[ MATTHEW PARIS ]
Mathew Paris (d. 1259), English Benedictine monk and chronicler, known largely only through his voluminous and detailed writings, which constitute one of the most important sources of knowledge of events in Europe between 1235 and 1259. Paris was admitted a monk at the Abbey of St. Albans in England in 1217, and in 1248 he was sent to Norway to reform the Benedictine Monastery of St. Benet Holm on the island of Nidarholm. Apart from this mission and occasional visits to the royal court at Westminster,Winchester, and elsewhere, he remained at St. Albans, assiduously recording contemporary events. His Chronica majora ("Major Chronicles") incorporates Roger Wendover's Flores historiarum ("Flowers of History") and continues it from 1235 to 1259. His other chronicles--the Historia Anglorum ("History of the English"), the Flores historiarum, and the Abbreviatio chronicorum ("Summary of the Chronicles") -- are all abridged from his Chronica majora but contain some additional matter. Paris also wrote a history of his own house, the Gesta abbatum monasterii Sancti Albani ("Deeds of the Abbots of the Monastery of St. Albans"). Autograph manuscripts of all these works survive. He wrote biographies of Saint Alban, Edward the Confessor, Saint Thomas Becket, and Edmund Rich, in Anglo-Norman verse, and of Stephen Langton and Edmund Rich, in Latin prose. As a chronicler, Paris is noteworthy for his detailed knowledge of events all over Europe; for his use of information obtained from the leading figures of his day, such as Henry III and Richard, Earl of Cornwall, both of whom he knew well; for the large number of documents that he included either in his chronicle or in an appendix to it; and for the outspoken expression of his prejudices against, in particular, the king, the foreign favourites at court, and the papacy. He Continued Wendovers work up to 1259 , he wrote with full knowledge and is one of the most famous of English medieval historians.
Henry III was a minor during the first eleven years of his reign, after that the government was in his own hands he was guided by favourites, usually foreigners. In 1258 the anger of the barons at the misrule of Henry III came to a head. Led by Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, they forced him to submit to the arrangements made by what was known as the "Mad Parliament." After the Mad Parliament and the Provisions of Oxford, war again broke out between the king's party and Simon de Montfort's baronial party . Montfort obtained the upper hand by his victory at Lewes. Prince Edward was held in ward as a hostage. But jealousy of Montfort dislike of his ideas drove a number of the barons to the royalist side. Montfort again had to take up arms ; but Edward, who escaped from, custody, overthrew him at Evesham where he was killed.
About the beginning of the year, in the octaves of the Purification, the nobles of all England were convoked at London to confer with the king on the affairs of the kingdom, which was now greatly disturbed, impoverished, and injured. In accordance with this summons, therefore, there came thither nine bishops and nine earls, besides a great number of barons, knights and other nobles, and also of abbots, priors, and clerks. Amongst them were the archbishop of York, and the bishops of Winchester, Lincoln, Norwich, Worcester, Chichester, Ely, Rochester, and Carlisle; Earl Richard, the earls of Gloucester, Leicester, Winchester, and Hereford; Roger Bigod, earl marshal, the earl of Oxford, and besides them the earl of Lincoln, Earl Ferrers, Earl Warrenne, and Peter of Savoy, earl of Richmond. The prelates who were not present at this great assembly were Boniface, archbishop of Canterbury, who was fighting for the Pope on the continent, the bishop of Durham, who was ill at a distance, and the bishop of Bath, who had lately died. The king then explained to them his purpose, which indeed was not a secret to the community in general, and asked pecuniary aid from them ; whereupon he was severely rebuked and reproached, in that he was not ashamed to demand such assistance at that time, especially because on the last exaction of a similar kind, to which the nobles of England were with difficulty induced to give their consent, he gave his charter that he would not again make such an exaction. He was also most severely blamed (and no wonder) for the indiscreet way in which he summoned foreigners into the kingdom, and for lavishly and indiscreetly scattering the property of the kingdom amongst them, and also for marrying the nobles of the kingdom to ignoble foreigners ; thus despising and putting aside his native and natural subjects, and without asking the consent of both parties, which is necessary to the completion of a marriage. He was also claimed, and not without reason, because he seized by force on whatever he used in the way of meat and drink - especially wine, and even clothes against the will of those who sold those things, and were the true owners; wherefore the native dealers withdrew and hid themselves, as also did foreigners, who would otherwise bring their goods for sale to that country. Thus a stop was put to trade, by which different nations are mutually enriched and strengthened, and thus we are defamed and impoverished, because they obtain nothing but lawsuits and anger from the king ; and by this he, the said king, incurs awful maledictions from numberless people, to the peril and disgrace of himself and the whole kingdom. From these traders, moreover, he, in order that he may bestow alms indiscreetly, and may make immoderate illuminations, forcibly seizes wax, silk, stuffs, and other things, without making any terms of pacification thus bringing scandal on himself, his kingdom, and all who inhabit it, and not without giving serious offence to God, who holds rapine in abhorrence when connected with an offering. In all these proceedings he tyrannizes and oppresses to such a degree that even on the sea-coast he does not allow the herrings and other fish to be disposed of at the will of the poor fishermen, nor do they dare to appear in the places adjoining the sea-coast, or in the cities, for fear of being robbed so that they consider it safer to trust themselves to the stormy billows, and to seek the further shore.
