Chapter XXXVI: Henry VI (3)

Henry of England was now in his twenty-fourth year. His character was that of a mild, kind-hearted, and pious youth, but weak; and, like all weak princes, prone to surround himself with favourites. From the accounts that have reached us it is clear that, as a private man, he would have been good and happy; as a king, he was destined to become the dupe of some stronger mind, and the victim of faction. During the whole of his minority, his two powerful kinsmen, the Duke of Gloucester and Cardinal Beaufort, had kept up round the throne a fierce contest for preeminence. Gloucester was warm-tempered but generous, and greatly beloved by the people, who called him the "good Duke Humphrey." He is said to have been better educated than most princes of his time, to have been fond of men of talent, and to have founded one of the first public libraries in England. The cardinal was a man of a more calculating and politic temperament. He was well known to be cherishing the hope of grasping the pontifical tiara. Each of these nobles was in daily strife for the possession of the king's person, and, through it, for the chief power in the realm. The duke was a great advocate for the vigorous prosecution of the war, and pleased the people by advocating an ascendency over the French. Beaufort was as earnest for peace, and thence his popularity with the Church on the Continent. This feud was brought to a climax in 1439 by the debate on the question of the release of the Duke of Orleans. Gloucester opposed it on the ground that his brother, Henry V., had left it as a solemn command that none of the captives of Agincourt should ever be ransomed. Beaufort advocated it on the plea that Orleans would use his influence in France for peace. Beaufort prevailed, and Gloucester, in chagrin, delivered to the king a list of political charges against the cardinal.

Things were at this pass when an accusation of sorcery and high treason was got up against the Duchess of Gloucester. The Duke had married Eleanor Cobham, the daughter of Lord Reginald Cobham, who had been his mistress. Though he had thus made her his wife, her enemies never forgot the circumstances of the duchess's prior situation. It was kept alive as a source of mortification to the duke. Instead of her legitimate title, they persisted in calling her Dame Eleanor Cobham. She is represented as a bold, ambitious, dissolute, and avaricious woman. The duchess was examined in St. Stephen's Chapel, Westminster, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and charged with having obtained love-philters to secure the affection of her husband. But a much more horrible and absurd charge was that she had procured a wax figure, which was so moulded by art, that when placed before the fire, as it melted away, the flesh of the king would melt away also, his marrow dry up, and his health fade. Eight-and-twenty such charges were preferred against Dame Eleanor and her companions, some of which she is said to have admitted, but the majority and the worst to have denied; and on such ridiculous pleas she was condemned on three days of the week to walk bareheaded, and bearing a lighted taper in her hand, through the streets of London, and afterwards to be confined for life in the Isle of Man, in the custody of Sir John Stanley.

At this crisis the marriage of the king was resolved upon. Each party put forth all its energy to secure such a partner as should be likely to incline to its interests, for if the queen should be a woman of ability, she would, with the king's peculiar character, be certain to establish a permanent influence over him; and this circumstance would decide for ever the long contest between them. Gloucester recommended a daughter of the Count of Armagnac, on the ground that Armagnac was the enemy of Charles VII., and, in alliance with England, would add greatly to the strength of the province of Guienne. But no sooner did the proposal reach the ears of Charles, than to prevent so disastrous an occurrence, he invaded the territory of the count, and made him and his family prisoners. The Beaufort party now pressed on their advantage, and strongly represented the benefits to be hoped from the choice of Margaret of Anjou, the daughter of Réné, titular King of Sicily and Jerusalem, and Duke of Anjou, Maine, and Bar. Margaret had a great reputation for beauty and talent. She was said to be one of the most superior women of the age, and besides this, she was cousin to the Queen of France, greatly admired by Charles himself, and generally resident at his court.

The people from the first marked their dislike of the alliance. They were not fond of French princesses, and Gloucester, who always represented the popular idea, opposed it with all his eloquence. But the Beaufort party carried it against him. The prime mover of the scheme was William de la Pole, the Earl of Suffolk. He was a sworn partisan of Beaufort, with Somerset and Buckingham. He had been residing at the French court, was in high favour there, and there were not wanting rumours of a too familiar intimacy betwixt himself and the proposed queen. Strongly seconded by the Beaufort party in opposition to Gloucester, he was commissioned to negotiate this marriage; and--to give him absolute and irresponsible power in the matter--a most singular and unusual guarantee was granted by the king, and approved by Parliament, against any future penalties for his proceedings in the matter. Armed with this dangerous and suspicious document, Suffolk hastened to France, met the Duke of Orleans at Tours, and concluded a truce, during which the question of the marriage might be discussed, and which, if the issue were successful, might terminate in a peace.

The conduct of Suffolk throughout the negotiation was such as made it obvious that he had not secured a previous indemnity for nothing. The father of Margaret, though titular King of Sicily and Jerusalem, was in reality a pauper. He did not possess a single foot of land in the countries over which his royal title extended. Maine and Anjou, his hereditary dukedoms, were in the hands of the English. Under these circumstances, the most that could be expected was that England should be willing to receive the princess without a dower. But Suffolk not only waived any claim of dower, but resigned, as a condition of the marriage, the duchies of Maine and Anjou to Margaret's father. This was a direct act of high treason. These duchies were the very keys of Normandy, and their cession highly endangered all the English possessions in France. Nothing but the most consummate folly, or, what was more probable, the blinding influence which the daughter of King Réné already exerted over Suffolk, could have induced him to perpetrate such a deed. This condition was kept in the background as long as possible. Whether Beaufort had been a party to this infamous measure, or whether he was duped himself by Suffolk, does not appear. He was now an old man of seventy-eight, and since his signal vengeance on Gloucester, by the disgrace and punishment of his wife, had retired to his diocese, apprehensive lest there might come a repayment of the injury from Gloucester or his staunch admirers, the people.

Suffolk for his success in this negotiation was created a marquis; he married Margaret as proxy for Henry at Nancy on the 28th of October, 1444. Jousts and tournaments were celebrated by the French court in its joy over this event, from which it expected no ordinary advantages. Suffolk does not appear to have been in any haste to return to England with the fair bride; for, though contracted in October, they remained in France all the winter, and landed at Porchester only on the 8th of April, 1445. Great ceremony had been made by the French court on Margaret's departure. The king himself, with a splendid retinue, accompanied her some miles on her way from the city, and separated from her in tears. Her father continued with her to Bar-le-Duc.

