Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/monumentalremainOOblor THE jHotmmental &emams OF NOBLE AND EMINENT PERSONS, COMPRISING Cfje ^epulcfjral anttqutttes of <©reat Brttatn, ENGRAVED FROM DRAWINGS BY EDWARD BLORE, F.S.A. WITH HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY HARDING, LEPARD, AND CO. PALL MALL EAST. 1826. LONDON : PRINTED BY THOMAS DAVISON, WHITEFRIARS. CONTENTS. 1. ELEANOR, QUEEN OF EDWARD THE FIRST. Westminster Abbey. ----- 1290 2. EFFIGY OF THE SAME. 3. BRIAN FITZALAN, BARON OF BEDALE. Bedale Church. ----- 1301 4. AYMER DE VALENCE, EARL OF PEMBROKE. Westminster Abbey. - - - - 1324 5. SIR JAMES DOUGLAS. Doug-las Church. - - - - - 1331 6. GERVASE ALARD, ADMIRAL OF THE CINQUE PORTS. Winchelsea Church. - No date to this. 7. PHILIPPA, QUEEN OF EDWARD THE THIRD. Westminster Abbey. ----- 1369 8. EFFIGY OF THE SAME. 9. THOMAS BEAUCHAMP, EARL OF WARWICK. Beauchamp Chapel, Warwick. - 1370 10. EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES. Canterbury Cathedral. - 1376 11. EFFIGY OF THE SAME. 12. KING EDWARD THE THIRD. Westminster Abbey. ----- 1377 13. EFFIGY OF THE SAME. 14. THOMAS HATFIELD, BISHOP OF DURHAM. Durham Cathedral. - - - - - 1381 15. WILLIAM OF WYKHAM, BISHOP OF WINCHESTER. Winchester Cathedral. - 1404 16. EFFIGY OF THE SAME. CONTENTS. 17. JOHN GOWER. St. Saviour's Churchy Southward. - 1408 18. KING HENRY THE FOURTH AND HIS QUEEN. Canterbury Cathedral. - 1412 19. EFFIGY OF THE SAME. 20. THOMAS FITZALAN, EARL OF ARUNDEL. Arundel Church. - - - - - 1415 21. RALPH NEVILLE, EARL OF WESTMORLAND. Staindrop Church. - 1425 22. ARCHIBALD Vth. EARL OF DOUGLAS. Douglas Church. - 1438 23. RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, EARL OF WARWICK. Beauchamp Chapel, Warwick. - 1439 24. EFFIGY OF THE SAME. 25. JOHN BEAUFORT, DUKE OF SOMERSET. Wimborn Minster. - 1444 26. HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. St. Alban's Abbey. - - - - - 1446 27. SIR JOHN SPENCER. Br'mgton Church. - - - - 1522 28. ARCHBISHOPS WARHAM AND PECKHAM. Canterbury Cathedral. - 1532 29. MARGARET PLANTAGENET, COUNTESS OF SALISBURY. Christ Church, Hampshire. - 1541 30. SIR ANTHONY BROWNE. Battle Abbey. - 1548 in Westminster Alblbey. pro or. HibhshrJ.Mareh.US25. hy Harding. Triphook Sc. ZeparcL. -Fmsbury Square. londaru. ELEANOR, QUEEN OF ENGLAND, WIFE OF KING EDWARD THE FIRST. Ob. 1290. monument at westminster. It is consolatory, in a work of this description, to turn some- times from the din of tilt and tournament, or the horrors of still more destructive warfare, (evils characteristic of, although not peculiar to, the ages concerning which we treat,) in order to con- template the milder virtues of the softer sex, and, as in the pre- sent instance, to register the name of one of the best of wives, and most amiable of sovereigns. Queen Eleanor was the only daughter of Ferdinand the Third, King of Castile and Leon, by Joan, daughter and heir to John Earl of Ponthieu, so that, in her mother's right, she was heir to that kingdom. She became the wife of Edward, during the life of his father, being married at Bures, in Spain, in 1254; and a more truly happy union can hardly be recorded in the annals of royal wedlock. For thirty-six years she was never separated from her husband, attending him through all his cam- paigns, and sharing with him in all the difficulties and dangers of his military expeditions. Connected with one of these expe- ditions is a very extraordinary anecdote, too romantic, indeed, to be literally true ; but still not unworthy of all consideration, as it shews the high estimation in which her character was held, when history does not scruple to magnify an act of attentive fondness into an exploit of more than heroic virtue : it should 1 ELEANOR, be added, that the story rests on the credit of Roderick San- tius, a Spanish prelate, who thus takes occasion to introduce the name of Queen Eleanor, in illustration of the conjugal fide- lity of his fair countrywomen. " Stat illud praeclarum non longe a nostra aetate, sed sempiternis saeculis consecrandum fa- cinus. Ut enim vera perhibent annalia, cum Eduardus regis Angliae primogenitus in domini sepulchrum transfretasset, fuis- setque in via proditorie a Mauro quodam, gladio venenato per- cussus, et medicorum remediis non tarn allevaretur quam alli- garetur, tandem in Angliam sine salutis spe est reversus. Ejus itaque uxor, regis Hispaniae filia, novam atque inauditam, sed amore et pietate plenam, adhibuit medelam : plagas enim mariti toxico infectas, quae ipsius veneni vi claudi non poterant, lingua dietim lingebat, sugebatque humorem venenosum sibique liquo- rem dulcissimum. Cujus vigore, dicam verius fidei uxoriae vir- tute, sic omnem materiam veneni attraxit, ut integratis vulnerum cicatricibus ille plene curatus, ilia incolumis evaserit. Quid igitur" (he exclaims) " hujus mulieris tide rarius audiri ? quid mirabilius esse potest ? ut uxoris lingua fide et dilectione mari- tali peruncta, venena a dilecto marito expulerit, quae ab electo medico trahi non valuerunt; et quod plurima exquisitaque non effecerunt medicamenta, una uxoris pietas explevit ?" ( Histo- ric Hispanic^ Pars I. p. 297, ed. Franco/. 1579. ) English historians relate the circumstance, and, with greater probability, attribute the recovery of the prince to an antidote speedily administered, and the removal of the infected parts, which, together with the care and attention of his wife, quickly restored him to his former health. Edmond Parlett, a Cambridge writer, who was the author of a very curious history and character of the female sex, still remaining in manuscript, notices this anec- dote, but ascribes the cure to the skill and intrepidity of the English surgeons. He adds, and Hemingford corroborates the account, that when the wound was about to be examined, 2 QUEEN OF ENGLAND. Eleanor was only removed by force from the presence of her husband. " They were faineby stronge hand to carry her out, least she should have tranced and swowned away, and so dis- turbe them ; telling her in plaine tearmes, better she weep for a time, then all the kingdome of England for his losse." It is to Eleanor that the Welsh are indebted for their first prince, a native of Cambro-Britain. The Queen was delivered of Edward, afterwards the second King of that name, at Carnar- von Castle, and it was admirable policy in his father to conci- liate the inhabitants of this newly-conquered kingdom, by con- triving that their future prince should be their countryman. " The Welsh were highly joyed,*' says Walsingham, " when they heard that the young Prince was to be known by the title of Prince of Wales, reputing him to be their legitimate sovereign, since he had been born amongst them." The incidents in the life of this amiable Queen are few, but history has handed down her name as coupled with all the do- mestic virtues, and recorded her as a rare example of active and useful benevolence. " She was," says Holinshed, almost fol- lowing the words of Walsingham, " a godlie and modest Prin- cesse, full of pitie, and one that shewed much fauour to the English nation ; readie to releeue euerie man's greefe that sus- teined wrong-, and to make them freends that were at discord, so farre as in hir laie." Walsingham adds, that her ears were always open to the complaints of the oppressed ; that she dis- couraged every act of tyranny on the part of the nobles over their dependents, a vice too common in the days of feudal power; and that she was, as it were, the pillar of the realm. Edward appears to have returned the love of his amiable consort with corresponding affection, and to have mourned the affliction of her loss with the most poignant sincerity. This event happened on the twenty-seventh of November, 1290, whilst she was accompanying her lord into Scotland : she was 3 ELEANOR, seized with a fatal disorder near Herdely, in Nottinghamshire, although some writers would erroneously have it at Grantham, in Lincolnshire, and being carried to the house of a neighbour- ing gentleman, expired, to the great grief of her husband and the whole nation. Edward immediately returned with the corpse to Westminster, having previously deposited her bowels in the Chapel dedicated to the Virgin, in the Cathedral Church of Lincoln, where a cenotaph, long since destroyed, was erected to mark the spot ; on which was placed an effigy of the Queen, finely executed in copper or latten, gilt, and round it the fol- lowing inscription : -\- Hie sunt sepulta vicera Aliunore quondam Regine Auglie, Uxoris Regis Edvardi Filii Regis Henrici. Cujus anime propitietur Deus. Amen. Pater nosier. The body was slowly removed to Westminster, the King attending as chief mourner ; and wherever the corpse rested, in its progress from Lincolnshire to the place of its interment, Edward erected so many crosses, with a statue of the Queen on each, as monuments of his affection, and in order, according to Walsingham, that all passengers might be reminded to breathe a prayer for her soul. Of these crosses, which Gough very justly remarks, are so many memorials of conjugal love, unpa- ralleled in any other kingdom, three only remain; namely, at Geddington, Northampton, and Waltham. Rymer has pre- served the King's letter to the Abbot of Clugni, requesting that mass, and the several offices for the dead, might be per- formed for the rest of her soul. This document, which speaks of his extreme attachment to her whilst living, an attachment which, he says, death has not diminished, is dated at Ashridge, January 4, 1291 . " She was buryed," says Fabian, " at West- mynster in the chapell of seynt Edwarde, at ye fete of Henry the thirde, where she hathe ii wexe tapers brennynge upon her 4 QUEEN OF ENGLAND. tumbe both daye and nyght, whiche so hath cotynued syne the day of her buryinge to this present daye." This account ap- pears in the first edition of Fabyan, printed by Pynson in 1516, as well as that by Rastell, 1533. In the subsequent copies of 1542 and 1559, the custom having in the mean time been discontinued, the editors have thought proper to omit the account of it altogether. Queen Eleanor's monument is placed on the north side of the Confessor's chapel, under one of the arches separating it from the side aisle of the choir. It consists of an altar tomb of grey marble, having the sides and two ends divided into a series of sixteen ornamental niches, six on either side, and two at each end. These compartments, which are highly ornamented, con- tain each a shield, which is suspended from foliage of oak and vine intermingled, and on every shield, alternately, are the arms of England, — three lions passant-guardant; of Castile and Leon, first and fourth a castle, second and third a lion rampant ; and of Ponthieu, three bendlets within a bordure. On a table of brass gilt, ornamented in diapers, with small lozenges, in which are engraven the arms of Castile and Leon, alternately, reposes the effigy of the Queen, over whose head is an angular canopy of metal, which has once been richly gilt. Round the verge of the table is an inscription in raised letters ; a part of it only is now visible, the remainder being concealed by the sculptures of Henry the Fifth's chapel ; but we have thought it best to print it as given by Sandford and Stebbing. • eH5b& ■ ftiLmM®'®. • • mz¥$m • we &\% • M • WEY FOTJiF • TOH • gtUJIfflle WE • HE • MF • f • • flOT - ■ MEM< On the northern side is a screen of wrought iron, of singular 5 ELEANOR, device, representing scroll-work foliage, with the heads of animals beneath. Under this, on the sub-basement of the tomb, are the very faint traces of some ancient painting. This was much obliterated in Dart's time, but enough could then be collected from it to ascertain that the subject was a sepulchre ; at the feet of which were two monks praying ; and at the head, a knight, armed, with a female figure holding in her arms a child. Over this was engraven — Regina AHonora, Consors Edvardi Primi,fuit Alionora 1290. Disce mori. And on a tablet hanging near the tomb were the following- verses, which have long since disappeared, although visible when Camden and Weever made their collections. Nobilis Hispani jacet hie soror inclita Regis, Eximii consors Aleonora thori, Edwardi primi. YVallorum principis uxor, Cui pater Henricus tertius Anglus erat. Hanc ille uxorem gnato petit; omine princeps Legati munus suscipit ipse bono. Alphonso fratri placuit f'elix Hymeneus Germanam Edwardo nec sine dote dedit : Dos prseclara fuit, nec tali indigna marito, Pontivo princeps munere dives erat. Fcemina consilio prudens, pia, prole beata, Auxit amicitiis, auxit honore virum. Disce mori. Which was thus Englished, fit of the unlearned reader : Queen Elenor is here interr'd, A worthy, noble dame, Sister unto the Spanish king, Of royal blood and fame. King Edward's wife, first of that name, And Prince of Wales by right ; on the same tablet, for the bene- Whose father Henry, just the third, Was sure an English wight, Who crav'd her wife unto his son : The Prince himself did go On that embassage luckily As chief, with many mo. 6 effect ©if (QnuneiEW iE]leass@tr. Fublish/J, New J j $2/,, by Harding. Triphook ScLepard.Finsbury Square, Lcmdon . QUEEN OF ENGLAND. This knot of linked marriage Her brother Alphonso lik'd, For Pontive was the marriage gift, A dowry rich and great. And so 'tween sister and this Prince, A woman both in council wise, The statue of Queen Eleanor is an excellent specimen of art, both in design and execution. The features are those of a young and beautiful female ; the countenance, open, mild, in- genuous, and noble. The head reposes on a double cushion, decorated with the arms of Castile and Leon, and bears a coronet of simple form, consisting of fleurs-de-lis and trefoils, from which the hair flows, in large ringlets, over each shoulder. The hands are very gracefully disposed, the left passing over the bosom, whilst the right formerly contained a sceptre, which now no longer remains, although the groove in which it once was fixed plainly indicates the original design. The drapery is long and flowing, very tastefully arranged, but entirely devoid of embellishment, although a number of small holes on the margin of the mantle, and round the extremities of the loose sleeves, indicate that some valuable ornament was originally attached to these vestments ; similar holes are visible on the coronet, as well as on the cord connecting the mantle, and it is probable they also were once filled with precious and costly deposits. We wish these had been the only depredations committed on this monument ; but not only the shafts, by which the canopy was supported, but two pinnacles, which sprung from some beautifully carved heads at either point, have been torn away. A portion of the south side of the tomb is concealed by the monument of King- Henry the Fifth, which has been built up contiguously, and which, by overhanging the lower portion of the effigy, has ren- dered it extremely difficult to obtain a tolerable view of that The marriage was upstrik'd. The dowry rich and royal was, For such a Prince most meet, Religious, fruitful, meek, Who did encrease her husband's friends And larg'd his honours eke. Learn to die. 7 ELEANOR, QUEEN OF ENGLAND. part. In addition to the altar tomb, already described, we have made mention of a sub-basement, which is rendered necessary on that side towards the northern side-aisle of the choir, in con- sequence of its being considerably lower than the Confessor's chapel : viewed in this direction, Queen Eleanor's monument has an appearance of extreme altitude. The canopy surmounting the whole is of wood. It is decidedly of much later design than the rest of the tomb ; and having been constructed to fit the space between the pier of the arch under which the monument is placed, and the contiguous portion of that of King Henry the Fifth, it is reasonable to conjecture, that it was thrown across at the time in which King Henry's monument was erected ; nor was it then effected without materially injuring the simplicity and character of that now under consideration. 8 BRIAN FITZ-ALAN, BARON OF BEDALE. Ob. 1301. MONUMENT AT BEDALE. Of the illustrious house of Fitzalan of Bedale, few particulars have descended to us, and the little that can now be gleaned from the industrious researches of former antiquaries relates rather to the genealogical descent of its several members, than to their characters and exploits. It is, indeed, no easy matter to trace the heads of the family in regular succession, for Dugdale and Gale differ very materially in the order they observe, whilst the interchange of the same Christian name from father to son, (for they are all Brian's or Alan's) through several generations, tends, in no slight degree, to per- plex the genealogical inquirer. We cannot, amid the conflicting opinions of two eminent antiquaries, do better than follow the example of the late historian of Richmondshire; and, accordingly, believing Gale to be, in this instance, the most correct historian of the two, we shall adopt his pedigree in his own words ; and we do this the rather, because his account of the Fitzalans comprises all that can be said of the subject of our present engraving. Brianus, filius Alani, genus suum nobilissimum duxit a Briano fllio natu secundo Alani tertii Britannia? Ducis et Comitis Richmondiae. Patrem habuit Alanum Briani istius filium, matrem Agnetem de Bedale, uti vocatur in antiqua carta, olim in turri Beatse Mariae Ebor. hodie inter collectiones Dodsworthianas in musaeo Harleyano deposita. 1 BRIAN FITZALAN, Alano tertio, Richmondiae Coraiti, fuit quidam Scollandus Dapifer, idemque Dominus de Bedaie: illi sine dubio nomen suum debet aulas magnae de Scouland in castro Richmondiensi : habuit quoque filium nomine Brianum, sed qui sine prole masculina discessisse videtur, relicta filia nomine Constantia, forsan etiam et altera. Cum vero Brianus noster Alius Alani stationem in magna aula Scoulandi intra castrum Richmondiae, Scollandi terras apud villain de Bedaie et Agnetem de Bedaie uxorem habuerit, non possumus non suspicari Agnetem hanc vel filiam vel Scol- landi neptem, invito licet Dugdalio, qui earn Bertrami Haget fuisse natam velit, et Alano marito patrimonium Scollandi Eboracense detulisse quemadmodum et Constantia Scollandi neptis haereditatem suam in agro Lincolniensi, Radulpho filio Roberti de Goseberchurch conjugi itidem suo advexerat. Brianus hie liberam obtinuit warrenam in omnibus terris suis 2do regis Johannis, fuitque Vicecomes Ebor. 22 Hen. III. De tempore autem mortis ejus nobis parum constat. Dedit huic Dugdalius Brianum filium, quem tamen Brianum filium Alani vocat, omisso interim patre ejus, qui revera fuit Briani secundi Alius, et nomen habuit Alani, uti patet a con- cessione feriae et mercati apud manerium suum de Bedaie, quam obtinuit 35 Hen. 111. Fuit itaque Brianus ille filius Alani qui Edwardum primum anno regni sui quinto in Cambriensi bello comitabatur, et in quo defecit illustris familiae stirps mascula, Briani secundi ex filio nepos, nequaquam filius. Summis honoribus et favore fuit apud principem ilium invic- tissimum et ab eo primum unus e custodibus regni Scotiae con- stitute, ita se in hoc munere gessit, ut brevi postea sibi soli provinciam illam demandari meruerit. Nec tantum in Scotia strenuam regi suo operam navavit, sed ad parliamentum summonitus 23° ejus anno per septennium 2 BARON OF BEDALE. inter barones Anglos ei a concilio fuit, donee ex hac luce migrans, sepulchrum habuit cum conjuge in ala australi ecclesiae suae de Bedale, sub mausoleo variis coloribus auro- que, olim pulcherrime obducto, quod tamen hodie ad murum ejus borealem, viginti circiter abhinc annis, amotum conspi- citur. Nomen uxoris periit, sed filiae eorum Matildis et Katharina, Gilberto de Stapilton, et Johanni Grey de Rotherfield, nuptas, paternam suam haereditatem inter familias illas diviserunt." We have adopted Gale's statement, because, as we have before intimated, his reasoning appears conclusive ; but it is only proper to observe, that much of the foregoing information respecting our Brian Fitzalan is derived from the antiquary of Warwickshire. Fitzalan's attendance upon Edward the First, during his expedition into Wales ; his appointment to act, first, as one of that king's vice-gerents, and, lastly, as sole governor of Scotland ; his summons to parliament amongst the barons of the realm, in the twenty-third year of Edward I. ; together with his failure of male issue, and the subsequent marriages of his two daughters and coheiresses; are all taken from Dugdale's printed account of the Fitz- Alans of Bedale, in his Baronage. It is singular enough, that Dugdale and his corrector derived their information from the same source. In the Manuscript Collections of Roger Dodsworth, at Oxford, (Gale quotes from them as reposited in the Harleian library,) we have met with the following pedigree, which we now give as a mat- ter of curiosity rather than evidence. Dodsworth's error seems to have consisted in his deriving the family in a direct line from Brian, the son of Scotland, who died without male issue. 3 BRIAN FITZALAN, == Scollandus Dapifer Alani Co. Richm. Brianus fil. Scollandi = dedit 3 caruoat. terrse in Fors abb'ie de Jeruall. Helia fil Scoland. Alanus _ Agnes .mater filius Briani 21 H. 2. Brianus = filius Alani Briani. Alicia uxor, soror Gilberti fil. Gilberti Hansard. r ' Alanus filius -r Soror Briani de Bedale 31 H.3. et coheres Galfredi Haget. 6 H. 3. Willus de = Ysabella. Neuell. Brianus filius Alani. — Sum. ad parliamentum 23 E. 1. Confirm, donacionem Dni Briani filii Alani avi sui. Fuit custos regni Scotie 25 E. 1. i • • • • de = Agnes. = Thomas Johes de Stapleton Sheffeld. Gray, defunct. 2 E. 3. 2 E. 3. Caterina filia et una heredum Briani filii Alani de Bedale. The monument of Brian Fitzalan stands under a window of the north aisle of the Church of Bedale, to which place it was removed, together with other ancient monuments, in a recent arrangement of the church, from a chapel at the east end of the south aisle of the nave, which, from the style of that 4 BARON OF BEDALE. part of the building, appears to have been constructed with a view to its reception. It is entirely of stone. The figure is much superior, in the design and execution, to the generality of effigies of the same period, and the canopy over the head is simple and elegant. The mode adopted in this effigy of representing an armed figure bare-headed, is by no means common, neither is the loose short sleeve attached to the surcoat, and enveloping the arm almost to the waist, of frequent occurrence. The sur- coat is bound round the waist with a small girdle, from whence it falls over the thighs in light and graceful folds, reaching al- most to the feet. On his left arm the Lord of Bedale bears along pointed shield charged with the arms of the family, Barry of six. The mode of attaching the shield to the arm by broad straps with buckles is well explained. The sword-belt is decorated with leopards' heads executed with great spirit. On each side of the canopy are the mutilated remains of an angel with arms extended, as if to give it support. At the feet of the effigy, are the remains of a lion, and on each side, a priest seated, holding in his hands an open book ; these are also much dilapidated. The right leg of the effigy, from the calf, is broken off, and the hands have suffered considerable injury : in every other respect it is perfect ; and, within the memory of persons now liv- ing, the original painting and gilding of the figure remain- ed quite vivid ; so rapid, however, has been the progress of destruction, that not a vestige of colour can now be traced. The statues within the niches, on the sides of the tomb, have suffered so much as to render it a matter of great difficulty to make them out satisfactorily ; added to which circumstance, the lower portion of them is buried under the present pavement of the church, which has been raised to half the height of the side of the tomb. The first figure evidently represents a war- rior. The second may be intended for a female saint in an attitude of devotion, and holding a musical instrument in 5 BRIAN FITZALAN, her hands ; the lines of this figure are very graceful. Under the centre canopy is a figure extende*d on a couch, or bier, whilst an angel in the clouds is represented as receiving the departed spirit, (personified in a small figure encircled in drapery,) and conveying it to heaven. The fragment of a canopy which succeeds this, proves, that, in removing this monument, no attention was paid to the original arrangement of the sides. The two next figures, although nearly obliterated, are evidently intended for the Virgin and infant Jesus ; and a third figure, still more defaced, is seated, with one hand raised, as in the act of conferring the benediction. The figures, which decorated the other sides of the tomb, have either been destroyed, or are hid beneath the modern pews with which the remaining part of the aisles are filled. The other ancient figures which appear in the plate in connection with that of Brian Fitzalan, although we dare not attempt to appropriate them, possess considerable antiquarian interest, and must not pass entirely unnoticed. That at the feet represents a female of an earlier age, but of extraordinary beauty. The head is bound with a broad fillet of oak leaves in form of a tiara, a piece of drapery is carried over the head as a veil, and descends in folds over the shoulders, leaving an opening to display the reticulated termination to the head dress. The body is disposed with a slight inclination to one side, having the right leg advanced a little forward. In the hands is a long scroll, whilst the drapery of the robe is drawn up, and passing in a knot under the arm, descends in large and well arranged folds, terminating considerably below the feet, which are visible beneath the drapery. Beneath is a dog, and on each side of the head are seen the mutilated remains of an angel. Immediately behind this female figure is that of a knight completely armed ; his body is covered with the close short garment called the cyclas, which terminates a little above the 6 BARON OF BEDALE. knees, in a row of ornaments, and falls in loose straight folds, somewhat lower on the back of the legs. On his left arm he bears a broken shield, charged with a chevron between three roses, and at his feet is a hound couchant. The gorget is of double link mail, and is a rare example of that species of armour. The gauntlets are of that early species which immediately succeeded the gloves of mail. The body has a slight turn, and the legs are so disposed as to give an idea of advanc- ing. The gambeson, which protects the body, is represented as somewhat longer than the cyclas, by which it is covered, and makes its appearance from underneath that vestment, a little above the knees. This effigy exhibits an interesting specimen of the transition style between the disuse of the chain, and the adoption of plate, armour. At the head of this figure, and immediately behind that of Brian Fitzalan, is another of a knight, in complete armour, of the middle of the fifteenth century, but not possessing sufficient interest to deserve particular description. All the above effigies are in stone. Besides those already described, the church of Bedale con- tains other monuments of great interest and antiquity; but in the same arrangement of the church, by which, such as we have hitherto mentioned, have all been confounded together, the others have been entirely buried under the new pews, a circumstance which may, with great propriety, be mentioned, in the hope of inducing their removal, from their present ob- scurity, to some more appropriate situations in the church. One of these, an ecclesiastic of the family of Fitzalan, is represented in Gale; and, judging from the plate given by that intelligent antiquary, as well as the description afforded by persons resident on the spot, it is in all probabibility equal, if not superior, to any of those now noticed. 7 in 'Westminster Abbey.,. PROOF. J ScpC29.J825 iy Jfurdinq. Triphasic i-lcpard TOlshuy Square iondm AYMER DE VALENCE, EARL OF PEMBROKE. DIED 1324. MONUMENT AT WESTMINSTER. Audomare or Aymer de Valence, third son of William de Valence, succeeded his father in the Earldom of Pembroke in 1296, his two elder brothers, John and William, dying before their father. Of his early years we know nothing. The first we hear of him in public life is, that he accompanied King Edward the First in his expedition into Flanders, in the twenty-fifth year of that monarch's reign ; that he was appointed a commissioner, to ratify an agreement between the King and Florence, Earl of Holland, touching certain auxiliary forces with which the latter had agreed to supply the English mo- narch ; and that he was also sent as ambassador, to treat con- cerning a truce between Edward and the King of France. He appears, however, to have been principally concerned in the border wars between England and Scotland. Having previously obtained a grant of the Castles of Selkirke and Tresquair, and of the borough of Pebbles, he was, in the thirty- fourth of Edward I. sent as guardian of the marches towards Berwick-upon-Tweed, having the entire command of the forces that had been raised, in order to repel Robert Bruce, and revenge the murder of John Comyn, of Badenock. The instru- ment of appointment is preserved in the Fcedera, and in it he is styled, " dilectum consanguineum et fidelem nostrum, locum 1 AYMER DE VALENCE, nostrum tenentem et capitaneum super omnes homines ad arma, tarn equites, quam pedites," &c. It was during this expedition, that Aymer de Valence gave a decisive check to Bruce by a surprise at Methven, the parti- culars of which are to be collected from the several historians of that period. Aymer had lately taken up his quarters at Perth, where, with an inconsiderable body of English troops, he awaited the arrival of King Edward, who, with the Prince of Wales, was advancing against the Scotch. Before this junction of the royal army could take place, Bruce appeared before Perth with a body of horsemen, and challenged the Earl of Pembroke to come forth and try their respective strength. To this summons Aymer returned for answer, that he would gladly accept the challenge, and fight him on the following morning. Upon receiving this reply, Bruce retired to Methven, confident in an opinion that his enemies would not disturb him that night ; but, while himself and his army were refreshing themselves in fancied security, Aymer made a vigorous attack upon them, and put the whole to rout. Bruce exerted himself, in this unforeseen difficulty, with his usual energy, and displayed great valour, but in vain : nearly all his followers were killed or taken, and he himself escaped with difficulty, having been thrice beaten from his horse, and as often replaced by the aid of Simon Fraser, a soldier, who, for bodily strength and invin- cible courage, has been compared, by the Scotch, to their favourite Wallace. It is, indeed, recorded, that Bruce owed his safety, in great measure, to a disguise ; himself and his men being severally provided with white linen shirts, which they wore over their armour, and which prevented their leader from being recognized by the English, many of whom would other- wise have known him. Aymer de Valence pursued Bruce, and supposing that he would take refuge in the castle of Kildrummy, in Marr, attacked and gained possession of that fortress, but 2 EARL OF PEMBROKE. " discerning none but his wife and Nigel de Bruce, his brother, there, he hanged up Nigel, and all the rest who were with him, excepting her." So Dugdale, who, having copied this passage from Walsingham, goes on to notice the death of Bruce's brother, and his companions, as an act of extreme cruelty on the part of the Earl of Pembroke. When we remember that Bruce had slain De Valence's near relative by marriage, (for Comyn had espoused his sister Joan,) and this at the very altar, we may excuse some degree of severity towards the brother of his murderer, by way of retaliation. Praiseworthy the deed cannot be ; but, taking into consideration the times and the persons opposed to each other, it was at least natural. It so happens, however, that the Earl was altogether innocent — for having given information to the King of the rank and quality of his prisoners, Edward commanded them to be conveyed to Berwick, and despatched justices thither from Lanercost in Cumberland, where he then was, in order to try Bruce and his accomplices ; and by virtue of their sentence it was, that Nigel and his companions were executed. The Earl of Pembroke was conspicuous among those of the English nobility, who resented the arrogance and opposed the pretensions of Piers Gaveston. When Edward was on his death bed, Aymer de Valence was one of the peers to whose care and good counsel he committed his son ; and, foreseeing the evils likely to accrue from Gaveston being a second time received into intimacy, enjoined him on no account to suffer him again to approach the Prince. The offended favourite did not, as may be supposed, regard his opponent with much com- placency, and Walsingham relates, that he called him, by way of derision, Joseph the Jew, in allusion to his tall stature and pallid countenance. It is probable, however, that when he found Edward resolved on the recall of his minion, he consi- dered it more politic to withdraw his opposition ; for the name 3 AYMER DE VALENCE, of Adomara de Valencia is affixed to the instrument by which the King improvidently bestowed upon Gaveston the entire possessions of Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, together with that title. Gaveston, indeed, seems to have abandoned, for a time, his usual character, and to have deceived those who most ob- jected to him. In the extracts from a contemporary Chronicle preserved by Leland, (Collectanea i. 784.) we are told that " Peter Gaverston then (on the acquisition of the lands and title of Cornwall) became noble, liberal, and gentil in summe faschions :" but, continues the historian, " after, ful of pride and disdayne, of the which the nobilles of England tooke great despite." This may be some apology for the Earl of Pem- broke's seeming inconsistency; but these hopes of reformation were of short duration — the insolence, rapacity, and mis- conduct of Gaveston were again too soon apparent, and the indignation of the whole kingdom being roused against him, Edward was compelled to yield to the just demands of his barons, seconded by the clergy, and to dismiss his favourite from his presence. Upon this occasion, De Valence was one of the eight Earls included in the twenty persons chosen to see the ordinationes (as they are called in a MS. written at that period) against Gaveston executed. On the second exile of this favourite, in 1311, the Earl was again nominated, together with the Earls of Gloucester and Hereford, to petition the King, in the name of the twenty " ordinatores," that all the relations and connexions (" parentes et propinqui") of Ga- veston should be removed from the King's household, and be rendered incapable of holding office in future. In 1312, upon news reaching the Earl of Lancaster, that Gaveston was left by the King in the castle of Scarborough, he sent the Earls of Pembroke and Warren, together with Henry de Percy, and an armed force, to besiege the castle, which they did, and by certain oaths of security induced Gaveston to put himself into 4 EARL OF PEMBROKE. their hands. But, as they were journeying towards the South, intending to carry him to Wallingford, they halted at Dedding- ton, between Banbury and Daventry, whither the Earl of Warwick came, and, as some say, forcibly, or, as others report, by collusion, (and it is certain that De Valence was absent on the pretext of business; or, as some say, to visit his Countess, who was in the neighbourhood) carried him towards Warwick, and stabbed and beheaded him on Blacklow hill, near that city. The Earl of Pembroke, in the seventh of Edward II., was constituted warden and lieutenant of all Scotland, till the arrival of the King ; after which, he was present at the dis astrous battle of Bannockburn. The MS. authority just al- luded to, in giving an account of this fatal engagement, appears to cast some suspicion on his courage or fidelity. Insuper comes de Penbrok, Henricus de Bellomonte et multi magnates Cordetenus Pharisei, a certamine recesserunt." Another Chro- nicle, among the Cotton MSS., says that he ran away as fast as his legs would carry him, " in pedibus suis evasit ex acie, et cum Valensibus fugientibus se salvavit." There seems, however, no great disgrace in seeking safety by flight when defeat was inevitable, and the whole army pursued a similar course. In the tenth of Edward, 1317, De Valence was sent, with other noblemen and prelates, on an embassy to the court of Rome ; on which occasion, a singular disaster befel him. Leland, from the Scala Chronica, thus relates it : " Eymer de Valence, counte of Penbroke, goyng toward the court of Rome was taken by one John de la Moiller, a Burgonlion, and sent to the Emperor, and raunsomid for 20 M. poundes of sylver : by cause the saide John allegid, that he servid the King of England, and had not his wages." Edward, it seems, took every measure to extricate his dear kinsman and coun- sellor from the effects of this reprisal. He wrote letters to the 5 AYMER DE VALENCE, Kings of France and Bohemia, to the Dukes of Lorraine and Burgundy, and to divers other princes, for their aid and inter- ference ; but, if we may believe the authority now quoted, was unable to effect his delivery without a very considerable pecuniary sacrifice. From the official document in Rymer, it appears that the Earl was captured on his return from, — not as he was going to — Rome ; and, from the circumstance of there being others concerned in this detention, "quidem Johannes de la Moiliere cum aliis malefactoribus, ipsius complicibus," we may suppose that the assault was premeditated, and that other causes, besides those alleged by John de Moiliere, occasioned so unusual an outrage on the person of an ambassador. In the thirteenth of Edward, he had the custody of the realm committed to him, when the King was about to leave England, in order to do homage to the French monarch, for the Dukedom of Aquitain, and other possessions which he held of that prince : a journey that was never accomplished. Holinshed says that in 1322, " Aimir, earle of Penbroke, being returned home from a parliament holden at Yorke, was arrested by certeine Knights, sent with authority therevnto from the King, who brought him backe to York, where at length thorough suit of certeine noble-men, he was vpon his oth taken to be a faithfull subiect, and in consideration of a fine which he paied to the King, set at libertie. The occasion of his imprisonment came for that he was accused and detected to be a secret favourer of the baron's cause against the Spensers in time of the late troubles." Upon the capture of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, at Borrough* bridge, in the fifteenth of Edward II., the Earl of Pembroke was one of the Lords who gave sentence against him, and re- ceived, as his reward, the manor of Higham Ferrers in North- amptonshire, together with a considerable portion of the lands of Robert de Holland, attainted at the same time. Dugdale, 6 EARL OF PEMBROKE. from the Peter-House Chronicle, supposes that he soon lost his life in consequence of the part he took in Lancaster's con- demnation ; but there seems no reason to doubt the commonly received tradition, that he perished in a tournament given by himself in honour of his nuptials with Maria, daughter of Guy de Chastilian, Earl of St. Paul, who was his third wife, and is better known as the foundress of Pembroke Hall, in Cambridge. " Sir Aymer of Valaunce, Erie of Penbroke, went over in to Fraunce with Quene Isabelle, and there he was sodenly mor- derid in a pryvi sege, by the vengeaunce of God : for he con- sentid to the death of S. Thomas of Lancastre." That this 'privy siege was the tilting match alluded to, seems, in some measure, corroborated by the conclusion of a metrical life of the Earl of Pembroke among the Cotton MSS. " Mors Comitem comitum necuit, mors ipsa cruenta Ipsa cruore rubrum campum facit et rubicundum." It may appear remarkable that we have made no use of, or quotations from, this piece of MS. biography; but the omission will be easily pardoned, when we announce, that throughout more than five hundred lines of exaggerated pane- gyric, not a single incident, anecdote, or trait of character will be found. The author calls himself " Jacobus Nicholaus de Dacia, scholaris dominse Mariae de Sancto Paulo, Comitissae de Pembrok ;" meaning, probably, that he was one of the first members of Pembroke Hall ; and a very ingenious person he must have been. He has written a long poem, in two parts, upon a person of whom he knew nothing, and was evidently unable to procure the slightest information. The whole sum and substance of his composition may be comprised in the two following lines, which, in default of any other, must serve as the Earl's epitaph, 7 AYMER DE VALENCE, " Quern petra parva tegit, quondam Comes extitit ille, Qui super astra regit, donet sibi gaudia mille." The monument of Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, ad- joins the altar, on the north side of the choir of Westminster Abbey, under an arch dividing that part of the building from the side aisle, and between those of Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster, and his Countess, Aveline. It is of stone, and equally finished on both sides ; but the elevation in the side aisle is much greater than towards the choir, in consequence of the floor of the latter being raised much above the level of the former. The general design of the monument will be best understood by a reference to the annexed plate ; but it is quite impossible, either in an engraving, or by description, to do full justice to the extraordinary beauty of the detail of every part of this most interesting relique. The effigy of the Earl reposes, cross-legged, on the summit of the tomb, with the face and hands bare, and the latter elevated and joined, as in prayer. The rest of the figure is clad in the prevailing armour of the period ; a hauberk of mail, reaching down to the knees, and covering the arms to the wrists, with a similar protection for the legs and feet. Over the body is a surcoat, embla- zoned red, and striped as the arms of De Valence. This is bound round the waist by a small ornamental belt, and de- scends below the knees in straight folds. On his left side a large sword, the hilt of which is now gone, is suspended from a broad belt, which passes obliquely round the body : there is a smaller belt across the shoulders, which plainly shews that, at some former period, a shield was suspended, but of this not the smallest vestige remains. At the head, which rests on a double cushion, are two small figures in flowing drapery, kneeling on one knee, and supporting the fragment of a third, intended, no doubt, to represent angels supporting the soul in 8 EARL OF PEMBROKE. its ascent to heaven. It is impossible for any thing to be more elegant and graceful than the disposition of the drapery and the lines of these figures. At the feet of the Earl is a lion cou- chant. The chain mail, of which the armour is composed, consists of small rings, which, instead of being carved, have been stamped upon a soft adhesive composition applied to the stone, and now nearly of equal hardness. Both sides of the tomb are divided into eight compartments, each compartment surmounted by a rich canopy, and contain- ing the mutilated remains of a small figure. The intervals be- tween the points of the canopies are filled with an ornamented circle, each containing a shield of arms, indicating, no doubt, the illustrious individual represented by the small figure below. It is impossible to speak too highly of these figures. The attitudes are various and graceful, and the folds of the drapery admirably adjusted to display the lines of the figures. The spandrils of the principal arch over the effigy, are filled with rich foliage, beautifully designed and admirably executed, and the trefoil, filling the interval between the top of the arch and the point of the pediment, encloses a spirited representation, in bas relief, of the Earl, mounted on a charger, at full speed. On the north side he is represented almost entirely in plate armour, and on the south in a mixture of plate and mail, on both sides covered with a surcoat, emblazoned with his arms, with a helmet on his head, from which floats a contesse in long folds. The charger is covered with a rich housing, emblazoned with arms similar to those on the surcoat. The two pedestals, which rise from behind the crockets on each side of the pedi- ment, were evidently intended to support small figures. They are almost peculiar to this and the adjoining monument. In addition to the sculptured ornaments with which this mo- nument has been so tastefully decorated, painting has been 9 AYMER DE VALENCE, employed to give effect to those parts, which, either from choice or necessity, were left plain. The shafts of the angle pinnacles, and the backgrounds of the ornamental parts, have been coloured with designs, to give the effect of sculptured ornaments ; or plain, to give additional relief to the parts sculptured. The following arms are emblazoned on the shields, on the sides of the tomb ; for the description, together with the annexed pedigree, shewing their connexion with the de- ceased Earl, we are indebted to Mr. Willement, author of " Regal Heraldry." ON THE NORTH SIDE. No 1. Chequy or & azure, a border gules. This being only the sinister half of the shield, the sculptor could not shew the Canton, (Ermine) which would have pro- ved it to have been the arms of John de Dreux, father of Mary, Countess St. Pol. f Barry of 1 arg. & No. 2. Valence -j azure, an orle of |^ Martlets gules. impaling Gules 3 pales, Vaire, on a chief or, a label of 5 points, azure. St. Pol. J No. 4. Tenremonde. Or, a lion ramp'- Sa. debruised with abendlet, gules. No. 4. Tenremonde, as No. 3 ; impaling St. Pol. as before. The third wife of Aymer was Mary, dau of Guy de Chastillion, Count St. Pol. John, Lord of Crevecceur & Allenes, after- wards Lord of Tenremonde, Chasteau- dun, & Neele, married Beatrix, dau : of Guy, Count St. Pol. 10 EARL OF PEMBROKE. No. 5. France, antient. Azure, Seme de lis or. No. 6. France, impaling De Dreux. No. 7. Hastings, No. 8. Amboise impaling as No. 5 ; Chequy or and azure, a border gules, over alia Canton, Ermine. Or a Manche gules. Paly of 6. or and gules. Azure, 3 cinq- foils, or. No. 9. Montchensy. Or 3 escutche- ons, Barry of 6. Vaire & gules. Blanch, second dau : of John de Dreux, Duke of Brittany, was married to Phi- lip, son of Rob' - Earl of Artois. Issabel, eldest sister of Aymer, was mar- ried to John L d- Hastings, and their grandson was created Earl of Pem- broke, 13. Edw. 3. The family of Amboise were distantly re- lated to the wife of Aymer, by the mar- riage of Mary, dau : of No. 4. with Engeran, Lord of Amboise. Joane, the mother of Aymer, was the dau : and heir of Warine de Montchensy, by Joane his wife, sister and co-heir of Anselm Marshall, Earl of Pembroke. ON THE SOUTH SIDE. No. 1. Valence. Vide No. 2 North Side. No. 2. St. Pol. Vide No. 2, N. S. impaling De Dreux. Vide No. 6, N. S. No. 3. Lancaster. Gules, 3 lions pas- sant gardant in pale, or. Over all a label of three points azure, seme de lis or. Guy de Chastillion, Count St. Pol, married Mary, dau : of John de Dreux, Duke of Brittany ; their dau : was the 3 d- wife of Aymer. Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster, son of K. Henry 3. married Elianor, dau: of Philip of Artois, by Blanch, dau : of John de Dreux. Vide No. 2. and No. 6. N. S. 11 AYMER DE VALENCE, No. 4. Courcy impaling St. Pol. No. 5. Courcy. No. 6. France impaling St. Pol. No. 7. France. No. 8. Valence impaling St. Pol. No. 9. St. Pol. Barry of 6. Vaire & gules, as before. as before. Vide No. 5. N. S. as before. as before. as before, as before. Courcy, Vidame de Laonois, was connect- ed to the wife of Aymer, by marriage with theChastillions. lngelram de Courcy was, by K. Ed. 3., created Earl of Bed- ford. \ Charles de Valois married Maud, sister of ' Aymer's wife, and dau : of Count St. Pol. 'Vide No. 2. North Side. William: de Valence. :Joane Montchensy. John de Dreux,= D. of Brittany. I Guy de Castillion,=Mary. Count St. Pol. Blanch=Philip of Artois. 