The chronicle: 1272-97

Annales Cestrienses Chronicle of the Abbey of S. Werburg, At Chester. Originally published by Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, London, 1887.

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'The chronicle: 1272-97', in Annales Cestrienses Chronicle of the Abbey of S. Werburg, At Chester, (London, 1887) pp. 102-121. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/lancs-ches-record-soc/vol14/pp102-121 [accessed 18 April 2024]

1272-97

[mcclxxij] Obiit Henricus rex Anglie pater Eadwardi die Sancti Eadmundi Cantuariensis archiepiscopi. 1272 Henry [III.], king of England, the father of [king] Edward, died on the day of S. Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury [November 16].
mcclxxiij Consecratus est frater Robertus de Kulverby in archiepiscopum Cantuariensem. 1273 Brother Robert of Kilwarby was consecrated as archbishop of Canterbury.
[mcclxxiv] Eadwardus Rex Anglie rediit de terra Sancta versus Gasconiam et plures hostes suos ibidem debellavit.
Eodem vero anno die magni martyris apud Westmonasterium a fratre Roberto de Kulverby archiepiscopo Cantuariensi est coronatus.
Eodem anno in festo Sancti Michaelis Dominus Reginaldus de Grey demisit Justiciariam Cestrie cui successit Guncelinus de Badelesmere. 		1274 Edward, king of England, returned from the Holy Land by way of Gascony, and there he vanquished very many of his enemies.
But in the same year, on the day of Magnus the Martyr [August 19] he was crowned at Westminster by brother Robert of Kilwarby, archbishop of Canterbury.
In the same year, on the feast of S. Michael [September 29], the lord Reginald de Grey resigned the office of justiciary of Chester. Gonselin de Badlesmere succeeded him.
mcclxxv Edwardus Rex Anglie in generali parlemento suo post coronacionem suam fecit multa statuta, decimas (fn. 1) regni obtinuit.
Idem Rex apud Cestriam venit ut tractaret cum principe Wallie Lewelino et cito pro contemptu dicti principis recessit.
Eodem anno Eadmundus frater Edwardi Regis duxit in uxorem Reginam de Naverie unde tunc fuit discordia mota inter reges Francie et Hispanie pro custodia heredum Regis Naverie.
In illo anno obiit Johannes de Kampedene prior Sancte Werburge Cestrie. 		1275 Edward, king of England, in his general parliament after his coronation, made many statutes and obtained [as a subsidy a grant of] a tenth [of the goods] of the kingdom.
Also the king came to Chester, that he might treat with the prince of Wales, Llewelin, and soon returned on account of the contempt with which that prince [treated his invitation].
In the same year, Edmund, brother of king Edward, took to wife [Blanche] queen of Navarre [widow of Henry, king of Navarre], thence there arose dissension between the kings of France and Spain, as to the custody of the heirs of the king of Navarre.
In this year died John of Campden, prior of S. Werburg, Chester.
[mcclxxvj] Prosecutio brevium et Statutorum domini regis Eadwardi.
Eodem anno mortalitas bidentium incipit.
Eodem anno occisus Robertus de Huxley in Wallia xiij kal. marcii et interdicta fuit Wallia et Lewelinus excommunicatus. 		1276 Enforcement of the writs and statutes of our lord king Edward.
In the same year a mortality of cattle began.
In the same year Robert de Huxley [sheriff of Cheshire] was killed in Wales, February 17, and Wales was put under an interdict, and Llewelin excommunicated.
mcclxxvij Eadwardus Rex Anglie intravit Walliam cum comitibus et baronibus totius Anglie et obsedit eam undique tam per mare quam per terram unde capta fuit Angleseya tandem circa festum Sancti Martini in hieme Lewelinus princeps necessitate compulsus habito magnatorum consilio et beneficio absolutionis optento venit apud Rothelanum (fn. 2) et ibi [se] subposuit omnino voluntati et misericordie domini regis ita scilicet quod inobedientia sua dampnis et injuriis dicto domino regi et suis per dictum Lewelinum et suos illatis dictus Lewelinus dedit pro pace habenda Domino Regi l. m. libras sterlingorum et ibi fecit sacramentum fidelitatis daturus quolibet anno domino Regi pro Angleseya m. marcas argenti.
