such things as are neither Expedient nor Decent Nor doth our inward Affection permit Us to be silent or dissemble but that We should set before the Eyes of Your Mind these things that You may be able more Discreetly and Profitably to take Care to Your self as to the Premises For it is affirmed for certain and undoubted that whereas the Custom hitherto kept inviolably doth not admit the Succession to the Realm of France by the Female Line the Succession is said not to be due unto You who as You know are descended of the Stock of the House of France by the Female Line And if no such Custom did forbid the c c Successâ—ne M. S. Successionem Odoric Successive Proceeding of the Female Line to the Crown of the
displeas'd that he seised his Temporalities for a while And We find him the Year following a Ano. 1334. obliged to make use of all his Cunning and Sophistry b Vid. Apologiam Adae Orleton c. apud Hister Angl. Scriptâ—r Antig. p. 2763. Edit London Ano. 1652. to Answer an Appellation that then came out against him thô not in the King's Name and proved him Guilty of Felony c. Consisting of these Articles 1. That he Commanded and caused most Sacrilegiously Violent Hands to be laid on the King's Chancellour Robert Baldock Bishop of Norwich c. Item that in the City of Oxford in the Moneth of November he falsly and maliciously Preached and Taught and more than once Asserted that the Lord Edward of Famous Memory was a Tyrant c. Item that by his false and subtil Insinuations and Assertions he struck such a fear into the Lady the Queen Mother then at Wallingford that she durst not go to her Husband the foresaid King by occasion whereof the use of Matrimony both as to the Procreation of Children and as to the Faith and Sacrament thereof was render'd ineffectual All which with more he Answer'd for that time very plausibly suppressing the most Dangerous Articles and eluding and evading the Rest and at last concludes his appellant guilty of Perjury in offering to swear to the Truth of what he falsly laid to his Charge By these Means and by the Aid of the Clergy who c Holinshead Engl. Chron. p. 874. ad â—n 1324. once before took him with their Pastoral Crosiers in their Hands from the King's Tribunal when he was to be try'd for Treason he escaped Punishment in this World except that for d Walsing hist p. 155. n. 50. Godw. Gatal Bps p. 233. many Years before his Death he was stricken stark blind thô We can hardly think that without an unfeigned and thorough Repentance of which this his Apology gives Us little hope he could avoid those Torments which are prepared in the other World for Murderers and Traytors Nay e Sr. Winston Churchill's Drvi Britan. p. 239. some say that Horrour of Mind at his Death gave him as great Torture as if the burning-Iron which sear'd his Conscience had been thrust into his Bowels Which expression is no doubt allusive to the manner whereby King Edward the Seconds Death was effected thrô his Means and Contrivance However here now we fix him as an Example to deter Men of such Principles from the Consideration of the Evil Memory they are like to leave behind them He was succeeded by Dr. William Edingdon who was very Dear to King Edward and the Knights of the Garter being created in his time became the first Prelate of that most Noble Order The End of the First Book THE HISTORY OF King Edward IIId. AN. DOM. 1346. An. Regni Angliae XX. Franciae vii BOOK THE SECOND CHAPTER the FIRST The CONTENTS I. King Philip sends his Son John Duke of Normandy with a mighty Army against the Earl of Darby now since his Father's Death called Earl of Lancaster II. Duke John having retaken Miramont and Ville-Franche in Agenois goes and sits down before Angoulesme III. The Earl of Lancaster hearing the Enemy had left Ville-Franche void sends thither a new Garrison as also a Reinforcement to the strong Castle of Aiguillon IV. The Seneschal of Beaucaire with a Detachment from the French Host wins Ancenis and returns with a great Booty to the Camp. V. Sr. John Norwich the English Captain of Angoulesme by a neat Device escapes away thrô the French Army in the Day-time with Bag and Baggage and goes to Aiguillon After whose Departure the Duke takes the City to Mercy as also the Fortress of Damasan by Force and Tonneins by Composition VI. The Duke of Normandy takes Port St. Mary by Force and goes before the strong Castle of Aiguillon VII The Particulars of the Famous Siege of Aiguillon counted the most Notable of that Age. VIII The French Kings Seneschal of Guienne beaten and taken Prisoner by a Detachment from the Earl of Lancaster Which Earl hovering near the Duke cuts him short I. ALL this while we may wonder that between two such Potent Monarchs as Philip of France and Edward of England althô no less than a Kingdom was the Prize there seem'd rather a certain-Tendency and Disposition to War than any deadly and irreconcileable Rupture But this we should attribute to the Goodness of God who is always slow when he intends to strike home and partly also as well to the pious Assistance of the Pope King Robert of Sicily the Lady Jane of Valois and other Peace makers as in a manner to the Humanity of these Princes themselves and also to the weight of the Affair which required much Advice and vast Preparations But now at last all things being sufficiently ripened we shall presently see the Bloody Flag of War hung out in good earnest and the two Kings hastily opening the Way to their own several Destinies King a Frois c. 118. Philip of France was quickly alarum'd at those notable Conquests which the Earl of Darby whom henceforward we shall call the Earl of Lancaster had made in Gascogne the preceding Year and resolv'd with all Expedition to provide a wholsom Remedy against so devouring a Gangrene While therefore himself was busie in raising a Mighty Power for the Defence of his Kingdom he dispatched away his Eldest Son John Duke of Normandy with considerable Forces to stop the English Earls Career But when he began to approach he heard such Reports of the strength of the English the Terror of their Conquests belike encreasing their Numbers that for that time b Gaguin l. p. 140. Fabian p. 220. itâ Villani l. 12. c. 46. p. 856. Messer Giovanni di Francia no venne al sâ—ccerso ne tenne campo ma si ternò addietro he return'd back to his Father again without once looking the Fail of Lancaster in the Face And this was towards the Declining of the preceding Year King Philip was extreamly incensed at this Action of his Sons Wherefore to avoid his Fathers Displeasure he immediatly resolves to address himself with all his vigour to the War and rather to venture any thing than to hazard the loss of his Fathers Love and his own Reputation King c Frois c. 118. Philip also desiring to Reinforce him in the best manner sent forth his General Summons That all Nobles and Others on that side the Loire of such and such Qualifications and able for the War should laying aside all Excuse repair to Orleans and Bourges and the Parts thereabout by such a Day Whereupon there came to the King being at Paris Eudes Duke of Burgundy and his only Son Philip Earl of Artois and Boulogne with a 1000 Lances There came also the Duke of Bourbon and his Brother the Earl of Ponthieu Ralph Earl of Eu and Guisnes and Constable of France the
out 60 of their best Horses rode about the Town by the directions of the Spie conceal'd in by-ways till at last he came into the Fair Meadows where the Cattle were Immediatly they began to drive all the Herd before them by another way than that they came which yet carried them directly to the Valley where their Companions were ready for the first Opportunity The English who kept Watch on the Walls and in the Castle saw all this and presently gave the Alarm Whereupon the Garrison began to rise and arm and some were fain to be awaked out of their Beds for it was early in the Morning and then they drew together and took Horse Sallying out after their Enemies who were not yet got very far because of the Cattle's slow Pace but yet by that they were overtaken they were almost at the Valley The English were so eager to recover their Prey that they all followed in the Chace leaving none but a few Servants and common Souldiers in the Town When they were near they spurred on upon the French crying out Sirs you must not think to steal Cattle and be free Then the French faced about upon them and the Ambush came on with great Shouts and in terrible Array So that the English were presently surrounded overcome and slain every Man except the Captain Sr. Stephen Lacy and three or four more of his Officers This done the Frenchmen hasted to the Town which they easily won by Assault for there were too few Hands to defend it First the Duke of Bourbon's Men entred and having slain all they found and set new Captains of their own there with a sufficient Garrison they went back with their Prey and Prisoners and return'd the next day to the Army before Angoulesme Here they were all gladly received and though there had been greater Lords in that Exploit than the Seneschal of Beancaire yet he got the highest Praise because all was done at his Motion and under his Conduct V. Thus the greater part of January they h Frois c. 119. fol. â—â— held Siege before Angoulesme and overran all those parts thrô Santogne and Poictou and to the Confines of Bretagne with their several Detachments and brought daily to the Army many Prisoners and much Prey But in all these Adventures the two Brethren of Bourbon to their great Honour would ever be present among the Foremost When Sr. John Norwich saw how the Duke was resolv'd not to stir till he had the Town at his Pleasure and that already his Victuals began to fail and that the Earl of Lancaster was not able to give the Enemy Battle or to raise the Siege but chiefly because he knew the Men of the Town were more enclin'd to France than England so that he was sure they would have open'd their Gates to the Duke before now if he had not Commanded the Castle Upon these and the like Considerations he thought it high time to contrive how to bring himself and his Men off with most Honour and least Disadvantage Hereupon as he was a Man of a good reach without letting any One know what he intended on the first of February being the Eve of the Purification of the Virgin Mary he went all alone upon the Walls of the City where he made a sign with his Hat towards the Army Some of those who saw him wave his Hat came to him demanding what he meant thereby He said he had a great mind to speak with the Duke of Normandy or at least with one of his Marshals The Duke being acquainted with this News went straight to the Walls with certain of the Chief Lords in his Company When the English Captain saw the Duke near he pull'd off his Hat and saluted him to whom the Duke having return'd the like said Sr. John and how is it with you now Will you at last deliver up this City to Me or no Sir reply'd he as yet I have not fully resolv'd upon that point But my Lord Duke for the present I would desire of You that for the Honour of the Virgin Mary whose Day is now approaching You would grant us a short Truce only to endure for to Morrow so that for that time neither You any way to molest Us nor we You but both sides to remain in full and perfect Peace and Amity all that Day Said the Duke Sr. John as to that I am well content and upon my Word You may rest assured and having said so he rode back to his Tent and the Captain went into the Town Now early the next Morning which was i 2 Febr. Candlemas Day the Lord John Norwich Arm'd himself and all his Men and having trussed up their Bag and Baggage and being every Man furnished with a good Horse from the Town the Chief Gate being set open they began in peaceable Manner to take their March thrô the French Host At first sight of them the Frenchmen ran to their Arms but the English Captain rode up before his Men and spake to them saying Sirs beware that You offer no Violence to Us as neither shall We to You for We have a Truce granted Us for this Day by your General the Duke himself If You know it not go and enquire of him For by Vertue of this Truce We may ride whither We please Upon this the Duke being consulted answer'd Let them go whither they will for thô they have overreach'd me I will by no means break my Promise This was that Noble Dukes Character to be always firm to his Word whatever Loss he might incurr thereby and this Temper he kept to his dying Day so that being King he is said to be the k Mezeray p. 67. ad an 1364. Author of this Golden Sentence That if Faith and Truth were Banished from all Mankind yet they ought to be found in the Mouth of Kings and Princes And 't was the knowledge of this Veracity of the Duke's that made the English Captain venture upon this Device without any further security Wherefore now with all his Men and his Goods he passed freely thrô the heart of the French Army without any Damage or Impeachment and went straight to the strong Castle of Aiguillon where the English Lords received him gladly and having heard the Manner of his Escape said he had handsomly and honestly outwitted his Enemies The next Day the Citizens of Angoulesme took Counsel and resolved to yield up the Town to the Duke of Normandy wherefore immediately they dispatch'd unto him certain Deputies who at last by their submission prevail'd so far that the Duke took them to Mercy and pardon'd them all their Miscarriages and so entred and took Possession of the Town and Castle in his Fathers Name and having left Sr. Anthony Villiers Captain of the Place with a sufficient Garrison he departed thence and went backward and laid Siege to the Castle of Damasan which after having endured his Assaults for 15 Days together was at last
Rions their Mayor and the greater part of the Aldermen sent to the Earl of Lancaster for a Safe-Conduct whereby six of them might have security to wait upon him and Treat with him that Night or early the next Morning This latter was granted and so next Day six Burgesses were brought to the Earls Tent where presently they concluded to become good Subjects of England as long as King Edward or some of his Captains would protect them and their Town against the French King. So the Earl tarried there three Days to refresh himself and to take the Homage of all the Inhabitants After which he proceeded to Lusignan where as some say he only burnt the Town but could not win the Castle Thô on better Authority h Giov. Villani l. 12. c. 76. p. 887. it seems that both the Town and Castle of Lusignan were now taken and Garrison'd by the English as will further appear in the close of this Paragraph Thence the Earl rode to the strong Town of Niort whereof the Lord Guischard Dangle was Captain who maintain'd his Honour and the Place so well that after three Vigorous Attacks spent in vain the Earl was content to leave it and go on the Right Hand to Bourg St. Maixent where he found better Success and entring the Place by Storm put all to the Sword. The whole i Frois 136. c. Country was so terrify'd with his Name that every Man fled before him into strong Holds and Towns Defensible forsaking their own Houses and their Goods Nor was there the least Preparation made by any to stop his Career for all Knights Gentlemen and other Captains kept close in their Fortresses without making any show of presenting Battle to the English Then the Earl went forward to Monstrevill-Bonnin wherein he heard there were no less than 200 Coyners making Money for the French King. The Inhabitants were resolved by no means to yield but to Defend the Place to the extreamity Thô therein they shew'd much more Courage than Discretion if We ought not rather to call that Brutish Valour than Courage which is not guided by Discretion For the Earl with his Men of War gave them so fierce an Assault whereto he encouraged his Men by promising that every One should freely and entirely Possess what he could first light on in the City that all Opposition being soon surmounted the Place was enter'd by Storm and all within put to the Sword. And here I shall make bold to supply Froisard with a Story the truth whereof is notably attested by many thô by none yet refer'd to this Place as every Judicious Reader will easily grant it ought to be when he shall consider our Reasons XII The Relation is this that at the Assaulting of a certain Town in France the Earl of Lancaster to encourage his Men the better proposed to them as a Reward the Spoil of whatever House or Person every one should first have in his Power Now it chanced that the French Kings Mint being there one man among the rest who was but a Common Souldier and named Reth had the good hap to light upon that House wherein it was And finding there several Sacks of Coined Money besides Bullion he was almost carried beyond himself for joy and wonder But at last considering that such vast Riches were too disproportionable to his Condition and only proper for the Coffers of Kings he secur'd the entrance of the House and went and told the Earl of Lancaster desiring him to take Care and Possession thereof The Earl bad him keep what Fortune had put into his Hands for it was and should be his own But the honest Fellow finding upon a more particular search that the Immensity of the Treasure exceeded all imagination went again to the Earl protesting it was too much for any Private man to possess and that he neither would nor durst accept of it The Earl replied Fear nothing honest Archer but be content with what God hath given thee For the Treasure thou hast found cannot possibly be so much as to make me break my Word to my Souldiers Since a Prince ought not to do so for all the Treasures in the World. And hereupon some of his Captains dissallowing of that his too profuse Liberality and saying that he might without any imputation of Injustice have abundantly contented that poor Fellow with a good Part and reserved the greater Quantity for his own and his Country's Use he nobly answer'd in these k Câ—nbdâ—as â—emains in tâ—tulo Wise Speeches p. 239. Words It is not for my State to play Childrens Play to give a thing and take it back again Since he has my Word let him hold the Money if it were thrice as much This is the Substance of the Story which after so great a Man as Cambden I have not doubted to relate notwithstanding the Diversity of Authors as to the Place and Time when and where the Action was done For l Knighton p. 2585. thô Knighton says the Earl of Darby found a Pipe of Gold at Bergerac yet since we shewed before how that Place was not taken by Force but yielded upon Composition it certainly ought not to be given to the Plunder And m Frois c. 136. Froisard and n Du Câ—â—sne p. 665. Helmâ—â—cad p. 93â— Du Chesne say expresly that in Monstrevil Bonnin there were 200 Money-makers that coyned for the French King not to say that this Place being confessedly taken by Storm and the Inhabitants consequently put to the Sword all this Money must of necessity have been found Thô Froisard might not have heard of this heroick and magnificent Act of the Earl of Lancaster's thereupon XIII The Earl having repaired the Fortifications of the Castle and left a Ganison for its Defence went homeward now again but in his way presented himself before the City of Poictiers This Place was of so large Extent that his small Army was not sufficient to invest it round wherefore he laid his Siege to it but on one side and began to assault them fiercely But the Inhabitants being very numerous thô for the most part mean People and without any sufficient Number of expert Captains or choice Souldiers did yet defend themselves so well that they took but little Dammage at that time and so the English retired to their Lodgings Whereat as o Knighton p. 2592. one says the Townsmen were so puffed up with fond Conceit that the next morning they adventur'd to Sally forth with no less than a 1000 Men of Arms such as they were and a mighty number of Footmen Who scorning the small Forces of the English defied them to a Fattle But the Earl of Lancaster marched forth against them in good Order and came upon them with so much Fury beating down their Ranks with his Chosen men of Arms and terrifying them with his Archers that they presently turned their Backs with as much Dishonour as they had sallied out with