1 f I " 1 Issabel=Hastings. Aymer=Mary. Charles=Maud. Tenremonde==Beatrix. de of Valence. Valois. Amboise=Mary. Edmund = Elianor. E. Lancaster. Notwithstanding the high claims which this interesting mo- nument possesses, as an illustration of the perfection to which this branch of the arts had attained, at the commencement of 12 EARL OF PEMBROKE. the fourteenth century ; either from unpardonable neglect, or wilful injury, it has suffered very considerable dilapidations. The superior taste, however, of the present period, has not only rescued it from further injury, but has gone far to restore it to its pristine splendour. To the active exertions of the dean and prebendaries, assisted by the taste and judgment of Mr. Chantrey, we are indebted for the accomplishment of this im- portant object ; and we cannot too highly commend the ala- crity with which Government supplied the means, nor the able manner in which the difficult task of restoring the monument, as far as there was authority for so doing, has been accom- plished, under the judicious superintendence of Mr. Gayfere. 13 I>rawi) If Engraved by EdV More . MtfWUMIE^T ffliP §118. JAMES B>@W©]LAS§ , in the Church of Bomgllaffs . PROOI Pullis/ud Sn.US2i.bji Harding.Triplwok lcLtpartC.ft7uha.ry Squarr, London. SIR JAMES DOUGLAS. The good Sir James Douglas, for so the subject of the present article is always styled, was, after his father's misfortunes, and upon his imprisonment, carried by his maternal uncle into France, the then school of chivalry, and the resort of all the rest of Europe for the attainment of polite literature. " Here," says David Hume of Godscroft, the historianof the family, " he remained exercising himself in all virtuous exercise, and pro- fited so well, that he became the most complete and best ac- complished young nobleman in the country, or elsewhere." As soon as the youthful heir of Douglas received intelligence of his father's death, he returned into Scotland ; supposing that all the English monarch's hatred to himself and family would have perished with its object. Finding, however, his patrimony wrested from himself, and already bestowed on another, he be- took himself to Lambert, the Archbishop of St. Andrew's, with whom he was distantly connected, and who received him with equal kindness and hospitality, not altogether without hopes, as it afterwards appeared, of interesting King Edward's pity in behalf of his unfortunate relation. An opportunity soon occur- red ; when Edward came to Stirling, and the archbishop pro- ceeded to the court to pay his own homage, he was accom- panied by young James Douglas, whom he introduced to the king, beseeching his majesty to take him under his protection, employ him in his service, and restore him to the inheritance of his fathers. It would have been well for the English cause, had Edward suffered himself to forget the fancied injuries he had already more than sufficiently revenged, and been prevailed on to do justice by the heir of his antient opponent. His vindic- tive feelings however prevailed ; Douglas was not only denied the restitution for which he sued, but to the denial were added reproaches towards himself, and the severest reflections on the memory of his father. From this interview, it may be supposed, that Douglas re- tired with no diminution of that hereditary hatred which he 2 SIR JAMES DOUGLAS. had now so ample an excuse for indulging against Edward and his subjects. " Home he goes, (says the family chronicler), with this scorn, to expect a better time of replying, not in words but deeds ; and of showing what service he was able to have done him." And, no sooner did Robert Bruce assert his right to the crown of Scotland, than Douglas eagerly embraced the opportunity of at once distinguishing himself, and taking re- venge upon his oppressor. It is said, that he departed clan- destinely from the archbishop's protection, but there are not wanting writers, who insinuate, that this was a preconcerted plan, and that the prelate secretly encouraged the enter- prize. John Bellenden's translation of the noble clerk, Maister Hector Boece's Croniklis of Scotland, gives the following ac- count of the transaction : " Sanus 33ofoglas, to support fcgng &ofcert, at f)i& pofoer, tufc all tfje fitecSoppts golij, anti ftors, Mtf) gintfrg ot&tr batf^ant ?oung men of f)i$ opinion, antf foent to fegng i&ofcert, as figgcfiop Eamfjcrtoun fjatr fenauitn na t&gng tfjatrof. ^ofofieft, £e asstgtft foetl gauto, fiot f)t Burst not opmlg, tn auenture gtf ong tnfelicttcte frati tollofott cfter, (t m(ri)t fiaue cumgn to i)g Utjsplcgfeir and Bishop Leslie fully corroborates what is here asserted. It maybe easily imagined, that Douglas experienced a favour- able reception from Bruce, to whom indeed he must have been, in every respect, a most valuable ally. His noble descent, the superiority of his education, his personal bravery and accom- plishments, together with his high and daring spirit, all con- spired to render his co-operation and assistance of the last im- portance ; and the similarity of their circumstances, and their mutual cause of complaint against the same aggressor, as well as their mutual danger, contributed to unite them still closer in the bonds of friendship. It has been remarked, that no sove- reign ever possessed a more faithful and devoted servant, or a more zealous and affectionate friend, than Douglas proved to Bruce, from the time of his coronation to his death. Never, 3 SIR JAMES DOUGLAS. says a Scotch writer, did he desert him, although reduced to the last extremity ; ever was he forward to assist him, even in his great distress ; " in omnibus guerris suis athleta fidissimus." We must be contented to refer our readers to the professed historians of Scotland, for an account of the distinguished part taken by the Douglas, during the eventful period in which he lived. It is recorded of him, that he fought and conquered in jifty-seven battles against the English, and claimed a share in thirteen victories against the Saracens. At the battle of Ban- nockburn in 1314, he commanded the left wing of the Scotch army, and gained, by his gallant behaviour, the admiration of his sovereign ; who, in token of his good service, bestowed upon him the honour of knighthood, before the whole army, and on the field of battle. In 1327, when the English army, commanded by King- Edward the Third in person, was emcamped within sight of the Scottish forces, on the banks of the Ware, Sir James Douglas made a bold and hazardous attempt against the person of the English monarch, which deserves mention, if it be only illus- trative of the ferocious temper of the times. Douglas, passing the river at some distance from the camps, entered with a chosen band of followers, within the enemies' lines, and, pre- tending to be an English officer going his rounds, penetrated even to the royal tent. Crying out — " Ha ! St. George, no watch!" he deceived the sentinels, entered the king's tent, and killed the chamberlain in waiting ; and the king would assured- ly have shared a similar fate, had not his chaplain interposed his own body between the weapon and his royal master, and received the fatal blow. The king, awakened by the tumult, defended himself till his guards came to his assistance, when Douglas, taking advantage of the general confusion, escaped, not however without the loss of many of his companions. Sir James Douglas received several proofs of gratitude and re- gard from the hands of Bruce. He was constituted warden of the 4 SIR JAMES DOUGLAS. marches, had a grant of the town and castle of Jedworth, and received a new charter of all the lands and towns of Douglas. And in 1329, he obtained, from King Edward, a right of all the lands, castles, and possessions, that belonged to his father, William Lord Douglas, in Northumberland and elsewhere, in England. But the most convincing proof of Bruce's esteem for Dou- glas, was the commission with which he was entrusted by that monarch in his last moments. Bruce had formerly bound him- self, by a vow, to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, — a vow, which his infirmities and disease now no longer left him the means of fulfilling. He accordingly besought his friend to be the bearer of his heart to Palestine, directing that it might be deposited near our Saviour's sepulchre, in Jerusalem. Sir James cheerfully undertook a task to which piety and friend- ship so forcibly called him ; and, taking with him a splendid retinue of knights and attendants, he succeeded in accomplish- ing the arduous attempt ; and the heart of Bruce was interred as he had so earnestly requested. The issue of this expe- dition, however, proved fatal. Returning from the Holy Land, he landed in Spain, and, being prevailed on to lend his assistance to the King of Arragon, who was then warring against the Moors, himself and all his followers fell into an ambuscade, and, overpowered by numbers, were utterly cut off. Thus perished Sir James Douglas, Lord of Douglas, on the 31st of April, 1331. His bones were carefully preserved, in order to be interred at Douglas, whither, if history may be credited, they were subsequently conveyed. The monument which tradition has assigned to the celebrated warrior we have just been noticing, is on the north side of the Douglas aisle. The effigy is of dark stone, cross-legged. The right hand has been represented in the act of drawing the sword, the scabbard for which is held by the left. Owing, Jiowever, to the injury the figure has sustained, the right arm and 5 SIR JAMES DOUGLAS. hand are broken off and lost, from the shoulder downwards, as is the corresponding leg, from the knee. The long pointed shield which he bears on his left arm is without armorial bearing, and much broken. The general style of the figure is rather rude, with the exception of the folds of the drapery of the surcoat, which, in many parts, are simple and well arranged. The armour is destitute of the slightest indication of chain-work ; and it is, therefore, probable, that a different material was intended to be represented, or that the chain-work was indica- ted by colours now obliterated. The feet rest against the mutilated remains of an animal, probably a lion. We are aware that the general style of this effigy belongs to a period anterior to the death of Sir James Douglas ; but it is not probable, that the English, whilst they held such long and precarious tenure of the adjoining castle, and reduced the neighbourhood to such a state of desolation, by way of retaliation on its owner, would allow the church, which might have been held to their annoy- ance, to escape without injury, or that they would spare the memorial of any preceding member of the family. We may, therefore, fairly conclude, that the aisle now standing is a por- tion of the church built either by Sir James Douglas himself, or his immediate successor, on coming into quiet possession of his property; and the monument under consideration, which is the oldest in the church, was intended to perpetuate his memory. In answer to any objection to the style of the effigy, it may be urged, in order to establish its connexion with that distinguished individual, that the progress of art in Scotland was slower than in England, and that, in every department of sculpture, they followed, rather than kept pace with, their con- temporaries. It may be further stated, as a reason for the figure being crossed-legged, after that custom had been nearly abolished in this country, that Sir James died when engaged on a pilgrimage, and in battle against the infidels, — circumstances which would doubtless induce the sculptor to adopt such a 6 SIR JAMES DOUGLAS. mode of representation as had been previously usual under similar circumstances. And it is no slight corroboration of these conjectures, that there is a very close analogy between the size and proportion of the effigy, and the description of Sir James's person, as recorded in the annals of the family. The above circumstances may not, indeed, entirely establish the fact of the effigy being that of Sir James Douglas ; yet, when coupled with the fact of the body having been removed from Spain for interment at Douglas, and when it is clear that no other effigy in the chapel can, by any possibility, be assign- ed to that illustrious warrior, there certainly seems a very strong presumption in favour of tradition. The arch, under which the effigy is placed, appears to be of rather more modern date, is of elegant design, and excellent workmanship. The shield, under the canopy of the arch, con- tains the Heart, an addition to the armorial bearings of the family, granted in consequence of his mission to the Holy Land, but the three mullets are now completely obliterated. The tradition of the spot relates, that when Cromwell laid siege to the castle of Douglas, his troops spoiled the chapel, and considerably injured the monuments of the family. There are not wanting some who tell us, that this tomb of Sir James Douglas was the peculiar object of their vengeance, on account of the injury the English cause sustained from his individual exertions : but, without ascribing much national discrimina- tion to the destroyers, the mere circumstance of the chapel having been for some time in the hands of an hostile and repub- lican army, will sufficiently account for the dilapidations of the tomb itself, and the mutilated state of the figure. 7 Dra™ br Ed^Blore. En^dby H.LeKeux. IN THE CHURCH AT WINCH ELS EA. PKOOF. Jlt&IirTied. July 1.1824. by Harding. Triphoole fcZepard.Finslury S^uar&.Imdim.. GERVASE ALARD. King of England, by whom it was settled in marriage on his Queen Elinor; from which time, to a considerable period after the date we are disposed to assign to the monument in question, it appears to have continued in the crown. About the year 1250, the old town having been destroyed by frequent irrup- tions of the sea, the inhabitants preferred a petition to the king, (Edward I.) first, for relief, and secondly, for a plot of ground on which to erect a new town. The Bishop of Ely, then trea- surer of England, was sent to inquire into the request, and to regulate such proceedings as might appear necessary; and the event was, that, after an agreement with Sir John Tregose, one Maurice, and the abbey of Battel, (in whom the property of the land in question appears to have been vested,) the king granted for the new town of Winchelsea a site of eighty acres. In the course of a few years, the new town of Winchelsea rivalled, if it did not exceed, in wealth and magnificence, that which had been destroyed; and there can be little doubt, but that the church was one of the first edifices reared by the pious liberality of the inhabitants. Of these, none appear on record to have been so nearly connected with the place, at that time, as Gervase Alard, and no person more likely than himself, both from his public station and individual wealth, to have been a principal contributor to the building ; and, as was the custom of the period, to incorporate with the structure a memorial of his own name and munificence. The first mention of a Gervase Alard we have yet met with, is in 1254, 39th Henry III. when he occurs party in a cause at the Cinque Ports. This was, probably, the father of Gervase Alard, who, in 1306, 34th Edward I., was captain and admiral of the Cinque Ports, and of all other ports from Dover, Westward, including the county of Cornwall. The instrument in question directs him to proceed with the whole fleet under his command to Skynburnesse or Kirkcudebright, there to lend all aid against the Scotch rebels, as they were considered. And there are se- 2 GERVASE ALARD. veral other documents existing, that prove the respectability and affluence of the family. It appears from the Inquisitiones ad quod Damnum, 1st Edward II., 1307, that Henry Alard of Winchel- sey held certain lands belonging to the king in Westham, called Yland. In the 4th of Edward III., the king devises to Robert Alard and Gervase Alard of Winchelsea, the towns of Winchel- sea and Rye, with the manor of Iham and its dependencies, in Sussex, for three years, subject to a certain annual payment. And in 41st Edward III., Agnes the wife of Gervase Alard died, seized of Snergate manor in the county of Kent. The documents we have just quoted, afford sufficient proof of the wealth and high antiquity of the Alards, and in corrobora- tion of our opinion, that the monument in question was erected to Gervase Alard, we have a very ancient and respectable authori- ty. " Alarde of Winchelesey was a man of estimation, and lyith buried yn Winchelesey. Oxenbridge of Southsax is heire by descente to this Alarde, and berith his armes." So says Leland, whose accuracy of information is too well established to require any eulogy in this place, and who lived sufficiently near the time, to procure the most authentic tradition, which he did, by visiting the spot, and registering the information he received in his well-known " Itinerary." From these concurring circumstances, we conceive ourselves warranted in ascribing the Winchelsea monument to Gervase Alard, and a more beautiful specimen of sepulchral magnifi- cence could hardly have been selected. The monument is composed entirely of stone, wrought witli extraordinary nicety, but now so thickly plaistered over with repeated coats of white-wash, as nearly to have obliterated some of the minuter ornaments. The effigy is of stone, lying with its face somewhat inclined towards the church : it is cross-legged and armed, according to the style of figures of the same age, with the hands elevated, enclosing a heart, and having a lion at the feet. That it was originally painted is very clear, 3 GERVASE ALARD. although the colours are now so nearly effaced as to render the decorations on the surcoat unintelligible. It is without a shield, and has the mutilated remains of two large angels supporting the double cushion on which the head reposes. The painted pattern on the cushions remains, in some parts, tolerably per- fect : that of the upper cushion consisting of a blue ground, on which are drawn dark lines, forming lozenges, enclosing quatrefoils ; and on the lower are the same, with the exception of the quatrefoil, instead of which small roses are inserted at the intersection of the lines. The sword-belt has been deco- rated with painted ornaments, now nearly effaced, if we except two dark lines running parallel to the sides ; the knee-cap, which terminates in a fringe, and is decorated with a row of raised escalops surrounding the knee, has the centre of each escalop enriched with a lozenge in colour, with a semi-circle in- scribed on every face. 4 IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY. Published Mai)' 1SZ6. fy Ilwduuj t lepard. Pall Malt East. London. PHILIPPA, QUEEN TO EDWARD THE THIRD. ob. 1369. monument at westminster. Philippa, the youngest daughter of William, Count of Hollande, and Hainault, by Jane de Valois, was married to Edward the Third King of England, at the conclusion of the first year of his reign, 1327- The marriage was celebrated in the city of York in the evening of the feast of the conversion of St. Paul. Harding has preserved an anecdote respecting the choice of Philippa, in preference to her other sisters, which if true would be sufficiently curious. He says that she was selected by the Bishop of Co- ventry, and gives the peculiar formation of her person as the reason of the prelate's preference. " He sent forthe than to hcnalde for a wife A bisshopp and other lordes temporall Whare in chambre pryve in secretife At discouert deschevely als in alle As semyng was to estate virginall Among liem self oure lordes for high prudence Of the bisshopp axed counsail and sentence " Whiche doughter of fyve sliolde be the queue Who counsailed thus with sad aduisement We wil haue hir with good hepes I niene Ffor she wol bere good sonnes at myn entenl To whiche they alle accorde by one assent And chase Philipp that was ful femynyne As the bishopp moost wise did determine 1 PHILIPPA, " But thann amoDg hem self they lewghe fast ay The lordes than and said the bisshopp couthe Ffid mekel skele of a womann alway That so couthe chese a lady was vncouthe And for the mery woordes that came of his mouth* They trowed he had right grete experience Of womans rule and hir conuenience." This, although a very good story, is not very probable : it is more likely, as we have before stated t, that Edward was con- tracted to Philippa when he visited France with his mother during his father's reign, and the supposition is in a great mea- sure corroborated by Froissart, who expressly says that the young prince preferred her to any of her sisters. " And as than this erle hadde four fayre doughters, Margaret, Philyppe, Jane, and Isabell : amonge whome the yong Edwarde sette most his loue and company on Phylyppe : and also the yong lady in al honour was more conuersaunt with hym than any of her susters." The embassy of Bishop Northborough, and his brother diplo- matists, two knights bannerets and two men learned in the laws, was probably rather to demand the lady, already fixed on, in marriage, and to make the necessary arrangements for her de- parture, than to select a bride for their new sovereign. Philippa appears not only to have fulfilled the expectations of Bishop Northborough, for she was a very fruitful consort, but to have been highly acceptable to the English nation. Her elegance of manner, beauty of person, her undaunted courage, * This line is omitted in the MS. from which we have quoted : we have supplied it, as necessary for the sense and structure of the verse, from the best edition of the printed Chronicle, by Mr. Ellis, quarto, Lond. 1812. 1 In the account of Edward III. p. 2. On this subject Mr. F. Madden writes, " I think I recollect a statement in some contemporary Chronicles, that young Edward was betrothed to the daughter of the Count of Hainault in consideration of the forces to be supplied by her father, to enable Isabel to depose Edw. II. At all events, this is the most probable mode of accounting for the match." 2 QUEEN TO EDWARD THE THIRD. strong good sense, and above all her amiable temper and exem- plary conduct, endeared her to all ranks. Hearne, who calls her a most beautiful, charming, lovely crea- ture, " the mirrour as it were of her sex," will have it that all the pictures and statues of the Virgin Mary at, and immediately after the period of Philippa, were representations of that Queen ; and it is not improbable that the artists and statuaries paid this compliment to a Queen so accomplished and beloved. Froissart relates an anecdote of her intrepid behaviour at the battle of Durham, called by that historian, as well as by Grafton, the battle of Newcastle, which if true (and we see no reason to doubt its authenticity) could not have had any other effect than that of rendering her universally popular. During the absence of her husband in France, the northern counties were invaded by David, King of Scotland, at the head of fifty thousand men. Philippa hastily assembled an army not exceeding twelve thousand, and riding through the ranks immediately before the battle, exhorted and encouraged her little army to do their duty, promising in the name of her lord, to reward their fidelity and deserts : " The quene ciie among her men, and there was ordayned four batayls, one to ayde another : the firste had in gouernaunce the bysshoppe of Dyrham, and the lorde Percy : the seconde the archbysshoppe of Yorke, and the lorde Neuyll : the thyrde the bysshoppe of Lincolne, and the lorde Mobray : the fourth the lorde Edwarde de Baylleule, captayne of Berwyke, the arch- bysshoppe of Canterbury, and the lorde Rose : euery batayle had lyke nobre, after their quantyte : the quene went fro batayle to batayle, desyring them to do their deuoyre, to defende the honoure of her lorde the kyng of Englande, and in the name of god, euery man to be of good hert and courage, promysyng them, that to her power she wolde remebre theym as well or better, as though her lorde the kyng were ther personally. Than the quene departed fro them, recomendyng them to god and to saynt George." 3 PHILIPPA, Grafton's account follows : " There was ordeyned foure bat- tayles, one to ayde another. The first was in the gouernance of the Bishop of Durham, and the Lorde Percy : The seconde, the Archebishop of Yorke, and the Lorde Neuyll : The thirde, the Bishop of Lincolne & and the Lord Mowebray : The fourth, the Lorde Edward Bailioll Capitaine of Barwicke and the Arche- bishop of Cauntorbury, and the Lord Rosse, euery battaile had like number after their quantity : and the Quene went from battaile to battaile, praying them to do their deuoyre for the defence of the honour of their Lord and maister the king of England, and in the name of God euery man to be of good heart and courage, promisyng them that to her power, she would re- member them as well and better, as though the king her Lorde were there personally. And so the Queene departed from them, recommendyng them to God." The well known account of her intercession with Edward for the preservation of the six burgesses of Calais is recorded by the same historian, but has been too often repeated to allow of so long an extract. There is an anecdote of a very different nature mentioned by Robert de Graystanes (Wharton's " Anglia Sacra," 1, 76O), which deserves to be given, as a proof of her humility and good sense. Having followed Edward to the city of Durham, she was conducted to him through the gate of the abbey to the prior's lodgings, where the King then resided, and having supped, retired to rest with her royal lord. She was however soon disturbed by one of the monks, who rudely intimated to the King that St. Cuthbert by no means loved the presence of her sex. The Queen upon this got out of bed, and having hastily dressed herself " in tunica sola cooperta," went to the castle for the remainder of the night, asking pardon for the crime of which she had inadvertently been guilty against the patron saint of their powerful establishment. Although we have already quoted so largely from Froissart, we are unable to refrain from giving an account of Queen 4 QUEEN TO EDWARD THE THIRD. Philippa's death in his own words : no others would be so ex- pressive or characteristic. " In the meane seasone there fell in England a heuy case and a comon : howbeit it was right pyteouse for the kyng, his chyl- dren, and all his realme, for the good quene of Englande, that so many good dedes had done in her tyme, and so many knightes socoured, and ladyes and damesels coforted, and had so largely departed of her goodes to her people, and naturally loued alwayes the nacyon of Heynaulte, the countrey wher she was borne, she fell sicke in the castell of Wyndsore, the whiche sickenesse con- tynewed on her so longe, that there was no remedy e but dethe ; and the good lady, whanne she knew and parceyued that there was with her no remedy but dethe, she desyred to speke with the kynge her husbande, and whan he was before her, she put out of her bedde her right hande, and toke the kynge by his right hande, who was right sorrowfull at his hert : than she said, ' Sir, we haue in peace, ioye, and great prosperyte, used all oure tyme toguyder : Sir, nowe I pray you at our departyng, that ye wyll graut me thre desyres :' the kynge, ryght sorrow- fully wepyng, sayd, ' Madame, desyre what ye wyll, I graunt it.' ' Sir,' sayde she, ' I requyre you firste of all, that all maner of people, suche as I haue dault with all in their marchaundyse, on this syde the see or beyond, that it may please you to pay euery thynge that I owe to theym, or to any other : and secondly, sir, all suche ordynauce and promyses as I haue made to the churches, as well of this countrey as beyonde the see, wher as I haue hadde my deuocyon, that it maye please you to accomplysshe and to fullfyll the same : thirdely, sir, I requyre you that it may please you to take none other sepulture, whan soeuer it shall please god to call you out of this transytorie lyfe, but besyde me in West- my nster :' the kynge all weepynge, sayde, ' Madame, I graunt all your desyre.' Than the good lady and quene made on her the signe of the crosse, and comaunded the kyng her husbande PHILIPPA, to god, and her yongest sone Thomas, who was there besyde her : and anone after she yelded up the spiryte, the whiche I beleue surely the holy angels receyued with great ioy vp to heuen, for in all her lyfe she dyd neyther in thought nor dede thyng, whereby to lese her soule, as fere as any creature coulde knowe. Thus the good quene of Englande dyed, in the yere of our lorde M.CCC.lxix. and in the vigyll of our lady, in the myddes of August. Of whose dethe tidynges came to Tornehen, into the englysshe boost, whereof every creature was sore displeased, and ryght sorrowful! ." The monument of Philippa stands on the south side of the Chapel of the Confessor in Westminster Abbey, at the foot of that of her royal consort, and under a corresponding arch. Like that, it is also much more elevated towards the aisle than on the opposite side. It consists of an altar tomb of black marble, sur- mounted by a simple canopy of wood. The sides of the tomb were originally enriched with a profusion of canopy work in pierced alabaster of the most admirable design and most delicate execution. Of these canopies there were four large and three small on each side, and two large and one small at each end ; each large canopy containing two small figures, and every small canopy one figure, with a shield of arms under each, to denote the individual intended to be represented. The continued kind- ness of Mr. Willement has furnished us with the following list of arms (those printed in italics being the only ones now remaining), with the individuals to whom they belong, and a statement of their connection with the illustrious princess*. The slab on * THE FOLLOWING ARMS EXISTED FORMERLY ON THE MONUMENT. At the West end. 1. Quarterly France antient and England, over all a label of three points argent. Edward Prince of Wales, son of Philippa. 2. Or, an eagle displayed, double-headed sable. The Emperor, brother in law of Philippa. 6 QUEEN TO EDWARD THE THIRD. which the effigy reposes, like the side of the tomb, is of black marble. The effigy is carved in alabaster, and represents a female, stout, almost approaching to corpulency, with a mild, 3. Quarterly France antient and England. . King Edward III. 4. France antient. . Isabel, mother of Edward III. 5. Quarterly, 1 and 4, or a lion rampant sa. Haynault. 2 and 3, or a lion ram- pant gules. Holland. William 3d, Count of Haynault, father of Queen Philippa. At the East end. 6. Quarterly, 1 and 4, gules a castle or. Castile. 2 and 3, argent a lion rampant gules. Leon. Eleanor of Castile, grandmother of King Edward III. 7. France antient, a label of three points gules. Anjou. 8. Or, a lion rampant within a double tressure, flowered gules. David II. King of Scots, brother-in-law to King Edward. 9. Gules, a lion rampant, argent crowned or. 10. Gules, a cross, saltire, and border of chains or. Navarre. At the right side. 11. No. 5. impaling No. 18. Joane de Valois, mother of Queen Philippa. 12. Same as No. 5. 13. No. 2. impaling No. 5. Margaret wife of Louis. Emperor, sister of Queen Philippa. 14. Azure a lion rampant, double queved, crowned or. Raynold, Duke of Gueldres. 15. No. 14. impaling g. three lions passant gardant in pale or. Eleanor, Duchess of Gueldres, sister of King Edward III. 16. Quarterly, 1 and 4, pale bende argent and azure. Bavaria. 2 and 3 as No. 5. William, Duke of Bavaria, Count of Haynault and Holland, nephew to Queen Philippa. 17. Quarterly, 1 and 4, or a manche gules. Hastings. 2 and 3, Barry of 10 argent and azure, an orle of martlets gules. Valence impaling No. 3. Mar- garet, Countess of Pembroke, daughter of Philippa. 1 8. Azure seme de lis or, a bordure gules. Valois. 19. No. 5. impaling quarterly 1 and 4 sa. a lion rampant or. Brabant. 2 and 3, argent a lion rampant gules. Luxemburg. Jane of Brabant, sister-in-law to Queen Philippa. On the left side. 20. Quarterly France antient and England, a label of three points argent, each charged with a canton gules. Lionel, Duke of Clarence, son of Philippa. 7 PHILIPPA, benevolent, and dignified countenance. The dress is extremely simple, consisting only of a robe drawn close round the body by a lace from the bosom to the hips, where it is confined by a rich belt, whence it falls in straight folds down to the feet. The sharp points of the toes just make their appearance from under- neath this robe. The sleeves are tight, seamed with pearls, and partly cover the hands. An open mantle, fastened across the breast by a cordon, reaches down to the feet. The hair is col- lected in a large mass on each side of the face, and appears to have been enclosed in a rich ornament of precious material, of which nothing now remains. The right hand is broken off, but evidently sustained a sceptre, supported at the upper end by a small metallic projection, which still remains on that side of the head. The left hand holds the cordon of the mantle. The head rests on a double cushion with drapery spread over them. The fragments of the hands of two angels, one of which was placed on each side as supporters to the drapery, still remain. At the feet are a lion and lioness apparently caressing each other. The principal canopy over the head of the effigy, as well as the smaller 21. No. 20. impaling or a cross gules. Elizabeth de Burgh, wife of the preceding. 22. Quarterly France antient, and England on a label of three points argent, nine torteaux. Edward, Duke of York, sou of Philippa. 23. Barry of 6', vaire and gules impaling No. 3. Isabel, Duchess of Bedford, daughter of Philippa. 24. Quarterly, France antient and England, a label of three points ermine John, Duke of Lancaster, son of Philippa. 25. No. 1. impaling gules, three lions passant gardant in pale or, a bordure argent. Joane, Princess of Wales. 26. Gules, three lions passant gardant in pale or, a bordure azure seme de lis or. John of Eltham, E. Cornwall, brother-in-law of Philippa. 27. No. 8. impaling gules, three lions passant gardant in pale or. Joane, Queen of Scots, sister-in-law of Philippa. 28. Quarterly, France antient and England, a bordure argent. Thomas, Duke of Gloucester, son of Philippa. 8 QUEEN TO EDWARD THE THIRD. lateral canopies, are of alabaster. The small openings, re- presenting windows, at the top of the principal canopy, were originally filled with stained glass of various colours, of which a fragment or two only remain. No inscription is now visible, but Sandford has given the following, as formerly on the ledge of the tomb : REG IN A PHILIPPA CONJVNX EDWARDI JACET HIC REGINA PHILIPPA DISCE VIVERE. The following lines were also inscribed on a tablet hanging- near the tomb : Gulielmi Hannonis soboles postrema Philippa, Hie roseo quondam pulchra decore jacet. Tertius Edwardus Rex ista conjuge letus, Materno suasu nobiliumque fuit : Frater Johannes Comes Mauortius heros, Huic illam voluit consociare viro. Hec junxit Flandros conjunctio sanguinis Anglis : In Francos venit hinc Gallica dira lues. Dotibus hec raris viguit regina Philippa, Forma prestanti, Religione, Fide. Fecunde nata est proles numerosa parenti, Insignes peperit magnanimosque duces. Oxonii posuit studiosis optima nutrix Regineas edes, Palladiamque scholam. Disce vivere. Having described what this monument was in its original state, when it was one of the greatest ornaments of the noble fabric in which it stands, we must now perform the painful task of recording the lamentable reverse it has experienced. The first mutilation appears to have taken place when the magnificent shrine enclosing the monument of King Henry the Fifth was erected, to make room for which the north-east angle was buried in one of the abutments of that costly work. In subsequent times the whole of the tabernacle work of the side of the tomb, 9 PHILIPPA, QUEEN TO EDWARD THE THIRD. with the exception of the bases of two of the canopies, has been entirely demolished, leaving exposed the plain black marble sub- structure. Of the two ranges of small canopies on the slab, that on the north side alone remains, and that too in a very mutilated state ; and the great canopy over the head of the figure has suffered considerable dilapidations. Under these circumstances the annexed plate, in which the decorations of the side and top of the tomb have been carefully restored, will scarcely be recog- nized by those who are only acquainted with it in its present forlorn state. As these restorations, however, have been exe- cuted upon the authority of a most careful examination of small portions still attached to the tomb, and other fragments which have been removed from the place, and to which we have had access, we venture to hope that the admirers of monumental sculpture will not think we have stepped beyond the due limits of our undertaking, in giving a perfect representation of a tomb which, in point of style and beauty, is almost without a parallel, and which in its present mutilated state can hardly be considered of interest. We should not omit to mention, that there is a striking likeness in the features and expression between the effigies of Queen Philippa and that of the Black Prince already described, particularly in the profiles — a circumstance which adds to the probability of their being portraits, and confers great addi- tional value on both the effigies. 10 Drawn "fcnr E. Blare' TLiipJrxv'-cl "by H ,*Le K>ux. Drawn "by E. Blare- Xngrav^cl "by HXe Keur. in. Westminister Alblbey. Tliblislvsl 7)ec*25,2825. }iy Harding irZcpard fpisbttry Square. Icndcn. THOMAS BEAUCHAMP, EARL OF WARWICK. ob. 1370. monument at warwick. Thomas, eldest son of Guy, Earl of Warwick, by Alice, daugh- ter of Ralph de Tony, of Flamsted, in Hertfordshire, was bora in Warwick Castle, in 1313 or 1314, having for sponsors, at his baptism, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, his brother Henry, and Thomas de Warington, Prior of Kenilworth. His father dying before he was two years old, Dugdale suspects that Hugh Le Despencer, who had previously obtained the custody of his father's possessions at Elmley and Warwick, in satisfaction, as was pretended, of a debt due from the King, had also the ward- ship of the young Earl ; but it is certain that, after the fall of that favourite, and early in the next reign, Roger de Mortimer had the custody of Warwick Castle, and all other the Earl of Warwick's lands, until he should arrive at full age. There can be no doubt, but that this was bestowed upon Mortimer with a view to a subsequent union between the families, in the person of the young Earl and the lady Catherine Mortimer, a measure which appears to have been contemplated in the preceding reign, since we find Edward the Second applying to the Pope for a special dispensation to enable this union to take place, on the ground that there had formerly been a violent contention, attended with much animosity on both sides, between Guy, Earl of W T arwick, the minor's father, and Roger de Mortimer, 1 THOMAS BEAUCHAMP, on their respective rights to some lands in the Marches of Wales ; and that it would tend greatly to restore peace and amity between the two families, if his Holiness would permit this marriage to be consummated, although the parties were allied in the third and fourth degrees of consanguinity. This marriage afterwards took place in the twelfth of Edward the Third. When about seventeen, the promise displayed by the young Earl of Warwick was so great, that the King was induced, as a mark of especial favour, to receive his homage as if he had been of full age, and to grant him livery of all his father's lands ; and in the fourth of Edward, he entered upon his hereditary offices of Sheriff of Worcestershire, and Chamberlain of the Exchequer ; and the next year he was appointed Governor of Guernsey, and the adjacent islands. From the moment he was capable of bearing arms, the whole life of this illustrious nobleman was devoted to the active ser- vice of his sovereign. He attended Edward in his wars in Scotland and France ; was present when Edward Balliol did homage to the English King, and bore a conspicuous part in the great naval victory of 1340. In the eighteenth of Edward, he was constituted Sheriff of Worcestershire and Leicestershire for life ; and the same year created Earl Marshal of England. He was one of the marshals of the King's army sent into France, and one of the chief commanders, who, under the Black Prince, led the van of the English army in the battle of Crecy. At Poictiers he, in company with the Earl of Suffolk, fought so long and with so much bodily exertion, that their hands were galled with the continued use of the sword and poll-axe. It was in this engagement that he took William de Melleun, Archbishop of Seinz, prisoner, for whose ransom he received no less a sum than eight thousand pounds sterling. In the thirty-seventh of Edward III., he attended Prince 2 EARL OF WARWICK. Edward into Gascony, and thence, says Dugdale, "beginning his travail into more remote countries, had, at the request of the Pope, letters of safe conduct from the governor of Dauphine and Viennois, to pass without interruption through those parts, having no less than three hundred horse for his attendants and train ; which consisted of knights, esquires, archers, friends, and servants ; Sir Jacques de Arteville, with ten persons of his company, being appointed to guide and guard him through those provinces." The valiant Sir Jaques and his ten com- panions might, doubtless, be very useful guides in an unknown country ; but of what avail their prowess could be in guarding an English warrior with three hundred knights and esquires, well mounted, and not altogether unused to deeds of arms, is more than we are able to imagine. He passed three years in the East*, warring against the infidels ; and on his return, he brought with him the son of the king of Lithuania, who was christened in London, by the name of Thomas, the Earl him- self standing god-father. Nor did the Earl's ardour for military glory abroad prevent him from exercising the more peaceful virtues of piety and public spirit, in his own immediate vicinity. He rebuilt the walls of Warwick castle, which had for a long time been demolished, adding to them strong gates, and forti- fying the gateways with embattled towers. He founded the choir of the collegiate church of St. Mary ; he built a booth- hall in the market-place of Warwick, and made the town toll- free. The age and former services of the Earl of Warwick might now have well excused him from again encountering the fa- tigues of war ; yet, in the forty-third of Edward, upon intelli- * " He warred also in hethenes three yeires, and brought with hyme the kynge's sone of Lettowe and crystened hyme in London, and named hyme Thomas after hymself." John Ross, published by Hearne, p. 233. 3 THOMAS BEAUCHAMP, gence that the English army, under the Duke of Lancaster and the Earl of Hereford, lay perishing with famine and pestilence, in their camp near Calais, and yet declined fighting with the French, he hastily collected a small, but select, force, and sailed towards Calais. His approach was no sooner understood by the enemy, than, although the French army had purposely ad- vanced to give battle, they immediately retreated, and in such panic, that they left their tents and provisions, and fled with great precipitation. The moment the Earl landed, he ex- pressed, in very warm terms, his indignation at those whose councils had prevented the English from coping with the enemy, and exclaimed, as in derision, (to use the words of Walsingham,) " Ego progredi et pugnare volo, dum adhuc panis Anglicanus in virorum meorum ventribus remanet indigestus." Not content with thus relieving the English, he pursued the French into their retreat, and wasted the country around Calais. This last expedition proved fatal to the Earl of War- wick. On his return to Calais, he was seized with the pesti- lence, then violently raging among the troops, and died on the thirteenth of November, 1370, leaving none, says Rous, equal to him, for military valour and devotion to his king and country. By his wife, Catherine, daughter of Roger Mortimer, first Earl of March, who died a few weeks before her consort, he had seven sons and ten daughters, viz. Guy, who died before him, at Vendosme, and is buried in the chapel of the Three Kings, behind the altar of Trinity Abbey. His widow, who was Phi- lippa, daughter to Henry Lord Ferrers, of Groby, and who had three daughters, all nuns, at Shuldham, in Norfolk, herself took a solemn vow of chastity, before Reginald Bryan, the then Bishop of Worcester. 2. Thomas, who succeeded his father. 3. Reynburne, who left issue one daughter, Eleanor, mar ried to John Knight, of Hanslape, Esq. 4 EARL OF WARWICK. 4. William, afterwards Baron Bergavenny. 5. John, \ 6. Roger, > who died unmarried. 7. Jerome, ) The daughters were 1. Catherine, a nun at Wroxall, in Warwickshire, who died in 1378, and was buried at Warwick. 2. Maud, married to Roger de Clifford. 3. Philippa, wife of Hugh, Earl of Stafford. 4. Alice, married to John Beauchamp, of Hache. 5. Joan, wifeofRalp, Lord Basset, of Drayton. 6. Isabel, wife first to John le Strange, of Blackmore; se- condly to Robert de Ufford, Earl of Suffolk. 7. Margaret, married to Guy de Mont all. 8. Agnes, wife first to Cooksey, afterwards to Bardolph. 9. Juliana, died unmarried. 10. Elizabeth, wife of Sir Thomas de Ufford. The body of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, was brought over from France, and interred, according to the direc- tions in his will, in the middle of the Choir of the Collegiate Church of St. Mary, at Warwick. The monument is entirely of alabaster, with the exception of the moulded top, and finished, on the four sides, exactly in the same style, with pannels containing figures. On the top, repose the effigies of the Earl and his Countess, their right hands joined. He is represented in plate armour, nearly the same as that of the Black Prince, his face exposed : his left hand, which is covered with a gauntlet, rests on the sword-hilt, and holds the right- hand gauntlet ; on the opposite side he wears a dagger. The head rests on a double cushion, and at the feet is an animal, probably intended to represent a bear. His Countess is habited in the fashion of the time, a reticulated head-dress ; open 5 THOMAS BEAUCHAMP. mantle, descending to the feet and fastened across the breast by a cord ; a robe, with long tight sleeves, reaching to the wrists, laced down to the waist, and drawn tight to display the figure, from whence it falls in straight folds as low as the feet, which rest against a dog couchant. The right hand, as already de- scribed, holds that of her husband, and the left rests upon her breast. The double cushion under the head, as well as that of the Earl's, is supported, at one corner, by an Angel. Round the sides of the tomb are thirty-six small figures within ornamental pannels, eleven on each side, and seven at each end, represent- ing, alternately, a male and female in the peculiar costume of the time ; under each figure is a shield, in Dugdale's time em- blazoned with the arms of the person represented. Notwith- standing that repeated coats of whitewash have obliterated the colours, and rendered it impossible, from any other source than the above authority, to identify the figures, they still possess considerable interest as illustrations of a great variety of costume. This monument, although in a tolerable state of preservation, has not altogether escaped injury. The moulded summit, which has already been described, is evidently the work of a subsequent period, and ill accords with the rest of the monument either as to style or materials. Several of the small figures on the sides have also undergone partial restora- tions, as have the angels supporting the cushions. Considering the admirable state in which the family monu- ments in the adjoining chapel are preserved, and the general care and attention which is paid to this Church, it is matter of equal surprise and regret that this very valuable monument should not be relieved from the repeated coats of whitewash with which it has been plaistered, and by which its beauty is so much obscured. 