Chapter III: Part 3

(Then follow the names of the principal castles of the King and of their custodians.)

[19] A vassal, holding not immediately from the Sovereign, but from some great lord.

[20] The hereditary revenue of the crown, as distinct from taxation.

HENRY REPUDIATES THE PROVISIONS OF OXFORD (1261).

+Source.+--_Matthew of Westminster_, vol. ii., pp. 391-392. (Bohn's Libraries.)

About the same time, in February, the lord the King of England, who, during his whole reign, had been considered extravagantly liberal towards foreigners, having now taken thought with himself secretly, that from being subjected to the provisions made by the Barons he had been, contrary to his customs, forced to stay his hand, was greatly grieved at being forced to adhere to their guardianship and arrangements, however useful they might be, and determined, with a resolute heart, to alter them. Therefore, having convoked his nobles, he said to them: "All of you laboured perseveringly on behalf of the general advantage and benefit (as you asserted) of the King, and for the sake of increasing my treasures, and diminishing my debts; and you unanimously agreed to a promise which was to be observed upon oath, to the observance of which you also bound me and my son by a similar oath. But now I have experienced beyond a doubt that you are desirous not so much of the advantage of the King and of his kingdom as of your own, and that you are altogether receding from your arrangements, and that you have reduced me not as your lord, but as your servant under your authority. Moreover, my treasury is exhausted to an unusual degree; my debt increases in every direction, and the liberality and power of the King is almost overthrown and put down. On which account I desire you not to wonder if I do not walk any more by your counsel, but leave you to yourselves for the future, and allow myself to seek a remedy for the existing state of affairs."

And when he had said this, having sent ministers to Rome to procure absolution, the King wrote a special letter to the King of France, and to his son Edward, entreating them to furnish him with assistance. And the King of France promised him a large army, which he would support at his own expense for seven years, if it should be necessary; and Edward exerted himself, as it was said, in collecting forces of every description, endeavouring to release Henry, who was no longer a youth, but a veteran, from the confinement in which he was kept, and to make him master of his kingdom, as he had been used to be. In the meantime, the King, having neglected the statute made by his nobles, and being deceived by flattering counsels, entered the Tower of London, and having forced open the bolts, seized the treasure which was deposited there, and spent and dissipated it. Moreover, he hired workmen, and caused the Tower to be strengthened in every part, and he ordered the whole City of London to have its locks and barriers strengthened, and to be fortified all round. And having convoked all the citizens of twelve years old and upwards, he caused them all to swear to maintain their fidelity to him, the crier making proclamation that all who were willing to serve the King should come to receive pay from him. And when they heard this, the nobles flocked in from all quarters with their forces, encamping without the walls, since all entertainment within was entirely denied to them. And so a deadly war was expected on every side, which, indeed, had never been so near in past years.

THE QUEEN INSULTED BY THE LONDONERS (1263).

+Source.+--_William Rishanger's Chronicle_, p. 18. (Rolls Series).

Meanwhile, Edward, the King's son, arrived from across the seas, and garrisoned Windsor Castle with an armed band of aliens, whom he had brought with him a short time before. The King, however, fearing to be imprisoned in the Tower by the army of the Barons, agreed while there was yet time, through the mediation of timorous men, to the conditions of peace proposed by the Barons, and promised to observe the Provisions of Oxford. But the Queen, impelled by woman's malice, opposed the Barons as far as she could. Consequently, when she had embarked in a boat on the Thames for the purpose of proceeding by water to the castle at Windsor, a mob of townspeople gathered at the bridge under which she had to pass, loaded her with abuse and execrations, and, by throwing stones and mud, compelled her to return to the Tower.

THE BATTLE OF LARGS (1263).

+Source.+--_Androw of Wyntoun's Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland_, book vii., ll. 3267-3306.

A thowsand twa hundyr sexty and thre
Yheris efftyr the Natyvyté,
Haco, Kyng than off Norway,
Come wyth hys ost and gret array
In Scotland on the West Se.
In Cwnyngame[21] at the Largis he
Arryẅyd wyth a gret multitud
Off schyppys wyth topcastellys gud.
And thare be a tempest fell
Off gret weddrys scharpe and snell
Off fors thai behoẅyd to tak
Land, and thame for battayle make:
And offt syne[22], as thai mycht wyn
Thare schyppys, thai wald enter in,
And ordanyd thame wyth dilygens
In thare schyppys to mak defens.
The Kyng Alysandyre off Scotland
Come on thame than wyth stalwart hand,
And thame assaylyd rycht stowtly:
Thai thame defendyd rycht manlyly.
A Scottis sqwyare off gud fame,
Perys off Curry cald be name.
Amang the rapys[23] wes all to rent
Off tha schyppys in a moment.
And mony wes slayne that ilk tyde
Off Scottis and Norways on ilke syde.
Thare thai fechtand war sa fast,
The Kyng off Norway at the last
And hys men fer revyd[24] sare,
That evyre thai arryẅyd thare:
For off hys schyppys in the sé
Ware mony drownyd; and thare menyhe
Ware sa sted in gret peryle.
The Kyng hymself into that qwhylle
Wytht hys naẅyn[25], that sawffyd was,
Wychtly wan[26] owt off the pres,
And tuk the se hamwart the way,
Thare trad[27] haldand till Orknay.
Thare than tuk land Haco thar Kyng,
And in gret seknes mad endyng.