The miserable traders also are so cruelly oppressed and annoyed by the royal agents, that punishment is added to
loss; and injury is heaped upon injury, both as regards their own persons, and as regards their carriages and their
horses already jaded. The king was, moreover, reprehended, in that he, contrary to the first and chief oath which
he made at his coronation, impoverished even to their ruin the bishoprics and abbacies; as well as the vacant wardships
founded by the nobles and holy fathers, which for a long time he detains in his own hands, of which he ought to
be the protector and defender; and therefore they are said to be in his hands, that is, under his protection. Another
complaint was no slight one and this was, that, unlike his noble predecessors, he never appointed either a justiciar,
a chancellor, or treasurer, in consonance with the advice of the kingdom in general, as he ought and was expedient,
but only such persons as obeyed his pleasure in everything, provided that it was advantageous to himself; who moreover
did not seek the advancement of the common weal, but only their own especial benefit by collecting money and obtaining
wardships and revenues for themselves.
The king, at hearing these complaints, was confused and ashamed of himself, as he knew that all the charges were
true. He therefore promised most faithfully that he would willingly amend these matters, hoping by this humiliation,
although only feigned, more easily to bend the hearts of all to accede to his demand. To this, however, the assembly,
who had been often ensnared by such promises, replied, " This will be seen plainly enough, and within a short
time ; we will still wait patiently, and as the king shall conduct and bear himself towards us, so will we obey
him in all matters." Everything then was put off, and referred to consideration until the fortnight of the
Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The king, in the meantime, either of his own accord, or at the instigation of
his courtiers, who did not wish their power to be weakened, became obdurate and more exasperated against his subjects,
and took but very little trouble to make amends to them for the above-mentioned excesses, as he had promised to
do .
The king, however, did not, as he ought, give glory
to God the Lord of hosts for the victory granted to him but began sedulously to think how he could entirely dry
up the inexhaustible well of England. For, on meeting with a just repulse from the assembly of nobles, as above
mentioned, who stated that they would no longer lavish their property to the ruin of the kingdom, he studied, by
other cunning devices, to quench the thirst of his cupidity. Immediately after the festivities of the said season,
he entered upon the following plan of harassing the citizens of London. He suspended the carrying on of traffic
in that city, as has been before mentioned, for a fortnight, by establishing a new fair at Westminster, to the
loss and injury of many ; and immediately afterwards he sent letters by his agents, containing subtle and imperious
entreaties, asking them for pecuniary aid. On receipt of this message, the citizens were grieved to the heart,
and said " Woe to us, woe to us ; where is the liberty of London, which is so often bought; so often granted;
so often guaranteed by writing so often sworn to be respected ? For each year almost, like slaves of the lowest
condition, we are impoverished by new tallages, and injuriously harassed by fox - like arguments ; nor can we discover
into what whirlpool the property of which we are robbed is absorbed. " At length, however, although immense
sums were demanded, the citizens, although unwillingly and not without bitterness of heart, yielded their consent
to a contribution of two thousand pounds, to be paid to the king in a brief period. his usual oppression, moreover,
raged without any moderation; for all vendible articles, if they were not concealed, as if they were stolen goods,
especially meats and drinks, were seized for the use of the king; and yet his house did not acquire any increase
of hospitality therefrom but banishing all shame, he stinted himself more every day, with a reprehensible sparingness;
the ancient kingly hospitality was expelled from his door, and the custom of the Roman table made its way in, obscuring
in no slight degree his fame and honour as a king.
