tion of the former for rebellion, the younger son Henry was restored "in blood and honours," A.D. 1327, and married to Maud Chaworth, a wealthy ward of his cousin, King Edward. This earl and his countess seem to have made Leicester one of their principal residences, as Throsby tells us "he settled himself to live, for the most part, at his Castle of Leicester, wherein he took great delight, and began the foundations of the Hospital of Our Lady in the fourth year of King Edward III." It is easy to imagine the gaiety and splendour of the entertainments that took place under the timbered roof of the great hall that we still stand in, and the imposing nature of the ceremony there when, in 1345, Henry, Earl of Lancaster, died, and was buried in the presence of "King Edward III. and his queen, with almost all the bishops, earls and barons of the realm." This ceremony probably took place in the church of St. Mary de Castro, a few paces from the castle, still remarkable for its Norman work and most curious font. Henry, Earl of Derby, the only son of Henry and Maud Chaworth, was one of the greatest benefactors that Leicester ever possessed. He was also a typical knight of the fourteenth century, one of Froissart's heroes, brave, merciful, courteous, chivalrous, and religious. He was the King's representative in France, the counsellor of the Black Prince, and succeeded his father in the stewardship of England. "Being," as an old writer says, "thus in honour and very rich, he undertook an expedition against the Infidels. But, as he was passing through Germany, he was entrapped and surprised by means of Otho, Duke of Brunswick, and was constrained for his liberty to give 3,000 scutes of gold; but our duke so resented that ill treatment, that he openly said that in case he had a mind to meddle with him, he should find him ready to perform a soldier's part; which being told to Brunswick, he sent him a letter of challenge, which was readily accepted by our duke, and a time and place appointed for performance in France. All things being made ready, the dukes took their oaths according to the laws of combat, and our duke mounted his horse with great cheerfulness, in expectation to fall to it. But it was observed that Brunswick, although brisk enough before, as soon as he had taken his oath, his countenance fell, and his courage so quailed, looking pale and trembling, that he could not wield his sword, shield, and lance; whereupon his friends advised him to submit himself to the King of France's judgment. But our duke, being for that purpose also moved, said that before he entered the lists he should willingly have embraced an accommodation; but now he had mounted his horse and was ready, and the king, with his nobles, and a great concourse of people were become spectators, he was resolved not to go out of the lists with dishonour to himself or his country. But Brunswick, wholly giving up the quarrel without any reservation of honour, submitted himself to the award of the King of France, who soon after reunited them at a great feast. After this, the King of France entertained our duke very royally, and, showing him all his rarities, desired him to take his choice of what he pleased; but the duke only accepted of a thorn out of the crown of our Saviour, which he brought away, and bestowed as a precious relic in the Collegiate Church that he had founded near his castle of Leicester." (A drawing of this thorn and the "candlesticksocket of pure gold," in which it was fixed, is to be found in Throsby's History of Leicestershire, page 246.) This duke, commonly called "the good Duke of Lancaster," left no son to succeed him, but by his marriage with Isabel, daughter of Lord Beaumont, he had two daughters, Maud and Blanche. The former, married to William, Duke of Bavaria, Holland, and Zealand, died very young; but Maud, by her alliance with John of Gaunt, her cousin, the son of King Edward III., carried the vast possessions of the house of Lancaster, including Leicester Castle, to her husband, who was eventually created Duke of Lancaster in right of his wife. At Duke Henry's death in 1361, the group of buildings which we have been trying to describe the castle, the church, the hospital, and the gateways-were probably in their most perfect and magnificent state. area called the Newark, or New-Work, had been added to the castle surroundings by Duke Henry, containing the hospital (now called "the Trinity") for the use of " The 100 poor and weak men," and it still bears testi- Leicester and