(A.D. 1311-1369).
|When Edward, Prince of Wales, was, with his mother, compelled to seek
refuge at the house of the Count of Hainault (of which we have given an
account in the story of Isabella of France), he fell violently in
love with the count's second daughter, Philippa, and she returned his
affection. She was only fifteen years of age, and he a few months
older, but they formed an attachment that lasted throughout their lives.
Philippa was a brilliant Flemish beauty, whose excellent heart and
lovable disposition endeared her to all who knew her. Later, as Queen
of England, she proved a blessing to that country by the wisdom and good
judgment she displayed in encouraging manufactures and trade. But before
she assumed that position she was doomed to many months of anxiety and
uncertainty; for her young lover, after only a fortnight's enjoyment
of her society, departed on the dangerous expedition of invading his
father's kingdom. There was considerable doubt as to whether he would
ever return, because not only were the affairs of his country in such a
condition that he could not foretell what turn they might take, but the
relatives of both the lovers might interpose many objections to their
union.
It was not the custom in those days for the heir of England to
acknowledge that he had made his choice of a wife without first
consulting his parliament and councillors,
{215}
[Illustration: 0219]
{217}but young Edward imparted his secret to his mother, and, as she had
taken a great fancy to pretty Philippa, she promised to aid him as best
she could. Therefore as soon as possible after her return home she led
the public authorities to decide that one of the four daughters of the
Count of Hainault would be the most desirable alliance for her son, but
without naming which one. However, we may be very sure that the young
man gave his own private instructions to his messengers, for they made
no mistake in their choice, nor is it likely that he would risk trusting
entirely to their discretion as to which of the young Hainault ladies
would prove most worthy to become Queen of England.
The messengers applied first to Sir John, Philippa's uncle, who had
been in England fighting the cause of the new king, and requested his
assistance in the selection of a wife for their young sovereign. Sir
John received them with all the honors he could lavish, and gave them
the most sumptuous feasts and splendid entertainments of all sorts.
After several days spent in this manner, he conducted them to
Valenciennes, where they were equally well received at his brother's
house. A special dispensation was required from the Pope, because the
two mothers of the lovers were cousins; so messengers were sent to
obtain it, which they did without much difficulty.
[[A.D. 1327.]] As soon as Edward heard that all necessary arrangements
had been completed, he ordered the marriage ceremony to be performed at
Valenciennes, though as he was engaged in a war on the Scottish border
with the renowned Robert Bruce, he could not be present. In the absence
of the bridegroom, the wedding must have been rather a tame affair,
but there was no help for it, and preparations were made for a grand
display. The costume and equipage of the bride were unusually costly and
elegant, {218}no expense or pains being spared to render the festival
worthy of the wealthy country in which it was given.
Afterwards Philippa, accompanied by her Uncle John and a large retinue,
proceeded to Dover, and then to London, where a solemn procession of the
clergy introduced her into the city, and she was presented by the lord
mayor with a service of silver worth three hundred pounds as a marriage
gift. The city was illuminated, and there were great rejoicings, feasts
and public entertainments of all sorts, that were kept up for three
weeks after the bride's arrival.
She did not stay long in London, however, but hurried on to York to meet
her husband, being received with honors at every town through which she
passed. All the parliament and royal council assembled at the union
of the young king and his bride, as well as a hundred of the principal
nobility of Scotland, who came to conclude a final peace with England.
Nothing is said about the bride's marriage dowry, because the
queen-mother had already got possession of it and spent it. She had
besides so managed to get hold of the public funds that the young
sovereign of England was nearly penniless. The following summer was
passed by the new couple at Woodstock, the beautiful country residence
which was the favorite home of Philippa so long as Isabella, the
queen-mother, and Mortimer ruled the kingdom.
Sir John of Hainault returned to his native land laden with jewels and
rich presents, almost all of his countrymen accompanying him. Among the
few who remained behind was a youth named Sir Walter Mauny, whose office
was to carve for Philippa. He became one of the first Knights of the
Garter, an order established by Edward III., of which we shall hear
later.