6 EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES. 1330 1376. MONUMENT AT CANTERBURY. Edward, surnamed the Black Prince, (in all probability from being clad in a black suit of mail), eldest son of Edward the Third of that name, King of England, by his Queen Philippa, youngest daughter of William, third Count of Hollande and Hainault, was born at Woodstock on the 15th of June, 1330. From the moment of his birth, his personal beauty, as well as the exact proportions and muscular strength of his infant form, gave the happiest presage of his future prowess, and the coun- try hailed, with joy and acclamation, an event so important to the national prosperity. The education of the youthful prince was entrusted to Walter Burley, who had also been tutor to the king. He was a fellow of Merton College, in Oxford, and one of the most learned scholars of those times. It is scarcely to be imagined, at a pe- riod when deeds of chivalry and feats at arms were alone consi- dered capable of adding dignity to the character of the nobility, that much time could be devoted to the acquirement of scho- lastic information, but the whole tenor of the Prince of Wales's life, and the admirable and very rare examples of magnanimity and moderation which he displayed in moments of unequalled trial, fully prove to us, that the mind of the royal pupil was cultivated with no less care than wisdom, and, we may add, with a success that reflects no mean credit on the exertions of his venerable preceptor. In 1333, Prince Edward had a grant of the Earldom of Ches- ter, and in 1337, he was created Duke of Cornwall, being the first person in England upon whom that dignity was conferred. 1 EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES. In 1343, he was created Prince of Wales, and in less than three years from that time, and at the commencement of the sixteenth of his age, we find him thirsting for military glory, and pre- pared for those deeds at arms, which then excited the admira- tion of the world, and have, in after days, rendered his fame immortal. Accompanying his father into France, he received the honour of knighthood immediately upon landing, nor did he long want a fit opportunity to signalize himself. The battle of Crecy took place immediately after, and an anecdote related by Froissart, and preserved by all contemporary historians, is highly illustra- tive of the chivalrous character of the age. Early in the day, some French, Germans, and Savoyards, had broken through the archers of the prince's battalion, and en- gaged with the men at arms ; upon which the second battalion came to his aid, " the whiche was tyme, (says Lord Berners,) for they had as then muche to do," otherwise he would have been hard pressed. The first division, seeing the danger they were in, sent a knight, Sir Thomas Norwich, in great haste to the king of England. — " Sire," said he, " the Earl of Warwick, the Lord Stafford, the Lord Reginald Cobham, and the others who are about your son, are vigorously attacked by the French, and they entreat that you would come to their assistance, for if their numbers should increase, they fear he will have too much to do." " Is my son then dead ? or unhorsed? or so much wounded, that he can no longer defend himself?" asked the king. " Not so, thank God," replied the knight ; " the young prince still lives, but he is in so hot an engagement, that he has great need of help." — " Return then, (said the king) to him, and to those who have sent you, and tell them, from me, that I charge them not to send again for me this day, so long as my son hath life : and tell them, that I command them to let my boy win his spurs ; for I am determined, if it please God, that all the glory and honour of this day shall be given to him, and to those into whose care I have entrusted him." The historian informs us, 2 EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES. that the Prince was greatly encouraged at this answer, and the nobles as bitterly repented that they had implored assistance from the King. It was at this memorable engagement, that the Prince won and adopted the standard and motto of the King of Bohemia, JCH DIEN, with a plume of three ostrich feathers, a crest and motto since worn by all succeeding heirs apparent to the English throne. Nor was the heroic courage of the Prince less conspicuous at the battle of Poictiers, a day fatal to the glory of France, but replete with honour to the English character. When Edward found that all negociation was at an end, and an engagement in- evitable, he rode along the ranks of his little army, and thus ad- dressed them : " Although, gentlemen, we be an inconsiderable body when compared with the numbers of our enemies, yet let us not be cast down on that account, for victory does not always follow number ; it is in the hands of Almighty God to bestow it as he pleases. If, through good fortune and his pleasure, the day be ours, we shall gain the greatest honour and glory in this world : if the contrary should happen, and we die in our just quarrel, it is paying a debt we all owe somewhat sooner, but far more honourably, and I have the king my father, and my bre- thren, and you have all relations, friends, and countrymen, who will avenge our deaths. — Wherefore, for God's sake, be of good courage, and combat manfully ; for, if it please Him and St. George, I will this day perform the part of a true knight, and England shall never have to pay my ransom." At the conclusion of this splendid victory, the Prince of Wales rendered to his prisoner King John, the noblest testimo- nies of respect and veneration, and displayed a greatness of soul, and an example of humanity and moderation honourable to human nature. When the royal captive first appeared before him, the Prince (says Froissart) made a very low obeisance, and commanding wine and spices to be brought, tendered them with his own hands to the king; at the same time administering all the consolation he was able to offer, in the kindest and most 3 EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES. soothing speeches. At an entertainment given on the same evening, he constantly refused to sit down at table with the king, although continually entreated to do so, alleging, that he was unworthy of so great an honour ; and when he perceived his guest depressed at the remembrance of his sad reverses, he endeavoured to cheer him, by the kindest and most generous acknowledgments of his prowess. " Your majesty, (said he,) has great reason to rejoice, although the day was not yours ; for you have obtained in it the highest fame of valour, and surpassed all the best and bravest warriors in France. Nor do I say this to flatter your sorrow, nor to bring your disasters to your re- membrance, since all those of our party, who have seen what every one performed, are unanimously agreed in this just sen- tence, namely, to award the prize and chapletunto your majes- ty's person." At the end of his speech, says a French writer, murmurs of praise were heard on every side ; nor indeed can we be surprised that such wonderful moderation and humility in so youthful a conqueror, after so unparalleled a victory, should have struck the French with admiration of his virtues. They exclaimed, that he had spoken nobly, and, with one accord, pro- nounced him the most amiable, as well as the most valiant, Prince in Christendom. The last enterprize, in which the Prince of Wales bore a distinguished part, was in an attempt to restore Pedro King of Castile, who had been deprived of his throne by his base brother Henry, Earl of Transtamare. In this expedition he was again successful, and, after a fierce engagement at Najara, decided the fate of the kingdom ; for the Spaniards, terrified at their defeat, voluntarily returned to their allegiance, and, with one consent, accepted Pedro as their lawful Sovereign. This ex- ploit, however, was attended with the most fatal consequences, for Prince Edward contracted a disease in Spain which even- tually undermined his constitution, and at length terminated his life. Had it not been for this illness, he would undoubtedly have brought his army against Paris, whither he had himself 4 EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES. been summoned by the French King, to answer certain com- plaints made against his taxes and impositions as Prince of Aquitain. The reply made by Edward to the French King's messengers is highly characteristic: "Gentlemen," said he, his countenance glowing with anger and disdain, " we will gladly go to Paris to our uncle, since he hath thus handsomely invited us ; but be assured that it shall be with helmet on our head, and sixty thousand men in our company." The complaint, the first symptoms of which Prince Edward felt during his Spanish expedition, was, according to the super- stition of the day, ascribed by some to enchantment, and by others to poison, but it is pretty generally allowed to have been a dropsy, which, after a lingering illness, terminated in a calen- ture or burning fever, from which no skill could relieve him. He died on Trinity Sunday, the eighth of June, 1376, at the age of forty-six. Thus fell " the flower of English chivalry," and it would be superfluous in this place to attempt any delineation of his ad- mirable and exalted character. It has been remarked, that the English dreaded no invasion whilst he lived, were confident of success in every engagement where he commanded, and served under his banner with an ardor and devotion which could not but assure a victorious issue. He married Joan, Countess of Kent, the relict of Sir Thomas Holland, and one of the most beautiful women of that age ; by her he left only one son, Richard, so named from his godfather the King of Armenia. He was born in 1366-7, at Bourdeaux, and succeeded his grandfather in the throne of England ; a throne which the exploits of his father had so mainly contributed to establish. We shall conclude the biographical portion of this article with a translation (never before printed) of a curious letter from the Black Prince to Reginald de Briene, or Brian, Bishop of Worcester, giving an account of the battle of Poictiers, the ori- 5 EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES. ginal of which, in Norman French, is preserved in the Episcopal Register of Bishop Brian, fol. 113. " Reverend Father in God, and very dear Friend. "We return you our hearty thanks, in as much as we have heard that you have behaved so well and so naturally towards us, in praying to God for us and our undertaking; and we are well satisfied, that in consequence of your devout prayers and those of others, God has vouchsafed to aid us in all our enter- prizes; for which we are daily bound to thank him, praying that you, on your part, would likewise do so, continuing to act towards us as you have hitherto done, for which we hold our- selves greatly bound to you. And, reverend father, with re- gard to our estate, concerning which we think you, craving your pardon, desire to hear good news, we would have you know that at the time of writing these, we were well, happy, and in good plight, thanks be to God, which same may he en- able us, at all times, to hear and know concerning you, and touching which be so kind as to certify us by your letters, and as often as you can conveniently send news by travellers to these parts. We would have you know, that on the eve of the translation of Saint Thomas of Canterbury, we began to march with our forces towards the parts of France, principally on ac- count of having heard of the arrival of our very honoured Lord and Father the King in those parts, we stationed ourselves before Burges in Berya, Orleans, and Tours, and received in- telligence that the King of France had come to engage with us with vast forces near those borders, and we approached so that the battle was fought between us in such a manner, that the enemy were discomfited, thanks be to God, and the said King, his son, and several great men were taken and killed, whose names we send you by our very dear esquire Mr. Roger de Cottesford, the bearer of these. Reverend Father in God, and our very dear friend, may the Holy Spirit ever preserve you. Given under our seal at Bourdeaux, the twentieth day of October." 6 HibUsked. July 2,2324, by Warding, Tripkaok £ Zepard. Svnsbury Square, London,. EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES. The remains of Edward the Black Prince are deposited under an arch dividing the centre from the south aisle of that portion of Canterbury Cathedral, which extends eastward from the Choir, and is called Trinity Chapel. The place of his interment was his own choice, for by his last will, signed the day only before his death, he desired that he might be buried in the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity at Canterbury ; and, as a peculiar token of respect to his memory, both Houses of Par- liament attended his corpse through the city of London. His monument consists of an altar tomb of grey or Sussex marble, the top plated with brass, on which, under a canopy of wood, reposes the effigies of the Prince executed in brass, gilt and burnished. In each of the compartments round the sides of the tomb are shields of brass enamelled, alternately, the royal arms, quarterly France and England, surmounted with a file of three points ; and the badge of the Prince three ostrich feathers or, on a field sable. Over each of the shields is fixed a scroll of brass enamelled, alternately, those over the arms having the motto Houmont, and those over the badges Ich Diene. The latter motto is also inscribed on a label placed across the points, or quill end, of the several ostrich feathers on the shields. Of these shields there are sixteen, corresponding with the number of compartments into which the sides and ends of the tomb are divided, six on each side and two at each end. The effigy is most admirably finished, and still in a state of pristine perfec- tion, with the exception of the coloured stones, which have been taken from the collets round the circle of the coronet, and the dagger, which was originally fixed to the right side of the belt. The sword, which was suspended from the left side, has been disengaged, and now lies loose by the figure. The armour is exceedingly interesting, but we must refer our description of this portion of the monument to the introductory essay, where the subject will be more attentively considered. It may not, however, be irrelevant to the accompanying memoir, to ob- serve, that the opening of the helmet displays a countenance 7 EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES. remarkable for features of the finest proportion, and with an ex- pression at once mild, dignified, and manly. It possesses too an individuality of character, if we may so express ourselves, which furnishes a decisive proof of being a faithful portraiture of the distinguished person it professes to represent. The helmet is surmounted by a cap of maintenance, on which is placed the crest. In the will of the Prince he particularly directs that this shall be a leopard : the animal on the monument has a decidedly long mane, carefully platted, and resembles rather a lion than a leopard, with a crown on the head, and a label of three points round the neck. These are particulars not named in the will, and whether they may be deemed a departure from the instruc- tions, or whether they have arisen from the ignorance of the artist as to the proper mode of representing a leopard, remains doubtful. At his feet is an animal couchant ; it has been called a lioness, but is not sufficiently characterized to enable us to as- sign to it, with certainty, any particular name. The enamelling of the belt, straps of the spurs, and scabbard of the sword, remain perfect. The belt consists of a row of circular ornaments meet- ing in a central quatrefoil, the centre of each circle has what is called a leopard, but what more resembles a lion's head and the quatrefoil, than the entire animal, enamelled gold on a blue ground. The straps of the spurs are enamelled blue in square moulded compartments ; and the sword has a row of ornamented quatrefoils, nine in number, running nearly the length of the scabbard, the centre of each quatrefoil enamelled blue. In the circle of the pummel is also a leopard or lion's head in gold on a blue ground, and at the top of the scabbard are two quatre- foils, having flowers in the centre relieved by the same colour. Round the edge of the slab on which the effigy lies, is the fol- lowing inscription in raised gothic letters of brass, arranged in double lines : 8 EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES. ©g gtst le noble prince Jfflouss (Ebtoarb, at'sne? fil? bu tres noble Bog lEbfoarb tftiers ; jabts prince b'&quttatne & be €rales, But He (Kornfoaille, $r (Eounte Ire <£estre, qt morust en la jfeste tie la tErmt'te, qestott le but. four be 3fugn Tan be €rrace JWfl Grot's tens septante si'sine. ILalme Ue qt Wm euJWercte. &mcn. ®u qt passe? oue boucfie close $ar la ou ce Corps repose, intent ce qe te btrag, Sbg conte te btre le sag. tEtel come tu es autt'el fu, ®u seras ttel comme je su. Be la mort ne pensat \t mte, ■©ant come jabog la bte : 3Entre abot granb Sfttcfiesse, Itont fe g fis granb noblesse, t£erre, Jftcsons, granb ©resor, Braps, CTfttbanx, Urgent & Or. ittes ore su fes pottres & c&ettfs ^erfontr en la tre gt's. Jffla ffiranb 23eaute est tout alee; itta cfiar est tout gastee. Jtftoult est estrott ma meson, 1En mot na st bertte non : 3St sf ore me betsse?, %t ne qutbe pas que bous betssej. (Be fe eusse onques Some este ffef su fe ore be tant cfiangee. $our Bleu prte? au CEelestten Bog, (Be mercte att be Talme be mog. ®ou? ceulx qe pur mog prteront <©u a Bteu m'accorberont, Bteu les mette en son ^aragbt's (Bu nul ne poet estre cbettfs. 9 EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES. The canopy, which extends between the two columns support- ing the arch under which the monument is placed, has been deco- rated with painting. The quatrefoil under each of the battle- ments on the summit is in colour ; on the ceiling are faint traces of a representation of the Deity sustaining the Son on the cross ; and at the angles are the symbols of the four Evangelists. Over the wooden canopy, and suspended from an iron rod, hang the helmet, crest, surcoat embroidered with the arms of France and England, without the file, gauntlets, and scabbard of the sword of the deceased : the sword itself is said to have been taken away by Cromwell. Affixed to the column at the head of the tomb, is the wooden shield, plated with strong leather, and embossed with the royal arms, as on the surcoat, without the file. As these remains, although much mutilated, are undoubtedly genuine, they will be of great importance in illustrating the subject of an- tient armour, and the particular description of them is therefore deferred to the close of the work. The tomb is surrounded by a strong iron fence of Gothic design, which has been omitted in the accompanying plate, for the purpose of better displaying the ar- chitectural beauties of the monument ; a small portion of a si- milar fence, surrounding the adjoining monument of archbishop Courtnay, is however introduced, from which the style of that surrounding the tomb of the Black Prince may be well under- stood. Upon the whole it may be observed, that the monument of the Black Prince, although not remarkable for richness of design, may, from its connexion with the illustrious individual it has been raised to commemorate, and the extreme beauty of the workmanship, rank amongst the most valuable monumental re- mains which this, or any other, country can produce. 10 Drawn k EnjSravedbyEdw.Blore. McDSSTSJMIEOT ©IP KEH© TElDWAlRJB) TIME TJHIHISI© IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY. fitbUshed NmTl. liZi, fy Harding, Triphook ScLepcvrd, Finsbur)' Sgua.re,London . EDWARD THE THIRD, KING OF ENGLAND. 1312 1377. MONUMENT AT WESTMINSTER. Edward of Windsor, eldest son of Edward the Second of that name surnamed Carnarvon, by Isabella, daughter of Philip King of France, was born in the castle at Windsor, on Monday next after the feast of St. Martin, being the thirteenth of November, 1312, which was the sixth of his father's reign. He was baptized Edward in conformity with the wishes of the English nobility, his uncle Prince Lewis of France, at that time on a visit to his sister in the English court, in vain using every argument and entreaty that he might be named after his mater- nal grandfather, King Philip. Within a few days of his birth, he received from his father a grant of the counties of Chester and Flint, with the exception of certain manors, and was styled by the King, " Edvardus Comes Cestrise, films noster charis- simus." Walsingham relates, that King Edward, who had, pre- viously to the birth of this infant, been dejected and cast down, on account of the death of his unworthy favourite Piers Gaveston, was roused into spirits by the new character he was called on to assume, and from that day was restored to happi- ness and activity. It is affirmed by Brian Twyne, a good antiquary, and one on whose statements reliance may generally be placed, that Wal- ter Burley was tutor to the young Prince; but the generally 1 EDWARD THE THIRD, received opinion is, that his education was superintended by Richard Angerville, or de Bury, as he is usually called from the place of his birth, who was also a member of the university of Oxford, and an accomplished scholar, as well as a person of extraordinary abilities. For this and other services he was afterwards made keeper of the privy seal, treasurer of England, then dean of Wells, and finally lord chancellor, and bishop of Durham. In a parliament holden at York, in the 16th of his father's reign, Edward was created Prince of Wales, a title he does not appear to have assumed, as it occurs in no public instrument ; and the reason usually assigned is, that he shortly after was invested with the Dukedom of Aquitain. The King, his fa- ther, having been often summoned to do the customary homage for his possessions in France, and having as often delayed to perform it, it was, at length, concluded, that he should transfer his right and title to the Prince, who was to do homage in his own person for these his newly-acquired dignities ; and for this purpose he passed over into France, accompanied by the Queen his mother, September 12, 19 Edward II. It was dur- ing this visit that Isabella, partly from policy and partly from fear, contracted him in marriage to Philippa, daughter of Wil- liam Count of Hollande and Hainault. The occurrences that led to the elevation of Edward to the throne of his father, belong rather to the historian than the bio- grapher, nor indeed will the limits of the present work allow us to enter upon their consideration. The monarch, weak and self-willed, had now filled the measure of his misconduct, and being deposed by the authority of parliament, the Prince was nominated, by the same authority, to succeed to the throne of England. It is upon record, however, that, touched with com- passion at his parent's situation, he refused to accept the crown, or to enter upon the administration of affairs, until the King 2 KING OF ENGLAND. should have consented to the measure; and this refusal he bound himself to observe by a solemn vow. The manner in which the unfortunate Edward's resignation was obtained is well known; it was, however, obtained; and the young Prince, then only eleven years old, ascended to the throne : he was proclaimed King on the twenty-fifth of January, 1326 ; and on the first of February, having previously been girded with the sword of knighthood by the hands of Henry, Earl of Lancaster, was crowned at Westminster, by Walter Reginald, Archbishop of Canterbury. Of a reign so illustrious and important in the annals of this kingdom, as that of Edward the Third, we cannot offer even the faintest sketch. The victories of Cressy and Poictiers, the splendid atchievements of the Black Prince, the naval superi- ority of the country, then for the first time established, and the improvements that took place both in our external commerce and internal regulations, contribute to render this aera one of the most conspicuous in British history; and, as has been well observed by a recent and very accurate historian, Mr. Sharon Turner, it was then that our parliament enjoyed, in full and up- right exercise, those constitutional powers, which the nation has long learnt to venerate as its best inheritance, but which weaker sovereigns have, too eagerly, contested. The close of Edward's reign forms a melancholy contrast with its commence- ment and progress. From the moment of the Black Prince's death, his affairs appear to have declined ; disaster followed close upon disaster ; France, the scene of his former glory, be- came little less than a monument of his disgrace, for he had the mortification of living to see nearly all his possessions in that country wrested from his crown ; possessions which had been attained at such an expense of blood and treasure, and the loss of which must have been regarded by the nation as the hu- miliating consequence of their sovereign's mismanagement. 3 EDWARD THE THIRD, Edward the Third died at Sheene, on the twenty-first of June, 1377, being then in his sixty-fifth year. Walsingham has preserved an anecdote of his last moments, which, if it be true, reads an awful lesson to the dissolute and immoral. He says, that Alice Peers, who was reputed to be the King's mistress, and who was with him in his dying moments, permitted none of the religious persons of his household to approach him, and to the last flattered him that there was no danger, and that he would recover. When, however, his speech failed him, and the hand of death was visibly approaching, she drew the rings from his fingers and left him ; the attendants followed her example ; heedless of the dying agonies of their lord, they too commenced the work of pillage, and departed. In this situation he was found by the chaplain of the palace, who, with true Christian piety and fortitude, admonished him to have recourse to God in penitence and prayer. The feeble King, somewhat awakened from the lethargy in which his faithless attendants had left him, obeyed the charitable call, and taking the crucifix in his hands, kissed it with much fervor, and faintly pronouncing the name of Jesus, expired. Such is Walsingham's account, which has been repeatedly credited by all historians to the present time, with the exception, we believe, of Joshua Barnes. The argument of the Cambridge professor is not unworthy of attention. He urges, that had she been guilty of so great depravity, she would, doubtless, have been accused of it before parliament in the year following the king's death ; " because, if she did it before witnesses, it must have come out, and then could not but have been fatal to her ; and if not, itcould not have been known." Cer- tain it is, that no such charge was adduced against her, even when her most inveterate enemies were raking up all that could be brought forward to her prejudice, and would scarcely have omitted that which, if established, would have entirely over- whelmed her. In respect to the other accusations, of a public 4 KING OF ENGLAND. nature, made against her, it is well to hear Sir Robert Cotton, who, when he records the judgment of the Lords, which was banishment, and the forfeiture of all her lands and other posses- sions, adds, that " the record, which is very long, proves no such heinous matter against her ; only it shews, how she was in such credit with King Edward, that she sat at his bed's head, when others were fain to stand at the chamber door, and that she moved those things unto him, which they of the privy cham- ber durst not : and further, the two points for which she was con- demned, seemed very honest : only her misfortune was, that she was friendly to many, but all were not so to her." Far be it from us to palliate vice or to advocate the cause of the guilty, but it is due to justice as well as to humanity, before we credit all the accusations against this unfortunate female, to remember, that she afterwards became the wife of the Lord Windsor, which could scarcely have been the case, had her character been so notoriously infamous as Walsingham would represent her ; and as for the disgrace that may attach to her memory from the judgment entered against her by the Lords, that will in some measure be removed by the fact of this very judgment having been reversed, and a restitution made of the lands and posses- sions heretofore forfeited, early in the next reign. Neglected, however, as we are assured King Edward was on his death-bed, his funeral was solemnized with more than common magnificence. The body was brought with great pomp from Sheene to Westminster, his three sons, John of Gaunt, Edmund of Langley, and Thomas of Woodstock, to- gether with his son-in-law, John Duke of Bretagne, attending as chief mourners, accompanied by all the prelates and barons of England. Having passed on an open car, through crowds of people, who, as Froissart assures us, with tears and lamenta- tions, bewailed the death of their King, it was deposited in the abbey church of Westminster, in compliance with the request 5 EDWARD THE THIRD, of Queen Philippa, near to the spot where she herself was laid, and a sumptuous monument was erected to his memory. This monument stands on the south side of the Confessor's Chapel, under an arch which divides it from the side-aisle of the choir. It consists of an altar-tomb of grey Petworth marble, each side divided into six niches with intermediate tracery, which is carried round the ends of the tomb. In the niches on the south side there still remain small figures of brass, gilt, de- signed with great taste, and beautifully wrought : these repre- sent six of the children of the monarch ; there were six, also, on the north side, which, we regret to add, no longer remain. Underneath each of these figures was originally a shield of brass, enamelled, containing the armorial ensigns of the corres- ponding figure, but of these shields three only now remain on the south side : 1. Quarterly, France and England, under a label of three points. The figure, there can be little doubt, represents the Black Prince, who is habited in a long cloak descending to the feet, the hair short, and with a pointed beard. 2. Carlisle and Leon impaling France and England. A fe- male figure m a close dress, surmounted by a mantle, with stiff reticulated head-dress, and long sleeves. Probably Joan de la Tour, the second daughter. 3. France and England, under a label of three points, charged with cantons ermine. A male figure in a cloak, which is thrown back over the left shoulder. Probably Lionel Duke of Cla- rence, third son. The other shields having been torn away, it is impossible, at this time, to appropriate, with any certainty, the remaining fi- gures to the persons they are supposed to represent ; nor, in- deed, is it at all clear that the two now viewed in an eastern direction occupy their original situations ; as the pedestals on which they once stood have been destroyed, and the figures 6 KING OF ENGLAND. themselves evidently disengaged from their fastenings. From other sources, however, we may collect that the whole groupe consisted, in addition to those already mentioned, of the fol- lowing : 4. Edmund of Langley, fifth son. 5. Mary, Duchess of Bretagne, fourth daughter. 6. William of Hatfield, second son. These are supposed to be the three remaining figures on the south side. Those on the north side were, 7. Isabel, Lady Coucy, first daughter. 8. William of Windsor, sixth son. 9. John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, fourth son. 10. Blanch de la Tour, third daughter. 1 1 . Margaret, Countess of Pembroke, fifth daughter. 12.. Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, seventh and youngest son. The chapel of the Confessor being raised considerably above the level of the side-aisle, this monument, in common with all those erected in the same situation, has, on the side adjoining the aisle, a lofty moulded base, divided into four square com- partments of quatrefoils, each enclosing a large metal shield enamelled ; the first with the arms of St. George, the second and fourth (the third having been torn away) with those of France and England. The tomb is covered with a table of brass gilt, on which reposes the effigy of the monarch, in the same metal, surrounded by a shrine consisting of various small figures, each surmounted by very beautiful tabernacle work, and the whole terminating over the head of the statue in a rich Gothic canopy : the material of which this splendid termination to the monument of Edward is composed is commonly said to be brass, but it is doubtless of a similar metal with that called latten, in the agreement be- tween the executors of Lord Warwick and the artisans em- 7 EDWARD THE THIRD, ployed in the erection of that nobleman's tomb ; like that, also, it has been highly gilt, although time, and want of proper at- tention, have nearly obliterated its lustre. On the verge of the metal table, beginning at the north side, is the following metrical inscription : f^fc Bents gJnglorum, jflos Hegum ^Heterttoruffl, JForma Jputurorum, Hex elemens, ^ax ^opulorum, tJertfus <2Bl3barlrus, 3Uegm compleits ^ubtleum. Enbtttus parUus, 23ellts potens Jfflacftabeum. ^rospere &am btxtt, Begnum p'etate rebtxtt : gJrmt'potens rexi't: {am ©do (cceh'ce Win) stt. And, at the bottom, (as appears from Gaywood's print of the tomb,) although long since worn away, Tertius Edvardus Fama super JEthera notus. Pugita pro Patria. MCCCLXXVII. The effigy of the King is attired in richly embroidered robes ; the hair and beard flowing, full, and slightly curled. The visage is long, and the countenance apparently bears marks of care and age, which it may well do, if, as Mr. Gough imagines, the fi- gure was a counterpart of the body as it was interred. Each hand retains the remains of a sceptre, which, as well as the cushion which supported the head, and a lion which was under the feet in Sandford's time, have long since disappeared. Over the tomb, and extending between the columns that support the arch under which the monument is placed, is a wooden canopy exquisitely designed and tolerably perfect, with the exception of the finials of the individual arches of which it is composed, and another row of ornamental arches which were formerly in front of those at present remaining, and to which the springings of those now lost are still attached. 8 @F KOT© EBWAR1 THE TlIEB im "WpstnfflimLSter . Published SeptrzgjS2f: M BareUng* Triphook tlepard.Ffosbury Squnr^Zondon. KING OF ENGLAND. Close to the tomb of King Edward are a sword and shield, both of large dimensions, which are said to have belonged to that monarch : we are, however, inclined to believe, that they appertain to a somewhat later period. It is, indeed, to be regretted, that this noble monument should not have been handed down to us in a more perfect state : time, however, together with its powerful allies, vio- lence and neglect, have left us a wreck only of what, when per- fect, was a truly magnificent structure, and well worthy of an English monarch. It is to be hoped, and, which is more, we now firmly believe, that the spirit which led to the partial destruc- tion of these venerable remains has long since passed away; and, we trust, that the improved feeling of the present day will be displayed, not by arbitrary restorations, and additions unwar- ranted by any legitimate authority, but rather by a scrupulous care to preserve, and a religious disposition to protect, that which still exists of this once splendid memorial to departed royalty. 9 Drawn IN DURHAM CATHEDRAL 1.1824. by J7astUrig.7Yiphfloh& lepard. fi/tsbiiry Stfuase.Zcndori. THOMAS HATFIELD, BISHOP OF DURHAM. Died 1381. monument at durham. Thomas Hatfield, second son of Sir Walter Hatfield, of Hat- field, in Holdernesse, was elected to the then vacant see of Durham on the eighth day of May, 1345, being the festival of St. John of Beverley. As the younger branch of an ancient and very honourable family, Bishop Hatfield was, in all probability, destined, at an early period, for the church ; and although no records now exist from which we may become acquainted with the first years of this powerful ecclesiastic, yet there seems every reason to conjecture that he received his education at Oxford, and in the house founded about the year 1290 by Richard de Hoton, the then prior, and the monks of Durham priory, for the younger members of their order. To this foundation, which went by the name of Durham College, and was situated on the spot where Trinity now stands, Hatfield, in after life, became a munificent benefactor, endowing it with the yearly revenue of two hundred marcs, for the support of eight Benedictine monks and eight secular scholars. It would be no easy task to trace Bishop Hatfield through his early preferments to the time of his becoming, first the con- fidential servant of his sovereign, and lastly the powerful prelate of the North ; for De Chambre, and other early writers on Dur- ham and its see, make no mention of the Bishop till he became possessor of the mitre. Mr. Surtees indeed, in his recent 1 THOMAS HATFIELD, " History of Durham," tells us, from Newcourt, that he held the prebend of Oxgate, in Middlesex, and the rectory of Deb- den, in Essex : the latter of which he resigned in 1336. To these we may add, on other authority, the prebend of Lidington in the church of Lincoln, to which he was inducted in 1342; that of Buckden in the same cathedral, which he received in 1 344 ; as well as the prebend of Frydaythorp, in the church of York. The two last preferments he enjoyed at the time of his promotion to the see of Durham. The character of Hatfield, when he was selected by the king for this extraordinary advancement, is said to have been more consonant to that of a martial chieftain than an ecclesiastical dignitary. Walsingham has preserved an anecdote to this effect: — the story is not only amusing, but it serves to shew at how great a price the court of Rome, even at that time, was willing to purchase the good humour of the English monarch. Edward, on the death of Bishop Bury, took care to secure the validity of his new appointment, by procuring the concurrence of the Roman Pontiff, and accordingly solicited the nomination of Hatfield, which was willingly acceded to. When some of the Cardinals objected to the newly-proposed bishop, as being a man of less strict, and more laical habits, than were con- sistent with such a situation, the Pope replied, " Had the King of England asked me for the mitre to bestow it upon an ass, he should have been gratified ;" and Hatfield was accordingly elected. It is probable indeed, that his knowledge of the world, his matured judgement, high spirit, and martial accom- plishments, recommended him to his sovereign as a fit depository of the extraordinary powers which encircled the Northern mitre. Edward, who had long known and valued him, styles him, in a letter to the Pope, written in 1345, " secretarius noster caris- simus," and evidently considered the appointment a matter of importance and good policy. The loyalty and personal devotion of Hatfield had often been called forth : in 1342, as we learn from a record preserved in the Foedera, he was about to join 2 BISHOP OF DURHAM. his sovereign then in France, with twenty men at arms, and the year after his consecration he appeared at the siege of Calais with eighty archers. Nor were such habits, even in a mitred noble, inconsistent with the character of the age, and they were highly important to the royal cause in the remote and turbulent, as well as exposed, district over which Bishop Hat- field was selected to preside. In little more than a year after his consecration, he was called on to take the field against David Bruce ; who, seizing the opportunity of Edward's absence in France, had passed the border, and entering England by the Western marches, advanced with a very powerful army, spread- ing slaughter and desolation around him. The Bishop of Dur- ham was among the first to oppose the invaders. In conjunction with the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of Lincoln and Carlisle, the Lords Neville and Percy, and the Sheriffs of York and Northumberland, an army of sixteen thousand men was speedily assembled, an engagement ensued, and the Scottish King, together with the Earls of Fife and Monteith, and Sir William Douglas, were made prisoners, and a long list of the most illustrious among the Scottish nobility slain, at the cele- brated victory of Neville's Cross; a victory in which, if we may credit Froissart, Bishop Hatfield and the Lord Percy led the first battle. After this important success, it does not appear, that any other events of a warlike nature occurred to disturb the peace of Hatfield's pontificate. He appears as a witness to the Charter and all the other instruments connected with the sur- render of the crown of Scotland by Edward Balliol, but he en- gaged in no political intrigue, and his name only once occurs as a commissioner on the Scottish border. His life seems to have been occupied in fulfilling the duties of his exalted station : when absent from his see, in attendance upon his sovereign, or assisting in his place in parliament ; when present, in regulating the affairs of his widely extending diocese, and in the exercise of those virtues of hospitality and almsgiving more peculiarly 3 THOMAS HATFIELD, appropriate to the episcopal character. .The see of Durham, says Mr. Surtees, (and we would here express our acknowledg- ments for the assistance we have frequently derived from his very valuable work,) lost nothing of its dignity under his firm and vigorous administration. Like his predecessor, Bury, he maintained a princely hospitality, and dispensed a daily and ex- tended charity. He was open, generous, and sincere ; to his subjects, just and beneficent; to his dependants, liberal and indulgent ; yet when opposed, haughty and untractable ; impa- tient of controul, tenacious of rank, and jealous to excess of any infringement on the privileges of the church. In person, he is described by De Chambre, as tall and unbending under the load of years, grey headed, of venerable aspect, and lofty and commanding presence. Bishop Hatfield died, after a lingering illness, at bis manor of Alford, near London, on the eighth of May, 1381. His body was brought to Durham, and interred in a tomb, which he had himself erected for his own sepulture, and which is depicted in the accompanying plate. Although he had been munificent in his public and private donations duringhis life, and supported an almost princely establishment, he died possessed of very consi- derable wealth, which he bestowed in various acts of charity, and to persons of all ranks and denominations. To the church of Durham, besides several robes of silk and cloth of gold, 300 marcs in money, the stock of his park in Weardale, many pre- cious ornaments and divers vessels of silver, he bequeathed, as his most important treasure, a single thorn from the crown of our Saviour, which De Chambre records to have been originally presented to him by King Edward ; and the high value attached to this miserable imposture is no bad illustration of the credulity and superstition of the age. Nor does a transaction that took place at the funeral, afford us a bad lesson on the folly of all earthly pomp, and the insufficiency of worldly wealth, or of power however extensive, to procure regard beyond the grave. 4 BISHOP OF DURHAM. Bishop Hatfield, to whom the see and all its adherents were so much indebted, and to whom, when living, every one looked up with admiration and respect, was not admitted within the walls of the cathedral, when dead, without difficulty and contention. In consequence of a dispute between the Bishop's executors and the prior and monks, who claimed the chariot, horses, and other apparatus of the funeral, for the sacrist, the body was, for some time, not permitted to enter the walls, till, by the advice of Lord Neville, the contending parties submitted to a reference, and the executors redeemed the articles in dispute at a price of two hundred marcs. The monument of Bishop Hatfield stands on the south side of the choir, under one of the arches dividing it from the side aisle, and forms the base of the Bishop's throne, said to have been erected by the same prelate. From the dissimilarity in the style of the two, we should however be led to infer that they are of different, although not distant, periods : the monument belonging undoubtedly to the age of Edward III. whilst the throne assimilates more with that of Henry IV. The tomb and its canopies are wrought in stone, and the effigy, which is habited in pontificals and richly ornamented, is sculp- tured in alabaster, and is the only one which escaped the wan- ton injury, with which the Scotch prisoners, confined by Cromwell in this Cathedral after the battle of Dunbar, indulged their vindictive and fanatical feelings. The shields with which the monument is so liberally decorated, have been charged with armorial bearings and those emblazoned ; but a thick coat of yellow wash, with which it has for many years been disfigured, has nearly obliterated the colours, and choaked up some of the beautifully sculptured ornaments. The arms of Hatfield, a chevron between three lions rampant, are faintly discernible on some of the shields, but it is greatly to be hoped that an improved taste may lead to an early and careful removal of this barbarous covering. 5 THOMAS HATFIELD, BISHOP OF DURHAM. The tomb is perfect on both sides ; that towards the choir has an ascent to the throne, the front of which is finished with a series of canopies, in continuation of those on the side of the tomb. 6 a " ~ Engraved "by HI* Eerax . Itrawn hy E3w* Blor* . 6 ' Sffl©SfTiraC3BS5TrAE. Cffi&IFEIL ©IF WffiLHJIABfi ©IF WlTKffl^M BS§M@3P ©rfmHODBOTHR, in IWncliester Cathedral. Tublishcd Sept? 29. 1825. bySarding. Triphook k Ztpard. Finsbury Squaro. londoru WILLIAM OF WYKEHAM, BISHOP OF WINCHESTER. BORN 1324. DIED 1404. MONUMENT AT WINCHESTER. It has pleased God to send into the world, at considerable intervals of time indeed, but in almost every age and country, and during the less enlightened periods of human society most conspicuously, some beings who appear almost from their birth to have been gifted with embodied spirits of a more exalted na- ture than those which inhabit the forms of ordinary mortals. The names of Solon, of Socrates, of Homer, of Aristotle, of Numa, of Cicero, — and may we not add of our own Alfred, of Bacon, and of Shakspeare — sufficiently exemplify the position, illus- trative instances of which may be discovered in the annals of all nations. Few examples, however, can be found of men who, at a very early period of life, have been sought for in obscurity, and suddenly transported to a splendid court, and entrusted, instantly, with offices of high confidence and emolu- ment; few, indeed, could have borne such sudden elevation without incurring the charge of personal vanity, cr encounter- ing the reproach of cupidity, of low ambition, or of grasping avarice. It is the glory of Wykeham that he thus rose and thus maintained himself in the highest offices of the state, amid the usual cabals of jealous, envious, and malignant courtiers, through the greater part of the reign of the most magnificent monarch of the fourteenth century. It is equally creditable 1 WILLIAM OF WYKEHAM, to him, that he was trusted and honored even by the adverse factions which distracted the state under the weak and wretched successor of his great patron. William of Wykeham was bora at Wykeham, a village, between Winchester and Portsmouth, in Hampshire, in the year 1324. Family names in that age were arbitrary and uncertain, and it is not clearly known whether his father's name was Wykeham, Long, or Perot. He himself, in the statutes of both his colleges, mentions his father and mother by their Christian names of John and Sibylla, and it seems probable that they were persons of reputable condition, but in mean cir- cumstances. The Lord of the Manor of Wykeham, Nicholas Uvedale, has immortalized his own name by his early patronage of William, the future Bishop of Winchester, and Chancellor of England. His beneficence is recorded by a tablet placed con- spicuously in the front of the chapel at Winchester, inscribed UvEDALLUS WYKEHAMI PatRONUS. The biography of Wykeham has been so amply elucidated by the correct and elegant pen of Bishop Lowth, himself one of the brightest ornaments of Wykeham's colleges, and the life compiled by that prelate from authentic documents, has been so frequently published in repeated editions, abstracts, and abridgements, that it may suffice, if we furnish our readers with a chronology of the principal events of his advancement in the church and state, and of the establishment of his noble institutions ; and we are the rather induced to do this, because it is not only consonant with our design, but has never, unless we are much mistaken, been before attempted. 