Item xv kal. Septembris natus est Johannes fil. Henricus De Lacy. 		1277 Edward, king of England, entered Wales with the earls and barons of the whole of England, and besieged it on every side, as well by sea as by land, so that Anglesea was captured. At length about the feast of S. Martin [November 11] in winter, Llewelin, prince [of Wales], compelled by necessity, having taken counsel of the magnates and obtained the benefits of absolution, came to Rhuddlan, and there he submitted himself completely to the will and mercy of our lord the king. So that for his disobedience, and the damage and injury which had been caused to our said lord the king, by the said Llewelin and his men, and as the price of the pardon for himself and those he had brought with him, Llewelin gave for obtaining peace from our lord the king fifty thousand pounds [of silver] sterlings, and then he took an oath of fealty [to the king] and promised to give every year to our lord the king [as a tribute] for Anglesea, a thousand marks of silver.
Also on August 18, John, son of Henry de Lacy [earl of Lincoln, and constable of Chester], was born.
[mcclxxviij] Combusta [est] Cestria fere tota infra muros civitatis idus Maii, et translatus est Robertus de Culwerby ab archiepiscopo Cantuariensi in episcopum Portuensem per Nicholam Papam et capti fuerint Judei per totam Angliam in octavis Sancti Martini per preceptum regis Edwardi, propter tonsionem monetæ et plures fuerunt suspensi similiter et aurifabri capti fuerunt et positi sub plegiis.
Item statuit Rex in quodam parleamento quod nullus terras vel tenementa quoquo titulo ad manum mortuam daret vel vendet sine licencia domini Regis speciali hoc est ad manum religiosorum.
Eodem [anno] obiit Johannes Arneway civis Cestrie (fn. 3) qui et dedit de bonis suis Deo et Sancte Werburge et monachis ibidem servientibus ad sustentacionem duorum capellanorum quod patet per epithaphium super Tumbam ipsius ante altare Sancti Leonardi in australi parte ecclesie. 		1278 Almost the whole of Chester within the walls of the city was burned down on May 15. And Robert of Kilwarby was translated by pope Nicolas [III.] from being archbishop of Canterbury to be bishop of Porto [and cardinal]. And the Jews were seized throughout the whole of England, on the octave of S. Martin [November 18], by the order of king Edward, on the charge of clipping the coin, and very many were hanged, and in like manner many goldsmiths were seized and made to give security [not to clip the coin].
Also the king decreed in a certain parliament, that no one should sell or give under any pretence any lands or tenements in mortmain-that is into the hand of the religious-without the special licence of our lord, the king.
In the same year died John Arneway, a citizen of Chester, who gave of his goods to God and S. Werburg, and to the monks serving there [an endowment] for the maintenance of two chaplains: as is made manifest by the epitaph upon his tomb before the altar of S. Leonard in the southern part of the church.
[mcclxxix] Facta fuit nova moneta oboli et quadrantes rotundi. (fn. 4)
Item eodem anno mare erupit iij nonis Februarii die Sancte Werburge et multa mala fecit apud Stanlawe et alibi. Insuper pontem Cestrie confregit et asportavit cursum solitum supra modum excedens. 		1279 New money was coined [namely] round halfpennies and farthings.
Also in the same year, on February 3, S. Werburg's day, the sea broke in, and did much damage at Stanlawe and elsewhere. It also broke down and carried away the bridge at Chester, greatly exceeding its ordinary course.
[mcclxxx] Coacti sunt Judei per Regem Edwardum convenire inter Christianos ad audiendum sermones fratrum predicatorum et minorum.
Eodem Anno frater Johannes de Pecheham Archiepiscopus Cantuariensis visitavit diocesim Cestriensem. 		1280 The Jews were compelled by king Edward to assemble among the christians in order to hear sermons of the friars Preachers and the Minorites.
In the same year, brother John de Peckham, archbishop of Canterbury, visited the diocese of Chester.