On the 22nd of April she was married in Titchfield Abbey to Henry, and on the 30th of May she was crowned with much splendour at Westminster, and very soon showed that she was prepared to exercise to the full her royal authority. The king, charmed with her beauty and address, resigned himself a willing creature into her hands. She formed an immediate and close intimacy with the Beaufort party; her constant counsellors were Somerset, Buckingham, and Suffolk. Suffolk appeared to the people much more the husband of Margaret than Henry. One of the first acts of the queen's party was to procure a repeal of the Act of Henry V., that no peace should be made with France without the consent of the three estates of the Parliament. They obtained ample supplies, and from both Houses the most profuse thanks to Suffolk for his services in accomplishing this happy union.

All things now concurred to favour a blow which should gratify the malice of Suffolk. By some means he contrived to infuse into the mind of Henry a suspicion of the loyalty of his uncle Gloucester. Perhaps the repeated instances in which Gloucester had brought forward the Duke of York, in opposition to Suffolk's party, might be alleged as the cause of their vengeance. The Duke of York was the claimant of the throne in right of the Earl of March, a right superior to the usurped claim of the present line, and which he afterwards asserted. Whatever the cause, or combination of causes, the destruction of Gloucester was determined. Henry summoned a Parliament to meet, not, as usual, at Westminster, but at Bury St. Edmunds, in Suffolk, where the conspirators would be in the midst of the favourite's retainers. The measures which were adopted were ominous. The knights of the shire were ordered to come in arms. The king was conveyed to the town under strong escort, and the men of Suffolk were placed in numerous bodies round the royal lodgings. All the avenues to the town were guarded during the night by pickets of soldiers.

The Duke of Gloucester, clearly suspecting no harm, went from his castle of Devizes to the opening of the Parliament, where everything was conducted with the usual form, and nothing took place at all calculated to excite suspicion. But the next day, the 11th of February, 1447, the Lord Beaumont, Constable of England, attended by the Duke of Buckingham, and several of the peers of Suffolk's party, arrested Gloucester, seizing, at the same time, all his attendants, and consigning them to different prisons. The Suffolk party now openly avowed that Gloucester had formed a scheme to kill the king, to usurp the throne, liberate his duchess, and make her queen. The story was too improbable to receive credence; it was therefore dropped, and Gloucester remained seventeen days in prison, awaiting his trial.

When summoned, at length, to attend the council, he was found dead in his bed, to the great horror of the king, who was obviously unprepared for such a catastrophe. The body was exposed to the view of the Parliament and the people, to convince them that there had been no violence used. There were no marks of violence, indeed, upon it, but this had no weight with the people, who recollected that such had been the case in the mysteriously sudden deaths of Edward II., Richard II., and of the former unfortunate Duke of Gloucester, who had, under precisely similar circumstances, perished in the prison of Calais in Richard II.'s time. One historian only of the time, Whethamstede, Abbot of St. Albans, has avowed his belief that the duke died from natural causes, and great weight has been given to his opinion, because he was attached to the duke, and loud in his abuse of his enemies. It is, however, but one opinion against a host; and all the circumstances tend to support the popular belief that Gloucester was murdered, though with great cunning and skill. It is improbable, however, that Margaret or the Cardinal had any hand in the deed.

Cardinal Beaufort survived his great rival only six weeks. Every reader recalls the celebrated death-scene of this prelate as described by Shakespeare, King Henry at his bedside, exclaiming--

"Lord cardinal, if thou think'st on heaven's bliss,
Hold up thy hand, make signal of thy hope.--
He dies, and makes no sign. O God, forgive him."

The situation and invocation are undoubtedly those of the poet; but they are founded on the widespread belief at the time that Beaufort had the blood of Gloucester on his soul. Nevertheless, as he had retired entirely from public life, it is extremely improbable that this belief had any foundation. Beaufort may have been ambitious, but his character on the whole was very elevated. The disposition of his wealth was noble, being chiefly devoted to public and charitable purposes. He left £4,000--equal to £40,000 now--for the relief of poor prisoners in London. He gave £2,000 to two colleges founded by the king at Eton and Cambridge; and the rest founded the hospital of St. Cross at Winchester, now of immense value. He was buried in the cathedral of Winchester, in the beautiful chantry which still elicits so much admiration from the beholder.

The article in the marriage treaty of the queen, which stipulated for the cession of Anjou and Maine, had been kept as secret as possible during the life of the cardinal; but circumstances now rendered it impossible to hide it any longer. The court of France insisted on the surrender of the provinces. When these demands could be no longer resisted--for Charles prepared to invade the provinces--an order under the hand of the king was sent to Sir Francis Surienne, the Governor of Le Mans, commanding him to surrender the place to Charles of Anjou. Surienne refused to retire, and the Count Dunois invested the city. Surienne was then compelled to surrender, and the Bishop of Chichester was despatched from England to give up the whole province, with the exception of Fresnoy. It was stated, however, that the King of England did not cede his right to the sovereignty of these states, but merely their enjoyment by the father and uncle of his wife for their natural lives; and it was promised that the grantees of the English crown should receive from France a sum of money equal to ten years' value of the lands they had lost.

The consequences were very speedily seen. Maine was filled with French troops, and the Duke of Somerset, the regent, announced to the council that the three estates of Normandy, encouraged by this change, had refused all supplies, and that unless immediate and effectual assistance were afforded from England these provinces would be lost. To make matters worse, Surienne, who had reluctantly surrendered Le Mans, and was refused by Somerset admittance into Normandy, as a dangerous and insubordinate officer, marched into Brittany, seized the town of Fougères, repaired the fortifications of Pontorson and St. Jacques de Beuvron, and levied subsistence on the whole province at will. The Duke of Brittany complained to Charles; Charles demanded prompt damages to the amount of 1,600,000 crowns, and instead of truce the whole war was opened again.

These transactions occasioned a violent outbreak at home. The Earl of Suffolk was vehemently denounced by the people as a traitor, for the wanton surrender of Maine and Anjou to the French. Suffolk was compelled to demand to be brought face to face with his accusers before the king and council. The demand was granted. Both parties were heard, and, as might have been expected, Suffolk, the favourite of both king and queen, was acquitted of all blame, and pronounced to have done effectual service to the state.

The English exchequer was empty, and Charles of France, aware not only of that, but of the miserable feebleness of the Government, put forth all his energies to profit by the opportunity. A striking change seemed to have come over him with the advance of years. He attacked the corruption of the courts and magistracy; he rigorously reformed the discipline of the army; he set himself to restore order and vigour into the finances; and he took every means of reviving the arts and protecting and encouraging agriculture. It was with astonishment that those who had seen France a few years before now beheld the prosperity which was springing up, and the strength which was becoming visible.

