 Section 49 of England. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Patrick Seaman. The World's Story, Volume 9, England. Edited by Ava Marsh-Tappan. Section 49. The Hunting of the Cheviot. 1388. In the times of disagreement between England and Scotland, there were continual border forays about which stirring ballads were afterwards written. The best of these is Chevy Chase, or The Hunting of the Cheviot, which Sir Philip Sidney said moved his heart more than the sound of a trumpet. This contest was fought between the Douglas family who'd welcomed the Scottish side and the Percy's, whose home was on the English. One family would start out with all the retainers for days hunting on the other side of the border. Then, if they met the other family, a thing that both parties hoped would come to pass. There was a fight. The ballad is a spirited account of this foray in fight. The editor. The Percy, out of Northumberland, and a vow to God may he, that he would hunt in the mountains of Chevyot, within days three. Then the maugher of Doughty Douglas, and all that ever with him be, the fattest hearts in all Chevyot, he said he would kill and carry them away. By my face at the Doughty Douglas again, I will let that hunting if I may. Then the Percy of Bamboro came, with him a mighty meanie. With fifteen hundred archers bold, of blood and bone, they were chosen out of Shire's three. This began on a Monday at Morn, in Chevyot the hill so high. The child may ruin that is unborn, it was more the pity. The drivers through the woods went, put a raise at the deer. Bowman bickered upon the bent, with their broad arrows clear. Then the wild throw the woods went, on every side, sheer. Greyhounds through row, the greaves glint, for to kill their deer. They began in Chevyot the hills above, early on Monday. By that it drew to the hour of noon, a hundred fat hearts dead of their lay. They blew a mort upon the bent. They assembled on side, sheer. To the quarry then the Percy went, to the brittling of the deer. He said it was the Douglas's promise this day to meet me here, but I wished he would fail betterment. A great oath the Percy swear. At the last asquire of Northumberland, looked at his hand full nigh, he was aware of the dowdy Douglas coming, with him a mighty meanie. Both was Spear, Bill and Brand, who was a mighty sight to see. Hardier men, both apart no hand, were not in Christianity. There were twenty-hundred Spearmen good, without him any fail. They were born along by the water of Tweed, in the bounds of Tivydale. Leave off the brittling the deer, he said, to your bow's look he take good heed, for never since you were on your mother's borne, had he never soon nickel need. The dowdy Douglas on a steed he rode at his men for porn. His armour glinted as a cleed. A bolder bairn was never born. Tell me who ye are, he says, or whose men that ye be, who gave you leave down to the cheviot chase, in the spite of me. The first man that ever him an answer made, it was the good Lord Percy. He would not tell thee whose men we are, he says, nor whose men that we be, but we will hunt here in this chase, in the spite of thine and of thee. The fattest hearts in all cheviot, we have killed and cast to carry them away, by my tross of the dowdy Douglas again, therefore the one of us shall die this day. Then said the dowdy Douglas unto the Lord Percy, to kill all these guiltless men alas, it were great pity. But Percy thou art a lord of land, I am an earl called within my country. The taller men upon a party stand, and do the battle of thee end of me. Now a curse on his crown said the Lord Percy, whoever thereto says nay, by my tross dowdy Douglas he says, thou shalt never see that day. Neither in England, Scotland nor France, nor for no man of a woman born, but in fortune be my chance. I dare meet him, one man for one. Then bespake of Squire of Northumberland, Richard Witherinton was his name. It shall never be told in South England, he says, to King Henry IV for shame. I what ye bin great lord is to, I am a squire of land. I will never see my captain fight on a field, and stand myself and look on. While I may, my weapon wield, I will not fail both heart and hand. That day, that day, that dreadful day, the first fit here I find, and ye will hear any more o' the hunting, o' the cheviot, yet is there more behind. The Englishmen had their bows event, their hearts would good, and now, the first of arrows that they shot off, seven score spearmen they slew. Yet bides the Earl Douglas upon the bent, a captain good and now, and that the scene thereament, for he rocked them both wool and woe. The Douglas parted his host in three, like a chief chieftain of pride, with sure spears of mighty tree, they came in on every side. Through our English archery gave many a wound for wide, many a dowdy they guard to die, which gain them no pride. The Englishmen let their bows be, and pulled out brands that were bright, it was a heavy sight to see, bright swords on bass that's light. Through rich mail and menopole, many stern they stroked down straight, many a freak that was for free, their underfoot did light. At last the Douglas and the Percy met, bounty captains of might and of maim. They swapped together till they both swept, the swords that have fined the land. These worthy freaks for to fight, their two they were full feign, till the blood out of their bastards sprint, as ever did hail or rain. Hold thee, Percy, said the Douglas, and I faith thou she thee bring, where thou shalt have an earl's wages of Jamie, our Scottish King. Thou shalt have thy ransom free, I height near here this thing, for the manfulest man yet art thou, that ever I conquered in field fighting. Nay, said the Lord Percy, I told of thee before, that I would never yielded thee to no man of a woman born. With that there came an arrow, hastily forth of a mighty wane, and has stricken the earl Douglas, in at the Breast Bay. For a liver and lung's base, the sharp arrow is gone, that never after, in all his live days, spake no words but one. That was, fight ye, my merry men, for ye may, for my life days be gone. The Percy leaned on his brand, and saw the Douglas die. He took the dead man by the hand, and said, woe is me for thee. To have saved thy life, I have parted with my lands for years three. For a better man, apart nor of hand, was not in all the North Country. Of all that saw, Scottish Knight was called Sir Hugh Montgomery. He saw the Douglas till the death was died. He spended a spear, a trusty tree. He rode upon a coarser, thorough a hundred archery. He never stinted, nor never blane, till he came to the good Lord Percy. He said upon the Lord Percy, a dint that was for sore, with a sure spear of a mighty tree, clean through the body he the Percy bore. And to other side, that a man might see, a large clothyard and mare. Two better captains were not in Christianity, then that day Slane were there. An archer of Northumberland saw Slane was the Lord Percy. A bearer bent bow in his hand, was made of trusty tree. An arrow that a clothyard was long, to the hard steel held he. A dint that was both sad and sore, he set on Sir Hugh Montgomery. The dint it was both sad and sore, yet he on Montgomery set. The swan feathers that his arrow bore, with his heart blood they were wet. There was never a freak when foot would flee, but still in our store did stand, hewing on each other, while they might dreay with many a baleful brand. This battle began in Sheviot, an hour before the noon. And when even song bell was rung, the battle was not hath done. They took on either hand by the light of the moon. Many had no strength for to stand in Sheviot, the heels of the moon. Of fifteen hundred archers of England went away but fifty and three. Of twenty hundred spearmen of Scotland, but even five and fifty. But all were slain Sheviot, and within they had no strength to stand on high. The child may rue that is unborn, it was the Moor, pitié. There was slain with the Lord Percy, Sir John of Argerstone, Sir Roger behind Hartley, Sir William the Bold Heron, Sir George the Worthy Lovell, A knight of greater noun, Sir Ralph the Rich Rugby, with dince were beaten down, For witherington my heart was woe, that ever he slain should be, For when both his legs were hewn in two, yet he kneeled and fought on his knee. There was slain with the Doughty Douglas, Sir Hugh Montgomery, Sir Davy Ladal, That worthy was his sister's son as he. Sir Charles or Murray in that place, that never a foot would flee, Sir Hugh Maxwell, a lord he was, What the Doughtless did he dee. So on the morrow they made them beards of birch and hazel so gray. Many widows with weeping tears came to fetch their mates away. Tivydale, they cop of care, Northumberland, they make great moan. For two such captains as slain were there, On the March party shall never be none. Word has come to Edinburgh, to Jamie the Scottish King, The Doughty Douglas, Lieutenant of the Marshes, He had they slain cheviot within. He hadens did he wheel and ring, he said, Alas in woe is me. Such and another captain Scotland within, he said, In faith should never be. Word has come to lovely London, to the fourth Harry our King, That Lord Percy, Lieutenant of the Marshes, He lay slain cheviot within. God have mercy on his soul, said King Harry. Good Lord, if thy will it be, I have a hundred captains in England, he said, As good as ever was he. But Percy, as I brook my life, Thy death will quit shall be. As our noble King made his avow, Like a noble prince of her noun, For the death of the Lord Percy he did the battle of Hamiltonon. For six and thirty Scottish knights On a day were beaten down, Blendale glittered on their armour bright Over castle, tower and town. This was the hunting of the cheviot That tear began this spurn. Old men that know the ground wheel and know, Call it the battle of Otterburn. At Otterburn began this spurn Upon a morning day, There was the dowdy Douglas slain, The Percy never went away. There was never a time on the march parties, Since the Douglas and the Percy met. But it was marvel when the red blood ran not, As the rain does in the street. And now may heaven amend us all Into the bliss of spring. Thus was the hunting of the cheviot, God send us all good ending. End of Section 49. This recording is in the public domain. Section 50 of England. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The World's Story Volume 9, England. Edited by Eva March-Tappin. Section 50. The Mystery Plays by Eva March-Tappin. Long before the Middle Ages, the priests in various countries often acted stories from the Bible, such as the birth of Christ in order to impress them upon the minds of the people. These were acted in the church, then on platforms in the churchyard. But so many came to see them that the graves were trampled upon, and it was decreed that they should be acted on other ground. These plays did not always follow the Bible narrative strictly, but added old legends or any incidents that it was thought would interest the people. For instance, in one of the plays of The Garden of Eden, when Adam took the apple, he apparently tried to swallow it whole, for the play says that it stuck in his throat causing the Adam's apple. In the play of The Slaughter of the Innocence, an old tradition is brought in that by mistake Herod's own baby son was slain. In the play of The Shepherds, the honest men talk together about how to care for their sheep. They sit down and eat their supper, bread, butter, pudding, onions, garlic, and likes, green cheese, and a sheep's head sourced in oil. A noble supper, as one of them calls it. After supper, masters and boys are wrestling together when a bright star blazes out. They kneel down and pray to God to tell them why it was sent. Then the angel Gabriel appears to them and sings, Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men. This is sung in Latin, of course, as it would not have seemed to a writer in the Middle Ages at all respectful to represent an angel as singing in English. The shepherds have rather a hard time with the Latin, but they make out some of the words. They talk about the singing. One of them says of the angel, He had a much better voice than I have. Then they sing together a merry song. The angel appears again and tells them that Christ is born in Bethlehem. After they have gone to find him, the three shepherd boys set out to follow their masters. They wished that they had something to carry to the child, but they have only the few things that they use themselves. One therefore gives the child his water bottle, which he says is good, only it needs a stopper. The second takes off his own hood for a gift, and the third presents him with a nut hook to pull down apples, pears and plums. In almost all of these plays, there was considerable fun making and horse play. Just as the good folks of the Middle Ages saw no harm in making a pilgrimage, a merry and entertaining little journey, so in the mystery plays they demanded to be amused as well as instructed. In the play of the flood, Noah's wife is indignant that her husband has worked on the ark so many years without telling her. She declares that she will not enter it, and she finally has to be dragged in by Noah and his sons. Herod struts about the stage. He boasts how mighty a king he is and how easily he can destroy the child who has been born in Bethlehem. Then there must have been loud guffaws of laughter in the audience when the devil rushed in and carried him off. Satan was the clown, the fund-maker, and whenever he appeared people watched eagerly to see him fooled and cheated by some good spirit. He always wore a dress of leather ending in claws at the fingers and toes. The souls of the good were dazzling in their white coats while the wicked were robed in black and yellow with sometimes a touch of crimson. When Satan and his evil spirits made their appearance they came by way of hell-mouth. This was a great pair of gaping jewels made of painted linen and worked by two men. A fire was lighted to look as if hell-mouth were full of flame. Some of the items in the old expense accounts are amusing reading. One item was for the mending of hell-mouth for keeping up the fire at hell-mouth sound rather alarming. One item was for a barrel to make an earthquake. Another was for a beard for St. Peter and yet another for a quart of wine to pay for hiring a gown for the wife of Herod. Long before the plays became so elaborate as to demand so many properties into the hands of the craft guilds. In the early part of the 13th century most of the guilds fixed upon Corpus Christi Day for their chief celebration. They marched in procession carrying sacred pictures and images of the saints. Often members of the guild took the parts of Bible characters and at length the whole Bible stories were acted. These were played in pageants numbering wagons two or three stories high. The lower part was covered with a curtain and here the actors dressed. The second floor was the stage upon which the acting took place. The third floor, if there was one, represented heaven. An attempt was made to have each seen as realistic as possible. For instance, the stage directions for the play of the creation ordered that as many animals as could be obtained should be suddenly let loose. Each guild has its own special play. One would play the three kings, another the crucifixion, another the murder of Abel and so on. In England they were so arranged that the main stories of the Bible were played in the biblical order beginning with the creation and ending with the last judgment. Early in the morning the ponderous pageants were dragged out to the different streets of the town. Sometimes men of means paid a good price to have them stop in front of their houses. As soon as a play had been acted each one moved on and acted the same play in another place. This was usually continued through three days and a person who remained in one place could see the whole cycle of plays. While if he cared to see any one of them repeated he had only to follow the pageant to the next street. The plays were entertaining and that was reason enough for bringing together a good audience. Moreover, to attend them was thought to be particularly good for one's soul and to do something religious and be entertained while doing it was regarded by the good folk of the Middle Ages as a most excellent arrangement. As for the guilds at first they looked upon presenting these plays as an honour and also a religious privilege. They chose the actors from their members and paid them in proportion to the length of their speeches and the amount of stage business for which they were responsible. In the play of Saint Peter in Coventry the man who did the crowing was paid four pence but when he also attended to the hanging of Judas more. The guild had to pay these charges buy costumes and keep them in order and provide good provisions for the actors at rehearsals. It is true that collections were taken up in the street to help pay expenses but the burden was still a heavy one. Then too trades changed with the changing fashions. Sometimes one trade was divided into two. In 1492 the Smiths and the Bladesmiths in a town separated. This resulted in two weak guilds instead of one strong one and the whole expense of a pageant was a serious tax on each. As time passed the guilds made strenuous objections to keeping up the plays but now the law stepped in and in many towns they were required to produce their pageants or else pay a large fine. In London a number of guilds still exist but the procession which takes place whenever a Lord Mayor is to be inducted into office is the last reminder of the old trade pageants. End of section 50 this recording is in the public domain. Recording by Alan Mappstone in Oxford England. Section 51 of England this is a Libbeth Oxford recording. All Libbeth Oxford recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit Libbethox.org The World Story Volume 9 England edited by Eva March Tappan Section 51 Country life in the days of the Plantagenets by Eva March Tappan During the greater part of the Middle Ages most of the land was held by feudal tenure that is on condition of service. Everybody needed service of some sort. A king might own vast areas of land but unless the nobles would fight for him he could not keep it from his enemies. The nobles had hold wider states but they were worthless unless men could be found to cultivate them. As for the common people their first and foremost need was protection so it was that the feudal system grew up. The king would agree to grant land to a noble provided the noble would become his vassal. To do this the noble was obliged to go to the king's court and kneel before him. He bowed the clasped hands of the noble in his own and asked do you wish to become my man? The noble replied I do. The king then kissed him in token of confidence and acceptance and the noble took a solemn oath on the gospels or relics of the saints to be faithful. This ceremony was called doing homage. It bound the king to aid and protect the noble and not interfere with his control and in his hands. It bound the noble to be faithful to the king and to fight for him when fighting was necessary and to provide at his own expense a fixed number of followers. For the king to demand money and for the noble to pay it would have seemed to both of them somewhat humiliating but to follow his king in battle and to be loyal to him was quite in accordance with the taste and training of the noble military force increased. The king did not venture to suggest paying wages to knights to fight for him. Instead of that money fiefs were invented that is a fixed sum was paid to vassals yearly on condition of their performing military service. This was practically the same thing as hiring soldiers but calling the arrangement a fief the name given to a grant of land saved the pride of the knights of the king his soldiers. The military service required of a vassal was generally limited to 40 days in a year. If more was needed the king must pay all expenses. If the military service was to be rented in a foreign country the noble was free to come home at the end of 40 days. He must also help the king by his advice and must submit in any lawsuit of his own to the decision of the king and his fellow vassals The entertainment for the king went on a journey. On free occasions he was expected to assist the king with money but this was never called payment or rent for land. It was always spoken of as aid. These occasions were 1. When the king's eldest son was made a knight 2. When the king's eldest daughter was married 3. When the king had been taken prisoner by some foreign power it was necessary to ransom him. In fury the king had a right to take back the grant of land but unless a vassal was unfaithful it was sold into his advantage to do so. If one vassal was wronged by another he might appeal to their king but it was in most cases a long way to the royal court it was dangerous to leave one's castle exposed to an enemy and it was more simple and direct for the two nobles to fight it out. If a vassal died it was generally for the gain of both parties that his eldest son should take the father's place as vassal. The lord imposed a tax however, called Harriet usually the best beast of the dead man. The son too was required to pay a tax or relief and taking possession of the land in his father's stead. The accepted belief was that every fear should supply the king the service of a man. If the vassal's son was a child at his father's death the king brought him up but to make good the loss of a fighting man he kept the income of the fief until the boy was old enough to perform a night service. If the vassal left only a widow or a daughter she must pay a fine to the king if she did not wish to marry. If she was willing to marry the king had the right to select her husband. She would have entered from choosing a man who might perhaps be an enemy to the king. This was the feudal system or rather it was the beginning of it. It is quite probable that in many countries at some time in their history land has been held by this method. Of course it was not decided upon and the land divided in a moment in any country. But the custom grew up gradually. The system was in reality a perfect network of lords and vassals not only were the nobles vassals of the king but they themselves had vassals and those vassals had others who paid homage to them. Indeed a man might do homage to a number of men for separate pieces of land. In that case however he owed military service to