merset. Their conduct occasioned | and Margaret thus became unpopular bitter discontent, and in the end, with the English from her first coming though personally beloved for his among them. She was a woman cf pious and charitable conduct, splendid evidences of which remain to this day, the "meek usurper" was deprived of his throne. He saw his friends cut off in the field or on the scaffold; he suffered exile and a tedious imprisonment himself, and he died in confinement in the Tower, presumably about the end of May, 1471. His death has usually been ascribed to violence, but it was more probably owing to grief at the capture of his wife and slaughter of his son at Tewkesbury shortly before. His body was exposed in St. Paul's, and then buried with little ceremony at Chertsey Abbey, but by Henry VII. was removed to Windsor, and interred in St. George's Chapel. In 1445 Henry married Margaret of Anjou (born March 23, 1429), daughter of René, titular king of Sicily, Naples, and Jerusalem, but in fact a dependant on the king of France. To obtain her hand most of the remaining English possessions in France were given up, duke of Gloucester. At length he was impeached by the Commons, and committed to the Tower. Margaret of Anjou, from a window, beauty and undaunted spirit; thus she gained an ascendancy over her weak husband which was often unwisely and sometimes cruelly exercised, and was the immediate cause of his downfall. She, however, fully shared his sufferings, and made the most vigorous attempts to retrieve his fortunes, enduring exile, innumerable perils by land and by sea, and a four years' imprisonment (1471-1475). Being Arms of De la Pole, earl of Suffolk. He was soon after banished, but was beheaded at sea, by order of the constable of the Tower, (John Holland, duke of Exeter,) in May, 1450. His son John, born in 1443, married Elizabeth, the sister of Edward IV. Edmund Beaufort was the grandson of John of Gaunt. Like his brother John he was made prisoner at Baugé, but afterwards distinguished himself in the French wars. He defended Rouen, and captured Harfleur and Montreuil; relieved Calais when besieged, and also ravaged Britanny. He received in succession the titles of earl of Moretain and Perche, earl and marquis of Dorset, and duke of Somerset, and in 1444 was appointed regent of Normandy, in succession to the duke of York. He acted feebly in this capacity, and surrendered Caen, almost without resistance, by which the province was lost. He returned to England, and, in spite of the popular discontent, on the death of the duke of Suffolk he succeeded to his place in the favour of the queen. The duke of York took up arms to bring him to trial, but after! Arms of Beaufort, duke of Somerset. was imprisoned on charges of treason preferred by the duke. He was, however, soon set at liberty by the influence of the queen, and taking the command of some troops he advanced to St. Alban's, where he was met by the duke of York, defeated and killed, May 23, 1455, the assault being led by his brother-in-law, the earl of Warwick. He left three sons, who all died in the Lancastrian cause. d He founded Eton College in 1440, and King's College, Cambridge, in 1443, beside assisting Chicheley's foundation at Oxford; his queen endowed a second college at Cambridge. In 1453 a subsidy was imposed on aliens, which was made payable yearly during Henry's life. In spite of his deposition, it was collected by Edward IV. till the year 1471. In some of the accounts which are preserved it is stated to have ceased on May 22, 1471, which might be taken to be the date of Henry's death, only that there exists a bill of the lieutenant of the Tower, in which the maintenance of "the lord Henry" and his keepers is charged for up to June, and was paid June 12. ransomed by her father, she closed her chequered life in her native country, dying in poverty at Dampierre, near Saumur, Aug. 25, 1481. Henry's only son, Edward, born October 13, 1453, married Anne, daughter of the earl of Warwick, in 1470, but was killed at Tewkesbury in the next year. The arms of Henry VI. are the same as those of his father, France Arms of Henry VI. and England quarterly. His supporters are usually two antelopes, argent; but sometimes the dexter supporter is a lion; and in other instances a panther rampant, incensed, is the sinister. His badges are, an antelope collared and chained, two feathers in saltire, and sometimes a panther passant gardant, spotted with many colours and incensed; but this latter more properly belongs to the Beauforts. The well-known motto DIEU ET MON DROIT, appears to have been first assumed as such by this king, but it had been in use as a warcry at least as early as the time of Richard I. Henry in character was evidently well meaning, and sincerely pious, but too weak and irresolute to hold sway in the turbulent days in which f He was popularly regarded as a saint, and Henry VII. took some steps to procure his canonization, but is stated by Lord Bacon to have been deterred by the expense. 