[[A.D. 1330.]] The coronation of the young queen did {219}not take place
for nearly two years after her marriage. All the customary duties were
performed on that occasion, but the ceremony was remarkable for the
absence of display on account of the emptiness of the treasury.
[Illustration: 0223]
The queen-mother, with her favorite, Mortimer, had used up all the
public funds for their own support, but young Edward was not going to
stand such a state of affairs much longer, and before the close of
the year he had liberated himself from his wicked mother's control and
executed her favorite.
With the reins of government in his own hands, the young king, aided
by his good and sensible wife, set to work to reform the abuses of his
mother's reign and to establish most excellent and satisfactory laws.
Edward had a very violent temper, which would have led him to commit
many an act of cruelty and injustice had it not been for the influence
of his kind-hearted, virtuous wife.
[[A.D. 1330.]] {220}Her eldest son, Edward, surnamed the Black Prince on
account of the color of the armor he wore in battle, was born while
she was living at Woodstock, and in celebration of that event a grand
tournament was arranged to take place in London. Philippa, with all the
noble ladies, was invited to attend. The preparations were on a much
grander scale than usual, thirteen knights being engaged on either
side. The arena was covered with sand to prevent the horses' feet from
slipping; flags and banners were ingeniously arranged as decorations,
and a temporary platform was erected and ornamented for the
accommodation of the queen and her ladies. No sooner were they all
seated than the scaffolding gave way, and they tumbled pell-mell to the
ground. Fortunately the platform was not high, and nobody was hurt,
but the ladies were terribly frightened, and, for a few moments, the
confusion and excitement were very great.
The king flew into a perfect fury and vowed that the careless carpenters
should instantly be put to death. This was rather a severe sentence,
particularly as the damage was slight, and so Philippa considered it,
for scarcely had she recovered from her fright than she threw herself on
her knees before her angry husband, and pleaded with angelic sweetness
for the pardon of the poor men. Edward soon became calm under the
influence of her gentle voice and words, and forgave the offenders.
Up to this time all the wool grown in England had been sent to the
Netherlands to be manufactured into cloth, and Philippa remembered what
a source of profit and occupation it had been for her own country. She
therefore set to work to establish a manufacturing colony at Norwich,
and a letter was sent to John Kemp of Flanders, cloth-weaver, in which
he is informed, "that if he will come to England with the servants and
apprentices of his mystery, and with {221}his goods and chattels, and
with any dyers who maybe willing to accompany him beyond the seas, and
exercise their mysteries in the kingdom of England, they shall have
letters of protection and assistance in their settlement."
[[A.D. 1335.]] He came, and was the patriarch of the Norwich woollen
manufactories. Philippa often visited the colony, which soon brought
considerable wealth into the country, encouraging the work by her
patronage, and, like a beneficent queen of the hive cherishing and
protecting the working bees, she made a law that no woollen clothes
should be worn except those made in England. Besides the occupation
which she thus provided for hundreds of her subjects, this young queen
displayed unusual foresight for a woman of her age in the tournament
exhibitions she held at Norwich, by which she gave the citizens
assurance of gallant protection on the part of the nobility in case of
need. These festivities brought together the workers and the defenders
of the nation, and Queen Philippa set them the example of mutual
respect. Edward III. did not often accompany his wife on her visits to
Norwich, but usually passed the time of her absence with his unhappy
mother at Castle Rising.
In 1333 Edward again commenced a furious war on Scotland. His faithful
Philippa went with him as far as she could, and while he laid siege to
Berwick took up her residence at Bamborough Castle. It was during this
siege that the king committed a deed so atrocious that it must forever
be a dark stain upon his character. Douglas, the defender of Scotland,
left King Edward before Berwick and made a forced march to the castle
that contained Queen Philippa, hoping to frighten the king and to force
him to fly to her assistance. But he was mistaken, for Edward had too
much confidence in the strength of the castle and the firmness of his
wife to budge. It is probable though {222}that this attempt to capture
Philippa aggravated his ferocious temper and prompted him to the cruel
deed to which we have referred. The two young Seatons, sons of the
Governor of Berwick, had been taken as prisoners, and the king had
them put to death because the father refused to surrender the town. His
object was to take Berwick by a desperate blow and fly to the relief of
his queen, and he succeeded, for the poor grief-stricken father of the
Seatons was so perfectly stunned by the infamous murder of his boys,
that he could offer no further resistance. Douglas and Edward fought not
far from Benwick, where the former was killed and the king entered the
town in triumph with Philippa at his side.