The Duke of Somerset found himself destitute of money, for the Government at home was poor, and the people discontented; and Charles, putting himself at the head of his troops, fell upon Normandy, while the Duke of Brittany, the Duke of Alençon, and the Count Dunois, marched upon it simultaneously from different points. Wherever the French commanders appeared, the people threw open their gates, showing on which side their hearts lay. The Duke of Somerset, so far from possessing an army capable of taking the field, had not even enough to man the garrisons, or provisions to support them.

The duke threw himself into Rouen, his sole trust there being in timely relief from England. He quickly found himself surrounded by an army 50,000 strong, led by the king himself. The spirit of revolt was not less active there than in other towns. A number of the citizens, pretending to be desirous to aid in the defence, were permitted to mount guard on the walls, which they at once betrayed into the hands of the French. The valour of Lord Talbot rescued them from that danger, but it was only to delay for awhile the surrender. Somerset capitulated on the 4th of November, 1449, consenting to pay 56,000 francs, and to give up Arques, Tancarville, Caudebec, Honfleur, and other places in High Normandy, and deliver Talbot as one of the hostages, thus depriving the English of the only general capable of rescuing them from their present dilemma. Harfleur made a stouter defence under Sir Thomas Curson, the governor, but was eventually compelled to yield to Dunois.

The indignation of the people in England at these alarming reverses compelled Suffolk to send some forces to Normandy, but in no proportion to the need. Sir Thomas Kyriel landed at Cherbourg with about 3,000 men, and collecting about as many more, advanced towards Caen, to which the regent Somerset had retreated. But he was met on the way, near Formigny, by the Count of Clermont. He gave battle with the ancient confidence in the superior valour of his countrymen, but after a severe contest of three hours, he was attacked by a second army, under Richemont, the Constable, which took him in flank and rear. The numbers were now utterly overwhelming, independent of the freshness of the new troops, and the surprise. Some of his ranks broke and fled, and others remained fighting hardily till they were cut down or made prisoners. Avranches, Bayeux, and Valognes opened their gates; the regent was besieged in Caen, and compelled to surrender. Cherbourg alone remained, but was soon after taken, and within twelve months the whole of the beautiful country of Normandy, which had been won by the valour of Henry V., with its seven bishoprics and hundred fortified towns, was lost to England for ever.

The campaign of 1452 was opened with some show of spirit. The people of Guienne, groaning under the load of taxation which Charles--consulting his necessity rather than his word, had laid upon them--had despatched a deputation to London, entreating that an army might be sent to their relief, and offering to renew their allegiance. The brave Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, who had so long fought in France, was sent over with 4,000 men, and his son, Lord Lisle, followed with as many more. Talbot was now eighty years of age, but full of a spirit and activity which seemed to know no decay. He very soon recovered Bordelais and Châtillon. In the spring of 1453, he opened the campaign by the capture of Fronsac, where the French army advanced against him, and Count Penthièvre invested Châtillon. Hastening to relieve that town, Talbot fell upon the French lines very early in the morning, and created such confusion, that he ordered a general assault on the camp, the entrenchments of which were lined with 300 pieces of cannon. While dashing forward on this formidable battery, his troops were attacked in the rear by another body of French which came up. Talbot had his horse killed under him. His leg was broken in the fall, and he was despatched with a spear as he lay on the ground. His son fell in the vain endeavour to rescue his father; and the army, on learning the death of its commander, dispersed in every direction. A thousand men, who had already penetrated into the camp, were made prisoners.

Charles, who now arrived, took the command of his victorious army, and led it to the gates of Bordeaux. That city, with Fronsac and Bayonne, still held out; but famine at length compelled them to surrender. Bayonne was the last to yield, but the Count Gaston de Foix besieging it with a large army of Basques and Béarnese, it was compelled to open its gates. And thus, in the autumn of 1453, closed the English dreams of empire in France, and the possession of all the territories which came to us with the Norman conquest, except Calais, and a strip of marshy land around it.

It is not to be supposed that this disgraceful termination of our French dominion, this melancholy antithesis to the glories of Creçy and Agincourt, was borne with indifference by the people of England. With Bedford and Talbot the military genius of the nation seemed to have disappeared. Somerset, who was ambitious of ruling at home, had shown in his character of Regent of France only a faculty for sitting still in fortified towns, so long as the enemy was not very urgent to drive him out. At the head of the Government now stood Suffolk and the queen; and, while their administration afforded no support to our commanders abroad, their folly and despotism at home incensed the whole nation. As loss after loss was proclaimed, the public exasperation had increased. The cession of Maine and Anjou had excited the deepest indignation; but when month after month had brought only news of the invasion of Normandy and the loss of town after town, the whole population appeared stung to madness. Suffolk was denounced as the queen's minion, as a man who was so besotted by the charms of a foreign woman as to sacrifice for his pleasure our fairest inheritance. On his head they heaped, not only his fair share of those transactions, but the full odium of the release of the Duke of Orleans, contrary to the injunction of the sagacious Henry V.; the murder of the duke of Gloucester; the emptiness of the State coffers, and all the consequent defeats and disasters.

To calm the public mind and to take measures for the defence of Normandy, a Parliament was summoned, but scarcely did it meet when the news of the fall of Rouen arrived, adding fresh fury to the popular wrath, and confusion to the counsels of the Government. Stormy debates and altercations continued in Parliament for six weeks, whilst succour should have been despatched to our army in Normandy.

Soon after, the Bishop of Chichester, keeper of the privy seal, who had been employed to complete the surrender of Maine to the French, was sent to Portsmouth to pay the soldiers and sailors about to embark for Guienne their then stipulated amount. No sooner did the people hear his name than--crying, "That is the traitor who delivered Maine to the French!"--they rose _en masse_, and seized him. In appealing to them to spare his life, he was reported to have bade the populace reflect that it was not he, but Suffolk, who had sold that province to France; that he himself was but the humble instrument employed to deliver what he had no power to keep; that it was Suffolk who was the traitor, and that he had boasted that he was as powerful in the French as in the English Government.

This explanation did not save the prelate's life, but it raised the fury of the people to the culminating point against Suffolk. He was not only represented as insolent and rapacious, as being the open paramour of the queen, and thus keeping the king as a mere puppet in his hands; as having not only murdered Gloucester and seized his possessions; but as having obtained exorbitant grants from the Crown, embezzled the public money, perverted justice, screened notorious offenders, supported iniquitous causes, and filled the offices of State with his vilest creatures. The powerful party which prosecuted the revenge of Gloucester's injuries, and now allied itself to the ambitious Duke of York, were the more numerously backed by the nobility, in that they regarded Suffolk with envy as a man who being but the grandson of a merchant, had risen over their heads, and made himself all but monarch.

