Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.
In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.
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Flowers of History by Roger of Wendover is in Late Medieval Books.
925 Coronation of King Athelstan
1135 Coronation of King Stephen
1138 Battle of the Standard aka Northallerton
1152 King Louis and Queen Eleanor's Annulment
1152 Marriage of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
1154 Coronation of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
1189 Coronation of King Richard I
Roger of Wendover's Flowers Of History. Comprising The History Of England From The Descent Of The Saxons To A. D. 1231. Formerly Ascribed To Matthew Paris. Translated from the Latin By J. A. Giles, D.C.L. Late Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. In Two Volumes. Vol. II. London: Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. M.DCCC.XLIX.
[4th September 925] His eldest son Æthelstan was made king and consecrated by Athelm, archbishop of Canterbury, at the royal town of Kingston.
1055. Victor governed the Roman see two years, three months, and thirteen days.
1055. In the same year, Siward, duke of Northumberland [aged 45], died, and king Eadward [aged 52] conferred that dukedom on Tosti [aged 29], duke Harold's [aged 33] brother. Not long after this, king Eadward held a council at London, and banished from England earl Algar, who thereupon went into Ireland, where he got eighteen piratical vessels, and joining himself to GGriffin king of Wales, made incursions into the kingdom of England. Having invaded Herefordshire, they were met by duke Ranulph, son of king Eadward's sister; but at the first onset Ranulph and his men fled; whereupon Algar and Griffin pursued the fugitives and slew five hundred of them. After this victory they entered the city of Hereford, and having slain seven ecclesiastics who defended the doors of the cathedral, they burned that church with its ornaments and relics. Then, after slaying some of the inhabitants, and taking others captives, and burning the town, they retired with a rich booty. On hearing of this deed, king Eadward assembled a large army at Gloucester, and giving it in command to Harold, son of Godwin, he ordered him to make a fierce attack on the enemy. Accordingly, he boldly entered Wales and advanced with his army as far as Snowdon; but Algar and Griffin, well acquainted with Harold's valour, avoided an encounter. After terribly ravaging Wales, Harold marched to Hereford, which he environed with a broad and high rampart, and strengthened the city with gates and bars. At length, by the intervention of messengers, a peace of short duration was made between Algar and the king. In the same year, Hermann bishop of Ramesbury, annoyed at the king's refusal to allow the episcopal seat to be transferred to Salisbury, resigned his bishopric, and crossing the sea, assumed the monastic habit at St. Bertin's, and remained three years in that monastery. The first bishop of Ramesbury was Ethelstan, the second Odo, afterwards archbishop of Canterbury, the third Osulf, the fourth Algar, the fifth Elstan, the sixth Siric, the seventh Alfric, the eighth Brithwold, who continued from the time of king Ethelred to St. Eadward. We read of this Brithwold, that in the time of king Cnute, he would frequently turn his thoughts to the English royal race, then well nigh destroyed, and would wonder whether it would ever be restored, and that one night, as he lay on his bed musing on this subject, he was caught up on high, where he saw Peter, the prince of the apostles, holding in his arms Eadward the future king, then in Normandy, whom he consecrated to be king, and foretold that he would lead a life of celibacy and reign twenty-four years. It is said also that Brithwold inquired respecting the succession of the kincrs of England, and received this answer, " The kingdom of England belongs to God, and he will provide himself kings." The aforesaid Hermann returned to his bishopric, and, with king Eadward's leave, united the bishopric of Sherborne with that of Ramesbury, and transferred the cathedral see to Salisbury.
Bishop Levegar slain.
1056. Ethelstan bishop of Hereford died, and was succeeded by Levegar, duke Harold's chaplain. This prelate, who was a model of piety, was slain by Griffin king of Wales, who burnt the city of Hereford. Levegar was succeeded by Walter who continued to the time of King William. In the same year Egelric bishop of Durham voluntarily left his bishopric, and took the monastic habit at Peterborough, where he lived an exemplary life twelve years.
King Eadward recalls his nephew.
1057. Eadward king of England [aged 54], being advanced in years, sent Aldred bishop of Worcester into Hungary, and recalled thence Eadward [aged 41], son of king Eadmund his brother, with the intention of making him his successor. Eadward came accordingly, with his son Eadgar [aged 6] and his daughters Margaret [aged 12] and Christina, but died not long after his arrival in the city of London, leaving the king the charge of his son Eadgar and his daughters before mentioned.
31st August 1057. On the thirty-first of August in the same year died Leofric earl of Chester, a man of praise-worthy life; he was buried in the monastery which he had founded at Coventry. Having founded this monastery by the advice of his wife the noble countess Godiva, he, at the prayer of a religious woman, placed monks therein, and so enriched them with lands, woods, and ornaments, that there was not found in all England a monastery with such an abundance of gold and silver, gems and costly garments.
Before 31st August 1057. The countess Godiva, who was a great lover of God's mother, longing to free the town of Coventry from the oppression of a heavy toll, often with urgent prayers besought her husband, that from regard to Jesus Christ and his mother, he would free the town from that service, and from all other heavy burdens; and when the earl sharply rebuked her for foolishly asking what was so much to his damage, and always forbade her ever more to speak to him on the subject; and while she, on the other hand, with a woman's pertinacity, never ceased to exasperate her husband on that matter, he at last made her this answer, "Mount your horse, and ride naked, before all the people, through the market of the town, from one end to the other, and on your return you shall have your request." On which Godiva replied, "But will you give me permission, if I am willing to do it?" "I will," said he. Whereupon the countess, beloved of God, loosed her hair and let down her tresses, which covered the whole of her body like a veil, and then mounting her horse and attended by two knights, she rode through the market-place, without being seen, except her fair legs; and having completed the journey, she returned with gladness to her astonished husband, and obtained of him what she had asked; for earl Leofric freed the town of Coventry and its inhabitants from the aforesaid service, and confirmed what he had done by a charter. The said earl also, at the instigation of his countess, munificently enriched with lands, buildings, and various ornaments the churches of Worcester, St. Mary of Stone, and St. Wereburg, with the monasteries of Evesham, Wenloc, and Lenton.
