THE PLANTAGENET LINE.

Henry II.

D. He was the son of Matilda and of Geoffrey Plantagenet, and grandson of Henry I. B. at Mans, 1133. M. Eleanor of Poitou. Dd. at Chinon, July 6, 1189. R. 34½ years (1154 to 1189).

1157. Henry invaded Wales: his army surprised and nearly cut off.

1162. Thomas a Becket appointed archbishop of Canterbury. Differences soon arose between him and the king.

1164. Constitutions of Clarendon drawn up. Becket fled to France.

The constitutions were sixteen in number. The most important were,—that clergymen charged with crimes should be tried in the civil courts;—that all causes not strictly ecclesiastical should be tried in the same courts;—that no clergyman of high rank should leave the country without the king’s consent;—that no appeals should be made to Rome without his consent;—that no tenant-in-chief, or officer of his household, should be excommunicated without his consent;—that the king should enjoy the revenues of vacant sees;—and that no prelate should be elected without his assent.

1165. Henry invaded Wales a second time, and defeated the Welsh on the banks of the Cieroc, in Denbighshire.

1169. Richard Strongbow, earl of Pembroke, and other knights, aided Dermot in his attempt to recover the kingdom of Leinster, from which he had been driven.

1170. Henry and Becket were reconciled. Becket returned to England, and was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral (Dec. 29).

1171. Henry invaded Ireland, and was acknowledged lord of the country.

In the second year of his reign (1155) he had obtained a bull from Pope Adrian IV. (Nicholas Breakspear, the only Englishman who ever sat on the papal throne), authorizing him to subject the people of that country, but hitherto other affairs had prevented him from undertaking the enterprise.

1173. Three of Henry’s sons rebelled against him, and were aided by the kings of France and Scotland.

1174. William, king of Scotland, invaded the country, and was defeated and taken prisoner at Alnwick (July 12). Henry did penance at the tomb of Becket. William released on agreeing to a treaty by which Scotland was declared a vassal dependency of England.

1176. England divided into six circuits, and ITINERANT JUSTICES APPOINTED TO TRY CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CAUSES IN EACH COUNTY.

1183. Civil war between Henry’s children.

1187. Richard revolted against his father, and joined Philip II. of France. Saladin captured Jerusalem.

1189. Peace concluded between Henry and Philip at Tours; the terms unfavourable to Henry.

In this reign the common law of England probably originated.

Richard I., surnamed Cœur de Lion.

D. He was the eldest surviving son of Henry II. B. at Oxford, 1157. M. Berengaria, daughter of Sancho, king of Navarre. Mortally wounded while besieging the castle of Chaluz; he died April 6, 1199. R. 9½ years (1189 to 1199).

1189. Massacre of the Jews in London, and the next year at Lincoln, Norwich, York, and other towns.

1190. The king set out for Palestine to take part in the third Crusade for the recovery of Jerusalem. He joined Philip at Messina.

1191. Richard arrived at Acre and captured the town, which had been besieged for nearly two years. Philip returned to France. Battle of Arsoof, in which Richard defeated Saladin.

1192. Richard concluded a truce with Saladin, and left Palestine. He was taken prisoner in passing through Austria.

1194. Richard released on paying a heavy ransom. He engaged in war with Philip, who had encouraged his (Richard’s) brother John in his designs on the English crown.

1196. An insurrection broke out in London under William FitsOsbert.

1198. Richard defeated Philip of France at Gisors.

In this reign lived the famous outlaw Robin Hood, sometimes called earl of Huntingdon.

John, surnamed Lackland.

D. He was the brother of Richard. B. at Oxford, 1166. M. (1) Hadwisa, heiress of the earl of Gloucester, from whom he was divorced; (2) Isabella, daughter of the count of Angoulême. Dd. at Newark, Oct. 19, 1216. R. 17½ years (1199 to 1216).

1199. Arthur, son of John’s elder and deceased brother Geoffrey, recognized as Richard’s successor in Anjou, Maine, and Touraine.

1202. Arthur besieged his grandmother, Queen Eleanor, in the castle of Mirabeau. John raised the siege, and captured his nephew, whom he is supposed to have murdered.