all the large possessions of the mony to his charity. The will of Duke Henry (who was carried off by the pestilence, called the Black Death, in 1361) provides for his funeral with great minuteness, desiring that, if he should die at Leicester (which was the case not long afterwards), his body should be first taken to the parish church, a few steps only from his castle, and after divine service there, should be buried in his own Collegiate Church, adjoining the hospital, "without pomp of armed men, horses covered, or other vanities, only a hearse, with five tapers and 50 torches about his body, borne by as many men, 25 cloathed in white, and as many in blue." Unfortunately, of this Collegiate Church (containing the dust of several members of so illustrious a race) not a trace remains, though in the chapel which forms a part of the Trinity Hospital is the splendid monument of Mary de Bohun, wife of Henry IV. John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster, who succeeded the good Duke Henry, continued to embellish and carry out his works in Leicester, "being also very gracious and bountiful to the town and burgesses, to whom they granted several lands, messuages, and privileges." That John of Gaunt was popular in the town of Leicester appears from an account of an alarm raised during the revolt headed by Wat Tyler and Jack Straw, in Richard II.'s reign, when "the terror of their depredations reached Leicester," and a messenger brought word that the rebels would certainly arrive the next day to plunder and destroy the Duke of Lancaster's palace, the castle. "The duke being then in Scotland about the public concerns, the mayor and his brethren were in great straits about the duke's property, he being extremely beloved in that place." It was agreed that a proclamation should be made, calling on all the inhabitants to arm and keep watch to protect the duke's goods, which were moved for greater security into St. Mary's Church. Luckily, the rebels thought better of their design, and the duke's steward arrived from London to relieve the good townsmen of their task. After the accession of Henry IV., the son of John of Gaunt and Blanche Plantagenet, to the throne of England, the castle of house of Lancaster merged in the Crown; and the castle became so ruinous, that when Richard III., in 1485, passed through Leicester, to fight the battle of Bosworth, he preferred staying at an inn to taking up his quarters at his own royal residence. During the civil wars of the seventeenth century some severe fighting took place in Leicester, and "the Newark" was carried by assault by the King's troops just before the battle of Naseby. The Trinity Hospital was repaired by King George III. in the last century, someone having pointed out to him that a charity founded by the munificence of his ancestors had been allowed to fall into decay through the change of religion since their times. And now will our readers believe that a group of buildings so ancient, so peaceful, so historically connected with the glories of our land-religiously, politically, and sociallyare already marked out for destruction by a railway! The proposed new line of the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway Company is projected to run through the great hall diagonally, just shaving St. Mary's Church by a few yards, levelling the grassy mount on which stood the keep, and whether entirely destroying or only running close past the wall of the Trinity Hospital, I am not aware; but, of course, the scheme, if carried out, means the utter destruction of this little group of historic buildings. The chairman of the Leicestershire County Council, Sir Henry Halford, will do all in his power to prevent such desecration, and we will hope that the people of Leicester will, like those of Newark, Nottingham, and Lincoln (who have carefully restored and preserved their castles and their Stonebow), refuse to allow the old Parliament House of England to be turned into an iron highway, the third in this immediate neighbourhood. An Armourer's Bill, temp. By HON. HAROLD DILLON, F.S.A. HE following list of portions of armour delivered by Gerard of Tournay into the office of the Royal Wardrobe for the use of King Edward III., as also certain repairs executed for the king, is to be found among the many treasures of the Public Record Office under the heading of "Wardrobe Miscellanea, Q.R. 38 36 " 16. or with leather, and the chapel noir may have been one covered with velvet, silk, black The leather, or even only painted