[mcclxxxij] Nata est Aleysia filia Henrici de Lacy in Annunciatione beate Marie virginis.
Idus Octobris concilium apud Lamey. (fn. 5)
Eodem anno David filius Griffini pacis perturbator efectus est, de consilio fratris sui Lewelini principis Wallie post multa beneficia quæ fecit ei dominus Edwardus rex Anglie surrexit contra regem et die Palmarum cepit dominum Rogerum de Clifford apud Hawerdin et quosdam de militibus ejus interfecit, et castrum de Rothelan eodem die obsedit. Sed dominus Reginaldus de Grey Justiciarius Cestrie cum copia equitum [et] peditum ibidem veniens, Lewelinum et fratrem ejus David ab illa obsidione fugavit.
Eodem anno die Sabbati post festum Sancti Augustini Anglorum episcopi . . . . . . venit dominus Rex apud Cestriam et die Sanctorum Sirici et Julite fixit tentoriam apud Neuton inter Cestriam et Hawerdin ut firmaret castrum de Hope per David prostratum. Relicto ibi presidio:
In octavis Apostolorum Petri et Pauli castra metatus est cum exercitu suo apud Flint et munivit castellum. Die Jovis proxime post octavas apostolorum venerunt rex et regina cum exercitu suo apud Ruthelan.
Vigilia Sancti Petri ad Vincula venit Eadmundus frater Regis cum uxore sua Regina Navere apud Cestriam versus regem.
Eodem anno Rex dedit domino Henrico Comiti Lincolnie Ros et Rowanioc.
Eodem anno occisus est Willelmus de Valence filius Willelmi de Valence awunculi regis Edwardi et multi alii cum eo in quadam angusta via in Suth Walia.
Eodem anno dedit Rex domino Reginaldo de Grey Ruthin.
Eodem anno die Veneris ante festum Sancte Lucie virginis . . . . . . . Occisus est Lewelinus princeps Wallie in terra de Buet cum paucis et caput ejus regi est presentatum de quo scripserunt duo Religiosi, unus Anglicus alter Walensis, Walensis sic:-
Hic jacet Anglorum tortor.
Hic jacet Anglorum
Tortor, tutor Wen[i]dorum.
Princeps Wallorum
Lewelinus, regula morum
Gemma tornorum, (fn. 6)
Flos regum preteritorum
Forma futurorum
Dux, laus, lex, lux populorum.
Anglicus respondit sic:-
Hic jacet errorum
Princeps et predo virorum
Proditor Anglorum
Fax livida, secta reorum,
Numen Wallorum
Crux (fn. 7) dux homicida piorum
Fex trojanorum
Stirps mendax, causa malorum.
Eodem anno ad pontem quem rex fecerat preparari inter Snowdoniam et Angleseye submersi sunt xvi milites quorum nomina sunt hec:-
Dominus Willelmus de Audethleye,
Dominus Lucas de Taneiey,
Dominus Ricardus de Wellis,
Amari Burdet,
Petrus de Lamare,
Ph. Burnell,
Willelmus Burnell,
Henricus Tyeis,
Howelus fil. Griffini,
Roger de Clifford Junior,
Willelmus de Lindeseye,
Willelmus le Butiler filius Ricardi le Butiler,
Thomas de Halton,
Willelmus de Oudingishelys,
Petrus de la Quarere,
Walterus le Jaie,
et totd (fn. 8) armigeri cum ccc peditibus, et cum magna difficultate evasit dominus Oto de Graunsun.
Item missum est caput Lewelini principis apud Londoniam. 		1282 Alice, daughter of Henry de Lacy [earl of Lincoln] was born on the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary [March 25].
On October 15, a council was held at Lambeth.
In the same year, David, son of Griffin, by the advice of his brother Llewelin, prince of Wales, after the many benefits which the king had conferred upon him, became a disturber of the peace, and raised an insurrection against the king, and on Palm Sunday [March 22] captured the lord Roger de Clifford at Hawarden and killed certain of his soldiers, and laid siege to the castle of Rhuddlan on the same day. But the lord Reginald de Grey, justiciary of Chester, coming there with a force of horse and foot, put to flight Llewelin and his brother David from that siege.