The king in the meantime did not cease to scrape up money from all quarters, principally from the Jews, and, in
a secondary degree, from a his own natural Christian subjects: to such a degree did he carry his exactions amongst
the former that from one of them, named Aaron, who was born at York and kept a house in that city, he extorted
fourteen thousand marks, and ten thousand in gold, for the use of the queen (because, as was reported, he was proved
guilty of forging a certain charter), to be paid at a short period, to prevent his being put in prison. Besides
paying all this, it was found out that this said Aaron had paid to the king, on his return from the continent,
the sum of thirty thousand marks of silver, and two hundred in gold, for the use of the queen as he, the said Jew
Aaron, declared by legal attestation and on his faith, to brother Matthew, the writer of this hook. However, miserable
though they were, they were none of them deserving of pity, because they were clearly proved to have been corrupters
of the king's money, and forgers of seals and charters; for which they had been frequently reproved and condemned.
At this time, the king day by day lost the affection of his natural subjects, and that not now by small degrees;
for, openly following the example of his father, he enticed all the foreigners he could to his side, enriched them,
and, despising and despoiling his English subjects, intruded aliens into their place at one time Earl Richard,
at another the archbishop, now the bishop of Winchester and his other brothers, now the bishop of Hereford, and
now Peter of Savoy, and others, whom he had summoned from all quarters. Hence many kings rose up in England, to
carry off carts and horses, provisions and clothing, and indeed all necessaries; the Poitevins also employed themselves
in oppressing the nobles of the country, and especially religious men, in a thousand ways and if any one were to
recount only the injuries which William de Valence inflicted on the abbot of St. Albans and the prior of Tynemouthi,
he would draw tears from his hearers; but of those matters an account is given in the book of Additaments, to shorten
the length of this work.
The king, however, persisted in his usual extravagances, and as if in revenge for this opposition of the prelates,
continued to distribute the vacant escheats and revenues amongst unknown, scurrilous, and undeserving foreigners,
in order to inflict an irreparable wound upon. the heads of his natural subjects. Not to name others, we think
it right to mention in this volume the following ease as one out of many. In the service of Geoffrey de Lusignan,
the king's brother, was a certain chaplain, who served as a fool and buffoon to the king, the said Geoffrey his
master, and all the court, and whose sayings, like those of a silly jester and cup-bearer, contributed to their
amusement, and excited their laughter. On this man the king bestowed the rich church of Preston, which had formerly
belonged to William Haverhull, the lately deceased treasurer of the king; the yearly proceeds of which church amounted
to more than a hundred pounds. This same chaplain, a Poitevin by birth, utterly ignorant alike in manners and learning,
we have seen pelting the king, his brother Geoffrey, and other nobles, whilst walking in the orchard of St. Albans,
with turf, stones and green apples, and pressing the juice of unripe grapes in their eyes, like a lunatic. Despicable
alike in his gesture, mode of speech, and habits, as well as in size and personal appearance, this man might be
considered as a stage actor rather than, a priest - as he was, to the great disgrace of the priestly order. To
such persons the king of England intrusted the care and guardianship of many thousands of souls, rejecting such
a vast number of learned, prudent and proper men as England has given birth to, who know the language of the natives,
and how to instruct the ignorant. In like manner, also, to provoke the anger and hatred of worthy men, the king
ill-advisedly gave away the other church benefices which had belonged to the aforesaid William, to unworthy men
and foreigners, whose incapability and uselessness were shown by their extraordinary conduct, and who were plainly
proved to be reprobates by their conversation. This digression from the subject of our narrative is elicited by
our sorrow for the causes of it.
