CHAPTER VII.

WINCHELSEA, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, READS A BULL FROM THE POPE, IN THE ENGLISH CAMP BEFORE CARLAVEROCK.--EDWARD’S ANSWER.--EARL WARREN ADVANCES TO IRVINE.--CRUELTY OF THE ENGLISH AT LESMAHAGO.--EDWARD AGREES TO A TRUCE.--WALLACE VISITS FRANCE.--CAPTURES A FRENCH PIRATE.--NOTICES OF LONGUEVILLE.

While the English army were encamped before Carlaverock, Winchelsea, Archbishop of Canterbury, arrived with a bull, directed to Edward, from the Pope.

The application which, as has already been stated, the Scottish commissioners were instructed to make to King Philip for the stipulated assistance having at first been evaded, and afterwards finally refused--the embarrassing situation of his own affairs affording him a plausible pretext for withholding the aid necessary for the relief of his allies--the Scots, according to their instructions, proceeded to lay their complaints before the Court of Rome. Boniface listened with complacency to their grievances, and readily undertook to interpose his authority in their behalf. For this purpose, he addressed to Edward a letter of admonition, exhorting him to desist from any further attempts to subvert the liberties of a kingdom over which he had no lawful claim. The groundless nature of the pretensions he had set up, the Pontiff proceeded, at considerable length, to explain--being, no doubt, enabled to do so, from the information furnished him by the commissioners. Among other matters, he reminded him, that the mere circumstance of his having negotiated with the Scots, for the marriage of his son with the heiress of Scotland, must prove fatal to any plea he might advance in favour of his being the feudal lord of that kingdom, as he would find no one weak enough to believe that he would have submitted to negociate, when he had a right to command. “He also,” says a respectable historian, “mentioned several striking facts which fell within the compass of Edward’s own knowledge, particularly that Alexander, when he did homage to the King, openly and expressly declared in his presence, that he swore fealty _not for his crown, but for the lands which he held in England_; and the Pope’s letter might have passed for a reasonable one, had he not subjoined his _own_ claim to be _liege lord of Scotland_, a claim which had not once been heard of, but which, with a singular confidence, he asserted to be full and entire, and derived from the most remote antiquity.” This letter Boniface concluded, by exhorting him, in his name, to set at liberty all those ecclesiastics and others belonging to the country whom he had imprisoned, and to remove all officers he had appointed to places of trust in the kingdom, contrary to the wishes of the people; directing him, if he conceived he had still any reasons to allege in support of his pretensions, to send persons properly authorized to Rome, where he, the Pope, would hear the case, and within six months give an impartial decision. To these exhortations the Archbishop added his own, urging, among other things, the propriety of his yielding obedience to so sacred an authority, observing, that Jerusalem would not fail to protect her citizens, and to cherish, like Mount Zion, those who trusted in the Lord. At the conclusion of this address, which was made in the presence of Prince Edward and the assembled nobles, the King became furious, and with a great oath exclaimed, “I will not be silent or at rest, either for Mount Zion or for Jerusalem, but, as long as there is breath in my nostrils, I will defend what all the world knows to be my right.” On calmer reflection, however, he saw the necessity of returning a milder answer to the admonition of his adviser, in which he promised to consult his parliament, and send messengers to Rome to acquaint his Spiritual Father with the result of their deliberations.

In a parliament assembled some time after at Lincoln, the Pope’s bull was submitted to the consideration of the English Barons; and in his reply, Edward attempted to prove the superiority of England by historical facts, deduced from the period of Brutus the Trojan, who, he said, founded the British monarchy in the age of Eli and Samuel. He then supports his position by all the events which passed in the island before the arrival of the Romans: And, after laying great stress on the extensive dominions and the heroic victories of King Arthur, he vouchsafes at last to descend to the time of Edward the Elder, from which period he has chosen to begin his claim of superiority. He asserts it as a fact _notorious, and confirmed by the records of antiquity_, that the English monarchs had often conferred the kingdom of Scotland on their own subjects--had dethroned those vassal-kings when unfaithful to them, and had substituted others in their stead. He displays, with great pomp, the full and complete homage which William had done to Henry II.--without mentioning the formal abolition of that extorted deed by King Richard, and the renunciation of all future claims of the same nature. Yet in this paper he begins with a solemn appeal to the Almighty, the searcher of hearts, for his own firm persuasion of the justice of his claim; and no less than a hundred and four barons, assembled in parliament at Lincoln, concurred in maintaining before the Pope, under their seals, the validity of the pretensions. At the same time, they took care to inform Boniface, that although they had justified their cause before him, they did not acknowledge him as their judge: the crown of England was free and sovereign: they had sworn to maintain all its prerogatives; and would never permit the King himself, were he willing, to relinquish its independence.