but one of them and this one was known as his lead to lord. The vassal was not looked upon as in any degree inferior to the lords. A king might rule one country and yet pay homage to the ruler of another for his fief in that land. When William the Norman conquered England he took possession of the country much as if it had been his own big farm. He allowed those who yielded to him to retain their land on payment of large fees. The rest of it he divided among his followers as fiefs. But William was Duke of Normandy and therefore he himself paid homage to the French king for his Norman land. This descended from one English ruler to another. But when John came to the throne the French king Philip II declared that he was a disobedient and unfaithful vassal and took it away by capturing the Chateau Gallard and his other strongholds. There were several ways in which smaller amounts of land came into the hands of the nobles. The church held large areas but the clergy were forbidden to wield the sword. Therefore parts of their holdings were sometimes in the night and condition of the air providing the required number of soldiers. Again this was a time of fighting and bloodshed of danger and violence and many a man who owned a bit of freehold could not protect it. In that case he would often commend himself to some powerful man. That is he would promise to be faithful to him and be his loyal vassal. He now had a strong arm to defend him and he was sure of food for the nobles. The result of all this was that by the 30th century it might almost be said no land without a lord but manners were of small value unless they were cultivated. In these days if a man owns a large farm he hires labourers to work on it but in the middle ages the cultivation of the land was managed in quite a different fashion. Nothing has been said as yet of the common folk the many thousand people who were neither clergy nor nobles they were the ones who did the work of the manors they were of various ranks a few were slaves and were looked upon as having no more rights than a horse or a cow above these were the villains they could not be sold like slaves if a man had passed from one lord to another they went with it. Each fillian had a definite amount of land was required to pay for which use partly in money or in produce and partly in labour the villains were divided into several classes each having some special rights or some exemption from undesirable duties which was of great value to them above these were the free tenants they paid for the use of their land sometimes in service and sometimes entirely in money the buildings on a manor were the manor house in which either the lord or his agent lived the tiny cottages of the tenants a church a windmill and the various barns and other outbuildings needed the manor house was a little apart from the others it was usually of stone but its character depended in great degree upon the location in England for instance the important houses near the Scottish border were built strong enough to serve as forts and indeed most of the larger houses in the more level parts of the country were surrounded by moats and had various means of defence in the simpler houses there was a hall and adjoining it a kitchen on the other side of the hall and up a flight of stairs was the solar this was the bedroom and parlour of the lord and his wife the rest of the household and their guests slept in the hall or in the stables or in any other place where they would be under a roof even one fatched with reeds from the pond as time passed houses were built with more rooms often enough to enclose a courtyard and three sides while the fourth was shut in by a wall around the whole structure was a melt with a drawbridge the windows were small there were turrets and other places from which arrows might be shot in safety in short these manor houses were in many respects almost as well fortified as real castles the cottages were ranged along the one street of the manor miserable little one room sheds of clay the roofs fatched with straw stubble and having neither windows nor chimneys the land of the manor was cultivated in three large fields usually one produced wheat or barley and one oats while the third lay fallow the second year the field of the land fallow was planted another field had a time of rest this was an extravagant manner of farming for one third of the land was always idle but men had not fully learned how to enrich the soil and therefore they were forced to allow it to rest each tenant had a larger or smaller share in these fields but the land was divided in a peculiar fashion it was marked off into long narrow strips generally about 40 rods long and four rods wide separated from one another by strips of unpowered turf called bulks the holdings of the different tenants were scattered over the manor and much time must have been wasted in going from one to another a man who held 30 acres or a vergate would have to care for land in 30 or more different places even the land which the lord of the manor reserved for himself was scattered in the same way the use of clover and the grasses which can be cultivated in dry places and stored away for winter was not known therefore the meadow land was of great value there was always a common pasture in which sheep and cattle might range and there was a woodland wherein the tenants pigs might find food for themselves the tenants were obliged to grind their grain in the lord's mill bake their bread in his oven press their grapes in his wine press and of course pay a good price for the privileges they must pay for letting their pigs run in the forest for cutting wood and often for catching fish and for the use of their lord's weights and measures they paid him a share of what they raised and they paid one tenth of their income to the church besides fees at every birth baptism, marriage and death even what was left of their produce they were forbidden to sell until the produce of their lord's land had been sold this land or the demesany they were obliged to cultivate the amount of work in proportion to the area which he held the lists of the men and the work required of each were called extents an extant usually stated first the size of the manor and how it was divided how many acres of arable land pasture, meadow and woodland it contained and how often the manor court was accustomed to meet then came the list of the tenants what rent they paid and what work was required of them and one of the English manors for instance there were seven free tenants one of them was the son of a knight he held 18 acres and paid for his land 36 pence a year apparently these free tenants were not obliged to do any work under the demesany some of the villian tenants however had to do so many kinds of work that it is a wonder how they knew when it was finished one poor man had to work for his land three days a week for 11 months of the year save for a week at Christmas Easter and Witsentide and find his own food he must weed help plow and mow carry in hay reap and haul grain it was carefully stated just when the lord would provide food for him and how much and what kind when this man and the other villians were mowing there were allowed free bushes of wheat there were 18 pence one jar of butter and one cheese next to the best from the dairy of the lord and salt and oatmeal for their porridge and all the morning milk they had also several definite prerequisites while they were doing this work for instance at the close of each day every man might have as much green grass as he could carry on the point of his side and when the hay was in he might have a cart full harvest time each worker might have free handfuls for every load of grain that he brought in besides the weekly work during the greater part of the year there are also boon works in time of plowing planting and harvest for these the tenant must leave his own land often when it needed him most and give his time to that of his lord in short more than one half of the time average billion had to be given to the lord of the manor just how some of the dues were paid is a little confusing one tenant for instance was bound to pay the lord every Christmas one hen and a half the hen being of the price of one and a half pence several women held lands on the same terms as the men the extent also stated the value of the rents the hens given to the lord the use of the mill the right to fish and all the service performed by the tenants and it told where the pillory and ducking stools stood in this case there was more than one reason to avoid these instruments of punishment for there were plates next to the lord's pigsty legal questions often arose on a manor land was transferred from one person to another fines were to be imposed crimes were to be punished and to decide these matters a court was held regularly this was convenient for the tenants but it can hardly have been invariably just for the lord or his agent was the judge and he generally had a personal interest in the case moreover the various fines and fees went straight into his own purse that must have made it a temptation to inflict as heavy ones as would be born in theory there could be an appeal to the king but the king was usually a long way off travel was not safe and in any case the word of a villain would count little when opposed to the word of a noble a manor did not run itself it had three chief officials besides its lord first was the reeve he was one of the tenants his business was to carry on the cultivation of the lord's land then there was the bailiff who took charge of the whole manor sold it the work was done and the produce sold but a noble often held a number of manors and so a steward was also required he went from one manor to another to examine the accounts of each held court and take general charge of the estates so it was that the reeve watched the tenants the bailiff watched the reeve the steward watched the bailiff and finally an accountant sometimes a relative of the lord watched the steward and collected the money from the different manors over them all was the lord himself he and his family and servants went from one manor to another partly to use up what they could have produced on the spot and partly it is whispered because so little attention was paid to cleanliness it was the part of comfort as well as wisdom to allow a house to sweeten after it had been occupied for some weeks a manor required far less from the outside world than any village or city in these days food with the exception of salt and delicacies brought for the use of the lord grew on the land hemp and wool were raised spun into yarn woven and made into clothes on the spot sandals could be made by anyone and rough shoes could be put together by the shoemaker of the manor it was also a carpenter who could easily put up the wattled huts of the tenants if anything more elaborate was to be undertaken like the building of a church builders were sent for from away the blacksmith mended the tools and farming implements and often made them clumsy inconvenient things they were the size was short and straight and a sickle small and heavy the great wooden plows were so big and cumbersome that even with eight oxen to pull them they cut into the ground only a little way and a second