1324. Wykeham (styled by himself, in his own will, Wil- helmus Wykeham) was born. 1334, or thereabouts : he was sent by Nicholas Uvedale, ait. 10. Constable of Winchester Castle, and Lord of the BISHOP OF WINCHESTER. Manor of Wykeham, to the grammar-school of Win- chester. 1340, He was taken into his patron's family as secretary, set. 16. Between this time and 1347, he was recommended to William of Edyndon, Bishop set. 23. of Winchester, who finding him to possess eminent talent, coupled with much useful knowledge, brought him to the court of King Edward the Third. 1352 I 2Q ^ n a P aten * dated 1352, he is styled " Ckricus." 1356, By a patent dated the tenth of May 1356, he was set. 32. appointed clerk of all the King's works in his manors of Henle and Yeshampsted. On the thirtieth of Oc- tober, in the same year, he was made surveyor of the King's works in his manor and park of Windsor. At this time he pulled down and rebuilt, with superior magnificence, the Castles of Windsor and Queenbo- rough. 1360, In this year, he attended the King to Calais, acting set. 36. as a notary and attesting the treaty of Bretigny, there confirmed by the oaths of the Kings of England and France, each in person. 1361, He held, by presentation from the King, the pre- set. 37. bend of Flixton, in the church of Lichfield, and the rectory of Pulham, in Norfolk. 1362, He was ordained Priest by Edyndon, Bishop of set. 38. Winchester. 1363, He was Warder and Justiciary of the King's forests set. 39. on this side Trent : and, in the same year, had a 3 WILLIAM OF WYKEHAM, prebend in the church of St. Stephen, Westminster, the arcdeaconries of Northampton and of Lincoln, and the prepositure of Wells conferred upon him. 1364, ^ made Keeper of the Privy Seal. 1365, He was commissioned by the King to treat of the set. 41. ransom of the King of Scotland, together with the Chancellor, Treasurer, and the Earl of Arundel. He is soon after called Chief of the Privy Council, and Governor of the Great Council, (Rymer, Fcedera, vol. vii. p. 164.) "At this time," says Froissart, his con- temporary, " reigned a priest called William of Wyke- ham, so much in favour with the King of England, that every thing was done by him, and nothing was done without him." 1367, On the tenth of October, in this year, he was con- aet. 43. secrated Bishop of Winchester, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Bishops of London and Salisbury ; and being now qualified, by his advance- ment in the church, to receive the highest dignity in the state, he was constituted Chancellor of England. 1370, He opened the Parliament, summoned to provide set. 46. for war with France, by an energetic harangue. 1371, Yielding to the jealousy of ecclesiastical power, set. 47. expressed by the lay Lords and Commons, he re- signed the Great Seal. 1375, The Duke of Lancaster, although generally hostile set. 51. to the Clergy, and leader of the party which induced Wykeham to resign the Seals, when about to depart for the wars in France, appointed the bishop (together with the Earl of Arundel) his trustee, and agent for 4 BISHOP OF WINCHESTER. all his castles, manors, and estates, and to be his ad- ministrator in case of death. Pope Gregory the Eleventh at this time wrote to the bishop, conjuring him to use his influence with the King to bring about a reconciliation between the belligerents. 1376, A great Council of twtlve prelates and peers was aet. 52. appointed, Wykeham being one, to take the manage- ment of affairs out of the hands of the Duke of Lan- caster's party ; the parliament constituting this ap- pointment obtained universally the name of the Good Parliament. At this time died Edward the Black Prince, one of the greatest heroes, and the most truly deserving that name, that ever this or any other nation produced. He appointed William of Wyke- ham one of his executors. 1377, During the latter part of the last year, and the aet. 53. beginning of this, the revengeful machinations of the Duke of Lancaster's party caused Wykeham's tem- porary removal from Court, but a trial, on charges which incensed the nation, concluded with the bishop's restoration to royal favour. On the twenty- first of June died King Edward the Third, and Wykeham was summoned to attend at the coronation of Richard the Second, and was reinstated in all his dignities. Between this time and 1383, Wykeham was much engaged in state affairs. The ast. 59. Commons named him, with other Lords, with whom they wished to confer relative to the Duke of Lan- caster's projects for an useless war with Spain. These were principally restrained by the Bishop's influence and wisdom. WILLIAM OF WYKEHAM, 1384, He was again chosen to confer with the Commons set. 60. upon the proposal of a treaty of peace with France. 1385, The Bishops of Winchester and Exeter, with two ret. 61. Bannerets, were appointed to survey and rectify all difficulties in the Royal Exchequer. 1386, On the fourteenth of April of this year, the Society set. 62. of Warden and seventy Fellows, which had been formed by Wykeham as early as 1373, at the same time with that of his College and School at Win- chester, made their public entrance into his noble foundation, then, and ever since, entitled Saint Marys College of Winchester in Oxenforde, otherwise New College. During all his private difficulties, and public labours, he had found time to digest and compose a body of statutes, which have served as a model for most sub- sequent foundations of the kind. On the year after he had finished his building at Oxford, he began that at Winchester, and received the oaths of the members of that society to the observance of his statutes, September 9, A. D. 1400. 1393, He held a visitation of the monastery of his Ca- ret. 69. thedral Church of Winchester, and finding the fabric greatly dilapidated, undertook, in the year following, almost the total re-edification of the nave and its aisles. This great work, together with the beautiful oratory and tomb destined for his own interment, occupied -ten years, and was but lately finished when the bishop died. 1399, He was present at the last Parliament of Richard ret. 75. the Second ; and, on the deposition of that unhappy 6 BISHOP OF WINCHESTER. prince, retired from state affairs, devoting himself wholly to works of fervent piety, and most extensive charity. 1404, On the 27th day of September, about eight o'clock set. 80. in the morning, died this great and generous man : the wisest churchman of a superstitious age, the purest statesman that ever adorned the highest offices of dignity and trust ; as well as the most extraordinary instance, perhaps, upon record, of a liberal mind and munificent generosity, in one, who, from a state of comparative poverty and insignificance, rose, with a rapidity almost unexampled, to the highest rank, and the most princely fortunes, but whom neither wealth nor exaltation could corrupt. We shall conclude this article with an extract from a manu- script Chronicle of the Bishops of Winchester, written by a Monk of that place, and a contemporary with Wykeham. It is the more curious, as we do not believe it to have been before made public. " Eodem anno (1366) electus est Willielmus Wykham, vir mirae probitatis et industrial, qui navem istius ecclesiae prout modo cernitur, opere magnifico atque sumptuoso fecerat reno- vari. Vestimenta preciosa cum aliis jocalibus in suo decessu huic ecclesiae munificentissime largiendo, omnes et singulos suae ecclesiae monachos, ut pro anima sua specialius exorarent, con- dignis muneribus honoravit. Hie etiam venerabilis pater duo collegia, unum in Oxonia, et aliud in Wyntonia, ad honorem Dei, et Cleri augmentationem, fundavit, ac cum omnibus neces- sariis sufficienter dotavit. Quantas autem expensas circa reges et proceres continuo effundebat, quot vias lutosas et immeabiles, quot pontes fractos et debiles, quot ecclesias ruinosas et exiles, suis sumptibus emendebat, non stilo poterit breviter compre- hends Obiit autem anno Domini 1404, ad festum Michaelis." 7 WILLIAM OF WYKEHAM, The MS., from which the above quotation is extracted, is a long roll, written by a Winchester Monk, during the reign of Henry V. It closes in 1419. On the subject of Wykeham's liberality, and public spirit, Bishop Lowth makes the following just and very sensible remarks. His munificence, says his biographer, proceeded always from a constant generous principle, a true spirit of libe- rality. It was not owing to a casual impulse, or a sudden emotion, but was the effect of mature deliberation and prudent choice. His enjoyment of riches consisted in employing them in acts of beneficence ; and while they were increasing upon him, he was continually devising proper means of disposing of them for the good of the public : not delaying it till the time of his death, when he could keep them no longer ; nor leaving to the care of others what he could better execute himself ; but forming his good designs early, and, as soon as he had the abi- lity, putting them in execution, that he might have the satis- faction of seeing the beneficial effects of them; and that, by constant observation, and due experience, he might, from time to time, improve and perfect them, so as to render them yet more beneficial. The monument of the illustrious prelate, of whom we have now been treating, stands on the South side of the nave of Winchester Cathedral, under an arch dividing it from the side aisle, and within a chapel of open work, which altogether fills up the vacancy. As this chapel was erected purposely to receive the monument, and is, for that reason, to be deemed an integral part of the design, we have thought it proper to give a distinct plate of its exterior, as well as one of the Tomb which it en- closes. This last is of alabaster : it is placed immediately in the centre of the chapel, and is finished on every side. The effigy of the bishop, in his pontificals, with his crozier under the left arm, is on the upper table : the hands are uncovered, and 8 BISHOP OF WINCHESTER. joined on the breast, as in prayer, having rings on the third finger of the right, and on the third and fourth fingers of the left, hand. The head rests on a double cushion, supported at each corner by an angel. At the feet are three priests. With the exception of the face and hands, the whole of the figure is painted, evidently the work of a very recent period. Wyke- ham's countenance, if we may judge from the statue before us, was not remarkable for intelligence or beauty ; the face is fat and devoid of expression, whilst the figure altogether is short and corpulent. Within the niches, on the sides of the tomb, (which, by the way, in all probability, originally contained figures,) are now emblazoned alternately the arms of the bishop, argent two fesses sable, between three roses gules, and the same impaling those of the see, surmounted by a mitre ; the centre shield being, in addition, encircled with the garter. Round the ledge of the upper table, on which the effigy is placed, is the following inscription cut in brass, inlaid in dark shell marble : — SgaHfjelmus irtctus 22Rgfcefjam facet fjfc nece bi'ctus ; Usttus ecclesi'ae praesul, reparabtt eamcfue. Harps erat Uapifer, proftat fjoc cum tfibtte pauper : ©onstlus pariter rcgnt fuerat bene trexter. I^unc trocet esse ptum funljatto ©ollegtorum : ©xom'ae prtmum stat, SSlhttontaecjue secun&um. ^ugtter metis, tumulum tnucunque bfoetfs, Pro tantts mentis ut stt sftri bfta perennts. The chapel is of stone, finished on the sides with open tracery, and covered with an arched roof of rich fan-work. On each side is a small door of entrance from the body of the church ; and at the east end, which is raised one step, is the base of an altar, bearing evident tokens of having been once elaborately ornamented. Above the altar, the end of the chapel is finished with two tiers, each containing five niches, three large and two smaller, with pedestals for figures. The west end has one tier of corresponding niches, and is finished underneath with tracery, in the spandrils of which are shields containing 9 WILLIAM OF WYKEHAM. the armorial bearings of the bishop. On the south side, and adjoining the altar, is a neat Piscina. The floor appears to have been originally paved with ornamental tiles, of which a few only now remain. Particular attention appears, at all times, to have been paid to the preservation of this monument by the two foundations, so amply endowed by this generous prelate. Their pious regard to the spot containing the remains of their munificent benefactor, is well worthy those who taste so largely of his bounty : and it should not be passed over without acknow- ledgment, since, however laudable, the example is somewhat unusual. We may, however, be permitted to regret, that the judgment with which the repairs have been executed has not always been commensurate with the liberal feelings that have promoted them. The destruction of the small figures, which enriched the sides of the tomb, may probably be ascribed to a very distant period ; but the paring down of the crockets which run up the canopies, and the destruction of the inter- mediate pinnacles, which had probably only sustained partial injury, appear to have been recently accomplished ; and al- though uniformity was probably intended, and has certainly been attained, the beauty of the monument has, in our opinion, been altogether sacrificed for its accomplishment. Some minor errors have been committed, in the application of the fragments of pinnacles to shafts, with which they have no connexion, as well as by adapting finials to the tops of canopies to which they could never have belonged. If we were not cautious of drawing down upon ourselves and our book the censures of our Wiccamical friends, we should, perhaps, hazard an opinion, that the effigy of their founder is not altogether genuine. Certain it is, that it will bear no com- parison, either in design or execution, with almost any similar specimen of the age to which it professes to belong ; nor has the artist, whoever he may be, any reason to regret that his name has not descended to posterity. 10 fubbsh&i SeptTZS. 1825. by Bardiru/, Trip/wok & LeparcLFinsbwy Squaro.ZcmdoTL. JOHN GOWER. DIED 1408. MONUMENT AT ST. SAVIOUR'S, SOUTHWARK. The early accounts of John Gower, the contemporary and friend of Chaucer, and himself a poet of great merit and no mean celebrity, are of a most contradictory nature. Leland had received information, that he was descended from the Gowers of Stitenham, in Yorkshire : — " vir equestris ordinis, ex Stitenhamo villa Eboracensis provincise, ut ego accepi, origi- nem ducens;" Weever expressly says, that he was descended from a family, a branch of which resided at Braborne, in Kent ; and Caxton, in the first edition of the " Confessio Amantis," is equally positive that he was a Welshman, " borne in Walys, in the tyme of Kyng Richard the Second." Caxton's* assertion would have considerable weight, if it did not so happen that, in the second and third editions of Gower's poem, this informa- tion relative to his native country does not appear, whence we may safely conclude, that Berthelet had discovered it to be erro- neous, and omitted it accordingly. Many writers might be * Although, in compliance with those who have preceded us, we give Caxton the credit of informing us, that Gower was a native of Wales, it is bare justice towards that excellent and patriotic printer to state, that he only repeated the story from some MS. copy of our author's works, which he procured for his edition. We have, at this moment, a manuscript on vellum of this description, before us, with the following rubric, here exactly transcribed : 1 JOHN GOWER. quoted, who favour one or other of these opinions, but as they all derive their information from the authorities already named, it seems unnecessary to refer to them. For our own parts, we are content to believe that he was a branch of the Yorkshire family ; and, notwithstanding the assertion of Thynne, who was an industrious and accurate antiquary and herald, should venture to suppose, that the difference in the armorial bear- ings arose from some change that took place at a remote period, and, probably, from the cause explained by Brooke, in the note.* Wb\% book ts t'ntt'tulcb cofessto amah's tbat ts to saye t cnglyssfie the confession off tbe louer maab anb compylcb by 3f°& n ^ofocr srruyer, born in (SSiarys tn tbe tyme off tbe ktng u'cbarb tbe seconb fobtcb book trctetb bofo be was cofessyb to CKcnyus prcste off ITenus bpon tbe causes off louc in bis fyue myites anb scucn bebcly synncs as tftys sayb book al alonge appyerctb anb by cause tfjcr been compryseb tben'n byuers bt'storyes antr fables tofocbyng cucvy matere 31 bayff orijeyntb a table bere folofoyng off all sucbe bystoryes anb fables fober anb m bofjat boofi anb Icef tbey stanb m as bere afftyr folotoetb. Mr. Dibdin,in his " Typographical Antiquities," vol. I. pp. 177, 178, calls this " Caxton's proheme," supposing it to have been first added to the printed work : the fact, however, was, that the printer took the title and table just as he found them in MS., and it was to some unknown person that we are indebted for the information that Govver was a Welshman, and, which is of far greater value, the elaborate list of contents prefixed to the early editions of the " Confessio Amantis." * Thynne, in his very curious animadversions on Speght's edition of Chaucer, printed by that zealous literary antiquary, Mr. Todd, says, that Bale mistakes, in transcribing from Leland, that Gower was a Yorkshireman, "for in truth your armes of this S r John Gower beinge argent on a cheuerone azure, th r ee leopardes heddes or, do prove that he came of a contrarye howse to the Gowers of Stytenham in Yorkeshyre, who bare barrulye of argent and gules, a crosse patye florye sable. 2 JOHN GOWER. From whatever race Gower derived his descent, it is clear that he received a liberal education, which he finished by entering at one of the Inns of Court, in order to prosecute the study of the municipal law. He became a member of the Inner Temple., where it has been generally supposed, that he formed his acquaintance with Chaucer ; and their studies and pursuits being the same, as well as their political opinions, (for the one attached himself to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, while Gower adhered to the Duke of Gloucester, both uncles Whiche difference of armes semeth a difference of famelyes, vnlesse you canne prove that, beinge of one howse, they altered their armes vppon some iuste occasione, as that some of the howse maryinge one heyre did leave his owne armes and bare the armes of his mother ; as was accustoomed in tymes paste. But this difference of coates for this cause, or anye other, (that I colde yet euer lerne) shall you not fynde in this famelye of Gower." This exchange of arms is a curious, and, sometimes, a very per- plexing subject. We have seen a volume containing a great number of coats beau- tifully tricked by Ralph Brooke, York Herald, in 1594, and which, as he himself says, were " collected and made onlye to shewe the alteracon and differences of armes in formeretyme borne and vsed ofy c nobillitie of this realme." Brooke explains this by saying, " it was vsuall, that if a baron or peare of this realme had maryed with an enheritrix of a greater house then his owne, he or his sonne would leaue their owne armes and beare their wyffe or mothers as his chiefe coate; lykewise a yonger brother hauinge maryed with an enheritrix by whom he was aduansed to greater dignitie then his elder brother, dyd vse his wyfes coate rather then to beare his owne with dyfference. By which examples it is manyfest that the erroure of these bearinge of signes, did not growe of ignorance of the officers of armes, by whom it was to be reformed, but onlye by choyse and selfewill of the nobyl- litie themselfes in pleasinge their fantacies, and obscuringe the trwe signe of their progenitours ; this abuse and ignorance beinge ioyned with an other as common and as ill as the formere; which was, if a man had had three sonns, the one dwellinge at the Towns-end, the other at y e Woode, and the thyrde at the Parke, they all tooke theyr surnames of theire dwellinge, and left their aunciente sur- names ; which errour hath overthrowen and brought into oblyvion manye aun- ciente houses in this realme of England, that they are nether knowen by theire name or armes." 3 JOHN GOWER of King Richard,) nothing could be more natural than that an intimacy should ensue, which, we may easily imagine, would quickly ripen into a warm and mutual friendship. Of their esteem for each other, we have positive and public evidence ; for Chaucer, in the conclusion of his "Troilus and Creseide," recommends his poem to the care and revision of Gower and another critical friend, eminent for his scholastic knowledge, and tutor to the poet's son. " O moral Gower, this boke I direct To the, and to the philosophicall Strode, To vouchsafe, there nede is, to correct, Of your benignitees and zeles good :" Whilst Gower, at the conclusion of his "Confessio Amantis," introduces Venus as regarding Chaucer with peculiar favour and commendation : " And grete well Chaucer, whan ye mete, As my discyple and my poete : For in the floures of his youth In sondry wyse, as he well couth, Of ditees and of songes glade, The which he for my sake made, The londe fulfylled is ouer all : Wherof to hym in specyall Aboue all other I am most holde. For thy nowe in his dayes olde Thou shalt hym tell thys message, That he, vpon his latter age, To sette an ende of all his werke, As he whiche is myn owne clerke, Do make his testament of loue, As thou hast done thy shryfte aboue." It is lamentable to suppose that there should have been any 4 JOHN GOWER. interruption to a friendship between two persons who seem to have entertained so much mutual esteem, but this appears to have been the case. The learned and ingenious Mr. Tyrwhitt suspects, that the reflection in the man of lawe's prologue, on those who relate such stories as that of Canace or of Apollo- nius Tyrius, was levelled at Gower, who introduces both tales in his "Confessio Amantis :" " But certainly no word ne writeth he Of thilke wicke ensample of Canace That loved hire owen bother sinfully (Of all svvicke cursed stories I say fy) Or elles of Tyrius Appolonius," &c. : and it is pretty clear that, in the same tale, Chaucer insinuates that his former friend had not been sufficiently accurate in recording a circumstance he was then relating : " Som men wold sayn, how that the child Maurice Doth this message until this emperour,," Certain it is, that Gower, in telling the same story, represents Maurice as entrusted by his father with the invitation*, whereas Chaucer says, " But as I gesse, Alia was not so nice To him that is so soveraine of honour, As he that is of cristen folk the flour, Send any child, but it is bet to deme He went himself, and so it may wel seme." * " The kynge Allee forth, with thassent Of Custe his wife, thyder sent Morice his sonne, as he was taught, To themperour, and he goth straught." 5 JOHN GOWER. What strengthens, if it does not confirm, the suspicion that Gower resented these allusions, and that the two poets were no longer on good terms, is, that the very lines we have already quoted from the " Confessio Amantis," in praise of Chaucer, were subsequently omitted, and are found in none of the more modern manuscripts of that poem, that is, of such as contain the alterations made after the accession of Henry the Fourth. The particulars of Gower's life to be gleaned at this distance of time, are very scanty. That he was considered a poet of great celebrity and worthy of royal patronage, is proved from the introduction to the early editions in MS. of the " Confessio ;" for Richard the Second was not only personally acquainted with him, but condescends to invite him into his presence, and there commands him to write some new poem for his amuse- ment ; Gower's own account of the interview is curious: — it be fel vpon a tyde, As thing which shulde tho be tyde, Vnder the town of newe Troye, Whych tok of Bruyt his fyrst joye, In Temse, whan it was flowende, As I in a bote cam rowende ; , So as fortune here tyme sette, My liege lorde parchaunce I mete. And so bifell, whan I cam nygh, Out of my bote whan he me seygh, He bad me come vnto his barge; And whanne I was with him at large, Amonges othere thinges seide, He hath this charge vpon me leyde, And bad me do my besinesse, That to his heih worthinesse Som newe thing I shulde boke, That he himself! it myght loke. At the close of his life, he lost his sight : in a manuscript of 6 JOHN GOWER. his "Vox Clamantis," in All Souls' library, Oxford, written for Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury, and dedicated by Gower to that prelate, he styles himself " senex et coecus." The manuscript was probably written about 1400 ; * the poem was composed in 1397. That he was possessed of considerable property has always been alleged, from the circumstance of his contributing largely towards the new building of the Church of St. Mary Overey, Southwark, and founding a chantry in St. John's Chapel, where he lies buried ; it remained, however, for the research of the late Mr. Gough to discover the will of Gower, which we shall transcribe as a very curious antiquarian document, and one not only illustrative of the character and circumstances of him whom we are now considering, but of the times in which he flourished. In Dei nomine Amen. Ego Johannes Gower compos mentis, et in fide Catholica ad misericordiam divinam domini nostri Jesu Christi ex toto me commendans, condo testamentum meum sub hac forma. In primis lego animam meam Deo creatori meo, et corpus ad sepeliendum in ecclesia Canonicorum beate Marie de Overes in loco ad hoc specialiter deputato. Et lego Priori dicte ecclesie qui pro tempore fuerit quadraginta solidos. Item lego subpriori viginti solidos. Item lego cuilibet Canonico sacerdoti Deo ibidem servienti xiij 5 et iiij d ceteris vero Canonicis ibidem noviciis lego cuilibet eorum sex solidos et viij d ut omnes et singuli exequias sepulture mee devocius colant, * See Todd's " Illustrations of Gower, p. 100, where he gives two lines, which he says are found in some MSS. of the Confessio Amantis, and which fix the date of this calamity. " Henrici quarti primus regni fuit annus Quo michi deficit visus ad acta mea." 7 JOHN GOWER. orantes pro me. Item lego cuilibet valetto infra portas dicti Prioratus Priori et Conventui servienti duos solidos, et cuilibet garcioni xij rt . Item lego ecclesie beate Marie Magdalene xl solidos ad luminaria et ornamenta dicte ecclesie. Item lego sacerdoti ibidem paroch. x solidos, ut oret et orari faciat pro me. Item lego magistro clerico ibidem iiij 5 . Item lego sub- clerico ij\ Item lego iiij ecclesiis paroch. in Soutwerk, viz. sancte Margarete, sancti Georgii, sancti Olaui, et sancte Marie Magdalene iuxta Bermundesey, cuilibet earum singillatim xiij 3 . et iiij d . ad ornamenta et luminaria ut supra. Et cuilibet sacer- doti paroch. sive rectori in cura ibidem pro tempore residenti et ecclesie servienti sex 8 et octo d ut orent et orari pro me in suis parochiis faciant et procurent. Item lego magistro Hospitalis sancti Thome martiris in Southewerk xl 5 et cuilibet sacerdoti qui est de gremio dicti Hospitalis in eodem servienti vj s et viij 1 ' ut orent ibidem pro me. Item lego cuilibet sorori professe in dicto Hospitali iij" et iiijd et cuilibet earum ancille infirmos custodienti xx rt . Item lego cuilibet infirmo infra dictum Hos- pitale languenti xij d . Item lego singulis Hospitalibus sub- scripts, viz. Sancti Thome Elsingspitell, Bedlem extra Byschopus-gat, seint Mary spitell juxta Westm. cuilibet sorori ubi sunt sorores in dictis Hospitalibus professe una cum ancillis et languentibus ibidem, ut percipiant singillatim modo ut supra. Item lego cuilibet domuura leprosorum in suburbiis London, decern 9 ad distribuendum inter eosdem, ut orent pro me. Item lego Priori de Elsingspitell xl 3 et cuilibet Canonico sacerdoti ibidem professo sex 8 et viij ' ut orent pro me. Item lego ad servicium altaris in capella sancti Johannis Baptiste in qua corpus raeura sepeliendum est, viz. duo vestimenta de panno serico cum toto eorum apparatu, quorum unum est de Blew Baudkyn mixtum de colore albo, et aliud vestimentum est de albo serico. Item lego ad servicium dicti altaris unum missale grande et novum eciam et unum calicem novum, unde 8 JOHN GOWER. voluntas mea est quod mea dicta vestimenta una cum missale et calice maneant imperpetuum tantummodo ad servicium dicti altaris, et non alibi. Item lego Priori et Conventui quendam magnum librum sumptibus meis noviter compositum, qui Mar- tirologium dicitur, sic quod in eodem specialem memoriam scriptam secundum eorum promissa cotidie habere debeo. Item lego Agneti uxori mee C u legalis monete. Item lego eidem iii ciphos, unum cooperculum, duo salaria, et xij cocli- aria de argento. Item lego eidem omnes lectos meos et cistas una cum apparatu aule, panetre, coquine, et eorum vasis et omnibus utensiliis quibuscunque. Item lego eidem unum ca- licem ut unum vestimentum pro altare quod est infra oratorium hospicii mei. Item volo quod si dicta Agnes uxor mea diucius me vivat, tunc ipsa libere et pacifice, immediate post mortem meam, percipiat omnes redditus michi debitos de firmis mane- riorum meorum tarn de Southwell in comitatu Nott. quam de Multon in com. Suff. prout in quodam scripto inde confecto sub sigillo meo necnon sub sigillis aliorum plenius constari poterit. Huius autem Testamenti facio et constituo executores meos, viz. Agnetem uxorem meam, dominum Arnaldum Savage militem, dominum llogerum Armigerum, dominum Willelmum Denne canonicum capelle domini regis, et Johannem Burton clericum. Dat. infra Prioratum beate Marie de Overes in Sutwerke in festo Assumpcionis beate Marie a dni millesimo cccc mo octavo. This will was proved, and administration granted to his widow, at Lambeth, on the twenty-fourth day of October, 1408 ; whence we may collect, that Gower died between that time and the 15th of August preceding; the commonly re- ceived tradition, from Leland downwards, was, that he died in 1402 or 1403, and it has been supposed, by the very few modern writers who have done more than copy the error of those who went before, that Mr. Gough's discovery of the will now given, was the first correction of this mistake. It so 9 JOHN GOWER. happens, however, that that honest but much calumniated Chronicler, Sir Richard Baker, so early as 1643, (for in that year was the first edition of his " Chronicle of the Kings of England" published,) expressly mentions the fact that Chaucer died in the fourth, and Gower in the ninth year of Henry the Fourth. So easily was the truth to be obtained, if our poetical biographers and antiquaries had not despised the book that afforded it ; a book, by the way, that contains more informa- tion than is generally supposed, and which would, probably, have never been so lightly esteemed, but for the Spectator's introduction of it on the hall table of Sir Roger De Coverley. Lest we should be accused of having overlooked a curious document, we will briefly state that Mr. Todd, in his interesting volume of " Illustrations of Gower and Chaucer," has given a deed by which Robert de Ranclif de Stitenham conveys a property at Stitenham to his son John, and Emma his daughter in law. To this deed a John Gower is one with several other witnesses. Mr. Todd calls him a subscribing witness, forget- ting that no subscriptions to deeds occur at so early a period ; and, from some person having, perhaps two hundred years after, endorsed this deed as attested by " S r John Gower the Poet," the amiable Editor, zealous that the noble house of Gower should not lose the honour of being descended from the poet, infers, that it may be received as presumptive evidence in favour of Gower's belonging to the Stitenham family. This is, indeed, a very plausible conjecture ; but unless we allow the change of arms, already alluded to, to have taken place, (and this we still think not at all improbable) it would require some much more conclusive authority, to obtain the admission of our poet's name into the Stitenham pedigree. As an English Poet, and as a writer on contemporary English affairs, Gower deserves a much longer notice than our subject or our limits will authorise. We must be content, therefore, with giving a brief catalogue of his works, referring to Warton 10 JOHN GOWER. and Ellis for an elaborate analysis of, as well as their critical opinions on, his productions. He wrote L " Speculum Meditantis," which was in French. It treated on the virtues and vices of the age, and professed to shew the proper mode of returning into the right path, to those who had been misled. The only account of it we obtain, is from a manuscript account of his three principal works, affixed to some copies of the " Confessio Amantis." Mr. Warton hastily supposed he had found two copies of this " Speculum" in the Bodleian, but there can be little doubt of his having mistaken for it a short poem in French verse, by the same author, con- sisting of a compilation of precepts and examples in favour of the chastity of the marriage bed. We believe, moreover, that the " Speculum Meditantis" is not known to exist in any public or private library. 2. Vox Clamantis. This is a metrical chronicle, consisting of seven books of Latin elegiacs, written with some degree of purity, and a tolerable attention to the prosody ; the time and subject are the Insurrection of the Commons during the reign of Richard the Second. There are two very good MSS. of this piece, one in the Cotton collection, Tib. A. 4, the other in All Souls' Library, Oxford : and considerable extracts from it will be found in Gough's " History of Pleshy." In several of the manuscripts of the " Confessio Amantis," which we have consulted in order to make our notice of Gower as perfect as we were able, are descriptions, and Mr. Ellis sup- poses by Gower himself, of his three principal works. Our readers will be pleased with a curious illustration of the poet's " ingratitude to his lawful sovereign, and sycophancy to the usurper of his throne," we use Ritson's hard words, without altogether coinciding in their propriety ; but, surely, the extract we are about to give will prove that Gower's disrespect for the 11 JOHN GOWER. memory of his former patron, Richard the Second, is more than " obscurely discernible."* In the early manuscripts, which were written before the accession of Henry IV., the account of the " Vox Clamantis" is as follows : " Secundus enim liber sermone Latino versibus hexametri et pentametri compositus, tractat super illo mirabili eventu qui in Anglia tempore domini Regis Ricardi secundi anno regni sui quarto contigit, quando serviles Rustici impe- tuose contra nobiles et ingenuos regni insurrexerunt : Innocen- tiam tamen dicti domini Regis, tunc minoris cEtatis causa, inde excusabilem pronuntians, culpas aliunde ex quibus et non a for- tuna talia inter homines contingunt enormia evidentius de- clarat : Titulusque voluminis hujus cujus ordo septem continet paginas, Vox Clamantis nominatur." In the later copies, written after the deposition of Richard, we have this descrip- tion : " Secundus enim liber sermone Latino metrice compo- situs tractat de variis infortuniis tempore Ricardi secundi in Anglia contingentibus, unde non solum regni proceres et com- munes tormenta passi sunt, sed et ipse crudelissimus Rev, suis ex demeritis ab alto corruens, in foveam quam fecit, jinaliter pro- jectus est. Nomenque voluminis," &c. We have not had any opportunity of comparing the two editions of the " Vox Cla- mantis" (for there, doubtless, were two), but a collation of them would, probably, disclose some very extraordinary alterations, and amply repay the trouble. If these proemes were, indeed, written by Gower, the distich inserted by some more modern hand (of about the age of Elizabeth), in one of the MSS. al- luded to, is peculiarly apposite ; Tempore felici, multi numerantur amici, Cum fortuna perit, nullus amicus erit. * Chalmers' Life, prefixed to the English Poets, p. v. 12 / JOHN GOWER. 3. Confessio Amantis. This poem, which is familiar to every bibliographical antiquary, is a long, and somewhat tiresome, dialogue between a lover and his confessor, who is represented as a priest of Venus, and dignified with the name of Genius. In the course of this confession, Genius not only examines the lover as to every species of morality and every kind of vice, but illustrates their several effects by divers apposite stories culled from the Gesta Romanorum, the Chronicle of Cassi- odorus, and other similar storehouses, together with the Me- tamorphoses of Ovid, and the Scriptures. Not content with this, our confessor conducts his pupil through the whole range of the Hermetic science, and concludes with making him a proficient in the philosophy of Aristotle, which he takes from a spurious work, entitled the " Secretum Secretorum," in high estimation at that period. Our Lover having now imbibed a perfect knowledge of every thing virtuous and sci- entific, takes his leave altogether in an abrupt and rather an unexpected manner, for, upon entreaty made to Venus and Cupid for assistance and advice, he is reminded that he has grown old, and had better relinquish his pursuit altogether, For loues lust, and lockes hore, In chambre accorden neuermore ! Venus therefore, very compassionately, restores him his heart, whilst Cupid removes the dart that had occasioned all the mis- chief, and the poet, as the table informs us, concludes with demonstrating that " all delectation of loue," out of charite, is nothynge." This work was originally printed by Caxton, in 1483, from one of the manuscripts that had been altered to coincide with the accession of Henry the Fourth. It was next printed, with greater care, and from a better MS., by Berthelet, in 1532, and again in 1544 and 1554 : the last edition was in the body 13 JOHN GOWER. of English Poetry published in 1810 by the booksellers, but it is a mere reprint from Berthelet. We do not say that a new edition of the whole work is wanted, since it would, probably, find few readers, but we cannot but think, that a selection of the best and most popular parts might be made with great ad- vantage ; for there is much good sense, and no small fund of entertainment, scattered amongst a large mass of dull and un- interesting detail. It is hoped, however, that if this is ever undertaken, or if the London booksellers should be again called upon for a second edition of their Poets, that a collation of some of the best manuscripts may be made, for we are very positive that a much better text might be obtained, and that a great deal that is now unintelligible, or at least obscure, would be rendered plain and satisfactory. 4. Balades and other Poems, in French, Latin and English. MS. in the library of the Marquess of Stafford. These are par- ticularly described by Todd, in his " Illustrations of Gower and Chaucer," who has printed five of the balades. Warton had inserted four of them in his " History of English Poetry," but they were not transcribed with equal care. We believe that the present Earl Gower has given the whole contents of the MS. in a very limited impression intended for the members of the Roxburghe Club, but having never seen this precious volume, are unable to speak positively. We conjecture, also, that the Trentham MS. contains all the minor pieces of the author, except 5. Carmen super multiplici viciorum pestilentia unde tempore Ricardi secundi partes nostrse specialius inficebantur. This, with several of his smaller Latin poems, will be found in the Fairfax MS. in the Bodleian, and in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. The monument of John Gower is in the Chapel of St. John, in the north aile of the nave of St. Mary Overy's, commonly 14 JOHN GOWER. called St. Saviour's, Church in Southwark. It is entirely of stone, and consists of a canopy of three arches with bouquet pediments, parted by finials, and at the back of each pediment three niches, of which there are also seven in front of the altar tomb. Berthelet, in the introduction to his edition of the " Con- fessio Amantis," 1532, gives the following description of the three barbarous representations of Charity, Mercy, and Pity, which are now nearly obliterated, but which were painted against the wall within the three upper arches. " Beside on the wall where he lieth, there be peinted three virgins, with crownes on their heades, one of the whiche is written Charitie, and she holdeth this diuise in hir honde. En toy qui est fitz de dieu le pere Sauve soit que gist souz cest piere. The second is written Mercie, which holdeth in hir hande this diuise : O bon Jesu fait*a mercie A lalme, dont le corpe gist icy. The thyrde of them is written Pitee, which holdeth in hir hande this diuise followynge : Pour ta Pite Jesu regarde Et met cest alme en sauve garde." On the top of the altar tomb is the effigy of the poet, his head reclining on three volumes, representing his three great works, and inscribed with their respective titles. The hair falls in a large curl on his shoulders, and is crowned with a chaplet of four roses, originally, as Leland tells us, intermixed with ivy, " in token (says Berthelet) that he, in his life daies, flourished fresshely in literature and science." It is inscribed, fl)t \X\tVtU A long robe, closely buttoned down the front, extends from the 15 JOHN GOWER. neck to the feet, which are entirely covered. A collar of SS., from which is suspended a small swan, chained, the badge of Henry the Fourth, hangs from his neck ; his feet rest upon a lion, and above, within a pannel of the side of the canopy, a shield is suspended, charged with his arms, argent on a chevron azure, three leopards heads, or; crest, on a cap of maintenance, a talbot seiant. Under the figure of Mercy are these lines : Armigeri scutum nihil a modo fert tibi tutum ; Reddidit immolutum morti generate tributum ; Spiritus erutum se gaudeat esse solutum Est ubi virtutum regnum sine labe statutum. On the ledge of the tomb was an inscription, now entirely gone : Hie jacet J. Gower, arm. Angl. poeta celeberrimus ac Huic sacro edificio benefac. insignis Vixit temporibus. Ed. III. et R. II. Adjoining the monument there hung originally a table granting 1500 days of pardon, " ab ecclesia rite concessos," for all those who devoutly prayed for his soul. Stowe tells us, that the monument was repaired in 1615, at the expense of the parish, the figures on the wall being then nearly washed out and obliterated, and the effigy despoiled of its hands and nose. It was again " repaired and beautified" in 1764, a circumstance which the gentlemen in authority at that period have not failed to commemorate, by the introduction of their own names on a slab, from which we have no room to transcribe them for the benefit of our readers. 16 / HENRY THE FOURTH, KING OF ENGLAND. BORN 1366. DIED 1412. MONUMENT AT CANTERBURY. In the present article we have collected from several manuscripts and printed sources of no inconsiderable rarity, the most striking features and transactions of the reign of Henry the Fourth. These we have given in the exact words of our authors, retaining their orthography, and in some instances even their errors, which are so easily detected and corrected, as to render them of less im- portance than that the fidelity of our excerpta should not have been preserved. We have been induced to adopt this plan from a conviction, that we should be enabled to offer a much more curious and acceptable article, in these adversaria variorum, than would have been expected had we repeated the ten-times-told tales of Richard's murder, Percy's treasons, and Owen Glen- dower's daring but ill-fated enterprise. The general history of the period is known to every reader of English history the little illustrations of that history, such as we now offer, are only dragged into notice by such labourers in the mines of antiquity as we, who seek after and endeavour to preserve the monumental remains of the kingdom, may well be deemed. " King Richard the Second being dead without issue, the right of the crowne of England should haue descended to Edmond Mortymer, Earl of March, son and h. of Roger Mortymer, whose mother Philippa was da. and h. of Lionell Duke of Clarence, third sonne of King Edward III. which notwithstanding, Henry 1 HENRY THE FOURTH, sirnamed of Bullingbrooke, Duke of Hereford and son and heyre of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, fourth sonne of King Ed- ward III. was elected king and began his reigne the twenty-ninth of September 1399. There was a long contention twixt the houses of Yorke and Lancaster for the crowne, both of royall blood, and both distinguished by the roses : istius vero factionis initium hujusmodi fuit : fertur Henricus rex III. duos ex se et Aleo- nora Raymondi comitis Prouinciae filia liberos genuit, Edwardum Walliae principem, et Edmondum gibbosum Lancastrise comitem. Edwardus junior natu, uti putabatur, quia forma prsestanti et indole egregia acceptior esset popularibus, Edmundo fratri, maiori quidem natu, sed corpore deformi, regno propositus, ad quintam usque sobolem per cxxvi annos legitimam stirpis suc- cessionem sine controuersia continuavit, donee Henricus ejus nominis quartus Johanni Lancastrise, Edwardi tertii regis filio, genitus, Richardo II . vi deturbato, regnum obtinuit, Lancastriae hereditatem quae sibi materno jure ab Edmondo contigit, legitima succession e regni jam ante fraudatam Edwardi stemmate a quo Richardus originem duxerat jure optimo praepositum iri dictitans. Cumque hac regias stirpis simultate proceres in duas factiones partium studio distraherentur, factum tradunt, ut Lancastrii rosa purpurea et qui Edwardi partes sequuntur Candida rosa in bellis vterentur : with this pretence to the crowne the maior part in parliament carryed it for Henry Duke of Hereford called Henry the Fourth, 29th September 1399, after which he made many newe officers, viz. Thomas his second sonne hee made Lord High Steward of England, therle of Northumberland Constable of England, therle of Westmerland, Dauraby Neuill, who had maryed his aunt Joane a Beaufort, hee made Marshall of Eng- land, and was crowned at Westminster the thirteenth of October after, the Dukes of Yorke, Surrey and Albermale, with the Earle of Glocester, bare the canopy over him, and which office now the Barons of the Cinque Ports doe execute. Sir Thomas Dymocke, 2 KING OF ENGLAND. ancestor of Sir Edward Dymocke of Lincolnshire, was champion, and rode three tymes about the hall in compleat armour, chal- lenging any that should gainsay the King's right, throwing downe his gauntlete to maintaine the same. Hee created Henry his eldest sonne Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester and heyre apparent to the Crowne. He dyed the 20th of March 1412 the forty-sixth of his age, when hee had reigned thirteen yeares sixe moneths lacking ten dayes, & was buried at Canter- bury. Hee maryed 1°. Mary second daughter of Humphry de Bohun Earl of Hereford, Essex and Northampton and Constable of England, who dyed 1394 and was buryed at Canterbury 17 Rich. II. 2°. hee maryed Joane daughter of Charles King of Nauarre, and widowe of John Montfort Duke of Brettaine, who dyed at Hauering in Essex, in the Bower in Essex issles, 10th July 1437, ana " was buryed at Canterbury, 15 Hen. VI. shee a widow twenty-four yeares. " Henry the first sonne of Henry the Fourth Prince of Wales, borne 1388. Thomas the second son of Hen. IV. was Knight of the Garter, created Earl of Albemarle, and Duke of Clarence 1411, slaine at the battaile of Baugy in Aniou, 1421, by the Duke of Alanson, was buryed at Canterbury, in Christ Church, • his body being valiantly recouered from the enemy by his base sonne, John Duke of Clarence. John the third sonne of Hen. IV. made Duke of Bedford 2 of Henry V. and Regent of Eng- land the 5th of Hen. V. and head of the publicke wealth by par- liament, and Regent of France. Hee dyed at Paris the 14th of Sept. and was buryed at Roan, and had issue only a natural son called Richard. Humphry fourth son of Henry IV. Duke of Gloucester, 1446 murdered at Bury, Suffolk, Feb. 22. had onely a base daughter called Antigone wife to Henry Gray Earl of Tankerville. " Blanch Plantagenett eldest daughter of King Henry the Fourth was maryed at Colen to Lewys surnamed Barbatus, 3 HENRY THE FOURTH, County Palatine of Rhyne, sonne of Rupertus or Robert Count Palatine of Rhyne and Duke of Bauaria 1400 and Emperour, and dyed before her husband, leaueing issue by him Rupertus surnamed Anglicus, who dyed 1426 iust 20 yeares before his father Ludovicus. Philippa Plantagenett, second daughter of King Henry the Fourth, was maryed to Ericus King of Denmark e and Norway, (1406,) Swethland, and Duke of Pomerania (28 June 1405) and dyed without issue 1430. " Rafe or Dauraby Neuill Earl of Westmerland and his brother Nevill Lord Farinzall 3° Hen. IV. were councellors to the said King, and Thomas Chaucer cheife butler 11° Hen. IV."