During the queen's residence in the north of England quite an amusing
circumstance occurred. King Edward had returned from Scotland, and his
wife, who had been separated from him for a long time, went as far as
Durham to welcome him back. He lodged at St. Cuthbert's Priory near the
castle. After supper the queen entered her husband's apartments, where,
feeling fatigued from her journey, she hoped to have a good night's
rest. Scarcely had she undressed than there came a loud knocking at her
door. Upon opening it several monks presented themselves with a pathetic
appeal to her not to offend their holy patron St. Cuthbert, who during
his life avoided the fair sex and would be dreadfully angry if one of
them, no matter how high her rank, should sleep beneath the roof of
his convent. The pious Philippa was distressed at the idea of having
unintentionally displeased the saint, and fled in her night-clothes to
the castle, which was fortunately not far away.
[[A.D. 1336.]] About this time Count William of Hainault died of gout,
and Edward thus lost the liberal supplies that he had always counted on
from that source. The English {223}people of that period chose always
to be at war; but expected their monarchs to pay the costs. Edward was
reduced to such extreme poverty that he was forced to pledge his wife's
crown for twenty-five hundred pounds, at the beginning of his long war,
and during his whole reign the crown jewels were seldom out of pawn. He
had been engaged in a naval battle with France since his victories in
Scotland, and in 1340 found himself bankrupt. By that time Philippa
had several children, and was residing in the Tower, where she devoted
herself to their education with her usual good sense.
Now we must see how Edward was led to establish the Order of the Garter.
Wark Castle was under the guardianship of the Earl of Salisbury, who,
while King Edward was encamped near Berwick, was taken prisoner. The
Countess of Salisbury was then left alone at the castle with her young
nephew, and it was besieged by the King of Scotland. Becoming alarmed at
the approach of danger she sent the youth to seek assistance of Edward
who immediately replied in person. At his appearance the siege was
raised, and the countess, to prove her gratitude, ordered the gates to
be thrown open, and received the king with great honors. She courtesied
low, thanked her preserver warmly for his prompt aid, and conducted
him into the castle, where he and all his knights and attendants were
entertained sumptuously. Everybody was struck with the countess' noble
deportment and affable behavior, and the king was charmed with her grace
and beauty.
While he was dancing with her after the banquet she gave in his honor
she unfortunately dropped her garter, and was overcome with confusion,
but Edward with his usual gallantry picked it up and, holding it aloft,
said: "_Honi soit qui mal y pense_,"
"evil to him who evil thinks." In commemoration of this event, and out
of compliment to the {224}countess, he established an order called the
Knights of the Garter. The queen attended the first meeting of this
order at Windsor, on which occasion all the knights were accompanied by
their ladies, who wore the badge with the motto the king had proposed as
a bracelet on their left arm. The object of this order of knighthood was
to assist distressed ladies, and after it was well established the king
announced his intention of going to the aid of the Countess de Montfort,
who was trying to uphold the cause of her infant son against the whole
power of France, while her husband was a prisoner in the tower of the
Louvre. He appointed Philippa regent, with the Earl of Kent as her
assistant, and departed for France with his son Edward, then only
sixteen years of age. At the battle of Cressy, which had occurred during
the siege of Calais, this boy proved himself a true hero.
During the king's absence, David of Scotland advanced into England and
set fire to the suburbs of York. Philippa hastened in person to the
relief of her northern subjects, and took up her residence at Newcastle.
On the following day the King of Scots, with forty thousand men, halted
within three miles of the town, and sent word to the queen that if her
men were willing he would wait and give them battle. She replied: "that
her barons would risk their lives for the realm of their lord, the
king."
