James Gainsborough Fotheringham

“ When she afterwards proposed to the council that her son, Edward V, should be escorted to London with a strong army, Hastings passionately demanded whether the army was intended ‘against the people of England or against the good Duke of Gloucester.’ He threatened to retire to Calais if Rivers approached with an army. When, however, Gloucester tried by means of William Catesby [q. v.] to bring Hastings into his designs, Hastings seemed disposed to join the queen's party. ”

“ HUGH (d. 1164) , abbot of Reading and archbishop of Rouen, was born in Laon late in the eleventh century. He belonged in all probability to the noble family of Boves, a theory to which his arms (an ox passant) give support. He was educated at Laon in the celebrated school of Anselm and Ralph, and became a monk of Cluny. A few years after his reception the abbot made him prior of Limoges, but he went to England about the same time, and became for a short time prior of Lewes, whence he was transferred in 1125 to the abbey of Reading, then newly founded. ”

“ HILARY (fl. 1125) , mediæval Latin poet, is supposed to have been a native of England from the fact that one of his poems narrates the life of Eva, an English recluse, who died in Anjou, as well as from various allusions in other of his poems, some of which are addressed to English friends. Hilary went to France to study at Paris under Abelard, whose disciple he calls himself, and to whom he addressed a poem on the occasion of his retirement to the Paraclete in 1125. From Paris Hilary went to Angers, and there became a canon of Ronceray. ”

“ Sir Christopher Dacre, in a letter dated 2 Dec. 1526, says that Durie, ‘a monk of Melrose Abbey, will probably hold the place, notwithstanding that the king and the lords in this parliament have enacted that no Scotchman should purchase a benefice at the pope's hand, without license of the king and the lords of council.’ James wrote to Cardinal Wolsey on the subject, and requested him to lay the matter before Henry VIII, so that the English king might use his influence with the pope to annul the appointment of Durie. ”

“ Comines states that Louis XI gave Hastings on one occasion a service of plate of the value of ten thousand marks. Hastings was one of the lords who swore fealty to King Edward's eldest son. Hastings was on bad terms with the queen, who had been offended by his appointment to the governorship of Calais, which post she desired for her brother Earl Rivers. But he had been able to maintain a high position, on account of his well-known tried fidelity to the king. The king on his deathbed entreated him to be reconciled to the queen. ”

“ They have been thought to have acted thus, less from patriotic feeling than from religious rancour. A large number of the clergy had been enrolled in the Scottish army, among whom a similar feeling prevailed. William Patten, the English chronicler of the ‘Expedition into Scotland,’ and an eye-witness of the battle, gives a very minute description of a banner found on the field after the fight, which was said to be that of the abbot of Dunfermline, and under which the ‘kirkmen’ had fought. ”

“ In 1372, when the Black Prince had surrendered the principality of Aquitaine into the king's hands, it was granted by royal commission to Felton and Sir Robert Wykford; and on the final withdrawal of the Duke of Lancaster, Felton was appointed seneschal of Bordeaux. ”

“ Andrews, has obtained, not without great scandal, certain requests at the court of Rome to the prejudice of our beloved and faithful son, Alexander, king of Scotland, who is married to our daughter, on which account we are unwilling to allow him to enter our dominions. ”

“ Hakon was induced to leave the islands, and, going to Norway, induced King Magnus Barelegs to undertake an expedition (1098) to subdue the Orkneys and the Hebrides. Hakon sailed with the expedition. The king, on his arrival in Orkney, sent Earls Paul and Erlend prisoners to Norway; and, having placed his young son Sigurd over the islands, continued with Hakon his raid to the Hebrides and the Irish Sea. Earl Paul died at Bergen during the following year (1099) . Hakon remained with King Magnus, and became a celebrated warrior. ”

“ He was probably taken prisoner at the battle of Auray, in the month of September previous. When Henry the Trastamare, with the help of the free companies, had obtained the throne of Castile, from which he had driven Don Pedro, Pedro applied for help to the king of Portugal. Gourney, on the suggestion of Duguesclin, who had the direction of the expedition, was sent as an ambassador from Henry to learn how the king of Portugal was disposed towards Don Pedro. ”