This universal clamour against him compelled him to rise in his place immediately on the opening of Parliament, and endeavour to defend himself. He alluded to the report, industriously circulated, that he intended to marry his son to a daughter of Somerset, and through that alliance to aspire to the crown. He treated the rumour as most ridiculous, as no doubt it was, reminding the House of the deaths of his father and three brothers in the service of the country, at Agincourt, Jargeau, &c., and of his own long and severe service there. But his appeal had no other result than to induce the Commons to demand that, as on his own showing he lay under suspicions of treason, he should be impeached and committed to the Tower, in order to his trial. They asserted that he had invited the King of France to come over and make himself master of this country, and had furnished the castle of Wallingford with stores and provisions for the purpose of aiding him.

In the course of the trial the Commons appear to have grown sensible of the futility of the bulk of these charges against Suffolk, and a month after its commencement they concentrated the force of their complaints on the waste and embezzlement of the public revenue, and the odious means to which he had resorted for its replenishment. This was an accusation which would be echoed by every class and person almost in the nation. It was a very sore subject indeed. During the minority of the king, the rapacity of the courtiers had been, as usual in such cases, unbounded. The king's uncles had been utterly helpless to restrain it. It had crippled the resources for the war with France, and consequently led to its opprobrious termination. The royal demesnes were dissipated, and there was a debt against the king of £372,000, equal to nearly £4,000,000 of present money. This the Parliament protested that it neither could nor would pay.

When Suffolk was called on for his defence, he fell on his knees before the king, and solemnly asserted his innocence. He declared that, as to the surrender of Maine and Anjou, it was not simply his act, but that of the whole council. He spread the majority of the charges in this manner over the whole ministry; the rest he denied, and appealed to the peers around him for their knowledge of the fact that, so far from marrying his son to a daughter of Somerset, he was affianced to a daughter of Warwick.

Whatever was the amount of Suffolk's guilt, the people were resolved to listen to one penalty alone, that of his death; but to prevent him from falling under the judgment of Parliament, the king, or rather the queen, acting in his name, adopted a bold and startling expedient. He announced to him, through the lord chancellor, that, as he had not claimed to be tried by his peers, the king would exercise his prerogative, and holding him neither guilty nor innocent of the treasons with which he had been charged, would and did banish him from the kingdom for five years, on the second impeachment, for waste of the revenues. The House of Lords, astonished at this invasion of their prerogative to try those of their own body, immediately protested that this act of the king should form no precedent in bar of their privileges hereafter. With this the peers contented themselves in their corporate capacity, as some historians have suggested, from a secret compromise between the two parties.

But the ferment out of doors was terrible. The people looked upon the whole as a trick of the Court to screen the favourite, and defraud them of the satisfaction of witnessing his just punishment. There was a buzz of indignation from one end of the kingdom to the other. The most inflammatory placards were stuck on the doors of the churches, and the death of the duke was openly sworn. Two thousand people were assembled in St. Giles's to seize him on his discharge; but the intended victim escaped, for that time, the vengeance of the mob falling on his retainers. He got down to his estates in Suffolk, and after assembling the knights and squires of his neighbourhood, and before them swearing on the sacrament that he was innocent of the crimes laid to his charge, and writing a letter to his son which it is difficult to read without being convinced of his truthfulness, he embarked at Ipswich in a small vessel for Calais.

But his enemies had resolved that he should not thus escape them. The _Nicholas of the Tower_, one of the largest ships of the navy, bore down upon him on his passage, and ordered him to come on board. He was received by the captain as he stepped on deck with the ominous salutation, "Welcome, traitor!" Two nights he was kept on board this vessel, while his capture was announced on shore, and further instructions were awaited. It was clear, from a ship of the navy being used, that persons of no common influence were arrayed against him; and after a mock trial by the sailors, he was conducted to near Dover, where a small boat came alongside with a block, a rusty sword, and an executioner. The duke was lowered into the boat, and there beheaded in a barbarous manner (1450). His remains were laid on the sands near Dover, and guarded by the sheriff of Kent, till the king commanded them to be delivered to his widow who was no other than the granddaughter of Chaucer, the poet. She deposited the body in the collegiate church of Wingfield, in Suffolk.

INDEX

Acre, Crusaders at, 226;
Edward's arrival at, 320.

Ælfgar, 72.

Ælla, 27.

Agincourt, The Field of, 556.

Agricola's governorship, 14.

Alcuin, 92.

Alderman, 26.

Aldred crowning William I., 108;
death, 112.

Alexius, Emperor, and the Crusaders, 139;
reception of Godfrey, 145;
attacks Raymond, 146.

Alfred, Accession of, 39;
in the neat-herd's hut, 42;
a wanderer, 42;
defeats the Danes, 42;
work and character, 44.

Alfred, son of Ethelred, 67.

Alod, 34.

Alphege, Murder of, 60;
bones removed to Canterbury, 65.

Angles, 25.

Anglesea invaded by Paulinus, 11;
by Agricola, 14;
taken from the Welsh, 129.

Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (map), 37.

Anlaff entering the Humber, 48;
struggles for the crown, 50.

Anselm, Archbishop, 126;
returns to England, 154;
dispute with Henry I., 157;
death, 158.

Architecture, English and Norman, 83;
transition from Norman to Gothic, 315;
Early English style, 315;
Decorated style of, 498.

Artevelde, Jacob van, 405;
slain, 413.

Artevelde, Philip van, defeated at Rosbecque, 460;
seeks English aid, 461.

Arthur, 27;
his burial place, 31;
mythical nature of, 253.

Arthur, Richard's heir, 251;
his misfortunes, 252;
supported by Philip, 255;
his fate, 256;
murder, 257.

Arundel, Earl of, arrested, 472;
executed, 474.

Arundel, Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, impeached, 474;
appointed to the see of St. Andrews, 477;
at Henry IV.'s accession, 484.

Ashdon, Battle of, 63.

Athelstan, Conspiracy against, 47;
his death and character, 50.

Audley, Lord, Death of, 442.

Augustine settles at Canterbury, 29.

Aylesford, Battle of, 27.

Bacon, Roger, Work of, 492.

Baldwin elected King of Edessa, 149;
King of Jerusalem, 151.

Ball, John, 452;
joins Wat Tyler's insurrection, 455.

Balliol, Edward, crowned, 398;
contract with Edward III., 428.

Balliol, John, takes the oath of homage to Edward I., 334;
claim to the throne supported by Edward, 335;
obsequiousness, 340;
sent to England, 342;
death, 348;
founder of Balliol College, 490.

Bannockburn, Battle of, 372.

Barbour, John, 496.