* The next document relating to this reign that we have to offer is a transcript from a contemporary manuscript in the same col- lection, which professes to give the challenge of Henry Bolin- broke for the crown of England, together with his address to the Parliament immediately upon his election. The same MS. con- tains a very circumstantial account of the deposition of King Richard, which will be noticed, with greater propriety, in another part of our present work. " Post resignationem public am in parliamento surrexit Henricus Lancastr. et dixit ista verba : " In the name of the fadyr of the sonne and of the holy gost, y henry of lancastre schalange thys reme of yngolonde and the crowne, wyth alle the membres and alle the appertenance, as y that am descendyd by rygt lyne of the blod, commynge fro the god lord kyng Henry thrydde ; and throwth the rygt that god of hys grace hath send me, with help of myn kyn and of my frendes, to recouere hyt; the wyche reem was in poynt to be vn don for defauyt of gouernance, and vn doynge of the gode lawes." * MS. in the Bodleian library, Rawl. lxxix. B. fol. 243. 4 KING OF ENGLAND. " Post electionem Henrici Lancastr. Jiabuit ista verba populo : " Syres y thanke god and you spirituel and temporel, and alle the statys of thys lond, and do yow to wytene [call you to witness] that hyt ys nowgt my wylle, that eny mon thynke that by weye of conquest y wolde dysherede eny man of his heritage, fran- chyse, or other rygtes that hym ohwte [ought] to haue ; no put hym owt of that that he hath, and hath had by the gode lawes and customs of the reeme, excepte those persones that hau ben a geyn the gode purpos and the comune profyt of the reeme*." The best account of the coronation of King Henry is probably that given by Froissart, which affords a curious picture of English magnificence. " The dai was taken for his coronation on S. Edwarde's daye, the monday the xiii day of October t, at whych time, the Saturday before his coronation, he departed fro West- minster, and rode to the tour of London with a great nombre, and that night all suche squiers as shuld be made knightes the next day watched, who were to the nombre of xlvi. Every squier had his own bayne by him self, and the next day the duke of Lancastre made them all knyghtes at the masse tyme. Than they had long cotes with strayt sleues furd with meniuer, like prelates, with white laces hanging on their shulders. And after diner the duke departed fro the tour to Westminster, and rode al the way bareheaded, and about his necke the lyuery of Fraunce. He was acompanied with the prince his son and syxe dukes, syxe erles, and xviii barons, and in all, knyghtes and squyers a nine hundred horse. Then the kinge had on a shorte cote of golde, after the maner of Almayn, and he was moiited on a white courser, and * MS. on vellum in the Bodleian. This, but evidently modernized, has been printed in the Rolls of Parliament. t It is singular that the day of Henry's coronation was the anniversary of that of his banishment by the very sovereign whose throne he was now to occupy. 5 HENRY THE FOURTH, the garter on his lefte leg. Thus the duke rode through london with a great nobre of lordes, euery lordes seruaunte in theyr maysters lyuery. Al the burgesses and lombardes* marchauntes in London, and euery craft with their lyuerey and deuyse. Thus he was conueyed to Westminster. He was in nombre a syxe thousand horse, and the streats hanged as he passed by, and the same day and the nexte there were in London running seuen condets with wine white and redde. That nyghte the duke was bained t, and the nexte mornynge he was confessed, and harde three masses as he was accustomed to do, and tha al the prelates and clergy came fro Westmynster churche to the palais to fetch the kynge with procession, and so he went to the church a pro- cession, and all the lordes with him in their robes of scarlet, furred with meniuer, barred of their shoulders according to their degrees, and ouer the kynge was borne a clothe of estate of blewe, with four belles of golde, and it was born by four burgesses of the portes, as Douer and other. And on euery side of him lie had a sword born, the one the sword of the churche, and the other the sworde of iustyce. The sworde of the church his sonne the prince dyd beare, and the sworde of iustyce therle of Northum- berlande did beare, for he was as than constable of Englande, for * The Lombards were the monied men from Italy who settled as bankers in London at a very early period, and from their wealth and mercantile consequence gave a name to that part of the city in which they dwelt. " Then haue ye (says Stow in his Survey of London, edit. 4to. Lond. 1618, p. 376) Lombard Street, so called from the Longobards, and other marchants, strangers of diuers nations, assembling there twise euery day." The street was so named before the time of Edward the second, and continued to be the resort and public mart for business till the day after St. Thomas, 1568, when the Burse, since called the Royal Exchange, was open for the transaction of mercantile affairs. t Baine, a bath, from the French bain, baigner to bathe. " And so Sir Launcelot maid faire Elaine for to gather herbs for him to make a baine." History of Prince Arthur, 1634. 6 KING OF ENGLAND. the erle of Rutlande was deposed fro that offyce, and the erle of Westmerlande, who was marshall of England, bare the ceptour. Thus they entered into the church about nyne of the clocke, and in the myddes of the churche there was an hygh scaffolde all couered with red, and in the myddes thereof ther was a chayre royall, couered wyth clothe of gold. Than the king sate downe in the chair ; and so sate in estate royall, sauyng he had not on the crowne, but sate bare headed. Than at four corners of the skaffolde, the archbyshop of Cauntorbury shewed vnto the people how God had sent them a ma to be their king, and demaunded if they wer content that he shuld be consecrated and crowned as their kynge. And they all with one voyce sayd yea, and helde vp their handes, promysyng him faythe and obeysaunce. Than the kynge rose and wente downe the scaffolde to the hygh auter to be sacred, at whiche consecration there were two archbyshoppes and ten byshoppes, and before the aulter ther he was dispoyled out of all his vestures of estate, and ther he was anoynted in vi places, on the hed, on the brest, and on the two shulders behinde, and on the handes. Than a bonet was set on his head, and while he was anoyntyne the clergy sange the Latiny, and suche seruice as they singe at the halowing of the font. Than the king was aparelled lyke a prelate of the churche, with a cope of red silke and a paire of spurres with a poynt withoute a rowel. Than the sworde of iustice was drawen out of the shethe, and halowed, and than it was take to the king, who did put it again into the shethe, than the archbishop of Caunterbury did gird the sword aboute hym, than saint Edwardes crowen was brought forthe which is close aboue and blessed, and than the archbishop did sette it on the kynges heade. After masse the king departed out of the churche in the same estate and went to his palais, and there was a fountaine that ranne by dyuers braunches white wine and redde. Than the kyng entred into the hall and so into a priuy chamber, and after came out again to dinner. At the fyrst 7 HENRY THE FOURTH, table sate the kynge. At the second thefiue peres of the realme, at the thyrde the valiaunt men of London, at the fourth the new made knightes : at the fyft the knightes and squiers of honour. And by the kyng stode the prince holdynge the sworde of the church, and on the other syde the constable with the sworde of iustyce, and a lytell aboue the marshall with the ceptour, and at the kings bord sate two archbishoppes and xvii byshoppes. And in the middes of the dinner, ther came in a knight, who was called Dinerelli * all armed vpon a good horse richely apparelled, and had a knyght before hym bearing his speare, and his sworde by his syde and his dagger. The knight toke the kyng a lybell, the whych was red. Therin was conteined, that if there were other knighte, squier, or any other gentleman that wold say that king Henry was not rightful king, he was there redy to fyght with him in that quarel, before the kynge, or whereas it shoulde please hym to appoynt ; that byll was cryed by an heraulde in syxe places of the hall, and in the town. There was none that wold chalenge hym. Whan the kynge had dyned, he toke wyne and spyces in the hal, and than went into his chambre. Than euery man departed and went to their lodginges. Thus the day passed of kynge Henrie's coronation with greate ioy and feast, which endured all the next dayt." Froissart does not seem aware of the peculiar virtue of the oil with which Henry was anointed on this coronation, but which Walsingham very gravely relates to have been given by the * Rectius Dymock. This is one of the many instances of Froissart's mistaking the English proper names : an error by no means to be wondered at in a foreigner ; but not so excusable in the translator, Sir John Bouchier Knight, Lord Berners, himself an Englishman of rank, and who must have had the means of executing this part of his task with greater fidelity : after all however we consider Lord Berners's to be the best translation of this very valuable historian. f Froissart's Chronycles of Englande, t. 2, chap. 245, fol. 315. 8 KING OF ENGLAND. Virgin Mary to Thomas a Becket ! It lay concealed till the reign of his immediate predecessor, who would fain have been re-anointed with it, for with it was found an inscription pre- dicting that the sovereigns so anointed should be champions of the church ; the archbishop however refused, and the precious oil was reserved for Henry. The populace of course considered that he was a sovereign chosen and appointed by the immediate interposition of Heaven. Neither the sacred oil, nor Henry's politic forbearance towards his foes, nor his liberal rewards to those who had assisted his views to the crown, were sufficient to protect the monarch in security. " Now when king Henry had thus mortised himselfe and his issue so sure and fast, as he thought, that the same was not possible to be remooued, then was he neerer an vtter ouer- throw and destruction then euer he was, for suche is the nature of dissimulation, that when fortune with her flattering seemeth most to ioy and laugh, then (so fickle is she of condition) is most perill and daunger at hand : for now dyuers of those lords which were king Richardes friendes, outwardly dissimuled that which they inwardly conspired, which was the finall confusion and de- struction of King Henry, and to restore agayne their old Lorde and mayster King Richarde. And the better to bring thys matter about, they practised with the Abbot of Westminster that then was, who had no good opinion of King Henry, for that he heard him once saye, when he was Duke of Lancaster, that ' Princes had to little, and the religious had to much,' and there- fore he supposed that he would not be a friend vnto the church, if he contynued long in that dignitie. Unto the house of thys abbot resorted one day as bidden gestes of the sayde abbot, John Holland Duke of Exceter and Erie of Huntyngdon, Thomas Hol- land Duke of Surrey and Erie of Kent, Edward Duke of Aumarle and Erie of Rutlande, sonne to the Duke of Yorke, John Mon- tagew Erie of Salsbury, Hugh Spencer Erie of Gloucester, John 9 HENRY THE FOURTH, the Bishop of Carleill, Sir Thomas Blunt, and one Magdalen, one of King Richard's chapell, a man as lyke vnto him in stature and proportion, as vnlike in birth and dignitie. This abbot highly feasted these great Lordes, and when dyner was done, they withdrew themselves into a secret chamber, and when they were set, John Holland Duke of Exceter, who bare great grudge agaynst King Henry, declared to them their allegeaunce pro- mised, and by othe confirmed to King Richarde his brother, for- getting not the highe promocions and dignities which he and all they present had receeyued of the liberalitie of his sayde brother, by the which they were not onely bound to take part with him and his Friendes, but also to be reuenged for him and his cause on hys mortall enemies and deadly foes. In the doyng whereof he thought pollicy more meeter to be vsed then force. And the better to bring this matter about, he deuised a justes to be kept betwene him and xx on his part, and the erle of Salisbury and xx on his part at Oxforde. To the which justes king Henry should be desyred to be present, and when he were most ear- nestly beholdyng the pastyme, he should sodainely haue bene slayne and destroyed, and by this meanes king Richard, which was then alyue, should be restored to his libertie and to his crowne and kingdome. This deuise seemed to please well all that were present, wherfore they made an indenture sextipartite sealed with their seales, and signed with their handes, in the which eche bounde himselfe to other to endeuour themselues for the destruction of king Henry, and the erection and restoring of king Richard, and sware on the Euangelistes the one to be true to the other, euen to the houre and poynt of death. Nowe all things beyng thus appoynted and concluded, the Duke of Exceter came to the king at Wynsore, humbly beseeching him for the loue that he bare to the noble actes of chiualrie, that he would vouchsafe not only to repaire to Oxford, to see and beholde their enterprises and attemptes, but also to be the discouerer and in- 10 KING OF ENGLAND. different judge, if any ambiguitie should arise, of their courageous actes and royall triumph. The king seing himselfe so earnestly desyred, and that of his brother in lawe, and suspecting nothing lesse then that which was purposed, did gently graunt vnto his request. And so sone as the duke had his aunswere, he re- turned home to his house and prepared all things necessarie for the exployt of his pretended purpose. And when the time drue neere, he came to Oxforde with a great companye of Archers and horsemen, and when he came thether he found there all his confederates well appointed for the purpose, except the Duke of Aumarle Erie of Rutlande, for whome they sent messengers in great haste. Thys Duke of Aumarle went before from West- minster to see his father the Duke of Yorke, and sittyng at dynner he had his counterpane of the indenture of confederacie (whereof is mencion made afore) in his bosome. The father espyed it, and demaunded what it was ? His sonne lowely aun- swered, that it touched not him : By Saint George, quod the father, but I will see it, and by force tooke it out of his bosome, and when he perceyued the content thereof, and the sixe seales set and fixed to the same, whereof the seale of his sonne was one, he sodeynely rouse from the Table, commaundyng his horses to be saddeled and in a great fury sayd to his sonne : thou Traytor theefe, thou hast bene a Traytor to king Richard, and wilt thou nowe be false to thy cosyn king Henry ? Thou knowest well inough, that I am thy pledge, Borow, and maine perne *, bodie for bodie, and for lande and goodes in open Parliament ; and goest thou about to seeke my death and destruction? By the holy Roode I had rather see thee strangled on a gybbet. And so the * Meaning, I am the personal security, or bail, for thy loyalty. In the Statute of Westminster, 3 Edw. I., may be seen what persons be mainpernable, that is, may be let to bayl, and what not. Cowell's Interpreter, revised by Bishop Kennett, fol. Lond. 1701, under the word " mainpernable." 11 HENRY THE FOURTH, Duke of Yorke mounted on horsebacke, to ride to Windsore to the king, and to declare the whole matter vnto him. The Duke of Aumerle consideryng in what case he stoode in, tooke his horse and roade another way to Windsore, ridyng all the way in post (which his father beyng an olde man, could not do) and when he was alighted at the castell gate, he caused the gates to be shut, saiyng that he must nedes deliuer the keyes to the king. And when he came before the kinge's presence, he kneeled on his knees, beseechyng him of mercie and forgeuenesse. The king demaunded the cause, and he declared vnto him plainly the whole confederacie. Well, sayd the king, if this be true, we pardon you : if it be feigned, at your extreme perill be it. While the king and the duke talked together, the Duke of Yorke knocked at the castell gate, whom the king caused to be let in, and there he deliuered the indenture which before he had taken from his sonne. Which wrytyng when the king had red and seene, per- ceiuyng the signes and seales of the confederates, he chaunged his former purpose ; for the day before he heard that the chaloners [chalengers] and defenders were all in a redinesse, and thought the same day to haue gone thether, but now he stayed, and wrote his letters foorthwith vnto the Erie of Northumberland his high Constable, and to the Erie of Westmerland his high marshall, and to dyuers other his friendes, of his doubtful daunger and perelous ieopardie." The issue of this enterprise is too well known to be repeated. The confederates suspecting, from the non-appearance of the Duke of Aumerle, that treachery or chance had disclosed their project, marched boldly to Windsor, hoping to seize the person of King Henry, but he had withdrawn to the Tower of London, and collected a force that bade defiance to their attempts. They then endeavoured to retreat towards Wales, but were de- feated at Cirencester by a body of archers headed by the bailiff of the place. The Earl of Salisbury was taken and put to death 12 KING OF ENGLAND. upon the spot. Huntingdon fled into Essex, and endeavoured to escape by sea, but being driven back by adverse winds, was seized and beheaded at Pleshy. The death of Richard followed. We have already noticed* the formidable insurrection against Henry, at the head of which were Scroop archbishop of York, and the Earl Mareschal, son of the duke of Norfolk lately de- ceased. Harding, the metrical chronicler, who was brought up from a child in the house of Henry Percy, eldest son of the Earl of Northumberland, says that it was by the good advice and counsel of the archbishop, the articles of complaint and letter of defiance were sent to Henry, previously to the battle of Shrewsbury. He attributes the signal defeat which Percy and the conspirators met with to the treachery of several of the leaders. " His vncle dere was with hym than dede His fadir came noght out of Northumbrelond But fayled him foule without wite or rede — Jt» ■ «M. Jfr Jfa riJI* Hr * TP'-' TT TP " His castels all his men than helde ful strong To tyme the kynge had graunt him plenar grace But than the lordes in counceyle hem amonge Hight him to help the sixte yere at the pace ; But non durst come that tyme, so fil the cace, But busshop Scrope and the erle marchall The lord Bardulf than of our lordes all. " In lentyn aftir he came home to his londe, By parlement hole delivered and aquitte And twoo yere aftir in pees I vnderstond, With kinge Henry ful pesibly did sitte ; Than in the yere, as me remembre yette, * In the account of Ralph Neville, first Earl of Westmorland, p. 5. 13 HENRY THE FOURTH, Of his regne sext, the busshop Scrope than went. The erle marchall with hym, of oon entent " To Yorkes More, and there assembled power Of their owne and of their frendis also, Of the erles men of Northumbrelond that were To the novmbre of twenty thousand tho, Afore the daye assigned, that was so By the erle than of Northumbirlond, That their chifteyne with hem shulde haue stond, " With other lordes that were to hem assent, But the busshop and the erle marchall Wer slayne afore the day of assignement By twene hem made afore in speciall. Heded were than nere York as than did fall, Sir John Lamplewe and Sir William Plompton With the busshop, were heded there for treson *." In the collection of the statutes and in Wilkins's " Concilia" we have a full account of those proceedings against the Lollards, that disgraced the reign of Henry the Fourth, and we there find the first act of parliament that adjudges the punishment of being brent to death for heresy. William Sautre, a chaplain at St. Osith's in London, was the first victim who suffered after this inhuman enactment. The order addressed to the mayor and sheriffs of London commands them " coram populo igni committi ac ipsum in eodem igne realiter comburi fac, in hujusmodi cri- minis detestationem, aliorumque cristianorum exemplum mani- festum." Of how little avail this sanguinary act proved, the Reformation furnishes the most decided attestation. The reign of Henry the Fourth has not been badly epitomized by a writer hitherto, we believe, unknown, and of whom we can dis- cover nothing more than that his name was Jekyll, and that he * Hardyng's Chronicle, MS. chap. 204. 14 KING OF ENGLAND. lived in the latter end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth and the be- ginning of that of James I. His treatise, which is still in MS., com- prises a brief account of the Sovereigns and Barons of England from the time of the conquest : it was in Mr. Holman's possession, and at his sale was purchased by Dr. Rawlinson. " Henry the Fourth hauing deposed king Richard the Second, he was crowned and enthronized 1399 with great royal tie ; who, as became his vsurped government, by supportation of some, and with the greate grudge of many, contrarie to his oath taken at his coming from exile, so had he a most troublesome and afflicted time therein ; in so much as it might occasion some meruaile among the wise, how a Prince of his rare excellencie (who might haue liued in high honour and estate next vnto the highest) could, through a little pricke of ambition, make a shipwracke both of his conscience (before God) and of his quiet among men. When he was pos- sessed of a regall throne, he became most provident of his owne estate, and carefull how to maintaine his comon-wealth. Both in the feild and at home he was himselfe chief captaine and coun- sailor. He gouerned with the strength of harte and wisdome, and could quickly discouer conspiracies and treasons, and vsed sure and boulde remedies for the same, which in despite of all practizers continued him a kinge even to the graue. He was not stained with any notable cryme, but his valour and other vertues were comparable with any prince of his tyme. " This kinge lying in an extreame fitt of appoplexie (as de- priued of his spirits) in which sicknes he had languished certaine weekes, hauing his crowne standing vpon his pillow, the Prince his sonne (and others) supposed hym dead, and tooke the crowne away*, which the kinge, when he recouered, missing, the Prince retourned it with all humble dutie, and vpon some speeches * See a curious account of this transaction in the article of Henry V. 15 HENRY THE FOURTH, passed betwene them, the kinge presentlie deceased on Sonday the 20th of March 1412 in the 14th yeare of his raigne and the 46 of his age." In the Sloane MS., No. 1776 (which is a continuation of the " Vita Ricardi II." by a monk of Evesham, printed by Hearne, but brought down to a later period from anonymous sources) after mentioning the execution of archbishop Scrope, the " 2nd feria Pentecost, on the feast of the translation of Saint William of York," the writer continues, " Eodem die, et eodem tempore diei quo passus est iste episcopus Eboraci, percussus est [scilicet Henricus IV.] in facie, viz. infra nasum, ex infirmitate lepre detestabilis, ita quod nunquam posterius valuit a medico aut me- dicina curari." The writer continues by declaring his inability to account for this severe visitation : " an ipsa infirmitas ex vin- dicta (on account of the archbishop's death) aut aliquo prsesagio vel fortuna evenit, determinare nequeo, sed private Dei judicio remitto." The Roman Catholics religiously believed that it was a mark of the divine displeasure for the murder, as they were pleased to term the execution, of their martyred saint. Among the Harleian MSS., No. 283, is the Household Book of King Henry IV. containing an account of his expenses, jewels, &c. &c. compiled by Sir John Straunge " contrarotularius " from Sept. 7. to Dec. 8. Anno 8. The monument of King Henry the Fourth and his Queen, Joan of Navarre, stands on the north side of Trinity Chapel, in the Cathedral Church of Canterbury, directly opposite to that of Edward the Black Prince. The Tomb and Effigies are entirely of alabaster, but the remains of painting and gilding which occur on various parts plainly demonstrate that little of the material was originally left uncovered. The east end or foot of the tomb is placed close against the pier supporting the arch under which the monument stands, a considerable space being left between the head and the corresponding opposite pier. The canopy 16 Drawn WE.Blore. Engraved "by J.Le Keuat. mwm&T ©IF EDM© HUH EOT EBHE 4FF AST© HIUS ^TffSSK .TO^U ©3? . in Canterbury Cathedral. Published May 1026 ■ by Harduui Srlepard* fait Mall East. London^. KING OF ENGLAND. work with which the sides of the tomb are enriched are precisely the same on the north and south sides, but at the head or west end, which consists of three canopies, that in the centre differs from all the rest, in being larger, and containing the figure of an angel holding an emblazoned shield. The canopies at the east end terminate at the pier against which the tomb is placed. The slab on which the effigies lie is finished on the margin on each side with a series of small canopies, supporting the two large canopies over the heads of the principal figures ; each small canopy originally containing a figure of which nothing but the pedestal now remains. The King and Queen are represented in royal robes, with coronets on their heads. The feet of the former rest against a lion couchant ; and on each side of the Queen the head of a small animal appears from underneath the folds of the drapery. The arms of the Queen are broken away almost as far as the elbows, and the hands of the King are much mutilated ; but it is quite clear, from the small attached fragments, that her right, and his left, hand each held a sceptre, and that the other was occupied in sustaining the rich cordon for drawing together the mantle. Both their heads rest on a double cushion supported on each side by an angel. The Queen wears round her neck a collar of SS., one of the earliest instances of the use of this de- coration. The coronets and extremities of the dresses of both figures are highly enriched with representations of jewels and embroidery of the finest design and most admirable execution. There can be but little doubt that this monument was the work- manship of one of the ablest artists of the time ; and, as the fea- tures have sustained but little injury, and are marked with that decided character which belongs to a portrait alone, we may fairly conclude that the artist has transmitted to us a faithful repre- sentation of the features of the royal personages. The canopies over the heads of the effigies are much dilapidated, but sufficient remains to render a restoration of the parts lost a matter of perfect 17 HENRY THE FOURTH, certainty : it has therefore been attempted in the plate of the effigies, for the purpose of giving an adequate idea of the beauty of the monument in its perfect state. The canopy extending from pier to pier over the tomb is en- tirely of wood, and has at each end, placed close against the pier, a support of the same material. Originally the whole was richly gilt and painted with a variety of designs, armorial bearings, badges, and other devices ; of this enrichment traces only now remain. Mr. Carter, in his " Illustrations of Ancient Painting and Sculpture," has given a copy of the martyrdom of Thomas a Becket from the pannel against the west pier ; of this painting scarcely a particle is now visible. Gough states, that in the cor- responding pannel against the opposite pier was a figure of an angel holding a shield emblazoned with arms similar to those at the head of the tomb : this is also nearly obliterated. Three shields in the roof of the canopy, each surrounded with SS. linked together, are tolerably distinct : at one end is France and England quarterly, at the other Evereux and Navarre quarterly, and in the centre the first impaling the last. The words " soverayne" and " a temperance" are repeated alternately in diagonal lines running across the roof, the first divided by a bird volant sur- mounted by a coronet, and the last by a small animal similarly surmounted. The spaces between the lines are diapered with small sprigs terminating in flowers. In front the canopy is di- vided on each side into three compartments, by slender turrets rising above the summit, and originally terminating at the base by the full length figure of an angel holding a shield. The turrets still remain, but the angels, with the exception of one or two, have all disappeared. The word " soverayne" is repeated six times in the deep cornice on the south, and " a temperance" on the north, side of the canopy : the intervals between the rich border of foliage which crowns its summit contain each a small emblazoned shield. 18 KING OF ENGLAND. We are again indebted to Mr. Willement for the following- heraldic illustrations to the tomb in question : In the centre of the canopy ceiling are the arms of King Henry, viz. Quarterly. 1 & 4. Azure, three fleurs de lis, 2 & 1 . or. France. 2 & 3. Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale, or. England, im- paling those of his Queen, viz. Quarterly. 1 & 4. Azure, semee de lis, or, a bendlet gobone argent and gules. Evreux. 2 & 3. Gules, an orle, saltire, and cross, composed of chains*, and conjoined, or. Navarre. These are surrounded by a collar of twenty-three SS. connected at the bottom by two buckles and a trefoiled loop, to which is attached a golden eagle with wings expanded. At the western end of the ceiling are the arms of the Monarch, alone, surrounded by a similar collar. At the other extremity are the maiden arms of the Queen, within the same sort of orna- ment. The ornamental ground of the soffit appears to have been twice painted, and in different designs. The under one, which is in many parts very perceptible, consisted of eagles and greyhounds, each surrounded by the garter, and placed alternately in diagonal stripes ; between which were written the words " soverayne" and " a temperance." In the last painting the ground has been blue, with sprigs and flowers of gold and green. Here the words occupy the principal lines, and eagles (with wings expanded and crowned, or) and gennets t (sable, collared, chained, and covered with a large crown, or) are used as stops between the several words. * Gough copies Sandford's error, and calls it an Escarbuncle. t Sandford, Gen. Hist, calls this animal an Ermine; Gough, from its colour, supposes it might have been meant for the Sable. There is however considerable reason to think that the Gennet was intended, and that it, as well as the Eagle, was a badge of King Henry. Vide " Regal Heraldry," p. 32. 19 HENRY THE FOURTH, Round the upper edge of the cornice to this canopy, the spaces between the fleurons of the crown ornament have been filled by shields of arms ; but few of these remain. The fol- lowing are the only varieties that now exist, and they are several times repeated : 1 . Gules, three water-budgets 2 & 1 , argent. Being the arms of William Baron de Ros, Lord Treasurer of England. He died 2 H. 5. 2. Quarterly, 1 & 4, argent, 2 & 3, gules, a fret, or. Over all a bendlet sable. This certainly appears to be the coat of Despencer, but as Thos. Earl of Gloucester, the last heir male of that family, was beheaded 1 H. 4. for concerting the surprisal of King Henry at Windsor, it appears unlikely that any memorial of him would be placed on that King's monument. 3. Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale or. England. 4. Or, a chevron gules. Humphrey Earl of Stafford, afterwards Duke of Buckingham, collate- rally related to the King. He died 38 H. 6. 5. Barry, argent and azure. Richard Baron Grey de Codnor. He was one of the witnesses to the King's will, and is therein styled his chamberlain. He died 6 H. 5. 6. Argent a cross gules. St. George. 7. Quarterly gules and or ; in the first quarter a mullet, argent. Richard de Vere, Earl of Oxford. He died 4 H. 5. 8. Gules, a saltire argent. Ralph Nevil, Earl of Westmorland, Earl Marshal of England during the reign of King Henry IV. He died 4 H. 6. 9. Azure, three chevronels braced, and a chief, or. Henry Baron Fitz Hugh, who was employed by the King in several embassies. He died 3 H. 6. 10. Gules, three escallops 2 & 1, argent. Thomas Baron Dacre. He died 36 H. 6. 11. Or on a chief gules, three plates. St. Thomas de Camois, knight of the garter. He died 9 H. 5. 1 2. Azure, a bend, or. Richard Baron Scrope de Bolton. He died 7 H. 5. 20 KING OF ENGLAND. 1 3. Argent on a chief azure, two mullets, or, pierced gules. William Clinton, Baron Clinton and Say. He died 1 1 H. 6. 14. Azure, a fret, or. Amondeville? 15. Azure, a chief indented, or. Dunham? In addition to these, it appears by Gough, that in his time there were also the arms of Bourchier, Burgh, Quincy, and of the kingdom of Scotland. On the tomb, the royal lion supports the feet of the King's effigy ; at the feet of his consort are two animals, scaled minutely like lizards, with strong claws and short ears, but their tails con- cealed. These are neither collared nor chained, and therefore differ in most respects from the painted animals on the canopy, which have been sometimes supposed to have been appropriate to the Queen. 21 I THOMAS FITZALAN, EARL OF ARUNDEL. ob. 1415. monument at arundel. Thomas Fitzalan was the eldest son of Richard, Earl of Arundel, by Elizabeth, daughter of William de Bohun, Earl of Northampton. From his earliest years he may be regarded as an opponent to King Richard the Second, and the partizan of Henry Bolingbroke. His father, who was a valiant soldier, and one who had done good service to his king and country, incurred the dis- pleasure of Richard by opposing the proceedings of his two favourites Vere and De-la-Pole, and having been entrapped by fair words into that monarch's power was beheaded on Tower-hill, in 1397 *> and under circumstances of no common barbarity. His own son-in-law, Thomas Mowbray, bound his eyes (Dugdale says, was his executioner, but it is probable that he only super- intended the ceremony in virtue of his office of Earl Marshall) ; the Earl of Kent, his nephew, had the command of the guard, and the king himself witnessed the execution. The Earl behaved with the greatest fortitude and calmness : Walsingham says that he betrayed no greater dejection nor change of countenance than if he had been proceeding to a banquet : his indignation was indeed roused when he beheld the indecent attendance of his near relatives, and reproaching them with much dignity and * Gough, following Dugdale, says, that the Earl was beheaded in Cheapside, and places his death in 1399, but this is at variance with all the best authorities. 1 THOMAS FITZALAN, feeling, he told them, that it would have rather become them to have been absent on such an occasion, than to witness those sufferings which they knew not how soon they might themselves be called on to undergo. " Intuens comes Arundeliae comitem marescallum et comitem Cantii suos affines et necessarios (nam alter gener ejus erat, alter nepos ex filia) perurgere negotium decollationis suae, vere inquit, decuisset vos praecipue absentes fuisse, et ab isto negotio subtraxisse. Sed tempus adveniet, quando tot mirabuntur de vestris infortuniis, quot de meis casi- bus nunc mirantur: sicque flexo poplite vultu constantissimo decapitari sustinuit, nec plus expalluit, quam si fuisset ad epulas invitatus. Cujus corpus cum capite inter fratres Augustinenses Londoniis est humatum." By the will of Earl Richard, which is dated March 4, 1392, he directs that he may be buried in the abbey of Lewes, in a spot which he had pointed out to the prior and to father Ashebourne his confessor, and where, if his wife was not already laid, she was to be brought. He was however, undoubtedly, interred in the church of the Austin Friars, and so beloved was he by the common people, that they made pilgrimages to the place of burial, and reported, among other wonders, that his head and trunk were miraculously reunited after his execution. Richard, who had some misgivings of conscience, became so alarmed by his own fears, and as the writers of his own day tell us, by the visions that haunted him, that on the tenth day after his burial, he sent several of his courtiers " duces et comites" in the middle of the night, to take up the body and report upon the truth of this commonly believed miracle. Finding, as may be conjectured, that no supernatural favour had been shown to the remains of this unfortunate nobleman, the monks were directed to remove all the armorial bearings (signa) around the body, and the grave was levelled. Mr. Gough seems to think that no monument was erected to him, but it is now certain that this tribute to his memory and misfortunes was provided for in the 2 EARL OF ARUNDEL. next reign by his son ; and the fulfilment of his pious bequest is fully corroborated by Fabyan : " The erle of Arundell accordynge to the sentence upon hym geuen, vpon the morowe folowynge the feest of seynt Mathewe, beynge Saterdaye and the xxii daye of Septembre, was ladde on foote vnto the Towre hyll, beinge accompanyed with great strength of men, for so moche as it was demyd that he shuld haue ben rescowyd by the way ; howe be it none suche was attemptyd ; but peasably he was brought vnto the sayde place of execucion and there pacientlye and mekely toke his deth, whose body after was by the fryers Augustynes borne vnto theyr place within the warde of Brade strete of London, and there in the north syde of the quyer solempnely buried, and after, vpon his graue a sumptuouse toumbe of marble stone sette and edyfyed." We now come to the more immediate subject of the present memoir. Lest any thing should be wanting on the part of Richard and his advisers to keep alive the indignation of the youthful Earl of Arundel, the parliament on the first day of its meeting deprived him in perpetuum of all right to, and enjoy- ment of, his paternal property, which was bestowed on the newly created dukes of Hereford, Norfolk, Dorset, and other the king's friends : he was himself placed under the care of the Duke of Exeter, and kept at his castle of Reigate, in the immediate custody of Sir John Shelley, from whom however he contrived to escape* (by the assistance of one William Scott, designated by Holinshed " mercer"), and reached his uncle the late arch- bishop of Canterbury, then sojourning at Cologne, in safety. It may be easily imagined that the Earl of Arundel was one of the * Froissart says that Humphrey Plantagenet and the Earl of Arundel (whom he erroneously calls Richard) did not join Henry till he arrived at Cirencester. In this however he seems to have been mistaken. 3 THOMAS FITZALAN, first of the English noblemen who joined the standard of Henry Bolingbroke ; he returned to England with that prince, and in the first parliament holden after the new king had ascended the throne the judgment against his father was reversed, and he was restored to his honours and estates. Now it was that the Earl of Arundel's revenge, for the cruelty shown to his father and the indignities offered to himself, was fully satiated : Henry had no sooner obtained possession of the person of Richard, than he committed him to the custody of Humphrey Plantagenet, son of the Duke of Gloucester, and to the Earl, who (says our authority) hated him more than any men in the world, because he had put their fathers to death, " et lors le bailla en garde au filz du due de clocestre et au filz du conte darondel, lesquelz le haioient plus que tous les hommes du monde, car le roy richart avoit fait morir leurs peres." The speech addressed to these young noblemen by Henry, when he delivered the deposed monarch to their keeping, must have been ominous of the treatment he was likely to receive ; " here," said he, " is the murderer of your fathers ; you must be answerable for him." At the coronation of King Henry, " Thomas Earle of Arundell, cheefe butler of England (says Holinshed), obteined to exercise that office the daie of the coronation, and had the fees thereto belonging granted to him, to wit, the goblet with which the king was serued, and other things to that his office apperteining (the vessels of wine excepted that laie vnder the bar, which were adiudged vnto the lord steward, the said earle of Arundel's claime notwithstanding.") The intelligent contributor of a very valuable " French metrical history of the deposition of King Richard the Second" to the Archaeologia would have the Earl baker, as well as butler, on that occasion * ; but the French text * Archaeologia, xx. 207- 4 EARL OF ARUNDEL. corroborates Holinshed's authority, and adds that he was young and active, in the full bloom of youth and vigour of manhood. Apres de wervvic le conte, De quoy ilz tiennent moult grant copte, Fu ce propre iour panetier j Et si estoit grant bouteillier Un, qui fu conte darondel, Qui est assez jeune et ysnel. At the same time he was created knight of the Bath. In the sixth of Henry the Fourth, on the morrow after the feast of St. Catherine (Nov. 26, 1404), the Earl of Arundel was united to Beatrice, the illegitimate daughter of John, King of Portugal. The ceremony was solemnized in London, in the presence of the King and Queen, who appear to have taken a great interest in the matter. We are indebted for an account of some valuable documents relative to this marriage to the liberal kindness of Mr. Frederick Madden, a gentleman to whose zeal, industry, and intelligence, as well as accurate information on all subjects connected with literary history and antiquities, we bear a most willing testimony, and to whom we readily acknowledge our obligations for many most essential services in the course of this, our present, undertaking. In the British Museum (MS. Cotton, Nero, B. 1.) is a collec- tion of public papers between England and Portugal, from the year 1387 to the reign of Elizabeth. Among these is a letter, which we shall insert, from the Earl of Arundel to Henry the Fourth, requesting him to bestow the living of Stokenhamme in Devonshire (then fallen into his hands by the death of Thomas Mountague, or Montacute, Dean of Salisbury), on Adam Dam- port, Chancellor to the Queen of Portugal, Henry's sister. He assigns as a reason for his request, the good offices the Chancellor had done him in his affairs, meaning in the treaty of marriage between himself and Beatrice ; and concludes by requesting the 5 THOMAS FITZALAN, king not to be displeased at his not receiving payment of a sum of money due to him, which the Earl says he is unable to dis- charge, first on account of the destruction of his estates # in Wales, and secondly by reason of the great expenses he had in- curred in bringing over his wife : this is dated June 25, [1405, 7 Hen. IV.] " Tresexcellent trespuissant & tressouerein seignur, Jeo moy recomans a vre hautesse sy humblement come ieo say ou pluis puisse. Et trespuissant seignur vous please assauoir q Mestre Thomas Mountagu Dean de Salesbirs est a dieux comaundez, p qi mort lesgbse de Stokenhame en le Countee de Deuenshire est ore voide, la donesoun de quele a vous apptient a cause del meindre age le Conte de Salesbirs en vfe garde esteant. Que please a vfe Roial Mageste gunter la dee esglise a Mestre Adam Damport le Chaun- celler du Roigne de Portugal ma tshonure Dame vre Soere. Entendantz trespuissant seignur qil mad fait oy bone fuice en mes affaires q ieo suy luy toutefoitz tenuz, et si ascune chose fuisse en moun poair de faire pur luy, ieo luy le ferroie adec'tes pur lonur de ma dee Dame la Roigne de Portugal. Et trespuissant seignur vous supplie q vous ne displease del nounparement de money q ieo doy a vre hautesse a ceste foitz, car en bone foy, qoy pur le distrucon de mes terres en Gales & la gund charge q ieo y porte, & qoy pur les gundes charges q iay encountre la venue ma Muliere, ieo ne suy de poair de le faire vnqore, mes a pluis tost q ieo le p 2 ray c'teine- ment eut sVez bn paie si Dieux plest. Tresexcellent trespuissant & tres- sou'ein seignur, luy toutpuissaunt vous ottroie honur ioie & pspite, bone vie & longe a voz honurables desirs. Escript a mou Chastell' DarundelP le xxv io 2 de Juyn. Vre bumble lige Thom a s Conte DarundelT & de SurrV * The Earl's property in Wales and on the borders, according to Dugdale, in- cluded the manors of Doditon, Heythe, Stretton, Lydeley, Conede, Acton-rounde, Wrockcestre, Upton, Sonford, Osleton, with the castles of Dynas-bran and Leons, and land of Bromfield and Yale ; to which we may add Chirke and Chirkelande, and Oswestre hundred. Rymer's Fcedera, vol. viii. 181, 182. t MS. Cotton; Nero, B. 1. fol. 30. 6 EARL OF ARUNDEL. The next letters in this curious collection are three in Portu- guese, addressed by the King of Portugal to Henry the Fourth, respecting the marriage of his daughter with the Earl of Arundel, and signed with his own hand. In the first he acknowledges the receipt of a letter from Henry by the hands of Sir John Vasquez d'Almadana and Dr. Martin Dossem # , who had been employed on an embassy into England, in which letter Henry had expressed his concurrence in the plans relative to the match of John's daughter, previously intimated to him by John Gomez and the ambassadors above mentioned. He also tells Henry to expect a second communication by the hands of the above named Martin, with regard to the arrangements for the departure of Donna Beatrice, and other matters connected with the marriage. Dated at Lisbon the twenty-ninth of October [6 Hen. IV. 1404 1]. In the second letter, which is also given in the present work, the King of Portugal states the sum of money paid to the Earl of Arundel by way of dowry with his daughter, namely 50,000 crowns, 25,000 of which he received on the day he received the lady, and surety for the remainder. He requests also letters of protection for the Portuguese merchants, their ships and cargoes, who had undertaken to deliver the said surety to the Earl. Dated the twenty-ninth of October [7 Hen. IV. 1405]. " Muytalto muy Nobre & muy exc,elente & Poderoso Principe Dom Henrique pela gra9a de Deus l'Rey d'lngraterra & de Franca & Senhor d'Irlanda. Nos Dom Joham per essa meesma graca Rey de Portugal & do Algarue de todo nosso Coracom uos enuyamos muyto saudar como a Irmaao & verdadeiro amigo q muy fielment -1 & uerdideiramente amamos & * He is called in an instrument preserved in Rymer, Martin de Sensu. f Henry the Fourth ascended the throne on the 29th of September, consequently the 29th of October was within the first month of the 6th year of that monarch's reign. 