‘Brave Walworth, Knight, Lord Mayor, yet slewRebellious Tyler in his alarmes;The King therefore did give in lieuThe dagger to the City’s Arms.In the fourth Year of Richard II., Anno Domini, 1381.’“This, however, can stand for nothing, and thearguments for, and against, the popular reason for the introduction of the weapon, are best learned from the ancient English Chronicles and Historians of London. The principal Authors who assert that King Richard added the Dagger to commemorate the loyal valour of Walworth, are Richard Grafton, in his ‘Chronicle at large, and meere History of the Affayres of Englande, and Kinges of the same,’ London, 1569, folio, page 340; in the Margin: Raphael Holinshed, in his ‘Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland,’ London, 1586, volume ii., page 436: John Speed, in his ‘Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine,’ London, 1611, folio, volume ii., page 596; and Sir Richard Baker, in his ‘Chronicle of the Kings of England,’ London, 1733, folio, page 140.“Such are the assertors of this very common legend; and the evidence against it, is given, firstly by old Stow, in his ‘Survey,’ volume i., page 506, at that part of it where he is treating of Walworth’s Monument, in the Church of St. Michael, Crooked Lane. He there states, you know, that, in the fourth Year of King Richard II.,—1380,—it was determined, in a Court of the Aldermen and Common Council of the City, that the old seal of the Mayoralty of London should be destroyed, and a new one, engraven with greater skill, then be provided. The device upon the new seal consisted of the effigies of the Saints Peter and Paul, with the Blessed Virgin above them, supported between two Angels, under as many tabernacles. Beneath the feet of the Saints were theArmorial Ensigns of the City, supported by two Lions, and two Serjeants at Arms. Now, Stow’s deductions from this fact are, firstly, that as the Mayor is not called by any title of Knighthood in this Seal, it was made before he received that dignity, and, therefore, before his gallant action in Smithfield, or, the augmentation could have been made to the City Arms. Secondly, he argues, that the Arms were the same in the old seal as in the new, and that, consequently, the weapon was not the dagger of Walworth, but the sword of St. Paul; for when the turbulent Robert Fitz-Walter was Banner-bearer to the City of London, his standard was red, charged with the image of St. Paul in gold, holding a sword, which, together with the head, hands, and feet of the effigy, was silver. These particulars you will also find in Stow’s ‘Survey,’ volume i., page 65; and such is the attempt of this worthy historian to prove the weapon to have been the sword of St. Paul’s Martyrdom, atAquæ Salviæ, on the 29th of June, A. D. 66. Now, since that holy Martyr is oftentimes called, by the more ancient writers, ‘the titularie patron of London,’ and since her chiefest metropolitan fane was, so early as 610, dedicated to his ever-fragrant memory, there is nothing impossible, or even unlikely, in all this: and that it should have been so, certainly arises from the circumstance that ‘Paul preached in the Islande of Britaine, which cannot be doubted; seeing both Sophronius, Patriarche of Jerusalem, and Theodoret, an ancient Doctor of the Chvrche,doe affirme and approve the same, saying that Fishers, Publicans, and the Tent-maker,’—St. Paul, see Acts xviii. 3,—‘which brought the evangelical light unto all nations, revealed the same unto the Britaines.’“The only authority adduced by Stow for the support of his novel hypothesis concerning the Dagger of London, is a Manuscript preserved in the City Chamber, and called ‘Liber Dunthorne,’ from William Dunthorne, the name of its author. It is, in form, a large folio volume, written in a very fair, small, black law text, on vellum; and its contents are ancient Civic Laws, commencing with the series of the City Charters, in the first of which, granted by William I., the initial W contains an illumination of the effigy of St. Paul, as already described. I will add only, that this venerable register is bound in wood, covered with rough calf leather, and garnished with brass bosses and clasps, now black with age; whilst on the cover, under a plate of horn, surrounded by a metal frame, is a piece of parchment bearing the name ‘Dvnthorne.’“Notwithstanding, however, that the effigy of the most glorious Apostle St. Paul might be advanced into the banner of London, I think it still probable that the ancient Civic Armorial Ensigns were a White Shield bearing a Red Cross, having the first quarter either uncharged, or charged, as a distinction from the multitudes of places and persons which adopted the same insignia. For you may observe, that the Cross was anciently and commonly used by all Christiansas their badge; some Heralds deriving its introduction from the Emperor Constantine the Great, and others from so holy a person as Joseph, the Son of Joseph of Arimathea; who, being the first preacher of Christianity in Britain, when dying, drew with his own blood a red cross on a white banner, and promised victory to its followers, whilst they continued in the Christian faith. There is also much mystical meaning in this plain, yet noble ensign; for ‘the white shielde,’ says a very ancient and interesting author, ‘betokeneth purenes of life, and the crosse, the bludd that Christ shed for us, his especialle people of Englande.’—‘King Arthur,’ too, says John Bossewell, in his very rare and curious ‘Workes of Armorie,’ London, 1597, small 4to., Part 2., page 22 a, ‘that mightie Conquerour and worthie, had so great affection and loue to this signe, that he left his Armes which he bare before, and assumpted, or tooke to his Armes, as proper to his desire, a Crosse siluer, in a field vert; and on the first quarter thereof, was figured an Image of our Lady, with her Sonne in her armes. And bearing that signe, he did many marueiles in Armes, as in his books of Acts and valiant Conquests are remembred. Thus,’ adds he, ‘in olde time it may be perceiued what Princes thought of the Crosse.’ Now, without believing this origin to its utmost extent, we may nevertheless learn thereby, of how great antiquity is the bearing of that most honourable Ordinary; ‘whose godly observation,’ says John Guillim, in his ‘Display of Heraldry,’ bestedition, by James Coats, London, 1724, folio, page 51, ‘was in great use in the primitive Church; though, in later times, it hath been dishonourably entertained by two kinds of fantastics; the one, who so superstitiously doat on it that they adore it like their God; the other, who so unchristianly detest it, that they slander the most godly and ancient use thereof in our first initiating unto Christ, as if it were some devilish idol. But the true soldiers of such a captain, need not to be ashamed to bear his ensign.’