Edward, on leaving Carlaverock, now advanced into Galloway, and took several castles in that province. He appears to have been at Lochroieton on the 17th July, and at Kirkcudbright on the 22d of same month. On 29th August he returned to Carlaverock. He was at Dumfries on the 24th October, and again at Carlaverock on the 1st November.[44] His own operations appear, on this occasion, to have been in a great measure confined to the south of Scotland.[45] Detachments of his army, however, extended themselves in different directions; and various conflicts took place between them and the Scottish _guerilla_ parties under Wallace. A strong division of the English army, commanded by the Earl of Warren, advanced also as far as Irvine, and came in contact with the Scottish forces, headed by the Regents. The field was keenly contested for some time; but the Scots were at last compelled to fall back before the repeated charges of their more numerous opponents. Another portion of the English army laid waste Clydesdale; and after destroying Bothwell, advanced to Lesmahago--to the Abbey church of which, a number of the inhabitants had fled for safety. This sanctuary, however, according to tradition, did not avail them. Their merciless invaders set fire to the sacred edifice, and many of the Scots perished miserably in the flames. During the perpetration of this tragic act, Wallace, who followed the tract of the destroyers, was forced, it is said, to conceal himself in a cave, four miles distant from the scene of barbarity, carefully watching, by his scouts, the motions of the enemy. This cave still goes by his name, and is pointed out by the country people as an object of curiosity to strangers.

While this warfare was carrying on by his detached squadrons, Edward was concerting measures for permanently annexing to his own dominions, the district he had overrun. For this purpose, he employed numerous bodies of his own subjects, in repairing and fortifying the different places of strength which had surrendered to his arms; and the reluctance of the Scots to assist in the subjugation of their country, appears evident from his being compelled to bring labourers, at a considerable expense, from the northern counties of England.[46]

A large portion of the provisions required for his troops he seems also to have been under the necessity of bringing from Ireland. Between Whitehaven and Carlaverock we find William de Torni, master of a vessel belonging to the Isle of Man, employed in carrying flour for the supply of the army. In the wardrobe account there is also an entry,[47] from which it may be inferred, that the destruction of the mills formed part of the system which the Scots resorted to for the annoyance of their enemies.[48]

As the campaign had hitherto been productive of no result adequate to the expense incurred, Edward now affected to listen to the remonstrances of Philip and Boniface, and agreed to a truce with the Scots in arms against him. The negociation took place at Paris between the English envoys and the Scottish commissioners at the French court, and was finally ratified by Edward at Dumfries on the 30th October 1300, when he expressed himself highly offended with the English envoys for allowing Baliol’s name, as King of Scotland, to appear in the treaty. This truce was to last from Hallowmas to Whitsunday;[49] and in consequence of it, all the English troops except those in garrison were withdrawn from Scotland and disbanded. Edward then summoned his parliament at Lincoln, and returned the answer to Boniface to which we have already alluded.

1301. After the conclusion of the treaty, Wallace is supposed to have gone on a visit to France, in consequence of the repeated invitations of Philip, who was no doubt anxious to behold a man whose name had become familiar at every court in Europe, and whose exertions in his own country had so often relieved himself from the hostile visits of the King of England.

On his way, the vessel in which he had embarked along with a few select friends, is said to have been attacked by a noted pirate of the name of Longueville, at that time the terror of the seas, and the Paul Jones of his day. After a desperate conflict, Wallace and his party succeeded in boarding the enemy; and Longueville, being vanquished in a personal combat with Wallace, surrendered at discretion. The gallant manner, however, in which he acted during the fight, gained him the esteem of our hero, who subsequently discovered that he was a French nobleman, and, at one time, high in favour at court, but who had fallen under the displeasure of the King, in consequence of having killed a knight in the royal presence; for which offence his estates were forfeited, and himself banished from the kingdom. Smarting under these indignities, he had commenced a system of piracy, for which he was outlawed, and every avenue to the royal clemency shut against him. Wallace, on arriving at Paris, found himself so well received by the French monarch--who no doubt expected his assistance against the English in Guienne--that he ventured to solicit, and, after some difficulty, obtained a pardon for Longueville, who had accompanied him to Paris in disguise.