Vain-glory For they had no manner of Conduct nor Skill in matters of War any further than their ordinary Trainings of the Militia in Peace might have instructed them with The English enter'd the Town with them Pell-mell where seising immediatly upon the Gates they held them open till the Earl of Lancaster and all his Men were enter'd And this is the manner as an ancient Author witnesses of Taking Poictiers tho p Frois c. 136. c. Froisard gives a different Account thereof which is this That the English having after the first Assault rested that Night in their Camp the next Morning certain Knights and Gentlemen of the Army by the Earls Order took their Horses and coasted about the Town to view it if peradventure any where they might find it more Assaultable These upon their return reported to the Earl that they had found a Place of more easie Access than ordinary by which they doubted not to carry the City Hereupon the Earl determin'd to renew the Assault the next Day in three several Places the greatest Noise and Show to appear elsewhere but the whole stress of the Business to lie there where it was most likely to succeed Now as Froisard also witnesses there was not in the Town any Captain of Name or Experience in matters of War nor were the Inhabitants of any great Skill or Conduct in making good a Defence whatever Courage they had in holding out thus long Wherefore the Assault being on the third Day renewed according to the former Device the English who attacked the weakest part enter'd by Force and so presently became Masters of the City When they within saw this they fled away in heaps at other Gates and escaped away because the Place as not surrounded but yet there were slain more than 700 of them for at the beginning all were put to the Sword who were found both Men Women and Children And the whole City was overrun and robbed as well of what the Inhabitants had owned as of what was brought thither from Parts adjoining for better Security Several Churches and Houses of Religion were robbed and defaced and many Rapes and other Licentious deeds committed and more had been but that the Pious Earl of Lancaster commanded the contrary on Pain of Death proclaiming that no House much less Church should be fired forasmuch as he said he designed to tarry there ten or twelve Days So that the Rage of the Souldiers being thus repressed far less Harm was done than would else have happen'd but however as it falls out in such Cases there was Plundering and Mischief enough Here the Earl tarried 12 Days and might have done longer if he had so pleased for there was none to resist him all the Country was in such a Consternation During his Stay here because the Place was of too large extent to be Garrison'd without great Numbers which he could not spare at that time he resolved to leave it void and so it was Dismantled given up to Plunder and laid wholly desolate except that they forbore to fire it the Souldiers finding so much Spoil they hardly knew what to do with it insomuch that they valued nothing but Gold Silver and Feathers for Men of War. From hence the Earl returned by easie Marches to St. jean D'Angely where he tarried a while treating and caressing the Ladies and Gentlewomen of the Town with Banquets and Collations besides Gifts of Jewels and other rich Presents and he behaved himself so gallantly amid these Sports and Revels that the People said He was the Noblest Prince that ever rode on Horseback After some short Continuance here during which time he took a new Oath in the King his Masters Name of the Mayor and Burgesses of the Town to keep and defend it as the Indubitate Right and Inheritance of the King of England he took his leave and return'd by such Fortresses as he had won before to the City of Bourdeaux where having largely satisfied his Men of War with Spoil Thanks Pay and Commendation he disposed them into their several Quarters the Winter being far entred at that time XIV When the Earl of Lancaster had thus respited the Country the Inhabitants of Poictiers who had escaped repaired again thither and fell with all their might to fortifie the Place And soon after being joyned with great Numbers of their Neighbouring Friends and headed with sufficient Captains they sent forth a strong Detachment of Men of Arms and others designing to surprise Lusignan the Garrison whereof hugely annoyed them But in this their Attempt thô q Giev Villani l. 12. c. 76. p. 887. treble the Number of the English they were with great Loss discomfited and their Captain the Earl of Monferrand with many others slain Which was look'd upon as another wonderfull Instance of King Edwards invincible Fortune CHAPTER the FIFTH The CONTENTS I. King Philip by his Ambassadors prevails with the King of Scotland to break the Truce with King Edward and to invade England II. King David resolves on a War with England The Number of the Scotch Army they begin to March. III. King David's Cruelty to an English Knight in cold Blood He encamps near the City of Durham IV. Queen Philippa makes her Musters at York in order to resist the Scots She sends an Expostulation to King David who prepares for fight The Order of the Scotch Army V. The Order and Number of the English with the Names of their Chief Leaders VI. Queen Philippa encourages her Men who beat Earl Douglas and Sr. David Graham before the Battle VII The Lord Robert Stuart Prince of Scotland begins the Fight but is forced to Retreat VIII King David is taken Prisoner by John Copland an Esquire of Northumberland IX The third and last Battalia of the Scots discomfited X. The Time and Place of this Battle certainly assignned A gross Mistake of Hector Boethius the Scotch Historian XI The Duration or Time how long it lasted with an Account of the Loss on both Sides And the Names of the Scotch Nobility slain and taken XII John Copland bears away the King of Scotland to his Castle where he resolves to keep him The Queen sends to him for the King his Prisoner and She returning to York King Bailiol and the English Lords invade Scotland XIII John Copland upon refusal to deliver his Prisoner to the Queen is sent for by King Edward who upon full knowledge of his Reasons holds him excused and rewards him Royally XIV King David brought to London and put in the Tower The Earls of Menteith and Fife executed XV. The Earl of Lancaster returns into England and the Queen goes over to Calais XVI The Pope seeks to make Peace between England and France but in vain I. NOR were these all the Triumphs of this glorious Year King Edward's Good Fortune is providing another King to be Conquer'd and another Royal Army to be overthrown by his Successfull Arms. We spake in the former Chapter how King
stand Resp The King will be advised It is Enacted that no Person bring into the Realm to any Bishop or other any Bull or other Letters from the Court of Rome or from any Alien unless he first shew the same to the Lord Chancellour or to the Warden of the Cinque Ports on loss of all that he hath It is Enacted that all Religious Persons for Lands purchased since the 20 of Edward the Third and paying no Demesne therefore amongst the Clergy shall pay Fifteens After this Mr. John Charleton one of the Messengers aforesaid produced Letters from the Bishop of Durham from the Earls of Northampton Arundel Warwick Oxford and Suffolk and from Sr. Hugh Spencer Lord of Glamorgan directed to the whole Parliament purporting that whereas the King at his Arrival at la Hogue St. Vast in Normandy had Knighted his Eldest Son the Prince of Wales whereby he ought to have an Aid of the Realm viz. Fourty shillings of every Knights Fee they would now consider thereof Whereupon the Parliament agreed thereto immediately and took Order for the speedy levying the same It is Order'd in full Parliament at the Request of the Commons that the Benefices of all Aliens should be seised into the Kings Hands and he to take the Profit of the same and that in Order thereto all Bishops should before the next Convocation certifie into the Chancery the Names of all Aliens their Benefices and the Value thereof An Act that no Alien do send any Letters forth of the Realm that shall not be first perused by the Lord Chancellour or the Warden of the Cinque-Ports on pain of losing all he hath This was the Substance of this Parliament But those who were set as Counsellors over Prince Lionel were not at all forgetfull of their Duty both as to the Defence of the Realm and to the supply of the King their Master with Men and Money Especially the Valiant and Noble Henry Earl of Lancaster and Darby being now in England was very diligent in Mustering Men of War against the next Campaigne part whereof he intended to bestow about in Garrisons that fronted Scotland and with the Rest he intended to pass the Seas in Person as the Kings occasions or Commands should require For when he had finished the last Years Expedition so Gloriously as We have related the King sent unto him a Ashmole p. 681. enjoyning him to leave Gascogne and repairing into England attend to the aforesaid Affairs the Effect whereof We shall shew hereafter Only We shall not here omit that in the beginning of this Year the King had also sent back his Eldest Son the Black-Prince into England no doubt about the same business that things of that Moment might be sooner expedited For We find by the b Vid. Ashmole p. 707. hujus Hist l. 2. c. 9. §. 11. Date of One of his Letters that he was on the 18 day of January at Westminster But the Time of Action being not yet come we shall take leave to speak of such Matters as happen'd the mean while not only to carry on the continual Thread of History but also to satisfie the Curious in Matters which indeed were no whit of less moment than the more noisie Atchievements of War. III. Now thô King Philip of France was very busie as we have shewn in making Preparations to raise the Siege of Calais by Force yet was he not wanting nevertheless in his Artificial Attempts to save the Effusion of Blood and if possible to prevent the hazard of another Blow by milder Counsels He secretly therefore ply'd the Pope to use his Endeavours with King Edward if by any means he might persuade him to entertain a Treaty Wherefore c Odor Rainal ad hunc annâ—◠§. 23. Pope Clement VI. commanded his Cardinal-Legats Annibald and Stephen to spare no pains but if they could not procure a Peace that they would at least take care to make a Truce between the two Kings And he himself by his Letters exhorted them Both Philip that by the Calamities of France he would be moved to embrace Peace and Edward that he would not only consider the innumerable Mischiefs whereof he was look'd on to be the Author in that War but that he would cast his Eyes towards the East where he might obtain immortal Triumphs over the Enemies of God and a Crown of Temporal and Eternal Glory but that the Barbarians grew insolent at these Wars of Christendome and entertain'd hopes of trampling the Cross quite under feet d d Odor Rainal ibid. ex Tâ—m 5. Epist secret ep 896. Fox Acts and Men. p. 505. sed nos verbatimcae Origin CLEMENT the Bishop Servant of the Servants of God to his well-beloved Son in Christ Edward the Illustrious King of England Greeting and Apostolicall Benediction If you would diligently consider most Dear Son as a Catholick Prince ought to do the slaughters of innumerable Persons redeem'd with the pretious Blood of Christ the loss of Goods and the hazard of Souls more bitterly to be bewailed which the Dissentions and Wars stirred up between You and our well-beloved Son Philip the Illustrious King of France have brought forth and yet dayly do bring forth without any intermission together with the Groans of poor Pupils Orphans Widows and other miserable Persons who being plunder'd and robbed and almost famished do cry unto the Lord with Tears running down their Cheeks Besides the Destructions of Churches and Monasteries and Holy Places the Sacrilegious Taking-away of Vessels and other Ornaments dedicated to Gods Service also the Seisings Incarcerations Oppressions and Spoilings of Religious and Ecclesiasticks and other Persons and other innumerable detestable and execrable Evils manifestly offending the Eyes of the Divine Majesty if you revolve all these things in your Royal Breast and add further to your Consideration in this Part that by the Premises the Catholick Faith especially in the Eastern Parts is oppressed and the Faithfull there abiding by reason of the said Dissentions and Wars being deprived of the Assistance of the Catholicks of the Western parts are thereby afflicted by the Infidels who behold Christendom so embroiled with deadly Persecutions more cruelly than ever althô in these Days there is in the said Eastern Parts a better opportunity of Propagating the said Faith than hath been for many Ages past We believe verily we believe that you will soften your Heart and lest such and so great Evils might further proceed and so much good as might be done by propagating the foresaid Faith in these our Days might be hindred that You will apply and turn your gentle Mind to make Peace and Agreement with the foresaid King. For most Beloved Son if God hath given You prosperous Success and Fortune your Mind ought rather to be humbled than to be puffed up and to appear more inclinable to the said Peace that so You may take care to direct the Endeavours of your Soul to please God who loveth Peace
22. Ed. 3. m. 3. Stow p. 245. sent to Denemere to receive in his behalf Fealty and Homage of Lewis Earl of Flanders which the said Earl thô he had now Married the Duke of Brabant's Daughter was at last forced to comply with and performed it accordingly But for all that being wholly enchanted with a love for the French Nation m Stow p. 246. b. not long after that he might be Reveng'd of those who thus forced his Inclination he enter'd Flanders with a great Power of Frenchmen burning killing and ravaging as if he had been in the Country of his Deadly Enemies However he was at last oppos'd by a considerable Body of Flemings reinforced with some English Men of Arms and Archers who gave him a shrew'd encounter Wherein many Frenchmen being slain he himself with the rest was forced to quit the Field by flight In which Action many both Flemings and English behav'd themselves so gallantly that they obtained thereby the Honour of Knighthood among whom was the young Lord John St. Philibert Son an Heir of him of whom we spake in the n Vid. l. 1 c. 4. §. 6. p. 63. V Year of this King. IX While yet the foresaid Festival of the Translation of St. Thomas lasted it was also very privately signified unto King Edward by one of the Secretaries of Emeric of Pavia Captain of Calais that on such a certain Day the Lord Geoffry Charny with a great Number of Armed Frenchmen was to be received into Calais to the utter ruine of his Interest in that Place Froisard is of the Opinion that this Secretarie betrayed his Masters Secrets thus to the King without his knowledge as we shall see by and by But the other French Writers agree that he discover'd them himself thô he had not only agreed to take their Money but also had bound himself by taking the Sacrament to the Bargain and therefore Mezeray says that being taken some while after by the French he was by them flea'd alive and indeed we shall find him immediately laid aside by King Edward after this Business was over But let us first see how Froisard telates the Matter It should have been observed before how the Frenchmen in all their Negotiations either relating to a Peace or Truce were ever urging of this Point that Calais might be restored But to this King Edward would never yield by any means not only because the Town had cost him so dear before he had it but also because while in the English Hands it was both a signal Trophy of his Honour and a sure Footing for him to enter France upon any Rupture between the two Nations However as we shew'd before the French had now agreed to a Truce the Necessity of their Affairs so requiring it thô it inwardly grieved them to the Heart that Calais was still left under the Dominion of England Now there o Frois c. 150. was at this time in the Town of St. Omers a right Politick and Valiant Lord of France called Sr. Geoffry de Chargny or Charny who had full and absolute Authority as Lieutenant under the King of France to keep the Frontiers in those Parts in like manner as p Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 786. 25 Septeâ—â—b Rot. Fron. 22. Ed. 3. m. 1. Henry Earl of Lancaster had under the King of England in the Parts of Flanders Calais and all other Places subject to King Edward in France This Lord Geoffry Charny who resolved by any Means to serve the King his Masters Interest among many Considerations which he entertain'd in his thoughts concerning the Regaining of Calais remembred that the Captain of the Castle of Calais was a Lonbard and that your Lombards of all People are naturally Covetous And so with this thought he resolves upon a Design nothing at all agreeable to Faith or Honour but likely to prove of great Advantage to the King and Realm of France Now by reason of the Truce there was free Communication allowed between the Calisians and them of St. Omers so that dayly they resorted for Traffick to one another and had mutual Correspondence in matters of Life and Society Hereupon the Lord Geoffry Charny built his Design and secretly fell in Treaty with Sr. Emeric of Pavia Captain of the Castle so that at last he agreed and thereupon q Stow p. 248. b. took the Sacrament for the Summ of 20000 Crowns of Gold to deliver up to the Frenchmens Hands the Castle of Calais whereby the Town was commanded as on the last Day of December at Midnight There is some Variation in the Account that Authors give of this Matter Some averring that this Lombard had been bred up of a Child in King Edwards Court Others that he was at first a Pensioner of the French Kings in the Town of Calais untill the Taking thereof at what time for Reasons best known to himself he retain'd him in his Pay But this latter Opinion seems the weaker of the two for how should so Wise a Prince commit so important a Charge to any Man upon so small Acquaintance Again some say that the Discovery of the Treason was not made by him but then how should the King be so secure as to keep him still in that Office Thô I confess this is not absolutely improbable because the King being certainly informed of the Time and other Circumstances might well enough be supposed able to prevent the Treason's taking effect by setting a good Watch over him secretly to observe all his Motions On the other hand 't is said as we intimated before that he himself of his own accord gave the King secret and timely Notice of the Design and that thereby he would have an Opportunity not only to catch his Enemies in the very Act of breaking the Truce but to make a considerable Advantage to Himself and at the same time turn the Mischief they intended to Him on their own Heads But if this latter be true the Man had more Loyalty to King Edward than Religion to God who could so readily take the Sacrament as a Pledge for the Performance of what he never intended A thing scarce credible among Christians but that we have seen even in our Days a Man who had the impudence to own himself guilty of the same horrid Prevarication under pretence of Designing well And having given this Hint lest the different Accounts which Authors give of the Matter may prejudice an unwary Reader against any thing we shall say we now proceed according to Froisard not absolutely rejecting those of the other side because neither are they without their Probabilities When King Edward therefore heard either one or the other way of this intended Treachery of the French he immediately sent for Emeric the Lombard to come over unto him And he accordingly went for he thought it impossible that his private Conveyance should have taken any Vent already When the King saw him he took him into his Closet and said You
Motto wrought upon his Surcoat and Shield Hay hay the White Swan By Gods Soul I am thy Man. The same Liberty which was granted to the n Stow ibid. King of Scots was also allowed to Ralph Earl of Eu and Guisnes and Constable of France with the Earl of Tancarville the Lord Charles of o Valois apud Stow male Blois and many other both French and Scotch Captives to whom the Courteous King not only permitted the use of Arms upon this and other the like occasions but impartially awarded them the Prizes they deserved Particularly the Earl of Eu bare himself at this time with so much Honour that King Edward adjudged unto him that days Prize and soon after gave him p Knighten p. 2606. n. 64. leave upon Paroll to return into France in order to gather up 20000 Scutes for his own Ransom and to negotiate about the Redemption of others his Country-men that were then also Prisoners here But this Favour of King Edwards thus graciously bestowed on this Worthy Personage proved accidentally an occasion of such a Mortal Jealousie to the French King that thereby he found or made a Pretence to bereave him of his Life as in the next Year we shall shew more plainly The mean while the Fame of these frequent and notable Tourneaments held by so Warlike a Prince invited hither many Gallant Knights from Foreign Parts but especially the Young Noblemen of Gascoign came hither as to the Chiefest School of War to practise themselves in Feats of Arms And during the Summer-season both these and others the Prisoners of both Nations were allow'd to q Stow p. 246. follow the Court and pass their time with the King and his Nobles in hunting in Claringdon-Park near Salisbury in Wiltshire and in several other the Kings Forests both in those parts and elsewhere V. On the r Sandford's Geneal Hist p. 112. Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 786. b. ex Claus 23. Ed. 3. par 2. m. 5. ex Chart. 23. Ed. 3. n. 4. 20 of August King Edward being desirous to do further Honour to his Heroick Cousin Henry Plantagenet who already bore the Title of Earl of Lancaster Darby and Leicester and Steward of England added further the Title and Dignity of Earl of Lincoln granting him therewith the Annual Fee of 20 pounds to be paid by the Sheriff of that County in lieu of the Tertium denarium as Thomas his Uncle late Earl of Lincoln had before him And hereupon ſ Ret. Vasc 23. Ed. 3. m. 3. he was constituted the Kings Lieutenant and Captain General in the parts of Poictou with Power to Treat of Peace and Amity as also for a strict observation of the Truce already taken with the French And upon his journey thither he obtain'd t Pat. 23. Ed. 3. p. 2. m. 6. Licence to grant a 1000 l. per annum Lands and Rents unto certain Persons to dispose of according to his own direction for the term of 12 Years then to come VI. Now it is to be premised that the occasion of this Valiant Earls Expedition into Gascoign at this time was because by the Treachery of some wicked Men the Truce was highly violated there And u Stow p. 247. ◠John Duke of Normandy King Philips Eldest Son had made a great disturbance in that Dutchy challenging and taking of Places that belonged not unto him nor were King Edwards Captains there present able to impeach him And in Bretagne likewise about this time that Noble and Valiant Baron Sr. Thomas Dagworth who about 2 Years before had taken the Lord Charles of Blois before Roche D'Arien was basely and barbarously murder'd in time of Truce Froisard x Frois c. 153. says he was fairly fought withall by Sr. Ralph de Cahors who had sixscore Men of Arms in his Company before his Castle of Auray where together with him were slain an hundred Men of Arms English and Bretons Fabian y Fabian p. 228. says indeed the same French Knight slew him but that it was by chance-medley However the greater part of our z Knighton p. 2602. n. 42. Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 148. Stow p. 246 ex Sr Tho. de la More c Historians agree 't was done by fraud and not plain Valour and one relates the Matter thus that the Sons of Sabater with a few others having first laid a strong Ambush in the Wood adjoyning passed openly that way as designing to forage thereabouts Of these Prollers Sr. Thomas Dagworth who was the King of Englands Lieutenant in those parts and at that time lay in the Castle of Auray having notice with only 16 Armed Men in his Company pursued these Robbers who fled purposely toward their Ambush and enter'd the Wood after them where being surpris'd by the Ambush thô he slew no less than 300 of them yet at last having received five Wounds upon his Face and Body and lost all his Men who died faithfully by his side he himself was finally thrust thrô the Body with a Spear and ended his Life as formerly he had maintain'd it Valiantly and with Honour Froisard and from him Du Chesne and from them as it happens many of our old Writers call him Dangorne and Dagorne but this proceeding from the obscurity of old M. SS or the variation of the name thrô foreign Languages must be corrected and read Dagworth as is well known besides other undeniable Authorities from the Records themselves Wherefore neither is it material to observe the difference among Authors concerning the time of his Death some fixing it a Year more forward others two Years backward Since the a Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 148. ex Ret. Fra c. 23. Ed. 3. m. 5. Records are the surest Guide which in this place also I have followed However thus this Valiant Worthy fell thrô the Treason of the French and Bretons that held of their part for it was a notorious violation of the Truce leaving behind him by his Lady Eleanor Nicolas his Son and Heir then very young who in time came to be a notable Imitator of his Fathers Vertues and Revenger of his Death VII Such Provocations as these being given by the French both in Bretagne and in Gascogne King Edward easily provided for the former having already sufficient Captains in those Parts But as for the latter he constituted as we said before Henry Earl of Lancaster and Derby his Lieutenant and Captain General and b Stow p. 247. about the Feast of All-Saints sent him well provided into Gascogne Where presently he began to take the Field with an Army c Dugd. 1 Vol. 786. Hen. Knighton p. 2601. n. 60. p. 2602. of 30000 Men and marched forth to seek his Enemies for above ten Days in which time he took more than fourty Towns and Castles and with Fire and Sword made great Spoil for above 40 French Miles Southward At last he came to Tholouse a great and strong City on the