On the death of Henry, King of England
Whilst king Henry [aged 67] was in Normandy, he one day returned from hunting, and stopped at St. Denys, in the wood of Lions [Map], to eat some lampreys, a fish which he was very fond of, though they always disagreed with him, and the physicians had often cautioned him against eating them, but he would not listen to their advice. This food mortally chilled the old man's blood, and caused a sudden and violent illness, against which nature struggled, and brought on an acute fever, in the effort to resist the worst effects of the disease. Unable to overcome the malady, this great king died on the first day of December [1135], after he had reigned thirty-five years and three months. His death was foreshown by a violent wind, which, on the eve of the apostles Simon and Jude [28th October], cast down towers, and houses, and trees on every side: the moon also was eclipsed the same year, on the 29th of July. This king founded the abbeys of Reading, Cirencester, de Pre near Rouen, and Mortimer, and built twenty-five noble towns, besides towers and castles.
Anno Domini mcxxxv. Rex Henricus moratus in Normannia cum die quodam a venatu rediisset apud sanctum Dionysium in silva Leonum carnes comedit murænarum quæ ei semper nocebant et eas semper supra modum amabat; et, cum medici eas comedere prohiberent, non adquievit rex consilio salutari. Haec igitur comestio, pessimi humoris illatrix et consimilium vehemens excitatrix, senile corpus lethaliter refrigidans subitam et summam perturbationem effecit; contra quam natura renitens febrem excitavit acutam, ad impetum materiei gravissimse dissolvendum; cum autem resistere vi nulla potuisset, decessit rex magnus, cum regnasset triginta quinque annis ac tribus mensibus, prima die Decembris. lllius autem obitum ventus vehemens præsignavit, qui in vigilia apostolorum Simonis et Judas turres et sedificia dejecit et arbores usquequaque subvertit; luna etiam eclipsim passa est eodem anno quarto kalendas Augusti. Cœnobia fecit rex, de Radingis, de Cirencestre, de Prato ante Rothomagum, et de Mortuo-mari; municipia vero, præter turres et castella, viginti quinque opere sumptuoso construxit.
Annals of the six Kings of England by Nicholas Trivet
Translation of the Annals of the Six Kings of England by that traces the rise and rule of the Angevin aka Plantagenet dynasty from the mid-12th to early 14th century. Written by the Dominican scholar Nicholas Trivet, the work offers a vivid account of English history from the reign of King Stephen through to the death of King Edward I, blending political narrative with moral reflection. Covering the reigns of six monarchs—from Stephen to Edward I—the chronicle explores royal authority, rebellion, war, and the shifting balance between crown, church, and nobility. Trivet provides detailed insight into defining moments such as baronial conflicts, Anglo-French rivalry, and the consolidation of royal power under Edward I, whose reign he describes with particular immediacy. The Annals combines careful year-by-year reporting with thoughtful interpretation, presenting history not merely as a sequence of events but as a moral and political lesson. Ideal for readers interested in medieval history, kingship, and the origins of the English state, this chronicle remains a valuable and accessible window into the turbulent world of the Plantagenet kings.
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The corpse of the king lay a long time above ground at Rouen, where his entrails, brain, and eyes are buried; the rest of his body, cut with knives and seasoned with salt to destroy the offensive smell, which was great, and annoyed all who came near it, was wrapped in a bull's skin; and the physician who was engaged for a large sum of money to open his head with a hatchet, and extract the brain after it was already too much corrupted, notwithstanding that the head was wrapped up in several napkins, was poisoned by the noisome smell, and thus the money which he received was fatal to him; he was the last of king Henry's victims, for he had killed many before. The royal body was conveyed from thence to Caen, where it was placed in the church before the tomb of his father, who also reposes there. Immediately, a bloody and frightful liquor began to ooze through the bull's skin, which the attendants caught in basins, to the great horror of the beholders. At length the king's corpse was brought to England, and buried with royal pomp on his birth-day [3rd January 1136], at Reading [Map], in the church which he had himself founded. The archbishops, bishops, and nobles of the kingdom were present at the ceremony.
How Stephen, son of Theobald count of Blois, was crowned king.
26th December 1135. When Henry was dead, but before his body was buried, as I have before related, Stephen [aged 41], his nephew by his sister Adela, wife of Theobald count of Boulogne, and brother of Theobald the younger, count of Blois, a man of great bravery and vigour, although he had taken the oath of fidelity to the empress, now tempted God, and seized the crown of the kingdom. For when the nobles of the kingdom were assembled at London, he promised that the laws should be reformed to the satisfaction of every one of them, and William archbishop of Canterbury, who was the first of all the nobles to take the oath of fidelity to the empress as queen of England, now consecrated Stephen to be king. In fine, all the bishops, earls, and barons, who had sworn fealty to the king's daughter and her heirs, gave their adherence to king Stephen, saying that it would be a shame for so many nobles to submit themselves to a woman. Meanwhile, Hugh Bigod, king Henry's seneschal, took the oath, and proved before the archbishop of Canterbury, that whilst the king was on his death-bed, he disinherited the empress, and made Stephen his successor. Wherefore, on the day of the proto-martyr St. Stephen, the new king received the crown of the kingdom from the hands of William archbishop of Canterbury, at Westminster, amid the acclamations and favour of the people; and a royal banquet was held with the utmost splendour. The coronation was completed with much magnificence, and when the ceremony of doing homage was finished, king Stephen proceeded to Oxford, where he confirmed the promises which he had made to God, the people, and the holy church, on the day of his coronation, as follows:
The Feast Day of St Stephen the 26th of December probably chosen since he was his namesake.