“There is also yet another historical reason given why the Red Cross of St. George should be so often adopted in England; for it is related, that when Robert, Duke of Normandy, the son of our King William I., was prosecuting his victories against the Turks, and laying siege to the famous City of Antioch, A. D. 1098, it was almost relieved by a considerable army of Saracens. In this difficulty there appeared the beatific vision of St. Demetrius, St. Mercurius, and St. George, coming down from the mountains of Syria; the latter being clothed entirely in white, and bearing a Red Cross on his banner, and, at the head of an innumerable reinforcement; which miraculous interference not only reanimated the Christians, but also caused the infidels to fly, and the Crusaders to possess themselves of the City. This legend is related by Matthew Paris, a Monk of St. Albans, in the 13th century, in his ‘Historia Major,’ Paris, 1644, folio, page 29: and it consequently made St. George to become exceedingly famous at that time; and tobe esteemed a patron, not of the English only, but of Christianity itself.“So much, Mr. Barnaby, for the use of the Cross in our City Arms; and as to the distinction borne in the first quarter, there are some who hold the belief that the Roman letter L once occupied the place of the sword. This story appears to have originated with a Mr. William Smith, a Merchant of London, who was created Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms, on October the 22nd, 1597. As he had travelled much on the Continent, and ‘was honest, of a quiet conversation, and well-languaged,’ the Officers of the Heralds’ College solicited to have him joined to their society; and it was from the reminiscences of his former travels, that he was enabled to state the following particulars concerning the original distinction attached to the City Arms, wherein he opposes the hypothesis of Stow. ‘The Auncient Armes of the Cittie of London, as they stand in (the uppermost North Window of) our Lady Church at Andwerp, in which Church windowes stand the effigies of King Edward the Third, and all his children; with most of the Armes of the Corporate Townes of England at that tyme; and this standeth first, and hath an ould Roman L in the first quarter, which John Stowe tooke in an ould seale which he had seene, for a sword, afferminge thereby that it was the Sworde of St. Paule, patron of the saide Cittie: whereby he constantly affermed that they had aunciently soe borne it, and that it was no reward giuen by KingRichard the Second, as our Chronicles reporte, for the seruice done in Smythfieeld against Watt Tyler yeRebell, by William Wallworth, Maior of London, whoe slewe the sayd Tyler with his dagger; in memory whereof, say they, the dagger was added to the Cittie’s Armes.’ This passage you will find in two ancient Manuscript copies of Heraldical Collections for London, in the Harleian Library, No. 1464, page 1; and No. 1349, page 2 b; attended by sketches of the ancient and modern bearings, drawn in pen and ink, technically calledTricks of Arms. This same story, told in the very same words, with two rude sketches of the Arms in the margin, is also to be found in one of Philpott’s Manuscripts, in the Library at the Heralds’ College, marked P b. No. 22, page 10 a; where it is written on paper, in an ancient running hand about the year 1602; and, what is extremely singular, there does not appear to be any other entry of the City Arms in the books of that Office.“Notwithstanding, however, as Strype tells us, in his most interesting ‘Life of John Stow,’ prefixed to his ‘Survey,’ volume i., page 15, that the worthy old Citizen, and Master Rouge Dragon, were well acquainted, and communicated their labours to each other, yet he says also, that Stow would not be persuaded concerning the Dutch blazon of the London Arms, but affirmed them to have been always the same. I have but two other proofs to bring forward concerning these bearings; and then I will no longertrespass upon your long-tried patience, but return back with all speed to ourmemorabiliaof London Bridge.“The first of these is, that in Mr. J. B. Nichols’s ‘Brief Account of the Guildhall of the City of London,’ London, 1819, octavo, we are told, at page 34, that in the Eastern Crypt of that building, the groinings of the roof meet in bosses carved with Armorial Ensigns; some being those of King Edward the Confessor, and others those of the City of London. ‘It is worthy of remark,’ adds the Author of this volume, in the same place, ‘that the Arms of London represented in the bosses on the side aisleshavethe dagger, while all those in the centre aisle arewithoutit.’ I will make no other commentary upon this, than, that part of the crypt is said to have been built antecedent to the reign of King Richard II., or, probably, formed part of the ancient Guildhall, erected, as some suppose, in 1189; the present building being commenced, as Stow tells us in his ‘Survey,’ volume i., page 558, in 1411, during the reign of Henry IV. The last evidence which I have to cite on this subject, is a small, but rare tract in the British Museum, entitled ‘The Citie’s Advocate in this Case, or Question of Honour and Armes; whether Apprenticeship extinguisheth Gentry?’ London, 1629, 4to. The Author of this volume is supposed to have been that John Philipot, or Philpott, whom I before mentioned, who was created Somerset Herald, on July the 8th, 1624, and who died on the 25th of November, 1645. He engraves both the banner of St. Paul, supported byan effigy of Robert Fitz-Walter, and the Arms as they are now borne, for the Ensigns of London; and states that they were ‘a copy of that which an old imperfect larger volume at the Office of Armes containeth.’ He cites this record in proof of Stow’s veracity in explaining the weapon to signify the Sword of St. Paul; and adds that his effigy as ‘titularie patron of London, aduanced itself into the standard, and upon the shield were those well-known armories of the crosse and weapon.’ It is, perhaps, almost unworthy of mention, that Edward Hatton, in his ‘New View of London,’ London, 1708, 8vo., volume i., in the inscription to the frontispiece representing the City Arms, blazons them ‘Argent, a Cross Gules: on ye1st quarter a sword (by some falsly called ytof St. Paul, by others yedagger of Sr. Wm. Walworth; but I take it to represent ytof Justice) of ye2nd:’ this idea, however, is without the slightest support either in reason, history, research, or heraldry. Such is the chief evidence now extant concerning our Civic Ensigns, which you will find very fully and wittily considered, by a learned and facetious gentleman, an intimate of mine, in a paper signed R. S., printed in a periodical of much merit, entitled the ‘New European Magazine,’ volume iv., May, 1824, pages 397-401.