Part 7

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.)

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.