Of the enmity of the Scots towards king Stephen. A. D. 1138.
Conrad obtained the Roman empire, and reigned fifteen years. The same year king Stephen, on his birth-day, besieged Bedford castle, saying, that one's enemies should never be let rest for even an hour but before he could reduce the castle, the Scots, with their king, led an army into Northumberland, and perpetrated a most execrable deed. For because their king had sworn fealty to the empress, they now avenged her cause by tearing children from their mother's womb, and tossing them upon the points of their lances: they slew priests upon the altars, cut off the heads of the crucifixes, and placed them on the decapitated corpses, putting in their places the bloody heads of their victims; wherever they went, it was one scene of cruelty and terror; women shrieking, old men lamenting, and every living being in despair. King Stephen, therefore, marched with his troops towards Scotland; but before he reached that country, the Scottish king retired into his own dominions and withdrew to his fastnesses. King Stephen, having ravaged the south of Scotland, returned to England. There was at this time so violent a fury against him among the nobles, that he was disturbed on almost every side. William Talbot held Hereford castle against him; Robert earl of Gloucester, illegitimate son of king Henry, held the castles of Leeds and Bristol; William Luvell held Castle Cary; Paganel held Ludlow; William de Moiun held Dunster castle; Robert of Lincoln held Warham; Eustace Fitz-John held Melton; William Fitz-Alan held Shrewsbury. The king took the last-named of these fortresses by storm, and hanged some of the garrison; which coming to the ears of Walkeline, who held Dover castle, he immediately surrendered it to the queen who was besieging it.
How the king of Scotland again invaded Northumberland.
Whilst king Stephen was thus engaged in the south of England, David king of Scots led an immense army into Northumberland. Here he was met by the northern nobility, who, under the command of Thurstan archbishop of York [aged 67], planted the king's standard at Alverton1, and manfully resisted the enemy. The principal men engaged in this battle were William earl of Albemarle [aged 36], William of Nottingham, Walter Espec and Gilbert de Lacy. The archbishop was prevented by illness from being present, but sent in his place Ralph bishop of Durham [Note. Possibly Bishop Radulf Novell, Bishop of Orkney?] to remind the people of their duty. His speech to them, from an eminence in the midst of the army, was after this fashion: "Brave nobles of England, Normans by birth, at whose prowess the bravery of France trembles, and to whose arms fierce England has submitted, under whose government rich Apulia2 has again flourished: Jerusalem, so famous, and illustrious Antioch have both bowed before you, and now Scotland, which by right is subject to you, dares to resist you, and displays a rashness which is not supported by her arms, fitter, as she is, for a riot than for a battle. Do not then be afraid, but rather be indignant that those, whom we have always sought out and conquered in their own country, have now, reversing the usual order, madly sought us out upon our own ground. But I, your bishop, tell you that this has been done as a divine warning, that those who have in this country violated the temples of God, polluted his altars, slain his priests, and spared neither children nor women with child, may on this same soil receive condign punishment for their crimes. Be brave then, ye polished warriors: and with the valour which belongs to your race, nay rather with the foreknowledge of God, repulse these craven foes who know not how to arm themselves in the day of battle3 Do not look out for any doubtful contingencies such as happen in war. Your breast is covered with your coat of mail, your head with the helmet, your legs with greaves, and all your bodies with your shields: the enemy cannot find where to strike you, for he beholds you surrounded on every side with arms. Why then should you hesitate unarmed and unwarlike? But the enemy are advancing in disorder and forbid me to say more, they are pouring forward in a scattered manner, at which I rejoice. Whichever of you shall fall fighting for God and your country, we absolve him from all punishment due to his sins, in the name of the Father, whose creatures the foe has so shamefully and horribly slain; of the Son, whose altars they have polluted; and of the Holy Ghost, whose grace they have set at naught, in perpetrating such enormous acts of wickedness." All the English army replied to this address with a shout, and the mountains and hills re-echoed Amen, Amen!
Note 1. North Allerton.
Note 3. The Normans in Naples.
Note 3. Is this an allusion the Scottish peculiarity of costume?
22nd August 1138. Of the pitched battle between the Scots and English.
The Scots hearing the shout, like women, raised their usual war-cry of Alban! Alban! which was, however, soon drowned in the dreadful rush of the engaging armies. A body of the men of Lothian, who had obtained from the king [aged 54] the honour of striking the first blow, with numbers of missiles and with their long lances, bore down impetuously upon the mailed English knights, but fell upon them like as upon a wall, for they remained immovable. The English archers, then mingling with the cavalry, poured their arrows like a cloud upon the Scots, pierced all who were not protected by their armour, whilst the whole English line and the glory of the Normans, crowding around the standard, remained firm and unshaken. The commander of the men of Lothian fell slain by an arrow, and his men all took to flight. For the most high God was offended with them: therefore their valour was broken like a spider's web in the battle. The main body of the Scots, which was fighting in another part of the field, seeing their comrades routed, lost courage and retreated also. But the king's troops, who were of different clans, began first to flinch individually, and afterwards to recoil in a body, though the king still stood firm: but his friends compelled him to mount his horse and fly, whilst his brave son [aged 24], heeding not the flight of the rest, but solely bent on acquiring glory, charged the lines of the enemy with headlong valour, though his men could do no execution on knights that were sheathed in mail; but at last they were forced to take flight, not, without much bloodshed, and were ignominiously driven off the field in all directions. It was reported that eleven thousand of the Scots were slain, besides those who were found mortally wounded in the corn-fields and woods: our army happily triumphed with very little loss of life, and all the knights, the brother of Gilbert de Lacy was the only one slain. This battle was fought in the month of August, by the people who lived in the country beyond the Humber. The same year, in the month of October, the count of Anjou compelled the inhabitants of Orismes to surrender, and laid siege to Bayeux and Falaise.
