صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

WARD I.

bull to purchase estates, and live upon their revenues like EDother orders. When the pope asked them whether their K. of Eng. money was ready, they told him it was, and that they had lodged it in the bankers' hands. Upon this, he ordered them to retire, and come again for his answer within three days. In the meantime he sends for the bankers, absolves them from their obligation to restore the monks their money, and charges them, under pain of excommunication, to keep it for the use of the Roman see. When the Minorites A. D. 1299. came, at the day appointed, in expectation of their diploma, the pope told them, that, upon consideration, he found it no ways advisable to dispense with St. Francis's rule; and therefore they must of necessity continue under their first engagements, to live without property: and thus, as Westminster concludes, they were handsomely robbed of what they had unfairly raked together. It was thought, the West. ad avarice of these Minorites, and the ascendant they had over An. 1299. the pockets of the people, occasioned the passing the late Britan. act of mortmain.

Antiq.

in Winchelsey.

The next year, or thereabouts, the archbishop of Canter- CENT. XIV. bury held a provincial synod at Merton. The constitutions regulate the payment of tithes, and recite the cases in which they are payable. There is likewise a list of the books and ornaments to be provided in parish churches. But these being much the same as with have been mentioned already, I shall pass them over.

Spelm. . Concil. vol.

his homage.

I have already given a brief account of the sovereignty of 2. p. 431. the English crown over the kingdom of Scotland, and of the homage performed by Balliol, pursuant to former precedents. But such service having been discontinued for several King Balliol reigns, this prince grew uneasy at the revival; which dis- renounces gust was farther increased by his being cited to king Edward's parliament, at the appeal of the earl of Fife and here, king Edward not allowing a defence by proxy, but obliging him to stand at the bar, and submit to the forms of a common subject; this treatment, I say, enraged him to that degree, that he immediately took leave of the English court, and upon his return into Scotland, he entered into an alliance with the king of France, defied king Edward, and renounced his homage. And, to carry on the quarrel, the Conventio

nes, Literæ,

&c. tom. 2. p. 606. 695. 707. Daniel. Hist. p. 162.

WIN

CHEL-
SEY,

Scots invaded England, and committed depredations as far as Hexham. But not long after, the English made reprisals Abp. Cant. upon them, beat them in a set battle at Dunbar, made themBut after selves masters of the castles of Roxburgh, Edinburgh, and renders him- Stirling; and, in short, overran the country to such a de

wards sur

self.

Westmonast. ad An. 1296.

67.

gree, that king John Balliol, being unprovided with an army, and without any prospect of recovering, surrendered himself to the king of England; upon which, he was brought to London, and imprisoned in the Tower.

After king Edward had marched his army through Scotland, possessed himself of the places of strength, and met no enemy to oppose him, he returned into England, and held a parliament at St. Edmundsbury, where the clergy refused to assist him with a subsidy; for which non-compliance, he ordered their barn doors to be locked, as has been already observed.

King Edward was absent in Flanders, in order to assist ham, Hist. Guy, earl of that country, and conclude a treaty with Angl. p. 66, the king of France. While the king was absent upon these affairs, the Scotch seized the opportunity, and made an effort to retrieve their liberty under the conduct of William Wallace, who, by his resolution and bravery, rose from the rank of a private gentleman, to the command of the army. Under this general, the Scots defeated the English headed by sir Hugh Cressingham, recovered a great many castles, and regained the town of Berwick. But this success was terribly checked at the battle of Falkirk, where king Edward commanded in person: here the Scots were entirely routed, and forty thousand of their foot cut in pieces.

Walsingham, Hist. Ang. p. 76.

Daniel.

After this victory, the Scots seemed to despair of being able to maintain the contest any longer: insomuch that, when a parliament was called at St. Andrew's, all the great men of that kingdom (excepting Wallace) repeated their oaths of homage to the king of England.

Hist. p. 167. And here king Edward is blamed by the Scotch histoKing Edward's ri- rians, for making a tyrannical use of his success: the transgorous use planting the nobility, and disabling all those who seemed tory against capable of making resistance, did not content him: he was

of his vic

the Scots.

not satisfied with conquering the men, and possessing the country, without altering the face of the constitution, and extinguishing the memory of what was honourable to the

EDWARD I.

496.

nation. He set aside their ancient laws, and brought their Church to the model of the English: and, in short, endea- K. of Eng. voured to give everything a new form, and re-coin the government, both in Church and state: and, which was still more singularly rigorous, they complain, that he deprived them of their histories and papers of state, and carried their records into England, together with the famous marble chair, which he brought to Westminster: so that, in a word, he made it his business to keep them low in their understandings, as well as in their fortunes; that by this means, their posterity having no idea of the figure and importance Ch. Hist. I. Spotswood, of their nation, might submit to servitude with less reluctance. 2. p. 50. To proceed; the Scots had still some hope of shaking off The pope claims a ju their chains, and rallying their fortune: to enable them to ful- risdiction fil this purpose, they applied to the protection of pope Boni- realm of face VIII., who, espousing their interest, sent a monitory bull Scotland. to king Edward, to desist from any farther attempt against the Scots. And here, the pope pretended a title to reinforce his injunctions, alleging, that the sovereignty of Scotland belonged to the Roman see. He likewise wrote to the arch- Conventiobishop of Canterbury, to use his interest with the king for &c. tom. 2. the enlarging the bishops of Glasgow, and the Isles, and p. 844. submitting the controversy between him, and the Scots, to the decision of the court of Rome.

over the

Spotswood, The king and the English nobility were much surprised ibid. at the pope's claim, and resolved not to be overruled by him: however, to justify the king's proceedings, and prevent any such encroachments for the future, the barons, then assembled in parliament at Lincoln, wrote a letter to the pope upon this subject, which being a remarkable record, I shall translate it for the reader.