plowing was usually necessary enriching the land and draining the soil were rarely practised during the early part of the middle ages crops at best were small often not more than one third of what the same amount of land were produced today frequently they failed all together because so little was known of agriculture and even when there was a year of plenty it was hardly safe to sell the surplus for it might all be needed during the following year the tenant had a hard life but he was sure of as much protection as his lord could give of a place to stay in and of an opportunity to raise something to eat he had no freedom but in the times when freedom meant danger one does not grieve so sorely over the loss of liberty one Langland who wrote Piers Plowman tells her constantly the women worked they must spin and card and comb wool he says trying to earn enough to pay the rent and the cost of milk and meal to feed their little ones they must mend and wash and reel and peel rushes so that it is a sad story to read the sufferings of the women who live in cottages lost the times changed the tenants took little interest in the forced cultivation of their lord's land and with all the watching it sold and brought in as much income as it might certainly not as much as the lord's desired for many luxuries were now imported people were interested in building and they developed a taste for living comfortably these changes had been caused in great degree for the crusades and expeditions to rescue the holy land from the Saracens but whatever was the cause the nobles wanted money the villains on the other hand wanted to get rid of forced labour buying a relief and disagreeable duties was quite in fashion even nobles often brought themselves free from entertaining the king in many cases the peasants were permitted to buy a relief from the services that they especially disliked in some instances when the lord was in pressing need of money he insisted upon a tenant buying his freedom if a lord had a good supply of workmen a tenant was sometimes allowed to lead the manner on condition of paying a tax the church was the friend of the tenant it taught that the freer serf was a deed pleasing to god and if the son of the poor serf showed intellectual ability an aptitude to the priesthood it demanded his release it is thought that William Langland was a villain and became free on entering the church a tenant could sometimes escape to some city and find friends who would conceal him and in England there was a law that if a man could succeed in remaining hidden for a year and a day he was forever free many of these runaways knew some trade by which they could support themselves there were tanners carpenters, saddlers shoemakers, blacksmiths and tailors among them early in the 14th century the weaving of fine woollen was introduced into England and at this trade especially a man could earn a good support little by little then the villians were discovering that the lords needed them quite as much as they needed the lords if a lord did not treat his labour as well he would be likely to lose some of them as time passed more and more of the tenants paid rent instead of giving service and the lords could not always get as much service as they needed more and more men became free to go from one manner to another as hired labourers Phryllianid would probably have slowly disappeared in any case but in the 14th century the system received two great shocks one was the fact that in England fought France at the Battle of Crecy the day was won for the English not by knights in steel armour but by young men with their bows and arrows the other was the terrible black death a pestilence which swept over Europe it is thought to have destroyed nearly one third as many people as there are in the United States then the lords or their heirs were in difficulties they received a Harriet on the death of a villian and the usualy from his heir so many had died the panors had men enough left to do the necessary work the success at Crecy had shown the common folk that were able to protect themselves and now that labourers were few they began to see that they were an important part of the population in England occurred an uprising known as the peasants revolt the chief demand of these peasants was to be free from villianage and although the revolters were severely punished villianage rapidly disappeared France too had learned a lesson from her defeats at Crecy and elsewhere for she had found that her knights in all their armour could not protect their country people began to question if knights cannot even guard their own land what is the use of knighthood and both knighthood and the manor system gradually disappeared but although the system has vanished it still influences the law for instance the belief of the middle ages was that the land of a country belonged to the king was granted by him to his vassals for life and today if a man in England dies into state and without heirs his land goes to the king in America it goes to the state so it is that the people of the 20th century are affected by the beliefs and customs of the people who lived on manors many hundred years ago and a section 51 section 52 of England read for LibriVox.org by Jim Locke England part 8 Lancaster and York historical note opposition to the arbitrary government of Richard II 1377 to 1399 the last of the Plantagenet kings resulted in the giving of the crown to his cousin the Duke of Lancaster who ascended the throne as Henry IV by his son Henry V the old claim to the crown of France was renewed and the English king was so successful that it was promised to him when the French king should die after Henry's death this claim was pressed on behalf of the baby king of England Henry VI the rise of the French people inspired by Joan of Arc stripped England of all her conquests in France except Calais and Guillain there were many in England who believed that the crown should have been given to Richard of York rather than to Henry of Lancaster the result was the breaking out of civil war in 1455 the badge of the house of Lancaster was a red rose that of the house of York a white rose therefore the struggle which now commenced was called the wars of the roses during the 30 years of civil war the crown was held successively by Edward IV of York Henry VI of Lancaster lifted to the throne by the Earl of Walric the kingmaker Edward V of York and Richard III his uncle in 1485 Richard was defeated and killed on Bosworth field by Henry Tudor of the Lancaster family and the long struggle was at last ended in 1471 in the midst of the civil war William Caxton established at Westminster the first English printing press in section 52 this recording is in the public domain section 53 of England this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the world's story Volume 9 England edited by Eva Marsh Tappin section number 53 the coronation of Henry IV 1399 by Sir John Freudzot on a Wednesday the last day of September 1399 Henry Duke of Lancaster held a parliament at Westminster at which were assembled a greater part of the clergy in nobility of England and a sufficient number of deputies from the different towns according to their extent and wealth in this parliament the Duke of Lancaster challenged the Crown of England and claimed it as his own for three reasons first by conquest secondly from being the right heir to it and thirdly from the pure and free resignation of it to him by King Richard in the presence of the prelates, dukes and earls in the Hall of the Tower of London these three claims being made he required the parliament to declare their opinion and will upon this they unanimously replied that it was their will he should be king for they would have no other he again asked if they were positive in this declaration when they said they were he seated himself on the royal throne the throne was elevated some feet from the floor with a rich canopy of cloth and gold so that he could be seen by all present on the king's taking his seat the people clap their hands for joy and held them up promising fealty and homage the parliament was then dissolved in the day of coronation appointed for the Feast of St. Edward which fell on a Monday the 13th of October on the Saturday before the coronation the new king went from Westminster to the Tower of London attended by great numbers and those squires who were to be knighted watched their arms that night the amounted to 46 each squire had his chamber and bath in which he bathed the ensuing day the Duke of Lancaster after mass created them knights and presented them with long green coats with straight sleeves blind with miniver after the manner of prelates these knights had on their left shoulders a double cord of white silk with white tufts hanging down the Duke of Lancaster left the tower this Sunday after dinner on his return to Westminster he was bareheaded and had round his neck the order of the King of France the Prince of Wales, six dukes six earls, eighteen barons accompanied him and there were of knights in other nobility from eight to nine hundred horse of the procession the Duke was dressed in a jacket after the German fashion of cloth of gold mounted on a white coarser with a blue garter on his left leg he passed through the streets of London which were all handsomely decorated with tapestries and other rich hangings there were nine fountains in Cheepside and other streets he passed through which perpetually ran with white and red wines he was escorted by prodigious numbers of men with their servants in liveries in badges and the different companies of London were led by their wardens clothed in their proper livery and with ensigns of their trade the whole cavalcade amounted to six thousand horse which escorted the Duke from the tower to Westminster that same night the Duke bathed and on the morrow confessed himself as he had good need to and according to his custom the prelates and clergy who had been assembled then came in a large body and procession from Westminster Abbey to conduct the King Vither and returned in the same manner the King and his lords following them the dukes, earls and barons wore long scarlet robes with mantles trimmed with ermine at large hoods of the same the dukes and earls had three bars of ermine on the left arm a quarter of a yard long the barons had like two all the knights and squires had uniform cloaks of scarlet line with miniver in the procession to the church the Duke had borne over his head a rich canopy of blue silk supported on silver staves with four golden bells that rang at the corners by four burgesses of Dover who claimed it as their right on each side of him were the sword of mercy and the sword of justice the first was born by the Prince of Wales and the other by the Earl of North Umberland, Constable of England for the Earl of Rutland had been dismissed the Earl of Westmoreland, Marshal of England carried the scepter the procession entered the church about nine o'clock in the middle of which was a scaffold covered with crimson cloth and in the center a royal throne of cloth of gold when the dukes entered the church he seated himself on the throne and was thus in regal state except having the crown on his head the Archbishop of Canterbury proclaimed from the four corners