[21] Cunningham, one of the old districts of Ayrshire.

[22] Afterwards.

[23] Ropes.

[24] Sorrowed.

[25] Ships.

[26] Cleverly won.

[27] Course.

THE MISE OF AMIENS (1264).

+Source.+--_Rymer's Fœdera_, vol. i., pp. 433-434.

(This document is drawn up in the name of Louis IX., King of France. After a recapitulation of the letters of appeal sent to him by the King and Barons of England, he continues):

The aforesaid King of England on the one side, and the above-mentioned Barons on the other, have appealed to us concerning all the disputes between them, ... and have promised by an oath on the Holy Gospels that they will obey in all good faith whatever decision we decree and ordain regarding these disputes or some of them.... Therefore, having caused the said King in person, and certain of the Barons in person, and others by proxy, to appear before us, and having perceived that the provisions, ordinances, and statutes of Oxford, and the obligations resulting from them and brought about by them, have been of exceeding great hurt to the King's rights and honour, and have occasioned disturbances in the kingdom, depression and damage to the Church, and much loss to other persons--laymen and churchmen, natives and aliens--in the kingdom; believing, also, that even more serious results may reasonably be feared in the future; and bearing in mind, especially, that the lord Pope has already by his letters declared them null and void; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, by our royal command and ordinance we declare null and void the aforesaid provisions, ordinances, and statutes--by whatever name they may be called--and whatever obligations result from them, or are occasioned by them.

We declare further, that, by virtue of the said provisions, or obligations, or ordinances, or of any power conceded in connection with them by the King, no one is to make new statutes, or to hold to or observe those already made, and on account of non-observance of the aforesaid statutes no one shall be deemed, capitally or otherwise, the enemy of another, or shall undergo any punishment on this account.

We decree, also, that all letters resulting from the aforesaid provisions shall be null and void, and shall be restored to the King by the Barons.

In addition, we declare and ordain that all castles which were handed over as a pledge for the carrying out of the provisions, or because of them, shall be freely restored by the said Barons to the King, to be held by the King as he held them before the time of the aforesaid provisions.

Further, that the aforesaid King may, freely and of his own will, elect, dismiss, and remove from office, the Chief Justice, the Chancellor, the Treasurer, counsellors, lesser justices, sheriffs, and all other officials and servants of his kingdom and household, as he did and was allowed to do before the time of the aforesaid provisions.

Further, we cancel and annul the statute which provides that for the future the kingdom of England shall be governed by native-born men, and that aliens shall leave the country not to return, except those whose continued residence is approved by the commonalty: we ordain that aliens may freely dwell in the said kingdom; and that the King may freely call whomsoever he pleases, both aliens and natives, to his council, even as he could before the aforesaid time.

We declare and ordain, also, that the said King shall have full power to govern freely in his kingdom and its dependencies, and shall be in the state and in the enjoyment of plenary power, in and through everything, even as he was before the aforesaid time.

THE BATTLE OF LEWES (1264).

+Source.+--Continuation of _Matthew Paris_ (attributed to William Rishanger), vol. iii., pp. 347-349. (Bohn's Libraries.)

Being then assured that a battle was imminent, the army of the Barons, before sunrise, left the village of Fletching [about six miles distant from Lewes], where a great portion of it had passed the night. Before starting on the expedition, Earl Simon conferred the honour of knighthood on Gilbert Clare. When they reached a place scarcely two miles distant from the town of Lewes, Simon with his friends ascended an eminence, and placed his car thereon in the midst of the baggage and sumpter horses. There he displayed his standard, fastening it securely to the car, and surrounded it with a large number of his soldiers. He himself with his army took possession of the ground on both sides of this place, and awaited the issue of events. In another car he had shut up four citizens of London, who had conspired to betray him a short time before, when he was passing the night at Southwark. This he did by way of precaution. He then prudently arranged his forces, and ordered his soldiers to fasten white crosses on their breasts and backs, above their armour, that they might be known by their enemies, and to show that they were fighting for justice. Early in the morning of that day the army of the Barons surprised the King's followers, who had gone out to seek food and fodder for their horses, and put a great many of them to death.

