(A.D. 1244-1291).
|Edward I. was only fifteen years old when he accompanied his mother
across the Pyrenees from Bordeaux, to claim the hand of Eleanora, sister
to King Alphonso of Castile, to whom he had been betrothed several
months before.
[[A.D. 1256.]] The marriage was solemnized a few days, after his
arrival, feasts and tournaments in honor of the event followed, and then
the little bride of ten years proceeded with her lord to Paris. She
was present at the feast of kings, given by King Henry to celebrate his
son's marriage, of which mention is made in the preceding reign.
When Henry III. and Queen Eleanor returned to England, the young couple
went with them and made their public entry into the metropolis in grand
state.
Among the numerous entertainments given to welcome the bride, that which
took place at the house of John Mansel, the secretary of state, was the
most remarkable. All the royal family, with their entire retinue,
were present, and as the mansion was by no means capacious enough to
accommodate so large a party, tents were erected on the surrounding
grounds. Considering that seven hundred messes of meat were served at
one meal, it is not surprising that Mansel's house was too small.
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[Illustration: 0165]
{163}A few months later, Prince Edward took his little wife to Bordeaux
to complete her education, which had scarcely begun at the time of her
marriage. While she pursued her studies, the prince led the life of a
knight-errant, wandering from place to place, and taking part in various
tilting matches and tournaments until summoned to England to take part
in the civil wars that resulted, after several years, in the complete
restoration of Henry III.
[[A.D. 1265.]] Peace was so far established in 1265 as to warrant the
return of Queen Eleanor, who took her daughter-in-law home with her.
Prince Edward met the ladies at Dover, and was delighted to welcome his
wife, who had, during her absence, developed into a remarkably handsome
woman. She had clear cut, delicate features, a fine figure, and
magnificent black hair, peculiar to Spanish ladies.
The young couple set up their establishment at the palace of Savoy,
built by Edward's uncle, but passed much of their time at Windsor
Castle, where, a year later, their first son was born. He received the
name of John, after his unworthy grandfather. In 1267 a second son was
born and named Henry.
Prince Edward was too restless a man and too much of a soldier to settle
down to a life of luxury and ease, and an escape from injury, or perhaps
death, that he had one day when playing chess at Windsor, turned his
thoughts towards a crusade. He had just left the table, with no special
purpose, when the centre stone of the ceiling fell and crushed the
chair he had occupied. This circumstance convinced him that he was under
Divine protection and that his life was spared for some great work.
He therefore began his preparations for a campaign in Syria forthwith.
Prince Edward was eminently fitted for a crusader, being a powerful man,
tall, well formed, remarkably {164}agile in wielding his sword, and an
excellent horseman.
His wife loved him so fondly that she resolved to accompany him,
though it was a sacrifice to leave her two lovely little boys. All the
hardships and dangers attendant upon a crusade were laid before Eleanora
in graphic colors, but she was willing to brave them all rather than let
her husband go without her. "Nothing," said this faithful wife, "ought
to part those whom God hath joined, and the way to heaven is as near, if
not nearer, from Syria as from England or my native Spain."
Before leaving England, Eleanora, in company with Queen Eleanor, visited
the various shrines throughout the kingdom and made offerings, some of
them being of great value.
[[A.D. 1270.]] In the spring of 1270 the young couple bade farewell to
the two sons they were never to see again, and set sail for Bordeaux,
thence to Sicily, where they were to be joined by King Louis of France,
with his army.
But the death of King Louis occurring at this time, deprived Prince
Edward of the aid he had counted on, and caused his detention for
several months. The King of Sicily tried to persuade him to abandon
the crusade, but heroically striking his breast the prince
exclaimed:--"_Sang de Dieu_, if all should desert me, I would lay siege
to Acre, if only attended by Fowen my groom!"
In the spring and summer of 1271 Edward made two successful campaigns
and defeated the Saracens with great slaughter. Returning to Cyprus
for reinforcements, he undertook the siege of Acre, and established a
reputation in the Holy Land, not inferior to that of his great uncle,
Cour de Lion.