"To our most holy Father in Christ, lord Boniface, by The barons divine Providence, chief bishop of the Roman Church, address the his obedient sons send greeting.

pope, and disclaim his jurisdiction

"We firmly believe, that our holy mother the Church of in tempoRome, by whose administration the catholick faith is rals. guarded and maintained, proceeds upon mature deliberation in her resolutions; takes care not to prejudice any person, and is no less solicitous for the preserving the rights of other people, than her own.

[ocr errors][merged small]

WINCHELSEY, Abp. Cant.

lord the king ordered your holiness's letter relating to the kingdom of Scotland to be read to us: which, when we had thoroughly weighed and examined, we were extremely shocked at the contents, being altogether new and unprecedented.

"It is well known, holy Father, both in England and elsewhere, that, from the Britons and Saxons down to the present times, the kings of England have had direct dominion over the kingdom of Scotland, and been possessed of that sovereignty through all the successive periods above mentioned. Neither has that kingdom of Scotland, as to temporals, ever belonged to the Church of Rome; but has all along been reckoned a fee of the English crown. Neither have the kings and realm of Scotland been subject to any other persons or state, excepting the kings of England. And, farther, the pre-eminence, independency, and dignity of the English crown is such, that it has never been customary for the kings of England to appear before any foreign court, or defend their claim, either with reference to the kingdom of Scotland, or any other territories or temporal jurisdictions belonging to them, before any ecclesiastical or secular judge; neither were they, in justice, ever bound to submit to any such decision.

"Having, therefore, thoroughly weighed the purport and contents of your holiness's letter, we came to this unanimous resolution, which, by God's assistance, we intend never to depart from.

"That our sovereign lord the king is by no means obliged to own the jurisdiction of your court, or submit to your holiness's sentence with respect to his sovereignty over the A. D. 1301. kingdom of Scotland, or indeed in any other temporal matter whatsoever. Neither is he to suffer his rights, above mentioned, to be called in question.

"Neither is your holiness to expect any embassy from the king upon this subject, because any of these applications would tend to the manifest disherison of the royal dignity and crown of England, be plainly subversive of the government, of the liberties, customs, and ancient laws of the country; for the maintenance of which we are all bound by oath, and, by the grace of God, are resolved to defend them, to the utmost of our power.

EDWARD I.

"And as what is contrary to our duty, is out of our liberty to grant, we neither do, nor will allow any such undue, K. of Eng. uncustomary usage: neither shall we concur with the king, in case his highness should comply with it.

"Therefore we humbly entreat your holiness not to give our sovereign lord the king any disturbance in his rights, liberties, and customs; but to leave him in the possession of his royalty and jurisdiction, without any diminution or molestation whatsoever."

Conven

teræ, &c.

Records, num. 44.

his sove

Scotland in

the pope.

497.

This remonstrance is subscribed and sealed by almost a tiones, Lihundred earls and barons: and, which is more, they had an tom. 2. p. authority, as the instrument declares, to represent the whole $73. See community of the kingdom. About three months after, the king wrote to the pope The king upon the same subject. In this letter, he sets forth his maintains claim to the sovereignty of Scotland; and proves his title reignty over from many precedents and records, both before and after a letter to the Norman Conquest; most of which have been already mentioned in the course of this history. At last, the king complains that after these customary and solemn submissions, the Scots were so hardy as to renounce their homage, and to invade his counties of Cumberland, Northumberland, and Westmorland; where, besides the injustice of attacking their sovereign, they managed the war with all the barbarity imaginable wasting the country with fire and sword, burning churches and monasteries, stabbing children in the cradle, cutting off women's breasts, and murdering them in childbirth, and setting fire to about two hundred young clerks in a house of education. Upon these provocations, the king justifies his expeditions against the Scots, his seizing that kingdom, and disposing of the government as he thought fit: and, in the conclusion, desires the pope to have a good opinion of the justice of his proceedings, and not give credit to any misinformations against him.

Conventio

&c. tom. 2.

deinc.

About this time, the see of St Andrew's being void by the nes, Literæ, death of Fraser, William Lamberton, chancellor of the p. 863. et church of Glasgow, was promoted to that bishoprick. This Lamberton, after the bishop of Glasgow was sent prisoner to London, made his submission to king Edward, and swore allegiance to him. By this compliance, he made his way to the episcopal chair: however, the Culdees, who pretended

Id. p. 918. overborne by

The Culdees

the pope.

« السابقةمتابعة »