of the scaffold how God had given them a man for their lord and sovereign and then asked the people if they were consenting to his being consecrated and crowned king they unanimously shouted aye and held up their hands promising, feulty and homage after this the Duke descended and was thrown in advance to the altar to be consecrated this ceremony was performed by two Archbishops and ten Bishops who were stripped of all his royal state before the altar naked to his shirt and was then anointed and consecrated at six places that is to say on the head, the breast the two shoulders before and behind on the back and hands then they placed a bonnet on his head and while this was doing he chanted the litany or the service that is performed to hallow a font the king was now dressed in the churchman's clothes like a deacon and they put on him shoes of crimson velvet after the manner of a prelate and they added spurs with a point but no rowel and the sword of justice was drawn blessed and delivered to the king who put it into the scabbard when the Archbishop of Canterbury girded it about him the crown of Saint Edward which is arched over like a cross was next brought and blessed and placed by the Archbishop on the king's head. When mass was over the king left the church and returned to the palace in the same state as before. There was in the courtyard a fountain that constantly ran with white and red wine from various mouths the king went first to his closet and then returned to the hall to dinner. At the first table sat the king at the second to five great peers of England at the third the principal citizens of London. At the fourth the new created knights at the fifth all knights and squires of honour. The king was served by the Prince of Wales who carried the sword of mercy and on the opposite side by the Constable who bore the sword of justice. At the bottom of the table was the Earl of Westmoreland with the scepter. There were only at the king's table the two Archbishops and 17 bishops. When dinner was half over a night of the name of Dynoch entered the hall completely on and mounted on a handsome steed richly barbed with crimson housings. The knight was armed for wager of battle and was preceded by another knight bearing his lance. He himself had his drawn sword in one hand in his naked dagger by his side. The knight present the king with a written paper the contents of which were that if any knight or gentleman should dare to maintain that King Henry was not a lawful sovereign he was ready to offer him combat in the presence of the king when and where he should be pleased to appoint. The king ordered this challenge to be proclaimed by heralds in six different parts of the town and the hall to which no answer was made. After King Henry had dined wine and spices in the hall he retired to his private apartments and all the company went to their homes. Thus passed the coronation day of King Henry. End of section 53. This recording is in the public domain. Section 54 of England. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Sonya S. the narrator. Alan Mappstone as Sir John Falstaff Thomas Peter S. Prince Howell and King Henry V. Monica is host. Jim Block as Warwick Adrian Stevens as Chief Justice Todd as Lancaster Sara Hill as Gloucester and Sandra Schmidt as Clarence. The World Story Volume 9 England edited by Eva March-Tepin Section 54 Two Scenes in the Life of Henry V by William Shakespeare. According to tradition Henry V. in his youthful days as Prince Howell was wild and riotous. His favourite boon companion was Sir John Falstaff a lying, hard-drinking, good-tempered witty old knight. Howell became King, however, the responsibility of his position sobered him, and he became an able and energetic sovereign. The Editor 1. When Falstaff played the King 1403 Well, thou wilt be horribly chid tomorrow when thou comes to thy father. If thou love me practice an answer. Do thou stand for my father and examine me upon the particulars of my life? Shall I content this chair shall be my state this dagger my scepter and this cushion my crown. Thy stage is taken for a joined stool thy golden scepter for a leadened dagger and thy precious rich crown for a pitiful bald crown. Well, and the fire of grace be not quite out of thee, thou shalt be moved. Give me a cup of sack to make my eyes look red that it may be thought that I have wept. For I must speak in passion and I will do it in King Cambys' vein. Well, here is my leg. And here is my speech. Stand aside, nobility. Oh, Jesus, this is excellent spot, I fave. Weep not, sweet queen, for trickling tears are vain. Oh, the father, how he holds his condonance. For God's sakes, lords, convey my tristful queen. For tears do stop the floodgates of her eyes. Oh, Jesus, he doth it as like one of these hallowed players as ever I see. Peace, good pintpot. Peace, good tickle brain. Harry, I do not only marvel where thou spendest thy time, but also how thou art accompanied. For though the camel-mile, the more it is trodden on, the faster it grows, yet youth, the more it is wasted, the sooner it wears that thou art my son. I have partly thy mother's word, partly my own opinion, but chiefly a villainous trick in thine eye, and a foolish hanging of thine other lip, that doth warrant me. If then thou be son to me, here lies the point. Why, being son to me, art thou so pointed at? Shall the blessed son of heaven prove a milcher, any blunt breeze? A question not to be asked. Shall the son of England prove a thief and take purses? A question to be asked. There is a thing, Harry, which thou hast often heard of, and it is known to many in our land by the name of Pitch. This Pitch, as ancient writers do report, doth defile. So doth the company thou keepest. For, Harry, I do not speak to thee in drink, but in tears, not in pleasure, but in passion, not in words only, but in woes also. And yet there is a virtuous man, who I have often noted in thy company. But I know not his name. What a maner of men, and it like your majesty. A goodly portly man, ye faith, and a corpulent, of a cheerful look, a pleasing eye, and a most noble carriage. And, as I think, his age some fifty, or, by our lady, inclining to three score. And now I remember me, his name is false staff. If that man should be ludely given, he deceiveth me. For, Harry, I see virtue in his looks. If then the tree may be known by the fruit, as the fruit by the tree, then, peremptorily, I speak it, there is virtue in that false staff. Him keep with the rest banish. And tell me now, thou naughty violet, tell me where has thou been this month? Thus thou speak like a king, do thou stand for me, and I'll play my father. Depose me! If thou dost it half so gravely, so majestically, both in word and matter, hang me up by my heels for a rabbit-sucker, or a polter's hair. Well, here I am set. And here I stand. Judge my masters. Now, Harry, whence come you? My noble lord, from east-cheap. The complaints I hear of thee are grievous. Splurt, my lord, they are false. Nay, I'll tickle you for a young princey faith. Swearest thou, ungracious boy? In s'forth, near look on me. Thou art violently carried away from grace. There is a devil haunts thee in the likeness of an old fat man, a ton of man as thy companion. Why dost thou converse with that trunk of humours, that bolting hutch of beastliness, that swollen parcel of dropsies, that huge bombard of sack, that stuffed cloak-bag of guts, that roasted manning-tree ox with the pudding in his belly, that reverend vice, that grey iniquity, that father ruffian, that vanity in years? Wherein is he good but to taste sack and drink it? Wherein eat and cleanly, but to carve a cape on and eat it? Wherein cunning but in craft? Wherein crafty but in villainy? Wherein villainous but in all things? Wherein worthy but in nothing? I would your grace would take me with you. Who means your grace? That villainous, abominable misleader of youth, false taff, that old white-bearded Satan. My lord, the man I know. I know thou dost. But to say I know more harm in him than in myself, were to say more than I know that he is old the more the pity. His white hairs do witness it, but that he is saving your reverence a whormaster, that I utterly deny. If sack and sugar be a fault, God help the wicked. If to be old and merry be a sin, then many an old host that I know is damned. If to be fat be to be hated, then pharaohs lean kind are to be loved. No, my good lord. Banish, Peter. Banish, Bardhoff. Banish, Poins. But for sweet Jack false taff, kind Jack false taff, true Jack false taff, valiant Jack false taff, and therefore more valiant being as he is old Jack Banish not him thy Harry's company Banish not him thy Harry's company Banish plump Jack and Banish all the world. I do. I will. 2. When Prince Hell became king 1413 Westminster the palace and the Warwick and the lord chief justice meeting. Now my lord chief justice wither away. How doth the king? Exceeding well his cares are now all ended. I hope not dead. He's walked the way of nature and to our purpose as he lives no more. I would his majesty had called me with him. The service that I truly did his life hath left me open to all injures. Indeed I think the young king loves you not. I know he doth not and do am myself to welcome the condition of the time which cannot look more hideously upon me than I have drawn it in my fantasy. Enter Lancaster, Clarence, Gloucester Westmoreland and others. Here come the heavy issue of dead Harry. Oh that the living Harry had the temper of him the worst of these three gentlemen. How many nobles then should hold their places that must strike sail to spirits of vile sort. O God! I fear all will be overturned. Good morrow, cousin Warwick. Good morrow. Good morrow, cousin. We meet like men that had forgot to speak. We do remember, but our argument is all too heavy to admit much talk. Well, peace be with him that has made us heavy. Peace be with us lest we be heavier. Oh, good my lord. You have lost a friend indeed. And I dare swear you borrow not that face of seeming sorrow. It is sure your own. Though no man be assured what grace to find you stand in coldest expectation. I am the sourier. Wood were otherwise. Well, you must now speak Sir John Falstaff Fair which swims against your stream of quality. Sweet princes, what I did I did in honour led by the impartial conduct of my soul and never shall you see that I will beg a ragged and forstored remission. If truth and upright innocence I'll to the king my master that is dead and tell him who have sent me after him. Here comes the prince. Enter King Henry the fifth attended. Good morrow, and God save your majesty. This new and gorgeous garment majesty, it's not so easy on me as you think. Brothers, you mix of sadness with some fear. This is the English, not the English court. Not Amorath, and Amorath exceeds but Harry, Harry. Yet be sad, good brothers for by my faith it very well becomes you. Sorrows so royally in you appears that I will deeply put the fashion on and wear it in my heart. Why then, be sad but entertain no more of it, good brothers than a joint burden laid upon us all. For me, by heaven, I bid you be assured I'll be your father rather too. Let me but bear your love I'll bear your cares. Yet weep that Harry's dead and so will I. But Harry lives that shall