black. poitrine for the jousts was a steel or iron plate for the protection of the front of the body in the numerous jousts and tournaments which were so frequent in the fourteenth century. of teenth century. This poitrine appears to have cost 16s. In the matter of headpieces, the chapel blanc, or plain metal headpiece, cost 26s. 8d., while the chapel noir cost but 16s., showing that a large proportion of the cost was for the milling or polishing, which was not required in the case of those covered or painted. So also the bascinet varied in price from 10s. to 12s, and one for the king ranged so high as 16s. Armour for the legs was priced at 40s., the quissards by themselves costing 13s. 4d. The defences for the arms were only 30s., but, of course, did not include the gauntlets; and we may suppose that the leg armour did not always include the coverings for the feet, as in some casese.g., the Tewkesbury effigy figured by Stothard -the feet were protected by box-stirrups. The only hand defence mentioned in the bill is the main de fer, its name at once explaining its nature, and uncorrupted by long usage. Its cost-6s. 8d.-shows it to have been an important portion of the equipment. grates and avantplates are charged at 5s. the set, and the coronals, or lance-heads, for jousts of peace, at Is. each. By the process of elimination we are enabled to arrive at the cost of the heaume and barber, the headpiece for the jousts, with its protection for the lower part of the face. The whole cost 23s. 4d. Aketons, the quilted or stuffed coats worn sometimes with and sometimes without the metal armour, are priced at 20s. each, and from their number were probably for the king's guard. The period over which it extends is from April 1, 1337, until the last day of September, 1341, and it may be not uninteresting to inquire into the occasions when the various items were supplied. The prices paid or charged for the various portions of military equipment being also mentioned, adds much to the value of the document, and gives the value of the objects when new. In escheators' accounts we often have valuations, but they refer to the worth of the object when it had been in use for some time, and we are unable to judge of the depreciation in value owing to wear and tear, change of fashion, or many other influences attending the appraisement of the property of individuals who had forfeited their property to the king. Among the objects enumerated are none that are not familiar to the student of ancient armour, and have not received the attention of such writers as Meyrick, Way, Hewitt, etc. We may except the word grates, which was evidently some part of a lance, as it always occurs with avant-plates, the later vamplate, or protection for the hand, fixed on the lance, and in the sixteenth century seen in such variety of shape and size. We may, however, be permitted to note succinctly some of the prices which occur in the list. The "pair of plates" covered with white leather, or velvet, or silk, or cloth of gold, varied in price, according to the richness of the covering material, from 50s. to 80s. For the recovering of such plates with white leather 6s. 8d. was charged. As we have on former occasions pointed out, armour was very frequently covered with some textile, The We will now mention briefly the chief events referred to in the bill of Gerard of Tournay. April, 1337-the first date-belongs to the period when Edward was making preparations to invade France to enforce his claim to the crown of that country. The next fourteen items refer to the succeeding twelve months, during which time the king held his court at the Tower, and at his palace of Westminster. In May and June he was, however, at York and Berwick respectively, returning to London in July. In June, 1338, the bill shows that he was at Bury St. Edmunds, on his way to the small port of Orwell, in Suffolk, whence he more than once took ship for his invasions of France. As he embarked on July 16, we may assign the date of the repairs of his bard of plate for his horse to about that time. He arrived at Antwerp on the 22nd, and spent several months in that city, residing at the Abbey of St. Michel. His queen, Philippa of Hainault, also passed over, and remained there for some time while Edward travelled about. On August 16 he started on his journey to Coblenz to meet Philippa's brotherin-law, the Emperor Louis IV., who bestowed on him the office of Vicar of the Emperor for the imperial district on the left bank of the Rhine. The king