21st March 1152. The same year, Louis king of France was divorced from his queen Eleanor; for they were connected with one another in the fourth degree of consanguinity.
How Henry duke of Normandy married Eleanor.
18th May 1152. Henry duke of Normandy married queen Eleanor, divorced the year before from king Louis, by which marriage, in addition to his duchy of Normandy and county of Anjou, he acquired the duchy of Aquitaiiie and county of Poictou. When king Louis heard of this, he was greatly incensed against duke Henry, for he had two daughters already by the aforesaid Eleanor, who would be disinherited if she should bear a son by any other husband.
On the 7th of December he landed in England, and was received with much joy, both by the clergy and the laity, and on the 19th of December [1154], being the Sunday next before Christmas day, he was saluted king with universal acclamation, and crowned at Westminster by Theobald archbishop of Canterbury, in the presence of the archbishops, bishops, and barons of both England and Normandy. As soon as he was made king, he began to resume possession of the cities, castles, and towns which belonged to the crown, to destroy the rebellious castles, to expel the foreigners, and principally Flemings, from the kingdom, and to depose the pseudo-earls, on whom Stephen had lavishly bestowed almost all the proceeds of his exchequer.
Of the coronation of king Richard the first,
Duke "Richard, when all the preparations for his coronation were complete, came to London, where were assembled the archbishops of Canterbury, Rouen, and Treves, by whom he had been absolved for having carried arms against his father after he had taken the cross. The archbishop of Dublin was also there, with all the bishops, earls, barons, and nobles of the kingdom. When all were assembled, he received the crown of the kingdom in the order following: First came the archbishops, bishops, abbats, and clerks, wearing their caps, preceded by the cross, the holy water, and the censers, as far as the door of the inner chamber, where they received the duke, and conducted him to the church of Westminster, as far as the high altar, in a solemn procession. In the midst of the bishops and clerks went four barons carrying candlesticks with wax candles, after whom came two earls, the first of whom carried the royal sceptre, having on its top a golden cross; the other carried the royal sceptre, having a dove on its top. Next to these came two earls with a third between them, carrying three swords with golden sheaths, taken out of the king's treasury. Behind these came six earls and barons carrying a chequer, over which were placed the royal arms and robes, whilst another earl followed them carrying aloft a golden crown. Last of all came duke Richard, having a bishop on the right hand, and a bishop on the left, and over them was held a silk awning. Proceeding to the altar, as we have said, the holy gospels were placed before him together with the relics of some of the saints, and he swore, in presence of the clergy and people that he would observe peace, honour, and reverence, all his life, towards God, the holy church and its ordinances: he swore also that he would exercise true justice towards the people committed to his charge, and abrogating all bad laws and unjust customs, if any such might be found in his dominions, would steadily observe those which were good. After this they stripped him of all his clothes except his breeches and shirt, which had been ripped apart over his shoulders to receive the unction. He was then shod with sandals interwoven with gold thread, and Baldwin archbishop of Canterbury anointed him king in three places, namely, on his head, his shoulders, and his right arm, using prayers composed for the occasion: then a consecrated linen cloth was placed on his head, over which was put a hat, and when they had again clothed him in his royal robes with the tunic and gown, the archbishop gave into his hand a sword wherewith to crush all the enemies of the church: this done, two earls placed his shoes upon his feet, and when he had received the mantle, he was adjured by the archbishop, in the name of God, not to presume to accept these honours unless his mind was steadily purposed to observe the oaths which he had made: and he answered that, with God's assistance, he would faithfully observe every thing which he had promised. Then the king taking the crown from the altar gave it to the archbishop, who placed it upon the king's head, with the sceptre in his right hand and the royal wand in his left; and so, with his crown on, he was led away by the bishops and barons, preceded by the candles, the cross, and the three swords aforesaid. When they came to the offertory of the mass, the two bishops aforesaid led him forwards and again led him back. At length, when the mass was chanted, and every thing finished in the proper manner, the two bishops aforesaid led him away with his crown on, and bearing in his right hand the sceptre, in his left the royal wand, and so they returned in procession into the choir, where the king put off his royal robes, and taking others of less weight, and a lighter crown also, he proceeded to the dinner-table, at which the archbishops, bishops, earls, and barons, with the clergy and people, were placed, each according to his rank and dignity, and feasted splendidly, so that the wine flowed along the pavement and walls of the palace. All this took place on Sunday the third [3rd September 1189] before the nones of September.1
Of the persecution of the Jews.
Many Jews were present at this coronation, contrary to the king's command; for he had caused proclamation to be made the day before, that no Jews or women should attend, on account of the magical incantations which take place sometimes at royal coronations. But the courtiers laid hands on them, although they came in secret, and when they had robbed and scourged them dreadfully, they cast them out of the church; some of them died, and others could hardly be said to have life left in them. The populace of the city hearing of this attack of the courtiers on the Jews, made a similar assault on those who remained in the city, and, after they had put to death numbers of both sexes, and razed to the ground or burned their houses, they plundered their gold and silver, their writings and valuable garments. Those of the Jews who escaped being put to death, took refuge in the tower of London, and afterwards, by taking up their residence secretly here and there among their friends, they caused others to become rich by their own losses. This persecution began in the year of their jubilee, which they call the year of remission, and it hardly ceased before the end of the year, so that what ought to have been to them a year of remission, was turned into a jubilee of confusion. On the morrow, when the king heard of the wrong that had been done them, he chose to consider it as a wrong done to himself; wherefore, he caused three of them to be apprehended, tried by the judges of his court, and hanged one of them because he had stolen something belonging to a Christian; and the other two, because they had kindled a fire in the city, by which the house of a Christian citizen had been consumed. When the English people throughout the country heard of this attack on the Jews in London, they assailed them with one consent, and made a perfect havoc of them, slaughtering their persons and plundering their goods. But on the day after the coronation, king Richard, having received homage and the oath of fidelity from the nobles, gave orders that no Jews should suffer forfeiture, but that they should live in peace throughout all the cities of England.