1203. John, being summoned by Philip II. of France, his lord superior, to answer for the death of Arthur, refused to attend his court, and was declared to have forfeited all his lands in France.

1204. Philip II. conquered Normandy. Before the close of the next year, all the English possessions except Aquitaine fell into the hands of the French.

1205. Death of Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury.

1206. John invaded France, and after some successes consented to a two years’ truce.

1207. Stephen Langton appointed archbishop of Canterbury by the pope. This led to a serious quarrel between the king and pope, as the former refused to recognize the archbishop.

1208. The king granted the citizens of London liberty to appoint a mayor every year. The pope laid England under an interdict.

The object of the interdict was to induce John to acknowledge the archbishop. When a country was laid under an interdict the churches were closed, no bells tolled, and all public ecclesiastical functions ceased, except confession, the baptism of infants, and the sacrament of the dying. The bodies of the dead lay unburied, or were interred in unconsecrated ground without any prayer or service of the priest.

1209. John excommunicated by the pope.

1210. He invaded Ireland, and 20 chieftains repaired to his court, and did homage. The next year he invaded Wales, and dictated terms of submission to Llewellyn, the Welsh chief.

1212. The pope deposed John, and offered the crown to Philip II., who began to make active preparations for an invasion.

1213. The English crossed the channel, captured some French ships, and burnt Dieppe. John surrendered the kingdom to the pope, and received it back as his vassal.

1214. Philip defeated an allied English, German, and Flemish army at Bouvines, in Flanders (July 27).

1215. The English barons, unable to bear any longer the arbitrary and tyrannical government of the king, took up arms against him, and compelled him to grant a charter, known as MAGNA CHARTA. The pope annulled the charter; and the king, refusing to abide by it, collected foreign mercenaries, and ravaged the lands of the barons.

Magna Charta (or the Great Charter), is justly recognized as the keystone of English liberty. It contained 63 clauses, among the most important of which were that no freeman should be dispossessed of his property, imprisoned, or outlawed contrary to law;—that justice should not be sold, delayed, or refused to any one;—that no one should be fined except by his peers, and in proportion to his fault;—that no taxes save certain therein specified should be granted except by parliament;—that justices should go through each county four times a year to try causes;—that weights and measures should be justly fixed;—and that merchants should have liberty to enter and leave the country, except in time of war.

With the grant of Magna Charta commences the history of the English Nation.

1216. The confederated barons offered the crown to Louis (son of Philip II., and husband of John’s niece). He accepted their offer, and landed in England.

Henry III., of Winchester.

D. He was the eldest son of John. B. at Winchester, 1207. M. Eleanor, daughter of Raymond Berenger, count of Provence. Dd. at Westminster, Nov. 16, 1272. R. 56 years (1216 to 1272).

1216. The king being only nine years old, the earl of Pembroke was appointed regent.

1217. Louis’ army defeated at Lincoln (May 20). Hubert vanquished and nearly destroyed a fleet sent to assist Louis, who now finding his cause hopeless, returned to France.

1219. Death of Pembroke. His authority shared between Hubert de Burgh and Peter des Roches: the latter retired from office in 1224.

1225. The Great Charter confirmed and ratified in the form it has ever since retained.

The chapters relative to forests and warrens had been withdrawn from the charter a few years before, and, with certain modifications, formed into a separate charter, called the Charter of Forests, which was now confirmed.

1232. Hubert de Burgh removed from office, and succeeded by his old rival, Peter des Roches.

1242. Henry invaded France, and was defeated by Louis IX. at Taillebourg in Saintonge.

1258. The king’s misgovernment, which had lasted through a series of years, led the nobility, headed by Simon de Montfort (earl of Leicester, and brother-in-law of the king), to endeavour to check his arbitrary power; and at a parliament held at Oxford, unjustly called THE MAD PARLIAMENT, they drew up some ordinances for the reformation of the Government, known as THE PROVISIONS OF OXFORD.

Two of the most important provisions were, that four knights should be chosen by the freeholders of each county to ascertain and lay before parliament all wrongs committed by the royal officers, and that parliaments should meet thrice in the year.

1259. Henry formally renounced all claim to the English possessions in France lost in John’s reign, and Louis IX. ceded to him Limousin, Querci, and Perigord.