The Saracen admiral, bent on revenge, sent a messen-
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[Illustration: 0169]
ger {167}several times to the prince, with letters, in which he
expressed his desire to become a Christian convert. He was always
received in private, because the admiral's life would be in danger from
his own people unless the utmost secrecy were observed. The fifth time
the ambassador presented himself, Edward was lying on a lounge, clad in
a loose garment, as the weather was very warm. He was soon absorbed in
the letters that had been written on purpose to please him. Suddenly
the letter-carrier drew forth a poniard and aimed at the prince, who
fortunately perceived the treachery in time to receive the blow on his
arm. The man made another attempt, but Edward felled him to the ground
with a powerful kick in the breast, then seizing a stool, killed
him outright. The sound of the scuffle brought in Prince Edward's
attendants, one of whom beat out the brains of the treacherous
messenger. "What was the use of striking a dead man?" asked the prince,
with stern reproach.
A surgical operation became necessary before the wounded arm could be
cured, but at the end of a fortnight Edward was able to mount his horse,
the attention and good nursing of his wife having hastened his recovery.
Eleanora had a little princess soon afterward, and called her Joanna of
Acre, from the place of her birth.
As his army had become much reduced, Prince Edward took leave of the
Holy Land and returned to Sicily with his wife and infant. Sad news
awaited them, for a messenger announced the death of their two little
boys in England, and they had scarcely recovered from the shock when
another arrived to inform them that Henry III. also had died.
The firmness and resignation with which Edward had borne the loss of
his sons now gave way to an outburst of grief that surprised every
one, particularly as his father's death made him King of England. When
questioned on {168}the subject Edward replied: "The loss of infants may
be repaired by the same God that gave them, but when a man has lost
a good father it is not in the course of nature for God to send him
another."
The royal pair spent a year in Rome before returning to England. During
their passage through France, Edward took part in several tournaments,
and did not land at Dover with his wife until August 2, 1273.
[[A.D. 1273.]] Preparations for their coronation were speedily
concluded, and that important ceremony took place on the 19th of August.
Great enthusiasm was exhibited by the citizens of London, who had
enjoyed a season of such prosperity since the establishment of peace
that they were anxious to prove their loyalty to the new king and queen
by lavish expenditure. Both houses of parliament assembled to welcome
their majesties, and for two weeks after the coronation banquets were
served every day in the wooden buildings that had been erected in the
palace grounds for that purpose. The rich and the poor, the country
yeoman and the Londoner, were welcomed alike and entertained free of
charge. It was a fortnight of universal rejoicing, and the opening
reign promised to be an exceedingly popular one. But the most remarkable
feature of the coronation was this: while the king was at a feast
prepared in the palace for the lords who had attended him during
the ceremony, King Alexander of Scotland came to pay his respects,
accompanied by a hundred knights. They arrived on horseback, and, as
each man alighted, his horse was turned loose to become the property
of any person, no matter what his station, who might be lucky enough to
capture him. Afterwards came Edmund, the king's brother, the Earls of
Pembroke and Warren, with their train of knights, and the horses of this
whole party were likewise turned loose. {169}Llewellyn, the Prince of
Wales, did not appear at the coronation, and this displeased the king
so much that he sent to inquire into the cause, whereupon the prince
replied that as he had reconquered all the Welsh territory that Edward's
Norman predecessors had taken possession of, he owed no homage to the
King of England.
Later, when Llewellyn's bride was on her way to Wales, her vessel was
captured by the Bristol merchantmen, and the damsel was taken prisoner.
King Edward treated her with courtesy, and placed her in charge of
the queen at Windsor Castle. Then the prince submitted to the required
homage with alacrity and went to Worcester, where the King and Queen of
England met him, bringing his lady love with them. The marriage ceremony
was performed at Worcester Cathedral; King Edward gave the bride away,
the queen supported her at the altar, and both honored the marriage
feast with their presence. A year later the young princess died, then
her husband repented of his homage and suddenly invaded England, but he
was killed on the battle-field without accomplishing anything.
[[A.D. 1283.]] Wales was in such an unsettled state in 1283 that King
Edward found his presence there very necessary. The queen went with him
and established her court at Rhuddlan Castle. By that time the royal
couple had several children, and their sixth daughter, Princess
Isabella, was born soon after their arrival in Wales.