In the same year on the Saturday after the feast of S. Augustine, bishop of the English [May 30] . . . . our lord the king came to Chester, and on the day of [the Martyrs] S.S. Ciricus and Julitta [June 16] he pitched his tent at Newton, between Chester and Hawarden in order to fortify the castle of Hope which had been demolished by David. A garrison having been left there,
On the octave of the Apostles Peter and Paul [July 6, the king] with his army encamped at Flint, and fortified the castle there. On the Thursday following the octave of the Apostles, the king and queen with their army came to Rhuddlan.
On the eve of S. Peter ad Vincula [July 31] Edmund [earl of Lancaster], the king's brother, came with his wife, the queen of Navarre, to Chester, on his way to the king.
In the same year the king gave to the lord Henry, earl of Lincoln, [the lordships of] Roos and Roweynoke.
In the same year William de Valence, son of William de Valence [earl of Pembroke], uncle of king Edward, was slain, and many others with him, in a certain narrow pass in South Wales.
In the same year the king gave Ruthin to the lord Reginald de Grey.
In the same year on the Friday before the feast of S. Lucy the Virgin, Llewelin, prince of Wales, was killed with a few followers in the land of Builth, and his head was brought to the king, upon whom two religious, one an Englishman, the other a Welshman, wrote [epitaphs]. The Welshman as follows:-
Here lies the tormentor of the English.
Here lies of Englishmen
The tormentor, the guardian of the Welsh,
The prince of the Welsh,
Llewelin the example of manners,
The jewel of his contemporaries,
The flower of the kings of the past,
The model of those of the future,
The leader, the glory, the law, the light of the people.
The Englishman thus replied:-
Here lies the prince of deceptions
And the plunderer of men,
The betrayer of the English,
A livid torch, a school of the wicked,
For the Welsh a deity,
A cruel leader, a murderer of the pious,
[Sprung from] the dregs of the Trojans,
From a lying race, a cause of evils.
In the same year at the bridge [of boats] which the king had caused to be prepared between Snowdonia and Anglesea, sixteen knights whose names follow were drowned:-
The lord William de Audley.
The lord Lucas de Taney.
The lord Richard de Wells.
Amaury Burdet.
Peter de la Mare.
Philip [Robert ?] Burnell.
William Burnell.
Henry Tyes.
Howel, son of Griffin.
Roger de Clifford, junior.
William de Lindsey.
William the Butler, son of Richard the Butler.
Thomas de Halton.
William de Odingsels.
Peter de la Quarere.
Walter le Jay.
And as many esquires, and three hundred footmen, and with great difficulty the lord Otho de Grandison escaped.
Also the head of prince Llewelin was sent to London.
[mcclxxxiij] Capta sunt omnia castella Snawdonie.
Eodem anno captus est David fil. Griffini xi kal Julii, et ductus est ad regem apud Rothelan. ubi uxor David incarcerata erat cum filiis et filiabus suis.
Eodem anno combustum est castrum de Hope infortunio ubi rex et regina fuerunt in periculo die Sancti Rufi martyris.
Venit dominus Rex et Regina apud Cestriam subjugata sibi Wallia.
Die Sancti Augustini audivit rex missam in ecclesia Sancte Werburge Cestrie, Et optulit ibi pannum preciosum Rex ipse cepit Cerun (fn. 9) Sancte Werburge ad libertates ipsius conservandas.
Eodem anno David fil. Griffini die Sancti Dionisii (fn. 10) apud Salopiam in magno parleamento Regis miserabili morte peremptus est, primo dilaceratus est deinde suspensus capite truncato est in quarteria divisus.
Eodem anno venit rex et regina apud Rothelan, ut natale suum ibi teneret ubi Ricardum de Burgo fecit militem cum aliis.
Item die Sancti Thomæ martyris venit Rex et Regina per civitatem Cestrie versus Eboracum ad consecrationem Domini Antoni Bech electi Aulmenensis.