As the feast of St. Barnabas drew near, the magnates and nobles of the country hastened to the parliament which was to be held at Oxford, and gave orders to all those who owed them knight-service, to accompany them, equipped and prepared as if to defend their persons against the attacks of enemies. This they accordingly carried into effect, concealing their real reasons for so doing under the pretence that their coining in such a way was to shew themselves ready to set out with their united forces against the king's enemies in Wales. The fact was, they entertained no slight fears that, in consequence of the disagreement of parties, an intestine war should break out amongst themselves, and that the king and his Poitevin brethren would call on the foreigners to aid them against his own natural subjects. Moreover the nobles took further precautions for carefully guarding the seaports. At the commencement of the parliament, the proposed plan of the nobles was unalterably decided on and they most expressly demanded that the king should faithfully keep and observe the conditions of the charter of the liberties of England, which his father, King John, had made and granted to his English subjects, and which he, the said John, had sworn to observe which said charter, he, the present King henry, had many times granted and sworn to observe, and against all violators of which he ordered sentence of excommunication to be published by all the bishops of England, in the presence of himself and of his barons, he himself being one of the excommunicators. They moreover demanded that a justiciar should be appointed to render justice to those who suffered injuries, with equal impartiality towards the rich and the poor. They also made some other demands, in connection with the affairs of the kingdom, tending to promote the welfare, peace, and honour, as well of the king as of the kingdom moreover they insisted that the king should frequently consult them, and listen to their advice in making all necessary provisions; and they made oath, giving their right hands to one another in pledge of faith, that they would prosecute their design, at the risk of losing their money, their lands, and even their lives, as well as those of their people The king acknowledged the reasonableness of these remonstrance's, and solemnly swore that he would give heed to their counsels, and his son Edward was bound down by a similar oath. This oath, however, was refused by John, Earl of Warenne, and the uterine brothers of the king, William de Valence, and others. Orders were, moreover, issued for the ports of England to be more strictly guarded, and for the gates of London to be carefully and more secretly fastened by night on which some one said " Through the night the gates of London were shut, for fear the deceit of Frenchmen should break the city."
After they had prolonged their stay at Oxford for some days, they met together at a house of the Preacher brethren,
to deliberate as to what was to be done in the difficult matter of improving the condition of the disturbed kingdom.
There they renewed afresh their alliance, and reiterated their oath, and confirmed their determination that they
would not allow themselves, for life or death, or for their possessions, for hatred or love, or for any reason
whatever, to be bent from, or weakened in, their design of purifying from ignoble foreigners the kingdom which
gave birth to themselves and their ancestors, who were men of noble race, and of regaining proper and commendable
laws; and they resolved that if any one, whosoever he might be, should oppose this determination, he should be
compelled, even though against his will, to join them. Although the king and his eldest son, Edward, had taken
the oath, the latter began, as far as he could, to draw back from it, as did also John, Earl Warenne. Henry, the
son of Richard, king of Germany, wavered, and said that he would on no account take such an oath without the advice
and permission of his father; whereupon he was told plainly and publicly, that even if his father himself would
not acquiesce in the plan of the barons, he should not keep possession of one furrow of land in England. The aforesaid
brothers of the king had, moreover, sworn positively, by the death and wounds of Christ, that they would never,
as long as they lived, give up the castles, revenues, or guardianships which their brother, the king, had freely
given them, although Simon, earl of Leicester, had given up gratis to the king his castles of Kenilwithe and Odiham,
which he had repaired and fortified a few days previously.
When they made this declaration, affirming it by unmentionable oaths, Simon, earl of Leicester, addressing himself
to William de Valence, who was blustering more than the others, replied: "You may rest assured that you will
undoubtedly lose your head"; and the other earls and barons said the same, and swore to it in a most determined
manner. The Poitevins were in consequence in great alarm, and knew not what to do; for if they betook themselves
for concealment to any castle, being destitute of all stores and means of defence, they would be besieged, and
would perish of hunger; for even if the nobles did not do so, the whole community of the people at large would
besiege them, and destroy their castles to the very foundations. They therefore suddenly amid secretly took to
flight, whilst dinner was being prepared; and that their design might not be found out, they pretended that they
wished to sit down to dinner. As they fled, they frequently looked behind them, and made some of their retainers
ascend high towers to watch if the barons followed in pursuit of them ; nor did they spare their horses sides till
they reached Winchester, where, in their fear, they placed themselves, as it were, under the protecting wings of
the bishop elect of Winchester, on whom all their hopes depended; and moreover, their hopes of finding a safe place
of refuge in the castles belonging to him, the said bishop elect. The nobles in the meantime became more firmly
leagued together, and appointed as their justiciar, Hugh Bigod, brother of the earl marshal, an illustrious and
high-born knight, of pure English blood, and well skilled in the laws of the country amid he fulfilled the duties
of justiciar with vigour, and would not allow the rights of time kingdom to be shaken on any account.
