Chapter IV: Part 4

In the fortnight after Easter the King withdrew from Westminster, and hastened towards Wales with all the military force of the kingdom of England, taking with him, as far as Shrewsbury, his Barons of the Exchequer and his justices of the King's Bench, who remained there some time, hearing suits according to the customs of the kingdom of England. The Welsh, fearing the arrival of the King and his army, fled to their accustomed refuge of Snowdon, and the King, relying on the assistance of the Cinque Ports, occupied their territories as far as the mountain of Snowdon in every direction. Therefore Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, understanding that his manors and castles were being given to the flames and destroyed, took to himself the most powerful chiefs of his country, and about the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord in the aforesaid year, went to the King, entreating him to show mercy and not justice. Accordingly, King Edward received homage and fealty from the most powerful chiefs of the Welsh, and took with him to Westminster their Prince Llewellyn, from whom he received fifty thousand marks in hand; and with whom he made a covenant to receive a thousand marks every year, to be paid into the Exchequer at Westminster for the Isle of Anglesey and the district of Snowdon; and then he permitted the aforesaid Prince to return to those parts, after having been carefully instructed in his duty. Further, by a formal sentence, he deprived Llewellyn's successors for ever of the title of Prince, and reserved all the rest of the territories of Wales of which he had lately made himself master for himself and his successors, the Kings of England.

WRIT FOR DISTRAINT OF KNIGHTHOOD (1278).

+Source.+--_Parliamentary Writs_, vol. i., p. 214.

The King to the Sheriff of Gloucester, greeting.

We firmly enjoin you to compel without delay all the men in your bailiwick who have twenty librates of land, or a complete knight's fee of the annual value of twenty pounds, and who hold from us in chief and ought to be knights, but are not, to receive from us the arms of a knight before or at the approaching Festival of Christmas; further, you are to compel without delay all those in your bailiwick who have twenty librates of land, or a complete knight's fee of the annual value of twenty pounds, from whomsoever they hold, and who ought to be knights, but are not, similarly to receive the arms of a knight at or before the same festival; take care to exact good and sufficient security from them, and cause their names to be inscribed on a roll in the presence of two lawful men of the aforesaid county, and have the roll, with your seal and those of the two knights appended, transmitted to us without delay. We further desire you to know that we shall cause strict examination to be made of your conduct in the execution of this mandate, and shall cause fitting punishment to be given.

Witness the King at Westminster on the XXVI. day of June.

THE EARL OF WARRENNE'S TITLE TO HIS LANDS. (1278).

+Source.+--_Walter of Hemingburgh's Chronicle_, vol. ii., p. 6. (English Historical Society Publications.)

Not long afterwards, the King disturbed some of the nobles by demanding to know, through his justices, by what warrant they held their estates; and if they could not produce a good warrant, he straightway seized their lands. Among others, the Earl of Warrenne was summoned to appear before the King's justices. He, when asked by what warrant he held his lands, produced an old and rusty sword, saying: "This, my lords, is my warrant; for my ancestors came over with William the Bastard and conquered their lands by the sword, and by the sword I shall defend them from whoever shall desire to take them; for the King did not conquer and subdue the whole country by himself, but our ancestors also took part and assisted him." The other nobles, placing themselves on his side and supporting his reasoning, departed in excitement and anger. But the King, when he was informed, feared for himself, and desisted from his mistaken course.

THE STATUTE OF MORTMAIN (1279).

+Source.+--_Statutes of the Realm_, vol. i., p. 51.

The King to his justices "de Banco," greeting.

Although it was previously ordained that ecclesiastics should not enter on possession of the fees of others without the licence and permission of the lords-in-chief, from whom these fees are directly held, yet ecclesiastics have up to now continued to take possession of their own fees as well as those of others, appropriating and buying them for themselves, and sometimes receiving them by gift from others, as a result of which the services due from such fees, which have been from all time applied to the defence of the kingdom, are unjustly withdrawn, and lords-in-chief lose their escheats; therefore we, wishing to provide a proper remedy in the interest of the kingdom, hereby, with the advice of the prelates, Earls, and other lieges of our council, provide, decree, and ordain that no ecclesiastic or other person shall buy or sell, or, under pretext of a donation, or lease, or other title whatsoever, shall receive from anyone, or in any way appropriate, by guile or craft, lands or tenements, in such a way that the said lands and tenements may fall to the dead hand, under pain of forfeiture of the same.