Barons, Rapine of the, 170;
disputes with John, 265;
at St. Edmondsbury, 266;
declare war against John, 267;
at Runnymede, 268;
desert Louis, 278;
their lawlessness, 280;
opposition to Peter of Winchester, 283;
contempt for Henry III., 288;
demands from Henry III., 298;
their ambition, 299;
encroach upon the royal authority, 300;
dissensions among, 302;
terms of peace, 305;
resist the award of Louis, 306;
oath and allegiance to Edward, 314;
greater and lesser, 361;
demand Piers Gaveston's banishment, 366;
growing power under Edward II., 369;
rise against the Despensers, 377;
more conquests from the Crown, 385.

Battle Abbey, 83.

Bayeux Tapestry, 104.

Beaufort, Cardinal, 578;
character of, 586;
impeached, 587;
and Margaret of Anjou, 603;
death, 604.

Beaufort's, Joan, influence on James of Scotland, 581.

Beaugé, Battle of, 572.

Becket, Thomas, Ambassador to the French court, 184;
accompanies Henry II. to Toulouse, 186;
parentage and early career, 187;
his magnificence, 188;
compels the clergy to pay scutage, 189;
appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, 190;
flies, 191;
interview with the king, 194;
returns to England, 195;
murdered, 196.

Bede, 91.

Bedford, Duke of, Regent, 551;
Regent of France, 576;
suggests James of Scotland's release, 581;
defeats Buchan in France, 582;
desertions from, 585;
leaves France, 586;
marries Jacquetta of Burgundy, 598;
death, 599.

Berkeley Castle, Edward II. in, 384.

Bernicia, Kingdom of, 27.

Berwick attacked by Edward I., 340;
burnt, 534.

Bigod, Hugh, Earl of Norfolk, revolts, 170;
protects Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, 177.

Bigod, Roger, Earl of Norfolk, denies England's subjection to Rome,
292.

Bills of Exchange, 507.

Black Agnes, 400.

Black Death, The, 426.

Black Prince, The, born, 393;
accompanies his father to France, 414;
at the battle of Creçy, 419;
bravery, 419;
ravages in France, 428;
courtesy to King John, 431;
assists Don Pedro, 439;
indignation at Charles, 440;
returns to England, 443;
death and character, 446.

Blondel, Story of, 243.

Boadicea, 11;
addressing her troops, 13;
her death, 14.

"Boar's Head," The, 543.

Bookland, 34.

Boroughbridge, Battle of, 378.

Bouvines, Battle of, 266.

Brabançons, Expulsion of, 182.

Bramham Moor, Engagement at, 536.

Brenneville, Battle of, 162.

Bretigny, Peace of, 437.

Britain, Conquest of, by the Angles, 26.

Britannia, Prima, 18;
Secunda, 18.

Britons, Character of the, 2.

Bruce, Edward, invited to Ireland, 375;
slain at Fagher, 376.

Bruce, Robert, taken prisoner, 307;
claim to the Scottish throne, 332;
takes the oath and homage to Edward I., 334.

Bruce, Robert, the younger, swears fidelity to Edward I., 344;
deserts Wallace, 345;
becomes the Scottish leader, 355;
contract with Lamberton, 356;
wife and daughter captured at Tain, 357;
his growing power, 371;
disposition of his Forces at Bannockburn, 372;
release of his wife and daughter, 375;
death and character, 391;
last orders, 392.

Bruges, Truce of, 444.

Brunanburgh, Battle of, 49.

Burford, Battle of, 30, 32.

Caen, Treaty of, 127;
Edward III. at, 414.

Cæsar, Julius, preparing to invade Britain, 5;
his departure and return, 7.

Calais, Siege of, 420;
an English colony, 426.

Cambridge Colleges, Founding of, 491.

Cambridge, Richard, Earl of, executed, 552.

Camulodunum, Capture of, 7;
recaptured by Britons, 12.

Candles, 100.

Canterbury Cathedral, 213.

"Canterbury Tales," 497.

Canterbury, Wat Tyler at, 455;
founding of the Cathedral, 29;
Becket's murder in, 196.

Canute proclaimed king, 61;
attacks London, 63;
meeting with Edmund Ironside, 63;
marries Emma, 65;
a pilgrim to Rome, 66.

Canute, the Younger, claims the crown, 117.

Caractacus, 8;
before Claudius, 10;
defeated and sent to Rome, 10.

Carlisle, Fortress built at, 128.

Carnarvon, Charter granted to, 328;
castle fortified, 330.

Cassivelaunus, 7.

Ceawlin, 27, 31.

Cedwalla, 31.

Celibacy enforced on the clergy, 158.

Cenwealh, 31.

Cenwulf, 30.

Ceolric, 31.

Ceolwulf, 31.

Ceorl, 26.

Cerdic, 27.

Charmouth, Battle of, 38.

Chartres, Siege of, 574.

Chaucer, 492.

Chester, Earl of, defeats the Welsh, 129.

Chivalry, Institution of, 132.

Christian prisoners massacred by Saladin, 228.

Christian refugees in Britain, 16.

Christianity in England, 29.

Church, Position of the, under the Saxon Kings, 36;
power of the, 486;
schism in the, 559.

Clarendon, Constitutions of, 190.

Clergy, Crimes of the, 189.

Clergy, Oppressions of the, 348.

Clermont, Council at, 137.

Clocks, 510.

Coal, 507.

Cobham, Lord, and the Lollards, 546;
execution of, 563.

Coin, clipped, and the Jews, 323;
Coinage, gold, issue of a, 507.

Coin, Export of, forbidden, 506.

Commerce in the 14th century, 506.

Commons, The growing power of the, 449;
animosity to Lancaster, 450.

Compass, Invention of the, 508.

Compurgation, 34.

Comyn, regent of Scotland, 352;
submits to Edward, 354;
treachery and death, 357.

Conrad, King of Jerusalem, 231.

Constantine, 16.

Constantius, 15.

Cornwall, Earl of, Regent, 319.

Coronation Chair and Stone of Destiny, 341.

Corsned, 35.

Courtrai, Flemish victory at, 351.

Crayford, Battle of, 27.

Creçy, English army at, 416;
French army, 418;
description of the battle, 419.

Cressingham, Hugh de, appointed treasurer of Scotland, 343;
death, 346.

Crévant, Siege of, 579.

Crusade, The first, 138;
its fate, 140.

Crusades, Second and Third, 219;
causes of the, 132.

Crusaders raising the Standard of the Cross on the walls of
Jerusalem, 151;
dissensions among the, 230.

Cumberland ceded to Scotland, 51.

Curia Regis founded, 167.

Cymric, 27.

Cynegils, 31.

Danegeld, 58;
renewed by Harthacanute, 67;
remitted, 170.

