Part 4

Therefore, as the fates were adverse to him, the King of France was compelled to beg a truce of five years from the King of England, being desirous to return with all speed into France, where he might be able to enjoy a better climate, and the truce was accordingly, and indeed joyfully, granted to him when he requested it. Having therefore received the homage of the nobles of Poitou, and having placed garrisons of his own natural and loyal subjects in their castles and cities, to command them, and keep them for him, the King returned to France; and being soon restored to perfect health, he commanded the men of Poitou, who had been surrendered on conditions of extremity, to be kept in close custody, and while there a condition was imposed on them that they should not give their daughters in marriage, nor go from one city to another, without leave of the French. Also the Count de la Marche, being accused and impeached of treason that same year before the King of France, was with difficulty saved from the infliction of an ignominious death. But he became a sort of prodigy in the eyes of all men; a sign that is to be pointed at and ridiculed, and hissed at by all men, because he had so wickedly betrayed the King of England, who rashly trusted in him. From that time forth, then, the prodigal anxiety of the King of England was released from its burdens, though before that time he was accustomed foolishly to distribute among the Poitevins seven thousand marks every year, for their shadow of homage and useless service.

HOW THE KING VEXED HIS LOYAL SUBJECTS (1248).

+Source.+--_Matthew Paris_, _Chronica Majora_, vol. ii., pp. 254-256. (Bohn's Libraries.)

About the beginning of the year, in the octaves of the Purification, the nobles of all England were convoked at London, to confer with the King on the affairs of the kingdom, which was now greatly disturbed, impoverished, and injured.... The King explained to them his purpose, which indeed was not a secret to the community in general, and asked pecuniary aid from them; whereupon he was severely rebuked and reproached, in that he was not ashamed to demand such assistance at that time, especially because on the last exaction of a similar kind, to which the nobles of England were with difficulty induced to give their consent, he gave his charter that he would not again make such an exaction. He was also most severely blamed (and no wonder) for the indiscreet way in which he summoned foreigners into the kingdom, and for lavishly and indiscreetly scattering the property of the kingdom amongst them, and also for marrying the nobles of the kingdom to ignoble foreigners, thus despising and putting aside his native and natural subjects; nor did he ask the consent of both parties, which is necessary to the completion of a marriage. He was also blamed, and not without reason, because he seized by force on whatever he used in the way of meat and drink--especially wine, and even clothes--against the will of those who sold these things, and were the true owners; wherefore the native dealers withdrew and hid themselves, as also did foreigners, who would otherwise bring their goods for sale to that country; thus a stop was put to trade, by which different nations are mutually enriched and strengthened, and thus we are defamed and impoverished, because they obtain nothing but lawsuits and anger from the King; and by this, he the said King incurs awful maledictions from numberless people to the peril and disgrace of himself and the whole kingdom. From these traders, moreover, he, in order that he may bestow alms indiscreetly, and may make immoderate illuminations, forcibly seizes wax, silk stuffs, and other things, without making any terms of pacification; thus bringing scandal on himself, his kingdom, and all who inhabit it, and not without giving serious offence to God, who holds rapine in abhorrence when connected with an offering. In all these proceedings he tyrannises and oppresses to such a degree that even on the sea-coast he does not allow the herrings and other fish to be disposed of at the will of the poor fishermen, nor do they dare to appear in the places adjoining the sea-coast or in the cities, for fear of being robbed; so that they consider it safer to trust themselves to the stormy billows and to seek the further shore. The miserable traders also are so cruelly oppressed and annoyed by the royal agents, that punishment is added to loss, and injury is heaped upon injury, both as regards their own persons, and as regards their carriages and their already jaded horses. The King was, moreover, reprehended, in that he, contrary to the first and chief oath which he made at his coronation, impoverished even to their ruin the bishoprics and abbacies, as well as the vacant wardships founded by the noble and holy fathers, which he for a long time detains in his own hands, though he ought to be their protector and defender; and therefore they are said to be in his hands, that is, under his protection. Another complaint also was made against him by each and every one, and it was no slight one; and this was, that, unlike his noble predecessors, he never appointed either a Justiciary, a Chancellor, or Treasurer, in consonance with the advice of the kingdom in general, as was expedient, but only such persons as obeyed his pleasure in everything, provided that it was advantageous to himself, and such as did not seek the advancement of the common weal, but their own especial benefit, by collecting money and obtaining wardships and revenues for themselves.