We decree, further, that if any ecclesiastic or other person contravene the present statute in any way, by guile or craft, it shall be lawful for us and for other immediate lords-in-chief of a fee so alienated, to enter it within a year of such alienation, and to hold it in fee and as an inheritance. And if the immediate lord be negligent, and fail to enter upon possession of such a fee within a year, then it shall be lawful for the nearest mediate lord of that fee to enter upon and hold that fee, as aforesaid, within the space of half a year following; and so may every mediate lord do, if the lord nearest to him be negligent in entering upon possession, as aforesaid.

And should all the other lords-in-chief (such as be of full age, and within the four seas, and out of prison) be negligent or remiss for one year, we ourselves, after the lapse of a complete year when purchases, donations, or other appropriations of this kind ought to have been made, shall take such lands and tenements into our own hands, and shall enfeoff others on them to do certain fixed services to us for the defence of our realm; saving to the lords-in-chief of those fees, wardships, escheats, and other incidents belonging to them, and the due and accustomed services. And we command you to cause the aforesaid statute to be read in your presence, and henceforth to be firmly held and observed.

Witness the King, at Westminster, on the fifteenth day of November, in the seventh year of his reign.

THE WELSH REBELLION OF 1281-1282.

A. +Source.+--_Annals of Dunstable_, p. 291. (_Annales Monastici_, vol. iii.--Rolls Series.)

A.D. 1282.--In the same year the Welsh rebelled a second time against their lord, the King of England; the chief reason for the rebellion was that the lord King had introduced English laws and customs into their territory, and had decreed that county and hundred courts should follow. Another reason was that the Justiciar of Chester had caused certain of the men of David, brother of the Prince of Wales, to be hung, contrary to the usage of the Welsh. Further, by command of the lord the King, the woods of the said David had been cut down for the construction of a safe highway for travellers, as the result of the misdeeds of robbers.

B. +Source.+--_Annals of Oseney_, pp. 287 _et seqq._ (_Annales Monastici_, vol. iv.--Rolls Series.)

A.D. 1281.--About the Festival of the Annunciation of the Blessed Mary, Llewellyn, violating the peace which he had some time before entered into with the King of England, at the instigation and with the assistance of his brother David, on whom the King of England had bestowed lands and possessions in England, and whom he had honoured with kindness among the nobles of his household, did not shame, with a large band of robbers, to devastate, plunder, and burn, in frequent raids, those lands, belonging to the King of England and the Marchers, which lay nearest to him; he even attacked the Castles of Flint and Rhuddlan, which the King had begun to build on the borders of Wales to ward off the threatened attacks of the Welsh. When the King, who was at that time keeping Easter at Devizes, heard the news, he sent off a few of his men immediately to check, even a little, the advance of the Welsh, until he himself could take more serious measures. Then, summoning the nobles of the kingdom, he appointed a Parliament to be held at Worcester on the Festival of the Nativity of S. John the Baptist. Meanwhile Roger de Clifford, who was endeavouring to protect the lands lying next his own from the fury of the marauding bands, was captured, mortally wounded, by David and his accomplices, after several of his family had been cruelly put to death. The King, hearing this, decreed in the Parliament above-mentioned that all the nobles of the kingdom should meet him with horses and arms in Wales on the Feast of S. Peter ad Vincula; and when a large army assembled, he laid waste, ravaged, and burned the strongholds, lands, and villages of the Prince of Wales, which lay near him. But the Welsh resisted courageously, and one day, when a detachment from the King's army was advancing somewhat carelessly and allowing itself to become too far separated from the main body, suddenly a countless host of Welshmen, bursting forth from hiding-places in the woods and marshes, attacked our men, who were relatively very few in number. In the struggle were slain the son of lord William de Valence, nephew of the lord King, Richard de Argentoein, and several others, the remainder escaping with difficulty.

The King remained in the region of Rhuddlan until about the Feast of All Saints, and in the meantime the lord John, Archbishop of Canterbury, was sent to Llewellyn at Snowdon to treat for peace with him, or rather to advise and induce him to observe the peace which he had previously made with the King, and confirmed in writing and by oath, especially since the conditions had been carried out. But his mission was fruitless, for Llewellyn could not be induced to make peace. While the Archbishop delayed for three days in Snowdon, the English nobles, showing more foolishness than courage, secretly entered Snowdon, thinking that by craft they could seize it by their own unaided strength. But the Welsh, forewarned of their approach, advanced in force against them, and joining battle, easily prevailed over the small detachment of nobles and put them to flight. The fugitives thought to save themselves by crossing a certain river, but, owing to ignorance of the force of the current, several were drowned, namely, Luke de Tani, William de Dodingsele, William la Zouche, and others; the rest escaped with difficulty. This happened on the Festival of S. Leonard. When the Archbishop came down from Snowdon without accomplishing his aim, he uttered sentence of excommunication against Llewellyn as a violator of his oath, and a perjurer, and against David, his brother, and all their accomplices and abettors.

