Thomas Frederick Tout ‎

“ Since Edward had put himself in the hands of Pembroke and Badlesmere he had enjoyed comparative security and dignity. Only when great enterprises were attempted was Lancaster still in a position to break up the government of the country. But Edward loved neither Pembroke nor his allies, and had now found in the younger Hugh le Despenser [q. v.] a congenial successor to Gaveston. The increasing favour shown by Edward to father and son, the revival of the old court following under their leadership, and the extensive grants lavished on them by the king, made them both hated and feared. ”

“ PENCESTER, PENCHESTER, or PENSHURST, STEPHEN de (d. 1299) , warden of the Cinque ports, was a member of an old Kentish family that took its name from its chief seat, the manor of Penshurst, or, as it was more often called in the thirteenth century, Pencester or Penchester. In the latter part of Henry III's reign this manor was held by John de Bellemains, a canon of St. Paul's, who was Stephen's uncle and trustee. Soon after the barons' wars Stephen appears as holding important offices under the crown, to whose service he devoted the rest of his life. ”

“ As he approached York the new dean and his old enemy, Archdeacon Osbert, endeavoured to prevent his entrance into the city by declaring their intention of appealing against his appointment. But William proceeded on his way undismayed by their hostility. A great procession of clergy and laity welcomed him into the town. The wooden bridge over the Ouse gave way under the pressure of the crowd, and many were precipitated into the river; but the prayers of William saved, as men thought, the lives of every one of them. ”

“ In October a parliament at York ratified the new treaty. It was a complete triumph for the foes of Edward. The ordinances were again confirmed, and a permanent council was appointed, which practically put the royal authority into commission.
The bad seasons still continued; the Scots' ravages extended; the court grew more needy; law was everywhere disregarded; while the imposture of John of Powderham at Oxford only gave expression to the general belief that so degenerate a son of the great Edward might well be a changeling. ”

“ HEREWARD (fl. 1070–1071) , outlaw (called on the bad and late authority of ‘John of Peterborough’ the Wake, i.e. apparently ‘the watchful one’) , fills a larger place in legend than in authentic history. A few references to him in the chronicles and an account of his possessions in Domesday are all that we really know of him. But his exploits in defending Ely from the Normans caused the generation succeeding his own to regard him as the popular hero of the English resistance to their French conquerors. ”

“ Henry was kneeling at prayer before the high altar when a band of armed men burst violently into the church. At their head was Guy de Montfort, who as he entered cried out in a loud voice, ‘Traitor, Henry of Almaine, thou shalt not escape’ (Fœdera, i. 501) . He was followed by his brother Simon and his father-in-law Rosso. Taken utterly by surprise Henry was seized with a sudden panic, and rushed for sanctuary to the altar, clinging to it with his hands, and crying for mercy. ”

“ Llywelyn took the constable prisoner, and burnt the outer wards, but failed to capture the main works of the castle. A vast throng of Welsh from the hills—estimated by the Monk of Malmesbury as ten thousand in number—flocked to the standard of Llywelyn and of his six sons. Turberville had no means of resisting such a force, and stood quietly aside while the vale of Glamorgan was devastated, and an enormous booty conveyed to the mountains. Edward was now at Lincoln, where, owing to Llywelyn's revolt, very few lords attended the parliament. ”

“ On 2 May a full parliament met at York, finally revoked the ordinances, and, in opposition to the baronial oligarchy that had so long fettered the action of Edward, laid down the principle that all weighty affairs of state should proceed from the counsel and consent of king, clergy, lords, and commons. The issue of some new ordinances of Edward's own was perhaps intended to show that the king, no less than Earl Thomas, was willing to confer the benefits of good government on his people. ”

“ The period of Desmond's government of Ireland was one of considerable legislative activity. But laws had little effect in repressing the Irish. Two expeditions of Desmond against the O'Briens did not prevent the border septs' attacks on Leinster. The Irish of Meath called in a son of the lord of Thomond to act as their 'king,' but his death of a fever averted this danger. Yet Desmond's rule was so far successful, or his hold over Munster so strong, that for the first time for many years representatives of the county of Cork appeared in the Irish parliament. ”