Eodem anno dominus Roger episcopus Cestrie confirmavit omnes decimas dominicorum pensiones et appropriaciones ecclesiarum domus Sancte Werburge.
Eodem anno tempore quadragesimali constituit dominus Rex Eadwardus leges Anglicanas in Wallia statuens Justiciarios [et] vicecomites per totam Walliam. 		1283 All the castles of Snowdonia were captured.
In the same year David, the son of Griffin, was captured on June 21, and was brought to the king at Rhuddlan, where the wife of David was imprisoned with his sons and daughters.
In the same year, on the day of S. Rufus the Martyr, the castle of Hope was burned down by mischance, when the king and queen were in danger.
Our lord the king and the queen came to Chester after the conquest of Wales.
On S. Augustine's day [May 26] the king heard mass in the church of S. Werburg at Chester, and offered a valuable cloth. The king himself took [an oath] to preserve the liberties of S. Werburg.
In the same year on the day of S. Dionysius, in the great Parliament of the king at Shrewsbury, David, son of Griffin, perished by a miserable death. He was first torn in pieces [by being dragged by horses to the gallows] then after being hanged and his head cut off, he was divided into four quarters.
In the same year the king and queen came to Rhuddlan that the king might there keep his birthday, and there he made Richard de Burgh [earl of Ulster] a knight, together with others.
Also on the day of S. Thomas the Martyr [December 29] the king and queen came through the city of Chester on their way to York to be present at the consecration of the lord Anthony Beck, [bishop] elect of Durham.
In the same year the lord Roger, bishop of Chester, confirmed all the tithes of demesne, pensions, and appropriations of churches belonging to the house of S. Werburg.
In the same year, in the time of Lent, our lord king Edward established the English laws in Wales, appointing judges and sheriffs through the whole of Wales.
[mcclxxxiv] Edwardus rex fecit tyrocinium fieri apud Nevin in Wallia ubi comes Lincolniensis Henricus de Lascy habuit unam partem et Ricardus de Burgo Comes de Ulvester alteram.
Eodem anno natus est Eadwardus filius Regis Eadwardi in Wallia apud Caernarvon die Sancti Marci Evangeliste.
Item combustum est manerium de Brumburth in Wiral infortunio iij nonas Maii.
Item venit archiepiscopus Cantuariensis ut reformaret statum ecclesiæ Walliæ vacillantis.
Eodem anno die Sabbati post festum Assumptionis beate Marie virginis xvj (fn. 11) kal. Septembris mortuus est Dominus Alfonsus (fn. 12) filius regis E[dwardi] pro cujus morte publice est dolendum per totam Angliam et pro vita Regis Edwardi supplicandum.
Eodem anno infra xij dies Natalis Domini magnum fecit actum infortunium apud Abbatiam Strate Floride in Wallia. Ignis et fulguris percussit campanarium et flammis non apparentibus combussit illud totum cum campanis totamque ecclesiam plumbo bene coopertam usque ad muros totaliter voravit preter presbiterium quod miraculose salvari videbatur eo quod corpus Domini ibidem ad magnum altare sub sera servabatur sicut alibi per ordinem universum vero quicquam combustum est illo igne preter solam ecclesiam cum libris choralibus et campanis. Hoc de nocte accidit.
Eodem anno Dominus Edwardus Rex Anglie impetravit clero totius Anglie xxm denarium omnium ecclesiarum tam de monachis et canonicis quam de cleris beneficiatis per biennium.		 1284 King Edward caused a tournament to be held at Nevin in Wales, where the earl of Lincoln, Henry de Lacy, was the leader on one side, and Richard de Burgh, earl of Ulster, on the other.
In the same year, Edward, son of king Edward, was born in Wales, at Carnarvon, on the day of S. Mark the Evangelist [April 25].
Also the manor house of Bromborough in Wirral was accidentally burned down on May 5.
Also the archbishop of Canterbury [Peckham] came for the purpose of reforming the church of Wales, which was in a tottering condition.
In the same year on the Saturday after the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 17, died the lord Alfonso, son of king Edward, on account of whose death there had to be a public mourning through the whole of England, and prayers had to be made for the life of king Edward.