7 THOMAS FITZALAN, pre9amos sobr todos os Principes do mudo & pa q deseiamos q d's de saude & vida co grande exalcamento dhonrra. Muy Poderoso Principe & nosso muy prezado Irmaao & amigo, treemos q bem sabedes como no trautamento do Casamento do Conde daarandel co dona Beatriz minha filha, foy Acordado & firmado q Nos lhe dessemos co ella Cinq°enta mill Coroas. Eq qftdo Ihe fosse entregue a dcca minha filha lhe fossem logo pagadis as vijnte & cinq mil Coroas. Eq pollas outras vijnte & cinq mil lhe dessemos alio em In- gratefra fianca de q se elle contentasse. Eora alguus m'cadores nossos naturaaes temarom encarrego de darem alio aodcco Conde adca fianca. Edifom nos q pa apoderem dar lhes conuijnha enuyarem alio hua Soma de m'cadorias. Eq se Receaum delhis seerem tomadas ou enbargadas p os Nauyos da uossa trra q andam darmada, ou despois q as alio tenessem per Razom das diuidas q he dcco q alio deuemos, ou por outra algua rrazom*. Epedirom nos por m'cce q uos screuessemos q lhis dessedes uossa c^ca p q as m'cadorias q assi alio enuyassem pa esta cousa & os Nauyos q as leuassem fossem seguros. E Por qftto muy nobf & muy honrrado Irmaao & amigo Nos conpre teermos alio esta fianca § 1 ta ant' q daco enuyemos adcca minha filha segundo vos bem poderedes entender. Rogamosuos q polio uosso uos plaza de dardes c : 'ca uossa aos dccos m'cadores p q seiam Seguras as m'ca- dorias & cousas q a uossa terra enuyarem p rrazom da dcca fianga & os nauyos q as leuarem, q no seiam tomadas ne enbargadas p nenhuus do uosso Senhorro, asy no mar como despois q alio em uossa trra forem postas, por rrazom da dcca diuida q dizem q alio deuemos, ne por outra ne hua cousa. Efaredes em ello cousa q nos muy to gradeceremos. Muy exgelent & Pode- roso Pringipe, nosso muy amado Irmaao, a scca fijndade uos aia em sua scca guada & encomenda & acrecent' ouosso stado & Honrra. Fcca na Cidade de Lixboa xxix. dias domes doucubro. (Signed) « J. EL REY." f * The King (Henry IV.) gave letters of protection to the Portuguese merchants, which will be found in Rymer, Fcedera, vol. viii. p. 352. t MS. Cotton ; Nero, B. 1. fol. 33. To the most illustrious, most noble, most excellent, and powerful Prince Don Henry, by the grace of God King of England and of France, and Lord of Ireland, We, Don John, by the same grace King of Portugal and Algarve, with all our heart send health, as to our brother and true friend, whom we most faithfully and 8 EARL OF ARUNDEL. In the third letter his Majesty congratulates himself and Henry on the final arrangement of his daughter's nuptials with the Earl. He then requests Henry to remit to the Earl the payment of two thousand marcs which the Earl had borrowed on account of his marriage, and which, from the expenses attending it, and the losses sustained in war (both which causes, it may be remarked, the Earl had himself stated to Henry), he was unable to repay. This is dated Lisbon, the last day of October [7 Hen. IV. 1405]. truly esteem and love above all the Princes of the world, and to whom we desire that God will grant health and life, with great augmentation of honour. Most powerful Prince, and our very esteemed brother and friend, you are well acquainted, how in the treaty relative to the marriage of the Earl of Arundel with Donna Beatrix my daughter, it was agreed and determined, that we would give him with her the sum of 50,000 crowns, of which 25,000 should be paid immediately on his receiving my said daughter, and for the remaining 25,000 surety should be given in England satisfactory to himself. Now some merchants our subjects have under- taken to advance the said surety to the said Earl, and have represented unto us, that in order to enable them to give it conveniently (?) they would send over a quantity of merchandize, which they fear might be captured or arrested by the armed vessels of your dominions, or afterwards detained on account of the debt it is stated we owe, or for some other cause. And they have prayed us to write to you, that you would grant them your letters, by which the merchandizes they shall send over for this purpose, and the ships which convey them, may be rendered secure. And for as much as, most noble and most honourable brother and friend, we pledged ourselves to the fulfilment of this surety, before we sent over our said daughter, as you well know, we request you that you would be pleased to grant your letters to the said merchants, by which they may be assured as to the mer- chandizes and other things they shall send over to your dominions on account of the said surety, and the ships which convey them ; that they shall not be captured nor arrested by any of your Nobles, either on the sea, or after their arrival in your dominions, on account of the said debt that we owe, nor on any other account. And you will do in this affair what will most greatly oblige us. Most excellent and powerful Prince, our very beloved brother, may the Holy Trinity have you in guard and protection, and augment both your prosperity and honour. Written in the City of Lisbon, the 29. day of October. (Signed) J. THE KING. 9 THOMAS FITZALAN, Lord Arundel, says Milles, obtained great honour and fame for his valiant achievements. Of the precise nature or scene of these exploits we are unable to offer any distinct account, but sufficient evidence may be gleaned from contemporary instru- ments to prove that he was held in high estimation and deemed worthy of the most important trusts. In the fourth of Henry the Fourth he petitions the King for the sum of 9T/1. 8s., money expended in pay to his men, when in obedience to Henry's orders he had provided, manned and vic- tualed one ship, with twenty-five mariners, together with a barge, intended probably to bring back the Queen from Bretagne. It would seem that his captain, who was one William Prince, did not suffer his lordship's vessel and men to remain unemployed, for Rymer gives an instrument in which the King directs him to make restitution of a certain barge laden with wine, of which he had unjustly and wrongfully made capture. In 1405 he was appointed Marshall of England, pro tempore, during the absence of the Lord Marshall in the North. He was one of the peers in parliament who agreed to the act of succession in the seventh of Henry IV. In 1409 we find him enjoined by the King, in common with the Duke of York, the Earl of Warwick, the Lord Grey de Ruthyn, and others, to repel Owen Glendour, and the pretended Bishop of St. Asaph *. " Contra praedictos Owinum et episcopum praetensum, ac alios rebelles et inimicos nostros praedictos, po- tenter et viriliter insurgatis, et ipsos, tarn per noctem, quam per * This was John Trevor or Trevaur, who had deserted King Richard, to whom he was under many obligations, and even pronounced the sentence of deposition against him ; he was then sent by Henry as ambassador to the court of Spain, to justify the proceedings of the new monarch, but upon his return joined Owen Glendour, who at that time bid fair for success : upon this last act of baseness and ingratitude Henry deprived him of his bishoprick. 10 EARL OF ARUNDEL. diem, cum equis et armis diligenter et efficaciter insequamini, et totum posse vestrum ad ipsos capiendum apponi faciatis." In another instrument, teste rege apud Norhampton, he is told that the King much marvels, and is greatly disturbed at hearing that certain of his officers and retainers had made peace with Owen, to the great detriment of Henry's liege subjects, inasmuch as it gave leisure to Glendour to ravage the surrounding country : he is accordingly commanded to hasten thither, and in person " guerras contra dictos rebelles nostros, cum toto posse vestro, teneatis (says the king) et firmiter teneri et continuari faciatis." In the twelfth of Henry IV. he accompanied the Prince of Wales to Calais, on his appointment to the government of that city, after the death of the Earl of Somerset, and in the following year was sent with a force to the aid of the Duke of Burgundy against the Duke of Orleans. In the first year of Henry the Fifth the Earl of Arundel was constituted Warden of the Cinque Ports, Constable of Dover castle, and Lord High Treasurer of England, and accompanied his royal master into France when, in 1415, he was about to re- cover the inheritance of his ancestors. This expedition cost him his life : he was one of several noblemen who were so reduced by the distemper prevalent among the English troops at the siege of Harfleur, as to be compelled to return to England in hopes of recovery ; but the disorder had taken too strong hold on his con- stitution to admit of remedy, and he died a few months after his arrival. Walsingharo, in his history of Henry V., reports that he was poisoned, and repeats the suspicion in his " Ypodigma," but there seems no good foundation for such a surmise. On the contrary, it would appear that he was aware of his own danger and expected his speedy dissolution, for he executed a will three days only before his death, in which he provides for his own funeral in the collegiate church of the Holy Trinity at Arundel, and directs the erection of the monument here depicted, as well 11 THOMAS FITZALAN, as another to the memory of his father. He appoints 130/. 6s. 8d. to be expended on his funeral, and in celebrating masses for his soul ; and whereas he had made a certain vow to St. John of Bridlington, when there with King Henry the Fifth, then Prince of Wales, that he would once every year personally offer to that saint, or send, the sum of five marcs during his life, he orders that his executors should forthwith pay all the arrears thereof, besides the costs of the messenger. He wills also that they should build a chapel in honour of the blessed Virgin at Mary Gate in Arundel, and pay the arrears due to all the soldiers who were with him at Harfleur. This will is dated the 10th, and he died on the 13th, of October. We shall conclude this portion of our article with the pedigree of Fitzalan from MS. Harl. 1411. 23. Alice, dau. of Marg. de Saluz.=f=Richard Lord Fitzallan, created E. of Arundel Ob. 1292. 1289, in right of his great grandmother Isabell Albeny. Ob. 1301. ' Alice, sister and heir of John=f= Edmund Fitzallan, E. of Arundell. Ob. 1326. Warren, last E. of Warren, j Eleanor, d. of Hen. Plantagenet=T=Richard Fitzallan, E. of Arundel, also E. of E. of Lancaster, widow of Jo. I Warren and Surrey. Ob. 1375. L. Beaumont. Ob. 1372. 1 Elizab. d. of Will, de Bohun, E.=f=Rich. Fitzallan, E. of Arundel, attainted 1397. of Northampton. Tho. Fitzallan, E. of Arundel, Warren & Surry, Clune, Oswastre, Bromfield, Yale, Holt & Dinas Bran. He was made K. of y € garter by Hen. y c 4. & married Beatrix naturall d. of John K. of Portugal). He was a man of singular vertue and valour, & at length slayne in y e wares of France y e 3d. of Hen. y e 5th. 1415. being also Constable of Douer & L. Warden of y e Cinque Ports. He with his wife do ly buried at Arundell castle, being sans issue *, and so y e Earldoms of * Beatrice afterwards became the wife of Sir Gilbert Talbot, who died October 19, 1419. Collins (Peerage, art. Earl of Shrewsbury) quotes a letter in the possession of the Duke of Newcastle, from her father, the King of Portugal, to Sir John Pelham, who being a favourite of King Henry's, he entreats him " to show the Lady Beatrix, his daughter, being deprived of the Earl of Arundel, the same favour he had before shown to her." She was thirdly the wife of John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, and lastly married to John Fettiplace of Childxey In Berkshire, ancestor by her of the baronets of that name, lately extinct. 12 EARL OF ARUNDEL. Warren and Surrey were deuided among his sisters, but y c Earldom of Arundell to y e line of his vncle John Fitzallan L. Maltrauers, according to y e entaile aboue specified sans issue. The monument of Thomas Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, and his Countess Beatrice, stands in the middle of the choir of the collegiate church of Arundel. It is entirely of alabaster, except the plinth, which is of blue marble. On each side of the tomb are nine, and at each end five, small figures of priests, within as many niches, each holding in his hands an open book. At the top of the tomb is a range of shields with small tracery inter- posed: of these there are fourteen on each side, eight at the feet, and four at the head. The whole were originally embla- zoned with arms, but at the present time these only remain : 1st, Fitzalan quartering Warren ; 2d, the same quartered and impaling Beauchamp j and 3d, Bohun impaling Fitzalan quar- tering Warren as before. Remains of the gilding are perceptible on various parts of the tomb. On the top are represented the Earl and Countess, reposing beneath a rich canopy, with a double cushion, supported at each corner by an angel, under their heads, and their hands joined in the attitude of prayer. The hair of the Countess is enclosed in a rich net-work of pearls, projecting considerably from each side of the head, and surmounted by the horn head-dress, altogether one of the richest and most extravagant representations of this extraordinary fashion. Round her neck is a small chain, from which is suspended a locket. The sleeves are tight and seamed with pearls. The margin of the mantle and petticoat are richly embroidered, the latter fitting tight to the body as low as the hips, whence it descends in straight folds, entirely covering the feet. On each side a small dog is seated, holding in its mouth the extremity of the mantle. The Earl is represented in robes, his hair cut close round his face, a collar of SS hangs from his neck, and at his feet is a horse. The design and execution of the canopies are extremely beautiful, 13 THOMAS FITZALAN, EARL OF ARUNDEL. particularly the tracery in the roofs, and the small heads and foliage at the intersection of the ribs. The back of each of the canopies is finished with tracery, in the centre of which is a beau- tiful little niche and pedestal to receive a figure. This interesting monument has sustained injury in various parts. The hands of the principal figures are destroyed ; many of the small figures on the sides of the tomb have lost their heads, and are otherwise mutilated. Almost all the canopies have in a greater or less degree shared the same fate, and the small figures have entirely disappeared from the niches at the backs of the principal canopies. A portion of the original fence of wrought iron inclosing the tomb still remains, and is a curious specimen of that species of work ; but as it has a tendency rather to obstruct the view, it has been partly omitted in the annexed plate. There is no inscrip- tion nor any armorial bearing remaining, excepting those already described. 14 RALPH NEVILLE, FIRST EARL OF WESTMORLAND. Ob. 1425. monument at staindrop. It would, perhaps, be impossible to point out a family more distinguished in English history, for its antiquity and splendor, for its wealth and power, or for the martial valour, or diplomatic ability, of its several members, than the illustrious house of Neville. John Lord Neville, father of the nobleman whose monument is now given, appears to have been a person of very various and splendid talents. In the earlier part of the reign of King Edward the Third, he was conspicuous for his prowess in the contests with France ; and, accordingly, we find him knighted for his valour at the barriers of Paris. He was afterwards appointed Admiral of the Fleet, and, in the last year of that monarch, had the important, and no very easy, mission, " to settle all things in quiet, in the marches of Scotland, in reference to the injuries done by the subjects of each kingdom to one another." To omit a great variety of offices of trust, with which he appears to have been invested, and which he filled with equal honour to himself, and benefit to his country, during the reigns of King Edward and Richard the Second, we lastly have mention made of him as lieutenant of Aquitane, in the execution of which important duty, he won in battle, or received by surrender, not less than eighty-three walled towns, castles, and forts. John Lord Neville was twice married : by his first wife, Maud, daughter of the Lord Percy, he had issue Ralph, the 1 RALPH NEVILLE, subject of the present article — by his second, who was Eliza- beth, daughter and heir to William Lord Latimer, he had John, afterwards Lord Latimer, who died without issue, whereby his large possessions came into the hands of his half and elder brother. Ralph Neville was born, it appears, in 1365, being twenty- four years of age at the death of his father, which happened in 1389, 12 Rich. II. He had entered upon public life before this event took place ; being, in 7 Rich. II., associated, with the Earl of Northumberland, his father, and some others, in a commission to receive twenty-four thousand marcs, as a satisfaction for the ransom of David Bruce. He was also joint- governor of the castle and city of Carlisle, with Thomas, son of the Lord Clifford ; was a commissioner for the guardianship of the west inarches, and had received the honour of knighthood. It is probable, indeed, that the example and instructions of his father tended much to prepare him for this early introduction to the notice of his sovereign, for he could have been barely nineteen when the King of Scotland's ransom was to be received ; nor could his own merits and character have suffi- ciently developed themselves to entitle him to so prominent a distinction. Although the life of this nobleman was one passed in the constant execution of many public and most important duties, we have now little to record of him, except to give a bare catalogue of the diplomatic arrangements entrusted to his care, or to enumerate the continued acquisitions of wealth and power which flowed upon him during the reigns of three successive monarchs. Immediately upon his father's death, his joint- governorship of Carlisle, together with the custody of the marches, were renewed ; he obtained the King's charter for a weekly market, and an yearly fair, at his lordship of Middle- ham ; permission to enclose his woods, and to make a park, at 2 FIRST EARL OF WESTMORLAND. Raskelff ; and was constituted warden of all the King's forests beyond Trent, for life. In the fourteenth of Richard II. he occurs as one of the commissioners to treat with those from the kings of France and Scotland, on the subject of the truce made between those sovereigns and the King of England ; and in the eighteenth of the same reign, he was included in a similar commission, to treat of peace with the Scots. In the twenty first of Richard II. he was made constable of the Tower of London ; and in the parliament, holden soon after Christmas in that year, he was advanced to the title of Earl of Westmorland, being the first person upon whom this distinction was conferred. " Being," says Dugdale, " of the privy council to King Richard, he obtained from him the honor of Penreth, with its appurtenances ; as also all those royalties in the county of Westmorland, which justly belonged to the crown, and which had been unduly withheld by the heirs of Robert de Vipount, to enjoy during his life : but, upon the landing of Henry, Duke of Lancaster, at Ravenspur, this Earl, with other of the nobles who feared the King's tyranny, (aliique domini, qui timebant regis tyrannidem plures valde, are Walsingham's words,) met him, and was one of those who attended him at Westminster, upon the morrow after Michaelmas-day, where, and at which time, King Richard made a formal resignation of the govern- ment, desiring that the same Henry, Duke of Lancaster, might succeed him therein." It is not unlikely that the terror and disgust naturally attendant on the ill-advised and tyrannical measures of the King, might have their weight with the Earl of Westmorland ; but a much more powerful inducement with that nobleman to forsake his former benefactor will appear, when we recollect the family connection that subsisted between hynself and Henry 3 RALPH NEVILLE, Bolinbroke, in consequence of the Earl's marriage with Joan de Beauford ; his wife being half-sister to the claimant of the throne. The Earl of Westmorland's support was not more important to the cause of Henry the Fourth, than the prospect of fresh acquisitions and advancement secure to that nobleman, in the event of his half-brother's obtaining, and keeping posses- sion of the crown ; and to both the Henrys, indeed, father and son, he appears to have been a most active, zealous, and faithful adherent. The name of the Earl of Westmorland is well known to many English readers, who are not very conversant in the annals and antiquities of their country, from the circumstance of the introduction of that nobleman, by our immortal Shak- speare, in his dramatic histories of " King Henry the Fourth." The present Ralph Neville is the identical Earl of Westmorland, who makes so prominent a figure in that part of the play where the insurrection of Archbishop Scrope, and the subtilty by which his army was disbanded, and himself and his associates captured, is represented in terms, accordant, indeed, with the chronicles from which our bard extracted his historical ma- terials, but which cannot fail to excite the indignation of the reader, at the perfidy and baseness of the King's negociators. Shakspeare has been guilty of one error, the correction of which, however humiliating to the biographer of Ralph Neville, appears proper in this place, although long since pointed out by Mr. Steevens, in his notes on the play itself. Shakspeare makes Prince John of Lancaster, the King's son, promise the rebellious lords a full redress of all their grievances, and adds, " If this may please you, Discharge your powers unto their several counties, As we will ours ; and here, between the armies, Let's drink together friendly, and embrace ; 4 FIRST EARL OF WESTMORLAND. That all their eyes may bear those tokens home, Of our restored love and amity." It was not the Prince who made this insidious proposal, but the Earl of Westmorland, who, finding that the force of the conspirators far exceeded that under the command of the King's generals, adopted this treacherous line of conduct, to defeat the purposes of the enemy, and obtain possession of the persons of their leaders. Holinshed, who derives the whole of this infor- mation from Walsingham, allows that " others write somewhat otherwise of this matter, affirming that the Earle of Westmorland, indeed, and the Lord Rafe Eeuers, procured the Archbishop and Earle Marshall, to come to a communication with them, upon a ground iust in the midwaie betwixt both the armies, where the Earle of Westmorland, in talke, declared to them how perilous an enterprise they had taken in hand : &c. — here- vpon, as well the Archbishop as the Earle Marshall submitted themselues vnto the King, and to his sonne, the Lord John, that was there present, and returned not to their armie ; wherevpon their troops scaled and fled." This is, indeed, a detail more honourable to the character of the Earl of Westmorland, but we fear that adopted by Shakspeare rests on equally good founda- tion ; for, whichever of the two accounts be the correct one, it is very certain, that the most ample and unqualified promises of pardon and redress were proffered and accepted, not one of which was held sacred. Archbishop Scrope and his followers were denounced as traitors, and hurried to execution amidst the tears and lamentations of the people, by whom the prelate was universally beloved, and who looked upon him, ever after, as little less than a martyr. The Earl of Westmorland was not ill-rewarded by the King for his attachment and good services. In the first year of his reign he gave him the county and honour of Richmond, a most 5 RALPH NEVILLE, desirable acquirement, says the late historian of Yorkshire, independently of its great value, to a family who had hitherto enjoyed the rank of first feudatories only under the Earls. In the second of Henry IV. he acted as a commissioner, to treat concerning the marriage between Lewis, the eldest son of Rupert, King of Romans, and Blanche, eldest daughter to King Henry. The next year he was made governor of Roxburgh castle, for ten years ; and in the sixth of the same King, was again entrusted to negociate a truce with the King of Scotland, a commission that was frequently renewed, and in which the Earl appears always to have been named, so late even as the first of Henry the Sixth. The accession of Henry the Fifth to the throne of his father was the signal for fresh exertions on the part of the Earl of Westmorland. He accompanied that Prince into France; was actively engaged with him at the siege of Caen, in Normandy ; and was one of the heroic conquerors at the battle of Agin- court. The exclamation ascribed to him on this memorable occasion, by Shakspeare, " O that we now had here But one ten thousand of those men in England, That do no work to-day !" rests on no better foundation than Holinshed's assertion, that " one of the hoste" uttered such a wish to another who stood next him; and Ralph Neville was not a very likely person to manifest symptoms of faint-heartedness, or to be mistaken for an obscure individual, whose name was unworthy of more particular record. The Earl was twice married : Camden remarks that his descendants, by his first wife, Margaret, daughter of Hugh, Earl of Stafford, enjoyed the title of Earls of Westmorland, till FIRST EARL OF WESTMORLAND. Charles, forming a conspiracy as vain as wicked, (cum impotenti animo et scelerata conspiratione) against Queen Elizabeth, and being obliged to fly his country, disgraced that noble family, stained his own glories, and ended his life, in wretched exile, in the Netherlands. By his second wife, Joane, daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, he had such a numerous issue, that her descendants were, at one and the same time, Earl of Salis- bury, Earl of Warwick, Earl of Kent, Marquis Montacute, Baron Latimer, and Baron Abergavenny. According to the usage of those times, the Earl of Westmor- land became the founder of a religious house. He endowed the collegiate church of Staindrope, in the county and bishoprick of Durham, for a master, six priests, six clerks, six esquires, or decayed gentlemen, and six poor men. The endowment, according to Speed, was valued annually at an hundred and twenty-six pounds, five shillings, and tenpence. Leland, whose excellent and invaluable Itinerary we are always pleased to refer to, says, " Rafe Neville, the first Erl of Westmorland, of that name, is buried yn a right stately tumbe of alabaster, in the quire of Stanthorp college, and Margarete, his first wife, on the lift hond of hym : and on the right hond lyith the image of Johan his 2. wife, but she is buried at Lincoln, by her mother Caterine Swinesford, Duches of Lancaster." It is this stately tumbe that now forms so exquisite an embellishment to our Monumental Remains, and which was removed, some thirty or forty years since, from the centre of the chancel of Staindrop church, to its present situation in the western end of the south side-aisle, where it is placed with the head against the wall, and so injudiciously near it, as barely to leave a passage between the wall and the monument. It is an altar tomb, entirely of alabaster, with rich niches at the sides ; the whole beautifully designed, and executed with the greatest taste. 7 RALPH NEVILLE, The Earl rests between his two wives, clad in plated armour, having a pointed helmet, with a flowered wreath, and a mail gorget. Under his head, is a helmet, surmounted with a bull's head, the crest of the family, and at his feet a lion couchant, behind which are two priests at desks. On the frontlet of the Earl's helmet, are the letters ttyg, and from the sides a strap or collar, charged with ; on his breast is the saltire, the armorial bearing of the Nevilles. The decorations of his helmet and gauntlets, as well as the seams and lacing of every part of the armour, are richly ornamented ; nor can any thing be more minute and beautiful than the whole figure. The faces of the females closely resemble each other, and both statues are designed in the best taste of the time. They are similarly habited in a mantle, kirtle, and surcoat, richly edged and faced ; the hair is braided, and adorned with quatre foils, and enclosed within a covering, richly wrought ; round their necks are collars of fastened with a triangular ring, and a medal appendant ; and on each of their heads is a coronet, studded with precious stones ; at their feet are two dogs, collared, peeping out from under their robes ; and beneath all, two monks kneeling be- fore books placed on desks. The arms of both the principal figures are broken off, and the terminations, representing the kneeling priests, are sadly defaced. The canopy work of the small shrines on each side has also suffered great dilapidation, partly, perhaps, from the removal of the tomb, and partly in consequence of its present unprotected situation. Although not a single canopy now remains entire, yet a very careful examination of the whole has enabled us to make out the original design, with great precision; and, in order to furnish some idea of the pristine beauty and magnificence of this costly monument, the two nearest have been restored, whilst, in every other particular, the representation in the annexed plate may be depended on, as a most faithful portrait of the original. 8 EARL OF WESTMORLAND. THE TWO WIVES OF RALPH NEVILLE, EARL OF WESTMORLAND. The first wife of the Earl of Westmorland was Margaret Stafford, eldest daughter of Hugh, Earl of Stafford, by Philippa, daughter of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. Of the dates of her birth and marriage no records appear now to exist, al- though, in consequence of her being within the third and fourth degrees of consanguinity with her intended husband, it was necessary to procure a dispensation from the Pope, previously to the celebration of their nuptials. This was a matter of no great difficulty with persons so powerful ; and Pope Urban the Fifth, to whom the application was made, readily granted the re- quired permission. The children of this marriage were, 1. John, who died during the life of his father, leaving a son Ralph, who afterwards succeeded his grandfather as Earl of Westmorland. 2. Ralph, married to Mary, daughter and coheir to Sir Robert Ferrers, of Oversley, Warwickshire. 3. Maud, married to Peter, Lord Mauley. 4. Alice, first married to Sir Thomas Gray, of Heton ; secondly, to Sir Gilbert de Lancaster. 5. Philippa, married to Thomas, Lord Dacres, of Gillesland. 6. Margaret, married to Richard, Lord Scrope, of Bolton. 7. Anne, married to Sir Gilbert de Umfraville, Knight. 8. Margery, Abbess of Berking. 9. Elizabeth, a nun of the order of St. Clare, at the Minories, in London. Dugdale has committed a strange error in stating, that the Countess died on the 9th of June 1370, since, in his account of the Earls of Stafford, he enumerates a legacy of Hugh Earl of Stafford, " to Margaret de Nevil, his daughter, 9 RALPH NEVILLE, a large gold ring, with a great diamond set therein :" this was given by a codicil bearing date 1386, in which year her father died at Rhodes. Joanna de Beaufort, second wife of Ralph Neville, was the only daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, by Catharine Swyneford, whom he afterwards made his third wife, and widow to Robert Ferrers, son of Robert Ferrers, Lord of Wem, Salop, and Oversley, Warwick ; by whom she had issue two daughters, Elizabeth, wife of John, Baron of Greystock, and Mary married, as we have just seen, to Ralph, second son of the Earl of Westmorland by his first wife. By her second husband, Ralph Neville, she had a very numerous offspring ; 1. Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury. 2. William, Lord Faulconberg. 3. George, Lord Latimer. 4. Edward, Lord Abergaveny. 5. Robert, Bishop of Durham. 6. Cuthbert Neville. 7. Henry Neville. 8. Thomas Neville. The last three died without issue. 9. Catherine, wife of John Mowbray, second Duke of Norfolk, and afterwards married to Sir John Woodvile, son of Richard, Earl Rivers. 10. Eleanor, wife, first, of Richard, Lord Spencer, and secondly, of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland. 11. Anne, wife, first, of Humphrey, Duke of Buckingham, and afterwards of Walter Blount, Lord Mountjoy. 12. Jane, a nun. 13. Cicely, married to Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York. Joanna, Countess of Westmorland, died on the thirteenth of November 1440, and was buried in the cathedral church 10 EARL OF WESTMORLAND. of Lincoln, on the south side of the choir, where an altar monument of grey marble was erected to her memory, con- tiguous to the tomb of her mother: round the verge of the Countess's monument, the following monkish lines were engraved on a fillet of brass. jpilia ILancastda? Bucts, tnclt'ta Sbponsa ^jofianna 2KestmcrIan& primf sufyacet fitc tomttts. Btstne, scrtba, suas btitutts promere, nulla 5Kox baleat merits bix xtbom sua ; Sbtirpe, tfecore, fite, fama, spe, prctt, prole, &ctubus tt btta pollutt gmmo sua. iBatto tota tiolet pro morte, Beus tultt tpsam In ISrtctf festo ©. quater M- quater X. < Published. Jul) :ZM24. fy Sarding, TripJwol< S:Icpard,,Fvnsbury SqruarcZomlen,. ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS, FIFTH EARL OF DOUGLAS. Ob. 1438. monument at douglas. The monument of this nobleman stands on the north side of the chapel attached to the now ruined church of Douglas, and appropriated as the place of sepulture for the Douglas family. It is entirely composed of stone ; and although now sadly de- faced, retains traces of having been once profusely ornamented, and richly gilt and painted. The Effigy is habited in robes of state ; on the head is a coronet. The left hand sustains what was probably designed for a batoon of office, whilst the right holds together the cordon by which the mantle is fastened. A broad and highly-embellished belt encircles the waist. The face, in which the lines of countenance are very strongly mark- ed, is perfect, with the exception of some portion of the nose. Round the margin of the slab on which the effigy reposes, are the remains of an inscription, which, as it is now almost en- tirely obliterated, we are glad to retrieve from an antient and authentic transcript. It is as follows : HIC • IACET • DOMINVS • ARCHBALDVS • DOVGLAS • DVX TVRONIE • COMES • DE • DOVGLAS • ET • LONGEVILLE DOMINVS • GALLOVIDIE • ET • VVIOTON • ET • ANNANDIE LOCVM • TENENS • REGIS • SCOTIE • OBIIT • XXV1° DIE • MENSIS • IVNII • ANNO • DOMINI • MILLESIMO QVADRINGENTESIMO • TRIGESIMO • OCTAVO • 1 ARCHIBALD, The small shield over the figure, in the recess of the arch, is charged with the arms of Douglas, and the label above retains a few detached letters of an inscription, probably some motto, or perhaps a pious quotation from the scriptures, appropriate to the place and subject. Although this and the other very interesting monuments in this chapel have suffered, and are still suffering, much from neglect, it is evident that we cannot attribute their present di- lapidated state to this cause alone ; nor, indeed, to the slow yet certain progress of time, and its attendant decay. There can be no question but, at some former period, these magnifi- cent tombs have been exposed to wanton and intentional in- jury ; and however the admirers of art and the lovers of anti- quity must deplore the barbarous violence which has occa- sioned so much and so irreparable dilapidation, it is hoped that these frequent instances of destruction or decay, will prove the use and the necessity of some such undertaking as the present ; a work which will, we trust, in some measure arrest the hand of time, and for the future, at least, place these splendid memo- rials of departed valour and nobility far beyond the reach of the destroyer. In the monument of Lord Douglas now given, the quatrefoil termination of the summit, the foliage over the arch, and one of the figures, and the canopies on the side of the tomb, have been torn from their original places : the last have entirely disappeared, but some fragments which lie loose and disregarded in the chapel, and which, on application, were found to belong to the former, have enabled us to restore them in the plate ; a restoration which, in a very short time, would probably have been impossible. Archibald, Fifth Earl of Douglas, was the eldest son of Archi- bald Earl of Douglas, who for his valour and good service per- formed for Charles the Seventh of France, received from that monarch the Dutchy of Turenne, a title conferred upon him about 1423, and continued to his heirs for ever. This noble- 2 FIFTH EARL OF DOUGLAS. man, together with his son-in-law, John Stuart Earl of Buchan, lost his life at the battle ofVernoil ; they were both buried with much pomp and solemnity in St. Gratian's church, at Tourney, in 1424. Archibald, when a young man and known by the title of Earl of Wigton, accompanied his brother-in-law, the Earl of Buchan, into France, whither they went with an army of seven thousand men, to aid the Dauphin, then contending against the King of England and the Duke of Burgundy. It was here that they assisted in repelling the Duke of Clarence, brother to the English King, in his attack upon a small village called Bauge, where the English were repulsed with great loss; their com- mander, together with two hundred persons of rank and estima- tion, being slain. Hume, of Godscroft, says, quaintly enough, on this exploit : That " the Scots were glad to have occasion to shew the French what they could doe, and to confute their whisperings and surmises, wherein they reproached them as fit onely to consume victuals : and the English were moved with great indignation, that they should bee thus perpetually troubled by the Scots, not onely at home, but also abrode, beyond the sea, in a forraine countrey." In 1422, the Earl of Wigton returned to Scotland for more recruits, but was unable to rejoin his father, then holding the chief command in France, in consequence of ill-health ; and not long after, he succeeded to the title of Douglas, by the death of the fourth Earl, at Vernoil. In 1424, he was sent ambassador to England, together with Henry, Bishop of Aberdeen, and Sir William Hay of Errol, to treat about the ransom of King James the First ; and, having accomplished the object of their mission, returned to Scotland with their royal master in that year. In the beginning of the reign of James the Second, if we may believe Hume, the historian of the family, the Earl of 3 ARCHIBALD, Douglas, disgusted with the measures of Creighton and Levingston, retired from public life, and contented himself with ruling his own vassals, and preserving the dignity and privi- leges of his family. To an application made by Levingston^ who desired his countenance and co-operation, when he medi- tated a rupture with his colleague, he returned the following spirited reply ; that he considered the governor and the chan- cellor as alike false, covetous, and ambitious; that their conten- tions being neither honourable, nor for the benefit of their country, but for their own individual quarrels and private ad- vantage, it was of little consequence which of them over- came : if indeed, said he, both of you should perish, our coun- try would reap the benefit ; nor can there be a more pleasant sight for an honest man and a patriot, than to see such a cou- ple of fencers yoked together. It is probable that these sentiments would have provoked some fatal measures dictated by disappointment and revenge, had not the death of the Earl of Douglas speedily taken place. He was shortly after seized with a fever which terminated his life at Rastelrigge in 1438 ; and history informs us, that the here- ditary hatred of Levingston and Creighton was but too success- fully exerted against the persons of his children ; his two sons, William and David, being treacherously murdered in the castle of Edinburgh, and in the presence of the king, who, although not privy to the assassination, and abhorring the foul deed, was unable to prevent it. Archibald Douglas was twice married. First to the Lady Matilda Lindsay, daughter of the Earl of Crawfurd, who died without issue. His second wife was the Lady Eupheme Gra- ham, daughter of the Earl of Strathern, by whom he had two sons and a daughter; the latter, Lady Margaret, who was called " the fair maid of Galloway," married, first, her cousin William, and, secondly, James, both Earls of Douglas, but had 4 FIFTH EARL OF DOUGLAS. no issue by either. She, for the third time, became the wife of John Earl of Athol, to whom she bore two daughters, one mar- ried to the Earl of Errol, the second to the Lord Gray. We shall conclude this article with an extract from Hume's " History of the House of Douglas." It contains a romantic and perhaps unparalleled instance of confidence and ge- nerosity in the parties of whom the anecdote is related, and cannot be better told than in the simple yet vigorous language of the original writer. " This thing onely I can account worthy of reproofe in the Earl of Douglas, that he suffered Annandale to overcome the adjacent countreyes, and did not hinder them from wronging the innocent people : hee should not have thought that it did not belong to him to hinder them, because he was no magis- trate. This if he had done, and kept justice within himself, it would have gotten him both favour and honour, and might have brought contempt upon the governours(Levingston andCreigh- ton) that could not keep peace in a more tractable and peace- able countrey, nor among themselves : for how excellent a thing is it, by good means to seeke honour. It would have taken away the occasion of the calumnies of his enemies, who yet did much worse themselves. He was otherwise a valiant, wise man, a lover of his countrey, and of a free, plain, good and ge- nerous nature : his generous disposition appeareth in his brave demeanour' towards the Lord Kennedie. There being some- thing wherein the Lord Kennedie had wronged and offended him, he conceived such high indignation thereat, that hee pub- lished his desire of revenge to be such, that whosoever would bring the Lord Kennedie's head, should have the lands of Stuarton. This offer proceeded from so powerfull a man, and knowne to bee a man that would keepe his promise, the Lord Kennedie hearing of it, (fearing hee could hardly long escape his hands,) resolved, by way of prevention, to be himselfe the presenter of his owne head unto him ; and accordingly, (keeping ARCHIBALD, FIFTH EARL OF DOUGLAS. his owne intention close to himselfe,) he came privately to Wig- ton ; where, finding the Earle Douglas at his devotion in Saint Ninnian's church, (a place famous, in those dayes, for the fre- quent resort of pilgrimes thither,) immediately after divine ser- vice, offered his head to the Earle, as one who had deserved the promised reward, and did crave it. The Earle seing the reso- lution and confident assurance of the man, who had put him- selfe in his power and mercy, forgave him all former faults, made him his friend, and withall gave him the reward he had promised, disponing to him and his heires the lands of Stuar- ton, which his successiours, the Earles of Cassils, doe peace- ably enjoy to this day." 6 \ RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, EARL OF WARWICK. 1381 1439. MONUMENT AT WARWICK. Richard Beauchamp, son of Thomas Earl of Warwick, by Margaret, daughter of William Lord Ferrers of Groby, was born at Salwarpe in Worcestershire, on the twenty-eighth day of January, 1381. His godfathers were, King Richard the Second, and the then Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, Richard Scrope, afterwards Archbishop of York. At the Coro- nation of King Henry the Fourth, he was created a Knight of the Bath, being at that time only nineteen years of age ; and in the fifth year of that king's reign, at the Coronation of Queen Jane, the Earl, according to the chivalrous gallantry of those days, declared himself her Majesty's champion against all opponents, and acquitted himself with so great credit, that he was retained to serve the King for one year, with a retinue of one hundred men at arms, and three hundred archers : of the rank and quality of his followers, some idea may be formed, from the circumstance of John Lord Audley occurring among the number. In the fourth year of King Henry, he performed homage, and had livery of his lands; and, shortly after, march- ing with the forces appointed to suppress the rebellion of Owen Glendour, displayed the greatest personal courage, taking the banner of the enemy, and compelling his opponent to seek safety in flight. About the same time he bore an active part in 1 RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, the defeat of Sir Henry Percy at the famous battle of Shrewsbury, and soon after was made a Knight of the Garter. In the ninth of Henry IV. the Earl of Warwick obtained licence to visit the Holy Land, in pursuance of a vow he had made to perform his devotions and tender the customary offerings at the sepulchre of our Saviour. Passing from England into France, he was every where received with the greatest respect, and entertained with peculiar distinction by the French monarch, who, accord- ing to John Rous's MS. in the Cotton library, " on the Whit- sonday, in reuerence of the holy feast, was crowned, and made Earle Richard to sitt at his table, where he so manerly behaued himselfe in langage and norture, that the kinge and his lords with all othir people, gaue him greet lawde, and at his depart- ing the kinge assigned him an heraud, to giue his attendance and conducte him saufely through all his reame." It may be remarked, that the day of Pentecost was a feast of the highest importance in the annals of chivalry : it was the day on which persons of the royal blood, the sons and the brothers of kings, received the honour of knighthood. Proceeding towards Rome, the Earl was met by the herald of Sir Pandulph Malacet or Malet, who challenged him to perform certain feats at arms on St. George's day at Verona, a challenge which was very readily accepted, although it was near proving fatal to the challenger ; for having broken their lances in jousting, the combatants fell to it, as by agreement, with axes, and in this encounter, Sir Pan- dulph received a severe wound on the shoulder, and would inevitably have been slain, but for the interposition of the arbiter, under whose superintendance the joustings took place, who proclaimed Peace, and thus, according to the laws of arms, put an end to the conflict. During his sojourn at Jerusalem, he had the high privilege granted him by the Patriarch's de- puty, to hold conference with the impugners of the faith, and was, in consequence, royally feasted by the Soldan's lieutenant, 2 EARL OF WARWICK. who invited him out of respect to the memory of his illustrious ancestor, the famous Guy of Warwick, with whose story he was thoroughly acquainted, being a man skilled in languages, and otherwise well versed in the literature of the age. The name of this lieutenant was Sir Baldredam, who, before they parted, made a singular communication to the earl, namely, that al- though he durst not confess it, he was in his heart converted to the Catholic religion ; and he afterwards proved the sincerity of his assertion by rehearsing the articles of their faith. From Jerusalem the Earl returned to Venice, and thence, making the tour of Europe for nearly three years, lost no oppor- tunity of displaying his military acomplishments, by taking- part in divers tournaments at the several courts he visited in his travels. Having sufficiently satisfied his curiosity and added greatly to his fame, he came back into England, where he was imme- diately retained with Henry, Prince of Wales, (afterwards Henry V.) covenanting, by indenture dated the second of Oc- tober, 12 Hen. IV., to serve him in times of peace and war, as well in the realm of England, as upon, and beyond, the seas, at a wage of two hundred and fifty marcs per annum, to be paid out of the prince's exchequer at Caermarthen, on the two feasts of Easter and St. Michael, by even portions ; and the agreement further provides, that " whensoever he should be in that prince's court, to have four esquires and six yeomen with him, and diet for them all ; and that the prince in service of war should have the third part of what he got in battle, and the third of the thirds of what his men at arms should gain : and in case he took any great commander, fort, or castle, the prince likewise to have them, giving him reasonable satisfaction." This agree- ment is very curious, in as much as it not only informs us of the amount of the salary paid by a sovereign for the services of one of his nobles of the highest rank, but gives an accurate 3 RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, account of the division of spoil captured by a knight and his retainers. At the Coronation of King Henry the Fifth, the Earl of War- wick was constituted High Steward of England, and soon after he was appointed a commissioner to treat with France, touch- ing a firm peace between that country and England ; to secure which he was empowered to negociate for a match between King Henry, and Catharine, daughter of the French monarch. He had before been associated with the Bishop of Durham, to treat with the commissioners of the King of Scotland concern- ing peace with that nation also, and was subsequently sent, with several of the most distinguished English ecclesiastics, to assist at the Council of Constance. In the reign of Henry V. he had the important charge of the town of Calais committed to his care, and was made governor of the marches of Picardy ; and two years after, being with the army under the Duke of Cla- rence, was the first Englishman who entered Caen, and planted the standard of his country on the walls of that city, for which, and his other signal services, he was soon after created Earl of Aumarle. The next public transaction of importance in which we find the Earl engaged, was a contest with a French detachment un- der the Earls of Vendosme and Limoisin, who were sent by the Dauphin to obstruct him in his progress, when commis- sioned by King Henry V. to treat for the marriage of that Prince with the Lady Catharine, daughter of the King of France. The French force, upon this occasion, amounted to five thousand men, the Earl of Warwick being attended with one thousand only ; but the victory was so decisive, that both the commanders of the enemy were slain, one fighting hand to hand with the Earl, and above two thousand of their followers perished or were taken prisoners. The issue of Lord War- wick's embassy is well known : the King espoused the French 4 EARL OF WARWICK. Princess, and, by a treaty entered into at that negociation, was to enjoy the realm of France entirely, after the death of the then King. An additional instance of Henry's personal regard for the Earl, and the high estimation in which he held his abili- ties and integrity, appear in his will, by which he left him governor of his infant son until he should arrive at his sixteenth year ; and the parliament ratifying the King's choice, he received the appointment. In the first of Henry the Sixth, he was again retained to serve as captain of Calais, and raised the siege of that town against Philip, Duke of Burgundy, whom he pursued with great slaughter, laying waste to the duke's territory, or, as the old chronicle has it, he " sore noyed the contrey with fyre and swerd." Rymer has preserved in his Fcedera (torn, x., p. 390.) the in- strument appointing the Earl of Warwick instructor to Henry the Sixth. It sets forth, that the king, by the advice of his un- cles the Dukes of Bedford and Gloucester, and considering his fidelity, wisdom, circumspection, and diligence, gives him full power to provide for the security of his person, as well as to in- struct him in good morals, learning different languages, the vari- ous branches of education, and all other polite accomplishments, in short, all matters worth knowing and fit for the instruction of a prince. He was moreover to exhort him truly to serve God, follow virtue and abhor vice, by every reasonable way and method adapted to his capacity and years, and to do whatever is conducive to his state, benefit, and honour : nor should it be omitted, that in case of any contumacy on the part of the royal pupil, the noble tutor was invested with full power to coerce and chastise him. On the death of the Duke of Bedford, then regent of France, the Earl of Warwick was discharged from his care of the King's person, and constituted Lieutenant General of the entire realm 5 RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, of France and of the dutchy of Normandy. There is an anec- dote, connected with his assumption of this new dignity, that must be recorded, as it shews the vast importance attached to the rites of sepulture, and proves that the superstition prevalent in the days of Homer, and so forcibly depicted by Virgil in the descent of iEneas into hell, was not altogether forgotten in the days of which we are now treating : " Hsec omnis, quam cernis, inops, inhumataque turba est : — Nec ripas datur horrendas, nec rauca fluenta Transportare prius, quam sedibus ossa quierunt. Centum errant annos, volitantque haec littora circum : Turn demum admissi stagna exoptata revisunt." — (Ms. vi. 325 — 330.) And the shade of Patroclus intreats the boon of an honour- able interment from Achilles, whom he reproaches with for- getting their former intimacy, from neglecting this necessary rite : Ov pin f*£f ^uiovtos axij^Ei;, aX^a. ^xvovroq' ©awls /-t£ 0TTiTap£K7Ta, 7rvXa.