1485 - The Battle of Bosworth Field is fought near Market Bosworth, Leicestershire between the Yorkist forces of King Richard III of England and the Lancastrian forces of Henry Tudor. Henry defeats Richard, whose death terminates the rule of the Plantagenet dynasty and the British Middle Ages. Consequently, the Battle of Bosworth is one of the definitive moments in English history. Henry is crowned King as Henry VII, taking as his wife Elizabeth of York. From this union is forged the Tudor dynasty, which would rule over England for the next 118 years.

Isabella died at Hertford Castle following a sudden illness of about 2 weeks duration. She had been active almost up to her death, spending time with her daughter Joan (queen of Scotland), going on pilgrimages, and enjoying her books, clothes, jewelry, and a falcon.

She was sixty-two years old and had outlived her siblings, two of her children, her husband, and her lover.

1902 - Edward VII and his wife Alexandra are crowned, at Westminster Abbey, London, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions.

Harold Godwinsson led a surprise attack into Wales at Christmas 1062, burning Gruffudd's Rhuddlan residence and ships. Gruffudd's ally and father-in-law, the powerful earl of Mercia, appears to have recently died and Harold took the opportunity to depose the king of Wales: https://old.reddit.com/r/UKmonarchs/comments/1lwze1r/%C3%A6lfgar_earl_of_mercia_son_of_lady_godiva_ally_of/

Harold's war against Gruffudd continued through the spring and into the summer, with Harold marching through South Wales while his brother Tostig advanced along the North Wales coast with his own forces. Gruffudd fought on for months, despite his allies and old enemies alike going over to side with the Godwin brothers. His own half-brothers, Bleddyn and Rhiwallon, were "conciliated" by King Edward, according to Langtoft, and so sided against him.

The Anglo-Saxon chronicle tells us: "But in the harvest of the same year was King Griffin slain, on the nones of August, by his own men, through the war that he waged with Earl Harold. He was king over all the Welsh nation. And his head was brought to Earl Harold; who sent it to the king, with his ship's head, and the rigging therewith."

His widow, Ealdgyth/Edith, mother of his daughter Nest, later married Harold Godwinsson and was his queen.

Robert Curthose had launched his invasion of England by landing at Portsmouth. He advanced on Winchester and evidently had a plan to besiege the city but learned his pregnant sister-in-law Edith (now renamed Matilda) of Scotland was laying abed there, pregnant and apparently so ill she could not be moved.

Wace reports that Robert refused to attack the city, chivalrously declaring that only a villain would do something like that to a woman in such a state.

We actually have independent confirmation that Edith was very sick -- the Abingdon chronicle reports that abbot Faritius and his lay colleague Grimbald were called to her bedside that summer and became her chief medical consultants.

The future empress Maude was born in early February 1102, so this reference to her mother being sick and unable to be moved due to pregnancy would appear to be the first reference to her existence. (Some historians have assumed a stillborn child in summer 1101, but there is not enough time for a second pregnancy to come to term between late July 1101 and February 1102.) Maude's birth date would suggest she was conceived late May or early June 1101.

While we cannot know for sure, perhaps Edith suffered from severe morning sickness or some other pregnancy-related ailment. It seems the queen was too weak or too ill to be moved far, as she and Henry I showered Faritius and his abbey with gifts all through that autumn. She seems to have been thought too fragile to move far for at least several months.

Interestingly, Robert Curthose was not only Edith's brother-in-law, but her godfather. He had stood as godfather to her in summer-autumn 1080 (the date of his only known visit to Scotland). So almost exactly 21 years later, their paths (nearly) crossed again in dramatic fashion.

This was to be the final battle in the Angevin-Capetian wars of the 1210s, and ended with an English defeat. On the one side was John of England and his coalition of allies - Otto IV of the Empire, Henry of Brabant, Henry of Limburg, Theobald of Lorraine, Ferdinand of Flanders, William of Holland, Reginald of Boulogne - along with his half-brother William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, commanding the right flank. On the other was Philip II of France and his commanders including Robert, Earl of Dreux, and Odo, Duke of Burgundy. At stake was John's reclamation of his father's empire in France. John himself was attacking Brittany and Poitou, while his allies were to march through Flanders, leading to a two-pronged attack in hopes of dividing the French forces. The French heir Prince Louis was sent to Poitou while Philip was going to meet Otto and the others at Bouvines.

The heat of the sun was very great, as is usual in the month of July, on which account the French determined to halt near the river for the sake of refreshing the men as well as horses. They arrived at the before-mentioned river on a Saturday, about the hour of evening: and, having arranged the carts, waggons, and all the vehicles in which they conveyed their food and arms, engines of war and weapons; to the, right and left they appointed watches all round, and rested there for the night. When morning came, and the English commanders were informed that the French King had arrived, they held a council, and unanimously determined to give open battle to the enemy; but, as it was Sunday, it seemed to the more prudent men of the army, and especially to Reginald, formerly Count of Boulogne, that it was improper to engage in battle on such a festival, and to profane such a day by slaughter and the effusion of human blood. The Roman Emperor Otto coincided in this opinion, and said that he had never gained a triumph on such a day; on hearing this Hugh of Boves broke forth into blasphemy, calling Count Reginald a base traitor, and reproaching him with the lands and large possessions he had received as gifts from the King of England; he added also that, if the battle was put off that day, it would redound to the irreparable loss of King John, for "delays are always dangerous when things are ready."

But Count Reginald, in reply to the taunts of Hugh, said indignantly, "This day will prove me faithful, and you the traitor; for even on this very Sunday, if necessary, I will stand up in battle for the King, even to the death, and you, according to your custom, will, by fleeing from the battle, show yourself a most base traitor in the presence of all. By these and other abusive words of the said Hugh, the whole multitude were stirred up and excited to battle; they therefore all flew to arms and boldly prepared for fighting.

When all were armed, they arranged themselves in three bodies, over the first of which they appointed Ferdinand, Count of Flanders, Reginald, Count of Boulogne, and William, Earl of Salisbury, as commanders; the command of the second they gave to William, Count of Holland, and Hugh of Boves, with his Brabant followers; the command of the third was assigned to Otto the Roman Emperor and his fighting men: and in this manner they slowly marched forth against the enemy, and arrived in sight of the French army.