1261. Henry refused to abide by the Provisions of Oxford, and tried, though without success, to recover his authority by forcible means.

1264. The Barons’ War. The barons, led by Simon de Montfort, resorted to arms, and defeated Henry at Lewes (May 14). He and his brother Richard taken prisoners.

The next day a treaty, called the Mise of Lewes, was concluded, by which it was agreed that Prince Edward and his cousin Henry should be kept as hostages for their fathers, and that all matters that could not be amicably settled in the next parliament should be referred to arbitration. Simon de Montfort, in the king’s name, summoned a parliament to meet early in the following year.

1265. ORIGIN Of POPULAR REPRESENTATION IN PARLIAMENT. The first parliament, to which representatives for cities and boroughs were summoned, met at Westminster. The royalists, under Prince Edward, who had escaped from his keepers, overthrew the barons at Evesham (Aug. 4). Simon de Montfort fell in the battle.

1270. The country being restored to tranquillity, Prince Edward took the cross, and set sail for the Holy Land.

Edward I., surnamed Longshanks.

D. He was the eldest son of Henry III. B. at Westminster, 1239. M. (1) Eleanor, daughter of Ferdinand III., king of Castile; (2) Margaret, daughter of Philip III. of France. Dd. at Burgh-on-the-Sands, near Carlisle, July 7, 1307. R. 34½ years (1272 to 1307).

1274. Edward returned to England.

1277. He invaded Wales, and compelled Llewellyn to submit to very humiliating terms.

1279. Statute of Mortmain passed; all lands granted to the church without the king’s licence were to be forfeited.

1282. Insurrection in Wales. Llewellyn surprised and slain in the valley of the Wye, near Builth (Dec. 11).

CONQUEST OF WALES.

1283. David, brother of Llewellyn, executed for high treason.

1284. Wales formally annexed to England by the Statute of Wales, enacted at Rhuddlan. Prince Edward born at Caernarvon. He was afterwards declared prince of Wales.

1290. The Jews, 15,000 in number, expelled from the kingdom.

1291. Edward, having been called in to decide the claims of several competitors for the Scottish crown, required the nobles and competitors to acknowledge him feudal lord of Scotland.

1292. He conferred the crown on John Baliol, who had indisputably the best claim.—Death of Roger Bacon, a Franciscan friar, a famous experimental philosopher, and the inventor of the magnifying glass.

1294. Quarrel with France. Philip by an artifice obtained possession of Guienne. The duchy was restored in 1303.

1296. WAR WITH SCOTLAND. Baliol revolted against Edward. The latter invaded Scotland, and captured Berwick. The earl of Surrey gained a great victory over the Scots at Dunbar (April 27). Baliol made his submission, and was sent to the Tower.

1297. The clergy, who had been very heavily taxed in this reign, on refusing a new demand, were outlawed by the king, and their property was seized for his benefit. To recover it, they were compelled to make a large payment. The Scots, under Sir William Wallace, utterly routed the English at Cambuskenneth, near Stirling (Sept. 10). A statute called Confirmatio Chartarum enacted, by which the Great Charter, and the Charter of Forests, were solemnly confirmed.

These charters were to be read in cathedral churches twice a year; excommunication was pronounced against the breakers of the charters; and no new taxes were to be levied except by consent of parliament.

1298. Edward invaded Scotland, and completely defeated Wallace at Falkirk (July 22).

1303. Battle of Roslin (Feb. 24), in which the advantage lay with the Scots.

1304. Surrender of Stirling Castle. Conquest of Scotland completed.

1305. Wallace captured, and executed as a traitor.

1306. Robert Bruce, grandson of one of the competitors for the Scottish crown, assumed the title of king. He was defeated at Methven (June 19), and escaped to the Western Isles.

1307. Bruce emerged from his retreat at Rathlin, and defeated the English at Loudon Hill (May 10). Edward determined to punish the Scots, and marched northward, but his intention was frustrated by death.

Edward II., of Caernarvon.

D. He was the son of Edward I. B. at Caernarvon, 1284. M. Isabella, daughter of Philip IV. of France. Deposed, Jan. 20, 1327. Murdered in Berkeley Castle, Sept., 1327. R. 19½ years (1307 to 1327).