“Mr. Barnaby Postern,” said I, as I concluded this discourse on our Civic Heraldry,“I have spoken somewhat at length on this subject, partly on account of its great interest, and partly because you ever and anon remind me of the sentiment uttered by that talkative knave,Gratiano, in the ‘Merchant of Venice;’ who says,—‘Well! keep me company but two years more,Thou shalt not know the sound of thine own tongue!’But, as we have now gotten through our wanderings for the present, let me recall to your mind that our Bridge history was brought down to the period when——”“To the time,” interrupted the Antiquary, “when the prompt courage and prudence of the youthful Richard, after the death of the rebel Tyler, the valour of the famous Henry Spencer, Bishop of Norwich, and the united efforts of the King’s Armies and Councils, had succeeded in putting an end to one of the most extensive and dangerous insurrections ever known in England. During these turbulent times at home, the King’s Ambassadors abroad had been vainly endeavouring to negociate a marriage between their Sovereign, and a daughter of the Duke of Milan. On the failure of which negociation, he demanded the hand of Anne of Luxemburg, daughter of the Emperor Charles IV., and sister to Wenceslaus, Emperor and King of Bohemia; with whom, on May the 2nd, 1381, his marriage was formally concluded at Nuremburg. I mention this only to remind you, to whom the Pageants were presented which I shall very speedily have to notice. Before, however, that we arrive at any events so entertaining as these, Imust mention some other circumstances, and repeat to you another extract from a Patent Roll concerning the appointment of a Gate-Keeper to London Bridge, recorded in the eighth Year of King Richard II., A. D. 1385., Membrane the 22nd. It is addressed, ‘For Walter Fesecock,’ and in English runs in the following terms; the original Latin being printed in Hearne’s ‘Liber Niger,’ volume i., page *486.“‘The King to all to whom these presents shall come,—Greeting. Know ye, that of our special grace, and for the good service of our beloved Walter Fesecock, one of our Bargemen, we grant to the same Walter, for as much as in us lieth, the Officer of Gate-keeper of the Bridge of our City of London; he being near to us, and paying to us a price not exceeding thirteen shillings and four pence by the year: that is to say, he is to have the said office, with the profits belonging thereto, for the term of his life; in the manner that John Chese, deceased, had the office aforesaid, by the grant of our most dear Lord and grandfather deceased. In testimony of which thing, Witness the King, at Westminster, on the eighth day of April. By Writ of Privy Seal.’“I am next, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, to speak of a famous action on London Bridge, which most authors who have written the history of that edifice, place five or six, and some even eight, years later, than it really happened; which I cannot imagine to have arisen from any other cause, than that of their carelessly following each other, or else copying Stow, inhis ‘Survey,’ page 61, without turning to the original ancient Author, whom he cites in the margin of his ‘Annals,’ pages 312-313, as his authority for the fact. This memorable exhibition was a solemn Justing between an English and a Scottish Knight, as a display of the valour of their different countries; which was held on St. George’s day, the 23d of April, 1390; and not, as Stow has most unaccountably stated, in the works which I have quoted, either in 1395 or 1396. The authorities with which I shall support my argument, are ancient, and some of them even contemporary; but we will first relate the plain story from the elegant Latin of Hector Boethius, a Scottish Historian, who was born at Dundee in 1470: the best edition of whose ‘Scotorum Historiæ’ is that printed at Paris in folio, 1575; where, on page 335 b, the passage commencing ‘Durante inter Anglos Scotosque pace publica,’ is, in English, to the following effect.“‘During the general peace between the Scots and the English, many of the English, who were of Knightly rank, and who excelled in military arts and prowess, frequented Scotland, and there also came many Scots into England; producing, on both parts, many honourable tournaments, to which mutual challenges were published. Of these feats, the most worthy of memory was accounted that victory on London Bridge, by David Lindesay, Earl of Crawfurd. An Englishman, the Lord Wells, was then the Ambassador of King Richard, in Scotland, and wasattending at a solemn banquet, where many persons, both Scots and English, were discoursing upon courage and arms. ‘Away with this strife of words,’ said the Englishman; ‘whoever would experience the valour of the English, let his name be declared, and also a time and place be appointed, wherever ye list, for a single passage of arms, and I am ready. I call on thee,’ said he to David, ‘who hast spent many words against me, and thou shalt have to just with me rather than all the rest.’ ‘Yea, truly,’ said David, ‘and I will do it blithely, if thou canst bring the King to consent to it.’ The King agreeing, the Englishman made choice of the place, and, because it should be in another country, he selected London Bridge: David named the time, the holy St. George’s day, because he was the chief patron of soldiers. Thereupon the Lord Wells returned to London, and David provided himself with arms, as well as he might. As the day was approaching, he made a journey with thirty-two persons in his train, immediately to London,’—this, however, is an error, for there were but twenty-nine in all, as I shall presently shew,—‘coming to King Richard, who received them with great honour.’“Of the actual time when Sir David Lindsay came to England to engage in this passage of arms, we have the most authentic proof, in the original writs granted for his safe conduct, which are yet extant in that interesting body of Scots’ Records, entitled ‘Rotuli Scotiæ,’ or the Rolls of Scotland. These invaluablehistorical documents contain,—says the Rev. Thomas Hartwell Horne, in his excellent notices of them attached to the printed copies, published by the Commissioners of the Public Records, London, 1819, folio, volume ii., page 7,—‘an important collection of Records, illustrative of the Political Transactions between England and Scotland.’ They commence with the nineteenth year of King Edward I.—A. D. 1290,—and terminate with the eighth year of King Henry VIII.—1516. With the exception of two Rolls of 1339 and 1360, the 13th and 34th of Edward III., which are in the Chapter House at Westminster, all the remainder are deposited in the Wakefield Tower, in the Tower of London. The character in which they are written, of course, varies according to the different reigns, but it is, in general, a small and clear current Court-hand, with a moderate proportion of contractions; and their contents are composed of Treaties, Ransoms, Attainders, Grants, Licenses, and Passes of Safe Conduct for persons during war, some of which I am about to mention to you, as being proof of the Justing on London Bridge, in 1390. In the Second Volume then of the printed ‘Rotuli Scotiæ,’ page 103, Column 1; or on Membrane 3 of the original Roll of the 13th of Richard II.,—1389-90 you will find the first of these instruments, a translation of which runs thus.“‘Safe conduct for David de Lyndesey, Knight, for the duel to be fought with John de Welles.‘The King to all and singular, our Sheriffs, Mayors,Bailiffs, Ministers, and faithful subjects, within and without our liberties, to whom these present letters shall come, Greeting. Know ye, that because our beloved and faithful John de Welles,—for the perfecting of a certain Passage of Arms within our Kingdom of England, against David de Lyndeseye, of Scotland, Knight, as he appears to have been calumniated by the said David,—he is petitioner to us for the security of the said David, with his followers and servants coming into our Kingdom aforesaid, for the cause aforesaid, and graciously to provide for their remaining here, and returning again to their own country. We therefore, inclined at the supplication and urgent request of our liegemen who are at this time assisting to us, do undertake for the coming of the said David,with twenty and nine persons of his company and retinue, in armour, David himself being in the said number, and twelve other Knights, with their Esquires, Varlets, and Pages also accounted, and with thirty horses, into our kingdom aforesaid, for the completing of the aforesaid Passage of Arms with the said John, from the sixth day of May next approaching; for the coming of the same, and for their cause of remaining, and for their going out and returning to their own parts: nevertheless upon condition, that if any of the aforesaid who may be outlaws to us or our kingdom, shall present themselves in our Kingdom aforesaid, under the colour and protection of the company of David, they shall not enter nor remain in our safe and secure conduct.We will also, that the said David be sufficiently armed for himself: with trusses’—most probably couches, or beds—‘for himself, and also during the completing of the Passage of Arms aforesaid, to carry, conduct, and have such with him, to be used for him upon any attack. And therefore we command you, and all of you whatsoever, that the said David, with his men, arms, and horses aforesaid, with all their harness coming into our Kingdom aforesaid, in the manner and for the cause aforesaid, is, in remaining here, and in returning to his own country, to be in friendship, protection, and defence; not bringing upon them, nor permitting to be brought upon them, any injury, molestation, damage, or grievance. In testimony of which, this shall last from the first day of April next to come, for the two months then immediately following; to be accounted from the first day of the same. Witness the King, at Westminster, the twenty-second day of January. By Letter of Privy Seal.’“And now, Sir, let us suppose the parapet of London Bridge decorated with rich hangings of tapestry and cloth of gold, such as we know it was customary to adorn those edifices with on occasions of rejoicing and triumph. The lists for a Justing, you remember, were sixty paces in length, by forty in breadth, but as the whole width of the Bridge was but forty feet, this rule, though made by Thomas, Duke of Gloucester, Uncle to Richard II., the King in whose reign we now are, must have been dispensedwith; for, estimating the pace at two feet and an half, the measurement amounts to 150 feet by 100. The ground within the lists was to be paved with large stones, hard, level, and firm; and the entrances, which were commonly erected East and West, were to be fenced with bars, seven feet, or more, in height, that a horse might not be able to leap over them. At either end of the lists were erected the tents of the tilters, having their shields suspended over the entrances; which it was also customary to hang up at the windows of the houses where they lodged, at once to denote their residence, and to declare their Knightly intentions. We find, however, in that very curious and sumptuous work by Dr. Samuel Rush Meyrick, entitled ‘A Critical Enquiry into Ancient Armour,’ London, 1824, folio, volume ii., page 59,Note, that he supposes that the lists for this Justing upon London Bridge, were without the centre paling between the Knights, called, in France, the double Lists, because, he imagines, one of the champions was overthrown by the concussion of their steeds.“We will, however, now return to the account of this Justing given by Boethius; ‘When the day of battle was come,’ continues he, ‘both parties being armed, were most honourably conducted to the Bridge, which was filled in all parts with noble spectators, with whom Richard was seated in an eminent place; though a great concourse of the common people also was collected, excited by the novelty of the event, and the fame of the champions. The signal beinggiven, tearing their barbed horses with their spurs, they rushed hastily together with a mighty force, and with square-ground spears, to the conflict. Neither party was moved by the vehement impulse and breaking of the spears; so that the common people affected to cry out that David was bound to the saddle of his horse, contrary to the law of arms, because he sat unmoved, amidst the splintering of the lances on his helmet and visage. When Earl David heard this, he presently leaped off his charger, and then as quickly vaulted again upon his back without any assistance; and, taking a second hasty course, the spears were a second time shivered by the shock, through their burning desire to conquer. And now a third time were these valorous enemies stretched out and running together: but then the English Knight was cast down breathless to the earth, with great sounds of mourning from his countrymen that he was killed. Earl David, when victory appeared, hastened to leap suddenly to the ground; for he had fought without anger, and but for glory, that he might shew himself to be the strongest of the champions, and casting himself upon Lord Wells, tenderly embraced him until he revived, and the surgeon came to attend him. Nor, after this, did he omit one day to visit him in the gentlest manner during his sickness, even like the most courteous companion. He remained in England three months by the King’s desire, and there was not one person of nobility who was not well-affected towards him.’