About the same time died the lord Roger Mortimer, one of the most famous men of his age, and a valiant soldier. On his death, the lord Edmund, his eldest son and heir, together with his brother--perchance, as is believed, to appease the King--laid an ambush for the said Llewellyn; for, being informed of his movements by spies, the said Edmund gathered together a large and powerful force, and, more by chance than was imagined at that time, fell in with Llewellyn when he had descended from the mountains of Snowdon for some unknown reason and was traversing the lower ground with the few followers who still adhered to him, and put him, and those of his men who were unable to escape, to death by the sword. The head of the Prince, whom he recognized among the slain, he cut off and sent to the lord King. This memorable triumph of the slaying of Llewellyn happened, under God, about the Feast of S. Thomas the Apostle, before Christmas. The King, glorying in his victory, ordered the head to be taken to London, and affixed it to the Tower on a spear as a memorial of so notable a success.

A.D. 1282.--The King of England, encouraged by the aforesaid victory, and seeing a way open to him for the fulfilment of his desires, lest there should be any impediment to his carrying his wishes into effect, entered in triumph with his men the safe and secret hiding-place of the Welsh, to wit, the province of Snowdon; he held Easter in a monastery of Cistercian monks, called in their tongue Aberconway, and situated within the bounds of the aforesaid province. Then he was able to control, as master, the castles and fortified places, both within Snowdon and without, except a certain castle, called in their tongue Bere. Into this castle David, the brother of Llewellyn, who had fled before the King on learning of his coming, had in vain introduced a garrison, promising to send them speedy assistance, while he himself took refuge in secret and almost inaccessible woods and swamps. The castle itself was surrounded by an impassable marsh, and possessed no entrance except by narrow paths artificially constructed to overcome the natural difficulties of the ground. When the King found this out, he carefully closed up the entrances and exits and besieged the defenders so straitly that, giving up hope of any succour, they were compelled to surrender the castle and trust to the clemency of the King, who graciously granted them freedom of life and limb. Then the King, by a lavish distribution of gifts and presents, entered privily into an agreement with some of the natives who knew the hidden ways and secret retreats, and they, not without joy, compelled David to withdraw from his refuge, and surrendered him to the King, who sent him, as was only just, to be imprisoned, along with his wife and son, at Rhuddlan. This took place about the Feast of S. Botulf.... About Michaelmas, the King, summoning the nobles and mayors of the cities to meet him at Salisbury, held a Parliament, and caused David, who had been imprisoned at Rhuddlan, to be brought before him; and after consideration of his misdeeds, had him condemned to death, by advice of the magnates.

THE STATUTE OF WINCHESTER (1285).

+Source.+--_Statutes of the Realm_, vol. i., pp. 96-98.

I. Forasmuch as, from day to day, robberies, homicides, and arsons happen more frequently than they did in aforetime, and felonies cannot be attained by oath of jurors who more willingly suffer felonies done to strangers to pass without punishment than to indict the evil doers, since many of them are men of the same neighbourhood, or at least, if the malefactors be of another district, their receivers are of the neighbourhood; and this they do because a positive oath has never been put upon jurors nor upon the district where the felonies were committed for restitution of damages, and hitherto no punishment has been provided for concealment or overlooking; our lord the King, to abate the power of felons, has established a punishment in such cases, so that for fear of the punishment more than for fear of the oath, they should spare no one henceforth, and conceal no felony; and he commands that proclamation of this punishment be solemnly made in all counties, hundreds, markets, fairs, and other places, where people are wont to assemble, so that no one may excuse himself on plea of ignorance, and each county may henceforth be so properly guarded, that immediately after robberies and felonies fresh suit be made from town to town, and from district to district.

II. Likewise inquests shall be made, if need be, in towns by him who is lord of the town, and afterwards in hundreds and in franchises and in counties, and sometimes in two, three, or four counties, in those cases where felonies shall be done on the boundaries of counties, so that malefactors may be attainted. And if the district will not answer for the persons of such manner of offenders, the punishment shall be such that each district, that is to say, the people dwelling in the district, shall be answerable for the robberies done and the damages; so that every hundred where a robbery takes place, or the franchises which are within the precinct of the same hundred, shall be answerable for the robbery. And should the robbery take place on the boundary between two hundreds, both hundreds shall be answerable, together with the franchises they contain; and the district shall have no longer a term, after the committing of the robbery and felony, than forty days within which to give satisfaction for the robbery and for the offence, or to answer for the bodies of the evildoers.

