French fell in this battle, while the loss of the English was very trifling. Among others the King of Bohemia was slain, and his crest of three ostrich plumes has ever since been used by the Princes of Wales with the motto, "Ich Dien," I serve. It is said that cannon were first used at Cressy, and contributed to Edward's success; but this and many other battles were mainly gained (under Divine Providence) by the skill of the English archers, the most renowned in Europe.

The queen (Philippa) had been left regent in England, and within a few months of the battle of Cressy she led an army to the field against David Bruce, who had taken advantage of Edward's absence to make an invasion into England. The Scotch were defeated at Nevil's Cross, near Durham; and David being taken prisoner, was brought to London, where he was detained many years. After this great service to her husband, Philippa joined him at the siege of Calais, which had then lasted nearly eleven months. The city was forced to surrender for want of food; and Edward required that six of the chief burgesses should attend him with halters round their necks, ready for execution. The dismay which this demand occasioned among the citizens was quieted by the noble devotion of Eustace de St. Pierre, who offered his life for his townsmen; and his example was followed by five other leading burgesses. They brought the keys to Edward, and fell on their knees, imploring his mercy. The king was long inexorable, but at Philippa's intercession he agreed to spare their lives.

The battle of Poictiers took place about ten years after the victory of Cressy. The Black Prince had about 12,000 men under his command, and was met by John, king of France, with an army of 60,000. On seeing the numbers of the French the prince exclaimed, “God help us! it only remains to fight bravely." Some attempts were made to prevent bloodshed, but John would agree to nothing short of a surrender of the prince and a hundred of his knights. Edward received this proposal by exclaiming, "God defend the right!" and the result of the battle which then took place was, that the French army was destroyed, and John himself taken prisoner. The mildness and generosity with which Edward treated the captive king were equal to his courage in the field. He ascribed his victory to the will of

God when he waited on the king at the table; and declared himself, as a subject, not entitled to the honour of sitting with him. When he brought his royal prisoner into London, he rode on a small pony by his side, while John was mounted on a noble charger. It should be mentioned, to the lasting honour of this king, that having been set free on terms which his son was unable to fulfil, from the opposition of the French nobles, John voluntarily gave himself up to Edward, observing, that if truth were banished from the rest of the earth, it should have place in the bosom of kings. He died in England, but his son, Charles the Wise, succeeded in wresting from the English most of their foreign possessions. The Black Prince was himself forced by the state of his health to return to England, where he died (A.D. 1376) about a year before his father. His health had suffered much in a war which he undertook in Spain, in support of Pedro the Cruel, who little deserved the aid of so chivalrous a prince.

The king did not long survive his son: he died A.D. 1377; and is said to have been shamefully neglected in his last moments by his own servants.

The revival of literature made great progress in this reign. Chaucer, the father of English poetry, passed great part of his life at Edward's court; and his wife's sister, Katharine Swynford, became the third wife of John of Gaunt. Froissart, the French chronicler, a native of Hainault, was some time in the service of Queen Philippa, and was patronized by her. It has been already remarked, that at no period were the principles of church architecture better understood. It was by this king that St. Stephen's chapel, (since used for deliberations by the House of Commons,) and the greater part of Windsor castle, were built. The Lady-chapel of Ely cathedral, and several portions of St. Alban's abbey, rose during his reign. He did much also for the commerce of his kingdom, by inviting over Flemish artisans, whom he settled in Norfolk. It should be mentioned, too, that from this reign the Commons seem to have sat as a distinct House of Parliament.

It is, however, still more important to observe, that the nullity of King John's surrender of his crown to the pope was nobly maintained by Edward and his parliament. The king was assisted in this manly course by the theolo

gical attainments of Wickliffe, then Master of Balliol college, who opposed many of the corruptions which the Church of Rome had engrafted upon the Scriptures; and declared, almost in the words of the English Church many years afterwards, that "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation." He opposed with great earnestness the mendicant or begging friars, who were especially devoted to the upholding the pope's authority; and from this he proceeded to attack the monks, who formed the other branch of the regular clergy.

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We have seen that he was by no means the first to discover that things were not quite right in the Church; but he was the first to stand forth as a stern rebuker of what was wrong. His opinions were in some respects mistaken, but he had much truth on his side; and hence he is reckoned the first of the English reformers.