<; ai'^ao vri^riau — M>; Ij^a auv awetnev^e Ti6>)|K.£ii TLiigvii 9 b-^/yXov ts Ti9^f«£vai — II. 1 F. 246. " Here shewes (says John Rous) how Erie Richard, when he with his nauy tooke the salt water, in short space rose a greiu- ous tempest, and droue the shipps into diuers coasts, in soe much as they all feared to be perished, and the noble Erie for-castynge, let bynde himselfe and his Lady, and Henry his sonne and heire, after Due of Warwyk, to the mast of the ves- 6 EARL OF WARWICK. sell, to the intent, that where euer they were found, they might haue bin buryed togedres worshipfully , by the knowledge of his coate armor, and other signes upon him ; but yet God pre- serued hem all, and soe returned to Englond, and after to Normandy." The Earl did not enjoy this distinguished post for more than four years. He died on the thirty-first of April, 1439, (17 Henry VI.) leaving issue, by both his wives : By Elizabeth his first consort, daughter and heiress to Thomas Lord Berkeley, three daughters, viz. Margaret, born in 1405, second wife to John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury. She died in 1467, and was buried in the church of St. Faith, London. Eleanor, married first to the Lord Roos, and secondly to Ed- mund Beaufort, Marquis of Dorset and Duke of Somerset, who was slain at the battle of St. Alban's, 1455. Elizabeth, married to George Nevil, Lord Latimer. And by his second wife, Isabel daughter of Thomas Le Des- penser, Earl of Gloucester, and widow of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, who being his first cousin, he was compelled to have a special dispensation from the Pope in order to espouse her, he had Henry, his son and heir. Anne, married to Richard Nevile, Earl of Salisbury, slain in the battle of Barnet, 1471. Thus have we given a brief record of the public transactions, or at least of those most worthy of historical notice, in the life of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and it will be allowed that few of the nobility could exceed him in mili- tary renown, or in devotion to the public interest. Of his pri- vate character it is more difficult, at this remote period, to say any thing ; nor indeed can he who passes his career, from the first dawn of manhood to the last hour of his existence, in the 7 RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, service of his sovereign, or the battles of his country, have many opportunities for displaying the more quiet virtues of domestic life; nor would these virtues, however transcendant, form a sub- ject sufficiently conspicuous for the notice of the historian. Still, however, there are not wanting some traits of character, to be deduced from the accounts transmitted to us by the earlier writers, which place the noble subject of our present memoir in an interesting and amiable point of view. The patent, appointing him to have the care of King Henry, bears, as we have seen, ample testimony to his probity, his morals, and high character for prudence and good sense : of his scholastic attainments there can be no reasonable doubt, in as much as he had to superintend the literary attainments of the youthful monarch ; and, in addition, his nomination to take part in the celebrated Council of Constance, at which were assembled the learning and wisdom of all Europe, proves the estimation in which his talent for diplomacy was held by those who knew him best. Of his courtesy and noble deportment we have ample testi- mony from one of the most powerful sovereigns of the age. When ambassador at the Council of Constance he was received with great distinction by the Emperor Sigismund, to whom his character and conversation were so agreeable, that, as a token of his esteem, he preferred him to bear before him the sword of state, and presented him with the Heart of St. George, in order to carry into England. A greater treasure than the heart of the tutelary saint of his country, could scarcely be offered to an Englishman, no nation having a stronger passion for reliques, or holding a more devout faith in their miraculous efficacy and value : but, understanding that the Emperor himself purposed to pay a visit to England in person, the Earl restored the pre- sent to him, with a courteous assurance that the delivery of so precious a relique, by the hand of so illustrious a donor, would 8 EARL OF WARWICK. greatly enhance the importance of the gift : and the Emperor " in short space after he come into Englond, and was made Knight of the Garter, and offred up the holy hert himselfe, which is worshipfully yet kept at Wyndesore." So says the Cotton MS. which continues, " and in his commynge and go- ynge at Caleys, Erie Richard, then being capteyne there, ho- nourably receiued him. And the Emperour sayd to the Kynge, that noe Prince Christen, for wisdome, norture, and manhoode, had such a nothyr knyght as he had of the Erie of Warrewyke, adding thereto, that if all courtesye were lost, yet might hit be founde ageyne in hym. And soe euer aftyr, by the Emperours auctorite, was called the fadre of curtesye." If M. De St. Palaye had written any thing beyond the history of French and Norman chivalry, he would not have omitted all mention of the Earl of Warwick, who performed a feat of heroic valour, in the capital of France, of which no French writer, on subjects connected with deeds of arms, could, or ought to have been ignorant. The Earl, soon after he repaired to the govern- ment of Calais, resolving to put in practice some new point of chivalry, caused three shields to be made, and in each of them a lady painted. The first shield represented the fair one playing on her harp, and seated at the end of a bedstead ; she had a grate of gold on her left sleeve, and her knight, called the Green Knight, with a black quarter, who was ready to just with any Knight of France twelve courses, having two shields of purveyance, and his letter, sealed with his arms, viz. argent a manch gules. The second shield had a lady sitting at a covered board, working pearls ; and on her sleeve a glove of plate tacked, her knight being called Chevalier Vert, having his letter sealed with these arms, argent two bars gules, who was to just fifteen courses. The third shield had a lady sitting in a garden weaving a chaplet, and on her sleeve a polein, with a rivet: her knight was called Chevalier Attendant, his letter 9 RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, being sealed or and gules quarterly, with a border vert, and his challenge to course with sharp spears. These letters being- sent to the French court, three knights received, and promised to accept, the challenges on a day appointed. The French knights were, Sir Gerard Herbaumes, calling himself Le Cheva- lier Rouge; the second, Sir Hugh Launey, styling himself Le Chevalier Blanke ; and the third, Sir Collard Fynes. Twelfth- day being appointed for the time, and the Park-Hedge of Gynes being selected for the place of trial, the Earl came into the field, with his face covered, a plume of ostrich feathers upon his helm, and his horse-trappings embroidered with the arms of one of his ancestors, the Lord Toney, viz. arg. a manch gules. En- countering with the Chevalier Rouge, at the third course he unhorsed him, and returning to his pavilion, with closed vizor, and unknown, he sent to the vanquished knight a good courser as an acknowledgment of his bravery. The next day he came into the field with his vizor closed, a chaplet on his helm, and his horse trapped with the arms of Hanslap, argent two bars gules. Encountering with the Blank Knight, he smote off his vizor thrice, pierced his armour, and again returned to his tent victorious, although unknown. To this knight he also sent a good courser. On the third day the Earl appeared in his own character, his face disclosed, his helmet richly adorned with a chaplet of pearls and precious stones, bearing the arms of Guy and Beauchamp quarterly, with those of Toney and Hanslap on his trappings. On entering the lists he said, " that as he had in his own person performed the service the two days before, so, with God's grace, he would the third." Whereupon, encoun- tering with Sir Collard Fynes, at every stroke he bore him backward to his horse. The French, astonished at his prowess, could not but believe there was foul play, and cried aloud that he himself was bound to his saddle; upon which the Earl alighted, and presently re-mounted. The tournament being thus ended, 10 EARL OF WARWICK. the Earl of Warwick returned to his pavilion a third time victo- rious ; he then feasted the whole assembly, rewarded his three opponents with splendid gifts, and returned to Calais, having gained immortal honour. The Earl of Warwick's virtues were not, however, confined to the court and the field. Had his life been longer spared, and the troublesome times that followed not impeded his generous designs, the place of his residence would probably have derived great advantages from his enterprizing and patriotic spirit. It was his intention to have walled the town of Warwick ; and he was, perhaps, the first person who meditated a navigable canal : " he mynded to have maid passage for bottes frome Tuekes- bury to Warwick, for transportyng of merchaintdise for thad- vauncement of Warwick." Nor, as Mr. Gough remarks, was he less liberal and munificent in the cause of religion. He founded the chantrey-chapel at GuysclifF, he endowed a college at Elmley, and built the mag- nificent chapel at Warwick, for the burial of himself and family. The will of the Earl was printed by the industrious antiquary, Hearne, at the end of the History of Richard II., by a monk of Evesham. It is dated Aug. 8, 1435, at Caversham, in Oxford- shire : in it, he directs that his body shall be interred in the col- legiate church of our lady at Warwick, in the centre of a chap- pell, well, fair, and goodly built, and that until such chapel was finished, his body should be laid in a chest of stone before the altar, on the right hand of his father's tomb, in the said church of Warwick, to which church he gave an image of our Lady of pure gold, as an heriot. He further orders, that his executors should cause to be made four images of gold, each weighing- twenty pounds, to be made after his similitude, in his coat of arms, holding an anchor in his hands, to be offered for him at St. Albans, Canterbury, Bridlington, and Shrewsbury; and that a goodly tomb of marble be erected over his first wife's 11 RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, grave, in the abbey of Kingswood. To his second wife, besides all the valuables he had with her, and those he had presented her with since their marriage, he leaves two dozen silver dishes, twelve chargers of silver, twelve sawcers of the same metal, a pair of basons silver gilt, four others not gilt, four silver ewers, twelve other pieces with his arms enamelled in their bottoms, two pots of silver gallons, and six pots of silver : and, in addi- tion to all this plate, he desires that she may have " the great paytren that was bought of the Countess of SufFolke, which sometimes was the Earles of Salesberys." The residue of his vessels of silver and gold, together with " the cup of golde with the daunce of men and women," he bequeaths to his son Harry. His executors were the Lords Cromwell and Tiptoft, John Trockmorton, Richard Curson, Thomas Huggeford, William Berkeswell, priest, and Nicholas Rody, his steward. We have now to enter upon a description of the magnificent tomb, erected as a memorial of the splendor and munificence of this illustrious nobleman ; and here Dugdale, the historian of Warwickshire, has very fortunately preserved a recapitulation of the agreement between the executors of the Earl, and the ar- tisans employed in its erection. This document, although of considerable length, must not be omitted in the present work, since, independently of its connexion with the immediate sub- ject of the article before us, it throws very considerable light^ and affords some extremely important information, on the con- struction of ancient monuments in general ; nor is it at all impro- bable that we shall have frequent occasion to refer to it in the course of our undertaking. The original was found among the muniments of the bailiff and burgesses of Warwick, and bears date June 13., 32 Henry VI. " John Essex, marbler, William Austen, founder, and Thomas Stevyns, copper-smy th, do covenant with the said executors that they shall make, forge, and worke in most finest wise, and of 12 EARL OF WARWICK. the finest latten, one large plate to be dressed, and to lye on the overmost stone of the tombe under the image that shall lye on the same tombe, and two narrow plates to go round about the stone. Also, they shall make in like wise, and like latten, a hearse to be dressed and set upon the said stone, over the image, to beare a covering to be ordeyned ; the large plate to be made of the finest and thickest cullen plate, shall be in length viii foot, and in bredth iii foot and one inch, Either of the said long plates for writing shall be in bredth to fill justly the casements provided therefore : the hearse to be made in the comliest wise, justly in length, bredth, thickness, and height thereof, and of every part thereof ; and in workmanship in all places and pieces such, and after an hearse of timber which the executors shall make for a pattern ; and in ten panells of this hearse of letters (latten) the said workmen shall set, in the most finest and fairest wise, ten scutcheons of armes, such as the executors will devise. In the two long plates, they shall write in Latine, in fine manner, all such scripture of declara- tion as the said executors shall devise, that may be conteined and comprehended in the plates ; all the champes about the letter to be abated and hatched curiously to set out the letters. All the aforesaid large plates, and all the said two plates through all the over sides of them, and all the said hearse of latten, without and within, they shall repair, and gild with the finest gold, as finely and as well in all places through, as is or shall be in any place of the aforesaid image, which one Bartholmew, goldsmyth, then had in gilding ; all the said workmanship, in making, finishing, laying, and fastning, to be at the charge of the said workmen. And for the same, they have in sterling money, cxxv li. "Will. Austen, citizen and founder of London, 14 Martii, 30 Hen. VI., covenanteth, &c, to cast, work, and perfectly to make, of the finest latten to be gilded that may be found, 13 RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, xiv images embossed of lords and ladyes in divers vestures, called weepers, to stand in housings made about the tombe ; those images to be made in bredth, length, and thickness, &c, to xiv patterns made of timber. Also, he shall make xviii lesse images of angells, to stand in other housings, as shall be ap- pointed by patterns, whereof ix after one side, and ix after another. Also, he must make an hearse to stand on the tombe, above and about the principall image that shall lye in the tombe, according to a pattern ; the stuffe and workmanship to the repairing to be at the charge of the said Will. Austen. And the executors shall pay for every image that shall lye on the tombe, of the weepers so made in latten, xiii s. iv d. and for every image of angells so made vs. And, for every pound of latten that shall be in the hearse x d. And shall pay and bear the costs of the said Austen for setting the said images and herse. " The said Will. Austen, xi Feb. 28 Hen. VI., doth covenant to cast and make an image of a man armed, of fine latten, gar- nished with certain ornaments, viz. with sword and dagger ; with a garter ; with a helme and crest under his head, and at his feet a bear musled, and a griffon, perfectly made of the finest latten, according to patterns ; all which to be brought to Warwick, and layd on the tombe, at the perill of the said Austen : the said executors paying for the image, perfectly made and laid, and all the ornaments, in good order, besides the cost of the said workmen to Warwick, and working there to lay the image, and besides the cost of the carriages, all which are to be born by the said executors, in totall, xl li. "Bartholomew Lambespring, Dutchman, and goldsmyth of London, 23 Maii, 27 Hen. VI., covenanteth to repaire, whone, and pullish, and to make perfect to the gilding, an image of latten of a man armed, that is in making, to lye over the tombe, and all the apparell that belongeth thereunto, as helme, crest, sword, &c, and beasts; the said executors paying therefore xiii li. 14 EARL OF WARWICK. "The said Bartholomew, and Will. Austen, 12 Martii, 31 Hen. VI., do covenant to pullish and repare xxxii images of latten, lately made by the said Will. Austen for the tombe, viz. xviii images of angells, and xiv images of mourners, ready to the gilding ; the said executors paying therefore xx li. " The said Bartholomew, 6 Julii, 30 Hen. VI., doth covenant to make scutcheons of the finest latten, to be set under xiv images of lords and ladyes, weepers, about the tombe ; every scutcheon to be made meet in length, bredth, and thickness, to the place it shall stand in the marble according to the patterns. The xiv scutcheons, and the armes in them, the said Bartholo- mew shall make, repare, grave, gild, enamil, and pullish as well as is possible ; and the same scutcheons shall set up, and pin fast, and shall bear the charge of all the stuff thereof, the execu- tors paying for every scutcheon xvs. sterling, which in all amounteth to x li. x s. " The said Bartholomew, 20 Julii, 31 Hen. VI., doth covenant, &c, to gild, pullish, and burnish xxxii images, whereof xiv mourners, and xviii angells to be set about the tombe, and to make the visages and hands and all other bares of all the said images, in most quick and fair wise, and to save the gold as much as may be from and without spoiling, and to find all things saving gold that shall be occupied thereabout, and to pay him for his other charges and labours, either x\li. or else so much as two honest and skilfull goldsmiths shall say upon the view of the work, what the same, besides gold and his labour is worth : and the executors are to deliver money from time to time, as the work goeth forward : whereof they pay, li li. viii s. iv d. " The said Bartholomew, 3 Martij, 32 Hen. VI., doth cove- nant to make clean, to gild, to burnish, and pullish the great image of latten, which shall lye upon the tombe, with the helme and crest, the bear and the griffon, and all other the ornaments 15 RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, of latten ; and the said Bartholomew shall finde all manner of stuffe for the doing thereof, saving gold, and all workmanship at his charges, the said executors providing gold, and giving to the said Bartholomew such sum and sums of money for his charges and workmanship, as two honest and skilful goldsmyths, viewing the work, shall adjudge, whereof some of the money to be payd for the borde of the workmen, as the work shall go forward : whereof they pay xcv/i. iis. viiid. " John Bourde, of CorfF castle in the county of Dorset, marbler, 16 Maii, 35 Hen. VI., doth covenant to make a tombe of marble, to be set on the said Earle's grave ; the said tombe to made well, cleane and sufficiently, of a good and fine marble, as well coloured as may be had in England. The uppermost stone of the tombe and the base thereof to contain in length ix foot of the standard, in bredth iv foot, and in thickness vij inches : the course of the tombe to be of good and due propor- tion, to answer the length and bredth of the uppermost stone ; and a pace to be made round about the tombe, of like good marble, to stand on the ground ; which pace shall contain, in thickness, vi inches, and in bredth xviij inches. The tombe to bear in height from the pace iv foot and a half. And in and about the same tombe, to make xiv principall housings, and un- der every principall housing a goodly quarter for a scutcheon of copper and gilt, to be set in : and to do all the work and work- manship about the same tombe to the entail, according to a por- traicture delivered him ; and the carriages and bringing to War- wick, and there to set the same up where it shall stand : the entailing to be at the charge of the executors. After which entailing, the said marbler shall pullish and dense the said tombe in workmanlike sort : and for all the said marble, car- riage, and work, he shall have in sterling money, xlv li. " The said marbler covenanteth to provide, of good and well- coloured marble, so many stones as will pave the chapell where 16 EARL OF WARWICK. the tombe standeth, every stone containing in thickness two inches, and in convenient bredth, and to bring the same to Warwick and lay it : and for the stuff, workmanship and car- riage of every hundred of those stones, he shall have xl s. which in the total comes to iv li. xiii s. iv d. " John Prudde, of Westminster, glasier, 23 Junij, 25 Hen. VI., covenanteth, &c, to glase all the windows in the new chapell in Warwick, with glasse beyond the seas, and with no glasse of England; and that in the finest wise, with the best, cleanest, and strongest glasse of beyond the sea, that may be had in England, and of the finest colours, of blew, yellow, red, purpure, sanguine, and violet, and of all other colours that shall be most necessary, and best to make rich and embellish the matters, images, and stories that shall be delivered and ap- pointed by the said executors by patterns in paper, afterwards to be newly traced and pictured by another painter in rich co- lour, at the charges of the said glasier. All which proportion the said John Prudde must make perfectly to fine, glase, eneylin it, and finely and strongly set it in lead and souder, as well as any glasse is in England. Of white glasse, green glasse, black glasse, he shall put in as little as shall be needfull for the shew- ing and setting forth of the matters, images and storyes. And the said glasier shall take charge of the same glasse, wrought, and to be brought to Warwick, and set up there, in the win- dows of the said chapell, the executors paying to the said gla- sier for every foot of glasse ii s. and so for the whole xci li. is. x d. "Richard Bird and John Haynes, citizens and carpenters of London, 12 Feb., 28 Hen. VI., do covenant to make and set up in the chappell where the Earl is buried, or where the tombe standeth, a pair of desks of timber, poppies, seats, sills, planks, reredoses of timber, with patands of timber, and a crest of fine entail, with a bowtel roving on the crest. And also, the car- 17 RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, penters do covenant to make and set up, finely, and workmanly, a-parclose of timber, about an organloft ordained to stand over the west dore of the said chapell, according to patterns : all these things to be made, set up, fastned, joyned, and ordered in as good sort as those in the quire of S. Marie's church in War- wick ; the executors finding all manner of timber and carriages ; and giving and paying to the said carpenters, for workman- ship, xl li. " John Brentwood, citizen and steyner of London, 12 Feb., 28 Hen. VI., doth covenant to paint fine, and curiously to make at Warwick, on the west wall of the new chapell there, the dome of our Lord God. Jesus, and all manner of devises and imagery thereto belonging, of fair and sightly proportion, as the place shall serve for, with the finest colours, and fine gold : and the said Brentwood shall find all manner of stuffe thereto at his charge, the said executors paying therefore, xiii li. vj s. viij d. " Kristian Coleburne, peinter, dwelling in London, 13 Junii, 32 Hen. VI., covenanteth, &c, to paint in most fine, fairest, and curious wise, four images of stone, ordained for the new chapell in Warwick, whereof two principall images, the one of our Lady, the other of S. Gabraell the angell ; and two lesse images, one of S. Anne, and another of S. George: these four to be painted with the finest oyle colours, in the richest, finest, and freshest clothings that may be made, of fine gold, asure, of fine purpure, of fine white, and other finest colours necessary, gar- nished, bordered, and poudered in the finest and curiousest wise : all the cost and workmanship of painting to be at the charge of the said Kristian, the executors paying for the same xij li. " By the accounts of Will. Berkeswell, one of the executors, it appears that the structure of the Beauchamp chapel and mo- nument commenced in 21 Hen. VI,, but was not totally finished 18 Drawn & Eograired by Edw* Blare. ©If ^imWIICSIEo Tuhlish*d. J£arch,1282$. by Harding Hiphaek SrZeparcL, finsbury Stpiar&J^nden. 1 EARL OF WARWICK. till 3 Edvv. W.,full twenty-one years, and that the total cost in the work of masons, quarriers, smiths, plummers, carpenters, and other inferior labourers, added to the sums paid to the principal artists, according to the covenant just recited, amounted to two thousand four hundred and eighty one pounds, four shil- lings, and seven-pence halfpenny. The monument of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, consists of an altar-tomb of grey marble, in the finest preserva- tion. Within canopies admirably wrought, are whole length sculptures of fourteen of the immediate relatives of the de- ceased, executed in latten, which was a species of fine brass metal, and richly gilt : these figures are disposed five on each side, and two at either end, of the tomb. Underneath every figure, in starred quatrefoils, is a shield with armorial bearings enamelled on brass, and between the larger canopies, alter- nately, a smaller, containing an angel, executed in similar metal with the portraitures of the mourners, and holding in one hand, a scroll, on which is engraven in Gothic letter, JMt Ueo laue et gloria, ncfunrtia missmcorfcia. The female relatives are ranged on the north side of the tomb, the males on the south, in the following order, commenc- ing from the head, or west end of the monument. Richard Neville, Earl of Salis- Quarterly (l. 4.) or 3 mascles, az. quarter- , ing or a spread eagle az. (2. 3.) gules * * a saltire or, under a label of 3 points, cheque or and az. Edmund Beaufort, Duke of So- In a border arg. and az. France and merset, second husband to Ele- En s land - anor, second daughter, by the first marriage, of the Earl of Warwick. 19 RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, husband to Anne, daughter of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland. John Talbot, Earl of Shrews- bury, husband to Margaret, eldest daughter, by the first marriage, of the Earl of War- wick. Richard Neville, (the younger) Earl of Salisbury, husband to Anne, only daughter of the Earl of Warwick, by his se- cond marriage. Quarterly (1.) Beaufort, as before. (2. 3.) az. a bend cottized or between six lion- eels rampant or. (4.) or a chevron gules. Quarterly (1.) azure, in a border or a lion rampant or. (2.) gules, in a border en- grailed or, a lion rampant or. (3.) or two lions passant guardant gules. (4.) ot, a bend between six birds* heads gules. Gules, a saltire, or under a label of three points, cheque or and az. Corresponding with the above, on the north side, are, Alice, daughter and heir to Tho- mas Montague, Earl of Salis- bury, wife of Richard Neville (father toRichard Neville before mentioned) Earl of Salisbury. Margaret, wife of John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, eldest daughter of the Earl of War- wick, by his first marriage. Anne, wife of Humphrey Staf- ford, Duke of Buckingham, daughter of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland. Quarterly, (1.) Beauchamp. (2.) cheque or and az. a chevron erm. (3.) Neville impaling quarterly, (1.) or, three mas- cles gules. (2.) or, a spread eagle, gules. (3.) per pale, gules and or, two chevrons. (4.) arg. a bend az. quar- tering gules, a fret or. Quarterly, (1.) az. in a border or, a lion rampant or. (2.) gules, in a border en- grailed or, a lion rampant or. (3.) or, two lions passant guardant, gules. (4.) or, a bend between six birds' heads gules; impaling Beauchamp, quartering the cheque and chevron. Quarterly, (1.) France and England. (2. 3.) az. a bend cottized, gules, be- tween six lioncels rampant or. (4.) or, a chevron, gules ; impaling gules, a sal- tire or. 20 EARL OF WARWICK. Eleanor, wife of Edmund Beau- fort, Duke of Somerset, second daughter, by the first marriage, of the Earl of Warwick. Anne, wife of Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, only daugh- ter of the Earl of Warwick, by his second marriage. At the head of the tomb, are, Henry Beauchamp, Earl, and afterwards Duke of Warwick, only son of the deceased. Cicily, daughter of Richard Ne- ville, Earl of Salisbury, wife to Henry Beauchamp. In a border, or and az. France and Eng- land, impaling Beauchamp, quartering the cheque and chevron. Quarterly, (1.4.) or, three mascles az. quartering or, a spread eagle az. (2. 3.) gules a saltire or, under a label of three points, cheque or and azure. Quarterly, (1.) Beauchamp, (2.) or, three chevronels gu. (3.) cheque, or and az. a chevron erm. (4.) arg. a bend sable quartering gu. a fret or. Quarterly, (1.) Beauchamp. (2.) or, three chevronels gu. (3.) cheque, or and az. a chevron erm. (4.) arg. a bend sable, quartering gu. a fret 'or, impaling quarterly (1. 4.) or three mascles az. quartering or a spread eagle az. (2. 3.) gu. a saltire or, un- der a label of three points, chequfe or and az. And at the feet, George Neville, Lord Latimer. Elizabeth, third daughter, by the first marriage, of the Earl of Warwick, and wife to Lord Latimer. Gu. a cross flore or, quartering gu. a sal- tire or, on the saltire two links of a chain. The foregoing quarterings of Latimer; impaling quarterly (1.) gu. a fess or, between six mascles or, (2.3.) cheque, or and az. a chevron erm. (4.) Beau- champ. The drapery of all these figures is skilfully varied, and the whole disposed in a most masterly style. Three of them, Richard Neville the elder, Margaret, the eldest daughter of the 21 RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, Earl, and Cicily, wife of Henry Beauchamp, hold scrolls in their hands. Henry Beauchamp, the Duke of Somerset, the Earl of Shrewsbury, Richard Neville (the son) Earl of Salisbury, and the Duchess of Somerset, are holding books ; and, with the ex- ception of the Duke of Buckingham, whose arms are concealed under his cloak, all the other figures have rosaries suspended from their hands. The corners of the tomb are supported by brass poles moulded at the top, the bottom, and in the middle ; and at the summit of the whole, on a table of brass, gilt, re- poses the effigy of the Earl, cast, as we have before seen from the agreement, in fine latten, richly gilt. The image (the head and hands excepted, which are uncovered) is in complete armour, with the garter encircling the left leg. The head rests upon a helmet surmounted by the family crest, and at the feet are a bear muzzled and a griffin, badges of the ancient house of War- wick. Nothing can be more beautiful than the workmanship of every part of this figure : the coat of mail may, indeed, be almost considered as real armour, from the extreme care and exactness that have been bestowed on it by the original artist, whom subsequent inspection has proved to have fulfilled his engagement to the very letter. The late Mr. Charles Stothard, with that ardour and perseverance which were so prominent in his character, succeeded, after very great exertions, in turning this massive figure on its face ; and then ascertained, for the first time, that every particle of the effigy was as carefully and minutely finished as those parts which were prominent and in view. The features are strongly marked ; and the whole may, without doubt, be considered as giving a faithful representation of the person whose memory it was intended to perpetuate. The entire tomb is surmounted by a hearse of brass hoops, gilt, forming a canopy over the effigy ; and on the extremi- ties of the poles are engraven the arms of Beauchamp, of France and England, and of St. George. 22 EARL OF WARWICK. Round the ledge of the tablet, in raised letters, and inter- spersed with the badges before mentioned, is the following in- scription : JttJj* ^reietfj Ueboutfg for tfje sofoel fofjom GStto assoille of one of tfje moost foorsfjipful Bnigfjtes in fjis Images of JtflonfjoUe anil (ZFonning, g Utefjartr 23eaucfjamp late lEorl of a©arrcfoifc {Sf Iortt Bcspenser of 23er= gebenng anU of mong otfjer grete £if lorirsfjips, fofjos bo&g restctfj fjcre un&er tfjis tttmfje, in a fulfetre bout of stone set on tfje bare roocfj, tfjefofjucfj bisttetr fottfj longe stfcnes in tj&e ©astel of § Boan tfjerinne iiccesseH ful crtstenlg tfje last tiag of fftflf gtyrtl tfje ger of oure $ Horff CKoU a. m.ccccxxxjx. fje being at tfjat tgme ftffl lieutenant gen'al antj gobcrner of tfje Uloialme of Jfraunce anfci of tfje Bucfjt'e of Normanirte bg sufficient § autonte of oure sou'atgne lortitfjc IBttng JpgF l^arrg tfje bf. tfjetofiucfj botrg fottfj grete ticltbcrac'on anU ful foorsfjipful conUui't JSif 1 33i see. £gp °B ^e^P IonlJ toas brogfjt to S^arrefotfe tfje uit irag of § ©ctober tfje ger abouset'tre, anti foas ic$$ lef&e foitfj ful solenne exequies in a fcir cfjest ma&e af stone in tfjis cfjircfje afore tfje focst Hore of tfjis § <2Tfjapel according to fjis last fotllc f^f an& ®*s= tantcnt § tfjeriu to reste til tfjis 5) rfjapcl bg fjtm iJcbt'seiJ fjis lief focre ma&e. &II tfje fofjucfje cfjapel fottn&eii $ on tfje roocfj, anlr nllc tfje membres tfjerof fjis § executours bebe fullg maftc anU apparaille £gp JrtS? &L } t&e auc= torite of fjis settle last (323tlle anil Testament &nii ^aH 1 tfjcrafter bg tfje same auctorite ©fjeg Uttre t£R translate () fful aSJorsfjipfullg tfje seiOe 33bbg into tfje bout abouseitre, fjonureU be CSoU tfjerfore. p J^f $ £jjf § We shall conclude this article, already extended, we fear, to an unreasonable length, with remarking, that the chapel in which the tomb of the Earl of Warwick is placed, is in every respect worthy the splendid monument it was erected to receive; and, what in these days cannot be always stated with due re- gard to truth and sincerity, we may safely affirm, that the care and attention bestowed in preserving this beautiful specimen of the taste and execution of our forefathers, well deserve the acknowledgment and commendation of every admirer of our national antiquities. 23 Drawn, by- E .Blore. V Engraved by H-Ie Keux. M©Knnfi]ESJi? ©if corns' iBisAityifomT ©udo&js &Mmm,§ffiT,££!w mss ©wtsissss, IN WIMBORNE MINSTER. Pwblishei Dec. r 2i.j82i. ty Warding and lepard Fuisbuy Square. Icndon. JOHN BEAUFORT, DUKE OF SOMERSET. DIED 1444. MONUMENT AT WIMBORN MINSTER, DORSETSHIRE. John Beaufort, second son of Sir John Beaufort, second Earl of Somerset, and great-grand-son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, succeeded his elder brother Henry Earl of Somerset, who died during his minority, in the year 1418 (the sixth of King Henry the Fifth). He was by that monarch elected knight of the garter immediately, and according to the martial spirit of the times, endeavoured to prove himself worthy of his sovereign's favour by signalizing himself in arms. In the ninth of Henry V. (1416) we find him serving in France under Thomas Duke of Clarence ; and at the battle of Baugy, in 1421, an engagement in which the Duke lost his life, and in which, owing to the treachery of a spy, the English forces were overpowered by the superior force of the French and Scotch, the Earl of Somerset was, together with many other persons of rank, taken prisoner, and being retained in confinement for a long period, was released upon the payment of a large ransom. Dugdale, in his " Baronage," says the Earl was captured " in an unhappy ad- venture of passing a marish, near the castle of Beaufort." Holin- shed gives the particulars at greater length, and differs but little from Walsingham. " But while these things were thus adooing in England, the Duke of Clarence, the King's lieutenant in France and Normandie, assembled togither all the garrisons of Normandie, 1 JOHN BEAUFORT, at the towne of Bernaie, and from thence departed to the countrie of Maine, and at Pont le Gene he passed the riuer of Yonne, an d rode through all the countrie to Lucie, where he passed the riuer of Loire, and entered into Aniou, and came before the citie of Angiers, where he made manie knights, that is to saie, sir William Ros, sir Henrie Goddard, sir Rowland Rider, sir Thomas Beau- fort, called the bastard of Clarence, and diuerse other ; and after that he had forraied, burnt and spoiled the countrie, he returned with preie and pillage to the towne of Beaufort in the vallie, where he was aduertised, that a great number of his enimies, Frenchmen, Scots, Spaniards and other were assembled togither, at a place called Uiell Bauge, that is old Baugie, with the duke of Alanson, calling himselfe lieutenant generall for the Dolphin. " The duke of Clarence had a Lombard resorting vnto him, reteined with the part aduerse (his name was Andrew Forgusa*), of whom the duke inquired the number of his enimies, to whome he reported, that their number was but small, and not of puissance to match with halfe the power of his strong armie, intising him with assurance of victorie, to set on the Frenchmen. The duke, like a courageous prince, assembled togither all the horssemen of the armie, and left the archers vnder the guiding of the bastard of Clarence and two Portingales, capteins of Fresnie le vicount, saieng that he onelie and the nobles would haue the honor of that iournie. When the duke was passed a certeine streict and narrow passage, he espied his enimies ranged in good order of battell, by the monition of the Lombard, which had sold him to his enimies, and his aduersaries had laid such ambushments at the streicts, that the duke by no waie without battell, could either retire or flee. * Walsingham says he was deceived by two Scots, who were intercepted by his scouts. <2 DUKE OF SOMERSET. " The Englishmen seeing this, valiantlie set on their enimies, who were foure to one, by reason whereof at length the English- men were oppressed with multitude, and brought to confusion. There were slaine the duke of Clarence, the earle of Tankeruile, the lord Ros, sir Gilbert Umfreuile earle of Angus, and sir John Lomlie, sir Robert Uerend, and almost two thousand English- men : and the earles of Summerset, SufFolke, and Perth, the lord Fitz-Water, sir John Berkelie, sir Rafe Neuile, sir Henrie Inglis, sir Wiliam Bowes, sir Wiliam Longton, sir Thomas Borough, and diuerse other taken prisoners. And of the Frenchmen were slaine above twelue hundred of the best men of warre they had, so that they gained not much This battell was fought on Easter euen in the year 1421." In the ninth and tenth and twelfth years of Henry VI. we again find the Earl of Somerset engaged in the French wars ; in the fifteenth he bore a distinguished part at the successful siege of Harfleur. In the eighteenth of the same reign he was by indenture retained to serve the King with four knights, ninety-five men at arms, and a body of two thousand archers. In the twenty-first of Henry VI. he was created Duke of Somerset and Earl of Kendall, being, at the same time, con- stituted Lieutenant and Captain-general of Aquitain, of the realm of France and of the duchy of Normandy. He was also, at this juncture, retained to serve the King as Lieutenant of Aquitain, for one year, with four barons, seven hundred and fifty-eight men at arms, and fourteen hundred archers. There are not wanting writers who say that the appointment of the Duke of Somerset to this command in France and Nor- mandy was obtained through the contrivance of the Marquis of Suffolk ; the appointment itself, as well as the ill success attendant on it, are recorded in a contemporary chronicle, where we meet with the following passages : — " Eodem anno," (viz. 21 Henry VI.) it was resolved " in regis et regni concilio," on account of 3 JOHN BEAUFORT, the ill success of the Duke of York in France, that John Earl of Somerset should be appointed to succeed him : — " militem secundum rationis existimationem satis habilem et audacem, illuc cum valida militum multitudine sue dignitati respondente ; quern Rex prius in Ducem Somercetie exaltavit, estimans ipsum contra ejus emulos plurima laudum preconia optinere ; licet ejus opera exteriori vultui minime responderunt, quia infra breve in Angliam rediit absque sibi aut regno lucro aut honore, unde Rex cum oculo dextro non respexit tempore ejus vite, quod non diu fuerat post regressum." John, Duke of Somerset, married Margaret, daughter of Sir John Beauchamp of Bletsoe (relict of Sir Oliver St. John, by whom she had issue two sons, Sir John St. John, and Oliver St. John, ancestors of the present noble families of Bolinbroke and St. John, and five daughters), and had by her one daughter only, Margaret, Countess of Richmond, of whom a particular account will be found in another part of the present work. Her mother, the Duchess of Somerset, married, for the third time, Sir Lionel de Wells. The Duke died on the twenty-seventh day of May 1444, (22 Henry VI.) then seised of the manors of Billingburgh, Lincoln- shire ; Bedhampton, in the county of Southampton ; Burton and Wyresdale, Somersetshire ; two parts of the towns of Gresmere, Logaryg, Langeden, Casterton, Kirkby in Kendale, Hamelset, Troutbeck, with the reversion of two parts of the manors of Helsyngton, Crostwayte, Hoton, Frothwayt, and Shykland-Ketel, in Westmoreland, as also of the manor and lordship of Bowes, Yorkshire. His monument stands on the south side of the choir, adjoining the altar of Wimborne Minster, under an arch of much earlier date, which divides that part of the church from a side aisle. It consists of an altar-tomb of Sussex marble, on which repose the effigies of the Duke and his Duchess, wrought in alabaster. He 4 DUKE OF SOMERSET. is represented as completely clad in plate armour, the face and right hand only being exposed ; his helmet is encircled by a rich coronet, and from his neck hangs a collar of SS. ; his right hand holds that of his wife, his left sustains a gauntlet, and rests on the breast ; on the left leg, a little below the knee, the Duke wears the Garter ; on his left side is a sword, now much broken, but formerly richly ornamented*, and on the right a dagger, attached to the belt by a small cord. The front of the helmet has been inscribed with a pious motto, of which the word marci is still legible : his head rests on a double cushion, supported on each side by an angel, and at his feet is a lion couchant. The seams of the armour, sword-belt, and decorations of the helmet, are de- signed and executed in the most beautiful style, and retain a portion of their original gilding. The cushions have been painted diaper patterns ; but there are no remains perceptible, on any part of the figure, to warrant the conclusion that it was ever painted. The figure of the Duchess is habited in the fashion of the time : a veil passes over the forehead, and falls on each side to the shoulders ; her mantle reaching to the feet ; her right hand is joined to that of her husband, and has rings on the two middle fingers ; her left hand holds the cordon of her mantle, but the fingers are broken off ; her long tight sleeves, with beaded seams, reach down to the wrists, and a petticoat falling in straight folds covers the feet ; on her head is a coronet, similar to that worn by the Duke, as well as a collar of SS. round her neck ; a double cushion under her head is supported on either side by an angel, and at her feet is an animal to which it is not easy to assign a * According to the plate in Sandford, the sword was suspended from a magni- ficent belt, buckled round the body, and richly studded with precious stones ; on the hilt of the scabbard was inscribed % Jfc. 1° Hutchins's time the legend on the helmet was ihu marci. 