Britain in the Middle Ages Part 7

The figure of the artist is to be seen inside the barrier, turning from the scene as though he were not interested]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE PARLIAMENT OF EDWARD I

This picture probably dates from the 16th century]

Then the King planned to take not only from the richest of the n.o.bles and the priests but also from the treasure chests of the citizens. When he was about to make war and desired money, he sent out a letter asking not only the bishops and barons to meet him but two knights from every s.h.i.+re and two citizens from every city and two burgesses from every borough.

The new comers were at first flattered to sit with the great barons, but soon they found it very troublesome, for the King asked for much money, the journey to the meeting place was often long and dangerous and the King would take no excuses for absence. Then the members began to find fault with the King and to ask how he spent the money, and they made even the strong man Edward sign again the Great Charter.

There is an old picture of one of these parliaments and in it the artist has drawn, not only the two Archbishops seated on either side of the King but also the King of Scotland and the Prince of Wales, but this no doubt he did to show the power of Edward I over these princes, for they never really were in Parliament. The judges sat on the four woolsacks which faced one another. On the right of the King sat the Archbishops, Bishops and Abbots; on the left, the great lords; and opposite him the Commons stood.

CHAPTER XIX

THE CONQUEST OF WALES

In the old days, the Britons had fled before the Northmen, who came conquering from the east-ward; but those who dwelt in the mountain fastnesses of the west had been secure from Saxon and Norman foes.

Their country was called Wales or the land of the foreigner, by all who heard of it. Between England and Wales lay the borderland or Marches as the Normans named it, and there the troublesome Norman barons had been given lands by the King to keep them far from the court and busy with their wild neighbours.

When Edward ruled in England, Llewelyn, "towering above the rest of men, with his long red lance, and red helmet of battle, crested with a fierce wolf," was Prince of Snowdon. The bards sang of his fame and prophesied that he should rule from sea to sea. "Men spoke of the return of King Arthur, they whispered that the Northmen should be driven back to their fatherland" and the nation waited in expectation.

Llewelyn desired to marry the daughter of one of the Lords of the Marches and to find friends among those barons. Edward, fearing this, captured the bride on her way to Wales and summoned the prince to London to do homage for his lands; but he would not come.

"We dare not submit to Edward," said the Welsh, "nor will we suffer our prince to do so, nor do homage to strangers whose tongue, ways and laws we know nought of."

So the King raised an army and marched into their country by way of the old Roman road along the north coast. His army marched untroubled with heavy stores and baggage, for Edward was a great soldier and had planned that his fleet should attend him, sailing in sight of the coast, till they reached the island of Anglesey, the granary of the Welsh.

As he marched, he gave orders to build strong castles. Builders and architects were as busy as soldiers and there was great rivalry amongst them. Some boasted of the number of towers, some of their size, some of the speed at which they were able to build. The fine castle of Conway was made from the stones of a stronghold close by. Carnarvon and Beaumaris were built to guard the island of Anglesey, and Caerphilly looked towards the lands of the South Welsh.

Llewelyn, hidden in the wilds of Snowdon, hoped ever that the King would risk a march into these unknown paths, but he waited in vain.

Then Llewelyn fought on the coast road, but with dismay he saw himself cut off on all sides but one, and, looking towards the south, he knew it to be his only way of escape, and that was the land of his enemies.

There, it is said, he died, by the treachery of the South Welsh, as he stood upon the bank of a river, but the South Welsh say that he was slain in battle by his enemies, the English.

Then Edward summoned the Welsh to meet him at Carnarvon Castle, where he promised they should do homage to a new Welsh Prince, whom he would choose. When the day came, he showed to them his eldest son, who had just been born at Carnarvon, and they paid homage.

Among the laws which he made, he bade the Welsh speak English, but to this day they can speak in their own tongue. "My people," said the Welsh chieftain, "may be weakened by your might and even in great part destroyed, but unless the wrath of G.o.d be on the side of its foe it will not perish utterly, nor deem I that other race or other tongue will answer for this corner of the world before the Judge of all at the last day save this people and the tongue of Wales."

CHAPTER XX

THE WAR WITH SCOTLAND

The old King of Scotland, dying, left his kingdom to his little granddaughter, the Maid of Norway, who was only seven years old. Edward planned to marry her to his son the Prince of Wales and so make England and Scotland one kingdom. He sent a s.h.i.+p to bring her from Norway in the winter and he stored it with good things, with toys and sweetmeats for the voyage.

The weather was stormy and Margaret died on the voyage. There was much woe in Scotland and trouble in the English King's mind. Many Scottish n.o.bles claimed the crown and they asked Edward to choose amongst them.

