+Source.+--_Matthew of Westminster_, vol. ii., pp. 391-392. (Bohn's
Libraries.)
About the same time, in February, the lord the King of England, who,
during his whole reign, had been considered extravagantly liberal
towards foreigners, having now taken thought with himself secretly, that
from being subjected to the provisions made by the Barons he had been,
contrary to his customs, forced to stay his hand, was greatly grieved at
being forced to adhere to their guardianship and arrangements, however
useful they might be, and determined, with a resolute heart, to alter
them. Therefore, having convoked his nobles, he said to them: "All of
you laboured perseveringly on behalf of the general advantage and
benefit (as you asserted) of the King, and for the sake of increasing my
treasures, and diminishing my debts; and you unanimously agreed to a
promise which was to be observed upon oath, to the observance of which
you also bound me and my son by a similar oath. But now I have
experienced beyond a doubt that you are desirous not so much of the
advantage of the King and of his kingdom as of your own, and that you
are altogether receding from your arrangements, and that you have
reduced me not as your lord, but as your servant under your authority.
Moreover, my treasury is exhausted to an unusual degree; my debt
increases in every direction, and the liberality and power of the King
is almost overthrown and put down. On which account I desire you not to
wonder if I do not walk any more by your counsel, but leave you to
yourselves for the future, and allow myself to seek a remedy for the
existing state of affairs."
And when he had said this, having sent ministers to Rome to procure
absolution, the King wrote a special letter to the King of France, and
to his son Edward, entreating them to furnish him with assistance. And
the King of France promised him a large army, which he would support at
his own expense for seven years, if it should be necessary; and Edward
exerted himself, as it was said, in collecting forces of every
description, endeavouring to release Henry, who was no longer a youth,
but a veteran, from the confinement in which he was kept, and to make
him master of his kingdom, as he had been used to be. In the meantime,
the King, having neglected the statute made by his nobles, and being
deceived by flattering counsels, entered the Tower of London, and having
forced open the bolts, seized the treasure which was deposited there,
and spent and dissipated it. Moreover, he hired workmen, and caused the
Tower to be strengthened in every part, and he ordered the whole City of
London to have its locks and barriers strengthened, and to be fortified
all round. And having convoked all the citizens of twelve years old and
upwards, he caused them all to swear to maintain their fidelity to him,
the crier making proclamation that all who were willing to serve the
King should come to receive pay from him. And when they heard this, the
nobles flocked in from all quarters with their forces, encamping without
the walls, since all entertainment within was entirely denied to them.
And so a deadly war was expected on every side, which, indeed, had never
been so near in past years.