kJ- L.,i\£ 6 BOSTON SCHOOL SUPPLY CO. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Shelf -W.y-lg UNITED STATES OF AMEEICA. pj^jlijts' !ftsinri:«I !|t,8«bsra. MIDDLE ENGLAND FROM ■-\ THE ACCESSION OF HENRY IL TO THE DEATLI OF ELIZABETH. HISTORICAL READER No. III. ^< WITH 86 MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. '§OBton, pass.: BOSTON SCHOOL SUPPLY COMPA^sTY, 15 BROMFIELD STREET. THE LIBRARY O^ RESs! .f^HlNGrONlj {Copyright 1884 by the Boston School Supply Co., Boston, Mass.] o^sr" PREFACE. vN ' Middle England ' the aim has been to narrate accurately a part of the Biography of the people of England. Special attention has been given to the delineation of the varieties of character pre- sented by the leading men of the successive genera- tions ; and it is hoped that the gallery of historical portraits sketched!^ in the text will be found not unworthy of th6 beautiful series of vignettes with which the artist has adorned the pages. The earlier lessons are designed to lay carefully the foun- dations of the later history ; here, the qualities sought after have been accuracy and fulness. In the middle chapters advantage has been taken of the unequalled series of historical plays bequeathed to the nation by its greatest Dramatist ; and any increase of vitality and vigour there displayed is due solely to the poet who could, without boasting, say — " Graves, at my command, Have waked their sleepers ; oped, and let them forth, By my so potent art." As the aspects of national life became more manifold, it was more and more necessary to concentrate attention upon the a vi PKEFACE. greater movements of the periods ; and thus, naturally, the ' selection of the significant ' came to be the first duty of the narrator. It has never been forgotten that the volume was to be used as a Readiiig-hook. Accordingly, the lessons have been prepared with special attention to the elocutionary capabili- ties of the successive subjects ; and as it was felt to be unwise to load the text with details, the notes have been rendered a storehouse of carefully-selected information. In the first place, the writer has sought to present the facts of our country's history in logical sequence, so as to appeal to the reasoning faculties of the pupils, and thus promote intelligent reading. In the second place, he has striven to paint in vivid colours the intensely human aspects of the national life, and thus to call into activity that emotional sympathy which is the essential requisite of expressive elocution. CONTENTS. I.— THE PLANTAGENETS. Hexky II.— the Man and the Era The First Seven Years of Henry's Reign . . The Crown and the Church . . Henry's Last Triumph and Fall A Feudal Knight upon the Throne • The Third Crusade The Crusader's Return Accession op John and Loss of Normandy . . K/ifG Joiix TEMPTiXG Hubert to Kill Artuur. John Humiliated Dangers to National Liberty Defence of the Charter— the Good Sir Simon Edward I., the Greatest op the Plantagenets The Great Lawgiver . . How Wales was United to England The Scottish War op Independence Edward II. — Renewal of the Struggle between the Ba # CPvOWN A King Deposed from the Throne . . Edward III.— the Age of Chivalry . . Beginning of the Hundred Years' War with France Crecy and Calais The Pestilence— Renewal of Hostilities . . Parliament and People The Son of the Black Prince on the Throne A Period op Revolution Entrance ofBolingbrooke and the Captive Riceard int RONS AND THE London PAGE 9 IS i8 24 29 33 39 44 II.— LANCASTER AND YORK. The Unquiet Time of Henry IV. Renewal of the Hundred Years' War with France End op the Hundred Years' War with France .. The War of the Roses The Eve of Bosworth . . William Caxton the Printer III.— THE TUDOR DYNASTY. A Period of Personal Rule . . The First op the Tudors The Rival Roses Intertwined The Last of the Great Ecclesiastical Statesmen The Divorce op Queen Catherine . . A Reign of Terror Edward AND Mary Two Queens The Great Elizabeth Policy op Elizabeth . . The Armada The Elizabethan Period TABLES, MAPS, AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Caxton and Edward IV. PAGE 9 9 A Norman Castle Henry II., from Fontevrault . . Table show.ng Descent of Henrif II. Map of the Dominions of Henru II. . . 13 Thomas a Becket. (The portrait from a MSS. in the British Museum. The mitre from the original, preserved in the Cathe- dral of Sens, in France) . . . . 18 Murder of Becket 23 Map of Ireland in the reign of Henry II. 25 Richard I., from his tomb at Fonte- vrault 29 Crusaders and Saracens 34 Richard at Acre 36 Map of PaleMine 37 Richard and Leopold at Acre . . . . 40 Richard ordering Bertrand de Jourdon to be set free 43 John, from his monument in Wor- cester Cathedral 44 Table showing Arthur's Claim to the Throne 45 The Death of Arthur 49 Stephen Langton 50 King John signing the Great Charter . 52 Henry III., from his tomb at West- minster 54 The English Fleet 55 Simon de Montfort 58 Noble and Peasant in Feudal Times . . 61 Edward and the Assassin . . . . 64 Edward I., from the Horse Armoury in the Tower of London . . . . 64 English Men-at-Arms at Falkirk . . 70 Llewellyn, the last Prince of Wales 72 A Welsh Harper 73 Map of Wales 77 The Wye 78 Bruce and Wallace 82 Edward II., from his tomb in the Cathedral of Gloucester . . . . 6/ Bruce at Bannockburn 91 Edward and his Jailers 96 Edward III., from his efiBgy at West- minster 99 Douglas and the Prince 102 Tahle showing the Claim ofEduKird III. to the Throne of France . . . . 106 The English Fleet approaching Sluys.. 109 Plan of the Battle of CreQy .. . . 113 Edward congratulating the Black Prince on his bravery at Cregy .. 114 Edward and the Citizens of Calais .. 117 Plan of the Battle of Poitiers .. .. 120 King John and the Black Prince enter- ing London 122 Tailpiece— Battle-axe and Crossbow . . 123 Richard II., from the Jerusalem Chamber, Westminster . . . . 129 The Death of Wat Tyler 134 The Death of Richard II. . . . . 142 Henry IV., from his monument at Westminster 145 Table showing the Descent of the Houses iif Lancaster and York .. .. 146 Prince Henry and the Crown , . . . 149 I Frontispiece. PAGE Henry v., from a contemporary illu- mination 151 Henry at Harfleur 153 Plan of the Battle of Agincourt .. 156 Henry entering London 157 Henry VI., from a Portrait in the National Portrait Gallery . . . . 159 Map Illustrating the Hundred Years War 161 Joan of Arc and the Relief of Orleans 163 Edward IV., from a painting in the Royal Collection 165 Edward V., from the Window of Great Malvern Church . . . . 169 Richard III., from a Portrait in the National Portrait Gallery . , . . 170 Headpiece 175 Lady Jane Grey at her Studies. . . . 176 Signatures of the Tudor Sovereigns . . 180 Henry VII., from the Sutherland Clarendon Picture 182 Table showing the Descent of Henry VII. 183 Table showing the Chief Rivals of Henry m VII 184 The Landing of Columbus in the New World 189 Henry VIII., from a Painting by Hol- bein 191 The Battle of the Spurs 194 Plan of Flodden 196 Cardinal Wolsey, from a Portrait by Holbein 198 Henry Landing at Calais on his way to the Field of the Cloth of Gold . . 202 Henry Dismissing Wolsey . . . . 208 Sir Thomas More, from a Painting by Holbein 212 Table showing Henry VIII.'s Settlement of the Siicctssion 216 Cranmer, from a Portrait by Hol- bein 218 Edward VI., from a Drawing by Hol- bein . . . . . . . . . . 220 Lady Jane Grey, from a Picture in the House of Lords 223 Lady Jane Grey accepting the Crown 224 Queen Mary, from a Portrait after Holbein 226 The Death of Mary 227 Queen Elizabeth, from a Portrait by Zucchero 228 Raleigh and Elizabeth 230 Sir Philip Sidney at Zutphen . . . . 237 Queen Mary of Scots, from a Minia- tiure belonging to the Queen . . 240 The Armada.. 242 Sir Francis Drake 244 Shakespeare, the Chandos Portrait 247 Bacon, from a Contemporary Portrait by Van Somer B49 Ships of the Elizabethan Period . . 