Note 1. Vinesauf [Itinerary Richard] agrees with Wendover in this date; which makes it probable that Gervase, who fixes it on the 11th, is in error, for the 11th of September in that year fell on a Monday.
Of the massacre of the Jews in sundry places. In this same year, many persons throughout England who were about to journey to Jerusalem, determined previous to their departure, to cause a rising against the Jews. This first broke out at Norwich, where the Jews, as many as could be found, were slain in their own houses; some few, however, escaped, and took refuge in the castle at that place. After this, on the 7th of March [1190], many were slain at Stamford on market day; on the 18th day of March fifty-seven were said to have been slaughtered at St. Edmund's; thus, wherever the Jews were found they were slain by the hands of the crusaders, except those who were protected by the municipal officers. But we must not believe that such a massacre of the Jews was pleasing to wise men, since it is written, "Do not kill them, lest my people should forget."
Of the dreadful slaughter of the Jews at York. In the same year, during Lent, that is, on the 15th of March, the Jews of the city of York, to the number of five hundred, besides women and children, through fear of an attack on the part of the Christians, by permission of the sheriff and the governor of the castle, shut themselves up in that fortress [Clifford's Tower], and when the garrison required them to give up possession of it, they refused to do so. On this refusal, repeated attacks were made both by day and night, and at length the Jews after reflecting, offered a large sum of money for their lives, but this was refused by the people. Then one of them skilled in the law, rose and addressed his companions thus, "Oh, men of Israel, hear my counsel. It is better, as our law instructs us, to die for our law than to fall into the hands of our enemies." This being agreed to by all, each head of a family came with a sharp razor, and cut the throats first of his wife, sons, and daughters, and afterwards of all his family, and threw the dead bodies, which they considered as sacrificed to devils, on the Christians outside the castle; they then shut themselves up in the king's house, and setting fire to it, both living and dead were burned together with the buildings. After this the citizens and soldiers burned the Jews' houses, with the papers of their debtors, but retained their money for their own use.
He [Bishop William Longchamp, the Chancellor] thence went to Canterbury, and took the cross of the holy pilgrimage, laying aside that of the legateship, which he had borne for a year and a half after the death of pope Clement, to the detriment as well of the Roman as the English church. After doing this he went to Dover, attended by Gilbert bishop of Rochester, and Henry de Cornhill, sheriff of Kent, and thinking he could blind the eyes of the sailors there, he invented a new kind of fraud ; he converted the man into the woman, inasmuch as he exchanged the priest's robe for the harlot's gown. He clothed himself in a woman's green gown, with a cape of the same colour, and with a hood over his head, he went down to the beach carrying some linen cloth as if for sale. As the priest thus disguised was sitting on a rock near the shore waiting for a fair wind, a sailor who wished for some sport with the woman, was astonished to find breeches on a female, and immediately shouted aloud, "Come here, all of you, come here !" said he, " and look at a man in woman's dress ! " A number of idle women assembled, and eagerly inquired the price of the cloth which he carried for sale : he made them no answer, as not understanding the English language, on which they consulted amongst themselves ; and suspecting him to be an impostor, they laid hands on the veil which covered his mouth, and pulling it down from his nose backward, they discovered the features of a man, dark, and lately shaved. Immediately they shouted to each other, saying, "Come, let us stone this monster who is a disgrace to both sexes." A crowd of men and women got together there, and, tearing the hood from his head, they threw him down and dragged him ignominiously by his sleeves and cape over the sand and stones, injuring the prelate much. At length his followers came up to release him, but without success, for the people followed him up with insatiable eagerness, reviled him, assailed him with blows, spat on him, and after dragging him through the streets, shut him up as a prisoner in a cellar. And thus he became an object of derision to the populace, and would that he had only disgraced himself and not the whole priesthood; he who had dragged the archbishop of York to prison was himself dragged to prison, the captor was made captive, the binder was himself bound, the incarcerator was incarcerated; so that the degree of punishment may be considered as commensurate with that of the offence. At length, regardless of the hostages he had left, and the oath he had made not to leave the kingdom of England before the castles were surrendered, the said chancellor crossed sea into Normandy on the 29th of October [1191].
How the duke of A ustria sold the king of England to the emperor.
1193. King Richard remained a prisoner of the duke of Austria till that prince sold him to the Roman emperor for sixty thousand pounds of silver, Cologne weight, and then on the Tuesday after Palm Sunday he caused him to be carefully guarded ; and that he might compel the king to pay an immoderate sum for his ransom, he ordered him to be imprisoned in Treves, from which prison no one who had entered there up to that time had ever come out again, and of which place Aristotle says in his fifth book, "Bonum est mactare parentes in Trivallis1," and elsewhere it is said, "Sunt loca, sunt gentes, quibus est mactare parentes." Into this place was the king put under a strong guard of soldiers and attendants, who accompanied him wherever he went with drawn swords, day and night, and even kept guard by turns round his couch, not allowing any of his own followers to remain with him at night. None of these circumstances could ever cloud the calm countenance of the king, but he always seemed cheerful and agreeable in his conversation, and brave and daring in his acts, as time, place, cause, or person required. To others I leave the relation of his jokes to his guards ; how he made them drunk, and assaulted their huge persons by way of amusement.