1308. The nobles compelled the king to banish his favourite, Piers Gaveston.

1309. Having succeeded in mitigating the hostility of the barons, he recalled his favourite, who had been governor of Ireland during his absence from England.

1310. A parliament, assembled at Westminster, obtained the king’s reluctant consent to the appointment of a committee of peers called ordainers, who were to draw up ordinances for the reformation of the state, and the regulation of the king’s household.

1311. The ordinances were drawn up and accepted by the king.

Among the ordinances were the following:—that Gaveston should be banished for ever;—that the new taxes on wool, cloth, and wine should be abolished;—that the king should not leave the kingdom, nor undertake war, without the consent of the baronage in Parliament;—that all the great officers of the crown should be chosen with their assent;—and that parliaments should be held once a year, or twice if need be.

1312. Gaveston, who had retired to Flanders, returned. He was seized and executed on Blacklow Hill, near Warwick. Suppression of the order of Knights Templars.

1314. Edward invaded Scotland. Bruce gained a splendid victory at BANNOCKBURN (June 24). Independence of Scotland re-established.

1322. The earl of Lancaster, a prince of the blood, who had risen against the king and his second favourite, De Spenser, defeated at Boroughbridge, in Yorkshire (March 16), and executed at Pomfret.

1327. Edward deposed by the influence of the queen and her favourite, Roger Mortimer.

In this reign the assumption prevailed that no important business could be transacted without the sanction of parliament; and the House of Commons began the practice of coupling the grant of supplies with the redress of grievances.

Edward III., of Windsor.

D. He was the son of Edward II. B. at Windsor, 1312. M. Philippa, daughter of William, count of Hainault. Dd. at Shene (Richmond), June 21, 1377. R. 50½ years (1327 to 1377).

1327. Parliament appointed a council of regency, at the head of which was Henry, earl of Lancaster; but all the real power was exercised by the queen and Mortimer. The Scots, under Bruce, invaded England; and Edward, in pursuing them, narrowly escaped capture.

1328. Peace concluded between the two countries, by which the independence of Scotland was completely recognized.

1329. Death of Robert Bruce, and accession of his son, David II.

1330. Mortimer seized by the king, condemned, and executed. Isabella confined to her castle at Risings.

1333. Edward supported Edward Baliol (son of John Baliol), in his attempt to obtain the crown of Scotland, and gained an important victory at Halidon Hill (July 19). Berwick, which he had been besieging, surrendered the next day.

1339. WAR WITH FRANCE. Edward invaded France.

This war arose mainly from two causes:—1, the aid that the French had rendered to the Scots in the late war; 2, Edward’s claim to the French crown. Louis X., Philip V., and Charles IV. had died in succession without male issue; and as females were excluded from the throne, Philip of Valois was chosen king (1328), and Edward, though he had claimed the crown, did homage to him for the duchy of Guienne as his liege lord. Edward’s claim, as son of Isabella, sister of these three kings, was essentially defective, for he had to contend, that though females were excluded, such exclusion did not apply to their children; but, admitting that such children were eligible, Charles of Navarre, grandson of Louis X. (born after Edward had put forth his first pretension), had a better right than he. After the campaign of 1340 it is probable that Edward would have totally abandoned the enterprise had it not been for a revolution in Brittany, which furnished him with another opportunity of taking up arms.

1340. Edward gained a great victory over the French fleet at Sluys (June 24).

1345. Henry, earl of Derby, defeated the French at Auberoche, in Perigord (Oct. 23).

1346. Edward gained a glorious victory over the French at CRESSY: about 30,000 of the enemy slain (Aug. 26). David II. invaded England, and was defeated and captured at Nevil’s Cross, near Durham (Oct. 17).

1347. Calais surrendered to Edward after a siege of 11 months. Truce with France.

1349. England ravaged by a great pestilence called the Black Plague. 50,000 persons are said to have died in London alone. There was a second plague of 1361, and a third in 1369. Order of the Garter established. Statute of Labourers passed: labourers ordered to work at the ordinary wages for any one who required their services.

1351. Second Statute of Labourers passed, fixing the wages of labourers and artificers. Statute of Treason, defining the crime of high treason. Statute of Provisions, forbidding the presentation of benefices by the pope.