When the French King saw that his enemies were prepared for a pitched battle, he ordered the bridge in his rear to be broken down, that, in case any of his army should endeavour to fly, they should have no where to fly except amongst the enemy. The French King having drawn up his troops, surrounded by his waggons and other vehicles, as already mentioned, there awaited the assault of his enemies. In short, the battalions commanded by the above-named counts burst upon the ranks of the French with such impetuosity, that in a moment they broke their ranks, and forced their way even up to where the French King was. Count Reginald, when he saw the King who had disinherited him and expelled him from his county, couched his lance against him, and having forced him to the ground, was preparing to slay him with his sword; but one of the soldiers, who had been appointed as a bodyguard for the King, exposed himself to the blows of the Count and was killed in his stead. The French, seeing their King on the ground, rushed impetuously and in great force to his assistance, and re-mounted him on his horse; then the battle raged on both sides, swords glistened like lightning around helmeted heads, and the conflict was most severe on both sides. The before-mentioned counts with the body of troops under their command had become separated from the rest of their fellow soldiers, and their retreat, as well as the advance of the rest of the army to their succour was stopped; and thus their small body not being able to withstand the attacks of such numbers of the French, at length gave way, and in this manner the aforesaid counts with the whole of the band which they commanded, were, after showing great bravery, taken and made prisoners.

Whilst these events were passing round, King Philip, the Counts of Champagne, Perche, and St. Paul, with many other nobles of the French kingdom, made an attack on the troops above-mentioned to be commanded by Hugh of Boves, and put that noble to flight, together with all the troops collected from the different provinces; and in their base flight they were pursued at the sword's point by the French as far as the position of the Emperor; therefore, after their flight, all the weight of the battle was in an instant thrown on the latter. The above-named counts then summoned him and endeavoured to slay him or to compel him to surrender; but he, holding his sword, sharp on one side like a knife, with both hands, dealt such insupportable blows on all sides, that he either stunned all whom he struck, or levelled riders and horses with the ground. His enemies, fearing to come too near him, killed three horses under him with their lances, but by the bravery of his troops, he was each time remounted, and renewed his attacks more fiercely; at length his enemies left him and his followers unconquered, and he retreated from the battle without harm to himself or his followers.

The King of the French, in his joy for such an unexpected victory, gave thanks to God for having granted him such a triumph over his enemies. The three counts above named, with a great number of knights and others, were taken away to be imprisoned. This battle took place on the 27th of July. By this misfortune the English King ineffectually spent the forty thousand marks which he had taken from the monks of the Cistercian Order during the time of the interdict, thus verifying the proverb, "Inglorious spoil will never end in good."

When at length the news of this event came to King John's knowledge he was thrown into dismay, and said to those about him, "Since I became reconciled to God, and submitted myself and my kingdoms to the Church of Rome, woe is me, nothing has gone properously with me, and every thing unlucky has happened to me."

A truce was called, and John returned to England in defeat. Later that same year, the barons of England began to voice disconent, which early into the next year would boil over into open rebellion.

The Coronation:

"The Duke then came to London, the archbishops, bishops, earls, and barons, and a vast multitude of knights, coming thither to meet him; by whose consent and advice he was consecrated and crowned King of England, at Westminster, in London, on the third day before the nones of September, being the Lord's Day and the feast of the ordination of Saint Gregory, the Pope (the same being also an Egyptian day), by Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was assisted at the coronation by Walter, Archbishop of Rouen; John, Archbishop of Dublin; Formalis, Archbishop of Trier; Hugh, Bishop of Durham; Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln; Hugh, Bishop of Chester; William, Bishop of Hereford; William, Bishop of Worcester; John, Bishop of Exeter; Reginald, Bishop of Bath; John, Bishop of Norwich; Sefrid, Bishop of Chichester; Gilbert, Bishop of Rochester; Peter, Bishop of St Davids; the Bishop of St Asaph; the Bishop of Bangor; Albinus, Bishop of Ferns; and Concord, Bishop of Aghadoe; while nearly all the abbots, priors, earls, and barons of England were present.

"First came the bishops, abbots, and large numbers of the clergy, wearing silken hoods, preceded by the cross, taper-bearers, censers, and holy water, as far as the door of the King's inner chamber; where they received the before-named Duke, and escorted him to the Church of Westminster, as far as the high altar, in solemn procession, with chants of praise, while all the way along which they went, from the door of the King's chamber to the altar, was covered with woollen cloth.

"The order of the procession was as follows: first came the clergy in their robes, carrying holy water, and the cross, tapers, and censers. Next came the priors, then the abbots, and then the bishops, in the midst of whom walked four barons, bearing four candlesticks of gold; after whom came Godfrey Lucy [Archdeacon of Richmond, future Bishop of Winchester], bearing the King's cap [of maintenance], and John Marshal [hereditary Earl Marshal] by him, carrying two great and massive spurs of gold. After these came William Marshal, Earl of Striguil [John's younger brother], bearing the royal sceptre of gold, on the top of which was a cross of gold, and by him William FitzPatrick, Earl of Salisbury [cousin of the Marshal family], bearing a rod of gold, having on its top a dove of gold. After them came David, Earl of Huntingdon, brother of the King of Scotland [William I]; John, Earl of Mortaigne, the Duke's brother; and Robert, Earl of Leicester, carrying three golden swords from the King's treasury, the scabbards of which were worked all over with gold; the Earl of Mortaigne walking in the middle. Next came six earls and six barons, carrying on their shoulders a very large chequer, upon which were placed the royal arms and robes; and after them William Mandeville, Earl of Aumarle, carrying a great and massive crown of gold, decorated on every side with precious stones.

"Next came Richard, Duke of Normandy, with Hugh, Bishop of Durham, walking at his right hand, and Reginald, Bishop of Bath, at his left, and four barons holding over them a canopy of silk on four lofty spears . Then followed a great number of earls, barons, knights, and others, both clergy and laity, as far as the porch of the church, and dressed in their robes, entered with the Duke, and proceeded as far as the quire.

"When the Duke had coine to the altar, in presence of the archbishops, bishops, clergy, and people, kneeling before the altar, with the Holy Evangelists placed before him, and many relics of the saints, according to custom, he swore that he would all the days of his life observe peace, honour, and reverence towards God, the Holy Church, and its ordinances. He also swore that he would exercise true justice and equity towards the people committed to his charge. He also swore that he would abrogate bad laws and unjust customs, if any such had been introduced into his kingdom, and would enact good laws, and observe the same without fraud or evil intent.

"After this they took off all his clothes from the waist upwards, except his shirt and breeches; his shirt having been previously separated over the shoulders; after which they shod him with sandals embroidered with gold. Then Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, pouring holy oil upon his head, anointed him King in three places, on his head, breast, and arms, which signifies glory, valour, and knowledge, with suitable prayers for the occasion; after which the said Archbishop placed a consecrated linen cloth on his head, and upon that the cap which Godfrey Lucy had carried. They then clothed him in the royal robes, first a tunic, and then a dalmatic; after which the said Archbishop delivered to him the sword of rule, with which to crush evildoers against the Church: this done, two earls placed the spurs upon his feet, which John Marshal had carried. After this, being robed in a mantle, he was led to the altar, where the said Archbishop forbade him, in the name of Almighty God, to presume to take upon him this dignity, unless he had the full intention inviolably to observe the oaths and vows before-mentioned which he had made; to which he made answer that, with God's assistance, he would without reservation observe them all.