convert those tears by number into hours of happiness. We hope no other from your majesty. You all look strangely on me and you most you are I think that I love you not. I am assured if I be measured rightly your majesty hath no just cause to hate me. No. How might a prince of my great hopes forget so great indignities you laid upon me? What, rate, rebuke and roughly send to prison the immediate air of England was this easy? May this be washed in leaf and forgotten? I then did use the person of your father, the image of power lay then in me and in the administration of his law whilst I was busy for the Commonwealth your highness pleased to forget my place the majesty and power of law and justice the image of the king whom I presented and struck me in my very seat of judgment whereon as an offender to your father I gave bold way to my authority and did commit you all be you contented wearing now the garland to have a son set your decrees at naught to pluck down justice from your awful bench to trip the course of law and blunt the sword that guards the peace and safety of your person nay more to spurn at your most royal image and mock your workings in a second body question your royal thoughts make the case yours be now the father pose a son hear your own dignity so much profaned see your most dreadful law so loosely slighted behold yourself so by a son disdained and then imagine me taking your part and in your power soft silencing your son after this cold considerance sentence me and as you are a king speak in your state what I have done that misbecame my place my person or my liege's sovereignty you are right justice and you weigh this well therefore still bear the balance in the sword and I do wish your honours may increase till you do live to see a son of mine offend you and obey you as I did so shall I live to speak my father's words happy am I that have a man so bold that dares do justice on my proper son and not less happy having such a son that would deliver up his greatness so into the hands of justice you did commit me for which I do commit into your hand the unstained soul that you have used to bear with this remembrance that you use the same with the like bold just and impartial spirit as you have done against me there is my hand you shall be as a father to my youth my voice shall sound as you do prompt mine ear and I will stoop and humble mine intends to your well-practiced wise directions and princes all believe me I beseech you my father has gone wild into his grave for in his tomb lie my affections and with his spirit sadly I survive to mock the expectation of the world to frustrate prophecies and to raise out rotten opinion down after my seeming the tide of blood in me hath proudly flowed in vanity till now now draw the turn and air back to the sea where it shall mingle with the state of floods and flow henceforth in formal majesty now call we our High Court of Parliament and let us choose such limbs of noble council that a great body of our state may go in equal rank with the best governed nation that war or peace or both at once may be as things acquainted and familiar to us in which you father shall have foremost hand our coronation done we will aside as I before remembered all our state and God consigning to my good intends no prince nor pier shall have just cause to say God shot in Harry's happy life one day excellent End of section 54 this recording is in the public domain Section 55 of England this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The World's Story Volume 9 England by Eva March Tappan Section 55 The Ballad of Agincourt 1415 by Michael Dreight Fair stood the wind for France when we are sales advance nor now to prove our chance longer will tarry but putting to the main at co the mouth of Sain with all his marshal train landed King Harry and taking many a fort furnished in warlike sort marcheth towards Agincourt in happy hour skirmishing day by day with those that stop the way where the French general they with all his power which in his height of pride King Henry to deride his ransom to provide to the King sending which he neglects the while as from a nation vile yet with an angry smile their fall portending and turning to his men Quoth our brave Harry then though they be one to ten be not amazed yet we have well begun battles so bravely one have ever to the sun by fame being raised and for myself Quoth he this my full rest shall be England ne'er mourn for me nor more esteem me Victor I will remain or on this earth thy slain never shall she be or on this earth thy slain never shall she sustain lost to redeem me Poitier and Cressytel where most their pride did swell under our swords they fell no less our skill is than when our grandsire great claiming the regal seat by many a warlike feet lopped the French lilies the Duke of York so dread the eager downward lead with the main Harry Sped among his henchmen Exeter had the rear a braver man not there oh lord how hot they were on the false Frenchmen they now to fight are gone armour on armour Sean drum now to drum did groan to drum drum did groan drum did groan now to drum did groan to hear was wonder that with the cries they make the very earth did shake trumpet to trumpet spake thunder to thunder well it thine age became oh noble earping ham which didst the signal aim to our hid forces when from a meadow by like a storm suddenly the English archery struck the French horses with Spanish you so strong arrows a cloth yard long that like to serpents stung piercing the weather none from his fellow starts but playing manly parts and like true English hearts stuck close together when down their bows they threw and forth their billbows drew and on the French they flew not one was tardy arms were from shoulders sent sculpts to the teeth were rent down the French peasants went our men were hardy this while our noble king his broad sword brandishing down the French hosted ding as to all well mitts and many a deep wound lent his arms with blood be spent and many a cruel dent bruised his helmet Gloster that juke so good next of the royal blood for famous England stood with his brave brother Clarence in steel so bright though but a maiden knight yet in that furious fight scarce such another Warwick in blood did wade Oxford the foe invade and cruel slaughter made still as they ran up Suffolk his axe did ply Beaumont and Willoughby bear them right doubtily ferrers and fan hope upon the St. Crispin's day Fort was this noble fray which fame did not delay to England to carry oh when shall English men with such axe fill a pen or England breed again such a King Harry end of section 55 this recording is in the public domain recording by Alan Mapstone in Oxford England section 56 of England read for LibriVox.org by Alan Mapstone morning of the Battle of Agincourt by Sir John Gilbert English painter 1817 to 1897 painting page 410 on the morning of the Battle of Agincourt the English troops were in a pitiable condition they were weakened by illness and exhausted by the five week siege of Harfleur food was scanty and Henry was endeavouring to fall back to Calais this was at best a long and dangerous march at the river Somme he succeeded in going a long way around and so crossing the stream but when he came to the little village of Agincourt the French were lined up against him only a quarter of a mile away they had three or four times his numbers and battle could not be avoided the English could have had little hope of success but the result was a repetition of the story of Cressy the French had learned little warfare since that day and they still encased themselves in heavy armour terror stricken as they were at the tempests of yard long arrows they fought bravely in a final charge they struggled to gallop their horses through the clinging muddy clay but were thrust back by the stern English pikes the English lost a few hundred the French perhaps ten thousand sad reports went over France for their princes and nobles and the very flower of their chivalry were either slain or taken prisoners this picture shows the English forces just before the battle at this solemn moment when their destruction seemed imminent the host is raised in the sight of all the army and the soldiers bowed their heads in prayer end of section 56 this recording is in the public domain section 57 of England this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by April 6090 California United States of America the world's story volume 9 England edited by Eva March-Tappan section 57 Queen Margaret and the Robber 1463 by Agnes Strickland because of Henry VI periods of insanity much responsibility of protecting his right to the crown during the wars of the roses fell upon his queen Margaret of I am Joe one of her adventures is here described the editor in the spring of 1463 England was again set afield at the fatal battle of Hexham King Henry says Hall was the best horseman in his company that day for he fled so fast no one could overtake him yet he was so closely pursued that three of his horsemen or bodyguard with their horses trapped in blue velvet were taken one of them wearing the unfortunate monarch's cap of state called a bicocket embroidered with two crowns of gold and ornamented with pearls Margaret succeeded in affecting her escape with the prince and a few of her people they fled towards the Scotch border taking with them as many of the crown jewels and other treasures as they could secure among these as the unfortunate heroine afterwards told her cousin the Duchess of Bourbon were some large vessels of silver and gold which she hoped to have carried safely into Scotland but while thus laden she and her company were overtaken by a party of plunderers who robbed them of everything and even despoiled her and the little prince of Wales of their ornaments and rich array fetal trappings of state which being of fashion colour and material rigorously forbidden by the sumptuary laws to persons of lower degree of course betrayed the rank of the royal fugitives and subjected the unfortunate queen to very barbarous treatment they dragged her, she said with brutal violence and furious menaces before their leader held a drawn sword and readiness to cut her throat and threatened her with all sorts of tortures and indignities whereupon she threw herself on her knees with clasped hands weeping and crying aloud for mercy and implored them by every consideration human or divine and for the honour of nobility of royalty and above all for the sake of womanhood to have pity on her and not to mingle or disfigure her unfortunate body so as to prevent it from being recognised after death for although, continued she I have had the ill luck to fall into your hands I am the daughter and the wife of a king and was in past time recognised by yourselves as your queen wherefore if now you stay in your hands with my blood your cruelty will be held in abhorrence by all men throughout all ages she accompanied these words with floods of tears and then to recommend herself with earnest prayers to the mercy of God while Margaret was engaged in these agonising supplications some of the ruffians began to quarrel about the division of the rich booty of which they had despoiled her from angry words they fell to furious fighting one with another a dreadful slaughter