Edmund Earl of Arundel his Father died seised either in England or in Wales as of the said Castle As for this Earl of Arundel here spoken of his Cause as well as his Valour is sufficiently declared in the former Part of this our History but for this Earl John we shall now once for all add somewhat of him because the small Age to which he attained rendred him unable to purchase any higher Character in this Work. He was Second Son to Edmund Plantaginet Earl of Kent the Kings Uncle of whose Death f 〈…〉 3. §. 3. 〈…〉 ad p. 42. we spake in the Fourth Year Yet he made no Proof of his Age till this very g Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 94. b. Year when upon his Homage he had Livery of all his Lands his Mother the Lady Margaret being then also dead And at that time he granted unto King Edward the Third and his Heirs Kings of England the Castle and whole Lordship of Lydel as well within the Precincts of England as Scotland after the Decease of Blanche Relict of Thomas Lord Waâ—e which Castle and Lordship came to him in Right of the Lady Margaret his Mother Sister and Heir to the said Lord Wake of Lydel But this hopefull young Prince having just married Elizabeth Daughter to William Marquess of Juliers departed this Life without Issue the Year next following in the Prime of his Youth leaving all his vast Possessions to his Sister and Heir the Lady Joan commonly called the Fair Maid of Kent first Espoused to William Montagu second Earl of Salisbury of that Name at this time the Wife of Thomas Lord Holland in her Right afterwards Earl of Kent But to return to the Transactions of this Parliament King Edward during this Session bestow'd several great Honours on Sundry of his Martial Nobility As particularly his Valiant Cosen Henry Plantagenet Earl of Lancaster Leicester Lincoln Darby Grosmont and Ferrers him on the a Ashmoles Garter p. 682. Dudg Bar. 1 Vol. p. 786. Stow p 251. M.S. Vet. Angan Bib. C.C.C. Cantabr c. 224. Sixth of March he advanced to the Title and Dignity of Duke of Lancaster Which being done by the General Consent of all the Prelates and Peers then sitting in Parliament and Confirmed unto him for his Life he was invested therewith by the Cincture of a Sword with Power to have a Chancery in the County of Lancaster and there to issue out Writs under his own Seal as well touching Pleas of the Crown as others relating to the Common Laws of this Realm As also to enjoy all other Liberties and Regalities belonging to a County-Palatine in as ample Manner as the Earl of Chester was known to have within that County the Tenths * Ashmole ibid. and Fifteenths and all other Payments granted by the Clergy or Canons and Pardons for Life and Members to the King excepted Thus the Black-Prince who was Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester and Henry Plantagenet Duke of Lancaster being the two first Dukes in England since the Conquest by the Grandeur of their Names as well as Birth and Dignity did seem the Worthiest of all Men to be so Duke Henry was yet i 8 Martii Ret. Franc. 25. Ed. 3. m. 15. Ashmole p. 682. further about the same time constituted Admiral of the Kings whole Fleet from the River Thames Westward And two Days after the King assigned him several Lieutenants namely Reginald Ferrers on the Rivers of Thames and Medway Robert Ledred Serjeant at Arms within the Cinque-ports Philip de Wetton and Walter de Harewell Serjeant at Arms in the Port of Seaford and in every Part and Place thence by the Sea-coast to Foye Richard Lengles in the Port of Foye and thence to Bristow and there and in the Port of Chepstow and River of Severn and Ralph de Lullibrock in all Places and Ports from Chepstow to Chester and there and in all Parts and Maritime Places in Wales Mr. Stow k Stow Chron. p. 251. says that at this time Prince Lionel of Antwerp the Kings Son was made Earl of Vlster in Ireland and John of Gaunt his Younger Brother Earl of Richmond but the Former had not that Title till l Dagd 2 Vol. p. 167 c. Ten Years after at what time he took to Wife the Heiress of Vlster and the Latter had his Nine Years before as appears by the m Cart. 16 Ed. 3. n. 2. Records So Knighton n Knighton p. 26â—2 tells us that the Lord Robert Hufford was now made Earl of Suffolk whereas he had been advanced to that Dignity no less than o Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 47. fourteen Years before But the Lord Ralph p Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 160. ex Cart. 25 Ed. 3 m. 25. Martâ—â— 5. Stafford was at this time advanced to the Title of Earl of Stafford and for his better Support in that Dignity the King granted him a 1000 Marks per annum in Fee untill he should provide Lands of that Value to settle on Him and his Heirs In this Parliament also the Lord John Maltravers senior one who was thought to have had an hand in the Murder of King Edward the Second having as we shew'd q L. 1. c. 24. §. 4. six Years before surrendred himself with great Contrition to the King was now r Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 102. by the Judgment of the Parliament acquitted and by his Majesty thereupon fully pardoned restored and admitted to take Place in that Honourable Convention In Å¿ M.S. Rot. Par. p. 72. §. 11. Sr. Rob. Cotton's Abridgment p. 74. §. 11. c. ad hunc annam Consideration of the great Dearth of which yet the Land was not wholly freed the King releaseth one Half of his Provision appointed to be taken up by Purveyors And Remedy was likewise taken against Labourers who required Excessive Wages as we partly intimated before as also against the Pope's Reservations and those who being cast in the Kings Court seek redress from the Court of Rome to the Subversion of the Laws of the Realm Then the Commons petition'd That no Man may be put to answer in what concerns his Freehold or whatever toucheth Life Limb or Fine by his Opposite before the Council but by due Process of Law. To this the King as to what concerned the Freehold agreed but for the rest rejected it in the usual Form saying Le Royse advisera That no Man whatsoever but Merchants only for their great Necessity of Traffick should export the Good Money of the Realm The King answer'd as before that he would be advised That the Fines of Labourers may be paid to the chief Taxors of this Fifteen in Aid of the Poor The King replyed the Surplusage thereof should be employed according as Circumstances hereafter shall most require That the Steward and Marshal and their Deputies do make no other Process than was used in the Time of King Edward the Second and limited by the
who kept them before Thus at last the whole Castle was reduced into their power those in the Town knowing nothing of what had happen'd all this while In the Morning the English commanded the Workmen who came to work without the Castle to leave off their Work who thereupon perceiving the Castle to be won fled away carrying the News with them wherever they went. These new Lords however were so Civil as immediately to give the Ladies within the Castle leave to depart whither they pleased on Horseback together with their Apparel Writings and Muniments where they ought to hold their Fees. That same Day there came from Calais to their Assistance as many as they sent for by whose Aid they were now able to keep the Castle against Competent Forces About Three of the Clock the same Day there came thither two Knights from the Lord Walter de Brenne Duke of Athens and in Right q L. 2. c. 10. §. 7. p. 454. of his Wife Jane Daughter to Ralph late Earl of Eu and Guisnes Earl of Guisnes who demanding a Truce desired to know of those within the Castle who they were to whom they belonged and by whose Authority they kept the Castle so taken in the time of Truce To these Demands they within answer'd That being thus intruded they would not declare to any Man their Design till they had tried a longer Possession The Earl of Guisnes being thus sham'd off sent on St. Maurice's Day being the 22d of September Messengers into England complaining how in prejudice of the Truce the said Castle was unjustly taken and therefore by right of mutual Faith and Honour ought to be restored unto the true Owner King Edward answer'd That what was done was neither with his Knowledge nor Consent Wherefore he would send his Command that none of his Subjects presume any longer to detain the Castle of Guisnes but immediately on sight of his Letters to restore it entirely to the Lord thereof The Messengers being return'd with this Answer to the Earl of Guisnes he presently went to the Castle demanding of those within as at other times in whose Name and by whose Authority they held that Place They still affirming that they held it in the Name and Behalf of John Lancaster the Earl required to know if the said John were the King of Englands Liegeman and would obey him or no. Then John answer'd himself That as for his part he knew not what Messengers had been in England nor what Mischief might be brew'd for him wherefore while he was secure he resolved to keep himself so maugre all their subtle Devices At that the Earl offer'd unto the said John Lancaster 40000 Crowns or other Possessions in Exchange and an Indemnity from the King of France for ever To which he received this Answer That before the Taking of that Castle they were all good Subjects of England but now by this their Offence against the Truce and other their Demerits no better than banished Men and excluded from the Peace of their Lord King Edward Wherefore the Place which now they held they would willingly sell or exchange but to none sooner than to their Natural Lord the King of England to whom they would rather sell that Castle thereby to obtain a Pardon But if he should refuse to buy it then they would sell it to the French King or to Him that would offer most for it The Earl being thus mocked went away and the King of England soon after bought it indeed giving unto John Lancaster and his Fellow-Adventurers a Competent Summ which they demanded and also their Pardon for Refusing to obey his Letters so wisely to his Advantage For it was a place always much desired by King Edward as the best Neighbour to Calais if in his hands and the worst if not VII Hereupon King John charging him with Breaking the Truce he replied as we intimated before That there was no one Article in the Truce which prohibiteth Trafficking together or the Entercourse of Buying and Selling. These are the two Accounts of the Taking of this strong Fortress either of which the Reader may prefer at his Discretion thô indeed the French Writers do mostly agree that it was sold by a Frenchman the Captain thereof who afterwards received the Reward of his Treason However when King John and his Council saw r Stow p. 253. that by no means they could prevail to have it restored they advised to build another like unto it for a Bridle to that and a Defence of the Country thereabouts and accordingly they sent the Lord Geoffry Charny somewhile since redeemed out of England with Authority to build and fortifie as presently we shall declare Now as you travel from Guisnes to Calais there was then to be seen on your Left hand almost within Shot of the Town of Guisnes a Monastery called la Bastie of good strong Building but decayed with Age wherein was a Church certain Nuns residing there at that time upon which Account the English had hitherto spared it in Devotion This place might easily be made Defensible for it had very high Walls like a Castle and a large and strong Steeple for a Tower and lying in a Marish Ground might with small Labour be environ'd with a Ditch of great Depth and Breadth Wherefore about ſ Penteco to hec anno 27 Maii contigit Pascha 8 April Lit. Dom. AG. Whitsuntide Sr. Geoffry Charny aforesaid came with 20000 Men and began to lay Siege to Guisnes at the same time turning the Nuns away and making a Castle of the Church and fencing the Walls with a Ditch and Rampire For at that time of the Year the Waters being very low his Men were at liberty to work more freely in the Marish Now the English in Guisnes being thus besieged were not able to go abroad but in their Boats because the Ditches were full of Water and the Marish unpassable and all the usual Avenues stopt up by the French Neither were the Calisians as yet able to Victual them for the same Reasons and especially because of the Siege and the strong Army at la Bastie Yet often the Besieged would appear before the Town with their Arrows and Warlike Engines playing upon the Besiegers but they did no great Execution the Aim being uncertain at that distance and the Reach for the most part too short However one Day by secret Appointment the Calisians being joyn'd with those of Oye Marque and Hames on the one hand and those of the Garrison of Guisnes on the other set all together at one time upon their Enemies unawares with much Bravery and took some slew many and chased more so that the Siege being wholly raised they all together set upon la Bastie burnt it up dismantled it of its Walls and levell'd all to the Ground And thus was Guisnes secured to the English thô the French made huge Clamours thereupon how the Truce was first broken by the English VIII This same
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
and a gallant Retinue At Guisnes the Lord John Clermont Marshal of France met him with a Noble Attendance of Men of Arms in the o 11 Decemb. Quindene before Christmas and gave him an Honourable Reception conducting him with much respect as far as Hesdin Where the Lord James of Bourbon Count de la Marche met him also with another Honourable Train of Gentlemen and conducted him to Paris with extream Civility At his approach to Paris he was thirdly met by a very considerable Body of Lords Knights and Gentlemen of France who came by King Johns special Command to do him Honour There was then the greatest Number of Strangers that e'r was known at Paris to behold this Combat of two such Mighty Princes all who in their several Capacities gave due Honour to the Duke of Lancaster and King John himself immediately upon his Arrival sent for him to his Palace where he gave him a Princely Reception But above all his Kinsman p This Duke Henry was Son to Henry de Torto-Collo who was second Son to Edmund second Brother to K. Edw. I and of Blanche the Relict of Henry de Champagne King of Navarre from whom also this Charles King of Navarre was descended Tho. Mills Catal. Nobility p. 319. Charles the young King of Navarre shew'd him a very high Regard and Menaged his Affairs with great diligence and application Before the day of Battle there was much agitation to reconcile these two great Enemies but all overtures were ineffectual the English Duke maintaining the Truth and Reason of his Words and the Almain utterly denying the whole Accusation Wherefore on the day appointed the Lists were ranged out in a Field called q Fabian ad hunc an p. 230. Grafton p. 292. Mezeray p. 51. le Pré aux Clercs the two Combatants were brought into the place and the King of France with his Prime Nobility and an Infinite Number of People were present as spectators All things being ready the two Knights having as the Custom of Duellists in those Days was taken their several Oaths on the r Corporall Gallice Corporall Latin. Corperale idem qued Dominicale i.e. pulvinar Sacrosanctum Synden vel linteum qâ—o corpus Dominicum tegitur Corporall that their cause was just and that they had no Charms about them and so began to address themselves to the Combat The Duke of Brunswick bore in his shield Å¿ True Use of Armory Bibl. Cottonianâ p. 58 vid. Tho. Mills Catal. Nobility p. 342. He came of Maud Eldest Daughter of K. Henry II of Engl. and Henry Leo D. of Saâ—eny whose V Son William of Winchester was Progenitor to the Dukes of Brunswick Hence this Dukes Arms so like England Gules Two Lions Passant Guardant Or and the Duke of Lancaster Gules Three Lions Passant Guardant Or being the Arms of England with a Three-pointed Labell of France Now 't is said that till now You could hardly find a more fierce or comely Man at Arms than the Duke of Brunswick nor one that promised better But presently as soon as he had taken his Oath his countenance changed and grew pale as Death whereby most People thought his quarrel was not so good as he pretended He took his Horse with a sad and ill-boading Countenance and as many spectators avouched had none of his former briskness and vigour remaining insomuch that he bare himself very awkwardly in handling his Arms and twice or thrice let fall his shield in receiving it But the Noble Duke of Lancaster sat ready Mounted with his Spear upright and his shield on his Arm in a decent and couragious manner with a sedate and resolute Countenance expecting to cope with his Adversary like a Knight who had Truth and Honour on his side so that all Men applauded his steady and gallant Behaviour Wherefore the Duke of Brunswick by advice of his Friends submitted his quarrel to the judgement of the King of France and proffer'd to withdraw his Challenge But the Duke of Lancaster absolutely refused to forsake the Combat saying How that before he had entred the Lists perhaps he might have been perswaded to an agreement but now that he was already Mounted and prepared before the King and his Nobles and such an extraordinary Confluence of People to defend the Justice of his Cause it would be an high Reflection both on himself and the English Nation if now he should depart the Lists without performing what Truth and Equity did require Wherefore he said he would not leave the Field for any Treaty or Composition whatsoever without Battle so as to derive the least umbrage of a suspicion upon his Honour Blood and Quality whereby either Himself the King his Master or his Country might suffer the least flaw in their Reputation Otherwise he would receive what Event or Fortune the Grace of God would allot him Upon this the Duke of Brunswick as a Man Conquered utterly renounced the Quarrel and refus'd the Combat without any reservation of his Honour wholly submitting himself to the award and disposal of the King of France to the great Glory of the Duke of Lancaster The Duke of Brunswick was generally more acceptable to the King and Court of France as who was much their Friend but however the Duke of Lancaster was not without his Interests among so many Honourable Persons who respected him thô an Enemy for his many Heroick Vertues and High Birth Among these his Counsellours and Abetters who stuck close to him at this time were the foremention'd Charles King of Navarre his Kinsman and Giles his Fathers Brother the Earl of Ponthieu the Earl of Flanders the Earl of Tancarville the Earl of Saltzbourg the Lord John Clermont Marshal of France the Lord James of Bourbon the Lord Lewis of Navarre the Lord Lewis Earl of Harcourt the Lord John de Chastillon and the Lord Walter his Son with many more These Persons so wrought with the Duke of Lancaster that upon Duke Otho's absolute renunciation of the Quarrel he was content to go last out of the Field After which the King at a great Feast by the help of his Nobles partakers on both sides reconciled these two Dukes and took up the Quarrel between them for ever The next day he led the Duke of Lancaster about his Palace shewing him many notable and Rich Jewels of all which he offer'd him the choice But he for his part desired only one Thorn out of the Crown of our Saviour which he brought away and afterwards gave as a Relick to his Collegiate Church of our Lady founded by himself near the Castle of Leicester The third Day after he took leave of the French King and Court and return'd home into England unto the King who was then at St. Albans where he kept his Christmas at that time and received him with great Grace and Favour XIII This pious Heroe who at last by his Religious and Noble Carriage obtained to be called the t Tho.