returned to Antwerp on September 20, and on November 29 was born Lionel, created Duke of Clarence. The item in the bill referring to jousts at Antwerp was probably in connection with the festivities to celebrate this event. In February, 1339, Edward was still at Antwerp, but soon afterwards he went to Brussels to attend the parliament held there; and another item in the account belongs to this date. Edward soon after this commenced the siege of Cambrai, but in a short time he abandoned the enterprise and proceeded to invade the dominions of the French king. On October 13 he was at Mont St. Martin, near Mons, and perhaps the pair of plates covered with white leather for the king's own person, delivered at the Abbey des Noneyns prés de Monnez, refers to his stay at that place, but we have not succeeded in identifying the name. In November the king returned to Antwerp, where he kept his Christmas, and in February, 1840, embarked for England, arriving at Orwell on the 21st of that month. The next items refer to Mortlake and Windsor. At the latter place is mentioned the fact of the king receiving the news of the capture beyond sea of Thomas Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, the first who held the office of Admiral of the Fleet. Concerning this event, Barnes, in his Life of Edward III., declines to accept the version of the story given by Froissart, and presents us with what he considers a more probable account, but he omits to name his authority.* On June 22, 1341, Edward again embarked at Orwell, and various items in the account may be referred to about this date. It was on this voyage that Edward encountered, at Sluys, the large naval force collected by Philip to prevent his passage. The battle of Sluys-June 24-was one of the earliest and most brilliant of the many victories which have been won by the English navy, and France was for many years totally disabled so far as maritime action was concerned. According to the bill, we next find Edward at the siege of Tournay, which was commenced on July 23, the king having gone thither by way of Ghent and Bruges. On the 25th a truce was declared, and the next item refers to Ghent. The king and queen soon after came over very suddenly to England, arriving at the Tower on November 30, and proceeded at once to put his house in order, dismissing the chancellor, Robert Stratford, and bringing grave accusations against the Archbishop of Canterbury. In the latter affair Edward failed, and, indeed, had to make important concessions to Parlia ment. In June, 1341, Edmund, surnamed of Langley, afterwards Duke of York, was born at the former place, and items in the bill refer to the convalescence of the queen, and the jousts, etc., on the occasion. The last item in the bill refers to September, 1541, just before Edward's expedition to Scotland, when he kept his Christmas at Melrose. 1 April, 1337-30 Sep., 1341. Lacompte Gerard de Tourney Heaumer nre Seign' le Roi de diverses Armes livrez en la Garderobe ne dit Sr le Roi del prem' iour Daverill lan du regne nre dit Sr le Roi unzisme tantqe le derrein iour de Septembre lan du regne nre dit seign' le Roi quinzisme Gerard de Tinei rend Acompte de une peire de plates covert de blanc quir delivrez en la garderobe nre S le Roi le p'm' iour de Averil lan xi susdit ps 1s Et de un chapel blank p'batuz delivere en la Garderobe le Roi le dit mois de Avril ps xxvjs viijd (1337) Et de un Bacinet blank p'battuz delivrez en la garderobe le Roi en la Tor de Londre le moys de Janever ps. xiis (1338) * The queen, who was at Ghent during part of this year, gave birth in that town to John of Gaunt. Et de vj Chapels blancs p'batuz livrez en la garde le Roi en la Tor de Lonndres le dit mois de Janever ps la peace xxvjs viijd viijli Et de une peire de plates coverts de blanc quir delivrez en la Garderobe le Roi le mois de ffeverer a Westm ps. Is (1338) Et de j peire de plates cover de camoca livre en la garderobe le Roi a Westm' le dit moys de ffeverer quele n' s le Roi dona a Mons Henri de fferers ps ls (1338) Et de un Bacinet' blanc p'batuz deliverez en la Garderobe le Roi a Westm' le dit mois de ffever prs xijs (1338) Et de viij chapels blancs p'batuz deliverez en la garderobe le Roi a Westm' le dit mois de ffeverer ps la piece xxvjs viijd xli xiijs iiijd (1338) Et de iij chapels blanc p'batuz delivrez en la garde le Roi en la Tor de Lonndres le vj iour de Mars, des queux le Roi dona a Henri Dengaigne, un Chapel, et a Ph Brokaz un Autre, ps de la piece xxvjs viijd iiijli (1338) Et pr le