It was a difficult matter but Edward was trusted, for all men praised him as the Lion of Justice.

He chose Balliol to rule over them, but this man proved himself of no wisdom and little counsel and his rivals Bruce and the Red Comyn were more powerful than he.

Balliol thought to win favour of the Scots by defying the English King.

Edward then harried the land and carried off the Stone of Destiny from Scone. This stone was said to be Jacob's Pillow and had been brought to Ireland long ago and thence into Scotland. On it, all the Kings of Scotland had sat to be crowned and it was put in Westminster Abbey, where it still lies underneath the coronation chair. English barons were sent to rule Scotland but they were not so wise as Edward and there was bitterness among the people.

In their distress, they found a leader in William Wallace, who drilled them to fight on foot against the foreigner, for they were too poor to buy horses and ride into battle in costly armour. On the field, they stood close together, shoulder to shoulder, awaiting the onslaught of the knights, and then they fought with spear and battle-axe.

The English soldiers were taken by surprise, for they had never heard of such a strange army nor seen such steady ranks of men. Edward, however, was a thoughtful general, and he soon learned to use his Welsh archers to trouble the Scots and break their lines. Yet when they were driven from the field, he found he could not rule in Scotland as he had done in Wales, for it was a barren land and the Scots were a hardy people.

Now there was a great feud between Bruce and the Red Comyn. One day when the two met, they entered a church to talk and Bruce killed his foe on the steps of the high altar and, rus.h.i.+ng out, he cried to his men, "I doubt I have slain the Red Comyn." "Ye doubt? I make certain,"

cried one of his followers as he pushed his way into the church.

The people of Scotland were angry for this sin in their hero, but they could not do without him, for Wallace had been caught and hanged as a traitor. So they crowned the Bruce in the old city of Scone, and the golden circlet was placed upon his head by the Countess of Buchan, whose husband was with the invader.

Many stories are told of these times and of the high courage of the Scots, for there were great perils in this strife and there was hunger and cold and faithlessness.

Hearing of the deeds of this man, who had once paid vows to him, Edward, now an old man, led his armies northward again. There on the Borderland he died, leaving this charge to his son, that he should rest neither day nor night till he was prince of Scotland also.

Yet the young King turned his face towards London to make ready for his coronation and wedding. Then the Bruce became indeed King of Scotland, and seven years afterwards, when it was too late, the English King marched with his men to the field of Bannockburn. There he was defeated and from the shame of that day he could never escape.

The Scots harried the north of England for many a year. They rode on swift ponies, carrying only a tin platter and a bag of oatmeal for food, drinking from the streams and eating flesh when they could catch wild deer or mountain sheep or the fat oxen in the pastures. It was a hard matter to find this army, for they rode hither and thither silently, surely and swiftly. Thus was Scotland separated from England for many a generation.

CHAPTER XXI

THE WAR WITH FRANCE

In the days of "the courteous knight" and King, Edward III, a great war was waged with France, for the English merchants complained bitterly that the French had troubled them as they pa.s.sed bearing wool to the great markets. So bold had the French become that they had harried the Isle of Wight and burned many villages along the southern sh.o.r.e.

As the King pa.s.sed over seas to make war, he came in sight of the harbour of Sluys, "and when he saw so great a number of s.h.i.+ps that their masts seemed to be like a great wood, he demanded of the master of his s.h.i.+p what people he thought they were."

He answered and said, "Sir, I think they be men laid here by the French King, and they have done great displeasure in England, burnt your town of South Hampton and taken your great s.h.i.+p, Christopher." "Ah," quoth the King, "I have long desired to fight with the Frenchmen, and now shall I fight with some of them by the grace of G.o.d and S. George."

The battle began with the sound of trumpets and drums and other kinds of music and "it endured from the morning till noon, for their enemies were four to one and all good men of the sea." But the English fought so valiantly that they obtained the victory and Edward received the t.i.tle of Lord of the Seas.

Some years later, Edward led his men into France to take Paris, but he found that a great army was drawn up to defend the city and that the bridges over the rivers had been destroyed. Many of his soldiers fell sick, so he hastened towards Calais. Then the French King gave chase.

On the hill of Crecy, Edward III drew up his men to await the enemy.

While they were waiting, a great thunderstorm burst over the land, and the King gave orders that the archers should cover their bows with their cloaks lest the heavy rain should spoil them. But the French King, in his haste, urged his men forward, and, wet and weary, they came in sight of their foe.

When the French King saw the hosts on the hill, "he hated them" and bade the Italian crossbowmen, whom he had hired, begin the attack. They said their strings were slack and they could not fight that day, but he called them cowards and bade them fall on.