In the same year within twelve days of Christmas a great misfortune happened to the abbey of Strata Florida in Wales. The fire and lightning struck the belfry, and burned the whole of it with the bells, without the flames being seen, and then [the fire] devoured the whole church, which was completely covered with lead as far as the walls, except the presbytery which was seen to be miraculously preserved, inasmuch as the body of Our Lord was kept there on the great altar under lock (as elsewhere is the case according to universal custom). Whatever was there except [the walls of] the church was burned in that fire, including choral books and bells. This happened in the night.
In the same year the lord Edward, king of England, demanded from the clergy of the whole of England for two years the twentieth penny of all ecclesiastical property [to be paid] as well by the monks and canons as by the beneficed clergy.
mcc nonagesimo Rex Edwardus transfretavit (fn. 13) in partes Wallie. 1290 King Edward crossed the sea into the parts of Wales [France (?)].
mcc nonagesimo tertio Datus fuit domino Regi Edwardo quintus decimus denarius.
Eodem anno orta fuit discordia inter Gallos et custodes quinque portuum Anglie. 		1293 The fifteenth penny was granted to king Edward.
In the same year a dispute arose between the French and the wardens of the Cinque ports of England.
mcc nonagesimo iiijto Karolus frater Regis Francie vi subjugavit sibi Burdeus et Aquitaniam.
Anno domini Mo cco nonagesimo obiit pie memorie dompnus Symon Abbas Sanctæ Werburgæ Cestriœ octavo kal. marcii. (fn. 14)
Eodem anno in [festo] Sancte Gregorie . . . succedit Thomas de Lythelas mona[chus] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Johñ in archiepiscopum Cantuariensem et ceteras terras quas E[dwardus] Rex Anglie et sui predecessores possedebant.
Eodem anno in die Sancti Jeronimi presbiteri Madokus Amereduy incepit Gwerram in Angleseye.
Eodem anno (fn. 15) nonis Decembris venit dominus Edwardus Rex Anglie Cestrie et die Sancti Nicholai audivit missam in ecclesia Sancte Werburge. Et in crastino profectus est apud Wrutysham. 		1294 Charles [count of Valois], brother of the king of France, by force [of arms] subjugated Bordeaux and Aquitaine.
In the year of Our Lord 1290, the lord Simon, abbot of S. Werburg of Chester, of pious memory, died February 22.
In the same year on [the feast] of S. Gregory, . . . . . Thomas de Lythelas, a monk, succeeded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John as archbishop of Canterbury, . . . . . and the other lands which Edward, king of England, and his predecessors possessed.
In the same year on the day of S. Jerome, Priest [and Doctor, September 30], Madoc ap Meredith began to make war in Anglesea.
In the same year, on December 5, the lord Edward king of England, came to Chester, and on S. Nicolas' day [December 6] he heard mass in the church of S. Werburg. And on the morrow he set out for Wrexham.
mcc nonagesimo quinto Data fuit domino Regi Edwardo medietas temporalium et spiritualium ecclesiarum totius Anglie.
Eodem anno dominus Edwardus Rex cepit Angleseyam et eam sibi subjugavit.
Eodem anno venit Morgan gratis ad regem.
Eodem anno dominus Edwardus Rex cepit edificare castrum de Beumarreys.
Et circa festum Sancti Petri ad vincula captus est Madocus princeps Wallie per dominum Johannem de Haveryngys tunc Justiciarius Wallie qui eum London misit ad regem.
Item iij idus decembris obiit Rogerus episcopus Cestrie. (fn. 16) 		1295 In twelve hundred and ninety five, a moiety of the temporal and spiritual [goods] of the churches throughout England was given to king Edward.
In the same year the lord king Edward took Anglesea and subjugated it to himself.
In the same year Morgan [prince of South Wales] came to king Edward of his own accord.
In the same year the lord king Edward began to build the castle of Beaumaris.
And about the feast of S. Peter ad Vincula [August 1] Madoc, prince of Wales, was captured by the lord John of Havering, then justiciary of Wales, who sent him to London to the king.
