Help us create a biggest collection of medieval chronicles and manuscripts on line.
#   A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z 
Medieval chronicles, historical sources, history of middle ages, texts and studies

FRANCIS LANCELOTT, ESQ. Queens of England. Vol.1.

DOWNLOAD THE ONLY FULL EDITIONS of

Sir John Froissart's Chronicles of England, France, Spain and the Ajoining Countries from the latter part of the reign of Edward II to the coronation of Henry IV in 12 volumes 

Chronicles of Enguerrand De Monstrelet (Sir John Froissart's Chronicles continuation) in 13 volumes 

 
 
 
  Previousall pages

Next  

FRANCIS LANCELOTT, ESQ.
Queens of England. Vol.1.
page 205



lation was made, Isabella's children, Prince John and the two Princesses, were brought to her, and as she had not seen them for a long time, the meeting was a joyous one. The elder Spencer, the Earl of Arundel, and several of the less important personages, were made prisoners; Old Hugh, then in his ninetieth year, was speedily brought to trial before the Queen's partùans, condemned as a traitor, and within sight of his friend, the King, who still retained Bristol Castle, embowelled alive, and his body afterwards exposed to public gaze for four days on a lofty gibbet, and then cut into pieces and thrown to the dogs. Intimidated by this execution, the King, accompanied by the young Spencer and Baldock, put to sea. Immediately this became known, a proclamation was made through the town, summoning Edward to return ; but as he did not do so, the prelates and barons in the Queen's interest assumed the powers of parliament, and resolved that the King, having left his kingdom without government, and gone away with notorious enemies of the Queen, Prince, and the realm, they, by the assent of the whole commonalty of the realm there being, unanimously elected Prince Edward guardian of the kingdom, in the name and by the right of his father. On quitting Bristol, Edward sailed for the Isle of Lundy ; but his evil stars attended him by sea as well as by land. A strong westerly wind forced him to land at Swansea, whence he retired to Neath, and sought refuge in the neighbourhood of the monastery. At length, Henry of Leicester, who now assumed the title of Lancaster, entered Wales, bribed the natives, and on the nineteenth of November, seized Spencer, Baldock, and Simon de Beading. The King, on learning the fate of his friends, immediately came forward and surrendered to his cousin, who sent him to Lidbury, and afterwards to the strong Castle of Kcnilworth. The other prisoners were brought to the Queen, then at Glou cester. From Gloucester the Queen and her army proceeded to Hereford, where the same judges, who had just previously wreaked their cruel vengeance on his ageel and less guilty father, condemned the young Spencer, as a robber, traitor, and outlaw, to be drawn, hanged, embowelled, and quartered. Crowned with nettles and exposed to every insult, he was hanged on a gallows fifty feet high, whilst ten feet lower suffered his faithful servant, Simon de Beading, his death being accompanied by circumstances too horrible to be detailed. According to some authorities, the Queen was present at his execution, and ordered that he should be exposed to the rude insults and scoffs of the populace. Befîides these, the Earl of Arundel, who was mortally hated by Mortimer, and two gentlemen named Micheldene and Daniel, were beheaded just previously, their greatest crime being an unshaken attachment to their King. Baldock, hated as he was both by the Queen and the populace, was protected from the hands of the common executioner by the holy garb of priesthood. But Isabella, well knowing the power and temper of the London révoltera, had him sent to the London palace of his deadly foe, the crafty Bishop of Hereford, who so contrived that he was attacked with such brutality by the London mob, that shortly afterwards he died of his wounds, or, what is equally probable, of poison, in Newgate. Having by these illegal and cruel executions given abundant intimation of the fate that would await those who should dare to oppose her measures, Isabella, with Mortimer and her son, set out from Hereford to meet the parliament at Westminster. On their route they were joined by countless throngs, and as they approached the metropolis, they were met by crowds of the citizens, who, with joyful exclamations, hailed Isabella as their deliverer, and presented costly gifts to her and several of her followers. The parliament met on the seventh of January, 1327. That crafty politician, the Bishop of Hereford, opened the session by a long speech, in which he solemnly declared that the Queen could not again live with Edward without endangering her life. The


  Previous First Next  
 
 
 
 

"Medievalist" is an educational project designed as a digital collection of chronicles, documents and studies related to the middle age history. All materials from this site are permitted for non commersial use unless otherwise indicated. If you reduplicate documents from here you have to indicate "Medievalist" as a source and place link to us.