251 Elizabeth knighting Drake on his re- turn from his Voyage round the World 252 A Street in London in the Time of Elizabeth 255 THE PLANTAGENETS. HENRY II.— THE MAN AND THE ERA.1 THE Aim of our Study.— When Henry of AnjoQ ascended the throne of England, the Normans and the Saxons still remained distinct ; and it was during his reign that the mingling of the two races began — a pro- cess which never ceased until they became welded into one compact people, the English nation.^ Our aim shall be to study, not merely the lives of kings and queens, nor the chronicles of war and victory, but to learn the real history of our English forefathers. How the Saxons had fared before Henry came. — -Henry became king after a time of terrible com- lo THE PLANTAGENETS— HENRY II. motion. The common people liad suffered dreadful oppression. An old Chronicle^ gives ns a full account of the horrible tortures inflicted upon the unhappy Saxons. Here is one sentence from it : " They hanged up men by their feet and smoked them with a foul smoke ; some were hanged up by their thumbs, others by the head, and burning things were hung on to their feet." Another old writer* says, " Wounded and drained of blood by civil misery, England lay plague-stricken." Such tyranny could only make the Saxons loathe the Normans more than ever ; union between tyrant and slave seemed impossible. "We shall see, however, that all helped to work out the final grand result — a single race, speaking one language, subject to the same law. The Normans desire a Change. — Neither Stephen nor Matilda had been able to rule firmly. -To retain their followers, both had allowed them to do whatever they pleased. Many a noble not only acted as "was right in his own eyes," but (having no fear of the law) eagerly did what he knew to be wrong. One tyrant fought with another ; not a single Norman had any rest — it was just like an outbreak of riot in a crew of pirates — each one struggled with his neighbour, and all were worn out. This was not all. Each of the rivals for the throne, Stephen in particular, had brought over bands of mer- cenaries^ from the Continent. These new-comers, too, joined in the battle for booty ; and the Normans looked askance at the ' intruders^' who strove with them for a share in the plunder of the miserable Saxons. For the first time, the Normans in England looked upon people from the Continent as ' aliens ; ' ^ the disdainful ' con- THE MAN AND THE ERA. n querors ' of England liad at last been forced to regard themselves as Englishmen. TIlus — partly from sheer exhaustion and partly from jealousy of the ^foreigner ' '^ — the Normans, as well as the suffering Saxons, longed for a change. Norman Sympathy with the Saxons. — The wisest and best of the barons felt genuine pity for the oppressed ; they were disgusted at the cruel lawlessness which pre- vailed, and their sympathy turned from their fellow- Normans to those whom they had never before thought of as their fellow-countrymen. To these we must add the leaders of the Chnrcli. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Theobald, was a wise and good man ; he loved England, his ' country ; ' and it was to put an end to the misery that he had supported Henry II. in his demand for the throne. Ecclesiastical ^ Councils had deposed both Stephen and Matilda ; they had not only admitted but repeatedly urged " the right of a nation to good government!' Henry's Descent : Influence on our History. — Henry II. was not himself a Norman. His mother, Matilda, was the daughter of a Scottish princess of Saxon blood.^ His father, like himself, was Count of Anjou. The first count had been a rough hunter on the borders of Brit- tany, ^^ where the people were of the same race as the Welsh ; he had won his coronet by helping the French king against the Norsemen}^ and his successors had always remained the enemies and rivals of the Dukes of Normandy. It was to win the alliance of the Count of Anjou, the only enemy whom he feared, that Henry I. had given his daughter Matilda in marriage to the count'^ son. Henry II. was then an Angevin ^'^ not a Norman -^ ^s he was by descent, so was he in character and feeling. 12 THE PLANTAGENETS— HENRY II. In two ways this helped the Saxons. Henry came to England having no special liking for the Normans, but determined to rule with a firm hand ; and, as it was the Norman and the Flemish ^^ mercenaries who were the lawbreakers, all his influence tended to lower the petty tyrants and to restore to their true place the oppressed Saxons. On the other hand, the Normans DESCENT OF HENRY II. William the Conqueror. Robert William (Killed at Alost). Richard (Killed by a stag). William II. (Killed by an arrow). Henry I. (Married Matilda of Scotland). Adela (Married Count of Blois). I Stephen. William (Drowned in the "White Ship"). Maud or Matilda (Married Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou). I Henry II. were led more and more to look upon Henry's measures as ' foreign ' interference, to regard England as their liome, and instinctively to turn for help to their fellow- islanders. Thus the two races and languages began to mingle, and the Saxon or truly English element gradually became predominant. Henry's Character and Aims. — When Henry became King of England, he was already the most powerful prince in France. A glance at the accompanying map will show how great were his continental possessions ; some of these he had inherited from his father, others HENRY If? DOMINIOIS^S Scale of EudisLMLes y . . . . JQO'-' 200 » .•♦ 14 THE PLANTAGENETS-HENRY II. lie had got with his wicked wife — Eleanor of Poitou. The young king ^^ was a man of great activity, strong and stirring, the hardiest and the most untiring worker of his day. " He never sits down," says a contemporary,^^ " he is always on his legs from morning to night." Now Henry determined to throw all his energy into the work of extending alike his English and his French dominions, and of uniting both into one compact and magnificent empire. We shall see how much this unwearied worker and mighty prince was actually able to do, but how completely he was bafiled by ' the spirit of his age.' In looking back upon past history we are able to distinguish strong currents flowing in fixed directions during particular periods. When a leader directs his people with the undercurrent, he becomes a reformer and genius ; when a man — no matter how strong — tries to struggle against the mighty tide, he and his work are swept away and perish. At Henry's accession, seven hundred years ago, there had begun in Europe a steady movement among the small feudal principalities and dukedoms to form themselves into Nations ; ^^ and when Henry thought he could take the half or the whole of France and weld it into one with the half or the whole of Britain, he was struggling against an irresistible force, and was completely foiled. 1. Era, the period. This lesson shows how Henry II. was peculiarly fitted to govern England at tins particular period. 2. The Danish element had, before the Norman Conquest, merged into and become one with the English people. 3. The Saxon Chronicle, a chronological record of events in English history, beginning with an abstract of Bede's Ecclesiastical history, and continued by successive writers to the year 1154. The language of the portion after the Conquest is called 4. William of Neivbury, a monk and historian ■who lived in the reigns of Henry II. , Richard I. and John. 5. Mercenaries, those serving for the sake of payment. The word ' soldier ' has the same literal meaning, fi. Aliens, those belonging to another country. 7. Foreigner literally means one dwelling out of doors, or abroad. The word 'forest' comes from the same root. 8. Ecclesiastical, belonging to the Church, from the Greek and Latin Ecclesia, a meeting Semi-Saxou. I place or church. The same root is found THE FIRST SEVEN YEARS OF HENRY'S REIGN. 15 in many names of places, cf. Eccles, Eccle- fechan, &c. 9. Margaret, the queen of Malcolm of Scotland, and sister of Edgar Atheling the grandson of Edward the Confessor. 