"After this, he himself took the crown from the altar and gave it to the Archbishop; on which, the Archbishop delivered it to him, and placed it upon his head, it being supported by two earls in consequence of its extreme weight. After this, the Archbishop delivered to him the sceptre to hold in his right hand, while he held the rod of royalty in his left; and, having been thus crowned, the king was led back to his seat by the before-named Bishops of Durham and Bath, preceded by the taper-bearers and the three swords before-mentioned.

["It caused many people to whisper and to marvel when a bat was seen flying through the monastery at midday, although the day was clear, circling about in an untimely way, especially about the King's throne.]

"After this, the Mass of our Lord was commenced, and, when they came to the offertory, the before-named bishops led him to the altar, where he offered one mark of the purest gold, such being the proper offering for the King at each coronation; after which, the bishops before-named led him back to his seat.

"The Mass having been concluded, and all things solemnly performed, the two bishops before-named, one on the right hand and the other on the left, led him back from the church to his chamber, crowned, and carrying a sceptre in his right hand and the rod of royalty in his left, the procession going in the same order as before. Then the procession returned to the quire, and our lord the King put off his royal crown and robes of royalty, and put on a crown and robes that were lighter; and, thus crowned, went to dine; on which the archbishops and bishops took their seats with him at the table, each according to his rank and dignity. The earls and barons also served in the King's palace, according to their several dignities; while the citizens of London served in the cellars, and the citizens of Winchester in the kitchen.

["A thing happened on that same coronation day at Westminster that could hardly be spoken of in a whisper then, for it was an omen of no little portent. At Compline, the last hour of the day, the bells happened to be rung for the first time that day, for no-one in the convent and even none of the ministers of the church had thought about it till afterwards, and the service of Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and two Masses had been solemnly celebrated without any ringing of bells."]

Rioting:

"While the King was seated at table, the chief men of the Jews came to offer presents to him, but as they had been forbidden the day before to come to the King's court on the day of the coronation, the common people, with scornful eye and insatiable heart, rushed upon the Jews and stripped them, and then scourging them, cast them forth out of the King's hall. Among these was Benedict, a Jew of York, who, after having been so maltreated and wounded by the Christians that his life was despaired of, was baptised by William, Prior of the Church of St. Mary at York, in the Church of the Innocents, and was named William, and thus escaped the peril of death and the hands of the persecutors.

"The citizens of London, on hearing of this, attacked the Jews in the city and burned their houses; but by the kindness of their Christian friends, some few made their escape.

["Then one might have seen the most beautiful parts of the city miserably blazing in flames, caused by her own citizens as if they had been enemies. The Jews, however, were either burnt in their own houses, or, if they came out, were received on the point of the sword. Much blood was shed in a short time, but the rising desire for plunder induced the people to rest satisfied with the slaughter they had committed. Their avarice overcame their cruelty; for they ceased to slay, but their greedy fury led them to plunder houses and carry off their wealth. This, however, changed the aspect of affairs, and made Christians hostile to Christians; for some, envying others for what they had seized in their search for plunder arid wicked emulation in avarice, were led to spare neither friends nor companions.]

["These events were reported to the King as he was banqueting in festivity with all the assembly of nobles; and Ranulf Glanville, who was justiciary of the realm - a man both powerful and prudent - was thereupon sent from his presence, with other men of equal rank, that they might turn aside or restrain the audacity of the mob; but it was in vain, for in so great a tumult no one listened to his voice or showed respect to his presence; but some of the most riotous began to shout against him and his companions, and threatened them in a terrible manner if they did not quickly depart. They, therefore, wisely retired before such unbridled fury; and the plunderers, with equal freedom and audacity, continued to riot until eight o'clock on the following day; and at that time satiety or weariness of rioting, rather than reason or reverence for the King, allayed the fury of the plunderers.]

"On the day after the coronation, the King sent his servants, and caused those offenders to be arrested who had set fire to the city; not for the sake of the Jews, but on account of the houses and property of the Christians which they had burnt and plundered, and he ordered some of them to be hanged."

King Richard Summons Benedict:

"On the same day, the King ordered the before-named William, who from a Jew had become a Christian, to be presented to him, on which he said to him, 'What person are you?' to which he made answer, 'I am Benedict of York, one of your Jews.'

"On this the King turned to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the others who had told him that the said Benedict had become a Christian, and said to them, 'Did you not tell me that he is a Christian?' to which they made answer, 'Yes, my lord.'

"Whereupon he said to them, 'What are we to do with him?' to which the Archbishop of Canterbury, less circumspectly than he might, in the spirit of his anger, made answer, 'If he does not choose to be a Christian, let him be a man of the Devil.' And so, inasmuch as there was no person to offer any opposition thereto, the before-named William relapsed into the Jewish faith, and after a short time died at Northampton.

["The King, however, after the slaughter of the Jews, established peace by proclamation; of which, nevertheless, they did not long enjoy the fruits."]

King Richard Holds Court:

"On the second day after his coronation, Richard, King of England, received the oaths of homage and fealty from the bishops, abbots, earls, and barons of England. After this was done, the King put up for sale everything he had, castles, villas, and estates. Accordingly, Hugh, Bishop of Durham, bought of the King his good manor of Sedgefield [in County Durham], with the wapentake and knight's fees thereof, for six hundred marks of silver, by way of a pure and perpetual alms; and the said purchase was confirmed by charter.

"Also the said Bishop gave to the before-named King marks of silver for receiving the Earldom of Northumberland for life, together with its castles and other appurtenances. [The King gloried in a bargain of this kind, and jokingly said, 'I am a wonderful workman; for out of an old bishop I have made a new earl.' But when the Bishop had thus divested himself of his money, which he had previously devoted to the sacred pilgrimage (to Jerusalem) for the sake of Christ, he next studied how to revoke the vow he had made to Almighty God on solemnly assuming the cross; and since he could not say to the Roman pontiff, by his messengers, 'I have purchased an earldom, and therefore I cannot set out for Jerusalem; so I pray thee have me excused' - which, indeed, he might have said with truth - he spoke instead of his failing age, and alleged that he was unequal to so laborious a pilgrimage. Being thus left to his own conscience, he thereupon weakly and irreverently cast away the sacred emblem of devotion, and rested in the possession of that precious pearl which he had found in the King, and for which he had given so much; which however is not a solid possession, but, in regard to the changes of times and things, is but brief and transitory.]