Note 1. "Bonum est mactare parentes in Trivallis" i.e. "It is good to sacrifice (or slaughter) parents in Treves."
Note 2. "Sunt loca, sunt gentes, quibus est mactare parentes." i.e. "There are places, there are peoples for whom it is customary to kill their parents."
Of the wretched death of the duke of Austria [aged 37].
All this was denounced against the duke by the bishop of Verona, but he persisted in contemning the apostolic mandate, at a time too when his country was struck by an unheard-of sterility as well as by famine and disease; the river Danube, too, at this time overflowed unusually in some part of the country, and by that unexpected event ten thousand persons were drowned. But notwithstanding all these things the duke's anger was not averted, but rather was increased, and at length he himself was struck by a dreadful divine visitation; for on St. Stephen's day as he was taking recreation on horseback with his attendants, the horse on which he rode kicked violently and inflicted an incurable wound with its foot on the leg of the rider, for immediately the leg and foot together turned black and rose to a swelling, which no physician's poulticing could reduce, and the duke was most unbearably tortured by the infernal fire, as it is called, in addition to the swelling. At length being unable to endure this torture he ordered his foot to be amputated, he himself at the same time taking an axe, every one else refusing with horror; but he did not by this escape the agonies of pain, for by and by his thigh with the rest of his body was eaten away by the same fire. At length, however, he acknowledged the wicked crime which he had committed out of malice against the king and his followers, and on the persuasion of the bishops who came to him, he gave up the hostages, and the remainder of the money due for the ransom of the king, and gave his word that he would also return what he had received, and promised henceforward to be obedient to the judgment of the church. The bishops on this seeing him in such a state of misery and suffering absolved him from the ban of excommunication, and admitted him to the communion of the faithful, after which he expired in dreadful agony [on 31st December 1194]. For a long while his body remained unburied, until it swarmed with horrible worms, because his son refused to fulfil his father's command, but at length being forced to do so by his friends he released the hostages, and allowed them to return to their own country.
Of a glorious victory gained by king John at Mirabeau.
The queen being placed in this predicament, sent messengers with orders to use all speed, to the king, who was then in Normandy, earnestly beseeching him by his filial affection to come to her assistance; on receipt of this intelligence, the king hastily set out with a strong force, and travelling night and day, he accomplished the long distance quicker than is to be believed, and arrived at Mirabeau. When the French and the people of Poictou learned that the king was on his way, they went out with a pompous array to meet him, and give him battle; but when they met each other in battle order, and had engaged, the king bravely withstood their turbulent attacks, and at length put them to flight, pursuing them so quickly with his cavalry, that he entered the castle at the same time as the fugitives. Then a most severe conflict took place [1st August 1202] inside the walls of the castle, but was soon determined by the laudable valour of the English; in the conflict there two hundred French knights were taken prisoners, and all the nobles in Poictou and Anjou, together with Arthur himself, so that not one out of the whole number escaped who could return and tell the misfortune to the rest of their countrymen. Having therefore, secured his prisoners in fetters and shackles, and placed them in cars, a new and unusual mode of conveyance, the king sent some of them to Normandy, and some to England, to be imprisoned in strong castles, whence there would be no fear of their escape; but Arthur was kept at Falaise under close custody.
Translation of St. Thomas archbishop of Canterbury.
In the same year, on the day [7th July 1220] after the octaves of the apostles Peter and Paul, the body of St. Thomas the archbishop and martyr was taken out of its marble tomb by Stephen archbishop of Canterbury, in the presence of the king and almost all the bishops, abbats, priors, earls, and barons of the kingdom. It was then placed with due honours in a coffin elaborately worked with gold and jewels. At this translation were also present archbishops, bishops, abbats, priors, and numbers of others of the French kingdom, and various other countries, who eagerly assembled to be present at this great solemnity; for they considered it a most proper duty to honour and worship this holy martyr in Christ's cause, who shed his blood for the universal church, and had unflinchingly fought for it to the last.
Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Of the second Coronation of King Henry.
De secunda coronatione regis Henrici.
In the year of our Lord 1220, King Henry was at Christmas at Marlborough, still under the guardianship of Peter, Bishop of Winchester. In that same year the same king was crowned at Westminster, on the holy day of Pentecost, by Stephen, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the presence of the clergy and people of the whole realm, on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of June (that is, May 17), in the fifth year of his reign. In testimony and memory of this event there went forth a royal command and proclamation that everyone, except those in holy orders, should wear garlands of flowers.
Anno Domini MCCXX. Rex Henricus fuit ad Natale apud Merlebergiam, adhuc sub custodia Petri Wintoniensis episcopi constitutus. Quo etiam anno, coronatus est idem rex apud Westmonasterium, in die sancto Pentecostes, a Stephano Cantuariensi archiepiscopo, præsente clero et populo totius regni, decimo sexto kalendas Junii, anno regni sui quinto. In cujus rei testimonium et memoriam exiit præceptum et regale edictum ut quilibet prseter ordinatos sertis florum uteretur.
Of a dispute between the Welsh and William Marshal.
In the same year [1223] whilst William Marshal1 earl of Pembroke was in Ireland, Llewellyn king of the Welsh, with a strong force, seized on two castles belonging to the said William, and beheaded all the people he found in them, and then went away leaving his own Welsh followers in these castles. This circumstance, however, after a few days reached the ears of William Marshal, and he returned in all haste to England, where he collected a large force, and then besieged and retook the two castles; and, because all his followers who had been taken in these castles by Llewellyn had been beheaded by him, so William Marshal, in retaliation, now beheaded all the Welsh he took prisoners; and afterwards, the further to revenge himself, he invaded Llewellyn's territory and ravaged the country wherever he went with fire and sword. Llewellyn, on hearing this, came to oppose Marshall with a large force; but he having fortune on his side, boldly attacked the enemy, and, after slaying numbers of the Welsh, put all the rest to flight, and hotly pursuing them slew them without mercy; nine thousand of them were computed to have been slain and made prisoners, only a very few having escaped by flight.