ensuing in order to hold a serious Treaty for a firm and final Peace On King i Knighton p. 2607 n. 50. c. Stow p. 254. b. Frois c. 154. fol. 76. Walsing hist p. 161. n. 33 Edwards Behalf there went Dr. William Bateman Bishop of Norwich Henry Duke of Lancaster Richard Fitz-Alan Earl of Arundel the Lord Guy Brian and other Nobles who coming with an Equipage of 200 Horse whereof 32 were cover'd with Harness toward Avignon were met on Christmas-Eve by the Archbishop of Roüen the Duke of Bourbon the Earl of Armagnac the Lord Geoffry Charny and Others who were sent Ambassadors from the French King all who being thus joyned were received with great Honour by several Cardinals Bishops Nobles Citizens and Others to the number of 2000 Horse who met them within two Miles of Avignon and brought them into the New-town called Villeneufe to the Pope's Palace but the Pomp of the Cavalcade was so great that from three of the Clock till Night they had scarce time to pass the Bridge The Noble Duke of Lancaster at his Entrance saluted all the People and rode forth to the Pope's Palace Where alighting from his horse without the Gate he made his Approach to his Holiness with all due Reverence which he was perfectly instructed how to perform by his Court-like and Princely Demeanour After some brief Discourse as the Time would permit he went thence for that time and took along with him his Holinesses Blessing to his Lodgings which had been prepared for him beforehand All the time of his Residence there which was more than six Weeks he kept such Hospitality that he was admired by the whole Court having laid in an Hundred Tuns of the best Bourdeaux Wine before his Coming and behaving himself during his Stay so obligingly to all Persons especially to the Pope and his Cardinals that they said of him how he had not his Fellow in the World. But as to the Business about which all these Great Personages came thither that being openly declared in the Consistory before the Pope and his Cardinals the English Ambassadors requested to have those Covenants now confirmed which had before been concluded upon between them at Calais To whom the Duke of Bourbon and the Earl of Armagnac retracting what they had themselves agreed to and sealed and confirmed with their Oaths in the Presence of Guy Cardinal of Bologna replied now That gladly they would have Peace if they might but as to the Disposal of Aquitain and the forefaid Counties neither said they can the French King himself nor any other whatsoever by any means alienate them from the Crown of France Nor yet could they or any of them give their consent that they should be dismembred from the entire Body of that Kingdom since both the King himself and they also had been sworn to maintain them with all their Power But yet if the King of England would cease to bear the Arms of France they were content that the Dominion and Profits of the said Dutchy and Counties should remain with King Edward in like manner as his Ancestors had held Aquitain that is to say provided always the Regality of the Crown of France should be reserved in Witness whereof Homage should be made as of old to the Kings of France for those Places To these new and unexpected Demands the Duke of Lancaster replied That as for the Oath wherewith they pretended to be so strictly bound never to alienate those Places from the Crown of France they might soon for the sake of Peace be by his Holiness absolved therefrom For having so fair a Pretence to the whole the King of England was resolved to have at least these Parts absolutely to himself to be restored unto him without any Limitation otherwise that those Arms of France which by the Advice and Consent of his Liegemen of Flanders he had undertaken to bear he would never relinquish for the fear or pleasure of any Man living And that the King of England would never do Homage to a Person over whom by Hereditary Right from his Mother he claimed Superiority But yet if they could conceive of any more equal and rational way of Agreement and resolve to be more consistent with themselves and more observant of their own Concessions than now they seemed to be King Edward as a Lover of Peace will be ready to embrace what was reasonable At this the Lords of France in a Huff replied That if so they were both ready and able to defend their Country against the English for ever And so they offer'd to rise up but thrô the urgent Importunities of the Pope and his Cardinals this bitterness was soon corrected and at last they agreed so far k Frois ibid. as that another short Truce was taken to endure till the Feast of St. John Baptist following the Pope in the mean time to endeavour what in him lay to promote the Peace and for that end by his Messengers to both the Kings to require them again to send their Ambassadors to conclude on some other Conditions that might be more acceptable to either Party And so they brake up for that time on both sides and the Duke of Lancaster having with l Knighton p. 2608. n. 30. much adoe escaped the snares laid by the French to entrap him returned with safety and Honour into England together with the Rest of his Company except only Dr. William Bateman Bishop of Norwich who m Godw. Catal. Bps p. 426. died at Avignon on Twelfth-Day and was there Honourably buried And that the perfecting of a Peace at this time was hindred by the French is witnessed by an n M.S. in Bibl. Vatican sign n. 2040. vid. Odor Rainal ad an 1353. §. 15. vid. M. S. Vet. Angl. in Bibl. C.C.C. Cantab. c. 229 c. Ancient Anonymous M. S. in the Vatican-Library at Rome which accuses the French King of all saying In this Popes Innocent's time the Lord Guy Cardinal of Bologna by the Consent of the Pope and of his own Proper Motion went into France at his own expences to Treat of a Peace with the said King of France and Edward King of England For which Treaty the Duke of Bourbon with other Ambassadors on behalf of the King of France and the Duke of Lancaster with other Ambassadors on behalf of the King of England came to Avignon in the time of Innocent VI in the first Year of his Coronation to finish and compleat those things which had been ordained by the said Lord Cardinal concerning the said Peace between the said Kings to be had But finally they could not agree and the said Dukes with their Ambassadors went away in discord from the Court to their several Countries And this was done thrô default of the King of France as was commonly said He then denying those things which had been Treated Engrossed and Sealed by them and sworn to in the Hands and Presence of the said Lord
in case it were not given there should be injury done unto him I wrote likewise that God should do him injury and approved it This I now revoke as false Heretical and Blasphemous CHAPTER the THIRTEENTH AN. DOM. 1355. An. Regni Angliae XXIX Franciae XVI The CONTENTS I. The King of Navarre murders the Constable of France and invites the Duke of Lancaster to his Assistance The Duke sets forth in order thereto but hearing how the Kings of France and Navarre were agreed returns home again II. The manner how that Reconcilement was made III. The War breaks out again between England and France Prince Edward goes over into Gascogne with his Exploits there The Lord John Lisle slain IV. Two Letters of Sr. John Wingfield's setting forth the Particulars of the Prince's Expedition V. King Edward goes into France obtains a Truce and returns into England VI. Barwick taken by the Scots VII A Parliament at Westminster VIII A Parliament at Paris IX The Birth of Prince Thomas of Woodstock The City of Nantes in Bretagne taken and recover'd A strange Malady of Aversion from Company The Death of Peter Lord Mauley the Fifth of that Name I. WHen we spake of the Combat that was to have been perform'd between the Dukes of Lancaster and Brunswick we mention'd among other things how extraordinary kind his young Kinsman Charles King of Navarre was then unto him Now the Occasion of this Prince's Coming to Paris at that time was to marry the Lady Jane one of the Daughters of King John de Valois But surely whatever Alliance or Affinity he had or might seek to have with France he became an Occasion of many great Calamities to that Kingdom For a Mezeray ad avn 1353. as he was the most winning and obliging in his Address of any Man living being adorn'd with Vigour Beauty Eloquence Courage Affability and Liberality beyond all Men so he made the worst use of these natural Excellencies and rendred them pernicious by his Ambitious Temper and the secret Delight he had in all kind of Mischief From the time of his Marriage he never ceased to pursue his Pretensions to the Countries of Brie and Champagne but especially to that of Angoulesme But Charles de la Cerda of Spain Constable of France to whom the King had given the latter disswaded him from proffering any Equivalent by way of satisfaction in that Point Whereupon the Navarrois retires discontented into his Earldom of Eureux in Normandy and b Gaguin Frois c. 154. Meâ—eray Paul. Aemyl p. 184. Du Chesne p. 673. there understanding that the Constable was then in his Castle in the Town de L'Aigle he enterprised a design as bold as execrable For on the Sixth of January taking unto him certain armed Knights he caused them to scale the Castle early about break of Day and there by them the Constable was murder'd in his Bed. This done he avowed the Fact by justifying himself in his Letters to King John and his Council and in the mean time thô being the Kings Son-in-Law he endeavour'd to reconcile himself to his Favour yet either to secure himself against the worst or by making himself formidable to extort a Pardon he was very busie in making Musters in fortifying his Castles and inviting several Neighbour Princes to a League against France And althô a Treaty of Reconcilement had been begun and to all seeming appearance established by that time between the French King and him as we shall shew by and by yet when he heard how the Duke of Lancaster was as we shew'd in the preceding Year at the Court of Avignon c Frois c. 154. fol. 76. a. he also made shift to get thither where secretly he d M.S. Ret Par. p. 85. n. 6. Sr. Rob. Cotton p. 90 confer'd with his Cousin the Duke of Lancaster at which time he complain'd to the said Duke of several Dammages done unto him by the French King and gave him his Oath that he would most willingly enter into League with the King of England and for Assurance of the same would endeavour when the Truce was once ended to joyn him at Jersey with all the Power he should be able to raise And in the beginning of this Year he e Stâ—â— p. 255. sent among Others his Uncle Giles of Champagne to the Duke of Lancaster with Letters heartily beseeching him to come into Normandy with all speed to his Aid and Defence and to receive his Oath of Fidelity to serve King Edward against all Men. The Duke accordingly with the Kings leave f 〈◊〉 p. â—â—9 gather'd a great Navy together which was rigged and made ready at Rutherhive alià s Radriffe being furnished with Provision of Victuals for one Quarter of a Year and the whole Fleet consisting of fourty Sail had all their chief Streamers beaten with the Arms of the said Duke of Lancaster who was appointed with a great Power of chosen Men of Arms and Archers Lord Admiral of the Navy But few or none of his Men knew whither he was bound The Tenth of July he sailed to Greenwich between which and Sandwich he was held till the 15 of August the Wind for the most part all that while continuing at West and South-west which was contrary to this intended Course At length with much Difficulty he came to Winchelsea and thence to the Isle of Wight And it was generally concluded that he design'd for Normandy to support the King of Navarre in his Quarrel against the French King But hearing now certain News of that Kings Reconciliation with France he returned home again to the King his Master II. Now to set forth the Inconstancy of this Navarrois Prince we shall here remember what we promised a little before the manner of his first Reconcilement which was this When King John saw by his Levying of Men and otherwise that Despair of Pardon might drive him to desperate Courses prejudicial to Him and his Realm especially in this doubtfull Juncture he thought to dissemble the Matter and by Flattery to bring him within his Power But g Frois c. 154. f. 75. c. Mezeray p. 40. ad an 1354. this jealous Prince could by no means be allured to come to Paris till he had made most secure and advantageous Conditions for himself As that King John should render him Lands equivalent to Brie and Champagne and an Independency of his Earldom of Eureux from all Others but the King only also he demanded a full and absolute Pardon for all those who had an hand in the Constable's Murther and besides all this a good round Summ of Mony and several other Lands and Advantages and moreover the Lord Lewis Duke of Anjou the Kings Second Son in Hostage for his Security All which King John was fain to grant him being thereto perswaded as well by the Navarrois his Friends as by the Necessity of his own Affairs Whereupon in March following he came to Paris and appeared
were at the Mountain where contrary to their expectation they found no Body With that they sent certain Horsemen to go up to the top and look about and see if they could view any thing of them and after a while these Men came down and told them how they saw them marching towards Esgurande and Milvaches and believ'd they design'd for Limoges The French Lords at this News being out of hopes to overtake them brake up their Expedition for that time and disbanded their Men Soon after which there was a Match made up between the young Lord Beroald Dauphin of Avergne and the Earl of Forestes his Daughter which he had by the Duke of Bourbons Sister After this Expedition Sr. Robert Knolles who by these unlawfull Wars in time of Truce was g Walsingh hist p. 166. risen to the Wealth of an Earl began to reflect upon himself how heinously he had offended the King his Master and thereby was become outlaw'd and now that the Wars were open again between England and France being very desirous to recover his Royal Favour that so he might be admitted to bear Arms upon a more just Account he began to make Friends in the Court of England and sent great Presents to the Prince of Wales and other the Kings Sons earnestly entreating them to move the King in his Behalf and unto the King himself he h Knighton p. 2619. n. 65. c. absolutely offer'd whatsoever he had any way acquired in France whether Castles Towns Goods or Chattels or any other thing he willingly submitted them all to his Liege Lord to dispose of at his Pleasure only desiring his full and gracious Pardon and if it should please his Majesty to permit him to hold any of his Acquests as a Royal Demesne and only Durante Bene placito he should think himself happy in being thereby somewhat enabled to serve his Majesty according to his Hearts Desire This handsome and humble Submission extreamly pleased the King and his Sons and so he not only obtain'd a full Pardon but also a Grant of many Castles and Lordships in Consideration of his Abilities for the War and because he had so entirely put himself upon the Kings Goodness Yet that same Year he fell into the hands of his Enemies about Michaelmas but as they were leading him away he had the good Fortune to be rescued by his old Friend Hanekin Francois who by chance rode that way and not only saved his Friend so opportunely but overcame his Enemies of whom he took Fourty good Prisoners XI This mean i Knighton p. 2620. n. 56. while the Commons of Flanders being wrought upon by the French King and their own Earl Lewis rebelled against King Edward whom before they had acknowledged for their Supream Lord and drove away the Merchants of England into Brabant and refused to admit the Easterlings to traffick within their Precincts and all those Citizens of Bruges whom they found firm to the English they either banish'd or imprison'd not a few of them being beheaded at the Command of the Earl of Flanders Whereupon King Edward issued out his Royal Proclamation commanding that all Flemmings of what Condition soever except only the Kings Farmers should be ready to take the Sea so as to void the Realm by the Feast of k 20 July St. Margaret then next ensuing on pain of Death without any more Delay And because the War was now open between England and France the Frenchmen were also envolved in the same Penalty with the Flemmings at the same time XII Now was King Edward busie in providing for the War which he design'd in his own Person to carry beyond the Seas and had already sent his peremptory Command over all the Realm to his Commissioners of Array in all Counties toward the Equipping of a Royal Army worthy to attend him who resolved now wholly to reduce France to his Devotion or to die in the undertaking Nor yet was this Magnificent Prince so absolutely taken up with this grand Affair but that his Active Soul was as much at liberty as in the most Halcyon Days of Peace For in the l Pascha 21 April Lit. Dom. F. Rogation Week being the latter end of May a solemn Just was proclaimed to be held at London for m M. S vet Ang. in Bibl. C.C.C. Cantab. c. 230. Holinsh Engl. Chron. p 963. Walsingh hist p. 165. c. The Names of the Mayor and Sheriffs vid. apud Fabian p. 236. Stows Survey of London p. 553. Sr. Rich. Baker p. 147. three Days together in which Proclamation John n Alâ—as Loufkin Luffin Mayor John Barnes and John o Al as Baris Bury the Sheriffs with their Brethren the other one and twenty Aldermen as Challengers undertook to hold the Field against all Comets But at the time appointed in their Name and in their Stead came the King privily with his four Sons Edward the Black-Prince Lionel John and Edmund which latter was then in the 18 Year of his Age together with 19 other Great Barons of England The King represented the Mayor the Black-Prince bore the Person of the Senior Sheriff John Barnes Prince Lionel acted the Part of John Bury the other Sheriff and so the whole Corporation of London was personated by the Royal Family and Nobility of England in Presence of the Kings of France and of Scotland and an infinite number of Spectators They were not now armed as Princes or Barons but the King and his Sons and the rest of the Challengers bare the City Arms both on their Shields and Surcoats and held the Field the whole three Days with great Honour especially to the satisfaction of the Citizens while they took them really for what they seem'd but they were extreamly ravish'd with joy when they understood that the King himself and his Children had done them the Honour to fight so gallantly under their Cognisance XIII The Sunday before Rogation-Sunday being the p Walsing hist p. 166. M.S. vet Ang. in Bib. C.C.C. Cantabr c. 230. c. 14 of the Kalends of June that is after our Account the 19 of May the Lord John Plantagenet from the Place of his Birth sirnamed also of Gaunt who was the Kings Third Son and Earl of Richmond being now in the 19 Year of his Age took to Wife by Vertue of a special Dispensation from the Court of Rome the Lady Blanch his Cousin Second Daughter to Henry Plantagenet Duke of Lancaster The Solemnity of the Marriage being kept at Reading in Barkshire about 16 Miles from Windsor a Week before the Tourneament which we have just now mentioned XIV About this time King Edward and the Prince his Son in great Devotion visited most of the Shrines and other Holy Places in England offering up their Prayers every where for a Blessing upon their Arms or for an happy lasting and honourable Peace And one day among the rest while the King was in the famous Abbey