The King, being informed of the approach of the Barons, soon set himself in motion with his army, and went forward to meet them with unfurled banners, preceded by the royal ensign, which bore on it a dragon, as if announcing itself the messenger of death. His army was divided into three bodies; the first division was under the command of his eldest son Edward, accompanied by William de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, and John de Warrenne, Earl of Surrey and Sussex. The second was commanded by the King of Germany and his son Henry; whilst King Henry himself commanded the third division. The army of the Barons was in four divisions; the first of which was under the command of Henry de Montfort and the Earl of Hereford; the second under Gilbert Clare, John Fitz John, and William de Monchesnil; the third, composed of Londoners, was commanded by Nicholas Segrave; and Earl Simon and Thomas Pelvedon led the fourth division. Edward with his division rushed on the enemy with such impetuosity that he forced them to retreat, many of them--report stated the number of knights to amount to sixty--being drowned. The Londoners were soon put to flight, and Edward, who thirsted for their blood owing to the insult lately offered to his mother, pursued them for the distance of four miles, and made a dreadful slaughter of them; but, by his absence, he much weakened the King's forces. In the meantime, some of the chiefs of the King's army, seeing the Earl's standard on the hill, and thinking that the Earl himself was there, hastened thither suddenly and slew the citizens of London who were shut up in the car, not knowing that they were friendly to their cause. During all this time, however, the Earl and Gilbert Clare were by no means idle, but struck down and slew all who opposed them, directing their utmost endeavours to take the King alive; and great numbers of the King's adherents fell before them. John, Earl Warrenne, William de Valence, and Guy de Lusignan, all uterine brothers of the King, Hugh Bigod, and about three hundred armed knights, turned their backs and fled before the fierce attacks of the Barons. Richard, King of Germany, Robert Bruce, and John Comyn, who had brought a number of Scots with them, were made prisoners. King Henry, also, after having his horse killed under him, surrendered himself to Simon de Montfort, and was shortly afterwards placed in the priory under a guard. Many of the Barons of Scotland were slain on the spot on that day, and the foot-soldiers who had come with them were slaughtered in great numbers. There were, moreover, made prisoners, Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford; John Fitzallan, Earl of Arundel; William Bardolf, Robert Tateshull, Roger Somerey, Henry Percy, and Philip Basset. On the side of the King were slain the Justiciaries, William Wilton and Fulk FitzWarren, the one falling in battle, the other being drowned in the river. On the side of the Barons there fell Ralph Hornigande, a Baron, and William Blund, the Earl's standard-bearer. It was stated that the loss on both sides put together amounted to five thousand men.

Edward, on returning with his companions in arms from the slaughter of the Londoners, not knowing what had happened to his father, went round the outside of the town and reached the Castle of Lewes; but not finding his father there, he entered the priory, where he met with him and learned what had passed. The Barons, in the meantime, made an assault on the castle, but as the garrison made a vigorous defence, they withdrew; Edward, on hearing of the daring bravery of the garrison, was much inspirited, and, reassembling his troops, wished to try his fortune in another battle. The Barons, on learning his determination, sent persons to mediate for a peace, promising to come to some definite arrangement to that effect on the morrow. On the morrow, therefore, by the intervention of the Preacher and Minorite brethren, it was arranged that on the sixth day following, Edward and Henry should deliver themselves up to Earl Simon, in exchange for their fathers the Kings of England and Germany, in the hope of obtaining peace and tranquillity, on condition that due deliberation should be taken as to which of the statutes and provisions ought to be observed to benefit the kingdom, and which ought to be annulled, and that the spoil taken on both sides should be given up without any ransom. On the Saturday following the King gave permission to all who had joined his cause to return to their homes.... As for Edward, he was sent to the Castle of Wallingford for safety.

THE VIEWS OF THE KING AND OF THE BARONS CONCERNING THE GOVERNMENT OF ENGLAND (1264).

+Source.+--_The Song of Lewes._ (_Political Songs of England from the Reign of John to that of Edward II._, Camden Society, 1839.)

We are touching the root of the perturbation of the kingdom of which we are speaking, and of the dissension of the parties who fought the said battle. The objects at which these two parties aimed were different. The King, with his, wished thus to be free; and so (it was urged on his side) he ought to be; and he must cease to be King, deprived of the rights of a King, unless he could do whatever he pleased. It was no part of the duty of the magnates of the kingdom to determine whom he should prefer to his earldoms, or on whom he should confer the custody of castles, or whom he would have to administer justice to the people, and to be Chancellor and Treasurer of the kingdom. He would have everyone at his own will, and counsellors from whatever nation he chose, and all ministers at his own discretion; while the Barons of England are not to interfere with the King's actions, the command of the Prince having the force of law, and what he may dictate binding everybody at his pleasure. For every Earl also is thus his own master, giving to everyone of his own men both as much as he will, and to whom he will; and although he be a subject, the King permits it all. Which, if he do well, is profitable to the doer; if not, he must himself see to it; the King will not hinder him from injuring himself. Why is the Prince worse in condition, when the affairs of the Baron, the knight, and the freeman, are thus managed? Therefore they aim at making the King a slave, who wish to diminish his power, to take away his dignity of Prince; they wish by sedition to reduce captive into guardianship and subjection the royal power, and to disinherit the King, that he shall be unable to reign so fully as hitherto have done the Kings who preceded him, who were in no respect subjected to their people, but administered their own affairs at their will, and conferred what they had to confer according to their own pleasure. This is the King's argument, which has an appearance of fairness, and this is alleged in defence of the right of the kingdom.

Now let my pen turn to the other side:--let me describe the object at which the Barons aim.... The adversaries of the King are enemies who make war upon him, and counsellors who flatter the King, who seduce their Prince with deceitful words, and who lead him into error by their double tongues; these are adversaries worse than those who are perverse; it is these who pretend to be good whilst they are seducers, and procurers of their own advancement; they deceive the incautious, whom they render less on their guard by means of things that please them, whereby they are not provided against, but are considered as prudent advisers.... And if such, by their conduct, should change the state of the kingdom; if they should banish justice to put injustice in its place; if they should call in strangers and trample upon the natives; and if they should subdue the kingdom to foreigners; if they should not care for the magnates and nobles of the land, and should place contemptible persons over them; and if they should overthrow and humiliate the great; if they should pervert and turn upside down the order of things; if they should leave the measures that are best to advance those that are worst;--do not those who act thus devastate the kingdom?...