A CHANGE OF RULER IN SCOTLAND (1249).

+Source.+--_John of Fordun's Chronicle of the Scottish Nation_, pp. 288-290. (_Historians of Scotland_, vol. iv.)

That renowned King of Scots, Alexander II., while he was on his way to restore peace to the land of Argyll, was overtaken by grievous sickness, and carried across to an island which is called Kerrera; and there, in the year 1249, after he had partaken of the sacraments of eternal salvation, his blissful soul was snatched away from this life, and joined, as we believe, all the saints in the heavens.... While he lived, he was a most gentle Prince towards his people, a father to the monks, the comforter of the needy, the helper of the fatherless, the pitiful hearer and most righteous judge of the widow and all who had a grievance, and towards the Church of Christ a second Peter....

Alexander, son of the aforesaid King Alexander, a boy of eight years of age, came to Scone on the following Tuesday, the 13th of July, with a number of Earls, Barons, and knights. There were likewise present the venerable fathers, David of Bernham, Bishop of Saint Andrews, and Galfrid, Bishop of Dunkeld, a man in great favour with both clergy and people, zealous in temporal and spiritual things, who endeared himself to both great and poor, but was a terror to evildoers. The Abbot of the monastery of Scone itself was also there. But lo! as soon as they were gathered together, there arose a dispute among the nobles. For some of them would have made not a King, but a knight, on that day, saying that it was an Egyptian day.[16] Now this was said not because of the Egyptian day, but because the lord Alan Dorward, then Justiciary of the whole of Scotland, wished to gird Alexander with the sword of knighthood on that day. While they were arguing, the lord Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith, a man of foresight and shrewdness in counsel, answered and said, that he had seen a King consecrated who was not yet a knight, and had many a time heard of Kings being consecrated who were not knights; and he went on to say that a country without a King was, beyond a doubt, like a ship amid the waves of the sea without rower or steersman. For he had always loved King Alexander, of pious memory, now deceased, and this boy also for his father's sake. So he moved that this boy be raised to the throne as quickly as possible, for it is always hurtful to put off what may be done at once; and by his advice, the said Bishops and Abbot, as well as the nobles, and the whole clergy and people, with one voice, gave their consent and assent to his being set up as King.

And it came to pass that when this same Earl, Walter Comyn, and all the clergy heard this, they joined unto them some Earls,--namely, the lord Malcolm, Earl of Fife, and the lord Malise, Earl of Strathearn--and a great many other nobles, and led Alexander, soon to be their King, up to the cross which stands in the graveyard, at the east end of the church. There they set him on the royal throne, which was decked with silk cloths inwoven with gold; and the Bishop of Saint Andrews, assisted by the rest, consecrated him King, as was meet. So the King sat down upon the royal throne--that is, the stone--while the Earls and other nobles, on bended knee, strewed their garments under his feet before the stone. Now, this stone is reverently kept in that same monastery for the consecration of the Kings of Albania;[17] and no King was ever wont to reign in Scotland, unless he had first, on receiving the name of King, sat upon this stone at Scone, which, by the Kings of old, had been appointed the capital of Albania.

[16] An unlucky day. Ill-luck was attributed to certain days of the year by Egyptian astrologers.

[17] Scotland north of the Forth, nominally united under Kenneth MacAlpin about 844 A.D.

THE MISDEEDS OF THE SENESCHAL OF GASCONY (1253).