Danes, Character of the, 38;
their perfidy, 58;
massacred, 58.

Danish invasions, 38;
settlements in Ireland, 48;
invasions, third period, 57.

Dauphin, Title of, 428.

David II. of Scotland invades England, 422;
captured at Neville's Cross, 422;
a prisoner, 432;
death, 433.

_De Heretico Comburendo_, 544, 546.

Deira, Kingdom of, 28.

Denham, Battle of, 27.

Despenser, Edward II.'s favourite, 377.

Despenser, Hugh le, deposed, 302;
restored, 305.

Devizes Castle, Surrender of, 172.

Domesday Book, 118.

Domestic Buildings, 14th century, 502.

Dominicans, The, 488.

Doorways, Norman, 215;
Gothic, 316;
of the Decorated Style, 500.

Douglas, Lord James, leads the Scots into England, 388;
attacks the English camp, 390;
carries Bruce's heart to Jerusalem, 391.

Dover Castle Pharos, 19.

Drama in the 14th century, 514.

Dress in Early England, 99.

Druid Temples, 4.

Druidism, 3.

Dublin captured, 201.

Du Guesclin defeats de Buch, 438;
set over the French companies, 439.

Duke, Title of, 448.

Duns Scotus, Learning of, 494.

Dunstan, 51;
separating Edwy and Elgiva, 54;
favoured by Edgar, 54;
his miracles, 55;
death, 57.

Dupplin Moor, Battle of, 398.

Eadbald, 29.

Earl's Barton Church, 86.

Earn, Battle near the, 398.

East Anglia, 27;
a Danish kingdom, 39.

Edgar Atheling, 65;
sent for, 74;
elected king, 107;
seeks refuge in Scotland, 110;
Henry's prisoner, 159.

Edgar rowed on the Dee by eight tributary princes, 54;
becomes king, 54.

Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, 54.

Edington, Battle of, 43.

Edmund, 50;
his death, 51.

Edmund Ironside, 62.

Edred, 51.

Education, State of, 14th century, 488.

Edward I. deposes his father, 300;
his fidelity, 302;
repulses Prince Llewelyn, 303;
taken prisoner by Leicester, 305;
defeats Simon de Montfort, 308;
prepares to go to the Holy Land, 311;
accession, 319;
attempt to murder, 320;
grief at his father's death, 321;
arrives in England, 323;
quarrel with Llewelyn, 326;
reforms in Wales, 328;
settles a dispute respecting Sicily, 330;
designs upon Scotland, 332;
decides in favour of Balliol, 335;
cruelty to the Jews, 336;
marches upon Scotland, 340;
successes, 342;
defeats Wallace, 347;
sets sail for Flanders, 348;
coalition against, 350;
concessions to the barons, 351;
marriage with Margaret, the sister of Philip, 351;
returns to Scotland, 352;
offers a reward for Wallace's head, 354;
prepares to avenge Comyn's death, 358;
death and character, 359;
his statutes, 360;
demands from the clergy, 487.

Edward II., marriage with Isabella, 351, 366;
favouritism, 364;
recalls Gaveston, 367;
flies from the Earl of Lancaster, 370;
grief at Gaveston's death, 371;
invades Scotland, 372;
flight from Bannockburn, 375;
besieges Berwick, 376;
makes a favourite of Despenser, 377;
recalls the Spensers, 378;
starts for France, 380;
deposed, 383;
his death, 384.

Edward III. advances against the Scots, 389;
marries Philippa of Hainault, 391;
assumes the government, 395;
invests Berwick, 398;
claims the French throne, 399;
prepares to invade France, 405;
returns to England for funds, 406;
deserted by his allies, 407;
pecuniary troubles, 408;
captures Caen, 414;
after Creçy, 420;
treatment of the citizens of Calais, 424;
expedition into Scotland, 428;
releases David II. of Scotland, 433;
again invades France, 437;
growing infirmities, 444;
his jubilee, 446;
deserted and dies, 447;
his family, 448.

Edward the Confessor's accession, 68;
rupture with Godwin, 69;
his peaceful reign, 78;
death, 78.

Edward the Elder, 46;
becomes lord of all England, 47.

Edward the Martyr, 55.

Edwin of Deira, 29.

Edwin goes to Normandy, 108;
rises against the Conqueror, 110;
flies, 113.

Edwy, 52;
death, 54.

Egbert, 30;
ascends the throne, 32.

Eleanor's devotion to Edward I., 320.

Elgiva's death, 54.

Ellandune, Battle of, 33.

Eltham Palace, 446.

Ely Cathedral, 315.

England, the kingdoms of, 27.

England in the 14th century, 509.

Eorl, 26.

Eostre, 26.

Essex, Kingdom of, 27.

Essex, Revolt in, 454.

Ethel, 34.

Ethelbald, King of Mercia, 30;
Ethelbald, King of Wessex, 39.

Ethelbert, 29;
Ethelbert buys off the Danes, 39.

Ethelfrith, 28.

Ethelred I., 39.

Ethelred the Unready, 57;
leaves England, 60;
recalled, 61;
death, 62.

Ethelwulf, 38.

Eustace, Count of Boulogne, captures Bishop Odo, 125;
joins the Crusades, 141;
rejected as his father Stephen's successor, 177;
opposition to Henry Plantagenet, 179.

Evesham, Battle of, 308.

Exchequer, Court of, 362.

Exton, Sir Piers, and Richard II., 485, 520.

Fairs, 506.

Falkirk, Battle of, 347.

Falstaff, Sir John, 543.

Fines under the Saxon Kings, 35.

Fitz-Osbert, Longbeard, 246.

Fitz-Stephen lands in Ireland, 201.

Fitz-Walter chosen leader of the barons, 267.

Flemings imported into England, 161;
expedition of the, 182;
forbidden to trade in England, 323;
support Edward III., 405.

Flint Castle attacked, 327;
Arrival of Richard II. at, 482.

Folkland, 34.

Foss, 23.

France, War with, 119;
War with, declared, 340;
peace arranged, 351;
English conquests in, 421;
the Peasants' war in, 435;
conditions of peace with, 437;
renewed war with England, 442;
disturbed state, 548;
renewal of the war with, 605.

Franciscans, The, 488.

Frank-pledge, 34;
renewed, 167.

Frea, 26.

"Free Companies," 434;
attempts to get rid of, 439.

Galgacus, 15.

Garter, Order of the, 426.

Gascoigne, Judge, 534.

Gaunt, John of. (_See_ Lancaster.)

Gefolge, 26.

Geoffrey Plantagenet, 166.

Gesith, 26.

Gisors, Battle at, 249.

Gloucester, Duke of, and the king, 464;
opposes the king's marriage, 471;
seized, 472;
sudden death, 474.