["That great and powerful man, Stephen of Marzai, who had been Seneschal of Anjou under the lately deceased King Henry and who was extremely savage and domineering, even to his master, was seized and put in chains and brought to Winchester, where he was made a spectacle to angels and to men, miserably weakened by hunger and loaded down with chains. He was forced to pay 30,000 pounds of Angevin money for his freedom and to promise 15,000 pounds more.

"Ranulf Glanville, the governor of the realm of the English and the King's eye, a man inferior to Stephen only in morals and in wealth, was stripped of his powers and taken into custody. He purchased his freedom, at least to come and go, with 15,000 pounds of silver. And although this name of Glanville had been so great on the day before, a name above all other names, as it were, so that anyone to whom the Lord had granted it might speak amongst princes and be worshipped by the people, yet on the day after there was not one man left on earth who was willing to be called by that name.

"What ruined these two men, Stephen, that is, and Ranulf, what certainly has ruined a thousand others before them, and what will ruin still others in the future, was the suspicion that they had taken advantage of their intimacy with the late King.]

"The office was then entrusted by the King to the Bishop of Durham, who did not hesitate to accept it."

The King of France made demand of half of the isle of Cyprus and of all the things that the King of England had gained on his way to Acre; as a counterpoise to which, the King of England demanded of the King of France one half of Flanders, one half of all the property of the Earl of Flanders, and of the other vassals of his who had died at the siege of Acre, as also one half of Tyre, which Conrad had presented to him. But the demands of both were frivolous and invidious, for the agreement made between them was only that they should halve between them all that they should acquire in the land of Jerusalem. This same agreement they now renewed in the presence of the leaders and the principal men of the expedition, and confirmed the same by their charters and oaths, appointing the Templars, and the Hospitallers, and other prudent men in whom they placed confidence, to receive and halve between them all they should take; after which they became reconciled.

In the meantime, Saladin, the leader of the armies of the pagans, frequently sent to the King of France and the King of England pears, Damascene plums, and abundance of other fruits of his country, besides other little presents, that this way at least he might render them disposed to make peace with him. For he had often made them offers of peace and concord, both in consequence of his apprehensions of the sons of Noureddin, who had laid claim against, him to the whole of the territories of their father which Saladin had seized and retained in his possession, and had, with the aid of the Lord Musse, their uncle, lately entered the territory of Saladin, and taken possession of it as far as the great River Euphrates; as also because he wished to rescue his people who were being besieged in the city. However, he would not entirely come to terms with the kings, for he wished to retain in his hands the city of Jerusalem and the Crag of Montreal, while the kings refused to make any agreement with him on those terms. In consequence of this, the stone engines of the kings and of the other chieftains never ceased hurling stones against the walls of the city and its fortifications, and the miners of the kings did not cease day or night undermining the city walls.

In the month of June, on the Lord's Day, being the Vigil of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, and the twenty-seventh day of the moon, at the ninth hour of the day, there was an eclipse of the sun, which lasted three hours; so much so, that the sun was obscured, and darkness came over the earth, and the stars appeared in the heavens; when the eclipse had passed, the sun was restored to its former brightness.

In the same month of June, the miners of the King of England undermined the foundations of the walls of the city of Acre, the pagans who were inside being in ignorance thereof ; and, placing logs of wood beneath, they set them on fire; on which a great part of the walls fell down.

In the meantime, the stone engines of the King of France, the Templars, and the Pisans, had made a great breach in the wall, near a tower which is called Maledetta, and the people of the King of France ran towards the breach, hoping, by force, to effect an entrance into the city. However, the pagans met them with a strong hand, and drove them back; and, as the way was steep and narrow, many of the people of the King of France were there slain. The King of England, however, and his men were keeping guard in the meantime over the outer trenches, which lay between the army of the Christians and that of Saladin; for an agreement had been made between the kings that, whenever one of them should be making an assault upon the city, the other should in the meantime keep strict guard over the outer trenches, in order that the army of Saladin might not be able to do any injury to those making the assault, by attacking them in the rear. This arrangement was also made between the kings, because in every affair in which the said kings and their people had united, they were less successful than they would have been if they had acted separately, for the King of France and his men looked contemptuously on the King of England and his people, while he and his people did the same to the others.

On the fifth day of the month of July, being the sixth day of the week, a breach in the walls was again set fire to, which had been made by the men of the King of England; and, on the following night, the bastions fell, with a great part of the walls, leaving a wide gap. On the day after this, the King of England and his army, having armed, approached with the view of making an assault on the city; on which the pagans immediately made a signal that they wished to make peace with them: whereupon, laying aside their arms, the Christians returned to their camp, and Mestoc, Karakois, Hessedin, and Ordich came out of the city for the purpose of having an interview with the kings, and offered them the city. Accordingly they went, and prevailed upon Saladin to offer to the kings the city of Jerusalem, and the Holy Cross, and all the cities and castles which he had taken after the capture of King Guy, and to repair and place them in the same state in which they then were; on condition, however, that the said kings should either go with him, or send with him six thousand knights and twenty thousand foot soldiers, to defend his territories against the Lord Musse and the sons of Noureddin, who had conquered his uncle Thekedin in battle, and taken possession of all his territory, although they had permitted them to depart uninjured. However, the kings declined to do this, and the pagans before-named entered the city disconsolate and in confusion; their friends, however, deserting Saladin, loaded him with censures.

On the seventh day of the month of July, being the Lord's Day, the King of France and his army made an assault upon the city, near the tower called Maledetta, at the same spot at which they had previously so done, but lost forty men, and were able to effect nothing whatever. On the eighth day of the month of July, Saladin burned Caiaphas, and destroyed the vineyards in its vicinity. On the following night, when many of the knights and men-at-arms of the Christian army were watching before the tower of Maledetta, a light from heaven shone around them, in which appeared to them the blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ; on which, from fear, the guards were exceedingly alarmed, and became as though dead men. But the blessed Virgin benignantly comforted them, saying, "Be not terrified, for the Lord has sent me hither for your safety. As soon as the day shall have dawned, go and tell your kings, in the name of Jesus Christ my Son and Lord, and in my name, to cease levelling the walls of this city, as, on the fourth day from this, the Lord shall deliver it into their hands." At the same hour also at which the Mother of Christ was speaking to the guards, a great earthquake took place in the city, and so terrified the pagans, that they wished rather to die than to live. In like manner shall the Lord, when he shall come to judgment, appear gentle to the good, and terrible to the wicked. After the Virgin Mary had thus spoken, she was severed from before their eyes, and with her the light departed which had shone around them.