+Source.+--_Chronicon Thomæ Wykes_, pp. 104-106. (_Annales Monastici_, vol. iv.--Rolls Series.)

In the same year, about the Festival of the Assumption of the Blessed Mary (August 15), King Henry crossed into Gascony with a large army, having at the general desire entrusted the guardianship of his whole kingdom of England to his brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and Walter de Gray, Archbishop of York. The cause of his journey was as follows: Certain of the chief men belonging to the Duchy of Gascony had come to the King in England with fierce complaints and denunciations against Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, who had been Seneschal of Gascony, saying that he was intolerably oppressing the nobles and people of the said province by undue extortions, and had applied the revenues and proceeds which flowed into the royal treasury, not to the King's uses, but to his own. Henry, in great wrath thereat, dismissed the Earl from the administratorship of the Duchy; whereupon he, in revenge for his deposition, handed over to be held by capital enemies of the lord King three very famous and strongly-fortified castles, in which clearly lay the whole strength of the province, to wit, the castles of Fronsac, Renauges, and La Réole, with the neighbouring towns and boroughs, the city of Bordeaux alone preserving a lukewarm adherence to the King. The treacherous occupants of these castles oppressed the nobles and people more severely than ever, introduced a garrison to fortify their castles, and prepared to defend themselves by warlike means; nor would they allow any one appointed by the King to carry on the administration of the Duchy. Such being the state of affairs, the King, embarking at Portsmouth, committed himself to the deep, and, after a prosperous voyage, landed at Bordeaux; then, relying on the assistance of the people of the country and the soldiers whom he had brought with him, he laid siege to the castles so deceitfully occupied, assaulted them with engines of war, captured and held them; thereafter he quieted the whole province, appointing the lord Stephen Longsword, a man of great vigour, Seneschal of all Gascony. But the Earl of Leicester, though sorely offended, concealed the hatred which had filled him since the time of his dismissal, and awaited in the kingdom of France the opportunity of taking revenge on his deposers by some deep-laid scheme.

IRELAND GRANTED TO THE LORD EDWARD (1254).

+Source.+--_Historical and Municipal Documents (Ireland)_, 1172-1320, p. 135. (Rolls Series.)

The King to the archbishops, etc.

Know that we have granted, and by this our present charter confirmed, to our beloved son, Edward, the cities of Dublin and Limerick, with the counties and everything pertaining to them, and also the city and castle of Athlone, with everything pertaining to it, in Ireland; which cities we had retained for our own use in a former charter of ours, containing a gift of the land of Ireland, which we caused to be granted to the said Edward.

They are to be held and retained by the same Edward and his heirs, the Kings of England, for ever; so that the land of Ireland shall never be separated from the crown of England, and that none other save Edward himself and his heirs, the Kings of England, shall be able to claim or hold any right to the aforesaid land of Ireland.

We wish, further, that the allegiance of the land remain to us for our lifetime, together with all the dues and wardships of cathedral churches and abbeys in Ireland, and likewise the right of election.

Wherefore we wish and firmly enjoin that the aforesaid Edward and his heirs, the Kings of England, do have and hold the whole land of Ireland for ever; provided that the land of Ireland be never separated from the crown of England, as aforesaid.

Given under our hand, at St. Mary Cray, on the twentieth day of July.

THE SICILIAN CROWN (1254-1257).

+Source.+--_Matthew Paris_, _Chronica Majora_, vol. iii., pp. 89, 137, 225. (Bohn's Libraries.)

(The Pope, acting through his emissary, Master Albert, had previously offered the Sicilian crown to Richard, brother of King Henry.)