8 His regnal years are computed from Sept. 1. The reason given is that divers manslaughters, murders, robberies, felonies, riots, and other of fences, have lately been committed by them. No fresh scholars from Ireland are to be received without proper testimonials of their being in the king's obedience. he lived; still he justly claims our pity for his sufferings. His great misfortune was, that by the conduct of his grandfather he was placed in a position the duties of which he was, from ill health as well as other causes, entirely unfit to discharge. A.D. 1422. The duke of Bedford governs in France, and the duke of Gloucester in England, in the name of the infant king, who is placed under the care of the earl of Warwick (Richard Beauchamp). Charles VI. of France dies, Oct. 21. The dauphin is crowned at Poictiers as Charles VII. while Henry VI. is acknowledged as king in Paris. Irish residents at Oxford and Cambridge ordered to leave the realm within a month, except graduates and beneficed men, who can find surety, [1 Hen. VI. c. 3"]. A.D. 1423. A treaty concluded at Amiens, by which the duke of Britanny (John VI.) becomes an ally of the English. The earl of Salisbury (Thomas Montacute) defeats the French and their Scottish allies at Crevant, in Burgundy, July. The French defeat and capture Sir John de la Pole, at Graville, in Maine. carried only to Calais, [2 Hen. VI. Merchandize of the staple to be c. 4]. and prices of victuals, [c. 18]. Justices empowered to regulate wages Persons committed for treason, making their escape, to be considered as convicted, [c. 21]. A.D. 1424. King James of Scotland set at liberty, in April. James of Scotland causes the duke of Albany (the late regent), two of his iHe was the elder brother of Arthur of Britanny, who was captured at Agincourt. He had shortly before married Joan, daughter of John Beaufort, earl of Somerset. He gave hostages for the payment of a heavy ransom, and agreed to a truce of seven years, from which the Scots serving in France were excluded. He was a man of literary ability, and some of his poems are still prized; but his conduct in Scotland was unwise and tyrannical, and he was at last assassinated after a troubled reign of thirteen years, in 1437. sons', and the earl of Lenox, to be executed as traitors, May 24. The duke of Bedford defeats the French and Scots, at Verneuil ", in Perche, August 16. The duke of Gloucester invades Hainault, in October, to recover the inheritance of his pretended wife, Jaqueline of Holland". He is opposed by the duke of Burgundy (her kinsman), and at length obliged to withdraw. The duke of Britanny abandons the party of the English. A.D. 1425. The duke of Gloucester and his uncle Henry Beaufort, bishop of Winchester, contend for the rule in England, but, after a time, are outwardly reconciled by the duke of Bedford. Britanny is invaded by the duke of Bedford, and its duke obliged to rejoin the English. there. His youngest son escaped to Ireland, and died This battle struck such a blow at the fortunes of Charles VII., that the English afterwards contemptuously styled him only "King of Bourges," the name of a distant city to which he retired. The young countess had married her cousin, the duke of Brabant, but Gloucester persuaded her to quit him, and, in spite of the remonstrances of the clergy, wedded her himself, hoping thereby to gain possession of her states. He not only failed in this, but his conduct so offended the duke of Burgundy as to endanger his alliance with England. Jaqueline fell soon after into the hands of the duke of Burgundy, but escaped to Holland, where she died in poverty. Her pretended marriage with Gloucester was set aside by the pope (Martin V.) and the duke then married his mistress, Eleanor Cobham. John Kempe was a poor Kentish scholar, who received his education at Merton College, Oxford, | Durham he was raised, by a papal provision, to the see of Rochester, in 1419; by the same influence he was successively advanced to the sees of Chichester, London, York, and Canterbury, and made a cardinal. In 1426 he became chancellor, and supported Cardinal Beaufort against the Duke of Gloucester. In 1432 he resigned, and was succeeded by John Stafford, bishop of Bath and Wells, who 18 years after was driven from office, when Kempe again received the great seal, and held it till his death, which happened March 22, 1454. He had in earlier days been chancellor of Normandy, as also judge of the Arches court. He