10. Brittany, the ancient Armorica, the north- western province of France. 11. Norsemen, from whom the Normans were descended. 12. Angevin (pronounced Angsh-vang) an inhabi- tant or native of Anjou. 13. Flemish, belonging to Flanders. The greater part of the old province is now included in Belgium. 14. Henry was twenty-two years of age at his accession. 15. Contemporary, one who lived at the same time vjith him. 16. The same movement towards national unity is still going on. In our own day the smaller divisions of Italy and Germany have been thus united. THE FIRST SEVEN YEARS OF HENRY'S REIGN. 1154-1161. HENRY'S First Measures. — Let us now see how Hemy sought to carry out his purpose. Well was he called Ciirtmantle ! ^ No long robes would he allow to impede his movementSj which remind one of the swift sweep of the kingly eagle. At once he set his face ' like a flint' to put down lawlessness and to establish good government. Without any animosity against either Norman or Saxon, partial neither to layman^ nor to ecclesiastic, nothing whatever would he permit to turn him from his purpose. The lawless Flemish' mercenaries of Stephen he disbanded and dismissed. The charters^ of London and other cities, almost the only safeguard of the Saxon toilers, he renewed. He demanded back all royal lands which had been granted during the two previous reigns, and recovered the royal castles which various barons had seized during the same period. How the wolves snarled as the gallant huntsman drove them from their prey ! On he pressed ; ' eleven hundred new castles,' which had been built during the civil war and were mere dens of public robbers, he razed to the ground. 1 6 THE PLANTA^ENETS— HENRY II. Better still, he re-established Courts of Law, and appointed judges to travel through the land for the administration of justice and the redress of wrongs. Henry's Early EjBPorts to Extend his Dominions. — To complete the establishment of his authority in Eng- land, the determined king marched northward against Malcolm of Scotland, who not only claimed to be Earl of Huntingdon, but held the three northern counties of England. These latter Henry compelled him to give up, and forced him to do homage for his earldom. This work was hardly completed when troubles in France summoned the tireless monarch to his native home. His brother Godfrey claimed Anjou, declaring that his father had intended him to have it if Henry got England. With one swift blow Godfrey was baffled, and Henry once more hurried to the north. The Scotch king was again forced to do homage. The feudal nobles, hitherto defiant, at the same time submitted and surrendered their castles. Henry, with resolute energy and splendid success, in two years made himself master of the whole of England. Order had succeeded disorder. Unsuccessful Attack on Wales. — Still determined to extend his dominion, Henry next led an army into Wales. The task of its conquest was too much even for him. The wild Welsh mountains sheltered the hardy hill-men, who surprised a large division of the invading force and almost completely destroyed it ; the rest of the English army they forced to retreat. In several subse- quent attempts, while he saved himself from defeat and drove the Welsh from the more open country, Henry found it impossible to reduce them to submis- sion. THE FIRST SEVEN YEARS OF HENRY'S REIGN. 17 Further Extension of Henry's Power. — By arrang- ing a marriage between Margaret of France and his eldest son, Henry secured a hold upon Brittany in the north-west of France. Ever restless, ever anxious to extend his French as well as his English dominions, he next led an army against Toulouse* in the south-east. Here he was foiled by the determined opposition of the French king. • In this expedition, Henry confirmed the habit of receiving money payments ^ from the barons in exchange for military service. You will easily see how important a step this was. Under the Feudal System previous to this reign, the only soldiers at the service of the country were the harons and their followers. As a con- sequence, the real power had been entirely in their hands — the ki7i^ had been their leader, not their ruler ; the lata had been subordinate to them, not they to the law ; the commons had been their plundered and despised serfs, not their free fellow-subjects. Now, with the money payments which he received, Henry was able to hire soldiers to fight for him. This weakened the power of the Norman barons. He was also in a position to do away with the Danegeld,^ a tax hated by the commons and felt by them to be a heavy burden. Thus, the weight was being gradually lifted from the shoulders of the Saxons. Slowly but surely, the two races were coming to an equal level. "We have seen how energetically and with what apparent success Henry strove, during these seven years, to carry out his policy. No king in feudal times ever did more, and yet, as we have said, ultimate failure was inevitable. We shall next find him, bent on subjecting every one in the state to a strong law administered by him- (3) B i8 THE PL ANTAGENETS— HENRY IT. self, engaged in a struggle with what was at that time a mighty power — the Church. 1. Curtmantle, short cloak. 2. Layman, one of the people as distinct from the clergy. 3. Charters, documents or deeds granting certain rights, especially that of self-government. 4. Toulouse, at this time a territory in the south of France stretching eastward from the Gnronne. 5. Called Scutage or shield-money. 6. Danegeld, i.e., Dane-gold or Dane-money; originally levied by Ethelred the Unready to huy off the Danes. The name had be- come to denote a tax levied for the defence of the country against sudden danger from a foreign foe. THE CROWN AND THE CHURCH. 1161-1170. N the struggle between Henry and the clergy, the leading opponent of the :, king was Thomas a Becket. % This famous man was son of ^the Port-reeve^ or Mayor of London. His father lost his wealth ; and Becket entered the service of Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury. ^/^ He soon became known to 'C^ the king, rose step by step in favour, and was at last made Chancellor — one of the highest positions in the realm. He was also appointed to many other offices and enjoyed vast revenues. He lived at this time in much splendour, and acted like a great noble rather than as one of the clergy. When Theobald died, the king insisted that Thomas should take his place as Archbishop. Becket was very unwilling ; but at last he reluctantly consented. Imme- diately he changed his whole manner of life. He gave THOMAS A BECKET. THE CROWN AND THE CHURCH. tg up all his luxury and pomp; dismissed his gay train, ^ lived in simplicity, and assumed the solemn duties of leader of the Church. Now, at this period, the clergy claimed that they could be tried only in their own courts ; but Henry had resolved that all his subjects should submit to the law of the realm, and from that purpose nothing could turn him. Becket, too, was a bold and brave man — one who, in a cause he believed to be a right one, would never yield except with his life. Men recalled how he had once plunged into a swift stream to save his hawk, and brought it safely out while even bold warriors shrank back in fear. There soon arose a contest between the king and the Archbishop. The chief points of interest in the struggle are brought out in the following dialogue. Time, 1164, just hefore the Council of Clarendon^ and Bechet' s flight to France. Henry. Archbishop ! listen now to my firm will ; In which, for all the love and favour kind That knit your heart to mine in days gone by, I wof* that you will not oppose your king. Becket. I never can forget, my Lord, what you Have been and done to me. Our hearts and minds Were one ; you made me rich and gave me power ; Ask of me aught that I may give, even life, And it is freely yours. Henry. I ask not life I Your clergy ^ claim a freedom from the law.