A wise Prince will never reject his people, but an unwise one will disturb the kingdom. Wherefore, if a King is less wise than he ought to be, what advantage will the kingdom gain by his reign? Is he to seek by his own opinion on whom he should depend to have his failing supplied? If he alone choose, he will be easily deceived, who is not capable of knowing who will be useful. Therefore let the community of the kingdom advise; and let it be known what the generality thinks, to whom their own laws are best known. Nor are all those of the country so uninstructed as not to know better than strangers the customs of their own kingdom, which have been bequeathed from father to son. They who are ruled by the laws know these laws best; they who experience them are best acquainted with them; and since it is their own affairs which are at stake, they will take more care, and will act with an eye to their own peace. They who want experience can know little; they will profit little the kingdom who are not stedfast. Hence it may be deduced that it concerns the community to see what sort of men ought justly to be chosen for the unity of the kingdom; they who are willing and know how, and are able to profit it, such should be made the counsellors and coadjutors of the King; to whom are known the various customs of their country; who feel that they suffer themselves when the kingdom suffers; and who guard the kingdom, lest, if hurt be done to the whole, the parts have reason to grieve while they suffer along with it; which rejoice, when it has cause to rejoice, if they love it....

From all that has been said, it may appear evident that it becomes a King to see, together with his nobles, what things are convenient for the government of the kingdom, and what are expedient for the preservation of peace; and that the King have natives for his companions, not foreigners nor favourites for his counsellors or for the great nobles of the kingdom.

THE MISERIES OF CIVIL WAR (1264).

+Source.+--_Chronicon Thomæ Wykes_, pp. 157-159. (_Annales Monastici_, vol. iv.--Rolls Series.)

But to return to the course of events in England, we must not pass over in a feigned silence the wickedness or madness of the inhabitants of the Cinque Ports, and the many hardships which they brought upon the English people. For they gathered together a large fleet of pirate vessels, with which they constantly scoured the seas, to prevent by force the bringing of provisions to England; all those whom they were able to capture on the seas, natives as well as foreigners, they cruelly slew, and, casting the bodies into the deep, put to their own use the ships and all they contained; they became crueller, in their destruction, than the whirlpool of Scylla or Charybdis, for they despoiled of all their goods and slew, without respect of persons, the merchants who were accustomed to bring us stores. Wherefore the supply of foodstuffs, which generally had been more plentiful in England than in all other regions, so diminished, that wine, previously sold at forty shillings, easily fetched ten marks; and wax, which generally did not exceed forty shillings, was worth eight marks and more; and a pound of pepper, formerly scarcely worth sixpence, was sold for three shillings. To be brief, there was such a scarcity of salt, iron, steel, cloth, and all manner of goods, that the people suffered terribly from want, and even divers merchants were forced to beg, for the people could not send their goods out of the kingdom; wherefore, had not Divine Providence come quickly to succour the country in its misery, the supply of money would have failed, as well as that of goods. And the Earl--_i.e._, Simon de Montfort--wishing to soothe the popular ear by foolish fancies, announced and caused it to be proclaimed abroad that the inhabitants could easily be provided for out of the produce of the country itself, without bringing in provisions from abroad--an idea which is clearly absurd: for, indeed, the interchange of goods between two countries brings divers benefits to each in turn; nevertheless, some, wishing to please the Earl, wore garments of white cloth, refusing to put on coloured ones, lest they should be seeming to seek for necessaries from abroad.

The lord Henry de Montfort, too, eldest son of the Earl of Leicester, to fill up the cup of his greed, greatly tarnished his honour as a soldier by seizing and applying to his own purposes all the wool of the kingdom, which the merchants, not only of Flanders, but of England and other parts, had brought down to the harbours to ship each to his own country; for which dishonourable act, instead of a good soldier, he was known, for a byword, as "the woolcarder." By these and other distresses the kingdom of England was so weakened that, wounded by irreparable losses, it became a most miserable instead of a flourishing country, and, in the words of the Prophet, we were "a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us."

SIMON DE MONTFORT'S SCHEME OF GOVERNMENT (1264).

+Source.+--_Rymer's Fœdera_, vol. i., p. 443.