5 JOHN BEAUFORT, DUKE OF SOMERSET. name ; Gough calls it an antelope, but it bears a stronger resem- blance to a boar. Neither inscription nor armorial bearing now remain ; but on the south side, the brass nails by which they have been attached give evidence that they once existed on that side of the tomb, though there is not the slightest indication of their ever having been attached to the opposite side. The choir is so much raised above the adjoining side aisle, as to allow space for an arched doorway of ample dimensions beneath the monument, leading to a vaulted space under the choir : on this side, the base of the monument projects beyond the face of the wall, and is supported over the door by a wooden arch with ornamented spandrils. An original helmet, so nearly of the date of the monument, is placed above it, that we can scarcely doubt its connexion with our present subject, and we have accordingly given a representation of it in the present page. With the exception of the loss of the brass escutcheons from the side of the tomb, and the inscription inlaid on its edge, together with some other minute and trifling mu- tilations, this monument is in as perfect a state as when first erected, and affords an excellent specimen of the period to which it belongs. 6 Drawn Sc Engraved Ty Edw^Blore. in S*i Albans Ablbey Orairxlhu PROOF. Published March. 1 IB? *>. by Harding, Tripkook & Lepard., Finsbury Square, Zmdan, . HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. Ob. 1446. monument at st. albans. Humphrey of Lancaster, fourth son of King Henry the Fourth, by his first wife, Mary de Bohun, daughter and co-heir of Humphrey, Earl of Hereford and Northampton, was created Earl of Pembroke and Duke of Gloucester, in the second year of his brother King Henry the Fifth. He had previously been made a Knight of the Bath, at the Coronation of his father, and had obtained possessions of considerable value in Wales, toge- ther with an annuity of five hundred marcs, to himself and his heirs male, payable from the Exchequer, until provision of lands equivalent should be assigned to him. That the Duke of Gloucester received his education in the University of Oxford, there can be no reasonable doubt, since it is so stated by all ancient writers of good credit ; and the received opinion is, that he studied in Balliol College, a society that may well be proud of having produced one of the best of Princes, and, perhaps, the most learned and accomplished of his age: "excoluit turn juvenis, turn etiam senex virtutem, ut qui maxime," says Leland ; who adds, " hinc clarus domi militiaeque, et bonis omnibus gratissimus ; amavit praeter cetera politas literas, quibus etiam impendio invigilavit." To his other merits and accomplishments, Duke Humphrey added the distinguishing virtue of his time, that of invincible courage aided by consummate military skill. He had a chief command given him at the siege of Harfleur, and at the battle of 1 HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. Agincourt received a dangerous sword-wound, in consideration of which, the King bestowed upon him the Castle and Lordship of Llanstephan in Wales. In all the warlike operations of his brother in France, he appears to have borne a distinguished part. He besieged the Castle of Tongue ; at the siege of Alenzon he pitched his tent before the castle ; he reduced Cherburgh, notwithstanding a most obstinate resistance ; and at the siege of Roan, occupied the station of greatest importance, and the most exposed to danger. Will, de Pakington, who wrote a chronicle quoted by Leland in his Collectanea, says, " then cam the King agayne to Roone, and to hym cam the Duke of Glocestre from Chereburge, and lay never to Rone then any of the other, by forty roodes." Numerous were the offices of trust or of honour conferred upon him. In the fourth of King Henry the Fifth, he was made Constable of Dover Castle, and had theWardenship of the Cinque Ports granted to him for the term of his life ; in the following year he was appointed Lieutenant of England, during the absence of King Henry in France, and of the Duke of Bedford in Normandy, an office that again devolved upon him in the tenth of the same reign, and, subsequently, during that of his nephew, Henry the Sixth. He was also, under that Prince, constituted Justice of North Wales, made Governor of the Castle of Guisnes, appointed Chamberlain of England during the King's pleasure, Steward of England at the Coronation, and, lastly, he was created Earl of Flanders, durante vita, and had a grant of the Isle of Jersey, together with one of a pecuniary nature consisting of two thousand marcs per annum, to be received at the Exchequer, in recompense, says Dugdale, from the original patent, of his vast labours, costs, and attendance upon the King's service, as well in council as otherwise, for the public good. But the most important charge confided to the care of Duke 2 HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. Humphrey, was that of Protector of England, on the Accession of King Henry the Sixth. This was an office to which he alone had been specially named by his brother on his death-bed, and although the English Parliament thought proper to disregard the verbal nomination of their late sovereign, and to constitute his elder brother, John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, Protector ; yet the Duke of Gloucester was appointed to act during his absence, and to assume the same title, which, as the original instrument gives it, was " Regni nostri Anglise et Ecclesiae Ang- licanae Protector et Defensor, ac principalis Consiliarius noster ;" and the continued residence of the Duke of Bedford in France contributed to throw the exercise of this dignity almost, if not altogether, into the hands of Gloucester. It would, perhaps, have been well for the latter, if he had not been called on to fill so prominent a station in the government of the country. Learned, brave, generous, open-hearted, and with all the qualities most requisite to obtain popular favour, the Duke was a man of strong passions, and unbending pride : he was, more- over, tenacious of his own opinions, and inclined to treat with haughtiness and contempt those of his associates in the council; conduct that did not fail to exasperate the haughty spirit of several of the members of administration, and to create enemies among some of the most powerful, who found it difficult to sub- mit to the superiority affected by the Protector. Of these, Car- dinal Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, the Dukes of Somerset, Suffolk, and Buckingham, were the principal ; and the marriage of King Henry, with Margaret of Anjou, gave an active coadjutor to the Duke of Gloucester's opponents, in the person of the Queen. That Princess, whose masculine spirit and commanding temper could ill brook the opposition given by the Protector to her union with his nephew, readily lent her powerful aid to the cardinal and his coadjutors, and the Duke's ruin was speedily resolved on. They first endeavoured to 3 HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. accomplish this by bringing certain accusations against himself and his administration of affairs, which they summoned him to answer before the King and council. Amongst many other articles, they insisted chiefly, that being the principal governor of the nation during the minority of the King, he had, to his majesty's great dishonour and the injury of his subjects, caused several persons to be put to death, contrary to the laws of the land; that when any persons had been deservedly doomed to suffer capital punishment on account of their crimes, he, out of the cruelty of his disposition, ordered them to suffer other deaths than the laws assigned, showing thereby that he was unjust even in the execution of justice; and that whereas he ought most strictly to have observed the laws, he was himself the greatest breaker of them. Such were the charges adduced against the Duke, who having very patiently listened to their recital, gave so clear and satisfactory a refutation of them, that he was acquitted by the Council, and became still more a favourite with the people at large. Although foiled in this attempt to rid themselves of one whose popularity was become dangerous, and whose resentment they had now but too good reason to apprehend, the Queen, the Cardinal, and their adherents, devised another method for the destruction of their victim. They summoned a parliament, not as usual in London, but to meet at St. Edmondsbury; and, on the second day, the Lord Beaumont, then High Constable of England, accompanied by Buckingham, Somerset, and others of the Queen's party, arrested Duke Humphrey of high treason, and placed him in custody under a strong guard. The charges adduced against him were too ridiculous to deserve serious con- sideration, and it has been conjectured, not without probability, that this was done to prevent the interposition of the people, who, the more improbable they deemed the crime, were the better content to rely on the Duke's innocence and sagacity for his 4 HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. exculpation. After a few days' confinement (some authors say, the very night after his committal) he was found dead in his bed, and the universal opinion of the country was that he had been assassinated. There are not wanting some modern historians who think the Duke's death arose from natural and not violent causes, and it is certainly true, that his friend, Abbot Wethamstead, is silent on the subject; but when we recollect the temper of the times, the violence of party, and, above all, the character, rank, and power of the Duke's enemies, there seems but too much reason to fall in with the commonly received opinion, and to con- clude, that the illustrious person in question died by the hand of treachery and violence. " The trueth is," says Packington, as quoted by Leland, " that such as then rulid aboute the King, supposing that he wold have let the deliveraunce of Aungeo and Mayne, and so made hym away." Duke Humphrey of Gloucester was twice married, and both his matches may well be termed unfortunate. His first wife was Jacqueline, Countess of Hainault and Holland, who had been betrothed to the Duke of Brabant, but whose high spirit, joined, perhaps, with a sanguine complexion and strong pas- sions, were ill suited for union with a youth who had scarcely reached his fifteenth year, was of sickly constitution and but weak intellect. Abandoning her husband, with an intention of pro- curing a divorce from the Court of Rome, she threw herself under the protection of the Duke of Gloucester, who, with more zeal than prudence, lent himself to her cause, and, with greater gallantry than virtue, proposed himself as her husband, no dispensation or divorce having been procured. The effects of this hasty and ill-advised match were truly disastrous. The Duke of Burgundy, a near relation of John of Brabant, with- drew from his alliance with England ; a sharp and expensive war ensued in the Low Countries, and, to crown all, the Pope not only annulled the contract between Jacqueline and the Duke, but declared, that even in case of her husband's death, 5 * HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. it never should be lawful for her to espouse the English Prince. After this divorce, Duke Humphrey married Eleanor, daughter to Reginald, Lord Cobham ; she was a person of great beauty but of indifferent character, and had been mistress to the Duke some time previously to their union. A few years before the Duke's death, a severe blow was aimed at him, and but too successfully, in the person of this his Duchess, whom he ten- derly loved. She was accused of the crime of witchcraft, and charged with high treason, in compassing the death of the King, by melting a waxen figure of Henry, with some magical incantations, before a slow fire, with an intention of causing a corresponding decay in the person and vigour of his Majesty. The unhappy Duchess acknowledged she had given her husband potions to retain and augment his affection, and that she had consulted fortune-tellers, on her own and the Duke's probable advancement ; and on this ridiculous charge, and as ridiculous confession, she was adjudged to perform a solemn and public penance in London, on three several days, and afterwards committed to perpetual imprisonment in the Isle of Man. Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, was not only one of the most learned Princes, but one of the greatest benefactors to literature and science, of his age. When the University of Oxford was about to erect that beautiful room which is still standing, and known by the name of the Divinity School, the Duke con- tributed so largely towards its erection, that he has been commonly considered the founder of the building. It was, however, erected by the assistance of many of the most eminent persons of the day, among whom was the Duke; but so far was this nobleman from being the sole founder of the school, that it was not completed till 1480, having remained in an imperfect state for nearly sixty years from the commencement of the building. The University was, indeed, indebted to Thomas Kempe, Bishop of London, for a donation of a thousand marks, so late as 1478, which enabled them to proceed ; and in gratitude 6 HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. for this liberality, certain anniversary masses were appointed to be said for the souls of himself and his uncle, the Archbishop of York, on the days of St. Luke and St. Frideswyde. If, however, we are compelled to oppose the Duke's claim, as sole founder of the Divinity School at Oxford, his unbounded generosity towards the library of that seat of learning cannot, with any propriety, be called in question. At the time the library, which now forms the centre of Sir Thomas Bodley's building, was first began, the Duke sent one hundred and twenty- nine treatises to be placed there for the use of the University, when the building should be fit for their reception. This, his first donation, was valued at above a thousand pounds. He next sent them one hundred and twenty-six volumes in 1440, adding nine others in the same year. In 1443, he again presented them with an hundred and thirty-nine, and his fifth and last gift, during his life- time, was one hundred and thirty-five more. Besides all these, which amounted in number to more than six hundred volumes of divinity, medicine, history, and general literature, a mass of learning almost incredible to have been collected by an individual, (when we remember the extreme difficulty and the immense expense attendant on such an acquisition,) the Duke promised the contents of his own private study, which was peculiarly rich in Latin authors, as well as one hundred pounds in money, towards perfecting the building. These, together with the pecuniary gift, were recovered, not without some trouble, after his decease. We have been the more particular in detailing this splendid instance of liberality, because, but for subsequent events, the Duke of Gloucester would have proved one of the greatest literary benefactors Oxford, or the country at large, had ever known. The Refor- mation, however, in spite of all the blessings we have gained from its introduction and rapid progress, was peculiarly destructive to polite literature and the monuments of early art in this country. Of all the splendid and costly works given by 7 HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. Duke Humphrey to the University of Oxford, two volumes only remain in the Bodleian Library ; these are a copy of Valerius Maximus, on vellum, evidently written in the Duke's time, and probably on purpose for him, and the dedication copy of Leonard Aretin's translation of Aristotle's Politics into Latin. Every other volume of this noble collection was destroyed, or stolen, by the visitors of King Edward the Sixth, whose pious zeal, and consummate avarice or ignorance, led them to imagine that every page containing an illumination must have some connexion with Popery, and who condemned the Classics because they were anti-christian ! The Duke of Gloucester has been recorded by Bale, Leland, and other literary biographers, as being himself an author, and they have ascribed to him an astronomical treatise entitled Tabula Directionum. This, however, was certainly not written by the Duke, although the anonymous author informs us, that it was compiled at his grace's instance, and according to some tables which himself had constructed. That he was skilled in astronomy, then a favourite science, some tables bearing the Duke's name, and still preserved in the Ashmolean Museum, sufficiently demonstrate. We will conclude this article with a relation of his sagacity first given by Sir Thomas More. The anecdote has been dramatised by Shakspeare, but, although well known, derives additional interest from the quaintness with which it is narrated. " In the time of King Henry the Sixt, as he roade in progresse, there came to the towne of Saint Albons a certayne beggar with hys wyfe, and there was walking about the towne begging fiue or sixe dayes before the kinge's comming thether, sayeng that he was borne blinde and never sawe in all his life, and was warned in his dreame that he should come out of Berwike, where he sayd that he had euer dwelled, to seke Saint Albon, and that he had bene at his shrine, and was not holpen, and, therefore, he would go seeke him at some other place : for he 8 HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. had heard some saye sence he came, that Saint Albon's body should be at Colyn, and in dede such a contention had there bene. But, of truth, as I am certainely informed, he lyethhere at Saint Albones, sauing some reliques of him, which they there shewe shryned. But to tell you foorth : when the King was come, and the towne full of people, sodainely this blind man at Saint Albone's shryne had his sight, and the same was solempnly rong for a miracle, and Te Deum songen, so that nothing was talked of in all the towne but this miracle. So happened it then that Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, a man no lesse wise, then also well lemed, hauing great ioy to see suche a miracle, called the poore man vnto him, and first shewyng himselfe ioyous of God's glorie, so shewed in the getting of his sight, and exhorting him to meekenesse, and to no ascribyng of any part of the worship to himselfe, nor to be prowde of the people's praise, which would call him a good and a godly man therby : at the last he looked well vpon his eien, and asked whether he could euer see any thing at al in all his life before ? And when as well his wife as himself affirmed fastly, no, then he looked aduisedly vpon his eyen agayne, and sayde, I beleeue you very well, for me thinketh that ye can not see well yet. Yes, Sir, quoth hee, I thanke God and his holy martir, I can see now as well as any man. Yea, can you ? quod the Duke, what colour is my gowne? Then anone the begger tolde him. What colour, quod he, is this man's gowne ? he tolde him also without anye stayeng or stomblyng, and tolde the names of all the colours that coulde be shewed him. And when the duke sawe that, he bade him, walke Faytoure ! and made him to be set openly in the stockes : for though he could have sene sodaynely by miracle the difference betwene dyuers coloures, yet could he not by sight sodainely tell the names of all these coloures, except he had knowne them before, no more then he coulde name all the men whome he should sodainely see." 9 HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. The monument of Duke Humphrey stands behind the altar, in the Abbey Church of St. Alban's, on the south side of that part of the building in which was the shrine of the patron saint, and immediately under an arch which separates it from the side aisle. It is composed entirely of stone, and is elaborately finished on either side. The annexed plate represents the north side of the monument, and in the fore-ground is seen the door leading to the vault in which the bones of the deceased prince still remain, and are occasionally exhibited, in no very good taste, to gratify idle curiosity. The discovery of this vault was made in the year 1701, (not 1703, as Mr. Gough supposes) at which time the workmen, in digging for a grave, accidentally broke into the stone steps, and were induced to examine far- ther, when they procured an easy entrance into the vault. We have been so fortunate as to obtain access to an original draw- ing, made by Vertue at the time, and upon the spot, which gives a much better representation of the chamber, and the state in which the coffin was found, than any description we could offer; and, accordingly, our readers are presented with an exact copy, somewhat diminished, of this curiosity. Vertue was not only an excellent artist, but h very good antiquary ; and, therefore, the accuracy of this interesting delineation may be depended on. It is the more valuable, since the original painting on the wall, at the feet of the coffin, is hourly decaying; the inscription, as well as the title on the cross, have long- since been obliterated. The vault is eight feet, by five feet eight inches, and six feet eight inches high, with an arched roof of stone. Salmon, who lived at the time this discovery was made, writes thus : — " In this vault," says he, " stands a leaden coffin, with the body preserved by the pickle it lies in, except the legs, from which the flesh is wasted, the pickle at that end being dried up. On the wall, at the east end of the vault, is a crucifix painted, with a cup on each side of the head, another at the side, and a fourth at the feet. The vault looks very neat, 10 HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. and hath no offensive smell. The coffin, we are told, had an outside of wood, which is now entirely gone." We regret to add to this account, that such have been the rudeness and want of decency (to use no harsher terms) of the visitors, and such the want of care in the attendants, that nothing is now visible, except the broken skeleton of the great man, for the preserva- tion of whose remains so much precaution and expense were used. 11 HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. It will be necessary to say but little by way of illustration of the monument before us ; the engraving affording a far better idea of the original, than our verbal description. Over the principal arch is a range of canopies, the chief of which filled with open tracery work, the intermediate ones consisting of a series of niches. Those on the south side still retain seven- teen figures, intended, probably, for the illustrious progenitors of the deceased. On the south side these are wanting ; a loss, however, the less to be regretted, as they are clumsy and ill- proportioned, contributing only to the general richness of effect, but, in themselves, inelegant and obscure. In the broad moulded cornice, between these canopies and the principal arch, are seven shields, bearing the arms of the Duke of Gloucester, the centre and two intermediate ones surmounted with a helmet lambrequin and cap of maintenance ; the others with cap of state or coronet. The intervals between these shields have been filled with antelopes, the badge of the Duke, but these are, in a great measure, broken away. The shields, in the spandrils of the principal arches, are also charged with the same bearing; and the vaulting underneath is covered with a profusion of tracery and pendants, beautifully designed and well-executed. This monument was erected by Abbot Wethamstead, the friend of the Duke of Gloucester, and the device of that distinguished ecclesiastic, wheat-ears in groups, occurs on various parts of the monument. The original iron fence, divided into squares and lozenges, surmounted by a row of quatre-foils, still remains on the south side of the monument ; this separates the side- aisle from the portion of the church in which it stands, and was, doubtless, originally intended to afford a view of St. Al- ban's shrine from the centre of the monument. 12 Drawn. Se Engraved by Edw4 More. in Great BrlnLgtom QhmFcIht. £ubU.Thed. f)gc'. '25 2825. by Bardi/ig Sr LepariL finsbitry Squart.LoruUm,- SIR JOHN SPENCER. DIED 1522. MONUMENT AT BRINGTON, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. The monument of Sir John Spencer stands on the north side of the altar of Great Brington church, under an arch which di- vides the chancel from a chapel, containing, perhaps, as large an assemblage of splendid monuments as can be shown by any other family in the kingdom. Sir John Spencer, the immediate an- cestor of the present noble family of that name, was descended from Hugh Le Despenser, the steward (as the name imports, being, according to Camden, assumed from his office) to King Henry the First. There appears to be no little difficulty in de- ducing the subject of the present article in a direct line from the common ancestor of the family, owing to a confusion that prevails in the arrangement of the individuals, and the appropriation of the alliances. The recent historian of Northamptonshire, Mr. Baker, has acknowledged these discrepancies with great candour, and by giving three early pedigrees as derived from three different sources, has enabled his readers to compare, at the same time that he confesses his inability to reconcile, the conflicting statements. For our own parts, we should be inclined to adopt the Harleian MS. No. 6135, and the rather, since it coincides, in all the main particulars, with one preserved in another public library to which Mr. Baker does not appear to have referred. From these two sources we apprehend the following may be offered as tolerably correct. 1 SIR JOHN SPENCER. Hugh, Lord of Dutton, co. Cest.=p -Hugh (Le Despenser), " Dispensator curiae regis Henrici I. bare quarterly argent and gules, in the 2d and 3d quarter a frett or, a bend sable." Thurstan or Tristram Le Despenser=p .... i •; J Almarecke Le Despencer, " dominus de Stanley,"=pAlda (according to Harl. MS. I Elizabeth) d. of AdamBlewett. i — — — — — ■ —1 Thurstan or Tristram Le Despencer=pLucia . miles, dominus de Stanley — . l Galfridus Le Despencer, miles, obiit 35° H. 3. " fundavit abbatiam iste Galfridus dominus Spencer H. 3. pro nigris monialibus apud Wellen in Little Merlowe, Buckes." Emma St. John=^Gaifredus Spencer, "dominus de March- Lee, in Com. Wigorn. a quo Mi de Wormeleighton." John Spencer^=Anne .... I i William Spencer, " de DerfFord et=p Buckingham, ob. 2, E. 3." | r 1 John Spencer, " dominus de Dernbrd,=i= Alice da. and h. of Giles Deverell. quarterly, arg. and gules, a frett or, in the 2d and 3d quarters on a bend sable 3 escallops arg." , l Nicholas Spencer, Lord of Derford=pJoane, da. of Richard Pollard. Thomas Spencer Henry Spencer, lord (or rather lessee) of Badby=f= Isabel, da. and coh. of Henry I Lincolne. John Spencer of Hodnell (co. Warwick)=p ... da. and h. of Sir Guy de Warsteed. I 1 William Spencer =j=Elizabeth, sister of Sir Richard Empson of Eston Neston. Sir John Spencer. The reign of Henry the Sixth was, says the historian of North- amptonshire, the period of the Spencer family's first migration into this county ; when Henry Spencer (the great grandfather of 2 SIR JOHN SPENCER. Sir John), who had been educated in the abbey of Evesham, ob- taining from the abbot a lease of the demesnes and tithes of Badby, was induced to settle there. By his will, in 17 Edward IV. 1476, sealed with the present arms of Spencer, the baronial coat of Despencer differenced by three escallop shells, he made his sons John and Thomas executors, and appointed Isabel his wife over- seer. John Spencer, his son and heir, removed to Hodnell in Warwickshire, and in honour of his mother and wife, who were both heiresses, adopted their arms, affixing his seal of Lincolne and Warsted quarterly, to certain deeds of feoffment in which he joined with Sir Edward Rawleigh of Farnborough near Banbury. William Spencer, son and heir to John, resided at Radbourn in Warwickshire, and it was to him, probably, the grant of arms, ar. a fess, erm. between six sea mews' heads erased, ar. was made in 1504, which was partially adopted by his son, who subsequently resumed the ancient arms of the Despencer family, as is proved from their being blazoned on his monument. There have not been wanting writers who have endeavoured to impugn the claim of the present noble family to their descent from the early De- spencer line, in consequence of this exchange of armorial bearings, when in fact nothing was more common, either out of compliment or for caprice, than for persons of the highest rank to adopt other coats than those before used by their acknowledged ancestors *. Of Sir John Spencer little is now known, excepting that he was not only a person possessed of splendid wealth, but endowed with a generous and noble disposition. Having acquired a valu- able estate at Snitterfield in Warwickshire, in the right of his wife Isabel, daughter and coheir of Walter Graunt, Esq. of that place, he occurs in all the pedigrees we have yet seen as " Sir John * See this sufficiently proved in another part of the present work, p. 3, article GOWER. SIR JOHN SPENCER. Spencer of Snitterfield," but in 1506 (22 Henry VII.) purchasing the great lordship of Wormleighton in that county, he commenced the erection of a " fair manor-house" there, in which, when in- quisitions were taken concerning wastes and inclosures of land in the ninth and tenth years of Henry the Eighth, he was certified to have his residence, with sixty persons in family, " being a good benefactor to the church in ornaments and other things." He was knighted by Henry, and served the office of sheriff in the third year of that monarch's reign. In addition to Wormleighton, Sir John Spencer added to his possessions the manors of Fenny Compton, Warwickshire, Stone- ton, Newbottle (including the paramount manors or courts leet of Great Brington, Little Brington, Althorp, Harleston, Clas- thorp, and Flore), Wicken or Wyke Dyve, and Wyke Hamon, Althorp, Upper Bodington, Nether Bodington, and Hinton, and lands and tenements in Badby, Daventry, Barby, Guilsborough, East Haddon, Holdenby, Brockhole, Hanging Houghton, and Church Brampton. It was to this their illustrious ancestor, that the Earls Spencer owe the first formation of what has since, by the judicious extension of subsequent possessors, become a noble park at Althorp. In the fourth of Henry VIII. Sir John Spencer obtained a licence to impark three hundred acres of land, one hundred acres of wood and forty acres of water at OMethorpe, with free warren there and in Great Brington. Evelyn mentions the park at Althorp as the only instance, in his time, where the date of any considerable plantation taking place is recorded, a practice he strongly recommended for general adoption*. * We insert copies of the inscriptions placed in the Althorp plantations ; first, because we should be rejoiced to tempt others of rank and fortune to follow so good an example ; and secondly, because we doubt not our readers will be as highly 4 SIR JOHN SPENCER. Although we are not aware of the existence of any document by which our supposition may be authenticated, we cannot but suspect that the original mansion at Althorp, which was pulled down previously to I67O, was erected by Sir John Spencer. Baker, in his account of Brington (History of Northamptonshire, vol. i. p. 3), says, " it is not known when the present structure was erected, but it was restored by Robert second Earl of Sun- derland in 1688, and has undergone a complete reparation, and a new disposition of the apartments, under the direction of the present Earl." Now it is singular that we should have discovered the exact date of the building in making researches for a very different purpose. In a manuscript volume containing a variety pleased as ourselves with the peculiarly apposite quotations attached to the two last inscriptions. 1. This wood was planted by IX. This wood was planted by Sir John Spencer Knight Sir John Spencer Knight grandfather of Robert Lord father of Robert Spencer, in the yeares of Lord Spencer in the yeare ovr Lord 1567 and 1568. of ovr Lord 1589. in. This wood was planted by Robert Lord Spencer in the yeares of ovr Lord 1602 and 1603. This wood was Vp and bee planted by Sir doing and William Spencer God will Knight of the prosper. Bathe in the Yeare of ovr Lord 1624. v. Planted by George-John Earl Spencer, K.G. in the year 1798. Seris factura nepotibus umbram. vi. Planted by George- John Earl Spencer, K.G. in the year 1800, to replace a Grove of Ash fallen to decay. Uno avulso non deficit alter. 5 SIR JOHN SPENCER. ot genealogical notices, collected, we suspect, by some person con- nected with the College of Arms, we have the following brief account of Althorp, which the writer visited May the 23d, 1673. " Althorp is 5 miles beyond Northampton ; Northwest of it, (and Holmeby house lyeth within a mile of it) new built I67O and I67I : in Brighton parish. The gallery 60 paces or 120 feet long, ouer xx feet : 5 roomes from east to west : in the backe part the mote drained : roomes 14 feet high. Sir John, who maryd Cath. Kitson, builded the house as ouer the Gatehouse sides." We regret our inability to furnish any other particular respecting Sir John Spencer than what has been already given by the industrious Collins, and is supplied by an inspection of his will, which is unusually long, although it has not been considered by our publishers of sufficient interest to warrant an entire transcript. In it he entitles himself John Spencer of Wormleighton, in the county of Warwick, Knight ; he desires to be buried in the chancel of Brynkton church, in the county of Northampton, " afore the image of our blessed Lady, and there myne executors to make a tombe for me as nigh to the wall as they may, behind the sepulture, and to bestow on the said tombe, well and con- ningley to be made, xx lib." He gives to the repairs of the said chancel, and for his arms to be placed in the windows, xl lib. and " for the making an ymage of our ladye with a tabernacle, and gyldinge of the same, to be made after the patron (pattern) of oon maister caused to be made at Banbury, and to be made by the same man that made hys." He devotes xx shillings per annum for seven years for two wax tapers to be brenne in two candlesticks at our Ladies mass to be said in the said chancel, " and my moneth's mynde to be kept by myne executors during the first year, and to every preste that shall com there to say mass viii d . without meat and drynk, and everie clerke that can synge iiii d . the clerke of the church iiii a . and euery rynger that shall ryng at Dirige masse to be said xii d . euery poor man and woman 6 SIR JOHN SPENCER. that shall come and pray at my month's mynde and yeres myrid for 5 years l d . each." He desires that his executors will give to all at his burial that will pray for his soul and take money two- pence, to every man, woman, and child ; and to every one that vvill come, meat and drink. To the abbot of Kenelworth he leaves twenty pounds for his prayer and observance at the day of his burial. Besides these, there are innumerable bequests to religious houses, for the reparation of churches, besides very liberal donations to his relatives and dependents, whereby, says our author, it is evident that he had a noble spirit, tempered with the greatest humanity. He was likewise so honest and just, and of so pious a disposition, that he requires his executors to recom- pense every one that can lawfully prove, or will make oath, that he has hurt him in any wise, so that they make their claim within ' two years, though, as is recited in the will, he has none in his remembrance, but had rather charge their souls, than his own should be in danger : and he then requires that his executors should cause proclamation thereof to be made once a month, during the first year after his decease, at Warwick, Southampton, Coventry, Banbury, Daventry, and Northampton. This instru- ment is dated on the 12th of April 1522, two days only before his decease. Sir John Spencer was buried according to his desire, in the north chapel, which, together with the chancel, were erected by himself. His monument is entirely of Tottenhoe stone, and re- mains in a state of extraordinary preservation. The tomb, and the canopy by which it is surmounted, are in point of design the same on both sides, but the minuter details, although equally beautiful, are considerably varied. The Knight is represented in complete armour, excepting that his head is uncovered, and resting on his helmet. The hair is short and slightly curled, but cut square over the forehead. The figure is in plate armour, with mail skirts, and richly ornamented elbow gussets and knee- 7 SIR JOHN SPENCER. pieces : the shoes are jointed, with broad puckered toes, and rest on his gauntlets. A scarlet mantle, lined with green, falls from his shoulders and terminates beneath his feet ; his tabard, which is seen at the division of the mantle, bearing the arms of Spencer ancient. On his right side he wears a dagger, and on the left a sword, the hilts of both highly ornamented. The Lady Isabella wears a rich close reticulated head-dress with long lappets, her long hair braided in front, divided over the forehead, and flowing behind her shoulders to her waist : a necklace of pearls with a heart appendant, and highly ornamented, encircles her neck, from which a triple chain is suspended. The white bodice, richly decorated with pearls, and hollowed out at the sides, sur- mounts a long scarlet robe, which conceals her feet, and on a girdle beneath hangs a rich rosary : an heraldic mantle, quartering Graunt and Ruding, is looped across her bosom, with a tasselled cordon, and falls back to her feet, where are the mutilated re- mains of two dogs. Both figures have their hands raised in a devotional attitude. On the south side are three armorial shields. I. On the first, in the centre of the frieze, quarterly argent and gules ; on the second and third quarters, a fret or ; over all, on a bend sable, three escallop shells of the field, Spencer : Crest out of a ducal coronet or a griffin's head argent, gorged with a bar gemell gules, between two wings erect of the second, with mantling and helmet. II. On the dexter spandril of the arch, 1 and 6, Spencer. 2. Azure a fess ermine between six sea-mews' heads erased argent, Spencer ancient. 3. Gules three stirrups in pale or, Durrell. 4. Or on a cross gules five mullets of six points pierced argent, Lincolne. 5. Argent a chevron between three cinquefoils gules, Warsted. III. On the sinister spandril, quarterly, Spencer and Spencer ancient, impaling quarterly, 1 and 4 ermine 5 on a chevron gules five bezants, differenced by a crescent, Graunt ; 2 and 3, argent on a bend between two lions rampant sable, a wivern with wings 8 SIR JOHN SPENCER. overt of the field, Ruding. On the north side are three cor- responding shields. IV. Spencer ancient, with helmet and crest destroyed. V. as No. II. VI. Graunt and Ruding quarterly. The soffit of the arch is divided into three rows of pannels with quatrefoils at regular distances, and in the centre an angel sup- porting arms. VII. Spencer. Round the sides of the tomb are shields within quatrefoils. On the south side, VIII. Spencer, impaling quarterly ermine and paly of six or and gules, within a border azure, Knightley. IX. Spencer, differenced by a crescent. X. Knightley impaling Spencer. At the east end, XI. Spencer impaling Graunt. On the north side, XII. Paly of six argent and azure, Strelley impaling Spencer. XIII. Argent two lions passant sable crowned or, Catesby impaling Spencer. XIV. Graunt impaling Ruding. Within the soffit, at the east end, below the arch, is the fol- lowing inscription : HERE LIETH THE BODDIES OF SIR IOHN SPENCER KNIGHT AND DAME ISABELL HIS WIFE ONE OF THE DAUGHTERS AND COHEIRES OF WALTER GRAVNT OF SNITTFERFIELD IN THE COVNTIE OF WAR: ESQVIER— HER MOTHER WAS THE DAVGHTER AND HEIRE OF HVMPHRIE RVDINGE OF THE WICHE IN THE COVN OF WORCESTER ESQ. WHICH IOHN AND ISABELL HAD ISSU SIR WILL'M SPENCER KNIGHT 1. ANTHONY SPENCER 2 WHO DIED WITHOVT ISSV. IANE WIFE TO RICH. KNIGHTLEY ESQVIER SON'E & HEIRE OF SIR RICHARDE KNIGHTLEY OF FAWSLEY IN THE COUNTIE OF NORTH: KNIGHT— ISABELL MARIE D TO SIR NICH'S STRELLY OF STRELLY. IN THE COV'TIE OF NOTT. KNIGHT— DOROTHIE MARIE D TO SIR RICH. CATESBIE OF LEGERS ASHBIE IN THE COVN: OF NORTH: KNI: WHICH SIR IOHN SPENC. DEPARTED THIS LIFE Y E 14 OF APR. A. - DN'I 1522. 9 Drawn * Engraved by Edw a Blare . IN CANTERBURY" CATHEDRAL . Julli&tJLN CareAve shewed him lately that he hath Received a lfe from the La: Marie as he supposed and therevppo declared that M r . Secretary had written a letter vnto her adviseing her to submitt herselfe to the Kinge And shewed him that shee would soe doo as he vnderstood where- vppon the said S' Anthony praid god to give her grace soe to doe. " Wherevnto the said M 1 Carew said, If shee doe not submitt her selfe shee is vndon for the king is a mercifull Prince and will haue pittie of her, If shee will now leave her obstinacie and cast not her selfe away. * She was the Fair Geraldine of Lord Surrey, being daughter to the Earl of Kildare by Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset. She was born in 1528, and died in March 1589, being then the widow (having been third wife) of Edward Clinton, Earl of Lincoln. 6 SIR ANTHONY BROWNE. " Item he saith that M 1 Russell tould him that he heard say that in case shee would followe the kings pleasure shee should be heire apparent at which time being others present whom he now Remembreth not, one of them said what meane you by the heire apparent Wherevnto it was answeared that shee should be Reputed in such case to his highnes vnless his Grace should haue Issue of his bodie by the Queen that now is sonne or Daughter. " Item he saith that when M r Trer [Treasurer ?] was last at home he went to Guildford to him of whom the said M 1 ' Trer asked what newes were at Court wherevnto he answeared that he knewe noe newes saueing onely M' Russell tould him he heard say the Ladie Mary should be made heire apparent to the king if she would submitt herselfe and follow his pleasure which the said Mr. Trer prayed to god shee might doe. " Item he saith that M 1 ' Carew sent a letter to the ladie Mary which Ire hee shewed before to this deponent & M r Trer the effect thereof was to advise and Councell her in any wise to submitt her selfe to the kinge and to Follow such Counsell as by M r Secretary's leres should be declared vnto her touching the same neuertheles whether he sent this lefe forth or noe he knoweth not. " Item he saith that since Mr. Trers comeing to the Court he hath de- maunded of him whether the ladie Marie should bee heire apparent or noe to whom hee hath Answeared that in Case shee would submitt her selfe, and bee obedient as shee ought to bee hee trusted shee would, and if shee will not be obedient vnto his grace I would quoth hee that her head were from her shoulders that I might tosse it here with my feete & soe put his foote forward spurneing the Russhes. " Item examined why hee should haue such affection to the said Ladie Marie saith that hee was onely moued therevnto for the loue he beareth to the king for hee neuer Receaued lere message Token or Recomendacons from her nor hath sent her any. " Item examined whether in case it had pleased god to call the kinge to his mercie (which god defend) leaueing the ladie Elizabeth in the degree of Princes hee would haue adheared to her or advanced the ladie Marye hee saith that in such case he would haue died with the ladie Elizabeth according to the lawes of the land. " Item he said he thought the ladie Mary to be a fitt person to be an heire apparent and to succeed in Case the kings highness should not Chance to haue issue of his bodie by the Queene that now is wch god send 7 SIR ANTHONY BROWNE. him shortly, for that the said ladie Mary was borne in bona fide which Tearm of bona fide as he hath heard often as well before the makeinge of the lawe for the kings succession as since — soe Remembreth not presently of whom he hath heard the same — but will endeauour him selfe to Remember where he hath heard it and the same declare accordingly. " Item examined whether he hath had any priuate Conferrence with any speciall man or any other man or woman not specified touching the state of y e said Ladie Mary, he answeareth that diuerse persons whose names he re- membreth not, haue asked how shee should doe to whom he ansvveared that he knew not saying to some that he marveyled the would aske him such questions but he saith that he neuer had any priuate Conferrence with any man touching speciall matter other then is expressed. " Item hee being examined whether hee hath at any time heard the name of bona fides parentum of Doctor Woolman doctor Bell or D'. Knight saith nay. " Item being examined whether he knoweth of any Conventicle devised or set forth by any pson or persons for the advancem 1 of the said ladie Marie Answeareth none otherwise than is before declared. « ANTHONY BROWNE." The monument of Sir Anthony Browne and his Lady stands on the north side of the chancel of Battle Church. It is entirely of alabaster, stands clear, and the opposite sides and ends of the tomb are finished exactly to correspond. The following arms are sculptured on the various shields. In the centre of the op- posite sides, and at each end on a shield within a garter : — 1st, S. a bend G. charged with 3 lions passant guardant of the 1st ; 2d, a lion rampant or, quartering or a fret ; 3d, a saltire G. over all a label of 3 points ; 4th, G. 3 fusils in fesse ; 5th, as 2d ; 6th, as 1st; 7th, a spread eagle or ; 8th, as 3d ; 9th, three lions passant guardant ; 10th, a saltire ; 11th, across; 12th, or on a canton, a wheel ; 13th, a saltire ; 14th, a lion rampant ; 15th, a fesse between 3 leopards' heads or ; 16th, a fesse dancette sab. impaling quarterly a saltire and sun. Each of the side shields is occupied by the same quartering of a saltire and sun ; but the 8 SIR ANTHONY BROWNE. colors are generally so much obliterated as to render it im- possible to specify them exactly. Sir Anthony is represented in rich plate armour, his head resting on a helmet originally sur- mounted by a crest now broken away. Hair short and curling > his sword on the left, his dagger on the right, side. He wears the mantle of the order of the Garter. On his left shoulder is the badge j round his neck the collar ; from which is suspended the george ; and round his left leg the garter. His feet rest against a stag chained with a ducal coronet round its neck. His lady is distinguished by having a rich canopy over her head j she is re- presented in a rich head dress, mantle and loose robe falling over her feet, which rest against a dog. The hands of both figures are broken away, but they have evidently been joined as in prayer, and they appear to have been originally painted and gilt. From small portions remaining on the mantle of the lady it seems probable that it was emblazoned with her arms. Round the ledge of the slab on which the figures are placed is the following in- scription : " ffltte liefye tfie &gg!)te honorable jfclr &ntong 9Srofone, l&nggfit of tfie (Sartete, J&agter of tfie l&gngs J&ajegteg ?i?orcg0 anil one of th» honorable ^ube €Founcel of out most orafc j&oberagne Sortie ant) btc e 3&8 n S ?£« ttr 2 C SS^ anl) lJamc aitg fits fogff tofifefi <js tiecegeo tfie 31 Dag of Jftarcfie, a Dni 1540. ant) tfie sSagD j&fr &ntong Dcceglt) tfie tag of SI tint on foftote sotols ant) all ©firteten 3)hu fiabe mertg amen." A modern partition, dividing the chancel from a chapel, is carried so close to the north side of this monument as to render that side almost inaccessible. The insertion of the date of the death of the lady, and the blank left for that of Sir Anthony, prove this monument to have been erected by the latter, probably soon after the death of his consort ; and it is certainly a valuable example with which to close our series, inasmuch as it exhibits, in the decorative part of that portion of the tomb and the canopy over the lady's head, one 9 SIR ANTHONY BROWNE. of the earliest examples of a complete change of style, in which nothing of Gothic remains, whilst the figures themselves are faithful representations of the costume of the period, showing that in this respect no corresponding change had taken place. There is also an extraordinary mixture of cumbrous and in- elegant, as well as of beautiful, execution, in the detail of the ornamental part of the tomb, from which we might be led to infer that the sculptor had not acquired a perfect knowledge of the new style of art in which he was employed. 10