displayed statesmanlike firmness and prudence in dealing with Cade and his followers, and also in endeavouring to reconcile the dukes of York and Somerset, whose animosity was kept within bounds during his life, but who no sooner lost his seasonable mediation than they carried their quarrel to a point where the sword alone could decide between them. Cardinal Kempe was liberal in his patronage of learning, founded a collegiate church at Wye, in Kent, his birth-place, and greatly contributed to the establishment of the Public Schools at Oxford. Its founder was Richard Flemmyng, bishop of Lincoln, who had been once a Wickliffite, but had changed his opinions, and beside performing the task imposed on him by the Council of Constance, of burning Wickliffe's bones, erected this college as Arms of Archbishop Kempe. and acquired a profound knowledge of the civil and canon law. From the office of archdeacon of Arms of Lincoln College, Oxford. a nursery for controversialists. The pope wished to promote him to the archiepiscopal see of York, but the king's council opposed it, and he died bishop of Lincoln in 1431. Thomas Rotherham, The earl of Salisbury besieges Orleans. He is wounded there, Oct. 27, and dies Nov. 3. A.D. 1429. The siege of Orleans is continued by the earl of Suffolk (William de la Pole). The French are defeated at Roveroy, near Orleans, Feb. 12'. The siege of Orleans is raised by Joan of Arc. She entered the city April 29, and the English retired May 8. The French begin to act on the offensive. They capture the earl of Suffolk at Jergeaux, June 12; defeat Sir John Talbot at Patay, June 18; a later bishop of Lincoln, (subsequently archbishop of York,) so greatly augmented the revenues of the college that he is regarded as a second founder. The French attempted to cut off a convoy of Lenten provisions sent for the use of the besiegers, whence this action was called the battle of Herrings. She Joan Darc (often called "of Arc") styled La Pucelle, or the Maid of Orleans, was a peasantgirl, born at Domremy, in Lorraine, about 1410. Her mind, naturally contemplative and pious, became disordered by brooding over the sufferings of her country, and she imagined that voices from heaven commissioned her to become its deliverer. In the year 1428, when the English had almost completed the conquest of France, she appeared before Charles VII., who kept his court at Chinon, announced herself as sent by Heaven to establish him on the throne, and though at first repulsed, at length obtained from him a horse, a suit of armour, and a few followers, with whom she proceeded to Orleans, then besieged by the earl of Suffolk, and on the point of surrender. speedily raised the siege, next defeated Talbot at Patay, and finally conducted Charles to Reims, where she placed the crown on his head, July 18. The Maid, considering her mission complete, now wished to retire, but it was considered that she could render further service, and she was, unhappily for herself, persuaded to remain. Anxious to relieve Compiègne, then besieged by the Burgundians, she threw herself into it, 'and kept up the spirits of the garrison by many acts of daring courage, but was at length captured in heading a sortie. The Burgundians surrendered her for a sum of money to the duke of Bedford, who, though in general a wise and merciful prince, seems to have seriously believed that her former successes were owing to witchcraft. By his direction she was, after a long and rigorous imprisonment, brought before an ecclesiastical tribunal, at which the bishop of Beauvais presided, and was condemned to death as a sorceress. In consequence, she was burnt alive at Rouen, May 30, 1431, but this barbarity was far from producing its expected effect; the English cause declined from day to day, while the memory of the Maid was gratefully cherished by her countrymen; her family was ennobled, and her native village freed from taxes; and more modern times have witnessed the celebration of fêtes and the erection of numerous statues, which testify the sense justly entertained of her services to France. John Talbot, a younger son of Sir Gilbert Talbot, a knight on the Welsh border, married an heiress, and in her right became Lord Furnivall. For some reason now unknown he was imprisoned and conduct their king to Reims, where he is crowned July 18. Many of the strong towns expel their English or Burgundian garrisons. The steady decline of the power of the English in France may be dated from this period, although they were not completely driven out (except from Calais) till twenty years later. The impulse was no doubt given by Joan, but a countryman of hers, named Master Jean, rendered still better service to France by an improvement in artillery. He