For the amendment of the state of the kingdom of England there shall be elected and nominated three discreet and faithful men of the realm, who shall receive authority and power from the lord King to elect or nominate, in the King's place, nine counsellors. Of these, three at least, in turn, shall always be present at the Court; and the lord King, by advice of the aforesaid nine, shall ordain and dispose of the wardenship of castles and all other business of the kingdom. The lord King, also, acting on the advice of the same nine, shall appoint the Justiciar, Chancellor, Treasurer, and other greater and lesser officials who have to do with any matters pertaining to the government of Court and kingdom. The first electors or nominators shall swear that, obeying the dictates of conscience, they will elect or nominate counsellors whom they believe to be useful and faithful to the honour of God and the Church, and to the lord King and kingdom. Further, the counsellors and all officials, greater and lesser, shall swear on appointment that they will faithfully carry out their duties, so far as they can, to the honour of God and the Church, and the good of the lord King and kingdom, taking no gifts, except the meat and drink commonly presented for the table. But if the aforesaid counsellors, or any one of them, in carrying out the duties entrusted to them, shall be found guilty of malversation, or for any other cause shall require to be changed, the lord King, by the advice of the first three electors or nominators, shall dismiss those requiring dismissal, and in their place, by advice of the same three, appoint and substitute other faithful and suitable men. If the greater or lesser officials shall be found guilty of malversation in their offices, the lord King, on the advice of the aforesaid nine, shall remove them, and by the same advice substitute others without delay. If the first three electors or nominators, in the election or nomination of counsellors, or the counsellors in the appointment of officials, or in carrying out or accomplishing other business pertaining to the King or kingdom, shall disagree, whatever is determined on or ordained by two-thirds shall be firmly observed; provided that among these two-thirds shall be a prelate of the Church in all ecclesiastical matters. And if it should happen that two-thirds of the aforesaid nine do not agree about any matter, the dispute shall be referred to the determination of the first three electors or nominators, or the greater part thereof. And should it seem fitting to the general body of prelates and Barons together that some person or persons should be appointed in the place of, or be substituted for any of the first three nominators, the lord King, on the advice of the general body of prelates and Barons, shall do so. The lord King (or the counsellors themselves, in place of, and by authority of the King), shall carry out all the aforesaid matters by advice of the nine in the form above described; the present ordinance being intended to hold good until the provisions of the Mise drawn up at Lewes, and afterwards signed by both sides, be jointly carried out, or other provisions approved of by both parties be substituted.

Given in Parliament at London, in the month of June, 1264.

THE EVESHAM CAMPAIGN (1265).

+Source.+--Continuation of _Matthew Paris_ (attributed to William Rishanger), vol. iii, pp. 353-354. (Bohn's Libraries.)

About this time the King's son Edward, who was detained in custody in the Castle of Hereford, obtained permission from his guards to take exercise in a field outside the city, and to amuse himself with trying the speed of their horses. On one occasion, after trying several horses and tiring them out, he at length chose a good one, which he mounted, and, urging him to speed with his spurs, he bade farewell to his guards, and, crossing the River Wye, he directed his course, accompanied by two knights and four esquires who were aware of his design, to the Castle of Wigmore. His guards gave pursuit to him, but seeing the banners of Roger Mortimer and Roger de Clifford, who were come to assist Edward in his escape, they were out-manœuvred, and so returned to Hereford. These occurrences took place on the eve of the Trinity, and were arranged with the counsel and assistance of the aforesaid knights. Thus released from his imprisonment, Edward assembled a large army, as numbers flocked to join him, and the counties of Hereford, Worcester, Salop, and Chester entered into an alliance with him, the towns and villages, cities and castles pouring forth their inhabitants to join his standard. He at once besieged and took the city of Gloucester, of which the Earl had lately gained possession, the garrison left therein taking flight to the castle; but after fifteen days they surrendered the castle also, and on giving their oath not to bear arms against Edward for the future, they were allowed to depart at liberty. The Earl of Leicester in the meantime attacked the Castle of Monmouth, which the Earl of Gloucester had lately taken and fortified, and having compelled the garrison to surrender, rased the castle to the ground. He then entered Glamorganshire, the territory of the said Earl of Gloucester, and being met by the Prince of Wales with assistance, the two chiefs together ravaged the whole country with fire and sword. Edward in the meantime, hearing that many of the partisans of Earl Simon had flocked together to the Castle of Kenilworth, joined his forces with those of the Earl of Gloucester, and, setting forth from Worcester in the evening, reached that place by forced marches. Coming on the place suddenly, he made prisoner of the Earl of Oxford, and about thirteen knights bannerets, before they could enter the castle, in which Simon, the son of Earl Simon, had already shut himself up. Simon, Earl of Leicester, always keeping the King in his company, returned from the south of Wales, and on the Festival of S. Peter ad Vincula, arrived at Kempsey, a manor of the Bishop of Worcester, and stayed there on the day following. Edward then returned from Kenilworth to Worcester, which is only three miles distant from the above-named manor; and Simon, on hearing of his arrival there, went away with the King at nightfall, and took up his quarters in the town of Evesham, where he awaited his unhappy destiny. For, on the morrow, which was the day of the finding of S. Stephen, Edward moved from Worcester, crossed the river near the town of Claines, and cut off the approach of the Earl to his son, who was in the Castle of Kenilworth, and prevented all chance of the father and son meeting. On the following day he drew near the town of Evesham on one side, and the Earl of Gloucester and Roger Mortimer came up with their respective forces in two other directions; thus the Earl of Leicester was hemmed in on all sides, and was under the necessity either of voluntarily surrendering or of giving them battle. On the fifth of August, which fell on the third day of the week, both armies met in a large plain outside the town, where a most severe conflict ensued, till the partisans of the Earl began to give way, and, the whole weight of the battle falling on him, he was slain on the field of battle. At the time of his death a storm of thunder and lightning occurred, and darkness prevailed to such an extent that all were struck with amazement. Besides the Earl, there fell in that battle twelve knights bannerets ... and a great number of others of inferior rank, such as esquires and foot-soldiers, the greatest loss being among the Welsh.