before the King had left England he gave command that all the French Prisoners should be separately put in divers strong Castles and that the French King himself and his Son Philip should be surely kept in the Tower of London without any such liberty as he had before And the Lord Thomas f Walsing hist p. 166. Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 169. of Woodstock the Kings Youngest Son being then scarce Five Years of Age was now constituted his Fathers Lieutenant and Lord Warden of England during this his intended Absence in France several of the most Politick Prelates and Counsellours of the Realm being appointed to act under his Authority There were also ordained certain Lords Knights and Esquires with their several Retinues to look to the Defence of the Realm and to be still ready to defend the Marches Castles and Havens of the same And things being thus settled at home the King himself with his Four Sons rode forth to Sandwich in Kent where he intended to go on board with all his Army The Kings Summons at this time had been particularly severe for except such and such none were permitted to stay at home g Knighton p. 2623. n. 10. between the Age of Twenty and Threescore So that after many Thousands had been turned back for some fault or other there remain'd at least an h Mezeray Matt. Villani l. 9. c. 53. p. 539. Walsing hist p. 166. 100000 of the most chosen Men and the best Arm'd throughout the whole Isle of Brittain And to receive them and their Provision there lay ready rigged at Sandwich 1123 Sail of Ships the latter i Matt. Villani l. 9. c. 53 p. 539. 123 Sail being those very Ships which had already convey'd the Duke of Lancaster to Calais with an infinite Quantity of Provision to be laid up in Magazines against the Kings coming King Edward therefore being come to Sandwich and having seen all his Men Muster'd between Sandwich and Dover declared aloud to all his Chief Captains and caused to be proclaim'd thrô the Army k M. S. Vet. Anglan Bibl. C.C.C. Cantabr c. 230. â—â—teri emnes That it was his Resolution to go over into France and never to return again alive till either by War he should have ended the Controversie or else obtain a Peace both to his Honour and Advantage otherwise that he would loose his Life in the Attempt And therefore said he if there are any among You that is not very willing to partake with me in whatever God shall please to send us Honour or Dishonour Peace or War Life or Death that Man hath now my Free leave to depart But of this sort of Men there was not one found in this Army For they all answer'd They were resolved to live and die with their Warlike King. Hereupon the King took shipping at Sandwich in the Dertmouth the 28 day of October being the Festival of St. Simon and Jude and a Monday inter auroram diei ortum Solis as the Words of the Record express and landed that Evening at Calais l Circà horanâ— Vesperarum Claus 33. Ed. 3. m. 9. Dorso vid. Ashmele p. 669. about the time of Evening Prayer Being thus happily arrived order was given to empty the Ships of all the Horses Armour and Provision and the next day the King held a Council of War to consider what Course to take Some were for advising him first to invade Flanders and Revenge all the Injurious and Unfaithfull dealing of the Flemmings But He who came over with a Design to reduce France to equal terms or to waste it with Fire and Sword rejected that Counsel as not so convenient for the present and commanded that all Men should be ready within five days saying that he intended to ride after his Cousin the Duke of Lancaster So early in a Morning m Frois c. 207. Holinsh p. 964. on the Fourth of November being a Monday he left Calais with all his Men and Carriages in the best Order that ever was us'd by any Army marching out of a Town The mean while the Duke of Lancaster who according to his Orders was returning toward Calais being now within four Leagues of that Place met with such Multitudes of Souldiers that they seem'd to cover the Face of the whole Country all so richly beseen with Feathers in their Crests their Arms bright and shining and their Banners and Ensigns waving in the Air that it seem'd to him the most Delightfull thing in the World to behold them marching all in Battle Array fair and softly When the Duke and the German Lords met the King he received them very graciously and feasted them Royally But after Dinner the Lords Strangers as Almains Brabanders Hainalders and other Mercenaries came all together before the King and told him how they had spent all their Money and pawn'd and sold all their jewels and other Goods except only their Horses and Armour So that little or nothing was left them wherewithall to do him any Service according to the Design of their coming nor yet had they enough left to bear their Charges home into their own Countries if they should now go home Wherefore they humbly entreated his Majesty that of his Royal Bounty he would please to take their case into consideration The King told them how their Proposal being unexpected he could not at that present give them a full and final answer but said he Gentlemen I think you are sufficiently wearied at this time wherefore go and refresh your selves and your Beasts at Calais for three or four days and to night or to morrow when I have advised with my Privy Council I will take Care to send You such an answer as may in reason content You. With that they took their leave of the King and of the Duke who now joyn'd him and so rode forward toward Calais by that time they had ridden about half a League farther they met with a vast Number of Carriages after which came the Prince of Wales in the Head of his Great Battail Arm'd most gloriously at all Points His shield of Arms which were France and England quarter'd over all a Labell of Three points Argent was richly diapred with Gold the same being curiously embossed and depicted with Embroidery on his Surcoat and the Caparisons of his Horse and on his Crest was a Lion gorged with a Labell as afore All his Men likewise were gallantly Armed and for Multitude seem'd to overspread the whole Country Thus the Black-Prince rode fair and softly ready ranged in Battle Array as thô he had been to engage immediately being still distant a League or two after the King his Father for the Carriages took up the space between and having a Wing both of Horse and Foot on each side Which Order the Strangers were extreamly taken with But when they had view'd this gallant Appearance and Reverently saluted the Prince and his Lords and were likewise received
what Condition soever they be Privileges Immunities Franchises Liberties and Indulgences perpetual and temporal whatsoever to give and to grant And if of old given and granted together with the Customs and Usages provided they be not contrary to the Peace and Accord last made between Us and our most Dear Brother the King of France by our Authority to confirm when and as often as you shall be required so to do and any other things whatsoever to do and exercise which the True Prince of the said Provinces might or should do for the Welfare and Government of the Inhabitants thereof and for the Quiet of his Subjects All and singular which Premises We will have given alienated granted bestowed authorized restored revoked pardoned remitted conceded confirmed done acted and performed by You and your Deputies and from this time as heretofore they shall have a like perpetual Validity as if by Us they were done acted and performed as aforesaid And moreover and above and as there shall be need for their greater Validity from this time as heretofore We commend allow and approve and by the Tenor of these Presents confirm them Datum sub Magni Sigilli Nostri Testimonio in Palatio nostro Westmonasterii die 19 Mensis Julii Anno Domini Millesimo Tercentesimo Sexagesimo Secundo Regni Nostri Tricesimo Sexto Now to take away all Doubts and Contentions which may arise hereafter about this Matter and to the end that the Affair may be more clear over and above and again We reserve to our Selves and to our Majesty Royal expresly and by Tenor of these Presents the Direct Supremacy and all the Sovereignty and Resort of the whole Principality of Aquitain and Gascogne and of all the Cities Counties Castles Lands Countries Towns Forts Isles Provinces and Places and of all Prelates Earls Vicounts Barons Nobles and other Subjects and Inhabitants of the said Provinces which We have given to our said Eldest Son and conveyed unto his Person by the Tenor of our Letters hereabove incorporated And We will and declare that the Immediate Supremacy the whole Sovereignty and Resort abovemention'd be and remain for ever to Vs and to our said Majesty to use the said Resorts in time and place as We shall think fit which We will not nor intend to leave nor convey to our said Son by the Title of a Principality nor by any other thing whatsoever comprised in our said Letters And for an evident Token and clear Demonstration that our said Son shall hold and ought to hold under Vs of our said Majesty and by Liege Homage the which he hath made unto Vs at present all the said Things and every of them He shall be obliged to pay unto Vs every Year at our Palace of Westminster on the Feast of Easter one Ounce of Gold whereof he hath already given Vs Possession and Seisin as in token and Recognition of our Supream Dominion The which thing by the Name of Revenue and annual Tribute We impose on and really and de facto ordain of certain Knowledge and of our Authority and full Power and will that he pay it at the Place and Time above said reserving unto our Selves express and especial Power to diminish or enlarge the said Imposition and annual Tribute or appoint it to be paid unto Vs in other things at other times and elsewhere as it shall seem good unto Vs to do for the time to come in gracious Consideration and Regard had to the Estate of our said Son and to the Charges which are convenient of necessity to maintain and support him in the Government of the foresaid Countries Donne per Tesmoignance de nostre Grant Seal a nostre Palays de Westmonster le XIX jour de Juyl lan de Grace Mill. Triscentes Sexante and Deux de nostre Regne Trente Sisme III. When the Prince of Wales had made his Homage to the King his Father for this Principality of Aquitaine and had received these Letters Charters the King order'd him to prepare his Family according to the Dignity that he now held and then to pass the Seas in the Name of God and enter upon his Government For he saw well that his Son was of great Conduct Prudence and Courage and in the full Vigour of his Youth capable for any Government whatsoever He intended also hereby to render him the better instructed and as it were Tutor'd with Experience against the time that by his Decease he should succeed to the Crown of England and he well understood that by the Acquisition of so great a Principality he would be able and Rich enough to keep as Royal a Court as any King should do for at this time not to mention the Earldom of Kent and the other vast Lands and Possessions which he had with his Princess He was Prince of Aquitaine and Wales Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester The Young Prince readily obey'd his Fathers Pleasure and busied himself the remainder of this Year about preparing for the Departure of himself and his Lady the Princess with all their Family After Christmas the King and Queen and all the rest of their Children Sons and Daughters went to Barkhamsteed near London a Mannor of the said Princes to visit and take their last leave of him And there they were altogether for several days during which space there were many serious Debates between the King and the Prince and also many Notable and Royal Diversions and Entertainments Froisard the French Historian i Frois l. ult fol. penalt c. 299 was then present in the Prince's Court and he says that at that time he heard an Ancient Knight named Sr. Bartholomew Bruels in discourse among the Ladies say how he had seen a certain Book written by way of Prophesie called le Brusc in English the Broom alluding no doubt to the Sirname of the Kings of England Plantagenet which Henry the Second obtain'd from the Flower of the Broom named in Latine Planta Genistae This Book said He expresly declares that neither the Prince of Wales Eldest Son to King Edward nor the Lord Lionel Earl of Vlster nor the Lord Thomas of Woodstock should ever come to the Crown nor none of King Edwards Sons should ever come to the Crown But that the Realm of England should within a while devolve to the House of Lancaster Whatever this Book was or by whatever Art written in this it failed not For the Black-Prince dying before his Father and Prince Lionel also Henry of Bolingbroke Earl of Darby Son to John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster usurped the Crown from Richard of Bourdeaux Son and Heir to the said Black-Prince and King of England at that time in whose House the Dignity Royal Remain'd to the Third Generation when the Yorkists wrested the Scepter into their own Hands and held it till the Uniting of both Houses But to return All things being now ready the Prince of Wales k Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 233. Walsing hist p.
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.
Guischard Dangle and Sr. Stephen Cossington with Sr. William Beauchamp and Others were trying out the matter with Sr. Bertram of Clequin Sr. Arnold D'Endreghan and the rest of the Frenchmen and Aragonians who made a gallant and a long Resistance So that the Knights of England endured much pain before they could open them each Party with Spear in Hand foining and pressing against each other and when their Spears were broke they fought with short Battle-Axes or Swords and Daggers That Day the Lord John Chandos proved himself a Noble and Hardy Knight doing under his Banner many a notable Feat of Arms and he still pressed on so far that at last he was encompassed among his Enemies where he was so hardly handled that he was fell'd to the Ground but at the same time drew after him a great and big-bon'd Knight of Castille named Sr. Martin Farcant who was much renowned for Hardiness among the Spaniards This Man did his endeavour to have slain Sr. John Chandos who now lay under him in extream danger But at that instant Sr. John remembred himself of a Knife or short Dagger which he had in his Bosom under his Mail and presently drew it out and stretching forth his right Hand strack this Sr. Martin Farcant so in the Back and Sides that he slew him as thus he lay upon him And then the Lord Chandos heaving him over on one side arose quickly on his feet and by that time his Men were broke in unto him having long labour'd to come up to him where they saw him fell'd And now the Lord Chandos being follow'd by his Men and they being headed by their General began to prevail against their Enemies and to get apparent Advantage over them thô they had fought long and doubtfully before they obtain'd this Point Under the Ensign of St. George and the Banner of the Lord Chandos were all the Companions to the Number of 1200 Penons and their Captains were all hardy and valiant Knights as Sr. Robert Cheney Sr. Perdiccas de la Brett Sr. Robert Briquet Sr. Garses du Chastel Sr. Galiard Vignior Sr. John Charnels Nandon of Bergerac Edmund Ortingo Humphry Perot of Savoy the Bourg of Bartuel the Bourg de l'Esparre Lanny the Little Mechlin and divers Others besides the Knights and Esquires of England lead by the Duke of Lancaster as the Lord William Beauchamp Sr. Ralph Camois Sr. Walter Vrsewick Sr. Robert Someri Sr. John Grandesson Sr. John Draper and above 200 Knights more On the French Part there fought valiantly Sr. Bertram of Clequin with the Lord Arnold D'Endreghan the Lord William Garils a Spaniard the Beague of Villaine the Lord Dantoign or D'Intoigne in Hainalt the Lord of Brusnel the Lord Guy Bailleul Sr. John of Bergues the Beague of Villiers the Almain of St. Venant and many other Good Knights of France Hainalt Bretagne Spain Aragon Provence and the Marches thereabout who behav'd themselves all like Men however they got no Advantage for they were match'd with Knights hardy and strong and such as were expert and well-practised in Arms. Yet they held out a while with exceeding Courage so that if the Spaniards had done their part as well as the Frenchmen in all likelihood the English and Gascogners would have been much more hardly put to it and have paid at least dearer for their Victory Neither was it any fault of the Bastard Henry's that they did no better for he had well and often admonished and desired them before they came to it to do their utmost and so they had promised him to do and now he set them an Example himself and gave infinite demonstrations of his exceeding Valour and did Wonders in Arms and with a present Courage comforted his Men and when he saw any ready to fly or quit their station and so open the Ranks then he rode in among them and said My Lords I am your King You your selves have made me so and have sworn and promised not to fail me thô you die for 't For Godsake be mindfull now of your Oath and Promise and acquit your selves loyally unto Me For certainly I will not flinch one Foot as long as I can see you do your Devoir And another time he would say Where are the Courages of those Noble Spaniards who under my Father King Alphonso have given such wonderfull Overthrows to the Moors Do not now disgrace your former Glories by turning your backs at this Time. A little Perseverance will set the Garland on your Heads By these and the like Words being full of Comfort King Henry rallied his Men together three several times that Day and with his own Hands he fought valiantly So that by all means as to that Point he ought to have an honourable Report Indeed this Fight proved marvellously Dangerous and therein many Men were slain and grievously wounded and at the beginning the Commons of Spain with their Slings cast stones so violently that it was a mighty trouble to the English at first but when they also felt the sharp Arrows of England light among them they could no longer keep their Array so exactly There were however with King Henry many Noble Men of Arms as well of Spain as of Portugal and Aragon who behaved themselves with much Honour and would not give up the Day so lightly For they fought obstinately with Spears Axes Javelins and Swords And on a Wing of that Battail there were certain Troops of Cuirassiers well mounted on Gennets who always kept them in good Order For when they broke or open'd their Array in any part thither immediately flew these Troops always ready to help and bring them again into Order Which Device Sr. Bertram had taught King Henry having to his Cost learn'd it of the Lord Chandos in the Battle of Auray in Bretagne Upon all which accounts it must be acknowledged how the English and Gascogners before they had any great Advantage bought it dearly and were fain to win it by noble Chevalry and true Prowess of Arms. And to say the Truth the z Frois ibid. Black-Prince himself was the chief Flower of Chevalry in all the World and he had with him many right Valiant Knights and Esquires as well of England as of Aquitain as the Lord Edward Spencer a Frois f. 197. a. a mighty Man of Valour the young Lord Thomas Holland Eldest Son to the Princess of Wales the Lord Baldwin Frevil Seneschal of Sainctogne Sr. Thomas Wake of Blyseworth in Northamptonshire Seneschal of Rovergue together with the Seneschals of Bourdeaux of Rochelle of Poictou of Limosin and of Perigort Sr. Nele Loring Knight of the Garter Sr. Richard Pontchardon a most valiant Knight of Devonshire Sr. William Molineux Sr. Nicolas Bond. Sr. Hugh Courtney and Sr. Philip Courtney Brethren Sr. Eustace Dambreticourt Sr. John Combes and Sr. Thomas Combes Brethren besides the Gascogners as Sr. Lewis of Marville Sr. Raimund Danduel and Others And in the other Battails there were as Choice