Accordingly, in the morning the guards related to the kings and the chief men of the army the vision which they had seen and the words which the Mother of the Lord had spoken unto them; and immediately all the words which she had spoken were spread throughout the army, and there was great rejoicing among the people of God. Moreover, on the ninth and tenth days of July, Saladin caused all the vines and fruit-bearing trees to be rooted up which were in the vicinity of Acre, and all the cities and castles to be destroyed in which he felt no confidence as being able to resist the attacks of the Christians. On the eleventh day of the month of July, the Pisans, and the array of the King of England, made an assault on the city of Acre, and, having mounted the walls, a Pisan, Leonard by name, was slain; immediately after which the pagans made a signal that they would surrender the city, and make peace with the kings on their own terms. Accordingly, the chief men of the pagans above-named came to confer with the kings as to making peace, and, immediately after the conference, returned to the city.

On the twelfth day of the month of July, being the sixth day of the week, Philip, King of France, Richard, King of England, and all the principal men of the Christians, assembled in the morning at the tent of the Templars, where they were met by the principal men of the pagans besieged in the city; and, with the sanction of the army of the Christians, the said kings made peace with the pagans on the following terms:

The pagans were to surrender to the said kings the city of Acre, with everything therein, and to set at liberty five hundred Christian captives who were there. They also covenanted with the kings that they would deliver up to them the Holy Cross, and one thousand Christian captives, and two hundred Christian knights who were in captivity, according as the said kings should make choice from among all the captives who should be found in the possession of Saladin; and that they would give for the use of the kings two hundred thousand besants. They were also to remain as hostages in the hands of the kings, upon the understanding that, if they should not within forty days then next ensuing comply with the terms above-mentioned, they should be at the mercy of the kings for life and limb.

On the fifteenth day of the month of July, the kings ordered their stone engines and other engines of war to be taken down.

On the twenty-first day of the month of July, the King of England first entered the city of Acre; on which he and his wife and sister took up their abode in the King's palace, while the King of France was lodged in the mansion of the Templars. On the twenty-second day of the month of July, being the feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, the King of France sent to the King of England Robert, Bishop of Beauvais, Hugh, Duke of Burgundy, Drogo of Amiens, and William of Merlou, and through them asked his sanction to his return to his own country; on which the King of England made this answer to them: "It will be a shame and a disgrace for my lord if he goes away without having completed the business on which he came hither. But still, if he finds himself ailing, or in bad health, and is afraid lest he should die here, his will be done." On the twenty-third day of the month, when it was spread through the army that the King of France was about to depart, the principal men of his army came to him, and besought him with tears not in this shameless manner to desert the service of God.

On the twenty-ninth day of the month of July, Philip, King of France, gave to Conrad, Marquis of Montferrat, the moiety of the city of Acre that belonged to himself. On the same day, the King of France again asked the King of England to agree to his return home, but he could on no terms obtain his sanction to his withdrawal, unless he should first swear upon the Holy Evangelists that he would well and faithfully protect the territories and subjects of the King of England until his return, and would inflict no injury or grievance upon them, or allow the same to be done by any one else. After this, the King of France appointed the Duke of Burgundy chief of his army, giving up to him a great part of his treasure. Before his departure, he also gave to Raymond, Prince of Antioch, one hundred knights and five hundred men-at-arms for the defence of his territory against the pagans, and gave to each of the knights forty marks of silver as his pay from the feast of Saint Michael until Easter, appointing Robert of Quincy their governor and captain. The King of England also, on the same day, gave to the Prince of Antioch five great ships, laden with horses, arms, and provisions.

Alexander III was born on 4 September 1241 at Roxburgh, the only son of Alexander II and Marie de Coucy. His father died in 1249, leaving the boy to inherit the throne at just eight years old. He was crowned at Scone Abbey, where according to custom, the royal inauguration stone was raised high for all to see.

During his minority, government was dominated by rival factions of magnates. The Comyn family, led by Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith, held the guardianship of the king and leaned toward cooperation with Henry III of England, while Alan Durward, the Justiciar of Scotland, pushed back and sought to assert Scottish independence. This tug-of-war often turned violent: at one point in 1255, Alexander was physically seized and controlled by Durward’s faction in order to neutralize the Comyns’ influence. The boy-king found himself a pawn in aristocratic feuds, but by his mid-teens he had begun to assert authority, balancing his great lords against each other and making it clear that he would not be ruled by either camp.

In 1251, at the age of ten, Alexander married Margaret of England, daughter of Henry III. The marriage was meant to secure closer ties between England and Scotland, but it also gave Henry an excuse to press old claims of overlordship. Henry even wrote to the Pope asking that Alexander not be crowned, on the grounds that the King of Scots was his vassal through his English estates. Alexander refused, supported by loyal Scottish magnates. By his teens, Alexander had begun to assert real independence from both his English in-laws and his ambitious regents. The Comyns, notably, were leaned favourably to the English. In spite of this, however, Alexander enjoyed a cordial, if not outright friendly relationship with his English in-laws, notably his brother-in-law the Lord Edward, later Edward I. Quite unusual for English and Scottish monarchs of the time.

One of the defining achievements of Alexander’s reign was the extension of Scottish authority over the Western Isles and the Hebrides, long under Norse influence. Following a failed Norwegian expedition led by King Håkon IV in 1263, which ended with the Battle of Largs, Scotland and Norway signed the Treaty of Perth (1266). Under its terms, Scotland gained control of the Hebrides and the Isle of Man, while Norway retained Orkney and Shetland. This marked a decisive step in consolidating the kingdom geographically.

In addition to territorial consolidation, Alexander actively bolstered Scotland’s trade. He built on the burgh system developed by his ancestor David I, granting new charters and privileges that strengthened urban autonomy and commerce. Under his rule, major ports like Berwick, Aberdeen, Perth, and Dundee flourished, exporting wool, hides, fish, and timber to markets in Flanders, northern France, and the German towns of the Hanseatic League.

The Treaty of Perth in 1266, by securing the Hebrides and Isle of Man, also gave Scotland control over key western sea routes, facilitating trade across the Irish Sea. Alexander encouraged the presence of foreign merchants, including Flemings and Germans, who brought capital and connections, and his steady governance allowed commerce to expand without the disruptions of war or noble rebellion. The resulting prosperity enriched the burghs and increased royal revenues, while keeping taxation on the countryside relatively light.

His marriage to Margaret of England strengthened ties across the border, and together they had three children:

1. Margaret (28 February 1261 - 9 April 1283). Named for her mother, she was close with her maternal uncle Edward I of England. The younger Margaret married Eric II of Norway in 1281, where she allegedly found him uncultured and "tried to cultivate Eric by teaching him French and English, table manners, and fashion." Margaret gave birth to their only child, a daughter named Margaret, in 1283, though unfortunately the new mother died soon after the birth.
2. Alexander (21 January 1264 - 28 January 1284). Named for his father. In or after 1275, he was made Lord of Mann which gave him revenue and a "quasi-royal position of dignity" while also assuring the people of the island that the recently established Scottish rule would be efficient. Much like his elder sister Margaret, Alexander enjoyed a close relationship with his uncle Edward. Alexander married Margaret of Flanders, the daughter of Guy, the Count of Flanders. Unfortunately, almost a year after the death of his sister, Alexander died unexpectedly. As his widow was not pregnant, this left Alexander's young niece the new heir presumptive.
3. David (20 March 1272 – June 1281). Likely named for his ancestor David I of Scots. Died in June 1281 at around eight or nine, depriving his father of an heir and the first among many family tragedies that would make up the last years of Alexander III's life.