CHARACTER OF SIMON DE MONTFORT.

+Source.+--Continuation of _Matthew Paris_ (attributed to William Rishanger), vol. iii., p. 355. (Bohn's Libraries.)

Thus ended the labours of that noble man Earl Simon, who gave up not only his property, but also his person, to defend the poor from oppression, and for the maintenance of justice and the rights of the kingdom. He was distinguished for his learning; to him an assiduous attention to divine duties was a pleasure; he was moderate and frugal; and it was a usual practice of his to watch by night, in preference to sleeping. He was bold in speech and of a severe aspect. He put great confidence in the prayers of religious men, and always paid great respect to ecclesiastics. He endeavoured to adhere to the counsels of S. Robert, surnamed Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, and entrusted his children to him to be brought up when very young. On that prelate's counsel he relied when arranging matters of difficulty, when attempting dubious enterprises, and in finishing what he had begun, especially in those matters by which he hoped to increase his merits. It was reported that the same Bishop had enjoined on him, in order to obtain remission of his sins, to take up this cause, for which he fought even to the death, declaring that the peace of the Church of England could not be firmly established except by the sword, and positively assuring him that all who died for it would be crowned with martyrdom. Some persons, moreover, stated that on one occasion the Bishop placed his hand on the head of the Earl's eldest son, and said to him: "My well-beloved child, both thou and thy father shall die on one day, and by one kind of death; but it will be in the cause of justice and truth." Report goes that Simon, after his death, was distinguished by the working of many miracles, which, however, were not made publicly known, for fear of Kings.

THE DISINHERITED IN THE ISLE OF ELY (1266-1267).

+Source.+--_Chronicon Thomæ Wykes_, pp. 192-193, 204, 207-210. (_Annales Monastici_, vol. iv.--Rolls Series.)

A.D. 1266.--About Michaelmas, a great body of the disinherited, forming a strong confederation, gathered together secretly, and took possession, more by guile than by force, and with the connivance of the inhabitants, of a marshy district, surrounded by lakes and rivers, and girded in by impassable marshes, commonly called the Isle of Ely. This place, after they had effected their entrance--and the islanders were unable to resist such a host of invaders--they immediately stored with arms and provisions, and built defences which so cunningly closed up the entrances and exits that no one could approach without their consent; while they themselves were accustomed to cross to the neighbouring counties, and there, accompanied by the great band of robbers whom they had collected, they seized and carried off to the aforesaid island, by deeds of evil daring, and without respect of persons or places, for their own sustenance and that of their dependants, whatever food or furnishings they could find in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, or in any of the districts round about; and in that island they abode safely without being disturbed all winter....

A.D. 1267.--Since the King with his nobles was engaged, as we have said, in the siege of London, the nobles on the island, perceiving that the administration of the law was lax, and being therefore controlled by no fear of restraint or armed resistance, but rejoicing in the licence thus permitted them, harassed the neighbouring district by frequent marauding expeditions, conducted with the usual cruelty....

But now, the lord Edward, his heart full of the desolation of the Island of Ely, decided that he must use guile as well as force to reduce by warlike means its treacherous occupants. (For, against such dastardly robbers as these, to employ cunning must not be considered a sin, but rather a virtue, since in dealing with enemies of the State victory is a consideration paramount to good faith.) Therefore, striving with noble zeal to put a stop, in the interest of the whole realm, to the fierce attacks of this great host, Edward cunningly entered into a secret compact with the lord Nicholas de Segrave, the warden to whom had been entrusted the guardianship of the defences or fortifications by which assailants were easily kept back from the approach to the island, his aim being to prevent any check from that direction to the plans which he had conceived and was endeavouring to carry into effect; and when this bargain had been firmly and faithfully sealed, he entered the monastery of Ramsey, near to the marshes, with a large band of men, and brought the people of the district over to his side by promises and bribes, enjoining them not to fear the danger of death should they be compelled by fate or ill-fortune (which might Heaven forbid!) to die with him; then the country people, who had come, by frequent examination, to know the most secret places of that wide extent of marsh land, sailing or walking over it constantly as they did, fashioned hidden paths through places formerly impassable, making bridges by means of bundles of reeds wrought together; and the bounty of Nature supplied the defects of their skill. By this means a body both of foot-soldiers and horsemen crossed almost as on dry land. Two hot summers in succession added to the success of this artifice, by causing places, formerly so swampy as to offer no sure foothold, to be quite dried up by the heat, so that it truly might be said, "Here is the finger of God." Thus the soldiers were enabled, by traversing the paths pointed out to them by the country people, whose fears vanished under the leadership of so famous a general, and by the connivance of the lord aforesaid, who held to his compact, to cross the fortifications and defences without resistance, and, without the knowledge of the islanders, to halt on solid ground within the bounds of the island, separated from their enemies only by a small stream; this, too, they were able to cross without any difficulty by filling it up with bundles of reeds, of which they had a plentiful supply, to the terror and stupefaction of the other inhabitants, who now observed them. Astounded by the sudden, unexpected arrival of so many strangers, the islanders were slow to make defence or resistance; but lest they should seem to be entirely inactive, they sent forward to the river a number of crossbowmen and archers, who, by clearing a passage with their arrows, or even by a slow retreat, might grant the nobles time to gird on their armour, assume their weapons, and bear down on these unexpected adversaries; but the plan failed, for the lord Edward, fearing that his bold device might come to nought through weakness in defence, ordered his crossbowmen and archers to engage the enemy's archers from the other side of the stream; and when his army, having almost completed its passageway, was courageously commencing to attack the enemy, whom he saw near at hand ready to fight, the lord Edward publicly proclaimed that if anyone attacked any of his men or by any act of rebellion hindered him in carrying out his enterprise, such an one would suffer death by hanging or execution, should success--and of that there was no doubt--crown his efforts. On this, the fierce courage of the islanders weakened and gave way, and all, struck by sudden fear, laying aside their haughty fierceness, with bowed heads meekly surrendered, and--though they had refused to hear of it previously--submitted themselves to the ever-gracious clemency of the Prince.