III. And inasmuch as the King does not wish that people should be suddenly impoverished by this penalty, which may seem hard to some, he grants that it be not immediately enforced, but that respite be had until next Easter, and within that time he will take note how the district acts, and whether such robberies and felonies cease. After which term all may be assured that the aforesaid penalty shall be applied generally in this way, that every district, that is to say, the people dwelling in the district, shall be answerable for the robberies and felonies done in their district.

IV. And for the greater safety of the district, the King has commanded that in the great cities which are walled, the gates be closed from sunset to sunrise; and that no man shall take lodging in a suburb or in any place beyond the walls of a town, from nine of the clock until day, unless his host be willing to answer for him; and the bailiffs of towns every week, or at least every fortnight, shall make inquisition for people harboured in suburbs and outside the walls of a town; and should they find any that have harboured or received in any way people of whom it is suspected that they are against the peace, let them do right therein. And henceforth it is commanded that watches be made, as was formerly accustomed to be done, from Ascension to Michaelmas, in every city by six men at each gate; in every borough by twelve men, and in every town in the land by six men or four according to the number of people who dwell there; and they shall keep watch continually the whole night from the setting to the rising of the sun. And should any stranger pass, he shall be arrested until morning; and should no suspicion be found of him, he shall go free; but if there be suspicion, he shall straightway be handed over to the sheriff, who shall receive him without doing him bodily hurt, and shall keep him safely, until in due manner he be acquitted. And should such persons not suffer themselves to be arrested, hue and cry shall be raised after them, and those who keep the watch shall follow them with the whole town and the neighbouring towns, and hue and cry be made from town to town, until they be taken and handed over to the sheriff, as is above provided; and for the arrests of such strangers, no one shall be punished.

V. It is further ordained that the highways from one market town to another be widened, where there be woods, hedges, or ditches, so that there be no ditches, hedges, or bushes where a man may lurk to do hurt within two hundred feet on either side of the road; provided that this statute be understood not to extend to oaks or great trees, where it is clear underneath. And if through the fault of the lord, who shall be unwilling to destroy ditches, hedges, or bushes, as aforesaid, robberies take place, the lord shall be answerable; and if there be murder, the lord shall be fined at the will of the King; and if the lord be unable of himself to cut down the bushes, the district shall aid him. And the King wishes that in his demesne lands, and woods within forests and without, the roads be widened as aforesaid. And should there be by chance a park near the highway, the lord thereof shall diminish his park until it be two hundred feet from the highway, as aforesaid, or shall build such a wall, ditch, or hedge, that evildoers shall be unable to cross and recross to do evil.

VI. Further, it is ordained that every man have in his house arms to keep the peace according to the ancient assize; that is to say, that every man between the ages of fifteen and sixty be assessed and sworn to arms, according to the quantity of his land and chattels, as follows:--from a man with fifteen pounds worth of land, and chattels worth forty marks, a hauberk, an iron helmet, a sword, a knife, and a horse; from ten pounds worth of land and chattels worth twenty marks, hauberk, helmet, sword, and knife; from an hundred shillings of land, a doublet, iron helmet, sword, and knife; from forty shillings of land and beyond it up to an hundred shillings, sword, bow, arrows, and knife; and he with less than forty shillings of land shall be sworn to carry darts, knives, and other small arms; and he that hath less than twenty marks in chattels, shall carry swords, knives, and other small arms. And all others who can, out of the forests shall have bows and arrows, and within the forests bows and boults. And the view of armour shall be made twice a year; and in every hundred and franchise shall be elected two constables to make the view of armour; and the aforesaid constables shall bring to the notice of justices specially entrusted therewith, when they shall come into the district, such faults as they find in the view of armour, in suits, in watches, and in highways; and they shall present also such persons as harbour strangers, for whom they will not be answerable, in upland towns. And the said justices in every Parliament shall present such defaults to the King, and the King shall find a remedy therefor. And henceforth sheriffs and bailiffs, within franchises and without, greater or less, who hold any bailiwick or forest in fee or in any other manner, shall take care to follow the hue and cry with the district, and, as they are required, they shall have horses and armour to do so; and if there be any who do not, the defaults shall be presented by the constables to the justices, and by them to the King, as aforesaid. And the King commands and ordains that from henceforth fairs or markets be not held in cemeteries, for the honour of Holy Church.

Given at Westminster, on the last day of October, in the thirteenth year of the King's reign.

THE GOOD GOVERNMENT OF ALEXANDER III., KING OF SCOTLAND.

+Source.+--_The Book of Pluscarden_, pp. 81-82. (_Historians of Scotland_, vol. x.)