“ During these years the state of Ireland had grown steadily worse, and very little of Elizabeth's vast heritage was really in the hands of herself or her husband. In 1361 Edward III resolved to send Lionel as governor, believing ‘that our Irish dominions have been reduced to such utter devastation, ruin, and misery, that they may be totally lost if our subjects there are not immediately succoured.’ A great gathering of English holders of land in Ireland was assembled at Easter. The assembled lords were ordered to provide soldiers and accompany Lionel to defend their estates. ”

“ Conscious perhaps of his blunder, Henry at once hurried northward against Northumberland and Bardolf. He took Northumberland's last castles, Warkworth and Alnwick, and drove his foes into Scotland. At the end of August he again invaded Wales. His most glorious exploit was the relief of the long-beleaguered castle of Coyty in Glamorgan. He lost his baggage, wagons, and treasure from floods, and early in October was back at Worcester, leaving Carmarthen to fall into the hands of Owain and his French allies. He sought a further supply of money from the archbishop and bishops. ”

“ In 1171 Rhys again invaded Powys, and forced Owain to surrender seven hostages for his good behaviour. But a quieter time now followed in Wales. Davydd, prince of Gwynedd [see Davydd I] , Owain Gwynedd's son and successor, was Henry II's son-in-law. The Lord Rhys had become the king's 'justice in South Wales.' Henry found it wisest to leave the Welsh princes pretty much to themselves, and they on their part found it prudent to recognise his supremacy. Power in Wales was, moreover, so divided that no single Welsh prince had much chance of winning great triumphs over his neighbours. ”

“ He was always a tool in some stronger hands than his own. His tragic fate precipitated the fall of the wicked government that had lured him to his ruin. In vain did the queen and Mortimer endeavour to set themselves right by explanations and justifications of their conduct, addressed to the pope and to the English people. Before the year was out Henry of Lancaster was urged, by the fall of his fickle ally, to drive Mortimer from power. Before his own execution Mortimer acknowledged that Kent's sentence was unjust. ”

“ He dominated his enemies with sword and shield. He kept good peace for the monks, providing food and clothing to those who made themselves poor for Christ's sake. By his wars he enlarged the boundaries of his dominions. He gave good justice to all men, and attracted all men to his service' (Annales Cambriæ;, pp. 82-3) . He was certainly the greatest of the native rulers of Wales, and the title of 'Llywelyn the Great' was recognised in the official documents of Edward I (Monasticon, vi. 200) . If other Welsh kings were equally warlike, the son of Iorwerth was by far the most politic of them. ”

“ In this life there is nothing more incredible than in most lives of early Celtic saints; the title archbishop is only once given to him, and more stress is laid upon his sanctity than upon his episcopal rank. His chief abodes are on the banks of the Wye. But in the account of the early state of the church of Llandaff prefixed to this life, it is said that Dubricius was consecrated by Germanus, archbishop over all the bishops of southern Britain, and bishop of the see of Llandaff, founded by the liberality of King Meurig. ”

“ Earl Thomas was in character hot, impulsive, and brave. He was a good soldier, and faithful to his friends ; but he showed a vindictive thirst for revenge on the enemies of his house, and a recklessness which subordinated personal to political aims. He left no children, so that the bulk of his estates was divided among his three surviving sisters, while the castle and lordship of Arundel passed to his second cousin, John V Fitzalan (1387-1421) , grandson of Sir John Arundel, marshal of England, and of his wife, Eleanor Maltravers [see John VI Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel] . ”

“ Young as she was, Isabella, when visited by Mowbray, the earl-marshal, who was at the head of the English embassy, replied, ‘of her own accord, and without the advice of any one,’ that she would willingly be queen of England, ‘for they tell me that then I shall be a great lady’ (Froissart, xv. 186) . The ambassadors brought back to Richard glowing accounts of the precocity, intelligence, and beauty of the child. After a second embassy had been despatched the marriage contract was signed on 9 March 1396 at Paris (Fœdera, vii. 820) . ”

“ His only object in life was to gratify the whim of the moment, reckless of consequences. Much of his folly and levity may be set down to habitual deep drinking. His favourite pastimes were of a curiously unkingly nature. He disliked the society of his equals among the youthful nobility, and, save for a few attached friends, his favourite companions were men of low origin and vulgar tastes. With them Edward would exercise his remarkable dexterity in the mechanical arts. ”