“This extended residence of Sir David Lindsay in England, is also proved by a renewal of his safe conduct, which was granted him in the following terms; the original instrument being recorded on Membrane 3 of the Roll for the Year already mentioned; and a copy is inserted on page 104, column 1, of the printed edition of the ‘Rotuli Scotiæ.’“‘Renewal of the Safe Conduct of David de Lyndeseye, Knight.‘The King to all and singular the Sheriffs, Mayors, Bailiffs, Officers, and our faithful subjects within and without our liberties, to whom these present letters shall come, Greeting. Know ye, that David de Lyndeseye of Scotland, Knight, hath lately come, by authority of our safe conduct into our Kingdom, for the perfecting of some certain passages of arms within the same, with nine and twenty persons in his company and retinue, David himself being of their number; and because he yet appears in our said Kingdom, and purposes for a short space of time to remain and continue within our Kingdom, some certain impediment and affairs of great importance touching his own person being in the mean while to be concluded: We, at the immediate request of David himself, to whom we are at this time graciously inclined, do undertake for the remaining of the said David, with the aforesaid twenty and nine persons of his society and retinue, David himself being accounted of their number, with their horses and harness, for the matter aforesaid; and afterwards fortheir returning into their own parts under our safe and secure conduct. Nevertheless, upon condition that if any traitors to us or our Kingdom, or any outlaws from the same, present them in our Kingdom under pretence and protection of David’s company, they shall not enter nor remain therein. We will also, however, that the said David be sufficiently armed, with trusses for his own person, for the perfecting of the aforesaid passage of arms, to carry, conduct, and have with him, to be used for him upon any attack whatsoever. And therefore we will and command you, and all of you, that the said David, with his men, arms, and horses aforesaid, with all their harness, in our Kingdom, in the manner and for the cause aforesaid, is, in remaining, and afterwards in returning to his own countries, to be in friendship, protection, and defence,’ &c. as before. ‘In testimony of which, these presents shall last for the two months immediately following. Witness the King at Westminster, on the thirteenth day of May. By the King himself.’“That I may the better complete the narrative of this Knight’s residence in England, I will yet give you the translations of two writs more, recorded on the Second Membrane of the same Roll, and printed upon the same page as the last, Column 2.“‘Another Renewal of the same Safe Conduct.‘The King by his Letters Patents, which shall last from the first day of June next to come, for the two months then immediately ensuing, to be accountedfrom the first day of the same, undertakes for his safe and secure conduct, and for the King’s special protection and defence to David Lyndesey, of Scotland, Knight, coming into the King’s realm of England, with twenty and nine persons of his company and retinue, David himself being accounted in their number, to be confirmed in Towns by virtue of the license of the Mayors, Bailiffs, and Keepers of the same, on his entering and returning towards the countries of Scotland, with his familiar people, their horses, harness, and all goods whatsoever. Witness the King, at Westminster, on the twenty-fifth day of May. By Bill of Privy Seal.’“We have lastly, in the following warrant, an authentic notice of his departure for Scotland.“‘Safe Conduct for the Scottish Ship for the carriage of the Armour of David Lyndesey.‘The King by his Letters Patents, which shall last from the first day of June next to come, for the two months then immediately ensuing, to be accounted from the first day of the same, engages for his safe and secure conduct, and for his special protection and defence to a certain vessel of Scotland, called Seinte Marie, Ship of Dundee, whereof William Snelle is Master, with twelve Mariners crossing the seas for trading, the said Master and Mariners not carrying with them any property or goods whatsoever, nor any illicit goods, or prohibited merchandise, out of the Kingdom of the King aforesaid, excepting only one complete Armour of War for the body of David Lyndesey of Scotland, Knight. Witness the King, at Westminster, the twenty-fifth day of May. By Letter of Privy Seal.’“Such, then, are the particulars of this memorable event, as related by Boethius, and supported by proofs from the most undoubted records, which fix it in the Year 1390; illustrated also by the addition of some curious particulars from Stow’s translation of the passage given in his ‘Annals,’ which I have already cited; though it is far beyond my ability to give you either the elegance or strength of expression, which the original author has infused into his narrative. Now, for the time when this Justing took place, let me observe that Boethius does not mention any year; Stow has called it 1395 and 1396; Raphael Holinshed, who professed to have translated the Scottish Historian in the Second part of his ‘Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland,’ London, 1585-86, volume i., page 252, makes it 1398; and James Howell, whose account of London Bridge is a verbatim reprint of Stow’s, in his ‘Londinopolis,’ London, 1657, folio, page 22, sets it down as 1381. So far, then, all are at variance: but these are only the later and English Authors; whilst, on the other hand, we have the following positive assurance of John de Fordun, a Scottish Priest, who is said in 1377 to have dedicated his History of Scotland to the Cardinal Walter Wardlaw, Bishop of Glasgow; the best edition of whose work, ‘Johannis de Fordun Scotichronicon,’ with the Continuation of Walter Bower, Abbot of St. Columb’s Isle,in 1424, is that of Walter Goodall, Edinburgh, 1759, folio; where, in volume ii., book xv., chapter iv., page 422, is the passage to which I have alluded. ‘In the same year, and on the 21st of the month,’—it commences, these being 1390, and April,—‘the Lord David Lindesay is made first Earl of Crawfurd, a valiant Knight, and in all warlike virtues most highly commended; who, with other proofs of them, had a glorious triumph over the Lord Wells of England, in his days a most famous soldier, at London, in the presence of King Richard II., in the year 1390, in a warlike pastime with spears: of which proof of military prowess, the fame hath hitherto been widely celebrated throughout England.’