Gloucester, Duke of, Regent of England, 576;
dispute with the Parliament, 577.

Gloucester, Earl of, opposes the dictum de Kenilworth, 311;
regent, 319;
hint to Bruce, 357.

Godfrey of Boulogne and the Crusades, 140;
and Hugh of Vermandois, 142;
elected King of Jerusalem, 151.

Godiva, Lady, 71.

Godwin, Earl of Wessex, 65;
and Alfred's death, 67;
supports Edward, 68.

Gothic architecture, 314.

Gourdon, Adam, 310.

Gower, John, Poems of, 496.

Great Council, The, 361.

Greek Fire, 151.

Griffith of Wales, 72.

Grosseteste, Robert, Papal bull to, 486;
as a theologian, 491;
and music, 505.

Gunpowder, 492.

Guthrum, 43.

Haco of Norway defeated by Alexander III., 331.

Hadrian's Wall, 15.

Hale's, Sir Robert, house attacked by rioters, 454.

Halidon Hill, Battle of, 399.

Harold, Godwin's son, 71;
his piety, 72;
his accession, 74;
his oath to William, 78;
searching for his body, 83.

Harold Hardrada, 79.

Harthacanute, 67.

Hastings, Battle of, 82.

Hastings, the Danish leader, 43.

Hawarden Castle attacked, 326.

Hengist, 27.

Henry of Monmouth, and Glendower, 534, 538;
character, 543.
(_See_ Henry V.)

Henry of Winchester, compact with Matilda, 173;
gives his support to Stephen, 174;
quits the country, 183.

Henry I.'s accession, 152;
marriage, 155;
peace arranged with Robert, 157;
dispute with the Church, 158;
seeks to dispossess his brother of Normandy, 159;
invades Wales, 161;
loses his son, 164;
family dissensions, 166.

Henry II., coronation and early policy, 182;
claims Nantes, 183;
marches on Toulouse, 186;
marries his eldest son to Louis VII.'s daughter, 187;
friendship with Becket, 188;
rupture with Becket, 190;
accused of being Becket's murderer, 196;
swears his innocence, 198;
designs upon Ireland, 199;
recalls his subjects from that country, 201;
sails thither, 202;
rupture with his eldest son, 203;
reconciliation with his sons, 206;
death of his eldest son, 207;
attempts to divorce Eleanor, 208;
death and character, 210.

Henry III. appointed his father's heir, 276;
crowned, 277;
confided to the Earl of Pembroke, 278;
declared of age by a Papal bull, 280;
war with Louis VIII., 282;
oppresses the Jews, 289;
partiality to Italians, 291;
accepts the crown of Sicily for his son Edmund, 292;
frequent violations of the great charter, 294;
sarcasm to the prelates, 295;
intimidated by the barons, 298;
absolved from his oath to observe the provisions of Oxford, 302;
proposes a treaty with the barons, 305;
taken prisoner by Leicester, 307;
at the battle of Evesham, 310;
death, 312.

Henry IV., Coronation of, 515;
dealing with his opponents, 516;
conspiracy against, 518;
its failure, 519;
marches upon Scotland, 522;
marches against Glendower, 523;
offends Hotspur, 526;
another conspiracy against, 527;
at the Battle of Shrewsbury, 529;
seizes the son of the King of Scotland, 531;
in Wales, 535;
domestic difficulties, 536;
aids Burgundy and Orleanists, 540;
declining years, 542;
death, 543;
family, 544.
(_See_ Hereford, Duke of.)

Henry V. prosecutes Lord Cobham, 546;
designs upon France, 548;
demands from the French king, 550;
Conspiracy to murder, 551;
reply to the French Envoy, 555;
at Agincourt, 558;
campaigning in Normandy, 562;
enters Rouen, 566;
his demands of the French king, 567;
at Sens, 571;
returns to England, 572;
losses at Meaux, 574;
death, 575;
personal appearance, 576.

Henry VI. crowned at Paris, 598;
character, 602;
marriage, 603;
his debts, 608.

Heptarchy, The, 29.

Hereford, Duke of, Conversation with Norfolk, 475;
Treachery of, 476;
banished, 476;
wrath at the king, 478;
return to England, 479.
(_See_ Henry IV.)

Hereford, Earl of, disobeys the king, 348;
slain, 378.

Hereward, "England's Darling," 113.

Herrings, Battle of the, 588.

Hide of land, 34.

Holy Land, Pilgrims to the, 135.

Homildon Hill, Battle of, 525.

Horsa, 27.

Hotspur at the battle of Shrewsbury, 529;
slain, 530.

House-carls, 65.

House of Commons created, 360.

House of Lords, 363.

Hubblelaw, 42.

Hubblestain, 42.

Hubert de Burgh, 274;
defeats the French fleet, 279;
justiciary, 280;
thrown off by Henry III., 287.

Hundred, The, 26, 34.

Hussites, Origin of the, 462.

Interdict, England under an, 259;
removed, 266;
London under an, 273.

Interest in the 14th century, 508.

Ireland, 14;
early inhabitants, 199;
state of, 470;
Richard II. in, 471.
(_See_ Strongbow.)

Irish chiefs, submission of to Richard II., 471.

Isabella marries Edward II., 366;
insults to her, 378;
goes over to France, 379;
intrigues against the king, 380;
lands, 382;
decline of her popularity, 384.

Jack Straw, 454.

Jacquerie, The, 435.

Jaffa captured by Richard I., 230.

James I. of Scotland in France with Henry, 573;
character, 581;
crowned, 582.

Jane de Montfort at Hennebont, 411.

Japers, 94.

Jargeau, Siege of, 593.

Jerusalem, Procession of crusaders round the walls of, 150;
attacked, 150;
first king of, 151.

Jester, 94.

Jews, Extortion from the, 208;
massacre of, 218;
persecution of, 236;
persecuted by Edward I., 323;
banished, 335.

"Jews' parliament," The, 289.

Joan of Arc before King Charles, 590;
her successes, 592;
her trial, 595;
her surrender, 595.

John, King of France, 427;
challenges Edward, 428;
refuses terms of peace with, at Poitiers, 430;
surrenders, 431;
released, 437.

John's possessions, 221;
schemes, 239;
offers to replace Longchamp, 242;
receives notice of Richard's release, 246;
assumes the crown, 252;
seizes Isabella of Angoulême, 254;
murder of Prince Arthur, 257;
losses in France, 258;
quarrel with the Pope, 259;
in Ireland and Wales, 260;
submits to the Pope, 262;
restores the bishops, 263;
struggle with the barons, 265;
supported by the Pope against the barons, 267;
assent to Magna Charta, 268;
his cruelty, 272;
his death, 275.