When her army drew up in order of battle she rode among them mounted on
her white charger, entreating the men "to fight manfully for the love
of God." They promised to do the utmost in their power, and the queen
withdrew after commending them "to the protection of God and St.
George."
Philippa had the moral courage becoming in a woman, and as soon as she
had done all that a great queen could do for the encouragement of her
army, she left the battlefield, {225}which was no place for her, and
retired to pray for her invaded kingdom.
Her army gained the victory, and King David was taken prisoner by a
squire named John Copeland, who rode off with him and refused to give
him up. This displeased Philippa, who the next day wrote to the squire
commanding him to surrender the King of Scots to her forthwith. He
replied, "that he would not give up his royal prisoner to a woman but
only to his own lord, King Edward, for to him he had sworn allegiance
and not to any woman."
The queen was troubled at this obstinacy, and wrote all about it to the
king, who ordered John Copeland to come to him at Calais immediately.
When Edward saw the squire he took him by the hand, saying: "Ha! welcome
my squire, who by thy valor hast captured mine adversary, the King of
Scots."
John Copeland fell on one knee and replied: "If God out of his great
goodness has given me the King of Scotland, and permitted me to conquer
him in arms, no one ought to be jealous of it, for God can, if He
please, send His grace to a poor squire as well as to a great lord.
Sire, do not take it amiss if I did not surrender King David to the
orders of my lady queen, for I hold my lands of _you_ and not of _her_,
and my oath is to you and not her, unless indeed through choice."
The king thanked him warmly for his valor, and ordered him to go home
and hand his prisoner, the King of Scotland, over to Philippa, adding,
"and I assign lands as near your house as you can choose them to the
amount of five hundred pounds a year for you and your heirs." The squire
obeyed, and the excuses he made were so acceptable to the queen that she
bore him no ill-will. She ordered King David to be conducted in grand
procession through the streets mounted on a tall black war-horse,
so that every one {226}might know him and recognize him in case he
attempted to escape, and then to be locked up in the Tower of London.
Next day, accompanied by a large number of her ladies, she sailed for
Calais, where Edward gave a magnificent _fête_ to welcome his victorious
queen.
Meantime the defenders of Calais were so much reduced by famine that
they offered to surrender. At first Edward resolved to kill them every
one, but in compliance with the request of Sir Walter Mauny, one of
the Knights of the Garter, who begged him to be merciful, he softened
somewhat, and sent this message: "Tell the Governor of Calais that
the garrison and inhabitants shall be pardoned excepting six of the
principal citizens, who must surrender themselves to death with ropes
round their necks, bareheaded and barefooted, bringing the keys of the
town and castle in their hands."
Sir Walter carried the cruel verdict to the governor. He wept
bitterly; he was compelled, however, to break the dreadful news to the
inhabitants, who at the loud peals of the alarm-bell assembled in the
town-hall. When they heard the king's message, they broke into loud
lamentations of grief and despair. The hardest heart could not have
failed to be touched by such a scene. Men stared at each other, scarcely
knowing what to say or do. After a pause, Eustace St. Pierre, the most
wealthy citizen of Calais, arose and offered himself as one of the six
to make the horrible sacrifice for his fellow-townsmen. Five others
followed this noble example amid the blessings and thanks of the
assembly, and the number was completed. Mounted on a horse, the governor
slowly and solemnly conducted them to the barriers, where Sir Walter
Mauny awaited them, and said: "I deliver up to you, as Governor of
Calais, these six citizens, and swear to you they are the most wealthy
and respectable men of the town. I beg of you, gentle sir, that
{227}
[Illustration: 0231]
{229}you would beseech the king that they may not be put to death."
"I cannot answer what the king will do with them," replied Sir Walter;
"but you may depend upon this, that I will do all I can to save them."
All the English nobles wept at the sight of these six gentlemen as they
knelt before the king and begged for compassion, but Edward eyed them
angrily and ordered their heads to be struck off forthwith. Some of the
knights entreated the king to be more merciful, but he would not listen
to them, and sternly repeated his order.