The order of the Garter was instituted in this reign. The king is said to have picked up a garter, which had been dropped in a ball-room by the Countess of Salisbury. As he presented it to her, he used the words which became the motto of the order instituted on this trifling occasion, "Honi soit qui mal y pense." (Shamed be he who thinketh evil of it.)

This was in the year 1349. In this same year the whole of Europe was visited by one of the most terrible plagues ever known.

At this period ecclesiastics were of two classes. Ist, Regulars, who professed to live by a self-imposed rule, regula; and to observe vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. These were, first, Monks; and secondly, Friars. 2ndly, Seculars, who professed no rule beyond the general precepts of the Gospel; and who were therefore taunted by their opponents with mixing themselves more in worldly (secular) affairs than became persons devoted to God. But what was originally a term of reproach, became their ordinary designation.

CHAPTER XVII.

RICHARD II. (OF BOURDEAUX.)

Born at Bourdeaux. Buried at Langley, in Herts; but afterwards removed to Westminster. Reigned 22 years: From A.D. 1377 to A.D. 1399.

Archbishops of Canterbury.

Simon of Sudbury, A.D. 1375-1381. | Thomas Arundel, A.D. 1396— William Courtenay, A.D. 1381-1396. 1413.

EDWARD was succeeded by his grandson Richard, the only son of the Black Prince. The new king was only in his eleventh year, and the heirs next in succession to himself were the descendants of Lionel, duke of Clarence, a son of the late king, who died before his father. The surviving sons of Edward were John of Gaunt duke of Lancaster, Edmund earl of Cambridge, afterwards made duke of York, and Thomas of Woodstock, afterwards duke of Gloucester. A council of regency was appointed, in which the uncles of the king had seats; but certain bishops and nobles were associated with them.

The war still lingered on in France, and to meet its expenses, a poll-tax was raised of three groats a head for every person, rich or poor, of fifteen years and upwards. At this time the lower orders in various parts of Europe had been inflamed by the violent language of men, who dwelt with too much reason on the bondage in which they were held, and maintained the natural equality of all. In England these notions had been spread abroad by a priest named John Ball; and the people lent a ready ear to what agreed so well with their cherished traditions of the Saxon laws and customs. The poll-tax came upon a people in this state of mind like a spark on a prepared train. The first dispute was likely to cause an explosion; and it was not long before such a dispute arose. The tax was demanded of a young girl at Dartford, and refused on the ground that she was under the age. The brutal collector offered a gross insult to the girl, and was struck down at a blow by her father, who was called Wat Tyler, and was supported by the people in his bold deed. was soon at the head of a vast multitude, chiefly from the

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eastern counties, whom he led to London. Rank, property, and learning were denounced. The mob struck off the heads of every gentleman or foreigner whom they met. The Temple and Savoy Palace were plundered; and while the king proceeded to Mile End to meet some of the insurgents, Tyler himself broke into the Tower, and murdered the archbishop, with other obnoxious persons. The archbishop, Simon of Sudbury, had foreseen what would happen, and had spent the night previous to his death in prayer. He was officiating in the chapel of the Tower when the rebels entered. His last words to the multitude are worth remembering. He said, "that when a man could not live either with conscience or honour, death was an advantage to him; and that he thanked God he had never been in a better preparation to leave the world." And then he suffered a cruel death, strong in the might of prayer. Other acts of violence were at hand. In this emergency, when a panic seemed to have seized the upper classes, the king, then only fifteen years old, behaved with remarkable judgment and presence of mind. He addressed the mob with mildness, and promised them the redress of their grievances. In Smithfield, he was met by Wat Tyler at the head of 20,000 men, and a conference took place; in the course of which Tyler was observed to play with his dagger, and even lay his hand upon the king's bridle. Indignant at this insolence, the lord mayor, William Walworth, struck the rebel from his horse with a mace, and he was despatched by the king's attendants. The people bent their bows to avenge the death of their leader; but the king rode boldly up to them, crying, "What mean ye, my lieges? Tyler was a traitor. Come with me, and I will be your leader." They followed him to Islington, where he renewed the promises which he had made to their companions; and they returned peaceably to their homes.

The presence of mind thus shown by Richard gave promise of a glorious reign, which was increased by his marriage with Anne of Bohemia, long remembered for her virtues, as "good Queen Anne." This promise was far from being realized. The king neglected the affairs of his kingdom, and abandoned himself to pleasure and trifling pursuits, in company with his favourite De Vere, whom he made Duke of Ireland. John of Gaunt was now absent in