“ But next year the murder of Iorwerth by his nephew Madog put Powys, which Iorwerth had lately governed, into the king's hands. He then gave it to Cadwgan, who thus once more acquired lands of his own. But Madog, already deprived of Ceredigion, was determined not to yield Powys as well to his uncle. Meanwhile Cadwgan, ‘not imagining mischief,’ returned to his dominions. Surrounded by Madog's retainers at Trallong Llewelyn, he as usual conducted himself weakly. All his own attendants fled. Unable to fight, unwilling to flee, he fell an easy victim to his enemies. ”

“ He was miraculously saved from a tempest, and landed in Anglesea, then under the power of the ‘island dragon,’ Maelgwn, king of Gwynedd, whom we know, from Gildas, his contemporary, to have flourished about the middle of the sixth century. At first Maelgwn was hostile, but ultimately proved a good friend to him. On the island on which the town of Holyhead is now built, and which Maelgwn himself perhaps granted to the saint, Cybi found a remote and congenial site for the great Celtic monastery over which he became abbot and bishop, and with which he is chiefly connected. ”

“ Owain's merit was that he continued the successful resistance to marcher encroachment which his father had begun in the reign of Stephen. It required no small pertinacity on Owain's part to make so great a king as Henry II give up in despair his efforts to reduce Gwynedd to satisfaction. Owain seems, however, to have been more bloodthirsty than most men of his time and nation; and the chroniclers record many instances of murders and mutilations, especially of kinsfolk, effected at his command. Yet his career made it possible to preserve a strong Welsh state against the Normans ”

“ The secular magnates, the earls and knights, sided with the monks, who for two days withstood the pressure of the bishops. But the will of Bishop Roger of Salisbury was all-powerful with Henry, and ultimately led him to adopt the policy of the bishops. At last four clerks were selected, and it was agreed that whomsoever of the four the chapter should select should be appointed archbishop by the king. One of the four was William, and on him the final choice of the monks fell, as an Augustinian canon was the nearest approach to a monk which circumstances allowed them to select. ”

“ A third royal expedition was now undertaken. Three great armies invaded Wales from different points in the early part of September; but the elaborate plan to shut up Owain from different sides proved a signal failure. Owain found new hiding-places. The hundred thousand men suffered grievously from the cold and constant storms. The English ravaged the land and took a great spoil of cattle; but within three weeks they had returned home beaten, of course by magic, and believing that Owain could make himself invisible at will. Reginald Grey had now to purchase his ransom at a ruinous cost. ”

“ In the spring of 1070 the Danish fleet of Osbeorn and Christian, allowed by William under a treaty to winter in England, appeared in the Humber and Ouse, and roused the country to revolt. At last they came to Ely, when ‘the English folk of all the fenlands came to them, weening that they should win all the land’ (Anglo-Saxon Chron. s.a. 1070) . About the same time the stern rule of the new Norman abbot Turold drove into revolt the tenants of Peterborough Abbey, hitherto under the milder government of Abbot Brand, who was, according to the legend, Hereward's uncle. ”

“ Here his rude East-Saxon converts strove to imitate to the best of their ability the austerities of a Columban monastery. The iron discipline established by Cedd is well illustrated by the rebuke which he hurled at Sigeberht himself for feasting at the house of a thegn who had contracted a union in violation of the christian law of marriage. In vain the king cast himself at the bishop's feet imploring pardon. ‘Because thou hast not refrained from visiting that lost and accursed man, thou wilt have death in thy own house,’ was the only answer. ”

“ For a long time Spanish was the only means of communication between her and her husband. She had hardly left the royal palace ten times in her life, and though amiable, dignified, and in a quiet way attractive, the only positive trait that observers could find in her was a simple and childish piety that consumed her time in the routine performance of her religious duties, and sought by pilgrimages to favourite saints to express her thanks to heaven for her advancement to be queen of England (Maynard to Nicholas, 19-29 July, in Lister, iii. App. No. lxxv.) ”