recover de une peire de plats coverts de blanc quir ove scalopes dorrez, livrez en la Garderobe le Roi le dit moys de Mars xs Et de une peire de quissez coverts de camoca qe n' s le Roi dona a Mons' Renaud de Cobeham delivrez en la gard le Roi a Westm❜ le xx jour Daveril ps xiijs iiijd (1338) Et une peire de plates covr de blanc quir ove scalopes dorrez delivrez en la Garderobe le Roi le xxvij io Daveril a Westm' ps Is (1338) Et de un Chapel blank p'batuz delivrez en la Gard le Roi a Westmr le dit Moys Davrill quel le Roi dona a Piers de Beauchamp ps xxvjs viijd Et de un Chapel blanc prbatuz delivrez en la Garderobe le Roi a Westm' le dit mois Daverill ps xxvjs viijd Et de un Bacinet prbatuz delivrez en la Garderobe le Roi en la Tour de Lonndres quel le Roi dona a un Chivalr de Cataloigne ps xs Et de un Chapel garnisse delivere en la Gard le Roi a Burgh seint Esmon el moys de Juyn ps xxvjs viijd (1338) Et pr le reclouer & ffourbir & garnisser de une coverte de plate p' chival delivrez en la Gard le Roi a Arewelle vjli xiijs iiijd (July, 1338) Et de j peire de plates covert de camoca delivrez en la Gardere le Roi a Andvers ps lxs Et pr le ffourb & garnisser de un Bassinet de Lumbardie delivrez en la garde le Roi a Andvs lequel un Chivaler Daleme dona a nre dit seign' le Roi vjs viijd Et pr le ffourbir de ij maindefer delivrez en la Gardere le Roi a Anvers ijs Et de une peire de coutiers ffourbiz & delivrez en la gard le Roi a Andvers ps vis viiid Et de une Poitrine pr Justes delivrez en la Garde le Roi a Andvers au temps qe les Justes illoeqs estoient ps xvjs Et pr le recovert de une peire de plates p' sre Robt de Kingeston livre en la Gard le Roi a Anvers vjs viijd Et de i peire de plates cover de drap dor a tut assai delivre en la Garderobe le Roi a Brucelles quels nr Sr le Roi dona a Mons Joh de Henau ps iiijli Et de une peire de plates p' le corps le Roi delivre en la Gard le Roi coverts de blank quir delivre en labbie des Noneyns p's de Monnez en Henaud ps lxs Et de un maindefer delivere en la Gard le Roi a Mortlake ps vjs viijd Et de iii peire de plates novelles covertz de blancs quir deliverez en la gard le Roi en Chastel de Wyndes el mois daprill as ioustes illoeqs ordinez quen temps vindrent novelles qe le connte de Salebirs estoit ps dela la Mer, ps la pece 1s vijli xs (1340) Et iij Poitrines pr les joustes delivrez en la Gard le Roi a Windesore au dit temps ps la piece xvj3, xlviijs Et iiij Grates & iiij Avantplates deliverez en la gard le Roi au dit temps ps xxs Et de xij Coronals deliverez en la Gard le Roi ps la pece xijd, xijs Et de une peire de plates covert de velvet & soie quen velvet estoit livrez hors de la Gard le Roi et les queux plates ne Sr le Roi dona a Mons Joh le Melre ps 1s Et de une peire plates cover de blanc quir pr le corps le Roi a Arewelle a sa darroine passage as pties de fflaundre ps lxs Et de un Bacinet pr le Roi Mesmes delivrez en la Gard le Roi a Arewelle au dit temps ps xvjs Et de une peire de plates covert de velvet & soie p' Mons Joh de Henau delivrez en la Garderobe le Roi a Arewell a meisme la voiage ps Is Et de un Bacinet delivrez en la gard le Roi a la siege devant T'ney ps xvjs Et de un Heaume un Barber une peire de plates, une poitrine p' Justes, une peire de rerebras, un maindefer, iiij Avant plates, iiij Grates & vj Coronalls. delivrez en la gardere le Roi a Gaunt p' les mems Guy de Brian as justes qe illoeqs estoient a la revenue nre Sr le Roi de la siege de T'ney ps vijli xijs Et de ij Coronalls deliverez en la Gard le Roi a Gaunte ps ijs Et de une Poitrine delivrez en la Gard le Roi a Norwig contre les Justes illoeqs ps xvjs Et de une peire de rerebras & avant bras fourbiz p' le corps le Roi de la novelle maner delivrez en la gard le Roi a mesmes les justes ps xxxs Et de iij Grates & iiij avant plates deliverez en la garder le Roi a meisme cet temps ps xxs Et de une poitrine pr le corps le Roi delivre en la garder le Roi a Langeleye contre les Justes a la relevee madame la Roine ps xvis Et de i peire de plates cover de blank quir delivere en la garde le Roi le derrein iour de Septembr lan xve ps lxs Et del Aketones delivrez en la garderobe le Roi a Westm' le derrein iour de Septembr avant dit ps la piece xxs 11i On the dorse of the document is the following: Item pris livere en la gardere le Roi a Estamfor...... aler vers escoce i chapel noir batuz ps xvis et i h'neis el jambes cest assavoir .... •ps xls.. Hunc compm libavt hic Henrs de Greystoke nup' auditor com eam Ri xxvj die Januar anno xxvij Rs Ed iii et |