A.D. 1254. About this time, Master Albert returned to the Court of Rome, bringing word to the Pope that he could in no way influence Earl Richard to accept the kingdom of Sicily and Apulia.... Then the Pope sent messengers privately to the King of England to work upon his simplicity, (knowing that he was always easy of belief and prone to his own loss), and offered to give him the kingdom of Sicily and Apulia, and to render him such assistance in getting possession of the same, as he could without doing any injury to himself.... The King, however, was so exhilarated at the Pope's empty promise, and his heart was so puffed up with empty joy, that his exultation showed itself in his voice, gesture, and laugh, and he openly called his son Edmund "King of Sicily," believing the possession of that kingdom to be an accomplished fact. The Pope's messenger whispered in his ear not to divulge this secret, lest it should come to the knowledge of his friends, who were aware of the wiles of the Roman Court, and that he might thus be put on his guard. The King then sent to the Pope all the money he could draw from his treasury or the exchequer, as well as whatever he could scrape from the Jews, or extort by means of his Circuit Justiciaries, for the purpose of making war against Conrad, and subjugating the Sicilians and Apulians.... The Pope, relying on the abundance of his wealth, was raised to a state of confidence; he took an immense army of mercenaries into his pay, entrusted it to the command of Cardinal Octavian, and lavishly distributed money among the soldiers, sending word to the King of England, when it failed him, that he wanted money. The latter, obeying the instincts of the devil and of avarice, wrote in reply to the Pope, and sent him promissory notes, sealed with the royal seal, authorising him to borrow money enough, and in abundance, from the Italian merchants, and recommended him not to be afraid of the quantity of money required or the high amount of interest, for that he would acquit him of all the debt, and bound himself so to do under penalty of disinheritance. The Pope agreed to all this and accepted his order.... A large host, therefore, flocked together, for the sake of the Pope's pay, composed of low and ignoble Italians, idle and unwarlike creatures, devoid of good faith, who looked not to the advantage of the King of England or of the Pope, but were only bent on gorging the Pope's money, as the sequel of the affair showed to be the case....

[In spite of the death of Conrad, King of Sicily, the Pope's army was cut to pieces, without having effected anything.]

A.D. 1255. After the Feast of S. Luke, a great number of nobles assembled together, having been summoned by royal warrant. For the Bishop of Romagna had come to the King in the Pope's name, in the stead of His Holiness, bringing with him a ring which he gave to the King's son Edmund, thus solemnly investing him with the kingdoms of Sicily and Apulia. The King's heart was now elated with pride and full of exultation, as though he had already received the homage of all the Sicilians and Apulians, as if he were already master of their cities and castles, and his son Edmund were already crowned King; in fact, he in public called his son Edmund, "King of Sicily." The aforesaid Bishop, as was believed, did not know that the Pope's expeditionary army was destroyed, that the King of England's money was entirely spent, and, moreover, that he was dreadfully burdened with debts; and if he did know, he cunningly concealed his knowledge of it, that he might not lose the presents prepared for him. The fact was indeed unknown to the King and the nobles, and the Bishop returned home, loaded with rich presents, before the real state of the case was known in England....

A.D. 1257. At Mid-Lent of this same year, a great Parliament was held ... and before the aforesaid Parliament broke up, the King brought his son Edmund, dressed in the Apulian fashion, before the assembly, ... and he said that, by the advice and goodwill of the Pope and the English Church, he had, for the sake of obtaining the kingdom of Sicily, bound himself under penalty of losing his kingdom to the payment of a hundred and forty thousand marks, exclusive of interest, which daily increased, although without being apparent. Also that he had obtained, for five ensuing years, the tithes to be levied from all the clergy in general, that is to say, from all their benefices, which were to be computed according to the new mode of taxation, without deducting any expenses save those which were incurred necessarily; also the profits of all ecclesiastical benefices vacated during the first year, and till the completion of the five years. This speech made the ears of all tingle, and struck fear to their hearts, especially as they knew that this tyranny took its rise from the Pope. Although they set forth excuses and asked for time to be allowed them, they could not obtain that favour, and were at length compelled to give a promise of relieving the King's pressing necessities, on the condition, however, that he would from that time forth observe inviolably the Great Charter, which he had so often promised to do, and which had been so often bought and rebought by them; and that he would refrain from injuring them and impoverishing them on so many specious pretexts. On these conditions they promised the King fifty-two thousand marks, though to the irreparable injury of the English Church; yet the King is said not to have accepted such a rich gift even as this.