Also on December 11, Roger [de Meulan], bishop of Chester [Coventry and Lichfield] died.
mcc nonagesimo sexto Post pascha captus fuit, Griffinus ecloyt a domino Johanne de Haverryngys et ductus London.
Item per dominum Johannem Bayoyl et abbatem de Meuros et Ricardum Siward inceptum fuit bellum in Scocia.
Item in die parasceves (fn. 17) capta fuit civitas de Beuyrwic et interfecti fuerunt decem millia et xv homines.
Item post pascha die Veneris capta est civitas de Dunbar et capta est Scotia et rex Scothie captus est et London ductus est. 		1296 Twelve hundred and ninety six. After Easter, Griffin Cloyt was captured by the lord John of Havering, and taken to London.
Also war was begun in Scotland by the lord John Baliol and the abbot of Melrose and Richard Siward.
Also on Good Friday [March 23] the town of Berwick was captured [by the English], and ten thousand and fifteen men were slain.
Also on the Wednesday after Easter [March 28] the town of Dunbar was captured and Scotland conquered, and the king of Scotland led captive to London.
mcc nonag. septimo Edwardus Rex xj kal. Septembris transfretavit in Flandriam. 1297 Twelve hundred and ninety seven. On August 22, king Edward crossed the sea into Flanders.

Footnotes

  • 1. Probably the word "quin" before "decimas" is omitted by an error of the copyist. A fifteenth, not a tenth, was granted to king Edward in his first Parliament.
  • 2. The passage which follows the word "Rothelanum" is thus written in the MS.-"[see printed volume p.104.]" The whole of the passage relating to the submission of Llewelin is so similar to that relating to the same event in the Annales de Wintonia (p. 124), that it is clear they had a common origin. The words of the Annales de Wintonia are "Demum habito tractatu de pace, circa festum Sancti Martini descendit Lewelinus veniensque submisit se voluntati et misericordiæ domini regis apud Rothelanum, et pro inobedientia, damnis, et injuriis sibi et suis illatis dedit Lewelinus pro pace sua habenda l. milia librarum sterlingorum." The Annales de Waverleia and Annales de Wigornia have somewhat similar statements.
  • 3. The grants of lands by John Arneway, and the bond of the abbot of Chester for maintaining the two chaplains are abstracted in the Chartulary, as well as other gifts of the Arneway family. A list of these charters will be found in Ormerod (New Edit. 1. 277-84). Sir John Arneway was mayor of Chester from 1268 to 1276.
  • 4. Not only was the money of Edward I. far superior in execution to that of any of his predecessors, but up to this time, with the exception of some halfpennies struck for Ireland by king John, and a gold piece of which very few impressions were struck by Henry III., but which probably was never in circulation, the only coin was the silver penny which being stamped with an indented cross could easily be broken into two or four pieces when a coin of less value was required. The coinage of round halfpennies and farthings was thus a noteworthy event, and is commemorated by Langtoft in his Vision of Piers Plowman:- "Edward did smyte round penny halfpenny farthing The cross passed the bounde of all throughout the ring The kyng's side shall be the head and his name written The cross-side what city it was incoyned and smitten. The pouere man ne the priest the penny prayses nothing, Men gyve God the least they feffe him with a farthing. A thousand and two hundred and fourscore years and mo Of this money men wondered first when it gan go."
  • 5. The council of Lambeth which is probably here intended was held according to Sir Harris Nicolas (Chronology of History) on October 10, 1281, i.e., vi Idus Octobris, and it is probable that "vi" has been omitted by the copyist. (But the council of Lambeth is given by the Annales de Oseneia as held on the nones of October, namely the seventh day of the month, 1280.)
  • 6. In these lines as given by Higden in the Polychronicon (viii. 266) this line is "Gemma coævorum" "cheefe precious stoon of them that were in his tyme" (Trevisa), and as the past and the future are referred to in the two following lines, and as it would be difficult to give any sense to "tornorum," "coævorum" is no doubt the true reading.
  • 7. "Crux" is probably a mistake for "trux" which is given in the Polychronicon.