When the nobles were made aware of the certain flight of the Poitevins, as aforesaid, they feared that the fugitives
might get near to the sea-coast and summon foreigners, Poitevins and others, from the continent, to their aid.
Seeing, then, that the delay brought on danger, they gave strict orders to their vassals, and to all their partisans,
to fly to arms, and to mount their horses with all haste : and thus ended the parliament at Oxford, without any
fixed and definite result.
In this year, whilst the king's son Edward was still detained in custody in the castle of Hereford, a disagreement
arose between Simon earl of Leicester, and Gilbert de Clare, the cause of which was as follows The earl of Leicester
was not content with detaining the king of England in his own custody, but took the king's castles under his own
authority, and arranged the affairs of the whole kingdom at his own will. And what was a principal ground of offence
was, that he claimed entirely for himself alone, the proceeds and profits of the kingdom, the ransoms of prisoners,
and other emoluments, which ought, according to the terms of their agreement, to be divided equally among them.
He seemed also to be held in contempt by his own sons, who had become proud, and had just at this time caused a
proclamation to be made of a tournament to be held at Dunstable against the earl of Gloucester, to which the Londoners
came, and a large number of knight. and fighting men. When their father Simon heard of this, he rebuked them for
their presumption, strictly enjoining them to desist from their proceedings, and threatened them that unless they
obeyed his orders, he would put them where they should not enjoy sight of the sun. When the earl of Gloucester
hoard of this prohibition, he was enraged beyond belief; and many who had made preparations for the aforesaid tournament
could ill bear to see themselves balked of their purpose, the greatest source of annoyance being the expense which
they had incurred in the matter. So, giving vent to their reproaches against the earl, they said that it was ridiculous
for a foreigner to presume to hold the sovereignty of the whole kingdom in his hands. What increased Gilbert's
anger was, that when he asked and begged for the other prisoners taken from him (Gilbert) and his followers, Simon
had replied by a brief refusal. On account of this, their former friendship was converted into hatred, and the
quarrel rose to such a height that neither consideration for his oath, ,nor devotion to the cause, could thenceforth
pacify Gilbert Moreover, Gilbert defended all the noble knights of the march (of whom mention has been made above)
whom Earl Simon had by a public edict ordered to evacuate the kingdom, and having sent to them took them into an
alliance with him. Their confederacy was increased by John de Warenne, earl of Surrey and Sussex, and William de
Valence, earl of Pembroke, who, on their way to the western provinces of Wales, landed at Pembroke. Earl Simon,
then, taking the king with him, set out for Hereford, and collected a strong body of troops with the intention
of subduing the aforesaid knights by force of arms. In the meantime, endeavours were made by some of the prelates
to bring the earls of Leicester and Gloucester to their former state of friendship and union, but without effect
.
About this time, whilst matters were in this state, the king's son Edward, who was detained in custody in the castle
of Hereford, obtained permission from his guards to take exercise in a field outside the city, and to amuse himself
with trying the speed of their horses. On one occasion, after trying several horses and tiring them out he at length
chose a good one, which lie mounted, and urging him to speed with his spurs, he bade farewell to his guards, and
crossing the river Wear, he directed his course, accompanied by two knights and four esquires, who were aware of
his design, to the castle of Wigmore. His guards gave pursuit to him, but seeing the banners of Roger Mortimer
and Roger de Clifford, who were come to assist Edward in his escape, they were out-maneuvered, and so returned
to Hereford. These occurrences took place on the eve of the Trinity, and were arranged with the counsel and assistance
of the aforesaid knights.
