II.

and the baggage a mile in the rear. This dis- CHAP. position deceived the confederates, who, taking the baggage for a second army, unwisely shut themselves up within the walls, and at the same time by way of bravado made a brisk assault on the castle. But the bowmen, who had been ad- May 19. mitted by a postern into the fortress, thinned with their arrows the ranks of the assailants, and, by killing the horses of the knights, laid them in their armour on the ground. The rest of the royalists wheeling round, burst open, after a sharp conflict, the northern gate and at the same moment a sortie was made from the castle. Dismay and confusion now spread through the ranks of the barons. The most spirited, unable to withstand the torrent that rushed into the city, were carried before it: the crowd ran to the opposite portal: but the narrow and winding passage was soon choaked, and the fugitives were compelled to recoil on their pursuers. The meaner combatants met with no mercy but little noble blood was spilt by the victors, who, prompted by relationship or the hope of ransom, sought not to slay, but to capture, their enemies. The count of Perche alone lost his life. He fought in a churchyard, till his horse was killed: and when a voice called out to him to accept of quarter, he replied with an oath that he would never surrender to an English traitor. Irritated by the reproach, a soldier thrust his pike through the eye of the

II.

CHAP. count's visor into his brain. The number of the captives amounted to three earls, eleven barons, and four hundred knights. Two hundred others escaped by different roads to London the foot soldiers, seeking to follow them, were all massacred by the inhabitants of the villages which lay in their route.

Defeat of

the French fleet.

This victory, which secured the crown on the head of the young king, was called in the quaint language of the time, "the fair of Lincoln. There were few of the conquerors who were not enriched by it. As soon as resistance ceased, the city, which had long been distinguished by its attachment to the barons, was given up to pillage. Even the privileges of the churches could not save them from the rapacity of the royalists. But the fate of the women and children was more deplorable. When the gate was forced, they crowded for security into the boats on the river. Some sank under the weight: others were lost by mismanagement: and of the fugitives the greater part was drowned.'

The destruction of his army confined Louis within the walls of London: where, though he had built up all the gates except one, and had compelled the citizens to renew their oaths of allegiance, he was perpetually alarmed with the discovery of conspiracies against him. His only hope rested on the exertions of his consort,

7 See Paris, 247-249. Dunstap. 80-82. Waverley, 183. Mailros, 194. Gul. Armor. 90.

II.

103

Blanche of Castile, who in person solicited aid CHAP. from the most powerful of the French nobles. At length an armament of eighty large vessels, Aug. 24. besides galleys and smaller ships, put to sea from Calais under the command of the celebrated pirate, Eustace le Moine. To oppose this formidable fleet Hubert de Burgh, the justiciary, had collected forty sail from the cinque ports; but the disparity of force was so alarming, that several knights refused to embark, under the pretence that they were not acquainted with the manner of naval engagements. Nor was Hubert himself unaware of the danger. Before his departure he received the sacrament in private; and gave the most positive orders that the castle of Dover should not be surrendered to the enemy on any terms, not even to save his own life, in the event of his being made prisoner. The English were soon in sight of the French, sailed past them, as if their object were to surprise Calais, and suddenly tacking bore down in a line on their rear. The bowmen and archers began the engagement with a volley of arrows : as soon as the ships came in contact, they were fastened together with chains and hooks: powder of quick lime was scattered in the air, that it might be carried by the wind into the eyes of the enemy and the English, leaping on board with axes in their hands, rendered the ships unmanageable by cutting the rigging. The French, unaccustomed to this manner of fighting, made

Louis abandons

the enter prise.

but a feeble resistance; and only fifteen vessels out of the whole number escaped. One hundred and fifteen knights with their esquires, and more than eight hundred inferior officers, were taken. Eustace, who had secreted himself in the hold of his ship, offered a large sum for his ransom: but Richard Fitzroy, one of John's illegitimate children by a daughter of the earl Warenne, spurned the proposal, and instantly struck off his head, which was afterwards carried on a pole from town to town, as a proof of the victory.

8

It was now evident that the hopes of Louis were at an end. Instead of fighting for the crown of England, he was compelled to negotiate for his personal safety. A treaty of peace was signed at Lambeth, by which the prisoners on both sides were liberated; an amnesty was granted to the English adherents of Louis; and

that prince with his foreign associates was alSep. 11. lowed to return in safety to France. For conditions so favourable we are told that he was indebted to a promise confirmed upon oath, that on his accession to the French crown, he would restore to Henry all the provinces which had belonged to Henry's father. Though no such promise appears in the treaty, it is probable that it was made, from the manner in which it was frequently though ineffectually urged by the king on later occasions: still it must appear

8 Paris, 250, 251, with the Var. lect. Waverley, 183. Mailros, 193. Gul. Armor. 90.

II.

strange that the English ministers, with the heir CHAP. of the French monarchy at their mercy, should have been satisfied with a delusive engagement, which it was probable that Louis would never have the will, or if he had the will, would never have the power, to execute.9

confirma

The departure of Louis secured the crown to Second Henry but the young king had not a single re- tion of the lation to whom he could recur for advice, or to charter. whom he might intrust the care of his interests. Even the queen mother, who by her misconduct had already forfeited the confidence of the nation, abandoned her son to hasten back to France, and marry her former lover, the count of La Marche. But Honorius, as feudal superior, declared himself the guardian of the orphan; and commanded Gualo to reside near his person, watch over his safety, and protect his just rights. The legate discharged his trust with fidelity, and found in the earl marshal a coadjutor actuated by the same zeal, and concurring in the same sentiments. The itinerant justices were ordered to summon all knights and freemen to their courts, and to administer to them an oath, that they would keep the king's peace; would observe the good laws and rightful customs of the realm; and at the command of the king and council would assemble and oppose the enemies of the king and kingdom. 10 The

9 Paris, 251 Rym. i. 221.

10 Dunst. i. 86.

7