Chapter XVIII: Part 18

1232. Distracted by civil wars the Moors in Spain are defeated at Seville by Ferdinand III of Leon and Castile, and lose the Balearic Islands to James, King of Aragon.

1233. Conrad of Marburg, the first inquisitor of Germany, put to death for his cruelty.

Coal first discovered near Newcastle, England.

1234. Pope Gregory IX driven from Rome by the senate and citizens, who resist his temporal power and seize his revenues; he appeals to Emperor Frederick II for assistance.

1235. Marriage of Frederick II to Isabella, sister of Henry III of England. He forbids the extravagant payments usually made on such occasions to buffoons, mimics, and players.

1236. Ezzelino da Romano, the Ghibelline leader, joins Emperor Frederick II in war upon the Lombard League.

Cordova recovered from the Moors by Ferdinand III of Leon and Castile.

1237. Battle of Cortenuova; victory of Frederick II over the Lombard League.

Union of the Knights Swordbearers, founded 1186, with the Teutonic Knights in Prussia; they extend their conquests.

1238. League of Venice, Genoa, and Pope Gregory IX against Frederick II.

Establishment of the Moorish kingdom of Granada, Spain.

1239. Frederick II, having married his natural son, Enzio, to Adelaide, heiress of the two principalities of Torri and Gallura, creates him king of Sardinia. Pope Gregory IX claims the island and excommunicates the Emperor, denouncing him as a heretic and absolving his subjects from their allegiance.

1240. Emperor Frederick II advances against Pope Gregory IX and threatens Rome. The Pope declares a crusade against him.

Batu Khan, at the head of Mongols of the Golden Horde, overruns and devastates Russia.

On the Neva, Alexander, Prince of Novgorod, gains a great victory over the Swedes.

1241. Hamburg and Lubeck form an alliance to protect their commerce. See "RISE OF THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE," vi, 214.

Central Europe is invaded by the Mongols, or Tartars, who vanquish the Silesians, Poles, and Teutonic Knights at Wahlstatt; they defeat the Hungarians on the Sajo.

A Pisan and Sicilian fleet, by order of Frederick II, captures twenty-two Genoese galleys in which cardinals, prelates, and ambassadors, summoned by the Pope, were proceeding to hold a council at Rome; the prisoners were held at Naples and Apulia.

1242. Aldermen first elected in London.

Asia Minor is invaded by the Mongols.

Alexander Nevski, son of Jaroslav, defeats the Swedes and Knights Swordbearers at Lake Peipus.

1243. Frederick II urges the cardinals to appoint a pope; he releases some of his prisoners to attend the conclave.

1244. Jerusalem is stormed and sacked by the Kharesmians.

Pope Innocent IV escapes from Rome and fixes his court at Lyons. Earliest use of the word "parliament" in England.

1245. Thirteenth general council (Lyons) convened by Pope Innocent IV; it proclaims the deposition of Frederick II. A new crusade is ordered.

End of the Babenberg dynasty in Austria.

1246. Ferdinand, assisted by the Moors of Granada, lays siege to Seville.

1247. Parma, recovered by the papal party, is besieged by Frederick II.

1248. First crusade of Louis IX of France. See "Louis IX LEADS THE LAST CRUSADE," vi, 275.

Seville is wrested from the Moors by St. Ferdinand of Leon and Castile.

Emperor Frederick II compelled to raise the siege of Parma.

1249. Damietta is captured by the crusaders.

1250. Battle of Mansourah; total defeat of the crusaders by the Egyptians; King Louis IX captured with his army; they are released on restoring Damietta and promising to abstain from future hostilities.

Turan Shah, Sultan of Egypt, assassinated by the mamelukes. See "MAMELUKES USURP POWER IN EGYPT," vi, 240.

Death of Emperor Frederick II; his son Conrad succeeds as king of Italy; he is acknowledged as king of Germany by most of the temporal princes. William II, Count of Holland, assisted by the ecclesiastical states and the papal party, contests the imperial dignity.

Waldeman, King of Sweden, introduces the mariner's compass among the navigators of the Baltic.

Florence adopts a democratic government; peace obtained between the Guelfs and Ghibellines.

1251. Ottocar, son of Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, acquires Austria. Pope Innocent IV returns to Italy; he visits Genoa, Milan, and other cities, and fixes his residence in Perugia.