“The next authority which I shall adduce is that of Andrew of Wyntoun, a Scottish Chronicler, who was Canon Regular of St. Andrews, and Prior of the Monastery of St. Serf in Loch-leven; and who died about the year 1420. The best edition of his labours is that beautiful one, entitled ‘The Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland, be Androw of Wyntown, Priowr of Sanct Serfis Ynche,’—that is Isle,—‘in Loch levyn. Now first published with Notes and a Glossary, by David Macpherson,’ London, 1815, 8vo., 2 volumes. In the Second Volume of this work then, at page 353, the commencement of Chapter xi. reads thus,—‘Qwhen Schyr David the Lyndyssay radeTil Lundyn, and thare Tourné made.A thowsand thre hyndyr and nynty yhereFrà the Byrth of oure Lord dereThe gud Lyndyssay, Schyr Dawy,Of Glenesk the Lord mychty,Honest, abil, and avenand,Past on (safe) conduct in Ingland.’“This Author, indeed, never mentions London Bridge, and assigns a different day for the encounter, as we read in the verses on the next page.‘Swà ewyn a-ponthe sext dayOf that moneth that we call May,Thai ilk forsayd Lordis tway,The Lyndyssay and the Wellis thayOn horse ane agane othir ranAs thare taylyhè (tally, a bond, or indenture to fight) ordanyd than.The Lyndyssay thare wyth manful forsStrak qwyte the Wellis fra his horsFlatlyngis downe a-pon the grene.Thare all his saddile twm (toom, empty) was sene.’“We have, however, sufficient authority for believing that this Justing did actually take place on St. George’s day, for Hector Boethius states, on page 336 b. of his ‘History,’ that because it was through the protection of St. George, on whose day Sir David, or rather Earl, Lindsay fought, he had gained this victory, he founded a Chantry, with a gift of 48 marks,—£32 yearly,’—for seven Priests, with divers Virgins, for ever to sing holy Anthems to the Saintly Soldier in the Church of Dundee. ‘The which,’ adds he, ‘they did unto our time,’—that is, about eighty years afterwards—‘not without singular commendations to the Earl.’“The Poem also speaks of the use of other weapons than lances; and gives both Sir David Lindsay and King Richard a less degree of courtesy than we find mentioned elsewhere, as you will discover in the following passage.‘Qwhen all thare cursis on hors wes dune,To-gyddyr thai mellayid on fute swne,Wyth all thare wapnys, as by the taylyhèOblyst thai ware, for til assaylyhè.Swà wyth thare knwys at the lastIlk ane at othir strak rycht fast,Swà of this to tell yow mareThe Lyndyssay fastnyd his daggareIn-till Wellis armowris fyneWelle lauche (a good depth) and hym lyftyd syneSum thyng fra the earth wyth pyth;And all (rycht) manful wertu wythOppynly before thame allHe gave the Wellis a gret fall,And had hym haly at his willQwhat evyr he wald have dwne hym til.The Kyng, in his Swmere CastelleThat all this Towrne sene had welle,Sayd, ‘Lyndyssay, Cusyne, gud Lyndissay,Do forth that thow suld do this day.’As to be sayd, do furth thi dete,Thare shall ná man here mak lete.’”“Letmefinish this story, Mr. Postern,” said I, as he concluded his repetition of these old Scottish verses; “if itbeto have a finish, and you do not really intend to keep me all night in the year 1390for we must not, certainly, let two such champions pass without one word concerning their families and their Arms; nor leave without distinction the actual Sir David Lindsay, and Lord Wells, who were engaged in this very famous passage of arms. You must, I am sure, remember, Mr. Barnaby, that the immortal Sir William Dugdale, Garter King of Arms, hath, in his ‘Baronage of England,’ London, 1676, folio, volume ii., page 11, a memoir of Lord Wells, very meet to be mentioned here. His Lordship was the descendant of Adam de Welles, who lived in the time of Richard I. and he had served in the wars in Flanders, France, and Scotland, under the Kings Edward III., and Richard II., and the valiant John, Duke of Lancaster. As he was ten years old at his father’s death in 1360, he must have been about forty when he justed on London Bridge; and after having been summoned to Parliament from 1376 to 1420, he is supposed to have died in the following year, on the Tuesday next after the Feast of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, which being Sunday, August the 24th, 1421, made it the 26th of the month. Andrew of Wyntown, whom you have quoted, says of this Lord, you remember, in his Chronicle, volume ii., page 354, alluding to the Justing on London Bridge:—‘For in all Ingelond afore thanThe Welles was a commended man;Manful, stoute, and of gud pyth,And high of harte he was there wyth.’“He bore for Arms, Or, a Lion rampant doublequeuée, Sable. Of Sir David Lindsay, of Glenesk, commonly called Earl of Crawfurd, you may see some notices with proofs, in ‘The Peerage of Scotland,’ by Sir Robert Douglas, Edited by John Philip Wood, Esq., Edinburgh, 1813, folio, volume i., page 375. He married Catherine, fifth daughter of Robert II., King of Scotland, and his brother-in-law, Robert III., created him Earl of Crawfurd, April 21st, 1398; though Hector Boethius, on page 336 b of his ‘History,’ denies this, saying:—‘There are who write, that the before-named David was created the first Earl of Craufurd by King Robert the Third; but because we discover by the witness of ancient volumes, that James his father,’—rather his uncle, who was created Baron of Crawfurd, January 1st, 1382,—‘was made Earl by Robert the Second, we have followed a different manner in the history of this family.’ Earl David was, however, twice a Commissioner and Ambassador to England, in 1404 and 1406; and it is probable that he died before 1412. The arms borne by the Lindsays were Gules, a fesse Chequé Argent and Azure; but his victorious banner has long since fallen a prey to a mightier conqueror: the lance and the falchion which struck down all before them, have been in their turn overcome by slow-consuming decay: the champion himself lives but in these scattered fragments; remembered only by descendants, or antiquaries; his tomb, and that of his rival, are alike unknown, and even if they could be traced,—‘The Knights are dust,And their good swords are rust,Their souls are with the Saints we trust!’”I must own that I thought it a little uncivil in Mr. Barnaby Postern, as I finished these reflections with an air of great philosophical wisdom, to give a short dry cough, push the tankard towards me, and then to say, “Sorrow is dry, Mr. Geoffrey, and morality is musty; so do you take another draught of the sack, and I’ll give you another chapter from the Chronicles of London Bridge.”