  • 8. Compare Annales de Wigornia (p. 484) where the knights are given as thirty-two, and the footmen at a thousand. "Totd," which one would naturally extend into "totidem," may possibly be a mistake for "tri d" (i.e. "triginta duo").
  • 9. "Cerun" must be an error or an abbreviation for "Sacramentum." In the Gastrell MS. the word is omitted and a blank space left between "cepit" and "S. Werburge."
  • 10. This would be either October 3, the day of S. Dionysius the Areopagite, or October 9, that of S. Dionysius, or Denis, archbishop of Paris. The date of David's execution is given in the Annales Cambriœ as the morrow of S. Martin, i.e. November 12. The Parliament of Shrewsbury began on or immediately after September 29.
  • 11. In 1284 the Saturday after the Assumption was xiv Cal. Septembris, i.e. August 19, although the MS. clearly has "xvi kl." This is, no doubt, a mistake for "xiv kl."
  • 12. In the margin in a later hand is "1286 xviiii etate. 1284." Alfonso, the third (but at the time of his death the eldest surviving) son of Edward I., was born in 1265, and died in September, 1284.
  • 13. In the margin is "1286," The word "transfretavit" would lead to the supposition that "Wallie" is a mistake for "Gallie." In 1286 Edward certainly crossed the sea into France, and remained abroad until 1290 when he returned to England, and does not appear in that year to have visited Wales or to have again crossed the sea to France.
  • 14. The Gastrell MS. gives the death of abbot Symon as occurring in 1294, and Kennett has "Maii" instead of "Marcii." It will be noticed that it is here placed under the events of the year 1294, but with the separate date 1290, which is certainly the true date. According to Ormerod, Thomas de Byrchehylles was elected abbot on January 30, 1291, and it appears from the Placita Parliamentaria (Ryley p. 96) that Simon had died some time before 1292, and that his successor was then appointed, for in that year is a long account of the claim of Thomas, abbot of Chester, post mortem Simonis nuper defuncti that the king should not be entitled to the revenues of the abbey during the vacancy. The decision was in favour of the abbot. According to Ormerod, Simon of Whitchurch died April 24, 1289, and for two years thereafter the king retained the abbey in his own hands. The sentence which follows reads at first sight as though Thomas de Lythelas succeeded Simon of Whitchurch as abbot of Chester, and it seems to have been so read by Bishop Kennett in his extracts in the Diptycha, but there is a blank in the MS. after "Gregorie" and the sentence breaks off abruptly with "mona," leaving the reader in doubt to whom or to what Thomas de Lythelas succeeded; certainly it was not to the deceased abbot of Chester. The space intervening between "mona" and "Johñ," and the fact that the word "Johñ" is not at the beginning, but at the end of a line would lead to the inference that something was intended to be filled in, referring to the death of John Peckham, archbishop of Canterbury, and the election of Robert Winchelsea to the primacy. The entries relating to the death of Simon and the succession of Thomas de Lythelas are in a very small hand, quite different from the boldly written entries with which the year begins and ends, relating to Charles the brother of the king of France, and that relating to Madoc a Mereduy. The entry beginning "John" is certainly not in the same hand as the two last mentioned entries, and is, I incline to think, in the same hand as those relating to the abbot Simon and Thomas de Lythelas though the letters are much larger and present some differences. After giving the entry relating to Thomas de Lythelas, Kennett adds in his Diptycha as though it were part of the extract "Finis Annalium." This would almost imply that Kennett had made his extracts from some other manuscript, for, as appears above, a considerable number of entries follow this, but I think it more probable that "Finis Annalium" are the bishop's own words applied to his own extracts which exclusively refer to the abbots of Chester, and it will be noted that none of the subsequent entries in the manuscript have reference to the abbots or to the abbey.
  • 15. This entry is the last in the division marked out for 1294, after which is a space, ruled, but in fact left blank, for mccxcv. The following entry relating to Edward's visit to Chester ought certainly to be in 1294.
  • 16. See ante p. 72, note 3.
  • 17. Neither this date nor that for the capture of Dunbar agrees with those usually given for these events, namely, for the capture of Berwick, March 30, and for that of Dunbar, April 28.
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