1252. Crusading movement of the "Pastors." This originated in France on receipt of the news of St. Louis' expedition; there occurred an outbreak of fanaticism as insensate as that of the Children's Crusade. A Hungarian, named Jacob, proclaimed that Christ rejected the great ones of the earth, and that the deliverance of the Holy City must be accomplished by the poor and humble. Shepherds left their flocks, laborers laid down the plough, to follow his footsteps. "Pastors" was the name given to these village crusaders.

1253. Founding of the Sorbonne in Paris for secular ecclesiastics; its decisions on religious questions were deemed final.

1254. Death of Conrad IV, last of the Hohenstaufen emperors; his heir is Conradin, his infant son. In Germany, William is acknowledged; Pope Innocent IV attempts to wrest the Two Sicilies from the Hohenstaufens; he is defeated by the regent Manfred, uncle of Conradin.

Pope Innocent IV dies at Naples. Alexander IV is elected.

1255. Bills of exchange in favor of Italian merchants drawn at Rome on the English bishops and abbots, which they are compelled to pay.

1256. Death of William of Holland in battle against the Frisians.

1257. Rival election in Germany of Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and Alfonso of Castile as kings of the Romans. The reign of both is only nominal.

1258. In England the barons form a council to advise or command the King. See "THE MAD PARLIAMENT," vi, 246.

Genoa and Venice engage in their first great conflict; the combined fleets of Venice and Pisa defeat the Genoese.

Manfred is crowned king of the Two Sicilies.

Hulaku Khan founds the Mongol empire of the Ilkhans and ends the caliphate of Bagdad.

1259. Treaty of Abbeville between Henry III, King of England, and Louis IX (St. Louis) of France.

1260. Ottocar II of Bohemia secures Styria by defeating Bela IV of Hungary.

1261. Overthrow of the Latin Empire of the East; Michael Palaeologus, assisted by Genoese forces, instals the Palaeologi dynasty on the Eastern throne; recovery of Constantinople by the Greeks. The Genoese are given important naval stations, and the Venetians are excluded from the Black Sea.

1262. Beginning of the barons' war in England; the kingly power is restored to Henry III by parliament; his son Edward brings in a foreign army to support him.

1263. Last invasion of Scotland by the Norwegians repulsed by King Alexander III.

1264. Henry III and his brother, Richard of Cornwall, are defeated and taken prisoners at Lewes by Simon de Montfort at the head of the English barons.

1265. Representation of the commons in parliament is granted by Simon de Montfort. At the battle of Evesham he is defeated and slain; the authority of the King is restored.

Birth of Dante.

1266. Magnus, King of Norway, cedes the Hebrides and the Isle of Man to Scotland.

Charles of Anjou conquers Sicily.

Florentine nobles (Grandi) are excluded from all part in the government of Florence.

1267. Conradin enters Italy with an army; a large part of Sicily declares in his favor.

1268. In attempting to recover the Two Sicilies from Charles, Conradin, the last of the Hohenstaufens, is captured and executed.

Beibars, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, conquers the Christian principalities of Antioch and Joppa. See "MAMELUKES USURP POWER IN EGYPT," vi, 240.

Louis IX, by a pragmatic sanction, resists the papal claim to nominate bishops in France.

1269. Charles of Anjou aids in the restoration of the Guelfs in Florence.

1270. Louis IX, of France, by his "establishments," suppresses the wager of battle and provides for a regular administration of justice.

The last of the crusades. See "Louis IX LEADS THE LAST CRUSADE," vi, 275.

Venice levies a toll on the goods of Bolognese merchants; payment is refused; war between the two states follows.

1271. Crusade of Prince Edward of England; he drives Beibars from the siege of Acre and takes Mazareth; an attempt is made to murder him.

Marco Polo sets out on his travels. See "HEIGHT OF THE MONGOL POWER IN CHINA," vi, 287.

1272. Prince Edward concludes a truce with Beibars for ten years; he leaves Palestine. End of the crusades.

Death of Henry III of England; his son, Edward I, succeeds.

A patent of nobility is granted to his silversmith by Philip III, King of France.

1273. Election of Rudolph as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. See "FOUNDING OF THE HOUSE OF HAPSBURG," vi, 298.

1274. After a long stay in France Edward I lands in England; is crowned with his Queen, Eleanora, at Westminster.

Fourteenth general council, Second of Lyons, presided over by Pope Gregory IX.