Note 1. William Marshal the Younger, the 2nd Earl of Pembroke. He was the son of William Marshal who had died in 1219.
In the same year [1223] about the time of the feast of our Lord's Ascension, William Mauclerc was consecrated bishop of Carlisle by Walter archbishop of York. About the same time in the great church at York, a clear oily liquid flowed from the tomb of St. William, formerly archbishop of that church. In the same year it rained blood-coloured earth at Rome for three days, to the great wonder of numbers of people.
The capture of the castle and hanging of the knights.
In the mean time the king ordered the corn and cattle on the manors and lands of Falcasius throughout the kingdom to be seized and confiscated, that by these means he might during this lengthened siege obtain supplies at the expense of his enemy. At length the king's soldiers brought up, though not without much loss, two penthouses, which the French call brutesches, and, attacking the castle in all directions, forced the besieged to retire. The king's troops then entered the castle, and gaining possession of horses, arms, provisions, and innumerable other things, returned in triumph; the victors then attacked the tower, and destroyed a great portion of the walls. After this, the besieged seeing that they could hold out no longer, on the eve [14th August 1224] of the assumption of St. Mary, sent some of the garrison from the castle to entreat the king's mercy; but the king ordered them to be kept in close confinement till he reduced the rest to subjection. On the following day all the rest came out of the castle dreadfully bruised and wounded, and were taken before the king, who ordered them all to be hung; of the knights and soldiers of the garrison, twenty-four were hung, who could not obtain mercy from the king on account of the audacity which they had showed to him in the late siege. Henry de Braybrook came to the king safe and sound and returned him his thanks. Falcasius, in his false sense of security, believed that his followers could defend the castle from capture for a whole year; when however he learned for certain that his brothers and the rest of his friends were hung, he came under the conduct of Alexander bishop of Coventry, to the king at Bedford, and, falling at his feet, begged him to show mercy to him in consideration of his great services and expensive undertakings on behalf of him, the king, and his father, in times of war. The king then having taken advice on the subject, deprived him of all his castles, lands, and possessions, and delivered him into the custody of Eustace bishop of London, till he should determine what ought to be done with him; and thusand especially to the guilty. Concerning this change of fortune, some one thus writes:
"Thus in a month fierce Falco lost
What he had gained by years of strife;
Fate stripped him now of what had cost
Him all his former life."
and especially to the guilty. Concerning this change of fortune, some one thus writes: "Thus in a month fierce Falco lost What he had gained by years of strife; Fate stripped him now of what had cost Him all his former life." The wife of the said Falcasius came before the king and the archbishop, and said that it was not with her own consent that she had been married to him; she therefore, as she had been seized by force in time of war, and been married to him without her consent, asked for a divorce from him. The archbishop then appointed a day for her to come to him, that he might in the meantime determine what ought to be done. The king however granted her all her lands and possessions throughout England, and placed her under the care of William earl Warrenne. The king, for the great labour and expense he had been at, was granted a tax on ploughed land throughout England, namely two marks of silver for each plough; and he granted a scutage to the nobles, namely two marks of sterling money for each scutcheon; and then they all returned to their homes. The king ordered the castle to be pulled down and reduced to a heap of stones, and gave the houses and all other buildings to William Beauchamp.1
Note 1. In the same year the following bishops were consecrated: Master Alexander de Stavensby to the see of Chester by his holiness the pope at Rome, on Easter-day; and William, nephew of William Briwere the elder to the see of Exeter, and Ralph de Neville to that of Chichester, by Stephen archbishop of Canterbury: of these, Ralph bishop of Chichester was the king's chancellor, and in many dangers afterwards he was found faithful and conspicuous in the king's business, and was a firm pillar of fidelity and truth. About this time there was one Faulkes de Breaute, a native of Normandy, a bastard by his mother's side, who had lately come on a scurvy horse, with a pad on his back, to enter the king's service, and had fortified Bedford castle, although on the land of another, when John had given it to bim in the time of the war. This man trusting in his castle, his money, and some friends he had amongst the king's courtiers, all of which turned out to be no better than a reed to support him, began to seize on the lands and property of his free men and neighbours; above all he dispossessed, without judgment, thirty-two free men in the manor of Luyton of their tenements, and appropriated some common pastures to his own use. When a complaint on the matter was laid before the king, the latter appointed Henry de Braibroc and some other justiciaries, to take recognizance of the disseizing of the complainants; and when after hearing the case and the aforesaid premises which had been taken from them, were restored to them by the decree of the judges, the said Faulkes was condemned in a fine for damages and loss. Faulkes, annoyed at this and carried beyond himself, in violation of the peace of the kingdom, seized by force on Henry de Braibroc and imprisoned him in his castle of Bedford. On hearing this, the king, who was at Northampton holding a council about giving assistance to Poictou, changed his intentions at this circumstance, and turning off to the castle of Bedford, where the said Henry was confined, laid siege to it; for three successive days he sent summonses to the knights in the castle to surrender it, and S. archbishop of Canterbury, with the bishops, abbats, and other prelates, who were present excommunicated Faulkes and those who were united with them, and declared them to be outlaws. The royal troops fiercely assailed the castle by engines and by assault, and some of the king's knights fell by the arrows of the besieged cross-bow men, amongst others a distinguished knight named Giffard fell pierced by an arrow. After they had continued the siege for about nine weeks the castle was at length taken, and all the followers of Faulkes found there with their commander Mantel de Breaute, Faulkes's brother, were made prisoners, besides several English and Norman nobles, who were all condemned to be hung, as had been fully declared to them.