Jus Latii, 18.

Justiciar, 167.

Jutes, 25.

Kent, Earl of, entrapped by Mortimer, 392;
condemned to death, 393.

Kent, Earl of, favoured by Richard II., 472.

Kent, Insurrection of the men of, 454.

Kent, Kingdom of, 27.

Kiblene, Battle of, 400.

Kilkenny, The statute of, 471.

King's Bench Court, 362.

"King's Quhair," 581.

Knight, Character of the, 132.

Knights of St. John, 151.

Knights Templars, Order of the, 151;
abolished, 386.

Knights of St. John receive the property of the Knights Templars, 387.

Laet, 26.

Lancaster, Duke of, John of Ghent, 443;
marries, 443;
growing power in England, 444;
espouses the cause of Wycliffe, 446;
retires to Kenilworth, 449;
the Commons, jealousy of, 450;
his house burnt, 457;
and the Lollards, 462;
suspected of treason, 463;
campaigns in Spain, 464;
death, 478.

Lancaster, Henry of (Hereford), claims the crown, 483;
becomes king, 484.

Land-owning under the Saxons, 34.

Lanfranc succeeds Stigand, 112;
supports William II., 123;
death, 126.

Langton, Stephen, Archbishop of Canterbury, 264;
ordered by the Pope not to oppose John, 267.

Languedoc, The people of, 186.

Laws, Earliest English code of, in existence, 31.

Laws of the Saxon kings, 35.

Law schools of the fourteenth century, 491.

Lays, Victory of, 331.

Leofric of Mercia, 71.

Lewes, battle of, 307.

Ligulf, 116.

Lincoln, Siege of, 173.

Lindisfarne, The See of, 30.

Liofa, 51.

Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, a vassal to the English crown, 303;
defeated by Edward I., 326;
renews the conflict, 326;
slain, 327.

Lochleven Castle, Siege of, 399.

Logic, Fourteenth century, 489.

Lollards, 462, 471;
persecuted by Henry V., 547;
and the Scots, 563.

Londinium, First mention of, 12.

London in the eleventh century, 154;
interdicted, 273;
its wealth, 291;
in the hands of Wat Tyler, 457;
schools of the fourteenth century, 491.

Longchamp arrests Pudsey, 238;
disputes with John, 239;
summoned to appear before the barons, 240;
deposed, 241;
flight, 242;
searches for Richard, 243.

Louis VII. of France divorces Eleanor, 178;
his fears of Henry II., 184;
protects Becket, 191;
indignation at Becket's murder, 196.

Louis, son of Philip, offered the English throne, 273;
enters London, 274;
defeated, 279.

Louis IX., conciliatory mediation of, 301;
differences between the barons and the king submitted to, 305;
death, 319.

Lyons, Council at, 292.

Macbeth, 66;
murders Duncan, 71.

Mad Parliament, The, 298.

Madoc, the Welsh leader, 339.

Magna Charta, Groundwork of, 153;
granting of, 268;
evils it remedied, 270;
ratified, 295;
alterations, 378.

Malcolm Canmore restored, 71;
invades England, 127;
slain at Alnwick, 128;
family of, 153;
devotion to Margaret, 330.

Malcolm IV., 330.

Maltravers, 384, 393.

Manny, Sir Walter, at Hennebont, 411;
at Calais, 424.

Manuscripts, Early English, 91.

March, Earl of, title to the throne, 515;
capture by Glendower, 523;
the king refuses to ransom him, 527;
freed, 546;
friendship for Henry V., 551;
intercepts the Scots, 524.

Margaret, Queen of Scots, 65.

Mark, The, 26.

Marquis, Title of, 448.

Martyrs in Britain, Early, 16.

Matilda supports Robert, 118.

Matilda's lineage, 153;
crowned, 155;
marriage, 155;
death, 161.

Matilda's (Henry's daughter) betrothal, 160;
appointed heir to the throne, 165;
marriage, 166;
contest with Stephen, 172;
interview with Queen Maud, 173;
driven from London, 174;
flight from Winchester, 175.

McMurrough refuses to submit to Richard II., 479.

Medicine, Fourteenth century, 490.

"Merchant Strangers," 507.

Merchants of the Staple, 507.

Mercia, 29.

"Merciless Parliament," The, 467.

Merlin, Stories of, 253;
prophecies, 326.

Merton, Synod at, 487.

Metaphysics, Fourteenth century, 489.

"Mile Castles," 22.

Minstrels in the Middle Ages, 503.

Mint Wall, Lincoln, 20.

"Miracle-plays," 514.

Monkwearmouth, 85.

Mons, Siege of, 585.

Montfort, Earl of Leicester, revolts, 295;
complaints against his marriage, 296;
calls the nobles together, 298;
enters an alliance with Llewelyn, 303;
defeats the King, 307;
slain, 310;
character of his parliament, 362.

Moot, 34.

Morcar goes to Normandy, 108;
rises against the Conqueror, 110;
flies, 113.

Mortimer, Roger, conspires against the King, 379;
intimacy with Isabella, 380;
his power, 388;
makes peace with Bruce, 390;
quarrel with Lancaster, 391;
condemned, 394.

Mortimer, Sir Edmund, defeated by Glendower, 523.

Mortimer, Sir Thomas, outlawed, 474.

Mortmain, 360.

Mowbray, Earl, arrested, 534.

Music, Early English, 93.

Music in the 14th century, 502.

Navy in the 14th century, 508.

Nesbit Moor, 524.

Neville's Cross, Battle of, 422.

New Forest, The, 118;
calamities in, 131.

Newcastle, Founding of, 117.

"Noble," The, 507.

Nominalists, 489.

Norfolk, Duke of, banished, 476;
death, 477.

Norham, Conference at, 333.

Norman Invasion, The, 79;
its effects, 104.

Norman opposition to Henry's marriage with Matilda, 155.

Norman architecture, 212;
the three periods, 214.

Normandy, William II.'s successes in, 127;
restored to the French, 258;
ceded to France, 302;
(Lower), in Henry V.'s possession, 563.

Normans and English, at Court, Jealousy between, 69;
early history, 75.

Northallerton, Battle of, 171.

Northampton, Council of, 190.

Northampton, Parliament at, 390.

Northumberland, Earl of, suspected, 130.

Northumberland, Earl of, his offer to Richard II., 482;
deserts Lancaster, 483;
offended at Henry IV., 526;
and the battle of Shrewsbury, 530;
estates confiscated, 534;
killed, 536.

Northumbria, 27;
becomes Christian, 30.

Ockham, William of, 494.

Ockhamists, 489.