At that moment Philippa appeared. Falling on her knees at her husband's
feet, she looked up into his face with tears in her eyes, and said: "Ah,
gentle sir, since I crossed the sea with great peril to see you I have
never asked you one favor; now I most humbly ask as a gift, for the sake
of the son of the blessed Mary, and as a proof of your love to me, the
lives of these six men."
King Edward looked at her for some time in silence, then replied: "Ah,
lady, I wish you had been anywhere else than here; you have entreated in
such a manner I cannot refuse you. I therefore give them to you--do as
you please with them."
Philippa then conducted the poor men to her own apartments, where their
halters were removed from their necks and they were served with an
excellent dinner. Afterwards she saw that they were conducted out of
the camp in safety. The king entered Calais and took possession of the
castle, where proper lodgings had been prepared for himself and his
queen.
[[A.D. 1348.]] After their return to England, in 1348, an awful
epidemic, called the "black death," visited the kingdom and carried off
the king and queen's second daughter, Johanna, a princess only fifteen
years old, but blessed with {230}so many charms that a number of
minstrels had chosen her for the subject of their verses. What made the
event more than ordinarily sad was, that she was engaged to be married,
and her funeral procession occurred at the very time that had been fixed
for the wedding ceremony. This was a great sorrow to the royal couple.
So dreadful was the pestilence that every household in London was
afflicted by it, and in some families all the members died..
Before this horrible visitation Philippa had turned her attention to the
working of the coal mines in England, which, like the cloth manufacture,
proved an industry of immense profit to the nation, besides enriching
many private individuals. Wherever this great queen turned her
patronage, prosperity was sure to follow, and her subjects loved and
trusted her.
[[A.D. 1357.]] In 1357 the English gained a grand victory at Poictiers,
and the Black Prince returned with many prisoners. Among them was one
Bertrand Du Guesclin. One day when Queen Philippa was entertaining at
her court a number of the noble French prisoners, the Prince of Wales
proposed that Du Guesclin should name his own ransom, adding that
whatever sum he mentioned should set him free. The warrior named a
hundred thousand crowns. The Prince of Wales was astonished at such
a sum, and asked how he could raise it. "I know a hundred knights,"
replied Du Guesclin, "in my native Bretagne, who would mortgage their
last acre rather than have me languish in captivity or be rated below
my value. Yea, and there is not a woman in France now toiling with her
distaff who would not devote a year's earnings to liberate me, for well
have I deserved of their sex. And if all the fair spinners of France
employ their hands to redeem me, think you, prince, that I shall abide
much longer with you?"
Queen Philippa, who had listened to this conversation
{231}
[Illustration: 0235]
{233}with great attention, now spoke: "I name," she said, "fifty
thousand crowns, my son, as my contribution towards your gallant
prisoner's ransom; for though an enemy to my husband, a knight who is
famed for the courteous protection he has afforded to my sex deserves
the assistance of every woman." Du Guesclin threw himself at the feet
of the generous queen, saying: "Ah, lady, being the ugliest knight in
France, I never reckoned on any goodness from your sex excepting those
whom I protected with my sword, but your bounty will make me think less
despicably of myself." Philippa, like all great women, honored those men
who paid most reverence to her own sex.
After a lingering illness, she sent for the king one day when she knew
that death was approaching. Taking his hand in her own, she asked him to
grant her three requests. He promised in advance with tears rolling
down his cheeks. "My lord," she said, "I beg you will fulfil whatever
engagements I have made with the merchants for their wares, as well on
this as on the other side of the sea; I beseech you to fulfil whatever
gifts or legacies I have made or left to churches and to all my
servants, whether male or female; and when it shall please God to call
upon you hence, you will choose no other sepulchre than mine, and that
you will lie by my side in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey." The king
replied: "Lady, all this shall be done."
[[A.D. 1369.]] Shortly after she died, and with her life departed the
happiness, good fortune and even respectability of Edward III. and his
family. Where Philippa had once promoted virtue, justice and wisdom,
scenes of folly, strife and sorrow now followed at court. One of the
chroniclers of the time says: "I firmly believe that her spirit was
caught by holy angels and carried to the glory of Heaven, for she had
never done anything by thought or deed to endanger her soul."
{234}