With the death of Prince Alexander in 1284, and his widow Margaret not pregnant, King Alexander was left with only one obvious heir: his infant granddaughter Margaret of Norway. Within weeks of his son's death, Alexander III had all thirteen earls, twenty-four barons, and three clan chiefs come to Scone and swear to recognize his granddaughter as his successor if he died leaving neither son nor daughter and if no posthumous child was born to Margaret of Flanders. As Margaret was not pregnant, it was clear that the the Maid of Norway was the heir.

Alexander did marry again the following year to Yolande of Dreux, and their marriage was celebrated on 15 October of that year. Alexander's choice of a French bride may have been an attempt to further distance himself from the eyes of Edward of England, who knew full well of the precarious position Alexander was in. After hearing of the death of Prince Alexander in 1284, Edward offered his condolences to his brother-in-law. Alexander responded with "much good may come to pass yet through your kinswoman, the daughter of your niece, who is now our heir". The two kings seemed hopeful for an English match for young Margaret, and, at least personally, it reads as thoughts of a unified kingdom when Alexander explicitly says "our" heir. Such plans may have been in the mind of Edward when he arranged the match of his son Edward of Caernafon and Margaret of Norway years later.

On the night of 19 March 1286, Alexander intended to ride out to meet his new wife, as her birthday was the following day. Alexander ignored the pleas of his advisors and went out on horseback during a storm, intent on seeing his wife. Alexander’s body was later found off a cliff, his neck broken. It is generally assumed that in the dark and poor weather, his horse lost its footing, and Alexander may have gotten lost from his entourage. Yolande, allegedly pregnant at the time, also miscarried some time later. With this, his granddaughter Margaret was to be crowned the next ruler of Scots. However, the young girl died in 1290 at only seven, plunging Scotland into factionalism and leading into the Wars of Independence.

Alexander III’s reign is often remembered as a golden age of medieval Scotland: a time of territorial consolidation, peace, and prosperity. Alexander himself was shrewd and pragmatic, with a deep understanding of economy and skilled tactician. Yet his tragic death and the collapse of his dynasty marked the beginning of one of the most turbulent periods in Scottish history.

By the late 1490s, both Henry VII of England and James IV of Scotland had compelling reasons to pursue peace between their traditionally hostile kingdoms. Henry, having taken the throne in 1485, sought to legitimize and stabilize his relatively new rule, while James was young, popular, ambitious, and eager to assert Scotland’s sovereignty and prestige through both diplomacy and force. Coincidentally, both monarchs had come to power through violent conflict, each claiming victory over a slain predecessor: Henry over Richard III at Bosworth, and James after the death of his father, James III, at Sauchieburn. Despite their shared military origins, both kings had a strong interest in foreign policy, trade, and internal consolidation. Most importantly, they saw the value in peace.

Tensions between the two kingdoms had peaked earlier in the decade when James IV harbored and supported Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the English throne claiming to be one of the lost Princes in the Tower. Specifically, Richard of Shrewsbury. Perkin was even granted a royal marriage to Lady Catherine Gordon (a woman James had allegedly been courting himself) and a fleet to invade England, but the rebellion failed. Realizing the limitations of such provocations, James turned to diplomacy. The Treaty of Perpetual Peace, signed in January 1502, marked the first formal peace treaty between England and Scotland in over 170 years. Its terms called for a “good, real and sincere, true, sound, and firm peace, friendship, league and confederation, to last all time coming.” Central to the treaty was a dynastic marriage between James IV and Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII, who was just 13 at the time, while James was 30.

The treaty included provisions for mutual non-aggression, arbitration of future disputes, and significantly, a papal clause: should either monarch break the terms, they would face excommunication by the Pope. It was a striking attempt to bind two rival crowns with the weight of divine and diplomatic authority. Nothing like this had been signed since 1328 between Edward III and Robert I.

On 8 August 1503, the royal wedding took place at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh. The celebrations were lavish and filled with feasts, tournaments, and pageantry, intended to publicly display the strength of the new alliance. James IV was already regarded as one of Scotland’s most charismatic and capable kings: fluent in multiple languages, a patron of the arts, and deeply interested in architecture, technology, and medicine. Though he had fathered several illegitimate children prior to marriage, it is notable that, unusually for a monarch of the era he took no mistress after his wedding. Margaret, by contrast, was only a teenager when she arrived in Scotland, but she gradually grew into her role as queen consort with a mix of English pride, political tact, and cultural adaptability. Despite their age gap and James’s past, their marriage was, by contemporary standards, successful and productive. The couple had several children, though only James V survived to adulthood. James also continued to support his illegitimate children, many of whom would go on to play prominent roles in Scottish politics and nobility.

Although the treaty had promised lasting peace, it ultimately collapsed in 1513, when James IV was killed at the Battle of Flodden, fighting against an English army. The rupture came when Henry VIII, now king of England, declared war on France. James found himself torn between honoring the Treaty of Perpetual Peace or upholding the Auld Alliance: Scotland’s longstanding pact with France.

The relationship between James and Henry was cool and increasingly strained. Unlike his cordial dealings with Henry VII, James received little diplomatic engagement from Henry VIII, who treated him more as a subordinate than a sovereign equal. James reportedly regarded Henry’s refusal to negotiate and his demands that Scotland remain neutral as both insulting and dismissive. For his part, Henry, eager to assert his dominance on the European stage, saw little reason to treat the Scottish king as a peer.

In choosing to invade northern England, James acted on a combination of dynastic pride, chivalric duty, and political calculation. He may have genuinely felt bound to France by honor, or he may have believed that Henry’s high-handedness had rendered the treaty void. Either way, his decision violated the Treaty of Perpetual Peace. Accordingly, he was excommunicated by Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge, Archbishop of York, acting on the authority of Pope Julius II. Somewhat ironically, Henry VIII himself would be excommunicated twenty-five years later in 1538 by Pope Paul III, though under very different circumstances.

Despite the failure of the peace and James’s death in battle, the dynastic consequences of his marriage to Margaret Tudor proved enduring. Their great-grandson, James VI of Scotland, would ascend the English throne in 1603 as James I, uniting the crowns of England and Scotland. In that ironic and roundabout way, the royal wedding of 1503 fulfilled its ultimate promise, laying the foundation for a single monarchy over both realms a hundred years later.