Death of Thomas Aquinas, the "Angelic Doctor," while on his way to attend the council of Lyons.

1275. Edward I persecutes the Jews in England.

Marriage between the doges and foreigners prohibited by the Venetians.

1276. Ottocar II, of Bohemia, is vanquished by Rudolph of Hapsburg. See "FOUNDING OF THE HOUSE OF HAPSBURG," vi, 298.

Lombardy distracted by civil wars, earthquakes, floods, famine, and pestilence, followed by a severe winter of four months.

Death of Beibars, Sultan of Egypt and Syria; succession of Kaldoun.

Edward I subdues Wales as far as Snowdon. See "EDWARD I CONQUERS WALES," vi, 316.

1278. Prussia submits to the Teutonic Knights.

Ghibellines allowed to return to Florence.

Rudolph defeats Ottocar II at Marchfeld; he is slain. See "FOUNDING OF THE HOUSE OF HAPSBURG," vi, 298.

1279. Edward I, of England, gives up Normandy to Philip III of France. The English Parliament passes the first statute of mortmain; it forbids the alienation in mortmain of real property to religious houses or other corporations.

1280. Kublai Khan, grandson of Ghengis Khan, completes the Mongol conquest of China.

1281. Tartars attempt the conquest of Japan. See "JAPANESE REPEL THE TARTARS," vi, 327.

A vacancy of six months in the papal chair; Martin IV ultimately elected pope.

Edward I further extends his conquest in Wales. See "EDWARD I CONQUERS WALES," vi, 316.

1282. Rudolph of Hapsburg invests his sons, Albert and Rudolph, with the duchies of Austria, Styria, and Carniola, founding the house of Austria. See "FOUNDING OF THE HOUSE OF HAPSBURG," vi, 298.

A great inundation of the sea forms the Zuyder Zee, a large gulf in the Netherlands, formerly covered with forests and towns; thousands of lives are lost and all the towns and villages submerged.

Massacre of the French in Sicily. See "THE SICILIAN VESPERS," vi, 340,

1283. After a struggle of fifty years the Teutonic Knights complete their power over the Prussians.

1284. Naval battle of Meloria; the Genoese crush the power of the Pisans.

Queen Eleanora gives birth to a son at Carnarvon castle, Wales, afterward Edward II, from whom the eldest son of the King of England takes the title of Prince of Wales. See "EDWARD I CONQUERS WALES," vi, 316.

1285. Death of Philip III of France; his son, Philip IV, succeeds. Florence is appealed to for protection by the citizens of Pisa.

1286. First introduction of the _gabelle_, or salt duty, in France.

1287. Destruction of the shipping and magazines in the harbor of Pisa by the Genoese.

1288. Othman, from whose name are derived the terms Ottoman and Osmanli, lays the foundation of the Turkish empire in Asia Minor.

1289. The Ghibellines of Arezzo and their allies are defeated by the Florentines at Campaldino.

1290. Edward I expels the Jews from England. See "EXPULSION OF JEWS FROM ENGLAND," vi, 356.

Death of the "Maid of Norway," Queen of Scotland; John Balliol, Robert Bruce, and others dispute the succession.

Ladislaus of Hungary assassinated; he is succeeded by Andrew III, called the Venetian, from the place of his birth.

1291. Edward I, of England, decides the disputed succession in Scotland; he claims and receives homage from the competitors as their suzerain.

In Switzerland the three Forest Cantons confederate, these being Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden.

Siege and conquest of Acre from the Christians by Malek el-Ashref; end of the Christian realm of Jerusalem.

Death of Rudolph of Hapsburg.

Death of Saadi, the Persian poet.

1292. Edward I awards the crown of Scotland to John Balliol, who does homage to him.

Adolphus of Nassau elected to the German throne.

1293. Balliol hesitates to obey a summons from Edward I to appear in London.

1294. Under Nicolo Spinola the Genoese capture a Venetian fleet and take Canea, in the isle of Candia.

1295. Philip the Fair of France, and John Balliol, King of Scotland, make war on England.

1296. Balliol is dethroned by Edward I, who invades and conquers Scotland.

Pope Boniface VIII issues his bull (_Clericus laicos_) against the taxation of the property of the Church without the consent of the holy see. Philip the Fair of France refuses to comply with it.