commanded to the Tower of London there to remain as Prisoner untill he had paid Fine at the Kings Pleasure And thereupon Command was given to Sr. Alan Boxhull Constable of the Tower to keep him accordingly And so the Lords and Commons departed But after that the said Sr John being brought to Westminster before the Kings Council and there examin'd concerning the Business of the said William Latimer made Answer that as freely as the King had granted to him the Wardship aforesaid so freely did he surrender the same into the Kings Hands whereupon it was order'd in Council that the said Wardship should be reseised into the Kings Hands and deliver'd unto the said William Latimer according to the Grant made to the said Bishop of Sarum and that all Recognisances and Conveyances made by the said William to the said Sr. John should be void saving the Kings Right IV. Thus ended this Parliament but it is to be observed that Dr. Simon Langham p Godw. Catal. Bish p. 143. Philpots Catal. Chancel Treasurers c. Archbishop of Canterbury who had been both Lord Treasurer and Chancellor of England and performed the part of King Edwards Spokesman in this Parliament was on the 21 of September following by Pope Vrban V. made Cardinal titulo Sti. Sixti whereupo he resign'd his Archbishoprick of Canterbury and went to Avignon where not long after he was made Bishop Cardinal of Praeneste by Pope Gregory the Eleventh and held divers Livings in Commendum as the Archdeaconry and Treasurership of Welles and others There he lived in high Estimation for about Eight Years at which time he died of a Palsie wherewith he was suddenly taken as he sat at Dinner Of his Bounty Magnificent Buildings and other Deeds of Liberality Bishop Godwin makes mention but what we have further to say of him we shall defer till we come to relate his Death In his Seat of Canterbury he was succeeded by Dr. William Wittlesey a Man of great Parts and Learning for that Age. V. It is credibly reported q Treasury of Time or Times Store-house p. 721. that about this time during a great Storm and an extraordinary high Tide there was seen a Mermaid or Sea-woman swimming in the Zuyderzee between Campen and Edam Who being taken and brought to Edam after she was well cleansed from the Sea-moss which by her long Continuance in that Element had grown about her was not only exactly like another Woman but endured to be Apparell'd and would feed on Meats as others did thô indeed she sought all Means to escape and return again to her Watry Habitation but she was always prevented by those who had the Care of her and watch'd her very narrowly She learn'd to spin and exercise several other Feminine Duties being dayly seen by vast Numbers of People many of whom gave undoubted Testimony of the Truth of the Matter both describing her Features and attesting that she lived 15 Years after she was first taken and was lastly buried there in the Church-yard of Edam If the Reader wants Faith to credit such Matters I entreat him to consider that an Historian is not obliged to gain an Infallible Assurance of all that he says but however r Vid. in Peireskii Vitâ à Gassend conscriptâ c. that since so great and so wise Men have confirmed such things unto Us he who will not allow such authentick and probable Testimonies not only wants Faith but perhaps Modesty and Discretion also VI. But to return to the Affairs of our History Now it is to be remembred that ſ Frois c. 239. fol. a. when the Prince of Wales was come from Spain into Gascogne and his Brother the Duke of Lancaster was gone home into England many of the French and Spanish Nobility were by the English and Gascogners put to their Ransome But Sr. Bertram of Clequin remain'd still a Prison◠with the Prince and the Lord John Chandos being not admitted to pay any Ransome which prov'd a great Trouble to Henry the Bastard because he durst not attempt any New thing against Don Pedro till he should have this his most considerable Friend at Liberty But by chance there was offer'd an Occasion of obtaining that which Counsel and Money were not able to procure for one Day among the rest the Prince who us'd much Grace and Respect to all his Prisoners sent for Sr. Bertram of Clequin to discourse with him Sr. Bertram How doth your spirit Brook this Confinement Sr. I thank God very well I was never at better eas ein all my Life And it is reasonable for me to think so since I am in the Hands of the most Generous Prince living and made a Prisoner by the most Renowned Knight in the World. Who is that said the Prince Sir said he that is Sr. John Chandos That is right replied the Prince therefore you may comfort your self for being taken since it is no dishonour to be conquer'd by a Gallant Man but what comfort have you now for being detain'd a Prisoner when most of your Fellows are put to Ransom O Sir quoth Sr. Bertram as to that matter I have this Comfort namely that it is reported in France and Spain how you stand in such fear of me that you dare not let me go which must needs be a considerable Honour for so mean a Knight as I am The Prince understood well to what end these subtle Words of Sr. Bertram tended and he also remembred that his whole Council had agreed by no means to let him have his Liberty untill King Don Pedro had fully paid all those Sums of Money wherein he was bound lest Sr. Bertram should again embroil the Matters of Spain and put that King out of a capacity of Paying But however he could not endure to be thought to stand in Fear of any one Living and besides he thought to ask such a Ransom as Sr. Bertram should not easily be able to pay wherefore he answer'd him thus Then Sir it seems you imagin that We detain you here for doubt of your Prowess and Chevalry But I would not have you think so for I swear by St. George it is no such matter Do but pay Vs for your Ransom an 100000 Franks and you shall be deliver'd immediatly Sr. Bertram who whatever he pretended defired much in his mind to be at Liberty hearing now on what Conditions he might go took the Prince presently at his Word and said Sir be it so in the Name of God I 'll pay no less a Ransome and thank you for the honour of Rating me so high Then the Prince would willingly have retracted his Words for he saw himself caught now and that by his means Don Pedro might be either deposed again or put to Death before he had satisfied him and besides some of his Council came to him and told him that he had not done well so easily to put him to his Ransom and would fain have perswaded
the Meat will be cold else So he sat down with his Chief Captains about him and had done with the First Course but as the Second was served up and he had hardly tasted thereof having all this while deeply weighed the Matter with himself he suddenly lifted up his Head and said to the Knights and Esquires about him Hark ye Gentlemen the Earl of Pembroke is a Noble Person and of High Lineage he is Son also to my Natural Lord the King of England for he hath married a Daughter of his and in all things he is a Companion with the Earl of Cambridge He has requested me to come and succour him and I ought not to see such a Man lost if I may help it Wherefore I 'll go to his Assistance by the Grace of God. And with that Word he thrust away the Table from him saying Gentlemen make ready for Puirenon His Men were all overjoy'd when they heard these Words and immediatly flew to their Arms and the Trumpets sounded and every Man made haste to mount his Horse as soon as it was known that the Lord Chandos would ride to Puirenon to help the Earl of Pembroke and his Men that were besieged there So they drew out into the Field more than 200 Spears and presently the Lord Chandos was in the Head of them compleatly armed and so they set forward their Numbers still encreasing as they went. The Frenchmen that held the Earl of Pembroke so close had their Spies abroad who brought them Word at High noon to which time they had continued the Assault that Sr. John Chandos had left Poictiers with more than 200 Men of Arms and was coming thitherward in great haste having as it seem'd an huge desire to find them there When Sr. Lewis of Sancerre Sr. John de Vienne and the other Captains heard this News the Wisest of them said Gentlemen our Men are now extream weary and spent with Assaulting these Englishmen both yesterday and to day surely therefore it would be better for us to return now fair and softly while we are well with such Prisoners and Booty as we have than to expect the arrival of the Lord Chandos and his Men who are fresh and lusty and what Number they make we know not For otherwise we may not only lose what we have with so much Labour won but fling away our selves too in the Bargain This Advice was presently taken for they had but a short time to advise in So they sounded a Retreat and put themselves in Order and trussed up all their Baggage and presently took the way to la Roche Pozay The Earl of Pembroke and the Lords with him knew by this their hasty Retreat that the Frenchmen were inform'd of the Lord Chandos his Coming then he said Come on now Gentlemen let us leave this unhappy Place where we have been thus long Prisoners against our Wills and ride forth toward Poictiers to meet my Dear Friend Sr. John Chandos Then those that had Horses still leapt upon them and some went two and two on an Horse the rest going on foot and so they all went out of their Hold with great joy taking the way toward Poictiers They had scarce gone thus the space of a League but they met with the Lord Chandos and his Men to the great satisfaction of both Parties who shook each other by the Hands the one side congratulating the others Safety and they returning thanks for so seasonable Deliverance But Sr. John Chandos said how he was extreamly dissatisfied with himself that he came too late to find the Frenchmen Thus they rode all together the space of three Leagues and then took leave of each other Sr. John returning to Poictiers and the Earl of Pembroke to Mortagne from whence he went at first But the Marshal of France with his Troops went without the least impeachment to la Roche Pozay where the Booty was divided and then every Man return'd to his own Garrison leading along with him his Prisoners whom shortly after they ransom'd with much Courtesie and at easie Rates as was the Custom in those Days between the English and French Men. XXIII All this g Frois c. 267. f. 161. while the Duke of Lancaster and the Duke of Burgundy faced each other at Tournehan at which time another great Loss happen'd to King Edward of England which indeed fell not out but by the usual Course of the World and yet was heavy to the King his Children and all the Realm For now the Incomparable Queen Philippa who had done so many Acts of Piety and Charity in her Days and had protected so many oppressed Persons and had brought forth such Renowned Sons and was always a h Walsing hist p. 179. n. 10. constant Lover of the English Nation this Excellent Lady fell mortally sick in the Castle of Windsor and was brought so low that she was given over in the Opinion of the Wisest But when the Good Lady i Frois ibid. perceived her Dissolution approaching she desired to speak with the King her Husband who coming into her Chamber she put forth her Right Hand out of the Bed and took the King by his Right Hand whose great Heart was now almost conquer'd with Grief and then she said Sir blessed be God We have lived in good Love together this two and fourty Years crown'd all the while with Peace Joy and great Prosperity But now Sir since it pleaseth Almighty God to call me from You I pray that You will grant unto me three Requests at this our Parting Then the King not able to refrain from Tears said Dearest Madam ask what You will I grant it Sir said she First of all I desire You that as for all manner of People whom I have had occasion to deal withall in Merchandise either on this side or beyond the Sea You would please to pay them whatever it shall appear I owe unto them or to any other Person Secondly whatsoever Donations or Promises I have made to any Churches Religious Houses or Colleges either in this or other Countries as my Devotion perswaded me that You would please to confirm and fulfill the same And Lastly Sir I heartily desire You that whensoever it shall please God to call You out of this transitory Life it would please You to choose no other Sepulchre but near unto me in Westminster The King not without many Tears answer'd Sweet Madam all this I firmly promise and grant You with all my Heart Then the Good Queen signed her self with the sign of the Cross in token of her Faith in Jesus Christ and so recommended the King her Husband and her Youngest Son Thomas of Woodstock who being about 14 Years old stood crying at her Bedside and all her other Children to God Almighty she quietly yielded up the Ghost on the k M.S. vet Angl. in Bibl. C.C.C. Cantab. c. 233. Walsing 〈◊〉 p. 179. c. 15 of August being the Festival of the
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
behind him but the Eldest was of his own Name and the Heir as well of his Vertues as Titles XXXI When now the Duke of Lancaster had been a few Days at Calais he gave leave to Sr. Robert of Namur Sr. Henry of Flanders Sr. Valeran van Bormio and all the Germans and other Strangers to go home having first promised them by the Grace of God to return the next Year more strong than he was as then and by them desiring the Duke of Gueldre and the Duke of Juliers to joyn him also at that time and to March with him into France And soon after he himself return'd for England thinking it unseasonable to attempt any thing more till next Summer G. Lit. Dom. For it was now the 19 of November and a Monday when he went on Board for England and thus ended this Expedition and all Warlike Attempts for this Year The Duke of Lancaster upon his Return into England found himself a Widdower for the Lady a Vid. Sandsord p. 244. c. Catal. Hen. p. 327 Walsing Hypod p. 131. Blanch his Wife was newly Deceased having left behind her One Son Henry sirnamed of Bolingbroke afterwards King of England by the Name of Henry IV and two Daughters Philippa and Elisabeth The said Lady Blanch was buried in the Famous Cathedral of St. Paul's Church in London There died also this Year b Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 48. on the 4 of November being the Sunday after All-Saints the Good Old Warrier Robert Hufford Earl of Suffolk leaving behind him William his Second Son and Heir for Robert le Fitz his Eldest was Dead at that time 30 Years of Age. Dr. John Grandesson Bishop of Excester Departed this Life on the 15 of July after he had held that Seat almost 42 Years and was succeeded by Dr. Thomas Brentingham of both whom the Curious Reader may inform himself by Bishop Godwin's Catalogue XXXII King Charles of France c Mezeray ad hunc ann on the 7 of December held an Assembly of the Estates where there was granted unto the King an Imposition of one Sol per Liver upon Salt of Four Livers upon every Chimney in the City and of 30 Sols in the Country As likewise upon the Sale of Wine in the Country the 13th in Gross and the 14th upon Retail and upon entry at Paris 15 Sols for every Pipe of French Wine and 24 per Pipe for Burgundy Wine To which the Cities joyfully consented as knowing these Levies would be well menaged and cease again with the War. CHAPTER the SEVENTH AN. DOM. 1370. An. Regni Angliae XLIV Franciae XXXI The CONTENTS I. The unfortunate Death of the Lord John Chandos II. His Legacy to the Prince of Wales the Lord Thomas Percy succeeds him The Frenchmen taken at Lussac redeem'd Some French Lords stand Neuters some firm to England and some Change. III. King Edwards Letters of Indemnity to the Gascogne Lords IV. Chastelleraut taken by the French V. The Duke of Bourbon besieges the Companions in Bellepeche the Earls of Cambridge and Pembroke go to their Succour VI. The English Earls desire to have Battle of the Duke of Bourbon who refusing the Companions leave the Castle and carry away the Dukes Mother Prisoner before his Face VII King Edward sends for Sr. Robert Knolles and makes him his General and strengthens Himself by Allies VIII The French King prepares for the next Campaine and invites Sr. Bertram of Clequin to his Service The Dukes of Anjou and Berry resolve to invade the Principality IX King Edwards Preparations against France The Lady Isabella of Valois deliver'd out of Prison X. A League between France and Navarre XI The Duke of Anjou invades the Principality on one side and the Duke of Berry on the other XII The Prince prepares to oppose them XIII La Linde being on the point of being betray'd to the French is suddenly rescued by the English XIV The Death of David Bruce King of Scotland He is succeeded by his Nephew Robert Stuart the Genealogy of that Glorious Family and an old Error of the Scotch Historians concerning King Roberts Children exploded XV. The Copy of an Authentick Scotch Record with other strong Arguments for that purpose XVI King Robert enters a Truce with England Sr. Robert Knolles sent over with an Army to Calais with his Exploits He dares the French King before the Walls of Paris The Dukes of Anjou and Berry not daring to meet the Black-Prince break up their Armies Limoges betray'd to the Duke of Berry XVIII The Black-Prince goes and lays Siege to Limoges XIX Sr. Robert Knolles rises from before Paris XX. Limoges taken and sack'd by the Black-Prince XXI A Grant of the Prince's to his Brother the Duke of Lancaster with his Stile and Seal described XXII Vpon the Vacancy of the Constableship of France King Charles creates Sr. Bertram of Clequin his Constable XXIII Sr. Bertram goes against Sr. Robert Knolles and cuts off a Party of his Army XXIV Sr. Robert Knolles clears his Innocence and Sr. John Menstreworth proclaim'd Traytor XXV Pope Urban X dying is succeeded by Gregory XI Maximus Planudes the Collector of the Greek Epigrams called Anthologia flourishes I. TOward the Declining of the last Year there was given an Occasion of a very unhappy Accident which befell England this Year whereof thô unwilling We shall now discourse The Town a Frois c. 268. 270. D◠Chesne p. 704. of St. Salvin on the River Gartempe in Poicton about seven leagues from the City of Poictiers was before this an English Garrison and all the Inhabitants and the Monks belonging to the Abbey there had sworn Allegiance to the King of England But there was in this Abby a certain Monk who so extreamly hated his Superior the Abbot that thrô very Rancour of heart and out of pure spight to him he at last found an opportunity to betray the Abbot and all his Covent and Abbey and Town also into the Hands of Sr. Lewis of St. Julian and Carlonet the Breton who took Possession of the Place in the French King's Name and repaired and fortified it and put a good Garrison therein Of this loss of St. Salvin when the Lord John Chandos heard he was vext beyond measure because he was Seneschal of Poictou and that Place among others pertained to his Province And he thought with himself that if he liv'd a little longer he would endeavour to recover it at any Rate and make those pay dearly for their Boldness who had presum'd to take it without his leave He thought b Frois c. 27◠c. on nothing in the World but how to recover this Place either by Force or Surprise he cared not much whether but to have it he was resolv'd or to lose Himself in the Attempt For this purpose he laid several Nights here an Ambush and there an Ambush and now one Stratagem was devised and then another but all his Care and Policy
the Lord of Coucy King Edwards Son-in Law. Now all along there were certain Lords of France that coasted the English Army and watched their Motions at a Distance as the Vicount of Meaux the Lord of Chauny the Lord Ralph de Coucy the Lord William de Melun Son to the Earl of Tancarville with their several Retinues whereof the English being aware durst not break their Order but alway marched in Battle-Array close together Wherefore the Frenchmen had no opportunity to meddle with them but still they coasted them in hopes one time or other to get some Advantage against them and every Night the Frenchmen lodged in some Town or strong Hold while the English lay in the Plain Country where now they found plenty of Victuals and New Wines whereof they were very free Thus they rode thrô the Country burning and pillaging all before them till they passed the Marne and after that they entred into Champagne going over the River of Aube then they turned toward the Marches of Provins in Brie and having more than once passed the Seyne they drew at last toward the Imperial City of Paris For they understood how the French King made there a great Assembly of Men of War of whom the Earl of St. Paul and the Lord Clisson were to be the Chief Leaders Wherefore now Sr. Robert resolv'd for Paris being very desirous to come to a Battle and that was the Reason he had not much troubled himself in Assaulting strong Places because he designed to spare his Men for a better Service When the French King heard that Sr. Robert Knolles was coming towards him he wrote to Sr. Bertram of Clequin then in Aquitain about the Parts of Limosin requiring and commanding him on sight of his Letters to come unto him for he was minded to employ him elsewhere XVII But before We proceed in this Matter We shall first take notice what those two Mighty Armies of France which were led by the Dukes of Berry and Anjou did perform worthy of their Name against the Invincible Black-Prince who made his Rendezvous at Cognac a City of Aquitain in the Province of Angoulesmois on the River la Charente resolving thô now he was fain to use a litter to expect the two French Dukes and give them Battle At his Summons there came unto him all the Loyal Barons Knights and Esquires of Poictou Sainctogne and other Lands that held of the Prince and at the same time the Duke of Lancaster with 400 Men of Arms and 4000 Archers out of England arrived at Bourdeaux where he tarried but a Day and a Night and then marched towards Cognac for he heard how the Prince his Brother was resolved to give his Enemies Battle if they would abide him Being within a days journey of Cognac he met with the Earl of Pembroke who had lest his Garrison of Mortagne and was going also to serve the Prince These two Great Personages were glad to see one another and so they rode together to Cognac where they found the Prince and Princess who was newly come to see her Lord and Husband from Angoulesme and the Earl of Cambridge To all whom they were extream Welcome And now the Prince thought himself already Victorious if his Enemies Courage would suffer them to look on him or his own health permit him to give them a Visit And daily there flocked unto his Banners many Gallant Warriers from Poictou Sainctogne Rochellois Gascogne Gaure Bigorre and the Marches next adjoyning which yet continued under the Obedience of the Prince On the other Hand the Duke of Anjou had conquer'd Cities Castles Towns and Fortresses more than Fourty in Number and was now come within Five or Six Leagues of Bourdeaux having wasted all the Country But about Bergerac and la Linde he was informed how the Prince of Wales was personally in the Field at Cognac and that besides a Great Army which he had rais'd the Duke of Lancaster was newly come to him with a considerable Reinforcement of Men of War Spears and Archers Hereupon his High Courage began to stoop and he call'd a Council of the Lords about him to enquire how to persevere in which Council Sr. Bertram of Clequin was present Here many things were warmly debated and some were directly for giving Battle to the Prince alledging how he was so empair'd in his Health that he was but the Shadow of himself now Others held the contrary Opinion affirming that even the Presence of such a General in the Field was of Great Importance and carried Courage if not Fortune along with it That either he was Dangerously Ill or not if not he was now as formidable as ever and if really so he would waste away of himself they need not by their Rashness prepare heaps of their own Men for Him to die upon So in short all things consider'd the Duke of Anjou was advis'd to break up his Army for the present and to dispose of his Men about in Garrisons to make Frontier War For as they said they had done enough for that time And besides there was a necessity for the Gascogne Lords as the Earl of Armagnac the Lord of Albret the Earl of Perigort and others who composed the better part of that Army to return into their Respective Countries for they knew not which way the Prince would move with those Forces which he had raised Thus the Duke of Anjou brake up his Army with more Reputation for Prudence than Courage if indeed that Courage is not the best which is match'd with Prudence He himself went to Cahors where he disposed his Men all about the Country in Garrisons the Earl of Armagnac and the other Disaffected Lords return'd into their own Lands but Sr. Bertram of Clequin with his Company went to the City of Limoges before which the Duke of Berry the Duke of Bourbon and the Lords of France lay at that time with the other Army having greatly constrained the Place so that by the Bishops means especially they were even then upon the Point of yielding At Sr. Bertram's e Frois c. 280. fol. 171. coming all the Army rejoyced and soon after they pursued the Treaty which they had already begun between the Bishop of Limoges and the Inhabitants of the City on the One part and the Duke of Berry on the Other So at last the Bishop and the City turn'd to the French side and sware Homage and Fealty to the Duke in the French King's Name and then the Duke had Possession of the Place and tarried there three days to refresh his Men and to settle Affairs as to the Garrison which done he brake up his Army as the Duke of Anjou had done giving leave to all his Chief Captains to go to their several Respective Places to defend them Because said he I hear how Sr. Robert Knolles is now in the Isle of France and we have done enough for this Campaine if only in that we have taken Limoges which the