“ Though he had left Man many years before his death, he remembered his old flock, and bequeathed in his will 100l. to ‘buy such books yearly as should be more convenient for the clergy.’ As governor he ruled wisely and firmly, built a bridge over a dangerous stream, and did many other good works there. ‘The bread the poor clergy eat,’ cries the historian of the remote and neglected island, ‘is owing to him, as is all the little learning among the inhabitants.’ No Manx bishop but the saintly Wilson can approach Barrow in beneficence and liberality. ”

“ In 1052 Gruffydd ravaged Herefordshire 'until he came nigh unto Leominster,' and 'on the same day on which thirteen years before Eadwine had been slain he slew many of the English as well as Frenchmen of the castle.' Soon after the death of the southern Gruffydd chance gave him an opportunity of inflicting a severe blow on the English. Ælfgar, son of Leofric, and brother of the Eadwine slain by Gruffydd in 1039, was now outlawed, and, having collected eighteen ships of northmen from Ireland, requested Gruffydd's co-operation in his war against King Edward and Harold. ”

“ Every nobleman had his train of armed attendants, even when attending great councils. Private wars were common. When James II of Scotland threatened to break the truce to avenge his uncle Somerset, York took up the challenge in the king's name; but soon after Henry repudiated his action, though the court reaped little good from its friendship with the Scots. Margaret, Henry, and York dwelt for the most part at long distances from each other. Henry's separation from the queen may perhaps be significant. ”

“ Auloed, says Gruffydd's biographer, to whose rather doubtful testimony our knowledge of Gruffydd's early life is due, was the son of King Sihtric and a descendant of Harald Haarfagr. His wife was a daughter of King Brian. So that Gruffydd sprang from the noblest royal lines of Wales, Norway, and Ireland. He was born about 1055 at Dublin, and was nursed at a place called by the Welsh the 'Cymmwd of Columcille,' three miles from his parents' house. After Cynan's death his mother inspired him with the desire to emulate his father's exploits and save Gwynedd from the usurpers. ”

“ Gruffydd ab Cynan treated them well at first, but was persuaded by Henry I to give up the fugitives. Gruffydd ab Rhys discovered his treachery, and managed to escape to the sanctuary of the church of Aberdaron in Lleyn, whence he returned to the south, where 'many foolish young men from every part joined him, being deceived by the desire of spoils or seeking to restore the British kingdom' (Brut y Tywysogion) . He began a vigorous predatory warfare on the French and Flemish settlers in his father's realm. ”

“ On that fatal day 'fell the kingdom of the Britons,' and nearly all Rhys's old kingdom was seized by Norman adventurers. Nest, Rhys's daughter, became the bride of Gerald of Windsor, steward of Pembroke. When Gruffydd had grown up to manhood he became weary of exile and inactivity, and about 1113 he returned to Dyved. For two years he wandered about the country. His return seems to have inspired the conquered Welsh with the hope of regaining their liberty under his rule. ”

“ But his new-found energy wasted away before poverty, disorder, and selfish faction. ‘The realm of England was out of all good governance, for the king was simple and led by covetous counsel and owed more than he was worth.’ ‘For these misgovernances the hearts of the people were turned away from them that had the land in governance.’ The papal legate, Francesco Coppini, bishop of Terni, sent by Pius II to urge on Henry to a crusade against the Turks, left England in disgust, and joined the Yorkists at Calais. ”

“ With Rhys fell the kingdom of South Wales. The Normans, having done their work for Iestin, received their pay and returned towards London. They had hardly departed when Iestin, flushed with his triumph, treacherously refused Eineon his daughter's hand. Eineon pursued the retreating Frenchmen, explained to them his own wrongs and the general unpopularity of Iestin, and showed how easy it would be for them to conquer Iestin's dominions, since his treason to Rhys had so much disgusted the South-Wales princes that not one would afford him succour. The Normans were easily persuaded. ”

“ The loss of Guienne was a final blow to the influence of Somerset. The birth of an heir cut off York's prospects of a peaceful succession to the throne, and occasioned all sorts of slanders against the queen. Henry's illness involved a regency, and Margaret and York were rivals for the position. For a time the council went on as in the days of the minority, governing, or trying to govern, in Henry's name. But even the existing parliament, which reassembled at Westminster in February 1454, was now friendly to York, who, as king's lieutenant, opened the session. ”