^ From all sides tidings come of horrid crimes Done by vile clerks ; ^ justice unsheaths her sword 20 THE PLANTAGENETS— HENRY II. And claims her due — in steps the Church and says, " Nay ! Nay ! the man is mine ; I'll see to it." This must no longer be ; 'tis quite opposed To all the ancient customs of this realm. A power within a power cannot exist. Soon, here at Clarendon, our States ^ will meet ; And I shall there present the Articles ^ Of just and equal law, all old in use. From you I ask, demand, assent and aid. Becket. My Liege ! You know that I wished not this post To which you forced me up. I said you'd hate me soon. As much as then you loved. The sacred rights Of our most holy Church I cannot yield ! It would be sacrilege. ^^ Even my king I cannot aid against my order's rights. Henry. Thomas ! beware ! You know not what you do. I love the Church with filial love ; through it The blessed gift of our salvation comes. Demand of mine is not against her rights. You were an upright law-respecting man ; How can you guard the miscreant, ruffian crew, Who under this new power claimed by your courts Are sheltered from th' avenging outraged sword Of justice stern? 'Tis shame upon our realm. Nowhere will law be rev'renced and obeyed. While in our midst your clerks can laugh with scorn At its most holy rules. Becket. My Lord, 'tis true That evil men have ranked themselves with us. 'Tis but th' abuse of a most precious right — What gift that God has given is not abused ! THE CROWN AND THE CHURCH. 2i You, noble Sire, use well the kingly power, You rule with justice and desire but right. But, Siro, kings there have been before your reign Who used their office 'gainst all that was good ; Then, in our courts the pious and the learned Their refuge found from ruthless tyrant's sway. When you're at rest in Heaven's blessed sleep, ■ What guardian will remain against misrule ? Henry. The law ! which I shall leave so just and strong, That neither prince nor priest will dare it break. There's more to say ! You prelates of the Church Claim new, unheard of, strange immunities : ^^ Before, you gladly ranked with our great lords ; But oioio you separate yourselves from them. And, ' Privilege ' your cry, refuse to bear The burdens of the state. This too, must cease. The great Archbishops who preceded you Submission meet have made to weaker kings. Do you the same by me ; the Church will have No better son, nor you a truer friend. Becket. My Lord, it cannot be. Henry. Then list, priest. I raised you up, and I will cast you down ; I made you rich, and I will leave you poor. I'll forfeit all the goods of all your kin. And drive them with you and your helpers all From forth the realm. Becket. Proud king, I serve a power Greater than thine. You o'er the body hold A mighty rule, it o'er the soul doth reign -, You raised me up, but it called you from France And made you sovereign -^^ here. Your threat I cast You back ; and say ^ Beware, lest that same Church 22 THE PL ANTAGENETS -HENRY II. That made you miglity king undo its work, And leave you ruined now, Hopeless hereafter.' Henry. No more, ungrateful man ! Meet me forthwith At Clarendon ; and there before your peers Repeat this threat if thou hast hardihood. If you submission make, I'll all forgive ; If not, then dread the worst for you and yours. Murder of Becket.— The end of this struggle was very sad. After six years of exiled life in France, the Archbishop returned in 1 1 70 to England, and excom- municated the chief of his adversaries. When this was told to Henry he was very angry, and cried out, " Are there none of the cowards eating my bread who will free me from this turbulent priest ? " Four of his knights hurried to Canterbury, forced their way into the victim's presence, and demanded that he should yield to the king. His attendants forced k Becket into the Cathedral, and he took his stand before the altar. There, in the sad, dim, solemn dusk, the fearless Archbishop was cruelly murdered. The people regarded Becket as a martyred saint, and made many pilgrimages to his shrine \ all Christendom was shocked at the crime, and Henry had to yield many of the points he had gained. 1. Port-reeve, i.e., governor of the port. Cf. j ' clerk ' came to be used for one tliat writes Shire-reeve or Sheriff. I for another. 1. Train, followers or dependants. | 8. States, that is, the Great Council or Parlia- 3. Clarendon, in Wilts, two miles south-east of ment. The King, Lords, and Commons Salisbury. \ are still called the ' Three Estates of the 4. Wot, originally the past tense of the A. S. ' Realm.' luitan, to know ; came to be used as a pre- 9. Articles. These were known as the ' Con- sent, and thus meant to know. I stitutions of Clarendon." 5. Clergy, Latin Clericus, Greek Kleros, literally ' 10. Sacrilege, the act of stealing sacred things, means those chosen by lot for the service j violating or profaning sacred things, of the Church. Cf. Acts i. 26. | 11. Immunities, i.e., freedom from services. C. This privilege was called 'Benefit of Clergy.* 12. Sovereign is more correctly spelt as by 7. Clerks, i.e., clergymen. As in those days Milton, sovra?i. The word is derived from the clergy alone were able to read and the Latin, siipremus, highest ; and the last write, and were always employed to write syllable, reign, is in no sense connected letters and other dociiments, the word with the word reign (Lat. regnum). THE CROWN AND THE CHURCH. MURDER OF BECKET. 24 THE PLANTAGENETS-HENPvY TT. HENRY'S LAST TRIUMPH AND FALL. 1170-1189. THE Conquest of Ireland. — As we liave had clearly placed before us the aims of Henry, the nature of the work he had set himself to do, and his place in the liistory of the country, we may proceed more rapidl}^ over the rest of his reign. His eager ambition to extend his dominions had led him, many years before the actual invasion, to obtain a papal bulP for the conquest of Ire- land. The Pope, you must know, was believed to have supreme control over all outlying islands ; and so his consent was considered necessary before the expedition could be attempted. An opportunity now presented itself Ireland was subject to four kings, under whom were numerous princes and chiefs. From time to time the supreme control was in the hands of one sovereign ruler, the '' Ardriagh " or Powerful King. When the government of this monarch was not exceptionally strong, the country was rent by civil wars. One of these now occurred. Dermot, tlie licentious King of Leinster, had carried off the wife of one of the minor princes ; the Ardriagh, O'Connor, King of Connaught, had driven him from his throne. He came to Henry and obtained permission to gather an army in England. There were at that time many barons who had impoverished themselves in the civil war between Stephen and Matilda ; these men, with their followers, were ready to take part in any enterprise which offered tliem a chance of regaining wealth and power. Dermot had no difficulty in finding n HENRY'S LAST TRIUMPH AND FALL. 25 many in Wales and the west of England to espouse his cause. Of these, the chief was Richard of Clare/ sur- nanied Strongbow. Very easily, the small but well-equipped force scat- tered the ill-trained and badly-armed hordes of the natives. Wexford, Waterford, and Dublin fell into the hands of the invaders. Strongbow married Derniot's daughter, and succeeded him as King of Leinster. Then came Henry to reap the fruits of this conquest. He left the greater part of the country under native custom and subject to King O'Connor, estab- lished his followers and Eno^lish law in the region round the east and south coasts, and took the title of " Lord of Ireland." These petty victo- ries, scarcely worthy of the name, are called the " Conquest of Ire- land." We cannot but regret that things happened as they did. Had the Irish nation been able to defend their liberties, they