In all the early days of the life of the said King the Catholic Church of Christ flourished at its highest in the kingdom of Scotland, justice reigned, vice was withered up, virtue increased, and the State grew so much that prosperity and peace and abundance of wealth and the pouring in of money and fruitful plenty prevailed in Scotland during all his time. The King, moreover, was adorned with every virtue, beloved by all good men, hated by the wicked. A ruler is so called from ruling well; for where there is no rule, there is no ruler. That King, indeed, so behaved towards his enemies that they feared him with the utmost fear and loved him with hearty love; and in his country he maintained unshaken peace, law, and unbroken prosperity, so that the inhabitants thereof abode in the beauty of peace, in the tents of trustfulness and in plenteous ease; and he quelled all insolence, disturbances, rioting, and rebellion. Now he had this habit, that he was wont to travel every year through all the districts of his kingdom with a large retinue, to become acquainted with his people, to reprove shortcomings, to administer justice, to punish rebels, to cherish and reward the good, and, with the officers of each district, thoroughly to reform all abuses. He would not allow within his kingdom any idlers without a trade or means of livelihood. When the knights and officers of one district went away from him, the sheriff of another district, with a chosen train of knights, came to meet him. Moreover, he made it a statute of the realm that everyone should, in each working day, dig the length and breadth of his own body--that is, seven feet--considering that idleness is the foe of virtue. Likewise he would not allow very many licences for horses, save only those devoted to work, in the court of any lord, or in the houses of the rich; for too great a number of horses destroys the sustenance of the poor; for they were bred neither for necessary purposes nor for profit. The King also decreed that merchandise should not cross over by sea to any place without the kingdom; for so many ships were distressed, others taken by foes and enemies, that the kingdom was much impoverished in this particular; and therefore he decreed that up to a certain time no ship should pass out of the realm on pain of loss of goods. Thus, notwithstanding it was with great difficulty that this was enforced, yet many ships laden with all manner of merchandise would come in abundance and readily to the country in these days without danger, and barter all their merchandise, goods for goods, without the medium of cash. This King also forbade any but free burgesses to meddle in such trade at all. When these statutes had been in force for a time, the country in a few years so flourished in fruitfulness and abundance of all wealth, in handicrafts also, and in metals and moneys and all the other advantages of policy and good government, that numberless ships and merchants, hearing of the King's justice and wisdom, poured in thither from all parts of the world, and said they saw in the country better and greater things than they had heard of from afar. Accordingly the country became so wealthy that Lombards came from the borders of Italy, bringing into the country untold gold and silver and precious stones, and made the King an offer to build and construct a city in the country on their own account, on Queensferry Hill or on an island near Cramond, if the King would see that they got the due and needful privileges and liberties. This would have been accorded to them had not death, which snatches all things away, so soon carried off the King from the world, leaving no lawful offspring from him to succeed to the throne.

POPULAR SONG ON THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER III.

+Source.+--_Androw of Wyntoun's Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland_, book vii., ll. 3619-3626.

(This song, probably contemporary, is inserted by Wyntoun at the close of his account of Alexander III., under the heading "Cantus.")

Quhen Alysandyr oure Kyng wes dede,
That Scotland led in luẅe and lé,[28]
Away wes sons[29] off ale and brede,
Off wyne and wax, off gamyn and glé:

Oure gold wes changyd in to lede.
Cryst, borne in to Vyrgynyté,
Succoure Scotland and remede,
That stad is in perplexyté.

[28] Law.

[29] Plenty.

THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS (1290).

+Source.+--_Walter of Hemingburgh's Chronicle_, vol. ii., pp. 20-22 (English Historical Society Publications.)

The King held a Parliament at London after Easter ... and the Barons complained of the wickedness and perfidy of the Jews, in that they had impoverished many of the nobles by divers usuries and false scripts, and had corrupted the coinage throughout the whole land; therefore, it was ordained by the King and the Privy Council that, on a certain day between the hours of one and three, all Jews in every city should be seized and then expelled from the realm; a like zeal inspired all, for they thought to obtain great favour in the sight of God by cutting off from the faithful those who had risen against Christ. And this ordinance was carried into effect, for on the one day all Jews were seized, and before another appointed day, expelled. All their real property was confiscated together with their starrs[30] and obligations; but their remaining movables, with their gold and silver, the King allowed them to take away--which was a matter of displeasure to many. Among them were certain Jews of London, of the noblest and wealthiest in the city, who, since they had immense treasure, hired a great and lofty ship in the harbour, loaded it, went on board and departed. When they were descending the Thames and had now approached nigh to the sea, the master of the ship, without leave, anchored it in the midst of the waters, for he grieved to think of the kingdom being despoiled of such riches. When the tide ebbed and the ship was left on the sands, he said to the Jews, "My masters, you have already suffered discomfort from the sea, and many greater discomforts are to follow; it would be well then to come and walk with me on the sands, while the tide is out, for the waters will not return yet for a space." The Jews acquiesced joyfully, and disembarked; but he conducted them afar off from the vessel until he saw the waters returning; and as the tide flowed in, he ran forward and climbed to the deck of his vessel by means of a rope; whereupon the Jews, following slowly, called to him to rescue them. "Call not upon me," he cried in answer, "but upon Moses your prophet; for he brought your fathers through the midst of the Red Sea, and is able to snatch you from the midst of the waves, if he will." They called, therefore, upon God and upon Moses, but were not heard, for the sea swallowed them up, and they perished in the waters. Then the sailor returned to the King, told him all, and claimed favour and reward.[31]