“ He was one of the most zealous abettors in all attempts that were made to combat the new doctrines. He went so far as to bring to trial and to condemn to death for heresy his cousin, John Durie, who was, however, liberated from his power by the Earl of Arran. ”

“ On the subsequent march of the army Holland had the command of the rear-guard. Some English soldiers, having either gone astray or been left behind at Poissy, were killed by the French. Holland thereupon returned with an armed force and burned the town (Froissart, i. § 265) . At the battle of Crecy which ensued he held a command in the division of the Black Prince. After the battle he was appointed with four clerks to visit the field and make up lists of the killed. ”

“ On 24 Oct. 1405 Henry IV granted him a safe-conduct to traverse England, on his return from France, whither he had gone on public business. He was made bishop of Glasgow by Pope Benedict XIII in 1408. The regent Murdoch, duke of Albany, appointed him lord chancellor in 1423, and on 9 Aug. of that year he was named first commissioner to treat with England for the ransom of James I, which was accomplished during the following year. He added the battlements on the tower of Glasgow Cathedral, made the crypt under the chapter-house, and had the steeple built as far as the first battlement. ”

“ The interlocutors represent two imaginary persons, who are made to reason in plain language, to quote scripture and the canons of the church, and to appeal to natural law and justice. The first and second parts affirm the existence of the gravest errors and abuses within the church: the sale of benefices, indulgences, and other privileges, which is condemned as simony. ”

“ Power to treat with Pedro, king of Castile, was given to him as seneschal of Aquitaine representing Edward, prince of Wales, in letters dated 8 Feb. 1362. The invasion of Spain having been agreed upon, Felton and Chandos obtained leave from the king of Navarre to cross the mountain passes into Spain. Felton preceded the prince with a small force, and found the enemy encamped near Navarrete, 1367. They were attacked by a large body of Spaniards, and all either killed or taken prisoners. ”

“ He was named preceptor to James II, who in 1452 promoted him to the see of Dunkeld. By his exemplary life and frequent preaching he is said to have made a salutary impression on the rude population of his diocese. When he first began to officiate at Dunkeld he was driven from the altar by armed bands of highland robbers ”

“ In 1370 he was governor of Limousin, and was with the prince at Limoges. During the decline of the English power in Aquitaine he maintained a bold front. He could only leave small garrisons in the principal towns, and depended on his activity in coming to their assistance if they were attacked. Froissart delights to relate his various feats of chivalry. While governor of Niort in March 1373 he was outnumbered, defeated, and taken prisoner by Du Guesclin in trying to relieve Chisey. He was made seneschal of La Rochelle and governor of Sainte-Sé-Vère. ”

“ He was recalled, however, by the murmuring of the nobles of his province and the personal complaints of Henry, and returned in 1135 in time, according to a letter preserved in the 'Historia Novella' of William of Malmesbury, to attend the king, who had always respected him, on his deathbed at Colombières. ”

“ He was modest, gentle to the people, and liberal with his money among his friends. He was not warlike. He had, however, to defend his possessions against the rival claims of Kali Kolson, nephew to Earl Magnus the Saint, Erlend's son. ”

“ In 1348 he was named lord justice of all the king's lands in Scotland. He was appointed sheriff of Northumberland and governor of the town of Newcastle-on-Tyne both in 1342 and 1343. When the king sought to detach the Flemings from their allegiance to France, Felton accompanied him to Hainault. ”

“ In terms of a royal edict dated 19 Oct. 1404 he was charged with the direction of all the sea traffic between England and the neighbourhood of Bordeaux. His duty was to see that all English ships engaged in trading between the two countries were duly despatched with their crews. In 1409 the exercise of these functions led him into a dispute with Jean Bordin, chancellor of Guyenne. In 1412 he was commander of the castle of Bordeaux. ”