and won Cattle and Prisoners and fill'd the plain Country with Desolation The King of Aragon who very much doubted this War being alarum'd at this sudden Invasion sent Men of Arms in all haste to the Frontiers under the Conduct of the Vicount of Roqueberton and the Earl of Rodaiz while himself was busied in raising an Army to go against h Vid. Lit. Papales de hoc ad Regem Aragonium apud Odâ—r Rainal ad an 1363. §. 9. his Nephew the King of Majorica But He Poor Prince even while thus the War was fair on his side fell sick again in the Valley of Soria of which sickness he died within few days leaving the Injuries done unto his Father and himself unrevenged and all the hopes of his Crown and Life together It is likely that upon his Delivery from his Spanish Prison when he found how the Black-Prince in whose Fortunate Valour he had reposed a sure hope of Success was himself seised with an Incurable Malady he thereupon began by Degrees to entertain Melancholy thoughts till now at last his Grief and Sickness together put an end to his troublesome Life However his Uncle the Aragonese had Peace thereby and continued in that Condition several Years after As for the Companions who came with the King of Majorica to make War against him they return'd back into France where they thought to make their advantage either by owning the French or English Interest The rest of the Auxiliaries went as their Humor or Interest led them to other Parts XIII All this i Frois c. 295. fol. 178. Gallicè fol. 243. while John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster was in the City of Bourdeaux on the Garonne where he kept a Court little inferior to that of the Prince his Brother having about him a Gallant Retinue of Barons Knights and Esquires of England and of Aquitaine And as yet Fortune had not taken her leave of King Edward as We may see by his late unexpected Victory over the Flemings Thô several Lords of Poictou Limosin and other Provinces revolted daily to the French King and immediately turn'd their Arms another way making frequent Skirmishes and Rencounters with the English But now Divine Providence began to weaken the English Interest and Power even by such a Means as all other Princes make use of to strengthen theirs viz. An Alliance by Marriage which thô Glorious in shew prov'd no more but an Airy Title and yet that brought forth in time many Expensive Wars and gave an Occasion of much Bloodshed and loss of Treasure principally in Spain and Portugal but by accident also it produced the loss of Rochelle and consequently of many more Places in France as we shall now see We spake k Vid. l. 4. c. 6. §. 31. p. 782. before of the Death of the Lady Blanch Dutchess of Lancaster upon which the Duke her Husband being left a Widower the Barons of Gascogne now with the said Duke at Bourdeaux began to consider how Don Pedro late King of Castille and Leon had left behind him two Daughters which he had by a Lawfull Bed. That these young Ladies were then at Aire a City of Gascogne having been left as Pledges with the Prince of Wales for certain Sums of Money due unto him from their Father And when these Ladies heard first of the Murder of the King their Father they were extreamly Disconsolate and in such Fear and trouble that it was a Thousand Pities such Innocent Virgins of Royal Blood should ever be brought to such Affliction by the Sins of their Father Especially all Men lamented the Condition of the Eldest who was now the True and Lawfull Heir to the Crown of Castille by Right of Succession devolved unto her immediately upon the Death of her Father King Don Pedro. All this Sr. Guischard D'Angle shew'd unto the Duke of Lancaster in the Presence of the Earl of Cambridge his Brother saying My Lord if it please your Royal Highness You are yet to be disposed of in Marriage once more and Sir We can tell You of a Match not unfitting your Birth whereby You shall obtain the Title of a King in her Right and your Children by her shall be Heirs to a Crown and she likewise hath a younger Sister which will make a good Wife for You my Lord of Cambridge They are both Ladies of Incomparable Perfections both of Mind and Body being the Daughters of Don Pedro late King of Castille and Leon. And surely it is no small point of Charity to succour and comfort distressed Damsels especially they being Daughters to a King in such a forlorn Condition as Fortune hath now reduced them to My Lord Duke We your Faithfull Servants would advise You to take unto Wife the Lady Constance who is the Eldest of these Princesses For We cannot tell where You can Match more Honourably or obtain Higher Dignity in so doing These Words and more to the like purpose made such an Impression on the Duke's heart who was now but One and Thirty Years of Age and in the Highest Vigour of Nature but especially when both their Beauties were enlarged upon he was so pleased that he resolv'd forthwith to send for the two Ladies Constance the Eldest whom he had pitch'd upon and Isabella the Youngest whom his Younger Brother the Earl of Cambridge design'd to espouse Four Lords with their Attendants went for them and they menaged their Business so well that the Ladies consented to go along with them to Bourdeaux when they should have got all things ready for their journey Upon News of the time the Duke of Lancaster and the Earl of Cambridge rode forth to meet them and were both so extraordinarily pleased with their several Mistresses that they immediately Married them in the next Village to them called Rochefort not far from Bourdeaux The Marriage was solemnised with a Great and Royal Feast and after that the two Princely Bridegroomes brought their Ladies to Bourdeaux where again there was Feasting and Joy and a most Splendid Resolemnization of this Double Marriage being attended with a great Number of Lords and Ladies all who Caressed the Royal Brides and presented them with many Rich Jewels and other Gifts to shew their Respect chiefly to the Duke But whatever all this might be in other Circumstances it was only now in effect to denounce Mortal War against the King of Spain and his Heirs for ever and thô indeed that King was an Usurper yet he was at that time of Great Power so that it seem'd no ways convenient to put him to Despair in a juncture when the King of England had his Hands full of War elsewhere King Henry of Castille had early notice how the Duke of Lancaster had Married the Eldest of his Neices and the Earl of Cambridge the other Wherefore by Advice of his Grandees who were all strictly United to his Interest he resolved forthwith to engage with the French King in a close and perpetual League Offensive
of Clequin takes St. Benoist by Assault and puts all within to the Sword He takes Marans by Composition and Surgeres he finds void He takes Fontenay le Comté and sits down before Thoüars which obtains a Truce on promise to yield if not rescued by such a Day by the King of England or one of his Sons in Person The Captal of Busche brought Prisoner to Paris his Loyalty to the English for which he is confin'd for Life his Praise and Nobility and that he was Ancestor to Lewis XIV the present King of France XIX King Edward upon News from Thoüars resolves to go in Person to the Rescue and the mean while calls his Parliament and declares Richard of Bourdeaux the Black-Prince's only Son to have the Right of Succession after the Death of his Father and Grandfather and so leaving the said Prince Richard his Lieutenant during his Absence he sets Sail for Rochelle with a mighty Army XX. The French King prepares to oppose and the Loyal Lords of Gascogne to joyn him with all their Strength XXI But the Wind continuing adverse for a Month he is disappointed and forced to return into England XXII The English and Gascogne Lords offer themselves to save Thoüars but are not accepted because the Conditions required the King or one of his Sons to be there in Person XXIII Thoüars yielded to the French Mortagne besieged by the Lord. Clisson who leaves the Siege upon the Approach of the English Succours XXIV The Duke of Bretagne enters Alliance with King Edward and is made Earl of Richmond John of Gaunt resigning that Earldom upon an Equivalent XXV Prince Edward surrenders into his Fathers Hands the Principality of Aquitain The Death of the Earl of Stafford of Sr. William Molineux and of Sr. John Mandeville the Famous Traveller I. THIS being the first Inauspitious Year of our Great Edwards Reign was begun with the Death of two Famous Peers of this Realm For first a Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 186. Mill's Catal. Honor. p. 1075. on the 16 of January there died the Valiant Lord Humphry Bohun Earl of Northampton Hereford and Essex and Constable of England the Tenth of that Name and the last Male of that Noble Family For by the Lady Joan his Wife Daughter to Richard Fitz-Alan Earl of Arundel he left Issue only two Daughters his Heirs the Lady Eleanor who became the Wife of Thomas Plantagenet sirnamed of Woodstock the Youngest Son of King Edward and the Lady Mary who was Wife to the Eldest Son of John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster called Henry of Bolingbroke Earl of Darby and afterwards by Usurpation King of England by the Name of Henry the IV. This Earl is also said in a certain b M.S. Penes D. Ed. D. Mil. de Sharsted in Cantio private Genealogy which I have seen to have left behind him another Daughter named Beatrix which is there pretended to have been married to an Ancestor of that Family But this is a gross Error and Mistake and a Vanity worthy to be corrected thô here I spare the Gentlemans Name since it contradicts c Dugd. ibid. Mills ibid. Sandford Gen. Hist p. 227. c. all the Publique and Authentick Accounts that are any where to be met with About the same time viz. on the 15 of January d Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 150. Frois c. 296. Lit. Dom. DC being a Thursday and the Day after the Feast of St. Hilary the Bishop and Confessor there died in the City of London that most Generous and Couragious Gentleman the Lord Walter Manny Banneret and Knight of the most Noble Order of the Garter leaving behind him the Lady Anne his only Daughter and Heir then married to the Lord John Hastings Earl of Pembroke she being at that time but Seventeen Years of Age. At this Mans Death King Edward and all the Lords of England were mightily concerned because of the extraordinary Judgment Loyalty and Courage that had always been found in him He was therefore e â—anford Gen. Hist p. 207. 208. Stow's Survey p. 478. Dugd. c. buried with great Solemnity in his own Chappel of the Carthusians now called the Charter-House in London King Edward and all his Children the Great Prelates of the Church and the Brethren of the Order of the Garter with many of the Chief Barons of the Realm honouring his Funeral Rites with their Prefence He died f Dugd. 2 Vol. p. 150. siezed of the Mannor of Dunstaple in Kent of Dovercourt Chesterford Magna and Rumford in Essex of Weston and Knebworth in Hertfordshire of the Castle of Strigoile and Mannor of Tudenham in the Marches of Wales of the Mannors of North Pidele in Worcestershire of Bretteby in Darbyshire of Oneston and Barton-Hanrede in Northamtonshire of Scottesdon in Shropshire of Aspele Alspathe Thurlaston and Fleckenho in Warwickshire of Cold-Overton Dalby Segrave Sileby Montsorrel Groby Witherdale and the Hundred of Goscote in Leicestershire of Watton and Stoneham in Suffolk of Framlingham Southfield Lodden the Moiety of the Mannor of Dikelburgh and Half-Hundred of Ersham in Norfolk and of a certain Mannor in Penne near Beaconfield in Buckinghamshire All which Possessions except the Mannor of Dunstaple first mentioned came to him in Right of the Lady Margaret his Wife Daughter and Heir of Thomas Plantagenet sirnamed of Brotherton Earl of Norfolk and Uncle to King Edward the Third Of her Body he gat besides a Son unhappily drown'd in his Childhood only one Daughter namely the Lady Anne married as we said before to the Earl of Pembroke Whereupon all these Lands and others as well in England as beyond the Seas in Hainalt his Native Country besides what King Edward g Vid. hujus Hist l. 2. c. 6. §. 20. p. 411. had given unto him in Calais and other Parts of France fell now unto the said Earl of Pembroke in Right of his Wife the Lady Anne Manny aforesaid Wherefore soon after the said Earl sent two of his Knights to make Seisin of the said Lands belonging unto him in Hainalt and they did their Devoir so well with Duke Albret of Bavaria who then Governed for his Distracted Brother William that they attained their Purpose II. Now thô King h Ashmâ—le's Garter p. 666. Edward design'd to enter France with two Fresh Armies this Year yet upon the Pope's earnest request both by Letters and Messages he first endeavour'd to lay hold of an Honourable Peace To which end i 19 Febr. Rot. Franc. 46 Ed. 3. m. 47. Power of treating thereon was given to Simon Sudbury alià s Tibald Bishop of London to the Lord Guy Brian and the Lord Roger Beauchamp Bannerets to Sr. Arnold Savage Knight Dr. John Appleby Dean of London and John de Branketre Treasurer of York And the k 20 Febr. ibid. m. 48. next day the King granted his Letters of safe Conduct for the Ambassadors of France to treat about that Affair But because nothing as to
Bretagne arrived safe at St. Matthew du Fine Poterne in Bretagne where formerly he had found the Gates shut upon him Here he took Land in good Order and forthwith began to Assault the Castle which stood without the Town not greatly fortified at that time either with Men or Munition Wherefore the English carried it by force and put every Man of them to the Sword because they repented not but stood out still in Rebellion against their Natural Lord. When the Townsmen saw this severe Example they presently set open their Gates to receive the Duke unto whom again they sware true and constant Obedience From hence the English marched straight to the City of St. Pol du Leon which was very strong and enclosed with a Wall and a Ditch However they began a fierce and Vigorous Assault and all the while the Archers who stood on the Dikes shot so wholly together that few or none durst appear at their Defences and so at last the Place was won rifled and plunder'd and many hundreds put to the Sword but of the French Garrison not a Man was saved From thence they passed on taking Towns and Castles all along till they came to St. Brieux de Vaulx which was well furnished with Men and Arms and all things necessary For the Lords of Clisson and of Beaumanoir the Vicount of Rohan and other Lords of Bretagne had been there but a little before and refreshed the Place sufficiently But the Duke sat down resolving to try what he could do by Siege and Assault III. The mean while the Vicount of Rohan and the Lord of Beaumanoir who lay by way of countersiege not far off fronting the Duke of Bretagne heard how the Lord John Devereux being near Quimperlay made great havock thereabouts and had newly repair'd and fortify'd a little Place of Defence which he call'd New-Fort that there he kept his Garrison to the terrour of the whole Country so that the Inhabitants could hardly put their Heads out of their Gates but they were presently pick'd up by Sr. John and his Men. Upon this they sent word to the Lord Clisson who was then at Lamballe a Town about Five Leagues from St. Brieux and He for his part having left some Troops behind to secure the Town marched with the rest of his Men to joyn his Friends before New-Fort to which they soon after laid Siege News hereof was brought to the Duke of Bretagne and the English Lords before St. Brieux just as they had lost a Mine which with great Cost and Pains they had been making for 15 Days together Wherefore being vext at this Disappointment and also desirous by all means to save Sr. John Devereux they agreed not to tarry any longer before so strong a Place but rather to rise and go to the Succour of their Friends For said they if We may but find them in the Field who have now besieged them We trust to have a Fair Day against them Upon this Determination they brake up their Siege and began to March towards New-Fort which it seems the Lords of Bretagne had so fiercely Assaulted that they were now come even to the foot of the Wall and began to dig with might and maine not fearing any thing that the English could cast upon them they were so well cover'd with a Penthouse of shields and indeed the English had but little heavy Matter to fling down But however Fortune so well favour'd them that at the very Instant while they were thus digging to bring down a Pane of the Wall there came one to them suddenly upon the Spur saying Lords get away as fast as You can for yonder is the Duke of Bretagne coming in all haste upon You with his English Army They cannot be above two Leagues off by this time Upon this immediately the Trumpets sounded a Retreat to the Assailants and they drew all back mounted their Horses and marched off speedily taking their way to Quimperlay the nearest Place of Defence they knew of and being enter'd they shut up their Gates drew up the Bridges and prepared for their Defence IV. By this time the Duke of Bretagne came thither with all the Barons and Knights of England having pass'd by New-Fort and given but a short Visit to Sr. John Devereux who thanked them all heartily for their timely Assistance without which he had been most certainly lost But now the Duke lays Siege to Quimperlay his Archers being brought forth into the Field and his Footmen and Men of Arms set to the Assault The Englishmen were not in jest no more were the Besieged So that after a cruel Attack and a Resolute and well-menag'd Defence many being grievously wounded on both sides they parted for that time But thus every day the Game was play'd between them without any considerable Advantage to the English thô to all appearance it was not possible for the Besieged to hold out much longer For Succour to come they had none to Escape away there was no hope all the Avenues being possest by the Enemy and they very well knew that if they were taken by force they should have no mercy especially the Lord Clisson who had been of late so inveterate an Enemy to the English that he could expect no favour at their Hands Upon these considerations they fell to treat with the Duke offering to yield themselves on Condition they might be put to courteous Ransom But the Duke thinking it shamefull to Capitulate thus orderly with his own Subjects absolutely rejected that Motion and would have them yield up simply However at last with much ado they obtain'd of him a Truce and Respit for Eight Days during which time there fell an happy Chance for the Besieged For two English Knights Sr. Nicolas Charnells and Sr. Walter Vrsewick were sent thither from the Duke of Lancaster then at Bruges enjoyning the Duke of Bretagne and all the English Commanders in the King of England's Name to forbear all further Acts of Hostility Forasmuch as there was then lately a Truce taken between the two Kings of England and of France and all their Friends and Allies of the Articles whereof these Knights brought Authentick Copies into the Camp. They were immediately read and published thrô the Camp and also to the Besieged in Quimperlay to the great joy of the latter for without this unexpected good Fortune they had all been lost infallibly And thus the Duke of Bretagne being trepan'd by this subtle trick of the Frenchmen was forced to let his Enemies slip out of his Hands and so brake up the Siege licencing all his Men to depart except his Domestick Retinue with whom he went to Auray where he found his Dutchess After this having at his leisure refreshed his Garrisons of Brest and Auray and done what was necessary for the preservation of his own he return'd with his Lady into England to advise further with the King his Father-in-Law V. A little before which Edmund Earl of Cambridge Edmund