would undoubtedly in due time have joined the empire of their own free will — a united, patriotic, and self-respecting people. Had Henry succeeded in completely conquering the island, things might have gone on there as they did with the Saxons in England. In either case, much IRELAND IN THE REIGN OF HENRY II. 26 THE PLANTAGENETS— HENRY II. miserv, dissension, and lawlessness would never have appeared in Ireland's after-history. The First Great Insurrection against Henry. — A danger now threatened Henry's power, which for a time he was able to repel, but which finally overwhelmed him. The barons had bitterly resented his attacks upon their power. They were no longer supreme judges in their districts, and paid soldiers had taken their place in the field. They now had an opportunity of showing their hatred. The king's eldest son, who had previously been crowned, demanded immediate possession of England. He was refused, and fled to the court of the King of France. Many of the barons took up his cause. How bitter this must have been to the proud heart of the great king ! All his struggle had been to win a magni- ficent empire for this very son ; and now his hope, his heir, had joined his mightiest enemy. ISTor was this all. Henry was like a stag at bay. From all sides, his foes attacked him. The French king seized the chance of weakening his great rival ; the Flemish mercenaries, whom Henry had expelled from England, invaded the east coast ; and a Scottish army crossed the Border.^ Any other king would cer- tainly have been crushed. Henry, however, was able to triumph over all his opponents. To appease the Church and please the people, he did penance at Becket's tomb and offered his naked back to the scourge. Then with wonderful rapidity, he van- quished his foes by a series of brilliant victories. The King of Scotland,"^ in particular, was captured and made to pay homage for his realm. It was upon the pretext of this humiliation of the Scottish monarch, that a ^ HENRY'S LAST TRIUMPH AND FALL. 27 later English king ^ sought to subject Scotland to liis rule. Henry's Great Legal Measures. — We cannot speak of Henry's sad death, without once more looking back upon his noble deeds. He always had professed a love for order and law. Now, in the zenith ^ of his power, he showed how real was this love. It is this that makes one pity his fate, and regret that he had fixed his mind upon a hopeless scheme — an ignis fatims ' which lured him to destruction. This great king put in thorough order the system by which royal judges should visit all parts of the country from year to year. When it was shown that these judges accepted bribes, he formed a High Court of Ap- peal against their decisions. Trial hy Ju7'i/, too, owes its origin to Henry. Freemen were no longer to be left at the mercy of any lord, but were to be judged by the oaths of ' twelve lawful men of their own hundred.' ^ Before this reign, even murder could be atoned for by a money payment ; this Henry abolished, and ordained that all serious crimes should meet a heavy punishment. Well kept he his promise : — " The Law ! which I shall leave so just and strong, That neither prince nor priest will dare it break." Finally, all able-bodied men were bound to defend their country. ISTone were excused. Knights in their mail, yeomen and burghers with their sword and lance, all free-born men must fight for England. Glorious act ! No longer call the Saxons slaves : they, too, were summoned to draw the sword for their country side by side with those who had been their conquerors. Henry's Fall. — Henry has been compared to an 28 THE PL ANTAGENETS— HENRY II. ' eagle slain by liis young.' Four several times liis sons joined with his enemies. The patriarch of old cried out, "If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." AVhat must have been the feelings of this noble king when the very boys for whom he had founded an empire turned against him ! His first and third sons were both dead. His second, strong in frame and brave in deed, now helped his sworn foe. Henry's great ambition had been, as you know, to join his English and French dominions into one great empire. All his hopes were now bitterly disappointed. Not only were many of his French provinces taken from him, but he was deprived even of Anjou — the home of his race. He saw with weeping eyes his native town ^ in flames. Lifting his hands to heaven, he cried out : " Thou hast taken from me that which I loved best — the place where I was born and where my father lies." Still there was one son left. His youngest ! Surely, he would be true. Alas ! John also had turned traitor.-^^ '' Then burst his mighty heart." Turning his face to the wall, he said '' Let all things go — I care not for the world nor for myself." We are told that his son Richard wept over the dead body of his sire. Well might he weep. The ambitious hopes of all his dynasty lay dead with that great king. 1. Bull, a papal edict, so called from the seal (Lat. bulla) affixed to it. 2. Richard of Clare. The family name of Clare was taken from one of their estates in tlie south of Sutfolk. Strongbow's father received the title of Earl of Pembroke, after a successful inroad into South Wales. 3. The Border. Tlie district where England and Scotland ' ntarch' together, i.e., the country on each side of the boundary line. 4. AVilliam the Lion. 5. Edward I. «. Zenith, the higliest point. The word pro- perly means the point of the heavens right over head. 7. Ignis fatuus, a babbling or foolish fire, a shifting light seen on summer nights a few feet from the ground over morasses. Travellers often mistake it for light in a house and, seeking to approach it, are lost. Also called 'Jack-a- lantern,' 'Will-o'-the- wisp.' 8. Hundred, a subdivision of a county in Eng- land ; may originally have contained a hundred families. 9. Tours, on the Loire. 10. At the head of the list of those nobles who had joined Richard in rebellion against him, Henry found the name of his loved son John. A FEUDAL KNIGHT UPON THE THRONE. 29 RICHARD I. A FEUDAL KNIGHT UPON THE THRONE. 1189. HARACTER and Aims of Richard. — Richard, justly called Coeur-de-Lion or Lion-heart, was the very model of the steel - clad knight of old. In him, the untiring activity of Henry appeared as surpassing mus- cular strength and dauntless physical courage ; his father's cool bravery was warmed J by the fire of his mother's ^ KicHARD I. southern clime. He still clung to Henry's dream of an Anglo-French empire, and saw clearly that this could never be realised without the humiliation of his rival — the King of France. Unlike his father, he failed to perceive that the only road to victory lay through the firm administration of a just and impartial law. This was well shown in his choice of ministers. While his undoubted remorse and filial grief led him to choose the advisers of his father, his lack of insight caused him to reject the great law- giver of the past reign — Ranulf de Glanvill. Neither Henry nor Richard realised that their true kingdom was England. Richard spoke his mother's language and sang the soft songs of Provence ; ^ his ideal of the poet was the troubadour ^ of Languedoc ; * to sur- pass the French king in knightly prowess and to lead 30 THE PLANTAGENETS— RICHAED I. a united army of all the provinces of France to victory and fame, formed liis liigliest ambition. He ceased to be an English king — England was merely liis treasury ; Englishmen were but soldiers, to be cared for only as they helped him to his wished-for empire. Still his form was so Herculean,^ his courage so con- spicuous, his acts so generous, that for the first time since the Conquest the Saxons looked upon their king with admiration. His recklessness they could sympathise with ; his misfortunes they could pity ; his victories they felt to be their own. The Lion-Heart in Battle.