Then Edward, granting them a simulated pardon, which, indeed, not to pass over it in silence, they had deserved, allowed a truce of barely two days in which, sacrilegiously gathering together their spoil, they should vacate the surrendered city and island. They departed, all alike in confusion and disgrace, to the no small joy of the provincials, who were now restored to their possessions and rejoiced in their ancient liberty. But the victorious army, in triumphal procession, with trumpets sounding joyfully, entered the city, while all the citizens, together with the few remaining monks, gave thanks to the King of Kings, who, pitying the distress of the city and province, had destroyed that evil horde of wicked men, and, striking from their necks the insupportable yoke of slavery, had restored their liberty under the protection of their future Prince.

EDWARD IN THE EAST (1270-1272).

A. +Source.+--Continuation of _Matthew Paris_ (attributed to William Rishanger), vol. iii., pp. 375 _et seqq._ (Bohn's Libraries.)

A.D. 1270.--In the month of May in this year, the King's son Edward set out on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, taking with him his wife Eleanor, and accompanied by his brother-in-law Edmund, by four Earls, the same number of Barons, and many other nobles.... Edward then arrived in France with his fleet, but, learning that the King of France had started for the Holy Land, he followed him by sea, and after a voyage of ten days, arrived safely at Tunis, and landed with all his companions and followers. There he was met by the King of France and his nobles, who received him joyfully, and admitted him to the kiss of peace. In the month of August the sickness which raged about the sea-coast did great havoc in the army of the Christians. At Tunis, amongst the chiefs of the army, in the first place, there died John, Count of Nevers, the son of the French King, and the Cardinal Albano, legate of the Apostolic See. Soon afterwards, on the day after the Feast of S. Bartholomew the Apostle, St. Louis, the most Christian King of the French, passed from a temporal kingdom to an eternal one.... He was succeeded in his kingdom by his son Philip. At the time when the army was in a state of desolation, in consequence of the King's death, Charles, King of Sicily, arrived, who had been sent for by the King before his death. Although the Saracens were evidently much more numerous than the Christians, they never dared to attack the Christians in the open field, but caused them much annoyance and inconvenience by their stratagems. Amongst their devices, one was as follows. The country being sandy, and very dusty in the dry seasons, the Saracens placed several thousands of their people on an eminence in the neighbourhood of the Christians, and when the wind was blowing in the direction of the latter, they stirred up the sand and dust, which caused great annoyance to the Christians. But at length rain, coming on, laid the dust, and the Christians got ready their different engines of war, and made preparations for attacking Tunis by land and sea. The Saracens, on seeing this, entered into a treaty with them, and agreed to set at liberty all the Christians who were captives in that country. They also allowed the faith of Christ to be preached freely by the Preacher and Minorite brethren, and by all others soever, in all the monasteries founded in honour of Christ in the cities of that kingdom; also that all who chose to be baptized should be at liberty to be so. The expenses of the two Kings then having been paid, and the King of Tunis having acknowledged himself tributary to the King of Sicily, a truce for several years was arranged, and the King of Sicily prepared to re-embark with his army. But the Divine vengeance followed him, and, as he was endeavouring to return, the sea engulfed almost his whole army, the treasure he had taken from Tunis, and all his movable property.... When Edward heard of the terrible vengeance which the Lord had inflicted on Charles, King of Sicily, the brother of Louis, the late King of France, and when he considered that this disaster had happened not without a cause, he struck his breast and cried, swearing by God's blood, his usual oath: "Although all my companions in arms and countrymen should desert me, yet I, with Fowin, my palfrey-keeper" (for such was his name) "will enter Ptolemais or Acre, and will keep my compact and my oath, though my soul shall be separated from my body in so doing." All the English who were with him, and heard this declaration, promised that they would go with him. He then at once set sail for Acre, and, on his arrival there, found that the city was to be surrendered to the Saracens in four days from that time. By his arrival the Soldan of Babylon was disappointed in his expectations; and although he had begun to besiege the city, he returned to his own country with his army.