1297. Great victory of the Scots, under William Wallace, at Stirling. See "EXPLOITS AND DEATH OF WILLIAM WALLACE," vi, 369.

Count Guy Flanders is defeated by the French.

Philip the Fair is excommunicated because his law against the export of coin stops the papal revenues derived from France.

Pope Boniface VIII prohibits the dissection of dead bodies for the study of anatomy at Bologna.

1298. Adolphus of Nassau defeated and slain by Rudolph's son, Albert, who is elected king by the German electors.

At Curzola the Genoese gain a naval victory over the Venetians.

A successful war is waged against the Colonnas by Pope Boniface VIII.

Wallace defeated at Falkirk by Edward I. See "EXPLOITS AND DEATH OF WILLIAM WALLACE," vi, 369,

1299. Defeat of the Turks at Hems by the allied forces of the Templars and Mongols; recovery of Jerusalem for a short period.

Ottoman Turks invade the Greek empire.

1300. Institution of the jubilee by Pope Boniface VIII. See "FIRST GREAT JUBILEE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH," vi, 378.

Guy, Count of Flanders, defeated and made prisoner by Philip's brother, Charles de Valois.

A charitable society at Antwerp is first given the name of Lollards, because they lulled the sick by singing to them.

FOOTNOTES:

1. See _The Peace of Constance_, page 28.

2. See _Archiepiscopate of Thomas Becket_, page 1.

3. See _Saladin Takes Jerusalem from the Christians_, page 41.

4. See _The Third Crusade_, page 54.

5. See _Philip of France Wins the French Domains of the English
Kings_, page 86.

6. See _Signing of the Magna Charta_, page 175.

7. See _Innocent III Exalts the Papal Power_, page 156.

8. See _Decline of the Moorish Power in Spain_, vol. v, page 256.

9. See _Venetians and Crusaders Take Constantinople_, page 121.

10. See _Latin Empire of the East_, page 140.

11. See _The Sixth Crusade_, page 208.

12. See _The Teutonic Knights_, page 68.

13. See _Mamelukes Usurp Power in Egypt_, page 240.

14. See _Louis IX Leads the Last Crusade_, page 275.

15. See _The Sicilian Vespers_, page 340.

16. See _First Great Jubilee of the Roman Catholic Church_, page 378.

17. See _Rise of the Hanseatic League_, page 214.

18. See _Founding of the House of Hapsburg_, page 298.

19. See _Founding of the Mongol Empire_, page 103.

20. See _Russia Conquered by the Tartar Hordes_, page 196.

21. See _Height of the Mongol Power in China_, page 287.

22. See _Japanese Repel the Tartars_, page 327.

23. See _The Golden Bull, "Hungary's Magna Charta,"_ page 191.

24. See _The "Mad Parliament,"_ page 246.

25. See _Edward I Conquers Wales_, page 316.

26. See _Exploits and Death of William Wallace_, page 369.

27. See _Expulsion of Jews from England_, page 356.

28. A tax originally levied by Ethelred II to maintain forces against
the Danes.

29. He had killed the father of a young lady whom he had betrayed.

30. The King knew not how to behave to the murderers. To punish them
for that which they had understood he wished them to do, appeared
ungenerous; to spare them was to confirm the general suspicion
that he had ordered the murder. He left them therefore to the
judgment of the spiritual courts. In consequence they travelled to
Rome, and were enjoined by Alexander to make a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem, where some, if not all, of them died.

31. Guy--Guido of Lusignan--was King of Jerusalem, the kingdom
founded by the crusaders in 1099. When Saladin took the city, in
1187, he imprisoned Guy.

32. The house of Comnenus, rulers of the Byzantine empire.

33. Mother of John, grandmother of Arthur, and heiress of Aquitaine.

34. According to R. Coggeshall, Philip virtually declared himself
still ignorant on the point six months later.

35. These were the alternative versions proposed by John's friends,
according to M. Paris.

36. _Johannem Mollegladium_. This nickname is no doubt a translation
of one which must have been applied to John in French, though
unluckily its vernacular form is lost. It has been suggested that
"if the phrase had any English equivalent, it would probably be
something embracing a more direct metaphor than
'Softsword'--something like 'Tinsword,' or, better still, if the
thirteenth century knew of putty, 'John Puttysword.'"