Various stories are told of the adventures of Wallace in France; but as the histories of that country are in general silent regarding them, most of our authors have considered them fabulous; and some even carry their incredulity so far as to doubt of his ever having been there. But as he appears evidently, on one or more occasions, to have withdrawn himself from Scotland, and as those writers who doubt of his being in France have not accounted for the chasms that his absence naturally makes in his history, nor appear to have any thing to urge against his visits to that country but their _doubts_; we cannot allow unsupported _misgivings_ to stand in opposition to the recorded testimony of ancient writers, who ought to have known more of transactions near their own days than authors who wrote many ages after them--particularly as the circumstance in question could serve no political or party purpose at the time; and of course, could afford no temptation for mis-statement. We may also remark, that the adventure with Longueville is corroborated by traditions still existing in the country, as well as by the fact of a family in Scotland, not long extinct, having derived their pedigree from that brave man; who, according to the law of arms in those days, thought himself bound to follow the fortunes of his conqueror. Longueville is said to have accompanied Wallace to Scotland, where he had lands assigned him; and the following notice in the Statistical Account of the parish of Kinfauns, goes a considerable way to establish the truth of what is here related:--“In the Castle of Kinfauns is kept a large old sword, probably made about five hundred years ago, and to be used by both hands. It is shaped like a broadsword, and is five feet nine inches long, two and and a half inches broad at the hilt, and of a proportionable thickness, with a round knob at the upper end, near eight inches in circumference. This terrible weapon bears the name of _Charteris’s Sword_, and probably belonged to Sir Thomas Charteris, commonly called Thomas de Longueville, once proprietor of the estate of Kinfauns. Sir Thomas Charteris, _alias_ Longueville, was a native of France, and of an ancient family in that country. If credit can be given to accounts of such remote dates, when he was at the court of Philip le Bel, in the end of the thirteenth century, he had a dispute with, and killed a French nobleman, in the King’s presence. He escaped, but was refused pardon.

“Having for several years infested the seas as a pirate, known by the name of the Red Reiver, from the colour of the flags he carried on his ship, in May 1301 or 1302 (by Adamson’s chronology), Sir William Wallace, in his way to France, encountered and took him prisoner. At Wallace’s intercession, the French King conferred on him a pardon, and the honour of knighthood. He accompanied Wallace on his return to Scotland, and was ever after his faithful friend, and aiding in his exploits. Upon that hero’s being betrayed and carried to England, Sir Thomas Charteris retired to Lochmaben, where he remained till Robert Bruce began to assert his right to the crown of Scotland. He joined Bruce, and was, if we may believe Adamson, who refers to Barbour,[50] the first who followed that King into the water, at the taking of Perth, January 8, 1313.

“Bruce rewarded his bravery by giving him lands in the neighbourhood of Perth, which appear to be those of Kinfauns, and which continued in the family of Charteris for many years. It is to this ancient knight, and to the antique sword above-mentioned, that Adamson refers in these lines (Book VI.) of his ‘Muses Threnodie:’

----‘_Kinfauns_, which famous _Longoveil_ Sometime did hold; whose auncient sword of steele Remaines unto this day, and of that land Is chiefest evident.’--p. 158.

“About forty years ago, upon opening the burying vault under the aisle of the church of Kinfauns, erected by this family, there was found a headpiece, or kind of helmet, made of several folds of linen, or some strong stuff, painted over with broad stripes of blue and white, which seems to have been part of the fictitious armour wherein the body of Sir Thomas Longueville, or Charteris, had been disposed.[51]

“Some persons of the surname of Charteris,” says the editor of the Perth edition of Wallace, “lairds of Kinfauns, and of Cuthilgourdy, were provosts of Perth, and would make a distinguished figure in the heroic annals of Perth, if the old writs of that city were properly displayed.”

According to the same authority, there were families of the name of Charteris in Scotland, long before the time assigned to Thomas de Longueville. Andrew de Charteris, who swore fealty to Edward in 1296, is said to have been the ancestor of the noble family of Wemyss.