“And now, Sir,” recommenced my visitor, “that our history may not be without the mention of at least one strange fish, connected with London Bridge, let me tell you, that on Christmas day in the year 1391, as Stow tells us in his ‘Annals,’ page 30 b, ‘a Dolphin came forth of the Sea, and played himself in the Thames at London to the Bridge; foreshewing, happily, the tempests that were to follow within a weeke after; the which Dolphin being seene of Citizens, and followed, was, with much difficulty, intercepted and brought againe to London, shewing a spectacle to many of the height of his body, for he was tenne foote in length. These Dolphins are fishes of the sea, that follow the voices of men, and reioyce in playing of instruments, and are wont to gather themselves at musick. These, when they play in rivers, with hasty springings or leapings, doe signifie tempests to follow. The seas containe nothing more swift nor nimble, for oftentimes with their skips, theymount ouer the sailes of ships.’ The original of this story is to be found, with many more particulars concerning Dolphins, in the ‘Historia Brevis,’ of Thomas Walsingham, London, 1574, folio, the admirable edition by Archbishop Parker, page 380.“As the political troubles which succeeded the appearance of this monster, were productive of a very sumptuous triumph upon London Bridge, I shall take the freedom to remind you, that King Richard being greatly attached to regal magnificence and banquets, naturally found his revenues very insufficient to support the splendours of his Court; for, as Walsingham and Knyghton, the best historians of the time, assert, he valued himself upon surpassing all the other Sovereigns of Europe in magnificence; they add that he daily entertained no less than six thousand individuals; that three hundred servants were employed in his kitchen alone; and that his Queen had an equal number of females in her service. To supply the means for this extraordinary splendour, he endeavoured to procure aid from the Citizens of London; and sent to borrow from them the large sum of £1000; but it then was an unhappy time in England, for a dreadful Plague and Famine had overspread the land, and they not only refused his Majesty’s request, but, upon a Merchant of Lombardy offering to comply with it, they violently attacked, and almost slew him. This was early in the year 1392; and on the 25th of May following, the King, incensed to a very great degree, summoned a Parliament at Stamford, whenthe City Charter was seized; the Law Courts were removed to York; and the Mayor, Sheriffs, and principal Citizens, deposed and imprisoned; until, by the mediation of Queen Anne, the Bishop of London, and the Duke of Gloucester, the King’s anger was in some degree pacified, and he consented to indulge the Londoners with an audience at Windsor. At this interview the Citizens, after submitting themselves to the King’s pleasure, offered him £10,000 for the redemption of their privileges; but were dismissed in dejection and uncertainty; though when Richard was informed of their sorrow, he determined to proceed immediately to London, to re-assure them of his favour. It was upon this occasion, that the Bridge bore a very important part in the triumph; though the ceremony of receiving the King and Queen with great splendour and a considerable train, began at Wandsworth; where four hundred of the Citizens well mounted, and habited in one livery, entreated him to ride through his Chamber of London. At St. George’s Church, in Southwark, the procession was met by Robert Braybrooke, Bishop of London, and his Clergy of the City, followed by five hundred boys in surplices, who attended them through the streets towards Westminster. When the train arrived at the Gate of London Bridge, nearly the whole of the inhabitants, orderly arranged according to their age, rank, and sex, advanced to receive it, and presented the King with a fair milk-white steed, harnessed and caparisoned in cloth of gold, brocaded in red and white,and hung full of silver bells; whilst to the Queen was presented a palfrey, also of white, caparisoned likewise in white and red. The other streets of London, too, put on all their bravery; the windows and walls being hung with cloths of gold, silver, and silk; the Conduit in Cheapside poured out floods of red and white wine; a child, habited like an angel, crowned the King and Queen with golden crowns, from a sumptuous stage covered with performers in rich dresses; a table of the Trinity wrought in gold, and valued at £800, was given to the King, and another of St. Anne to his consort; and truly I know of nothing which might so well express the splendours of that day, as the passage with which Walsingham concludes his notice of it. ‘There was so much glory,’ says he, ‘so much pomp, so great variety of divers furniture provided, that to have undertaken it might have been a triumph to any King. For horses and trappings, plate of gold and silver, clothes of gold, silk, and velvet, ewers and basons of yellow gold, gold in coin, precious stones, and jewels so rich, excellent, and beautiful, were given to him, that their value and price might not easily be estimated.’“This gorgeous scene took place on the 29th of August, and you will find my authorities for this account of it in Henry Knyghton’s books ‘De Eventibus Angliæ,’ printed in Twysden’s ‘Scriptores,’ already cited, page 2740; in Robert Fabyan’s ‘Chronicles of England and Fraunce,’ London, 1559, folio, volume ii., page 334; in Stow’s ‘Annals,’ page 307; and inMaitland’s ‘History,’ volume i., page 180. I will but observe, to finish this portion of history, that the Citizens redeemed their Charter by the payment of £10,000; and the King, by his Letters Patent, dated at Westminster, in February 1392-93, restored them to his favour; and so, observes Stow in his ‘Annals,’ ‘the troubles of the Citizens came to quietnesse; which troubles, the Dolphin in the Thames at Christmas last past, did happily signifie afar off.’ Though Maitland, at page 180 of his ‘History,’ volume i., most unaccountably makes the Dolphin appear the Christmasafterthis fine was paid.