and Suffolk besides many other Lords and Ladies In the First Division of these Mummers there rode Fourty Eight habited like Esquires Two and Two together all clothed in Scarlet Coats and Gowns of Say or Sendal with comely Visards on their Faces After whom went Fourty Eight Knights in like Order and in the same Livery of Stuff and Colour Then came One richly Arrayed like an Emperour and some distance after him Another Gorgeously attired in Pontificalibus representing the Pope with Twenty Four Cardinals attending him In the Reer of all came up Eight Persons with Black Visards and strange as if they had been Ambassadors from some Foreign Princes These Mummers being enter'd the Court of Kennington alighted all from their Horses and went orderly into the Great Hall Whereupon the Young Prince his Mother and the Great Lords who were acquainted with the Matter came out of the Chamber into the Hall and received the Salutations of the Mummers They by a pair of Dice flung upon the Table signified their Desire to play with the Young Prince and upon his Accepting their Motion they so obligingly contrived the Dice that the Prince always won whether He cast at Them or They at Him. Having thus lost some considerable Sums of Gold then they set to the Prince Three Jewels one after another viz. a Bowl of Gold a Cup of Gold and a Ring of Gold all which the Prince wan at three Casts Then they set to the Lady Princess to the Duke the Earls and other Lords to every One a large Ring of Gold which as the Dice were order'd those Illustrious Personages also wan After Play succeeded a Splendid Entertainment accompanied with most exquisit Musick the Prince and the Lords dancing on the One part and the Mummers on the Other And then all being concluded with a Banquet of Wine and Spices the Mummers departed in Order as they came III. Now it is to be observed that althô King Edward was something recover'd from his Sickness yet not being very Current and especially because of his great Age he had lately associated unto Himself his Son John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster as his Assistant in the Regency Who thô perhaps he might be Ambitious enough yet being of too Rough and Martial a Temper to please the People was not thereby in any great likelyhood of Injuring the Right of the Young Prince of Wales who besides the Advantage of his Title was also for his Great Fathers Sake most strongly rooted in the Affections of all True Englishmen However the Duke of Lancaster being thus advanced shew'd himself Terrible to all his Enemies especially to William of Wickham Bishop of Winchester whom he hated mortally for what Cause I shall not here enquire and caused him e Fex p. 392. to be deprived of all his Temporalities with a Prohibition not to come within 20 Miles of the Court. And not being well assured of Edmund Mortimer Earl of March at that time Marshal of England with a Design to remove him out of the way he commanded him in the King's Name toward the End of the preceding Year to haste over unto Calais according to his Office and there to take a diligent View of the Castle and Town of Calais as also of all the Castles and Forts in the Marches thereof and to cause such Repairs to be made as should seem needfull and likewise to see them well Manned and Victualled But the Earl of March who saw how hereby he was set as a Mark for Envy declin'd the Matter and chose rather to yield up his Rod with the Office of Marshal thereto belonging than obey in so hazardous an Employ The Duke gladly accepts his Rod and gives it with the Office to his sure Friend the Lord Henry Percy afterwards Earl of Northumberland the First of that Name and Family who was then f Dagd 1 Vol. p. 276. b. assign'd to the same Employ thô he had not full Commission till this present Year IV But now a Parliament is summon'd to meet at Westminster D. Lit. Dom. as on the Quindene of St. Hilary being the Tuesday g Vid. Rot. Par. 51. Ed. 3. M.S. praedict p. 143. Sr. Rob. Câ—tton p. 144. next after the Conversion of St. Paul that is the 27 of January the Writs of Summons bearing Date at Westminster on the 1 of December preceding And here for instance-sake I shall set down the Names of those Peers to whom the Kings Writs were directed with a Copy of the Writ it self as taken from the Latine only premising that the King herein calls his Nephew Prince Richard by the Name of Son as well to set the higher Character upon him as because he was now in Law to be look'd on as his Son being come into the Place of his Deceased Father EDWARD by the Grace of God King of England and France and Lord of Ireland to his most Dear SON Richard Prince of Wales Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester Greeting Whereas concerning divers and Weighty Matters relating especially to Us and the State of our Realm We intend to hold our Parliament at Westminster on the Quindene of St. Hilary next ensuing and there with You and others our Peers and Barons of the Realm to consult about the Premises We command You upon the Faith and Allegiance which You owe unto Us firmly enjoyning that at the said time and Place all other Business laid aside You be personally present there to consult and advise about the Premises with Us and other our Peers and Barons and that this You omit by no means Teste meipso apud Westmonast primo Decembris Ano. Regni nostri Angliae 50 Franciae verò 37. Per ipsum Regem The like Letters were directed besides the Clergy to these Peers following viz. John King of Castille and Leon Duke of Lancaster Edmund Earl of Cambridge Richard Earl of Arundel Thomas of Woodstock Constable of England Edmund Mortimer Earl of March. Thomas Beauchamp Earl of Warwick Hugh Courtney Earl of Devonshire Hugh Stafford Earl of Stafford Gilbert Vmphravile Earl of Angos William Vfford Earl of Suffolk William Montagu Earl of Salisbury Henry Lord Percy Marshal of England William Lord Latimer William Lord Bardolph Guy Lord Bryan Roger Lord Beauchamp John Lord Clinton Gilbert Lord Talbot William Lord Botreaux John Lord De la Warre Henry Lord Scroop John Lord Nevill Thomas Lord Rous of Hamlake Richard Lord Stafford Reginald Lord Grey of Ruthin John Lord Grey of Codnovre Henry Lord Grey of Shereland Nicolas Lord Burnel William Lord de la Zouch of Harringworth Roger Lord Clifford And the Lord Almaric of St. Amand. The Quindene of St. Hilary as We said before was the First Day of the Parliament At which time the Noble and Puissant Lord Richard Prince of Wales Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester together with the Bishops Lords Justices Commons and others summon'd to the Parliament assembled at the Palace of Westminster in the Painted-Chamber where
a certain Priest began to question them about the Reason of this their unusual rage and concourse He was answer'd by some of them that they sought for the Duke and the Lord Marshal to get them to deliver Sr. Peter de la Mare whom they wrongfully detained in Prison To this the Priest answer'd again more boldly than wisely That Sr. Peter said he is a false Traytor to the King and worthy to have been hanged long since At these words the Rabble cry'd out upon him with a terrible shout saying that he was a Traytor and so falling upon him wounded him to Death VIII Nor in all likelihood had the Tumult thus ceased had not the Bishop of London leaving his Dinner at the first News of this Disturbance come to them at the Savoy and putting them in mind of the solemn season of Lent with much ado perswaded them to go home and be quiet However as they were returning to the City seeing they could do no harm to the Dukes person who was now out of their Reach they began to wreak their Anger on all that they could find belonging unto him and taking his Arms in the most shamefull manner they hung them up Reversed in divers parts of the City as if he had been a Traytor Nay when One of the Dukes Gentlemen came riding thrô the City with a Plate of the Dukes Arms about his Neck these Men not enduring such a sight flang him from his Horse tore away his Cognisance from him and had certainly served him as they had served the Priest but that the Mayor came opportunely to his Rescue and sent him home safe to the Duke his Master So hatefull at that time was the Duke of Lancaster to the Londoners IX When the Princess understood how ill-affected the Londoners stood unto the Duke she sent unto them Three of her Knights Sr. Aubrey de Vere Sr. Simon Burley and Sr. Lewis Clifford to entreat them to be reconciled unto the Duke They for their parts answer'd how for the Honour of the Princess they would obey and with all Reverence be ready to do whatever she should please to require But however this they said and charged the Messengers to tell the Duke as much by word of Mouth that they were resolved that the Bishop of Winchester and Sr. Peter de la Mare should be brought to their Answer and judged by their Peers So that either they might be acquitted If they were Guiltless or if culpable receive their due according to the Laws of the Realm At the same time the Mayor and Common-Council of London sent certain u Daniel's hist p. 359 c. of their Chief Citizens to the Old King to make their Excuse concerning this Tumult protesting that they themselves were no way privy thereto but upon the first Knowledge sought by all means to suppress the same Which they could not do because the whole Commonalty was in a Commotion upon an Information that their Liberties should be taken from them by Parliament The King told them that it never enter'd into his heart to infringe their Liberties it was rather his Desire to enlarge them And therefore he willed them to banish all needless fear occasion'd by too easie Credulity and to return and endeavour to keep the City in Quiet which they did being well satisfied with this Answer We shall not here dwell on the minuter parts of this Story nor shew what Indignation and Grief the Duke conceived hereat nor what means and suit the Londoners were fain to make to the King his Father for their Liberties nor what Rhymes and Ballads were made upon the Duke in London nor how the Bishops at the Duke's instance were obliged to excommunicate all his Defamers nor how at last he was revenged of these contumelious injuries having caused the Mayor and Aldermen to appear before the King where they were sharply rebuked for their Misdemeanor by the Grave Oration of Sr. Robert Ashton the Kings Chamberlain in presence of the King Archbishops Bishops the Kings Children and the Chief Nobility of the Realm nor how they were then and there enjoyned at the Publique Charges of the City to make a Great Taper of Wax which with the Dukes Arms set upon it should be brought in solemn Procession to the Church of St. Paul there to burn continually before the Image of our Lady Nor how at last in the beginning of the next Kings Reign the Duke and the Londoners were fully reconciled together with the Kiss of Peace and the said Reconciliation published in the Churches of St. Paul and Westminster to the great joy of the whole City Nor shall I speak any farther of John Wicklisse x Odor Rainal ad hunc an §. 4. Walsingh hist p. 201 c. how the Pope wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury and to the Bishop of London to convene him once more and how the Princess of Wales deliver'd him nor how lastly he was fain to retire into Bohemia where he spread his Doctrine For these Matters do neither in their own Nature nor Time agree with our present Design X. All these things I pass over as Matters either foreign or of small Moment so likewise I leave in silence the y Vid. M. S. Vet. Angl. in Bibl. C.C.C. Cantab. c. 238. Riot made between the Earl of Warwicks Men and the Abbot and Monks of Evesham as also z Fox Acts Men. p. 394. the hurlyburly made at Laneham in Suffolk against Henry Spencer the Warlike Bishop of Norwich and other trivial Matters And haste now to an end of King Edward's Life and our Labour About this time Sr. John Menstreworth that false Knight of whose abominable Treason We a Vid. Hujus hist l. 4. c. 7. §. 23. 24. p. 809 c. spake in the Fourty Fourth Year of this King was suddenly b M.S. vet Ang. in Bibl. C.C.C. Cantab. c. 239. Walsingh hist p. 189. Fabian p. 262. Holinsh p. 998. surprised by certain Englishmen in Pampelone a City of Navarre and being presently sent over into England was now tryed before the Mayor and other the Kings Justices in the Guild-hall at London where these things were proved home upon him namely That being entrusted by his Sovereign Lord the King and having received considerable Sums of Money to pay the Kings Souldiers therewith he had falsly and like a Traytor kept the Money to his own use also that he had maliciously occasion'd a Dissention and Discord in the Kings Army and thereby gave the Enemy advantage against them Whereof being accused unto the King and fearing the Punishment due unto him therefore like a false and forsworn Traytor he fled into France unto the Kings Enemies and there was sworn unto the French King and conspired against his Natural Lord and Master undertaking to direct the Spanish Navy and bring them into England to the Confusion and Destruction of his Native Country Of all which he was fully convicted and
so on the 12 of April was executed at Tiburn and drawn hang'd and quarter'd after which his Head was set upon London-Bridge XI When c Frâ—is c. 314. f. 175. b Id. Gallicè 1 Vol. c. 267. the Lord Ingelram de Guisnes Earl of Bedford and Lord of Coucy was returned into France from his unhappy Expedition into Austria thrô the exceeding importunity of his Friends and a sense of Gratitude to the French King for his late Princely Supply and Assistance towards his Wars he was at last utterly overcome and resolv'd to yield himself absolutely up to the French side wholly quitting his Interest in England However that he might make the fairer shew and as little as might be disoblige his Father-in-Law King Edward he sent his Lady Isabella into England to endeavour to pacifie her Father the King where she remain'd a while for that purpose with her younger Daughter d Mill's Catal. Hen. p. 440. Philippa the Elder named Mary continuing with her Husband the Lord of Coucy For notwithstanding this Change his Counsellours and Friends told him that he needed not to fear he should lose his Heritage in England since the King his Father-in-Law could not reasonably expect that for his sake he should fling up a far greater Heritage in France especially since thô a e Dugd. 1 Vol. p. 760. Baron of England he was a f Frois ibid. Frenchman by Name Blood Arms and Extraction XII Soon after the French King had such Confidence in the sincerity of his Conversion that he sent him to Bruges to assist his other Commissioners who had Orders to be there about a Treaty for Peace between the two Realms Thô as yet none of the Great Lords either of England or France were come thither save only the Duke of Bretagne who was still there with his Cousin the Earl of Flanders not much concerned about settling any Peace But now on the g Rot. Franc. 51. â—d 3. m. 7. Ashmele p. 668. 20 of February King Edward empowers Dr. John Gilbert Bishop of Hereford Sr. John Cobham of Kent and Sr. John Montagu Bannerets and John Shepey Dr of the Laws to go to Bruges to treat with the Earl of Salebruse the Lord of Chastillon and Monsieur Philibert l'Espiote where they met the Popes Legates who as friendly Mediators were present all the while that the Treaty lasted But when nothing was done here neither the Legates seeing all things like to break to pieces in Pious subtlety began to h Helensh p. 998. propose a Match between Richard the Young Prince of Wales and the Lady Mary Daughter to the French King. Which Proposal coming to the Ears of both the Kings begat another private meeting shortly after at i Frois fol. 196. ibid Holinsh p. 998. Montrevil by the Sea where Sr. Guischard Dangle Sr. Richard Sturry and Sr. Geoffry Chaucer the Prince of our English Poets met with the Lord of Coucy Sr. Nicolas Braques and Sr. Nicolas Brasier Commissioners from the French King. And here they k Frois ibid. treated earnestly about the Marriage which if it might take effect the Frenchmen offer'd many things in lieu whereof they would have such things as they named or else nothing Particularly it is said l Sr. Richard Baker p. 138. Du Chesne p. 711. c. that they offer'd to leave unto the King of England Fourteen Hundred Towns and Three Thousand Fortresses in Aquitaine on Condition that he would render back Calais and all that he held in Picardy But to this the English Commissioners would not agree knowing that if once they parted with that sure Landing-place the French King would soon take away all those Towns and Fortresses again But that while they held Calais as the Key of France in their Hands they might at any time be able to invade that Realm and sometime or other recover all their Former Losses Thus in Effect each Party having chiefly spent their time in sounding one anothers Inclinations they brake up again without any other Success than that they Prorogued the Truce one Month further viz. to May-Day following XIII Now the Old King being still desirous to add more Honour to his Grandson and Heir Prince Richard of Bourdeaux m Walsing hist p. 189. n. 20. M.S. vet Ang. in Bibl. C. C. C. Cantab. c. 239. Sed ili St. Gregory pro St. George malé at a Chapter held at Windsor on the 23d of April being the Festival of St. George Created him Knight of the Most Noble Order of the GARTER in Place of the Renowned Prince his Father late deceased XIV On the 26 of the said Month of April the King willing now if it might be to leave the Kingdom in Peace at his Death which he look'd upon as not far off caused n Râ—â— Franc. 51 Ed. 3. m. 3. Ashmole p. 668. a Commission to be made for Holding another Treaty with the French to Dr. Adam Houghton Bishop of St. Davids and Chancellor of England Dr. John Gilbert Bishop of Hereford William Montagu Earl of Salisbury Sr. Robert Ashton the Kings Chamberlain Sr. Guischard Dangle Banneret Aubrey de Vere and Hugh Seagrave Knights Walter Skirlow Dean of St. Martins le Grand and John Shepey Doctor of the Laws empowering them fully to treat and compose all Differences Wars and Contentions according to the Instructions given them These Commissioners came in good time to Calais while on the other side the Lord of Coucy and Sr. William Dormer Chancellor of France with their Associates tarried at Montrevil but by reason of some Suspition which the Commissioners had or pretended to have of each other or else thrô some Punctilio of Honour neither Party would vouchsafe to go to the other whatever the Legates could say or do nor yet to meet in any Indifferent place either between Montrevil and Calais or Montrevil and Boulogne and so the time limited by the Truce viz. the First of May elapsed without any Fruit. Now when the War was open o Frois ibid. Walsingh hist p. 199. n. 30. Sr. Hugh Calverley was made Captain of Calais and sent thither by the King of England with a good Retinue All things began to threaten Bloody Consequences of the next Campain Commissions being sent to the Great Lords throughout all England to Array all able Men from sixteen to sixty Years of Age to be ready on Occasion to defend the Kingdom and to withstand any Invasion that might happen there being apprehensions that the French would take Land in some part or other At this time the Frenchmen came suddenly with considerable Forces and lay down before a strong Fortress near Calais called Outwick which they p Vidd 2. c. 3. §. 11. p. 361. began to batter so furiously with Nine pieces of Great Ordnance that the Governour thereof William Weston Esquire being terrified with the Novelty of those irresistable Engines yielded up the Place upon Conditions and so