1355. Renewal of the war with France.

1356. Edward’s eldest son, the Black Prince, defeated and captured King John near Poitiers (Sept. 19).

1358. A terrible insurrection of the peasants against the nobles broke out in France.

1360. Treaty of Bretigny, between England and France (May 8).

Edward renounced his claim to the crown of France, and the ancient possessions of his family, but he was to hold, in full sovereignty, Calais, Guisnes, Ponthieu, Poitou, Guienne, and their dependencies.

1362. A statute passed, enacting that pleadings in law courts should be conducted in English.

1367. The Black Prince aided Don Pedro of Castile, and gained the battle of Navarette, by which the tyrant was restored to his throne.

1370. The bishop and people of Limoges having admitted a French garrison, the Black Prince invested and captured the town: 3,000 men, women, and children were butchered in cold blood.

1374. The only possessions that the English retained in France were Calais, Bordeaux, Bayonne, and a few places on the Dordogne.

1376. Death of the Black Prince.

In this reign justices of the peace were appointed. Growth of the power of parliament. Windsor Castle rebuilt and enlarged by William of Wykeham, a famous architect, afterwards Bishop of Winchester.

Richard II., of Bordeaux.

D. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince. B. at Bordeaux, 1368. M. (1) to Anne of Bohemia, sister of the Emperor Wenceslaus; (2) to Isabella, daughter of Charles VI. of France. Deposed, Sept. 29, 1399. Said to have been murdered in Pontefract Castle, 1400. R. 22¼ years (1377 to 1399).

1379. A capitation tax, ranging from £6 13s. 4d. to 4d. per head, imposed by parliament.

1380. A capitation tax voted, of twelvepence per head, on every person above 15 years of age.

1381. Wat Tyler’s Insurrection: caused immediately by the capitation tax, and its rigorous mode of collection. The insurrection broke out in Kent under Tyler, and in Essex under Jack Straw. The rebels marched to London, and committed great excesses. Richard met them at Smithfield, where Tyler was struck down by the Lord Mayor, and slain. Several concessions were granted to the insurgents, and afterwards revoked.

1384. Death of John Wycliffe, the ‘Morning Star of the Reformation.’

This famous divine, born in 1324, held doctrines very similar to those of the Reformers of the sixteenth century: and by his efforts and those of his disciples they were extensively spread among the people. His followers were called Wycliffites, or Lollards. His writings are very numerous, but the most celebrated is his translation of the Bible into English.

1385. The Scots having made incursions in the north of England, Richard advanced against them, and burnt Edinburgh, Dunfermline, Perth, and Dundee.

1386. The king’s favourites, De Vere, duke of Ireland, and De la Pole, earl of Suffolk, removed from office, and Suffolk impeached. Richard compelled to entrust the government to a council of regency, with the duke of Gloucester, one of his uncles, at the head.

1387. De Vere raised forces in the king’s behalf, but was defeated at Radcot Bridge, in Oxfordshire.

1388. The Wonderful Parliament assembled: five of the king’s counsellors convicted of high treason, and two executed. De la Pole and De Vere escaped out of the country. Henry Percy (Hotspur) defeated by the Scots in the battle of Chevy Chase at Otterburn (Aug. 10).

1389. Richard recovered his authority.

1390. Navigation Act: merchandise to be exported in English vessels only.

1392. Statute of Præmunire passed.

Persons who purchased, in the court of Rome or elsewhere, bulls or other papal instruments, were to be brought before the king and his council to answer for their conduct, and were liable to outlawry and loss of lands and goods.

1397. The duke of Gloucester arrested and conveyed to Calais, where it was generally believed he was murdered.

1398. A Parliament at Shrewsbury reversed the acts of the Wonderful Parliament. Richard banished the Duke of Hereford (Henry Bolingbroke) for ten years, and the duke of Norfolk for life. The king’s power nearly absolute.

1399. Richard visited Ireland. During his absence Hereford, who, by his father’s death, had become duke of Lancaster, invaded England professedly to recover his estates and honours. On Richard’s return he obtained possession of his person, and forced him to resign the crown. He then claimed the vacant throne, which was bestowed on him.

In this reign peers were first created by patent. Westminster Hall was rebuilt.