A.D. 1271.--In this year, whilst the King's eldest son Edward was staying at Acre, a certain Emir of Joppa (a rank which corresponds to that of an Earl amongst us), and a Saracen by birth, was seized with an affection for him, on account of his fame for valour, and frequently sent letters and messages of commendation to him by a certain Hassatut, or Assassin, named Anzazim. This man had been educated from his boyhood in subterranean places, where he had been taught to make a sudden attack on any Prince of the adversaries of his sect, and had been given to understand that, even if he should be slain in his attempt, he would, for such an action, receive new life amidst the joys of Paradise. On one occasion of his coming to Edward, as he had been often accustomed to do, with letters, he pretended that he wanted to reveal some secrets to him. Everyone then having been excluded from the room, the assassin, whilst Edward was leaning against the window and directing his attention outside, suddenly drew a poisoned knife and wounded him twice in the arm, and a third time under the armpit. Edward at once hurled the assassin to the earth with his foot, and, wrenching the knife from his hands, slew the villain with it. In wresting away his knife, however, he wounded himself severely in the hand, and as the poison entered and spread in the wounds, they were only cured with great difficulty, and by the application of many and various remedies. Some say that Edward, on finding himself suddenly wounded, having nothing to defend himself with, seized the tripod which supported his table and brained the ruffian. He then summoned his attendants, and after explaining the particulars of his mishap, he ordered the body of the wretch to be hung on the walls of the city, by the side of a live dog, that the sight of this spectacle might strike fear into others.

B. +Source.+--_Matthew of Westminster_, vol. ii., p. 455. (Bohn's Libraries.)

A.D. 1272.--This year, when Edward had been a long time waiting in Acre for aid from the Christians and the Tartars, because he had formed the design of overwhelming the Saracens with a mighty force, seeing that he was deceived by both parties, because the Christians had returned to their own land, and because the Tartars, who are also called Moallians, were perishing under domestic tyranny, he dismissed all his mercenary forces at Acre, and, crossing the sea, landed in the kingdom of Sicily, where he was met with honour by King Charles, who conducted him to Civita Vecchia, where the Roman Court was residing, and where Edward related to Pope Gregory, who was now become his lord, from having lately been his friend, all the perils of the Holy Land.

PARLIAMENT ARRANGES FOR THE INTERREGNUM (1272).

+Source.+--_Annals of Winchester_, p. 113. (_Annales Monastici_, vol. ii.--Rolls Series.)

In this year, after the Feast of S. Hilary, when an assembly of all the prelates and other magnates of the kingdom had been summoned to Westminster, after the death of the illustrious King Henry, there gathered together the Archbishops and Bishops, Earls and Barons, Abbots and Priors, and from every county four knights and from every borough four, all of whom, in the presence of the lords Walter, Archbishop of York, Roger Mortimer, and Robert Burnell, clerk, who presided in the place of the lord Edward, King of England, took an oath to the said lord Edward as ruler of the land, and undertook to carry out the commands of the King for the faithful and strict keeping of the peace in the kingdom. Lord Walter of Merton was appointed Chancellor, to remain at Westminster, as a place of public resort, until the arrival of the King. It was further provided that there be no justices itinerant before the King's arrival, but only justices "de Banco."

PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER OF EDWARD I.

+Source.+--_Nicholas Trivet's Annals_, pp. 281-283. (English Historical Society Publications.)

Edward, King of England, eldest son of Henry the Third by Eleanor, daughter of the Count of Provence, had completed thirty-three years and five months of his life on the day when he succeeded his deceased father on the throne. He was a man of experience and prudence in affairs, devoted from boyhood to the exercise of arms, in which in different parts he had gained such fame as a warrior that he easily excelled the Princes of his time throughout the whole Christian world. In build he was elegant and of commanding stature, towering head and shoulders above the people; his hair, which in boyhood turned from a colour wellnigh silver to yellow, and in youth became black, beautified his old age with its snowy whiteness. His forehead, like the rest of his face, was broad, though the drooping of the left eyelid recalled his father's expression. He spoke with a lisp, but yet did not lack a ready power of persuasion in argument. His arms were supple, in proportion to his body, and supremely fitted in the strength of their sinews for the use of the sword. His girth was greatest round the chest. The length of his lower limbs enabled him to keep a firm seat in riding and leaping with spirited horses. When not engaged in feats of arms, Edward indulged in hawking and hunting, especially the hunting of deer, which he used to pursue on a fleet racehorse, and when he had come up with them, to pierce with a sword instead of a hunting-spear....

In spirit he was magnanimous, intolerant of insult, and apt to forget the presence of danger in his desire for revenge, though his passions cooled easily on the culprit showing sorrow at his presumption. For example, when on one occasion he was engaged in the sport of falconry near a riverbank, he reproved one of his companions for carelessness regarding a falcon which had caught a duck amidst the willows; but the other, seeing that there was neither bridge nor ford near, lightly replied "that it was sufficient for him to have the river between them"; whereat the King's son, exasperated, entered the water on his horse, though he knew not the depth, forced the animal to swim across, and, ascending with difficulty the steep opposite bank, hollowed out by the rush of the waters, drew his sword and pursued his companion, who had now mounted and ridden off. Finally, the latter, giving up all hope of escape, wheeled his horse round, bared his head, and offered his neck to Edward's will. The King's son, however, softened by this surrender, replaced his sword in its sheath, and the two returned together peacefully, to attend to the needs of the abandoned falcon.

THE ACQUISITION OF WALES (1277).

+Source.+--_Matthew of Westminster_, vol. ii., pp. 471-472. (Bohn's Libraries.)