The following year the queen removed to the Castle of Caernarvon,
because it was the strongest fortress in Wales, and the king wanted
to feel that she was safe from insurgents. There, in a gloomy little
chamber, ten feet by eight, a prince was born on the 25th of April,
1284. The room had no fireplace, but tapestry was hung on the walls to
keep out draughts. It was Queen Eleanora who first {170}put tapestry to
this use in England in imitation of a Moorish custom that she had seen
adopted in Spain. A Welsh nurse was procured for the infant, because
the queen knew that it would please the people to have a native woman in
that position. Edward I. was at Rhud-dlan Castle, trying to negotiate a
treaty of peace with the authorities of Wales, when a gentleman arrived
to inform him of the birth of his son. He was so delighted that he
knighted the man on the spot and made him a present of some lands.
The king then hastened to Caernarvon to see his wife and baby. Three
days later all the chiefs from the different parts of North Wales met at
the castle to tender their submission to Edward, and to implore him to
appoint them a prince of their own land, whose native tongue was neither
French nor Saxon.
Edward assured them that he would comply, whereupon they promised that
if his character was free from stain, they would certainly accept him
without a murmur. Then the king ordered his infant son to be brought in,
and presenting him to the assembly, said, "that he was a native of their
country, his character was without reproach, that he could not speak a
word of English or French, and that if they pleased, the first words he
uttered should be Welsh."
As there was no alternative, the rough mountaineers kissed the little
hand and swore fealty to Edward of Caernarvon.
The queen soon removed to Conway Castle, where she was surrounded with
all the comforts and luxuries the age afforded. Under her influence the
Welsh made rapid strides towards civilization, and she felt happy to be
among them; but they had been so barbarous when she first went to their
country that the king had to threaten se-
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[Illustration: 0175]
vere {173}punishment to any one "who should strike the queen or snatch
anything out of her hand."
[[A.D. 1285.]] King Alexander of Scotland died in 1285, and his heiress,
the Princess Margaret of Norway, was by consent of the nobles of
Scotland, solemnly betrothed to little Edward of Caernarvon, Prince of
Wales.
In 1290, Queen Eleanora was the mother of nine beautiful princesses, to
whose care and education she devoted a great deal of time. They
occupied a retired portion of Westminster Palace, which was called in
consequence, Maiden Hall. One of these princesses entered a convent, not
long after the ninth one was born, and during the same year three
others married. The rejoicings that attended the nuptial ceremonies were
suddenly brought to a close by a dreadful calamity. It had been arranged
that the little Queen Margaret of Scotland should go to England to
be educated under the guidance of Queen Eleanora, but she died on the
voyage. This sad event was disastrous to Scotland, and threatened the
prosperity of the whole kingdom, by severing the bond that would have
united it had the marriage between Margaret and Edward been consummated.
[[A.D. 1291.]] As soon as the king heard of Margaret's death he started
for Scotland, bidding his beloved Eleanora to follow as speedily as
possible. But before he reached his destination a messenger overtook him
with news of the queen's dangerous illness. She had been attacked
with fever while travelling through Lincolnshire, and prevented from
proceeding. Edward turned back instantly, and everything was lost sight
of excepting that his dear wife was ill and suffering. Notwithstanding
that he pushed forward with utmost haste, he arrived too late, for the
queen was dead. King Edward's grief was so deep for a time that he was
unable to attend to public affairs of {174}any description. He followed
the corpse of his wife for thirteen days, stopping at every important
town to have a funeral ceremony performed at the largest church where
all the neighboring priests and monks assembled for the purpose. As the
royal bier approached London the officers and principal citizens met
it, clad in black hoods and gowns, and marched in solemn procession to
Westminster Abbey.
Queen Eleanora was buried at the feet of her royal father-in-law.
Besides the beautiful monument in bronze for which King Edward paid
an Italian artist £1700, he erected others in the shape of a cross
in memory of the _chère reine_, as he called his wife, at each of the
places where the funeral procession halted on the way to London. The
last stopping place was the one now called Charing Cross, a perversion
of the original French, which signified "dear queen's cross."
Eleanora of Castile was sincerely lamented in England; for as Walsingham
says of her: "To our nation, she was a living mother, the column
and pillar of the whole realm. She was a godly, modest and merciful
princess, who consoled the sorrow-stricken, and made those friends that
were at discord."
During the reign of Edward I. and Eleanora, sculpture, architecture,
casting in brass and bronze, and wood-carving were encouraged, and many
beautiful specimens of these branches of art appeared in England.
Of all the children of this royal couple, the nun-princess and Edward
II. were the only ones that reached middle age.
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