Sometime in late July, Isabella quit the French court and headed for Hainault -- interestingly, her husband back in England did not know of this, and thought she was still in France all the way to early September!

She perhaps had reason to fear for her safety in France. The Brut chronicle claims that Hugh le Despenser had sent bribes to French officials to try to force the queen to return to England, and months later, Isabella would claim that "certain evil men" had plotted against her and her son.

On August 3, Isabella and her retinue arrived in Mons to negotiate for the ships for her invasion fleet.

On that same day, Roger Mortimer's uncle and collaborator -- Roger Mortimer of Chirk -- died in the Tower of London. He had not made his escape with his nephew 3 years earlier, no doubt because he was nearly 70 years of age at the time.

Roger Mortimer proceeds onto Rotterdam to assist Sir Jan, Count Willem's brother, prepare the invasion fleet.

Elizabeth was the third of the Clare heiresses, Edward II's nieces who all married his favorites and rose and fell with his regard for their husbands. Elizabeth was twice widowed when she was married to Roger Damory, but as Hugh le Despenser ascended and eclipsed Damory, Damory fell from favor and eventually rebelled during the Despenser War along with Hugh Audley, who was married to Elizabeth's sister Margaret.

Elizabeth herself was captured, and she and her children were imprisoned at Barking abbey, where she learned her husband had died of his injuries while fighting the royalists and Despensers. On 29 June 1322 she was compelled to renounce Usk and Caerleon to the king, as he threatened 'she would never be allowed to hold any land in his kingdom of her inheritance' if she did not consent.

Usk and Caerleon, of course, went to Hugh le Despenser and his wife Eleanor -- Elizabeth's other sister.

Robert the Bruce had spent years reclaiming castles and territory lost to the English, steadily consolidating his power after a long period of exile and defeat. By now, he had begun demanding the allegiance of former supporters of King John Balliol, threatening confiscation of lands for those who refused.

The last major stronghold still in English hands was Stirling Castle, held under siege by Robert’s younger brother, Edward Bruce. An agreement had been made: if the English did not relieve the garrison by Midsummer’s Day, the castle would surrender. Determined not to lose this key fortress, Edward II marched north with a massive army (estimated at between 20,000 and 25,000 men)to confront King Robert and his Scottish forces, who numbered closer to 6,000. Though outnumbered, Bruce’s army was battle-hardened and disciplined, largely composed of spearmen trained in tightly packed schiltron formations.

Despite the long trek from the south, Edward pressed his troops onward, forcing them to march seventy miles in one week. The result was exhaustion with horses, horsemen, and infantry alike were worn down by toil, hunger, and poor planning. Bruce, by contrast, was well-positioned and prepared. His key commanders included:

1. Edward Bruce, his brother and commander of the siege at Stirling.
2. Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray and the Bruces' nephew.
3. Sir James Douglas, Lord of Douglas, who held joint authority with the young Walter the Steward. Walter was a rising figure in the war, who would later marry Bruce’s daughter, Marjorie, and father Robert II, the first Stewart king.

During the battle, Robert the Bruce famously killed Sir Henry de Bohun in single combat, cleaving his skull with an axe after sidestepping the English knight’s charge. Though the skirmish was small in scale, it provided a symbolic and morale-boosting moment for the Scottish army. That night, Sir Alexander Seton, a Scottish noble serving in Edward II’s army, defected and warned Bruce that the English camp was disorganized and demoralized. Seton urged the king to seize the opportunity for a decisive victory.

Bruce acted boldly. On June 24, he launched a full-scale assault, deploying his schiltrons not as static defensive circles but as mobile, offensive units; a tactic he had rigorously trained them for. The terrain favored the Scots: Bruce drew the English army into marshy ground hemmed in by the Bannock Burn and Pelstream Burn, where their cavalry and archers were rendered ineffective. The Scots advanced steadily, their tightly packed formations withstanding and repelling repeated English charges. As panic spread, the English lines collapsed. Realizing the battle was lost, Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, led Edward II from the field to ensure the king’s survival despite Edward’s protests.

Several high-ranking English nobles were killed or captured. Among the dead were Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester and Edward II's cousin, and Robert Clifford, a senior commander. Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Edward’s brother-in-law, was taken prisoner and later exchanged for Bruce’s wife, sisters, and daughter, who had been held in English captivity for years.

As the English army broke and fled, Sir James Douglas led a mounted pursuit. Edward II escaped to Dunbar Castle, from which he took ship to Berwick. The remnants of his army attempted to retreat south across the border (over 140 km away) but were harried by Scottish forces and hostile locals. Many were killed; few made it home. Historian Peter Reese wrote that "only one sizeable group of men—all foot soldiers—made good their escape to England."

The Battle of Bannockburn did not end the war, but it secured Bruce’s control of the Scottish kingdom and crippled English morale. It became one of the most iconic victories in Scottish history. A defining moment of national pride, resilience, and defiance.

In the same year, Philip, the son of Louis, King of the Franks, and of the said Queen Adela, fell ill, and was in danger of his life; at which his father was extremely grieved, and was admonished in his sleep by a divine revelation to vow that he would go on a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Thomas the Martyr, at Canterbury, to prevail upon him to restore his son to health.

In consequence of this, Louis, King of France, sent ambassadors to Henry, King of England, the Old King, and asked for leave and a safe conduct upon coming into England, and also liberty to return without any impediment; which was granted accordingly. Therefore, putting his trust in the Lord, contrary to the advice of many, he set out for England. Taking with him Philip, Earl of Flanders, and Baldwin, Earl of Guisnes, Henry, Duke of Louvaine, Earl William Mandeville, the advocate of Bethune, and other barons of the Kingdom of France, he came to Witsand, and thence passed over to England, arriving at Dover on the eleventh day before the kalends of September, being the fourth day of the week. The King of England, the Old King, came to meet him on the sea-shore, and received him with great honour and congratulations, as his most dearly-beloved liege lord and friend, and, with due respect, supplied all necessaries for him and his people.

On the following day, that is to say, on the Vigil of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, he escorted him to the tomb of Saint Thomas the Martyr, at Canterbury. Upon arriving there, Louis, King of the Franks, offered upon the tomb of Saint Thomas the Martyr a cup of gold, very large and of great value, and gave, for the use of the monks there in the service of God, a hundred tuns of wine, to be received yearly for ever at Poissy, in France, entirely at the expense of the King of France. In addition to this, he granted them that whatever in future should be bought in the Kingdom of France for their own use, should be free from toll and all other customs and excise. All this he caused to be confirmed by his charter, which they received at the hands of Hugh Pudsey, Chancellor of the King of France, and son of Hugh, Bishop of Durham. On the third day after this, the King of the Franks and his people who were with him returned to Dover, under the escort of the King of the English; and on the following day, namely, the seventh day before the kalends of September, being the Lord's Day, the King of France crossed over from England to Flanders, and landed at Witsand.