37. In 1199, by acknowledging Arthur as their liege lord and Richard's
lawful heir.

38. _I.e._, "May the band that binds the felts and spars of the yurt
never decay"; in other words, may he ever be prosperous--a
favorite Mongol wish.

39. Transports.

40. The Petrion, which is repeatedly mentioned by contemporary
writers, was a district built on the slope of a hill running
parallel to the Golden Horn for about one-third of the length of
the harbor walls eastward from Blachern. It had apparently been a
neglected spot during the early centuries of the history of
Constantinople, but had lately come to be the residence of
numerous hermits, and the site of several monasteries and
convents. A great part is now occupied by the Jewish colony of
Galata.

41. Nicetas' _Chronicate_, Greek authority on the Latin conquest.

42. Engines for throwing stones and other missiles.

43. Alexius V, Byzantine Emperor.

44. The remarkable church of this monastery still exists as a mosque,
and is known as Eski imaret Mahallasse. It still bears witness to
its having been arranged for both monks and nuns. It is on the
Fourth Hill, just above the Phanar.

45. Alexius V, his Greek name.

46. It was the quarter about the gate in the harbor walls, now known
as Zindan Capou, near the dried-fruit market.

47. Another name of Constantinople.

48. The Great Church, dedicated to the "Divine Wisdom"; the Santa
Sophia, built by Justinian.

49. This office still exists. The principal duty of the person who
holds it is to recite the creed in great religious services when
the patriarch officiates.

50. Romania was the usual name for the Byzantine or Eastern empire.

51. Innocent III.

52. By a similar manoeuvre did the Spaniards rob King René two hundred
years later of the city of Naples.

53. Peter's Patrimony was an administrative division of the Papal
States, situated in Central Italy northwest of the Roman
Campagna.--ED.

54. Apulia, a former duchy, was now a part of the Two Sicilies.

55. Matilda, Countess of Tuscany, also ruler of a large part of
Northern Italy, died about 1115, bequeathing her possessions to
the papacy, which she had supported in its struggle with the
Empire. The execution of her will had been prevented by the
Imperial power.

56. This seems a very strong proof that the house of commons was not
then in being; otherwise the knights and burgesses from the
several counties could have given in to the lords a list of
grievances, without so unusual an election.

57. Novgorod was for centuries the chief commercial city of Russia. It
was an independent republic, holding sway over extensive
territories around the Baltic Sea.

58. Suzdal was at this time the principal state of Central Russia,
with a capital of the same name.

59. Translated by Joseph Sohn.

60. Thus was gradually introduced what has since been considered the
constitutional method of opposing the measures of the Crown, the
refusal of the supplies for the current year. Henry's predecessors
were too rich to depend on the aid of their vassals: to resist
their will with any hope of success it was necessary to have
recourse to the sword. But his poverty compelled him annually to
solicit relief, and to purchase it by concessions to his
parliament.

61. The Earl of Gloucester also massacred the Jews in Canterbury; and
the Earl of Derby destroyed their houses at Worcester and
compelled them to receive baptism. As a justification, it was
pretended that they were attached to the King, had Greek fire in
their possession, kept false keys to the gates, and had made
subterraneous passages from their houses leading under the walls.

62. Grandfather of King Robert Bruce, of Scotland.

63. The military tenants were ordered under the penalty of felony to
bring into the field not only the force specified by their
tenures, but all the horsemen and infantry in their power: every
township was compelled to send eight, six, or four footmen well
armed with lances, bows and arrows, swords, crossbows, and
hatchets, who should serve forty days at the expense of the
township; and the cities and burghs received orders to furnish as
many horsemen and footmen as the sheriff might appoint. No excuse
was to be allowed on account of the shortness of the time, the
approach of the harvest, or any other private inconvenience.

64. It is amusing to compare the opposite writers of this period.
Wikes and the letter-writer in Westminster are royalists, and
severely censure the ambition and treason of Leicester, but, in
the estimation of the chroniclers of Dunstable and of Waverly, he
lived a saint and died a martyr.

65. By these we are to understand Northern and Southern China,
separated by the great Hoang-ho on the eastern, and by the
southern limits of Shen-si on the western side.

66. This conduct toward the professors of the several systems of faith
is perfectly consistent with the character of Kublai, in which
policy was the leading feature. It was his object to keep in good
humor all classes of his subjects, and especially those of the
capital or about the court, by indulging them in the liberty of
following unmolested their own religious tenets, and by flattering
each with the idea of possessing his special protection. Many of
the highest offices, both civil and military, were held by
Mahometans.