found that a small iron ball would do more damage than the cumbrous stone shot hitherto employed, and so he constructed guns John Talbot, earl of Shrewsbury. though frequently serving in France, where he was one of the firmest supports of the English rule. He was, however, defeated and taken prisoner at Patay, and though soon exchanged for a distinguished French captain, and employed for several years longer in the country, he was obliged to retire when Normandy was overrun by the troops of Charles VII. Talbot was, however, more successful in Ireland, where he captured several potent chieftains, and he received abundant honour and rewards. He was created earl of Shrewsbury in 1442, and earl of Waterford in 1447; his eldest son was appointed chancellor, and himself hereditary lord steward, of Ireland. When the Gascons appealed for aid against the French, the fame of Talbot pointed him out as the proper leader of reinforcements, and he accordingly sailed on the expedition, but after some slight successes he was defeated and killed at Castillon, in his 81st year, his young son John Lord Lisle, falling with him. Their bodies were brought to England, and buried with great pomp at Whitchurch, in Shropshire. He was succeeded by his eldest son, also named John, who was made treasurer of England, received large grants of the forfeited estates of the duke of York, and was killed on the Lancastrian side at the battle of Northampton, in 1460. that were at once light enough to be easily moved from place to place, and yet far more destructive than the enormous bombards" with which Henry V. had subdued so many strong towns. The effect was ascribed to magic; and the courage of the bravest failed to support them in what they considered a conflict with the powers of darkness. Hence, though there were occasional gleams of success, the English lost heart, and the Hundred Years' War came to its proper end by their expulsion. The duke of Bedford raises fresh forces, and endeavours to bring the French to an engagement, without *See A.D. 1415 Even the regent Bedford, writing to the council, styles Joan "a disciple and limb of the Fiend, called the Pucelle." He had been captured at Agincourt, and did not obtain his liberty until 1440. He was mortally wounded shortly after at Gerberoi and taken prisoner. He died a captive at Beauvais, June 12, 1435, and was buried there, bat his body was afterwards brought to England by his squire, Roger Eyton, and buried in the Collegiate church of Arundel. They offered to cede Normandy and Guienne to be held by the ordinary homage, on condition of Henry resigning all claim to the crown and surrendering Calais and all other places that he then possessed in France. The duke of Burgundy (her brother) takes offence at a marriage soon after contracted by the duke of Bedford, and inclines to the French party. A.D. 1433. Various conferences for peace are held, under the mediation of the pope, (Eugenius IV.,) and through the means of the duke of Orleans", but without effect. A.D. 1434. A rising against the English in Normandy is suppressed by the earl of Arundel (John Fitzalan *). A.D. 1435. A congress held at Arras to treat of peace, Aug. 20. The English envoys, offended at the offers of the French, withdraw Sept. 6; the duke of Burgundy formally abandons the English alliance, Sept. 21. The duke of Bedford dies at Rouen, Sept. 14. He is succeeded by the duke of York". James of Scotland resumes estates granted, particularly those of the earls of March and of Strathearn, which occasions much discontent among his nobles, and they begin to conspire against him. A.D. 1436. The bishop of Winchester and the duke of Gloucester thwart each other's designs, and thus hinder reinforcements being sent to France. Paris is retaken by the French, April 13. The duke of Burgundy besieges Calais, June. He is forced to retire by the duke of Gloucester, Aug. 2. The duke of York and Talbot are successful in Normandy, and ravage the country as far as Paris. Richard Plantagenet, the son of the earl of Cambridge executed in 1415, and founder of the House of York. The earl of March (George Dunbar) had been engaged in intrigues with the English during the king's captivity, but had been pardoned by the regent, Albany; the king now seized his earldom, on the plea that the regent had no power to pardon treason. The earl of Strathearn (Malise Graham) was great-grandson of Robert II., by whom the fief had been limited to males; the earl's mother, however, had been allowed to hold it, and to convey it to her husband, who possessed it for many years unquestioned, and transmitted it to his son: Malise had been one of the king's hostages in England, and his treatment was highly resented by his fellow nobles. |