[30] Acquittances and assignments of debt. The word is Hebrew.

[31] According to Sir Edward Coke, the master and his accomplices were tried, and hanged for murder. The King had granted a safe-conduct to all Jews leaving the country.

JOHN BALLIOL DOES HOMAGE TO EDWARD FOR HIS KINGDOM OF SCOTLAND (1292).

+Source.+--_Nicholas Trivet's Annals_, pp. 324-325. (English Historical Society Publications.)

The King of England, after the Feast of S. John the Baptist, came to Scotland, and having listened to the pleas in support of their right of those who claimed the Scottish throne, caused forty persons to be elected, twenty from England and twenty from Scotland, to examine those pleas with diligent care, the final decision being postponed to the following Michaelmas. When the aforesaid date arrived, after careful discussion, Edward, with the consent of all, adjudged the kingdom without reservation to John Balliol, who was descended from the eldest daughter of David, King of the Scots. Robert Bruce, between whom and the aforesaid John decision lay, after the claims of the others had been dismissed, although one degree nearer in descent, yet was descended from the second daughter of David. John, on the Feast of S. Andrew the Apostle following, was crowned, seated on the royal stone in the Church of Canons Regular at Scone. After the coronation, coming to the King of England, who was keeping the Festival of the Nativity of our Lord at Newcastle-on-Tyne, he did homage in these words: "My lord, lord Edward, King of England, I, John Balliol, King of Scotland, acknowledge myself your liege vassal for the whole kingdom of Scotland, with its appurtenances and all belonging to it, which kingdom I hold and claim by right to hold hereditarily, from you and your heirs, Kings of England, as regards life and limb and earthly honour, against all men who live and die." And the King received homage in the aforesaid form, saving his own or another's right. And when King John had done homage, the King of England restored to him without delay the kingdom of Scotland in full with all its appurtenances.

THE OUTBREAK OF WAR BETWEEN ENGLAND AND FRANCE (1293).

+Source.+--_Walter of Hemingburgh's Chronicle_, vol. ii., pp. 40 _et seqq._ (English Historical Society Publications.)

In the year of our Lord 1293 a shameful quarrel arose between the English seamen of the Cinque Ports and French seamen from Normandy, in this wise. A certain ship from the Cinque Ports touched at a port in Normandy and remained there several days; one day two sailors from this vessel were going to draw pure water from a spring in the neighbourhood, when they chanced to meet some Norman sailors, who so irritated them that they had recourse to abuse and then to blows; finally weapons were drawn, and one of them was killed; the other fled, and betook himself with his companions to the ship, where he told what had happened and how the Normans were hard in pursuit. They sailed out on to the high seas, hoping there at least to escape, but the enemy followed so as to capture them. Evading their pursuers with difficulty, they told the news to the seamen in the Cinque Ports, and besought aid; nor did the rage of the Normans abate; for they secured reinforcements, and sought out English vessels on the seas. They happened on one occasion to fall in with six English ships, which they attacked; two of them they destroyed, hanging the men with dogs to the yard-arm, and thus sailed over the seas, making no difference between a dog and an Englishman. When tidings of this event were brought to the men of the Cinque Ports by those who had escaped, they straightway gathered together, and, grimly resolving to avenge the insult, sought out their enemies.

(A fierce naval engagement followed, in which the English were victorious.)

When Philip, King of France, received the news of this battle, although his brother Charles had been the cause of it, he sent to the King of England messengers who vehemently demanded that reparation should be made, that those responsible for the engagement should be given up for punishment, and that a great sum of money should be paid as compensation for loss to his merchants. To these demands our King prudently answered that he would reply through his own agents; and, by their mouth, asked the King of France, as his relative and lord, to appoint a day and place, where they might both agree to be present, to deliberate on the matter in a friendly fashion, and to do further whatever the state of the case demanded. The King of France did not accept this proposal, but, with the advice of his Barons, commanded the King of England, by writ, to appear in his Court on a certain day to answer for the above-mentioned damages. When the English King did not appear on the day appointed, it was decided and ordained by the Court of the King of France that he should be disseised of all his lands beyond the seas, and should be summoned to appear on another day, under pain of forfeiture of his whole continental possessions.