“ He became a distinguished soldier of fortune. Froissart terms him a ‘moult vaillans chevalier.’ He was first mentioned as being at the battle of the Sluys (1340) . In 1342–4 he was at the capture of Algeziras, taken by Alphonse XI from the Moors, at Crecy (1346) , and at Poitiers (1356) . In November 1357 he was named governor of Brest Castle and of the neighbouring town of Saint Mathieu (Fœd. vi. 70) . ”

“ For this purpose he obtained from the clergy, with the consent of Innocent VI, a grant of the tenth part of all church livings in Scotland during three years. He was one of the commissioners appointed to receive the king at Berwick on his release in 1357. The bishop was fond of travelling, and was able, from his great wealth, to command a large retinue. ”

“ The burgesses engage, on the other hand, to clear away the stones and sand, to execute other parts of the work, and to provide a certain portion of the tools required. The burgesses agree to pay to the abbot yearly on the completion of the work three pennies sterling from each rood of land within the burgh in addition to three pennies then paid. The pope's bull conferring on the abbot the privilege of wearing the mitred crown and pontifical vestments was dated 6 July 1396. ”

“ He was an inveterate enemy to protestantism, and vowed openly that, in despite of God, so long as they that then were prelates lived, that word called the gospel should never be preached within the realm. ”

“ In attempting to relieve the siege of La Rochelle he encountered a Spanish fleet before that town, composed of ships heavier than his own. After a fight which lasted two days he was entirely defeated and taken prisoner 23 June. He was removed to Saint André in Spain, where he remained a prisoner, and was subjected to much ill-treatment for about three years. ”

“ Being also possessed of the lordship of Penhurst in Kent, he obtained license to make a castle of his manor-house there. He was summoned to parliament from 1385 until his death in 1393. He married a daughter of Sir John Barre, kt., by whom he had a son, John, who died before he came of age, and a daughter. ”

“ It is signed by two lords, nine knights, and forty-eight esquires, who engage to aid Hastings against all persons within the kingdom, and to raise as many men as they can, to be armed at the expense of Hastings. Upon Edward's return in March 1471 Hastings was instrumental in bringing over Clarence to his side, and was present at their first interview thereupon at Banbury. At the battle of Barnet Hastings commanded the third division, which was opposed to that of Montague, and included three thousand mounted horsemen. ”

“ In February 1375 he returned to England; in 1376 he was charged with the execution of the truce, and in December of the same year he was charged to negotiate with the king of Navarre. He caused Guillaume de Pommiers and his secretary to be beheaded at Bordeaux for treason. ”

“ On 21 March 1462 he was installed knight of the Garter, and in 1464 was joined in a commission with the Earl of Warwick and the Earl of Northumberland to treat with James III of Scotland for a truce between the two countries. While master of the mint he introduced the coinage of gold nobles worth 100d., and two other gold pieces worth 50d. ”

“ About this latter date he obtained the degree of doctor of theology. He preached during several years in Paris. Jean de Rouen, privy councillor, royal almoner, rector and censor of the university, in his treatise on the Sorbonne, mentions Laing in very laudatory terms. He was a violent enemy of the Reformation, and very abusive in his personal attacks on the reformers. ”

“ In 1334 he was governor of Bambrough Castle in Northumberland. From 1338 to 1340 he was in command of Roxburgh Castle, which in April of the latter year he defended against an attack of the Scotch. In 1340 he was also named a commissioner to attend to the defence of the Scottish marches. ”

“ He was taken prisoner with King David at the battle of Durham in 1346. After his release he was very active in procuring that of the king. Edward III granted him, with several other Scottish nobles, a safe-conduct, dated 4 Sept. ”

“ He there translated into Latin the commentary of Plutarch on the stoic philosophy, which was published at Leyden in 1555. It is a small duodecimo volume with an appendix containing emendations of doubtful readings in the original Greek text. ”

“ In 1552 he returned to Scotland, and appears to have practised for a short time as an advocate in Edinburgh. Having again returned to the continent, he was in 1554 elected professor of Roman law in the university of Bourges. About this time a treatise published by Baron on the law of jurisdiction was attacked by the jurist Govea. Henryson wrote a Latin reply in defence of Baron, dedicated to Fugger. In 1555 he published another work on Roman law, ‘Commentatio in Tit. ”