"On the fourth day before the Ides of May, being the Lord's Day and the feast of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus, and St. Pancras, the Martyrs, Berengaria, daughter of the King of Navarre, was married to Richard, King of England, at Limassol, in the island of Cyprus, Nicholas, the King's chaplain, performing the services of that sacrament; and on the same day the King caused her to be crowned and consecrated Queen of England by John, Bishop of Evreux, he being assisted in the performance of the ceremony by the Archbishops of Apamea and Auxienne, and the Bishop of Bayonne."

By summer 1327, the truce between England and Scotland had broken down. The Scots began raiding and plundering the north of England; the chronicler Jean le Bel, who fought in this campaign, says that they traveled extremely light, with no baggage train, living off a sack of oatmeal tied to their horses, and that being so light on their feet allowed the Scots to dart in, burn the countryside and steal cattle, and then dart back out again.

Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabella gathered their forces at York. The young Edward III was placed at the head, with his uncles Edmund and Thomas, and his cousin Henry of Lancaster advising him. In their haste to catch up to the Scots and pin them against the River Tyne, the English army charged pell-mell through the countryside, losing supplies along the way and arriving at camp on the bank of the Tyne exhausted and hungry. Then it began to rain down on them. They were unable to find the Scots, they were price-gouged for the little bit of food that began to trickle in, and it was so wet that they couldn't even light fires. When they finally found the Scots, the Scots held the high ground and had set themselves up nicely.

Edward III gave, as Le Bel tells us, a rousing speech before the men "commanding that discipline be kept". Apparently, a conflict had arisen between Henry of Lancaster, who wanted to go on the offensive, and Roger Mortimer, who did not. The Scots blasted horns and made such a racket all night that Le Bel says "they were the very devils of hell come to strangle us."

More futile attempts to provoke the Scots into open battle were made. On another night, Lord Douglas led a daring raid right into the English camp; the English awoke to cries of "Douglas! Douglas! You will all die, English lords!" as Douglas and his men cut their way through the camp. They made it as far as the young king's tent, where Lord Douglas himself cut the ropes, sending the tent collapsing to the ground.

The next morning, they found the Scots had simply slipped away in the dark of night through the marshland. The chronicler Henry Knighton remarked that Edward III was in "great desolation" at the utter failure of the whole mission. It was so bad the Brut chronicle even accused Mortimer of conspiring with the Scots.

About this time John, Duke of Normandy came over into England, and landed at Shoreham on the 25th May; on the day after, which was the Eve of our Lord's Ascension, he went to London to be crowned there.

Accordingly, upon the arrival of the before-named Duke, there assembled in London Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury; John, Archbishop of Dublin; the Archbishop of Ragusa; William, Bishop of London; Gilbert, Bishop of Rochester; John, Bishop of Norwich; Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln; Eustace, Bishop of Ely; Godfrey, Bishop of Winchester; Henry, Bishop of Exeter; Sefrid, Bishop of Chichester; Geoffrey, Bishop of Coventry; Savaric, Bishop of Bath; Herbert, Bishop of Salisbury; Philip, Bishop of Durham; Roger, Bishop of St Andrews in Scotland; and Henry, Bishop of Llandaff; Robert, Earl of Leicester; Richard, Earl of Clare; William, Earl of Tewkesbury; Hamelin, Earl of Warenne; William, Earl of Salisbury; William, Earl of Striguil; Waleran, Earl of Warwick; Earl Roger Bigot; William, Earl of Arundel; Ranulf, Earl of Chester, and many barons. Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, crowned and consecrated the beforenamed John, Duke of Normandy, King of England, in the Church of St Peter the Apostle, at Westminster, on the sixth day before the kalends of June, being the fifth day of the week, and the day of the Ascension of our Lord; Philip, Bishop of Durham, protesting against the same, on the ground that the coronation ought not to take place in the absence of Geoffrey, Archbishop of York, Primate of all England.

The Archbishop, standing in the midst, addressed them thus, 'Hear, all of you, and be it known that no one has an antecedent right to succeed another in the kingdom, unless he shall have been unanimously elected, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, on account of the superior merits of his character, after the example of Saul the first anointed king, whom the Lord set over his people, not as the son of a king, nor as born of royal ancestry. In the same manner, after Saul came David, son of Jesse. Saul was chosen because he was a brave man, and suited for the royal dignity; David, because he was holy and humble. Thus those who excelled in vigour are elevated to kingly dignity. But, if any relations of a deceased king excel others in merit, all should the more readily and zealously consent to his election. We have said this to maintain the cause of Earl John, who is here present, brother of our illustrious King Richard, lately deceased without heirs of his body, and as the said Earl John is prudent, active, and indubitably noble, we have, under God's Holy Spirit, unanimously elected him for his merits and his royal blood.' Now the Archbishop was a man of bold character and a support to the kingdom by his steadiness and incomparable wisdom; no one, therefore, dared to dispute what he said, as knowing that he had good cause for what he did. Earl John and all who were present acquiesced, and they unanimously elected the Earl, crying out, 'God save the King!' Archbishop Hubert was afterwards asked why he acted in this manner, to which he replied that he knew John would one day or other bring the kingdom into great confusion, wherefore he determined that he should owe his elevation to election and not to hereditary right.

At this coronation King John bound himself by a triple oath, namely, to love the Holy Church and its ordained priests, and to preserve it harmless from the attacks of evil designers, and to do away with bad laws, substituting good ones in their stead, and to see justice rightly administered throughout England. He was afterwards adjured by the same Archbishop on behalf of God, and strictly forbidden to presume to accept this honour, unless he purposed in his mind, to fulfil in deed, what he had sworn to; in reply to this the King promised that, by God's assistance, he would in all good faith keep the oath which he had made.

On the day of his coronation, King John girded William Marshal with the sword of the Earldom of Striguil, and Geoffrey FitzPeter with the sword of the Earldom of Essex; which parties, although they had been before styled earls, and had had the management of their counties, had not been girded with the swords of their earldoms; and on the same day, being girded with their swords, they served at the King's table.

On the day also of his coronation, the said King conferred on Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, his chancellorship. While he was exulting in the power so conferred on him, and boasting greatly of his favour with the king, Hugh Bardolph answered him: 'My lord, by your leave I say it, if you really were well to consider the power of your name, and the dignity of your position, you would not impose on yourself the yoke of slavery; for we have never seen or heard of a chancellor being made out of an archbishop, but we have seen an archbishop made out of a chancellor.'

On the following day, after he had received the homage and fealty of his subjects, he went to St Albans, the protomartyr of England, to pray; and so, making but a very short stay in England, he with the advice of the nobles duly settled everything that required his attention.