67. Neither do those who profess the Mussulman faith regard Mahomet
as a divinity, nor do the Jews so regard Moses; but it is not to
be expected that a Tartar emperor should make very accurate
theological distinctions.

68. This word, probably much corrupted by transcribers, must be
intended for one of the numerous titles of Buddha.

69. The _saggio_ of Venice being equal to the sixth part of an ounce,
these consequently weighed twenty ounces, and the others in
proportion up to fifty ounces.

70. In many parts of the East, the parasol or umbrella with a long
handle, borne by an attendant, is a mark of high distinction, and
even denotes sovereignty when of a particular color.

71. This is Polo's name for Kublai's capital--_Khan-Balig_ ("the
Khan's city")--the Chinese Peking, captured by the Mongols in
1215. In 1264 Kublai made it his chief residence, and in 1267 he
built a new city--Marco Polo's Tai-du, more properly Ta-tu--a
little to the northeast of the old one.

72. Subdivisions of counties, corresponding to the English hundreds.

73. Llewelyn's brother.

74. It is said that Edward promised the Welsh "a native prince; one
who could not speak a word of English," and then presented to
their astonished gaze the new-born infant.

75. A British diplomat who has been for many years director of the
imperial maritime customs of China.

76. These names appear to be intended for Abaka-khan, a Mongol or
Mogul, and Vang-san-chin, a Chinese. Many of the latter nations
were employed by Kublai, both in civil and military capacities,
and rendered him good service.

77. By the port of Zaitun is probably meant Amoy, and by Kinsai the
port of Ningpo or of Chusan, which are at the entrance of the
river which flows by Hang-chau, the Kinsai of Polo.

78. The idea of being rendered invulnerable by the use of amulets is
common among the natives of the eastern islands.

79. If the original operations were directed, as might be presumed,
against the ancient capital, we should infer that the city here
spoken of was Ozaka, situated at the mouth of the river upon
which, at some distance from the coast, Kioto stands, and which is
known to have been formerly much frequented by Chinese shipping.
But, according to P. Gaubil, the island was that of Firando, near
the city of Nagasaki, not then a place of so much importance as it
has since become.

80. There is here a manifest error in the date, which instead of 1264
should rather be 1284. In the early Venice epitome it is 1269, as
well as in the early texts printed by the Paris Geographical
Society; and in the Basel edition, 1289. Polo cannot be made
accountable for these contradictions among his transcribers.

81. No clew presents itself by which to discover the island meant by
the name of Zorza or--allowing for the Venetian
pronunciation--Jorja. Some suppose it to be in one of the lakes of
Tartary.

82. Translated and edited by Francis Egerton, Earl of Ellesmere.

83. In his charter to the city, King Henry exempts his Jews, who were
to remain the exclusive property of himself and his successors.

84. The remarkable letter of Robert Grostête, then Archdeacon of
Leicester, afterward the famous Bishop of Lincoln, to the Countess
on this subject, shows the feelings of the most enlightened
churchman in those times toward the Jews. His mercy, if it was
mercy, would spare their lives. "As murderers of the Lord, as
still blaspheming Christ and mocking his Passion, they were to be
in captivity to the princes of the earth. As they have the brand
of Cain, and are condemned to wander over the face of the earth,
so were they to have the privilege of Cain, that no one was to
kill them. But those who favored or harbored them were to take
care that they did not oppress Christian subjects by usury. It was
for this reason that Simon de Montfort had expelled them from
Leicester. Whoever protected them might share in the guilt of
their usuries."

85. This act, translated from the Norman French, is remarkable in that
the King admits that they (the Jews) are, and have been, very
profitable to him and his ancestors.

86. The act for the expulsion of the Jews has not come down to us; we
know not, therefore, the reasons alleged for the measure. Of the
fact there can be no doubt (see _Report on the Dignity of a Peer_,
p. 180), and there are many documents relating to the event, as
writs to the authorities in Gloucester and York, to grant them
safe-conduct to the ports where they were to embark.

87. "Great," writes the author of _Anglia Judaica_, "were the spoils
they left behind them. Whole rolls, full of patents relating to
their estates, are still remaining in the Tower, which, together
with their rents in fee and their mortgages, all escheated to the
King."

END OF VOLUME VI.