ensued which proved a providential diversion in favour of the royal prisoners for the men who had been preparing to put the queen to a cruel death ran to take part in the conflict in order to secure their share of the plunder and paid no further heed to her or her son Margaret took advantage of their attention being thus withdrawn to address herself to a squire who was the only person remaining near her and conjured him by the passion of our lord and savior Jesus Christ to have pity on her and do what he could to assist her to make her escape this squire whose heart God had touched with compassion for her distress and who was luckily provided with a horse with which he was able and willing to carry not double but threefold responded to her appeal in these encouraging words Madam, mount behind me and you, my lord prince before and I will save you or perish in the attempt Margaret and her boy promptly complied with this direction and made off and pursued the ruffians being too much occupied in rending each other like savage beasts over their prey to observe the escape of their prisoners the scene occurred in the neighborhood of Hexham Forest and thither the fugitives directed their flight as offering the best facilities for concealment such was the decision of the squire who was the conductor of the party as for Margaret she was in no condition to form a judgment as to what course to take for as she afterwards declared not only her brain but every nerve and vein in her whole body retained so terrible an impression of the frightful peril with which she had been menaced that when they plunged into the dark depths of the forest she fancied every tree she saw was a man with a naked sword in his hand who kept crying to her Allah more in this piteous state of excitement maternal solicitude for her boy being the master of feeling she kept repeating that it was not for herself she feared but for her son her death would be a matter of little moment but his would be too great a calamity utter ruin to everyone for being the true heir of the crown all might go right again if his life could but be preserved then she again abandoned herself to paroxysms of terror for that precious child not believing it possible that they should ever get clear of the forest falling a second time into the hands of the pitiless foes from whom they had escaped by scarcely less than a miraculous intervention of providence Margaret had indeed only too much cause for alarm although the danger which appeared still present to her was over for perils no less frightful surrounded her on every side Hexam Forest was then a sort of dead man's ground which few travelers ventured to cross except in large parties well armed for it was the resort of the ferocious banditty of the northern marches who were the scourge and terror of both the Scotch and English border and whose propacity and cruelty had placed them out of the pale of humanity the night which succeeded a day so fatal to the cause of Lancaster closed over the fugitive queen and her boy while they were wandering in the tingled mazes of Hexam Forest had tasted food since an early hour in the morning but the pangs of hunger and thirst were probably bravely born by the princely child who had been early and yearned to hardships and disregarded by the hapless mother while clinging in her despair to that last frail plank of the foundered bark which she had labored for the past twelve years to steer through seas to stormy for a female pilot's skill to add to her distress whether the king or her husband was dead or alive as they had fled in different directions while she was lamenting over the calamitous events of that disastrous day she suddenly perceived by the light of the rising moon an armed man of gigantic stature and stern aspect advancing towards her with threatening gestures at first she imagined that he belonged to the band of pitiless ruffians from whom she had fled but a second glance at his dress and equipment convinced her that he must be one of the forest outlaws of whose remorseless cruelty of two travelers she had heard many frightful instances her courage rose with the greatness of the danger and perceiving that there was no possibility of escape except through God's mercy maternal love impelled her to make an effort for the preservation of her son and she called the robber to her there is something in the tone and manner of those whose vocation is to command which generally speaking ensures the involuntary respect of attention the robber drew near and listened to what Margaret had to say the popular version of the story is that she took the little prince by the hand and presented him to the outlaw with these words here my friend save the son of your king but if Margaret's own account of this memorable passage of her life is to be credited she was not quite so abrupt in making a communication attended with such imminent danger to her son nor before she had in some degree felt her way by an eloquent impassioned appeal to the compassion of the unknown outlaw she commenced the parley by telling him that if he were in quest of booty she and her little son had already been rifled by others of all they possessed showing him that they had been despoiled even of their upper garments and had nothing now to lose but their lives yet although she supposed he was to shed the blood of travelers she was sure he would have pity on her when she told him who she was then bending her eyes upon him she pathetically added it is the unfortunate queen of England thy princess who have fallen into thine hands in her desolation and distress and if she continued oh man thou hast any knowledge of God I beseech thee for the sake of his passion who for our salvation took our nature upon him to have compassion on my misery but if you slay me spare at least my little one for he is the only son of thy king and if it please God the true heir of this realm save him then I pray thee and make thine arms his sanctuary he is thy future king and it will be a glorious deed to preserve him one that shall face the memory of all thy crimes and witness for thee when thou stand hereafter before Almighty God oh man win God's grace to day by succoring in afflicted mother and giving life to the dead then perceiving that the robber was moved by her tears and earnest supplications she put the young prince into his arms with these words I charge thee to preserve from the violence of others that innocent royal blood which I do consign to thy care take him and conceal him those who seek his life give him a refuge in thine obscure hiding place and he will one day give thee free access to his royal chamber and make thee one of his barons if by thy means he is happily preserved to enjoy the splendor of the crown which doth of right pertain to him as his inheritance the outlaw whose heart to use the impressive words of the royal heroine of this strange romance of history the Holy Ghost had softened when he understood that the afflicted lady who addressed these moving words to him was indeed the queen of the land threw himself at her feet and wept with her declaring with all that he would die a thousand deaths and endure all the tortures that could be inflicted on him rather than abandon much betray the noble child he also be sought the queen to pardon all his offenses against the law with no less humility than if she had borne the scepter of sovereign authority in London and his life depended on her fiat one of Margaret's French biographers affirms that this outlaw was a ruined pancastrian gentleman but this statement receives no confirmation from Margaret's own account of the matter who spoke with anguish of this dire necessity which had constrained her to entrust her only child to the protection of a robber no belted knight however more nobly of the trust the unfortunate queen had confided to his honour raising the weary prince in his arms he led the way followed by the queen and the squire to his secret retreat a cave in a secluded spot on the south bank of the rapid little stream which washes the foot of Blackhill where the royal fugitives were refreshed and received all the comfort and attention his wife was able to bestow the local traditions of Hexham and Tyndale preserved a lively remembrance of this incident the robbers den which afforded shelter in their utmost need to the alline castrian queen and prince of Wales is still known by the name of queen Margaret's cave and seems to have been well adapted to the purpose the entrance to it is very low behind the bank of the rivulet or borne and was formally concealed from sight and surrounded by wild wood its dimensions are 34 by 14 feet the height will barely allow a full grown person to stand upright a massive pillar of rude masonry in the centre of the cave seems to mark the boundary of a wall which it is said once divided it into two distinct apartments then warmed and cheered by fire and lamp it would not appear quite so dismaly din as at present such was the retreat in which the queen and prince remained perdu for two days of agonising suspense on the third morning their host encountered Sir Pierre de Bruzé and an English gentleman who having escaped the robbers at Hexham had been making anxious search for her and the prince from these devoted friends Margaret learned the escape of her royal husband and the terrible vengeance that had been executed on Somerset and her faithful adherents the lords Hungerford and Rue's Margaret received these tidings a few hours later the English gentleman by whom Bruzé was accompanied having gone into the neighbouring villages to gather tidings of public events recognised the Duke of Exeter and Edmund Beaufort the brother and successor of the unfortunate Duke of Somerset he conducted them to the retreat of the proscribed queen and the youthful hope of Lancaster Margaret's spirits revived at the sight of these princes whom she had numbered with the slain of Hexham and she determined to send them to their powerful kinsmen the Duke of Burgundy to solicit an asylum at the court of Dijon for herself and the Prince of Wales while she once more proceeded to the court of Scotland where she imagined King Henry had found refuge on quitting the dwelling of the generous outlaw from whom she had received such providential secure in her dire distress she accorded all she had to bestow her grateful thanks the Dutes of Somerset and Exeter offered a portion of their scanty supply of money as a reward to his wife for the services she had rendered to the Queen but with a nobility of sole worthy of a loftier station she refused to receive any portion of that which might be so precious to them any time of need of all I have lost exclaimed the Queen I regret nothing so much as the power such a virtue accompanied by Breize and the squire and attended by the outlaw of Exham in the capacity of a guide Margaret and the young Prince, her son took the road to Carlisle from once she once more proceeded to her old quarters at Kirkhead Brite end of section 57 this recording is in the public domain section 58 of England this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recorded by Daniel Howard Hurt of Vancouver British Columbia on Monday October 28th 2019 the world's story volume 9 England edited by Eva March to Pan section 58 when the king