*^ — ''What dost thou see, Rebecca ? " again demanded the wounded knight. " Nothing but the cloud of arrows flying so thick as to dazzle mine eyes, and to hide the bowmen who shoot them." ''That cannot endure," said Ivanhoe ; " if they press not right on to carry the castle by pure force of arms, the archery may avail but little against stone walls and bulwarks. Look for the knight of the Fetterlock,^ fair Rebecca, and see how he bears himself; for as the leader is, so will his followers be." "I see him not," said Rebecca. " Foul craven ! " exclaimed Ivanhoe ; " does he blench from the helm when the wind blows highest ? " " He blenches not ! he blenches not ! " said Rebecca; " I see him now. He leads a body of men close under the outer barrier. They pull down the piles and pali- sades ; they hew down the barriers with axes. His high black plume floats abroad over the throng, like a raven over the field of the slain. They have made a breach in the barriers — they rush in — they are thrust back ! Front-de-Boeuf ^ heads the defenders. Front-de- A FEUDAL KNIGHT UPON THE THRONE. 31 Boeuf and the Black Knight fight hand to hand in the breach amid the roar of their followers, who watch the ^^ogress of the strife. — Heaven strike with the cause of the oppressed and of the captive ! " She then uttered a loud shriek, and exclaimed, " He is down ! he is down ! " '' Who is down ? " cried Ivanhoe ; " tell me which has fallen ! " '^ The Black Knight," answered Eebecca faintly ; then instantly again shouted, with joyful eagerness, " But no ! but no ; — he is on foot again, and fights as ,. if there were twenty men's strength in his single arm. His sword is broken — he snatches an axe from a yeoman — he presses Front- de-Boeuf with blow on blow. The giant staggers and totters like an oak under the steel of the woodman — he falls ! — he falls ! " " Front-de-Boeuf ? " exclaimed Ivanhoe. " Front-de-Boeuf ! " answered the Jewess. "His men rush to the rescue and drag Front-de-Boeuf within the walls." " Ah ! " exclaimed the knight ; "do the false yeomen give way ? " " No ! " exclaimed Eebecca, " they bear themselves right yeomanly — the Black Knight approaches the pos- tern ^ with his huge axe — the thundering blows which he deals, you may hear them above all the din and shouts of the battle — stones and beams are hailed down upon the bold champion — he regards them no more than if they were thistle-down or feathers ! " " Ha ! " said Ivanhoe, raising himself joyfully on his couch, "methought there was but one man in England that might do such a deed ! Seest thou nought, Eebecca, by which the Black Knight may be distinguished ? " 32 THE PLANTAGENETS— PJOHARD I. "Notliing," said the Jewess; ''all about him is black as the wing of the night raven. Nothing can I spy that can mark him further ; but having once seen him put forfch his strength in battle, niethinks I could know him asfain amona; a thousand warriors. He rushes to the fray as if he were summoned to a banquet. There is more than mere strength, — there seems as if the whole soul and spirit of the champion were given to every blow which he deals upon his enemies. God for- give him the sin of bloodshed ! — it is fearful, yet mag- nificent, to behold how the arm and heart of one man can triumph over hundreds." The Knight-King- Prepares for War. — The oppor- tunity of surpassing his rival, for which Richard had .been longing, soon came. Since the time of William Rufus, all Europe had been stirred up by a grand reli- gious movement. Jerusalem, the City of the Great King, was in the hands of infidels — followers of Maho- met, despisers of our Lord. Pilgrims, seeking to wor- ship at the Holy Sepulchre, had been plundered by mocking unbelievers. All Europe was summoned to fight for the Faith ; and, in myriads, the religious and the warlike answered the call. Every soldier wore upon his breast the sign of the cross, all were Crusaders ; the war was a Holy War. Richard, confident in his matchless prowess, seized upon such an enterprise as the one certain way of exalting himself above Philip of France. " Give us," said he, " but lance in hand and an equal field, and they shall soon see who is fittest to lead a Christian host." All his resources were devoted to this end. Scotland's allegiance, royal estates, crown jewels, everything that THE THIRD CRUSADE. 33 he could sell, were readily given up in order to equip a force for this romantic war. 1. Eleanor of Poitou. 2. Provence, the southern part of France be- tween the Rhone and the Pyrenees. The Romans called this part of Gaul their ^ro- vince, lience the name. S. Troubadour, the poet-singer of the south ; corresponding to the trouvire or romancer of the north. 4. Languedoc,%he name applied to Provence (see above) from the language spoken there, called Langue d'Oc; the corresponding northern dialect was known as the Langue d'Oil. Both names were derived from their words for j/es— the former (oc) from the Latin hoc, this ; the latter (oil) from the Latin illud, that. 5. Herculean, like Hercules, the Greek hero- god of strength. 6. Abridged from the Siege of the Norman Castle of Torquilstone, in Scott's ' Ivanhoe.' The speakers are Ivanhoe, a wounded Saxon kniglit, and Rebecca, a Jewess — both pri- soners in the castle. Tliey were rescued by Robin Hood and his archers, aided by the Black Knight who was none other than King Richard in disguise. 7. Fetterlock, i.e., the padlock for securing the fetters ; the device on the Black Knight's shield indicated the captivity from which he had recently escaped. 8. Front-de-Boeuf, brow of the ox, or bull-head. 9. Postern, a small side or back gate. THE THIRD CRUSADE. 1189-1194. THE Soldiers of the Crescent.-^ — Palestine was at this time under the rule of a noble and enlightened Saracen prince, Saladin the Great. This illustrious warrior had established a magnificent empire extending from Tripoli ^ to the Tigris ; Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia,^ all owned his sway; a million scimitars* flashed at his command. These Saracens were Arabs and followers of Mahomet; but although unbelievers, they were not uncivilised. In architecture, astronomy, medicine, mathematics, and domestic comfort, they far surpassed the warlike Crusaders. You will not wonder then that one great effect upon Europe of these wars was a great advance in art and science, together with an increase of wealth and commerce. These ' soldiers of the Crescent ' fought without the heavy armour of the Christian knights. Their horses (3) C 34 THE PLANTAGENETS— RICHARD I. were light and swift ; tlie turban took the place of the helmet ; their weapons were the keen scimitar, the sharp javelin, and the swift arrow. Quickness and dexterity, rather than strength and weight, were their best qualities as soldiers — qualities especially valuable on a sandy soil and under a blazing eastern sun. It was, then, into a war with such oppoj^ents that Richard plunged. His determination to surpass Philip was his impelling motive, his religious enthusiasm was CRUSADERS AND SARACENS. his warrant, his chivalrous delight in strife and victory threw a halo of enjoyment round the whole enterprise. The Journey to Palestine. — Richard and Philip met on the plain of Vezelay in Burgundy.^ Their army numbered 1 00,000 men. Knights in splendid armour, yeomen with sword and lance, cross -bowmen and archers, formed a force which nothing but dissension and jealousy could defeat. Richard's heart must have swelled with martial pride. 1^0 army under the sun could cope with the Christian THE THIRD CRUSADE. 