The King of England, fearing a disturbance--having been warned to that effect by some of his friends--did not come in person, but sent his brother, the lord Edmund, Earl of Leicester, on each occasion, with letters empowering him to do whatever was required by justice. When the latter appeared with a sufficient mandate on behalf of the King of England, the French Barons did not receive him, but in the Royal Court adjudged Gascony, and all the lands of the King of England, forfeited for contempt. The lord Edmund himself, then, in hope of peace, carried on divers negotiations with the King of France; so that it was commonly said that our King would marry the sister of the King of France, and by that means a settlement be arrived at. Meanwhile the Seneschal of the King of England in Gascony refused to allow the officers of the King of France to enter in to take possession of the Duchy, and a great dispute took place; thereupon the King of France, summoning the lord Edmund to his presence, asked him, as a friend and as the mediator on behalf of peace, to allow him to possess himself of four or five cities only--Bordeaux, Bayonne, Langon, and Marmande--and this in the hope of peace, for he said he could not sign a treaty of peace unless his Barons saw the sentence of their Court carried into effect; he promised, on his honour as a King, that complete peace would follow if this request were granted. Edmund, saying that he could not dare to take it upon himself so to do, asked to be allowed to seek the opinion and consent of the King of England himself. Edward, placing full reliance on his brother's words, replied by letters patent to the effect that he was content with and would abide by whatever his brother thought should be done regarding the matter in his name. When these letters had been received and reported to the King of France, the King promised in all good faith, and by his word as a King, that he would restore everything in full peace after a short time, according to his vow. Edmund, guilelessly trusting him, and ensnared by the royal promise, did not demand security, believing that the royal word must be of more value than any safeguard whatever; and he wrote immediately to the Seneschal of Gascony, ordering him to give seisin of the cities to the officers of the King of France. Thereupon the French introduced into Gascony first a few men, then a large number, by stealth, and finally a great army, openly. The lord Edmund, being informed of this, and fearing rebellion, asked the King of France to remember his promise and to forbid it; but the King replied: "Wait a little, until the forty days have passed, when I shall restore all." When that time was completed, the lord Edmund again brought the matter before him, only to receive the immediate reply that a decision of his Court and judgment by twelve peers could not be revoked without their consent; then, changing his attitude to one of scorn, Philip departed.

The lord Edmund ... secretly and in haste left the Court, and, coming to England to his brother the King, recounted everything in order, not without great anguish of mind, saying that he had been guilty of folly and self-deception. But the King, although disturbed in mind by the news, yet gently comforted his brother, and, hastily summoning his nobles and John, King of Scotland, held a Parliament at London, in which he narrated in their presence the whole course of events, and sought their advice and assistance, saying that he himself intended, even had he no greater following than one boy and one horse, to prosecute his rights to the death, and to take vengeance on Philip for his insults; but the magnates replied unanimously that they would follow him to life or to death.... The King, thus secure of assistance from his own subjects, sent two brethren of the Order of Friars Preachers with letters of presentation to the King of France, to renounce his homage to the said King.

WRITS OF SUMMONS TO THE PARLIAMENT OF 1295.

1. SUMMONS OF THE ARCHBISHOP AND CLERGY.

+Source.+--_Report on the Dignity of a Peer_, App. I., p. 67.

The King to the venerable father in Christ, Robert, by the same grace, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of all England, greeting.

Even as that most equable law, established by the farseeing wisdom of the fathers of the Church, exhorts us to remember and ordains that what concerns all should be approved by all, so it is evident that common dangers should be provided against by remedies devised in common. You know, doubtless, for it is, we believe, generally noised abroad throughout the world, that the King of France has fraudulently and deceitfully deprived us of our land of Gascony, and wickedly detains it from us. And now, not content with the aforesaid fraud and wickedness, he has collected a great fleet and a warlike body of soldiers, with which he has made hostile advance against our kingdom and the inhabitants thereof, with intent, if his power correspond to the detestable iniquity of his intentions, utterly to drive the English tongue from out the land. Since, therefore, missiles which are foreseen do less destruction, and since your personal affairs, like those of your fellow-subjects in this kingdom, are greatly affected by this matter, we enjoin you, by the faith and love with which you are bound to us, to be present in person at Westminster on the Sunday after Martinmas this approaching winter; and premonish the Prior and chapter of your cathedral, the Archdeacons, and the whole body of clergy, to send with you the Prior and Archdeacons in person, and one suitable Proctor from the chapter and two from the clergy, provided with full and sufficient authority from the said chapter and clergy, to treat, ordain, and take all necessary measures, together with ourselves and the other prelates and inhabitants of our kingdom, to meet the dangers and plots directed against us as aforesaid.