Thus released from his imprisonment, Edward assembled a large army, as members flocked to join him, and the counties
of Hereford, Worcester, Salop, and Chester entered into an alliance with him, the towns and villages, cities and
castles, pouring forth their inhabitants to join his standard. He at once besieged and took the city of Gloucester,
of which the earl had lately gained possession, the garrison left therein taking flight to the castle but after
fifteen days they surrendered the castle also ; and on giving their oath not to bear arms against Edward for the
future, they were allowed to depart at liberty.
The earl of Leicester in the meantime attacked the castle of Monmouth, which the earl of Gloucester had lately
taken and fortified, and having compelled the garrison to surrender, razed the castle to the ground. He then entered
Glamorganshire, the territory of the said earl of Gloucester, and being met by the Prince of the Welsh with succour,
the two chiefs together ravaged the whole country with fire and sword. Edward, in the meantime, hearing that many
of the partisans of Earl Simon had flocked together to the castle of Kenilworth, joined his forces with those of
the earl of Gloucester, and setting forth from Worcester in the evening, reached that place by forced marches.
Coming on the place suddenly, he made prisoner the earl of Oxford, and about thirteen knights bannerets, before
they could enter the castle in which Simon the son of Earl Simon, had shut himself up. Simon, earl of Leicester,
always keeping the king in his company, returned from the south of Wales, and on the festival of St. Peter ad Vincula,
arrived at Kempsey, a manor of the bishop of Worcester, and stayed there on the day following. Edward then returned
from Kenilworth to Worcester, which is only three miles distant from the said manor and Simon, on hearing of his
arrival there, went away with the king at nightfall, and took up his quarters in, the town of Evesham, where he
awaited his unhappy destiny.
For on the morrow, which was the day of the Finding of St. Stephen, Edward moved from Worcester, crossed the river
near the town of Claines and cut off the approach of the earl to his son, who was in the castle of Kenilworth and
prevented all chance of the father and son meeting. On the following day he drew near the town of Evesham on one
side, and the earl of Gloucester and Roger Mortimer came up with their respective forces in two other directions,
and thus the earl of Leicester was hemmed in on all sides, and was under the necessity either of voluntarily surrendering,
or of giving them battle. On the 5th day of August, which fell on the third day of the week, both armies met in
a large plain outside the town, where a most severe conflict ensued, till the partisans of the earl began to give
way, and the whole weight of the battle falling upon him he was slain on the field. At the time of his death, a
storm of thunder and lightning occurred, and darkness prevailed to such an extent, that all were struck with amazement.
Besides the earl, there fell, in that battle, twelve knights bannerets namely, Henry, his son ; Peter de Montfort
; Hugh Despenser, justiciar of England ; William de Mandeville Ralph Basset William de Crespigny ; William York;
Robert Tregor; Thomas Hostelee; John Beauehamp ; Guy Balliol ; Roger de Roulec; and a great number of others of
inferior rank, such as esquires and foot-soldiers ; the greatest loss being among the Welsh.
Thus ended the labours of that noble man Earl Simon, who gave up not only his property, but his person, to defend
the poor from oppression, and for the maintenance of justice and the rights of the kingdom. He was distinguished
for his learning ; to him an assiduous attention to divine duties was a pleasure he was moderate and frugal; and
it was a usual practice of his to watch by night in preference to sleeping. He was bold in speech, and of a severe
aspect; he put great confidence in the prayers of men of religion, and always paid great respect to ecclesiastics.
He endeavoured to adhere to the counsels of St. Robert surnamed Grosstete, bishop of Lincoln, and entrusted his
children to him to be brought up when very young.
On that prelate's counsel he relied when arranging matters of difficulty, when attempting dubious enterprises,
and in finishing what he had begun, especially in those matters by which he hoped to increase his merits. It was
reported that the same bishop had enjoined on him, in order to obtain remission of his sins, to take up this cause,
for which he fought even to the death declaring that the peace of the church of England could not be firmly established
except by the sword, and positively assuring him that all who had died for it would be crowned with martyrdom.
Some persons, moreover, stated, that on one occasion the bishop placed his hand on the head of the earl's eldest
son, and said to him, " My well-beloved child, both thou and thy father shall die on one day, and by one kind
of death but it will be in the cause of justice and truth." Report goes, that Simon, after his death, was
distinguished by the working of many miracles, which, however, were not made publicly known, for fear of kings.