THE EXPULSION OF THE POITEVINS (1258).

+Source.+--_Annals of Waverley_, pp. 349-350. (_Annales Monastici_, vol. ii.--Rolls Series.)

For some years England had been thronged with such a multitude of foreigners of different nations, on whom had been showered so many revenues, lands, estates, and other possessions, that they held the English in the greatest contempt, as inferior beings. It was said by some, who knew their secrets, that, if their power continued to increase, they would remove the nobles of England by poison, deprive King Henry of his kingdom, appoint in his place someone else at their own pleasure, and so in the end bring all England under their sway for ever. Further, the four brothers of the lord the King, Aylmer, Bishop-elect of Winchester, William, Earl of Valence, Guido, and Godfrey, raised as they were above the other aliens in dignities and riches, raged against the English in their intolerable arrogance, and loaded them with many insults and affronts; nor did anyone dare to oppose their presumptuous deeds for fear of the King. And they were not the only guilty ones, but--a yet greater matter for sorrow--Englishmen rose against Englishmen, majors against minors, all aflame with the lust of gain, and by means of pleas and amercements, talliages,[18] exactions, and divers other abuses, strove to take from each man what was his own. Old laws and customs were either broken through or utterly destroyed and brought to nought; every tyrant's will was a law unto himself, and except by a money payment could no man procure a right judgment. It is not within the power of anyone to recount all the evil doings which in those days took place in England. At length in this year the Earls and Barons, Archbishops and Bishops, and other nobles of England, as though aroused from sleep by a divine touch, seeing the miserable state of the kingdom, banded themselves together, and boldly assumed the strength and courage of a lion which fears the attack of no one. First of all, they expelled from England by force the aforementioned brothers of the King, together with many other aliens, and then began diligently to renew and amend the old laws and customs. And lest anyone should presume rashly to violate these customs in the future, they drew them up in the manner of a charter, sealed, by the King's permission, with his own royal seal.

[18] Taxes to which the demesne lands of the crown and all royal towns were subject.

THE KING CONSENTS TO THE ELECTION OF THE TWENTY-FOUR (1258).

+Source.+--_Rymer's Fœdera_, vol. i., p. 371.

The King to all, etc., greeting:--

Know that we have granted to the nobles and magnates of our kingdom, on oath administered to us by Robert de Walerand, that the state of the kingdom shall be rectified and reformed as shall seem best for the honour of God, our own faith, and the general good of our realm, by twelve faithful men chosen from our council, and twelve chosen from the party of the Barons themselves, who shall meet at Oxford within one month after the coming Festival of Pentecost. And should, by any chance, any of those chosen from our party be absent, those who are present may substitute others in their place; similarly in the case of those absent from the party of the Barons. And we shall observe inviolably whatsoever shall be ordained by the twenty-four chosen from both sides and put under an oath for this special purpose, or by the greater part of them; and we wish and strictly enjoin that their decisions be observed inviolably by all. And we shall, without causing any hindrance, carry out and render effective whatever measures of security they, or the greater part of them, shall ordain for the observance of these provisions. We bear witness, further, that Edward, our eldest son, having taken an oath on his body, has granted by his letters that, so far as in him lies, he will faithfully and inviolably observe and cause to be for ever observed everything above set down and conceded. The aforesaid Earls and Barons also promised that, when the business above-mentioned has been completed, they will strive in all good faith to secure the granting to us of a general aid by the commonalty of the realm.

Given at Westminster on the second day of May.

THE PROVISIONS OF OXFORD (1258).

+Source.+--_Annals of Burton_, pp. 446-453. (_Annales Monastici_, vol. i.--Rolls Series.)