35 host ; and no knight in all that force could match the peerless Paladin ^ of England. Marseilles^ Messina^ Cyprus^ mark different stages on the route to Palestine. The French army went by Genoa. ^^ It has been noted that while they sailed from that port in hired ships, the English made their voyage in vessels of their own. The whole force spent the winter at the Sicilian port, for the mariners of that age shrank from the dangers of a voyage in the stormy season. This delay was most unfortunate. Had the enthusiasm which animated the crusading armies been at once directed against the Saracen foe, the mutual jealousy of the two kings might have had no opportunity of showing itself, and victory would have been certain. As it was, the rancorous spirit of the leaders so infected the whole of their followers that the two parties nearly engaged in fierce combat. The contrast between the monarchs was now well seen. Richard, fierce and warlike, impatient of control, ever ready to appeal to arms, was called ' the Lion ; ' Philip, smooth and conciliating, stooping to listen to all who could be of service to him, trusting rather to policy and plot than to prowess, was dubbed ^ the Lamb.'' For various reasons Richard refused to wed Philip's sister, Alice, to whom his father had betrothed him, and married Berengaria of Navarre.^^ This offence was never forgiven. The two great leaders of the Crusade left Sicily not merely as rivals but as bitter enemies. In the Holy Land. — At length more than a year after the march to Marseilles, the English army landed at Acre on the north-west coast of Palestine. This port had been strongly fortified by the Saracens, and was 36 THE PLANTAGENETS— RICHARD I. defended by a garrison under the command of Saladin's teacher in the art of war. For two years the Crusaders '^^? EICHAKD AT ACRE. had striven in vain to take this fortress. In fact, the besiegers had become the lesieged ; for the Christian THE THIRD CRUSADE. 37 army had been surrounded by a force led by the Saracen king himself, and no way of escape was left to them except by sea. It was at this crisis that Richard and Philip arrived. At once the tide of victory turned ; and, had it not been for mutual jealousy and hatred, Jerusalem would have been won. The rival nations strove to surpass one another in deeds of valour. Richard, in particular, aroused the enthusiasm of the whole crusading force, and excited the wondering dread of the unbelieving foe. Then he right nobly won his name not only of ' Lion ' but of ' Lion- heart ; ' and to him and him alone, all but his per- sonal foes ascribed the glory when Acre fell. His passionate pride once more undid the work done by his mighty arm. PALESTINE. The Duke of Austria had planted his standard upon one of the towers of Acre, but Richard tore it down and mor- tally insulted his adversary by striking him a blow. At the same time Philip of France withdrew from the Crusade, and left behind him but a small part of his force. There followed a period of suffering and cruelty : of cruelty, for the prisoners were slain on both sides ; and of suffering, for famine cut off hundreds of the poorer people, and compelled even noble knights to hire themselves as servants. From Acre Richard led his army along the coast 38 THE PLANTAGENETS— RICHARD 1. towards tlie strong fortress of Ascalon. On his way tliither he was met at Arsouf^ near Jopjja^ by a great army of 300,000 men. Then was fought one of the greatest battles of that age. The two wings of the crusading army were broken and defeated ; the centre, led by Richard himself, alone retrieved the fortunes of the day. He won a complete victory, and 40,000 Saracens are said to have fallen. Joppa was immediately taken, and Ascalon soon fell. But the spirit of the Christian army was broken. Germans, Italians, and French were obstinately deter- mined to proceed no further. Richard advanced towards Jerusalem, but was forced to halt within sight of its walls. He was summoned back to relieve Joppa, which had been attacked by Saladin. Here he won his last victory, and the fruitless crusade ended in a three years' truce, and thus Richard's great scheme fell to the ground. The spot is still shown where Richard looked upon ' the Holy City,' ' the joy of the whole earth.' The rosy dawn broke over the distant hills, ' the mountains round about Jerusalem ' shone with celestial beauty in the fresh morning light. Before him lay the spots rendered sacred by — " Those blessed feet, Which eighteen hundred years ago, were nailed For our advantage on the bitter cross." The Holy Sepulchre was almost within his grasp. Covering his eyes with his hand, he wept bitter tears of regret and disappointment. "He who is not able to win you, is not worthy to look upon you," he exclaimed in bitterness of heart. THE CHUSADER'S RETURN. 39 Once more lie showed how this ^ kingdom of Jeru- salem ' had filled his heart. As the ship was bearing him away from its sunlit strand, he placed himself in the stern where he could catch the last glimpse of the receding shore. With outstretched hand and uplifted eye, he cried out, '' Holy Land ! dear Holy Land ! I leave thee now, but I shall soon return and set thee free or die amid thy fields." Was it for this he had drained his island-realm of treasure and of men ? Was it for this so many fearless swords had flashed and so many brave hearts bled ? Perhaps in that moment of exceeding sorrow he thought upon the sad face of his dead father, to whom he had given the cruellest wound, who had seen the cherished purpose of his life brought to nought, and who also had been forced to weep over the loss of the town as dear to him as life. 1. Crescent. The Mahommedan symbol was the Cresceiit or growing moon, just as that of the Christians was the Cross. 2. Tripoli, in North Africa, between Tunis and Egypt. 3. Mesopotamia, literally the country between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. 4. Scimitars, sharp curved swords. 5. Burgundy, a province in the south-east of France. 6. Paladin, a champion or hero : derived from palatinue, the name applied to the officers in the palace of the Byzan- tine emperor. It was afterwards applied to the chieftains in Charlemagne's army, and so came to mean a distinguished warrior. 7. Marseilles, the chief port of France on the Mediterranean. 8. Messina, a port in the north-east of Sicily, on the straits of the same name. 9. Cyprus, an island in the Levant, now occu" pied by England. 10. Genoa, a famous port on the north-west coast of Italy. 11. Navarre, a province on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees, then an independent king- dom. THE CRUSADER'S RETURN. CAPTIVITY of Richard. — On his way homewards, Richard twice suffered shipwreck ; and, being afraid to venture into France, he determined to travel in dis- guise across Austria and Germany.-^ Near Vienna, he was captured and imprisoned by the Duke of Austria, whom 40 THE PLANTAGENETS— RICHARD I. lie had insulted at Acre. He was now loaded with irons and confined in a loathsome dungeon. All Europe rung with indignation at such an outrage on the hero of Christendom.^ Still his captors held him fast. He was sold to the Emperor of Germany, and was by him treated with equal barbarity. He now tasted the bitterness of ' benefits forgot.' His brother John eagerly joined with Philip of France and his other ene- mies, strove to per- petuate his impri- sonment, declared that he was dead, and sought to have himself crowned as King of England. In spite of all, he was at last set free, but only on tlie payment of an enormous ransom,^ which his English subjects gladly impoverished themselves to produce. Closing- Events of the Reign. — The eff'ect of this crusade had been to advance still further the union of all the divisions of France into one nation. The Normans would no longer accept the Angevin prince as their own Duke, and Richard had to rule them as a KICHARD AND LEOPOLD AT ACRE. THE CRUSADER'S RETURN. 