Part 8

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.)