returned from Holland 1470 by Edward Bulwer Lytton Henry VI was thrust from the throne chiefly by the power of the king maker the Earl of Warwick and Edward IV became king in his place Edward however failed to be as obedient as Warwick had expected and the mighty Earl promptly changed sides Edward fled to Holland but soon returned with strong forces the editor and the winds still blew and the storm was on the tide and Margaret came not when in the gusty month of March the fisherman of the Humber beheld a single ship without flag or pen and and sorely stripped and revelled by adverse blasts gallantly struggling towards the shore the vessel was not of English build and resembled in its bulk and fashion those employed by the Easterlings in their trade half merchantman half warship the villagers of Raven spur the creek of which the vessel now rapidly made to imagining that it was some trading craft in distress grouped round the banks and put out their boats but the vessel held on its way and as the water was swelled by the tide and unusually deep silently cast anchor close to shore a quarter of a mile from the crowd the first who leapt on land was a knight of lofty stature and in complete armor richly inlaid with gold arabesques to him succeeded another also in mail proportioned of less imposing presence and then one by one the womb of the dark ship gave forth a number of armed soldiers infinitely larger than it could have been supposed to contain till the night who first landed stood at the center of the group of 500 men then were lowered from the vessel barbed and comparisoned some live score of horses and finally the sailors and rowers armed but with steel caps and short swords came ashore till not a man was left on board now praise said the chief knight to god and saint george that we have escaped the water and not with invisible winds but with bodily foes must our war be waged be you sire cried one night who had debarked immediately after the speaker and who seemed from his bearing and equipment of higher rank than those that followed be you sire this is a slight army to reconquer a king's realm pray heaven that our bold companions have also escaped the deep why verily we are not enough at the best to spare one man said the chief knight gaily but low we are not well comers and he pointed to the crowd of villagers who now slowly neared the war like group but halted at a little distance continued to gaze at them in some anxiety and alarm ho there good fellows cried the leader striding towards the throng what name give you to this village raven spur please your worship answered one of the peasants raven spur hear you that lords and friends except the omen on this spot landed from exile henry of ballingbrook known afterwards in our annals as king henry the fourth bears the soil of corn and trees it disdains meaner fruit it grows kings hark the sound of a bugle was heard at a little distance and in a few moments a truth about a hundred men were seen rising above an undulation in the ground and as the two bands recognized each other a shout of joy was given and returned as this new reinforcement advanced the peasantry and fishermen attracted by curiosity and encouraged by the peaceable demeanor of the debarkers drew nearer and mingled with the first comers what manner of men be ye one she asked one of the bystanders who seemed of better nurturing than the rest and who indeed was a small franklin no answer was returned by those he more immediately addressed but the chief knight heard the question and suddenly unbuckling his helmet and giving it to one of those beside him he turned to the crowd a continence of singular beauty at once animated and majestic and said in a loud voice we are Englishmen like you and we come here to claim our rights ye seem tall fellows and honest standard bearer unfurl our flag and as the ensign suddenly displayed the device of a son in a field azure the chief continued march under this banner and for every day you serve ye shall have a months higher marry quoth the franklin with a suspicious sinister look these be big words and who are you sir knight who would levy men in king henry's kingdom your knees fellows cried the second night behold your true liege and caesarean edward the fourth long live king edward the soldiers caught up the cry and it was re-echoed lustily by the smaller detachment that now reached the spot but no answer came from the crowd they looked at one another in dismay and retreated rapidly from their place amongst the troops in fact the whole of the neighboring district was devoted to warwick and many of the peasantry about had joined the former rising under sir john connears the franklin alone retreated not with the rest he was a bluff plain bold fellow with good english blood in his veins and when the shout ceased he said shortly we hear about no no king but king henry we fear you would impose upon us we cannot believe that a great lord like him you call edward the fourth would land with a handful of men to encounter the armies of lord warwick we forewarn you to get into your ship and go back as fast as he came for the stomach of england is sick of brawls and blows and what you devise is treason fourth from the new detachment stepped a youth of small stature not in armor and with many a weather stain on his gorgeous dress he laid his hands upon the franklin's shoulder honest and plain dealing fellow said he you are right pardon the foolish outburst of these brave men who cannot forget as yet that their chief has worn the crown we come back not to disturb this realm nor to effect ought against king henry whom the saints have favoured no by saint paul we come back to claim our lands unjustly forfeit my noble brother here in england since the people will it not but he is duke of york and he will be contented if assured of the style and lands our father left him for me called richard of glouchester i ask nothing but leave to spend my manhood where i have spent my youth under the eyes of my renowned godfather richard neville earl of warwick so report of us wither to york said the franklin softened despite his judgment by the irresistible suavity of the voice that addressed him thither will we go my lord duke and brother with your leave said prince richard peaceably and as petitioners god save you friends and countrymen pray for us that king henry and the parliament may do us justice we are not over rich now but better times may come largesse and filling both hands with coins from his gibsire he tossed the bounty amongst the peasants millé tonnerre what means he with this humble talk of king henry and the parliament whispered edward to the lord say while the crowd scrambled for the largesse and richard smilingly mingled amongst them and conferred with the franklin let him alone I pray you my liege I guess his wise design and now for our ships what orders for the master for the other vessels let them sail or anchor as they list but for the bark that has born edward king of England to the land of his ancestors there is no return the royal adventurer then beckoned the Flemish master of the ship who with every sailor aboard had debarked and the loose dresses of the mariners made a strong contrast to the male of the warriors with whom they mingled friend said edward in french thou hast said that thou wilt share my fortunes and that thy good fellows are no less free of courage and leal in trust it is so sire not a man who is gazed on thy face and heard thy voice but longs to serve one whose brow nature has written king and trust me said edward no prince of my blood shall be dearer to me than you and yours my friends in danger and in need and since it be so the ship that hath borne such hearts and such hopes should insoothe no no meaner freight is all prepared yes sire as you ordered the train is laid for the brainen up then with a fiery signal and let it tell from cliff to cliff from town to town that edward the plantagnette once returned to england leaves it but for the grave the master bowed and smiled grimly the sailors who had been prepared for the burning arranged before the master and the prince and whose careless hearts edward had thoroughly won to his person and his cause followed the former towards the ship and stood silently grouped around the shore the soldiers less informed gazed idly on and richard now regained edward's side reflect he said as he drew him apart that when on this spot he gave not out that he was marching to the throne of richard the second he professed but to claim his duchy and men were influenced by justice till they became agents of ambition this be your policy with two thousand men you are but duke of york with ten thousand men you are king of england in passing hither i met with many and sounding the temper of the district i find it not ripe to share your hazard the world soon ripens when it hath to hail success oh young boy's smooth face oh old man's deep brain said edward admiringly what a king hats thou made a sudden flush passed over the prince's pale cheek and air it died away a flaming torch was hurled loft in the air it fell whirling into the ship a moment and a loud crash a moment and a mighty blaze up sprung from the deck along the rails the sheeted fire a giant beard flame it reddened the coast the skies from far and near it glowed on the faces and the steel of the scanty army it was seen miles away by the warders of many a castle manned with the troops of Lancaster it brought the steed from the stall the courier to the cell it sped as of old the beacon fire that announced to Clytemnestra the return of the Argyve King from post to post rode the fiery news till it reached Lord Warwick in his hall King Henry in his palace Elizabeth in her sanctuary the iron step of the dauntless edward was once more pressed upon the soil of England End of Section 58 This recording is in the public domain Recorded by Daniel Howard Hurt of Vancouver British Columbia Canada on Monday October 28th 2019 painter 1797 until 1856 painting page 430 Edward IV died in 1483 leaving a son as rightful heir to the throne however Richard, brother of Edward IV who had been made protector contrived to get possession of the child and also of his younger brother and to make himself king in order to make his crown more secure he determined to murder the two boys and the business was put into the hands of Sir James Turrell the governor of the tower where the princes were confined was ordered by letter of the king to give the keys to Sir James the unscrupulous man chose his agents and at midnight when the boys were asleep the murderers stole into their room and smoothed them with a bedcloth Sir James came to make sure that they were dead and ordered that the bodies should be buried at once in the courtyard he is said to have received from the king a most extravagant reward for this villainy the boys are here represented in the gloomy apartment in the tower they are trying to read but the faces show plainly the fear that is upon them the face of the younger manifests merely dread of something he knows not what but on that on the older is reflected a knowledge of the fate that must be expected the dusk of evening is already closing about them a few hours and they will be no more and of section 59 this recording is in the public domain