41 foreign conqueror ; their strongholds he garrisoned with mercenaries, among whom the old Norman names were missing. Philip, aided by John, had invaded Normandy ; Eichard was set free just in time to hold him in check upon the frontier, and soon compelled him to agree to a truce. The southern province of Aquitaine* had also risen in revolt ; the nobles there were disgusted with the inso- lence of the hired soldiery. Richard was able, however, to reduce the rebels to submission; for in actual war- fare, none could withstand the Lion-heart. He now built a strong castle on an islet in the Seine, above Rouen the capital of Normandy. It was meant to serve the double purpose of keeping back Philip from without and of keeping down the Normans within. It was called ' Saucy Castle,' and was the strongest fortress reared in the Middle Ages. Its building occupied but one year ; and as Richard looked upon its impregnable walls, he exultingly cried, ' How pretty a babe is mine, this child of but one year old.' " I will take it," said Philip, " though its walls be of brass." " I should hold it," jeeringly answered his rival, " though its walls were of butter." The close of Richard's reign was sadly typical of a life of almost continual broil and battle. He was sorely in need of money. He heard that a treasure — twelve golden statues — had been found by one of his vassals. To the Castle of Chaluz^ he led his army and demanded the treasure. When this was refused, he declared that he would put the whole garrison to the sword. As he was riding round, scanning the walls and forming his plan of attack, a solitary arrow sped from the ramparts and pierced his shoulder. An unskilful surgeon caused the wound to fester, and it finally proved fatal. 42 THE PLANTAGENETS— RICHARD I. 1 Tlie castle was taken and all put to tlie sword. The archer^ wlio liad wounded tlie king was reserved for special puniskment. When brought before Richard, the dying prince said to him : " What have I done to you that you should take my life ? " . - " You have slain my father and my two brothers," was the bold reply. " I am ready to bear any torture for having rid the world of so troublesome a tyrant." Richard ordered him to be rewarded and set free, an instance of that knightly generosity which compensated for his occasional acts of passion. But no sooner had the great Crusader expired, than his soldiers put the archer to a cruel death. Effects of the Reign upon our History. — During the last months of his reign, Richard had placed the supreme power in the hands of Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, who had been trained by the great lawyer Glanvill. This statesman carried still further the legal plans of Henry II. The king's courts were made still more supreme over the local courts, and they exercised their power very strictly. Thus all classes were gradually led to think of the crown as their common oppressor. The nobles more and more looked upon the Saxons as fellow-Englishmen ; the Saxons no longer regarded the barons as their brutal tyrants, from whom the king was their sole protector. So that although France and Pales- tine occupied so much of Richard's attention, yet his neglect of this country but helped forward the grand union of all sections of the people into one great nation. 1. Ricliard wished to reach the territory of his relative the Duke nf Saxony. 2. Christendom, the Christian countries of Europe. 4. Aquitaine, that part of France between the Loire and the Pyrenees. 5. Chaluz, near Limoges, in Limousin, one of the central provinces of France. 3. The ransom amounted to 150,000 silver marks. 6. Named Bertrand de Jourdon. THE CRUSADER'S RETURN 44 THE PLANTAGENETS— JOHN. ACCESSION OF JOHN AND LOSS OF NORMANDY. 1199-1205. HARACTER of John. — John is declared by all oliro- niclers to have been the vilest of men. No services ren- dered to him could win his gratitude ; no promises were observed by him ; no virtue was respected by him. Father and brother alike he had betrayed ; and now we shall find him ready to steal the inheritance of his young nephew, and to deprive him of eyesight and of life. Yet this despicable king was gifted with great ability. Some of his measures prove him to have been as shrewd a statesman as his father, and at other times he showed himself a more skilful general than his brother. Yet he had none of the regard for just law which digni- fied the former, nor the heroic courage and personal prowess which won admiration for the latter. Finally, his conduct disgusted all who came in contact with him. Thus, in spite of his splendid talents, he lost all for which his race had striven ; was humiliated as no English sovereign had ever been ; and died ' unwept, unhonoured, and unsung.' Yet from this vile prince his subjects were able to wrest a priceless acknowledgment of their rights ; and thus from the worst of her monarchs JOHN. ACCESSION OF JOHN AND LOSS OF NORMANDY. 45 England derived blessings as great as she received even from the best and wisest of her kings. John and Arthur. — The son of Henry II. who was next in age to Richard was Geoffrey. Accordingly, his son Arthur was the rightful heir ; but John, in defiance of feudal law, seized the crown of England and the duke- Table showing Akthur's Claim to the Throne. Henry II. Richard I, Geoffrey. John. I Arthur. dom of Normandy. The queen-mother, Eleanor, secured for him the southern part of his French dominions, and to Arthur was left only the central portion. Philip of France, carrying- out his old policy, seized the opportunity of destroying the power of his rival. He declared for Arthur, and war commenced. John, with remarkable ability, formed a combination amongst all Philip's enemies. This made the French king pause ; and then John won him over by proposing a marriage between Philip's son Louis and his own niece Blanche."^ Poor Arthur's claims thus, for a time, fell to the ground ; and John seemed to have a firm hold of every part of his empire. The wicked shamelessness of the English king soon revived the war. He put away his wife,^ and carried off the betrothed bride of a French count. ^ This countess he made his queen. At once, the southern part of France rebelled ; the English barons demanded their 46 THE PLANTAGENETS— JOHN. rights, and refused to leave their country to fight in France ; Philip renewed the war, and Arthur again put forward his rightful claim. John managed to capture his nephew, and cast him into prison.* He was never seen by his friends again. THE DEATH OF ARTHUE. The story is that John ordered his eyes to be put out ; but that the man sent to do the cruel deed relented and could not commit so hideous a crime. It was whispered that one gloomy night John himself, taking the youth in a boat to the middle of the Seine, stabbed ACCESSION OF JOHN AND LOSS OF NORMANDY. 47 him to the heart, and threw his body into the dark waves of the rolling river. Our great poet Shakespeare^ gives a somewhat different account of his death. He tells that after Arthur's eye- sight had been spared, he endeavoured to escape from captivity, but was accidentally killed in the attempt. The story is best given in the dramatist's own words : — Arthur. The wall is high ; and yet will I leap down. Good ground, be pitiful and hurt me not ! There's few, or none, do know me ; if they did, This ship-boy's semblance hath disguised me quite. I am afraid ; and yet I'll venture it. If I get down, and do not break my limbs, I'll find a thousand shifts to get away : As good to die and go, as die and stay. \Leaps down. Oh me ! my uncle's spirit is in these stones — Heaven take my soul, and England keep my bones ! [^Dies. Arthur's death excited so intense a horror in the minds of all that, in two years, all John's French pos- sessions were stripped from him, and England was com- pletely severed from France. This is a most important fact in the history of both countries — a step in the progress of each towards national unity. 1. Blanche of Castile, daughter of John's sister Eleanor, who had married Alphonso IX. of Spain. 2. Hadwisa of Gloucester, a Saxon lady. 3. Isabella of Angouleme, the betrothed of tlie I Count of Marche, whom she married after the death of John. 4. Arthur was captured at Mirabeau in Poitou ; and imprisoned at Falaise in Normandy, whence he was removed to Rouen. 5. King John, Act IV. Scene III.