Witness the King at Wengham on the thirtieth day of September.

2. SUMMONS OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF SHIRES AND TOWNS.

+Source.+--_Report on the Dignity of a Peer_, App. I., p. 66.

The King to the Sheriff of Northamptonshire.

Inasmuch as we wish to confer and treat with the Earls, Barons, and other nobles of our kingdom, in order to provide remedies against the evils threatening the kingdom in these days, and with that end in view have instructed them to come to us at Westminster on the Sunday after Martinmas this approaching winter, to treat, ordain, and take measures to meet the aforesaid dangers, we enjoin you firmly to cause to be elected without delay from the aforesaid county two knights, and from every city two citizens, and from every borough two burgesses, of those more discreet and ready to take pains, and to make them appear before us at the aforesaid time and place; provided that the said knights, by themselves, shall have full and sufficient power for themselves and the whole body of the aforesaid county, and the said citizens and burgesses, by themselves, for themselves and the whole body of citizens and burgesses, to carry out whatsoever shall be ordained by the advice of all, in regard to the aforesaid matters; provided that the business shall not remain undone through lack of these powers. And bring with you the names of the knights, citizens, and burgesses, and this writ.

Witness the King at Canterbury on the third day of October.

EVIL PRIESTS THE CAUSE OF THE PEOPLE'S RUIN.

+Source.+--_Chronicle of Lanercost_ (translated by Sir Herbert Maxwell in the _Scottish Historical Review_, vol. vii., pp. 283-284).

In like manner, as we know that it is truly written, that evil priests are the cause of the people's ruin, so the ruin of the realm of Scotland had its source within the bosom of her own Church, because, whereas they who ought to have led them (the Scots) misled them, they became a snare and stumbling-block of iniquity to them, and brought them all to ruin. For with one consent both those who discharged the office of prelate and those who were preachers, corrupted the ears and minds of nobles and commons, by advice and exhortation, both publicly and secretly, stirring them to enmity against that King and nation who had so effectually delivered them; declaring falsely that it was far more justifiable to attack them than the Saracens. Certain mercenary priests also, not really pastors, pretending to be dealers in wool, had crossed over to the country of the French at the preceding Feast of S. Lawrence (10th August, 1294), commissioned by their people to disclose this nefarious plot to the King (of France). These were the Bishops of St. Andrews and Dunkeld, who, according to the prophetic saying, "delighted the King by their wickedness and Princes by their fraud." For, not long afterwards, they succeeded in making them believe their falsehoods, and sent letters by their servants announcing that the King of France was most favourably inclined towards them, and that a huge fleet was setting sail with a large force of men, and with arms, horses, and provender. In corroboration whereof the Bishop of St. Andrews sent in advance to Berwick many new and valuable arms, and also most sumptuous pontifical vestments, all of which we know were seized and taken by the Bishop of Durham's sailors in the very mouth of that port.

Also, to confirm what was said by the Holy Job--"the vain man is puffed up by pride, and thinketh himself to be born as free as a wild ass's colt"--this foolish people, yielding credence to these rumours, turned fiercely upon all the English found within their borders, without regard to age or sex, station or order. For the authority of the Church, which was very oppressive, decreed that those rectors and vicars of churches who were of English origin should be ousted and expelled from the country by a given date; also the stipendiary priests were suspended and were sentenced to expulsion with their clerical compatriots. Moreover, the royal authority ejected monks from their monasteries, and unseated those who were in high office; it even forced laymen out of their own houses, confiscating under royal sasine[32] or taxing the goods found therein. Also the biting tongues of certain evil men, who either could not or dared not do injury by force, composed ballads stuffed with insults and filth, to the blasphemy of our illustrious Prince and the dishonour of his race; which, though they be not recorded here, yet will they never be blotted from the memory of posterity.

[32] A deed giving legal possession of land.

THE VOYAGE OF KYNGE EDWARDE (1296).[33]

+Source.+--_Archæologia_, vol. xxi., p. 478.

(The author of this English account of Edward's expedition is unknown; the minuteness of the detail would suggest its having been written by one who took part in the march.)

HERE FOLLOWETH THE VOYAGE OF KYNGE EDWARDE INTO SCOTLANDE, WITH ALL HIS LODGYNGS BRYEFLY EXPRESSED.