Of some serious charges made against the justiciary.
When people saw the king's regard for Hubert [aged 61], whom he had once so particularly favoured, changed into hatred, many of his enemies rose against him and accused him of many enormous crimes. Some accused him of having caused the death of the two nobles, William earl of Salisbury and William Marshal earl of Pembroke, by poison, and that he had killed Falcasius and Richard archbishop of Canterbury by the same wicked means. The citizens of London laid a complaint before the king that the said Hubert had hung their fellow citizen Constantine unjustly, and without any trial, for which crime they demanded justice; the king therefore issued a proclamation throughout London, calling on all who had any complaint against Hubert, for any injury to them soever, to come to him when they should have justice done them. When Hubert heard of this, he fled in alarm to the church at Merton, where he concealed himself amongst the canons.
Of the battle, in which the marshal was taken prisoner.
1st April 1234. When the troops were drawn up, the earl marshal [aged 43] saw that there were a great many to engage with only a few, he however exhorted his men to battle, asserting that he had undertaken this war for the sake of justice and the laws of England on account of the oppression of the Poietevins, thinking that they all were faithful to him, when in fact they were traitors. he then dashed boldly into the midst of the enemy, and forcing his way through them he opened a road for his knights with his sword, but only fifteen knights, his own retainers, followed him and endeavoured to disperse their enemies. His sworn dependants and knights on whom he trusted, as had been pre-agreed amongst these traitors, gave themselves up as prisoners to the enemies without force, without being wounded either by lance or sword, as if they were friends glad to see one another; some of them tied, without striking a blow, to the churches and convents, leaving the marshal with only fifteen knights. These however defended themselves bravely, unequal as the struggle was, against a hundred and forty; the whole weight of the battle however fell on the marshal, who then first discovered the treacherous design against his life, but, although attacked on all sides by his enemies, he still defended himself and slew six of them. A knight of gigantic size, to whom Richard de Burgh had given his armour, indignant at seeing this, made a rush at the marshal in order to kill him at once, and endeavoured forcibly to snatch his helmet from his head; the marshal, when he saw this man, thought that it was Richard de Burgh, and exclaimed, "Fly, vilest of traitors, lest I kill you;" to which he replied, "I will not fly, but will come nearer you;" he then lifted up his hands to seize the marshal's helmet, but the latter, by one blow of his sword, cut off both of his hands although covered with armour. Another of them, seeing his companion wounded, rushed with all the speed of his horse at the marshal, and exerting all his force struck him on his head, but owing to his helmet the blow took no effect; the earl however returned the blow and cut his enemy in two as far as the middle, after which not one of them would come near him for a long while. The leaders of his enemies, in a state of consternation, than urged on a host of people who had come there with lances, pitchforks, axes, and halberds, to surround the marshal, kill his horse, and bring him to the ground; and they at once surrounded and overwhelmed him, piercing his horse with many wounds; they could not even then however dismount him, they therefore cut off the horse's feet with their axes; the marshal then fell with his horse, overcome with fatigue, having been engaged fighting from the first hour of the day till the eleventh, and his enemies, rushing on him, lifted up his armour and mortally wounded him in the back. The nobles themselves on learning that he was mortally wounded, and lying as it were lifeless on the ground, conveyed him with scarcely any signs of life, to his own castle, which Maurice the justiciary had taken possession of but shortly before, where he was placed in close confinement and attended by only one young man of his party. He there remained in the hands of his enemies. This battle was fought on Saturday the first day of April.
Of the. death and burial of the earl marshal.
A few days afterwards the marshal [aged 42] began to recover strength so that he could eat and drink, play at dice, and walk to and fro in his room. His enemies when they saw this asked him, in the name of the king of England, to give up all his castles and lands in Ireland, since his body was now in the power and at the mercy of the king, and he could be put to a most shameful death at the king's pleasure, as he had been by a decision of his royal court first exiled and afterwards placed in a state of defiance, and now had been taken prisoner in a pitched battle against him; "It will be to your advantage," they said to him, "to do this without opposition, and thus obtain mercy from us." They also showed him the king's warrant by which they were ordered, if he should happen to come to Ireland, to take him prisoner and send him before the king dead or alive. The marshal then, knowing himself to be in the power of his enemies, at once gave orders by letter for the surrender of all his castles to the king, being ignorant that they were, by the king's warrants, granted to those nobles to be distributed amongst them, and to be by them held by hereditary right. His wounds now beginning to swell and cause him grievous pain, he asked for a physician, on which Maurice the justiciary, in whose charge he was, summoned one, rather however with a design of killing him than of giving him relief.
But the marshal [aged 43], like a true Christian, before he took any bodily medicine, prepared for death by confession and the viaticum, and by making a legal testament, and then commended to the Lord the question whether he should live or die. The physician then came to him and with a long-heated instrument laid his wounds open and probed them so often and deeply with it that he drew blood from them. The marshal from his great sufferings fell into an acute fever, and on the 16th of April [1234], which was the sixteenth day after he had been wounded in battle, he slept in the Lord.
He was buried on the following day [17th April 1234] at Kilkenny [Map], in an oratory belonging to some of the Minorite brethren, where he had whilst living built a handsome tomb. Thus died the earl marshal, a noble knight, one skilled in learning and distinguished by his manners and virtues. lie departed this life on Palm Sunday to receive from the Lord in heaven a palm for his reward; amongst the sons of men his person was so beautiful that nature seemed to have striven with the virtues in its composition.