“I can scarcely imagine, worthy Mr. Barbican, what could induce the accurate Stow,—and of course all other Authors of London history,—to remark, when speaking of the year 1395, our next eminent epoch in the Chronicles of London Bridge, that, because the Justing which we have already spoken of was, as he says, then holden upon it, such ‘history proveth that at that time, the Bridge being coaped on either side, was not replenished with houses built thereupon, as since it hath been, and now is.’ You will observe that this passage, which occurs in volume i., page 61, of his ‘Survey,’ is no interpolation of later, or more unskilful, Editors, because it is to be found in the first black-letter edition of that most valuable work, 1598, small folio. Now, in most of his preceding pages he has been giving proofs of the Bridge being built upon at an early period to some extent; and I also, after him and others, have adducedto you abundant evidence that such was the case. I have shewn that the Gate and Towers were certainly as ancient as 1264; that in the Patent granted to Isenbert of Xainctes, in 1201, it is stated ‘that the rents and profits of the several houses, which the said Master of the Schools shall cause to be erected on the Bridge, shall be for ever appropriated to repair, maintain, and uphold the same;’ that in the Patent of relief granted by Edward I., in 1280, it is observed that the dilapidations of the Bridge may occasion not only its sudden fall, ‘but also the destruction of innumerable people dwelling on it;’ and that in the reign of the same Edward, the Assize Rolls mention the very rents and situations of houses then standing on London Bridge. All this, I imagine, might be received as fair and conclusive evidence that this part of the City was built upon and inhabited, long before 1395; to which let me add, that Richard Bloome, one of the continuators of Stow, observes, on page 62, when speaking of the dreadful conflagration of the Bridge in 1632-33, that some of the houses remained unbuilt until the year 1666, when the Great Fire of London destroyed all the new edifices. ‘But,’ rejoins he, ‘the old ones at the South end, some of which were built in the reign of King John,’—and he died, you will remember in 1215,—‘were not burnt.’ It is, however, extremely probable, that London Bridge did not even in 1395 present that form of a continued street which was afterward its most celebrated and peculiar character. There were, I doubt not, severalplaces open to the water, perhaps, as Stow says, ‘plainly coped with stone;’ and in one of these, it is most probable, that the Justing, which he erroneously mentions in that year, took place.“Anne of Bohemia, the Queen of Richard II., dying in 1394, his sorrow for her loss was both passionately expressed, and deservedly bestowed; though, so early afterwards as in 1396, during an interview between him and that insane Monarch, Charles VI. of France, a truce was concluded betwixt the two Kingdoms for twenty-eight years, and Richard espoused Isabel, the French King’s eldest daughter, although she was then under eight years of age; whence she was called ‘The Little,’ and the English Sovereign was about thirty. This marriage was solemnized by Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Church of St. Nicholas, at Calais, on Wednesday, October the 31st, or rather the 1st of November, when Richard is said to have expended on the occasion, the immense sum of three hundred thousand marks, or in modern coinage £200,000. On the 2nd of November they sailed for England, and on arriving at Blackheath the Royal train was met by the usual procession of the Mayor and Aldermen of London, habited in scarlet, who attended the King to Newington, where he dismissed them, as he was to rest for a short time at Kennington. On the 13th, however, Richard and his Consort entered the City on their way to the Tower; when so vast a multitude was collected on London Bridge to see the youngQueen pass, that nine persons were killed in the crowd, of whom the Prior of the Austin Canons at Tiptree, in Essex, was one, and a worshipful matron of Cornhill was another. John Stow is commonly cited as the authority for this circumstance, and it may be seen related in his ‘Annals,’ page 315; though it is also to be found in ‘The Chronicle of Fabian,’ London, 1559, small folio, page 338. Robert Fabian, as you must well remember, was, in 1493, an eminent Merchant and Sheriff of London, and died in 1512, about thirteen years previously to the birth of John Stow. You will also see the following notice of the event in the Harleian Manuscripts, No. 565, article 5, page 61 a, which consists of ‘A Chronicle of English Affairs, and especially of those relating to the City of London, from the first year of King Richard I., 1189, to the 21st of Henry VI., 1442, inclusive’—‘In yis yere, a bouzte yefeste of Alhalwen, Isabell yeKynges doughter of Fraunce was spoused to Kyng Richard at Caleys: whiche afterward on yeviij day of Januer was crowned Quene at Westmr. At whos comynge to London, yePriour of Typtre in Essex, with other viij persones vp on London bregge in yegret prees weren crowsed to yedeth.’ Now, as I shall hereafter frequently, have to cite this Chronicle for some particulars of events not to be found in any other Annals, I must observe that it is a small quarto, fairly written on parchment, in a current Court-hand of the time of Edward IV., and decorated with vermillion lines and ornaments.“It was, you will recollect, in 1397, that Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, and uncle to Richard II., being charged with disaffection and conspiracy, was suddenly carried to Calais; in which confinement and exile he died, on the 24th of September in the same year, of an apoplectic fit, as some Historians relate, although the greater number charge Richard with his murder, and assert that he was smothered, or strangled: for he was rude and overbearing in his disposition, and usually opposed the King in most of his measures; censured his extravagant expenditure, and on several occasions is said to have reproached and upbraided him with great severity of language. On these accounts is the Duke’s death charged upon the King, and his favourites; and you have a very curious and interesting examination of the circumstance, in Richard Gough’s ‘History and Antiquities of Pleshy, in the County of Essex,’ London, 1803, quarto, pages 85-123. The reign of this unfortunate Monarch was, however, nearly at a close; for, on the 29th of September, 1399, he resigned the ensigns of Royalty to the Duke of Lancaster, afterwards Henry IV., and in the formal accusation, consisting of 33 Articles, drawn up for his deposition, in the fourth he is charged with having caused the murder of the Duke of Gloucester. When these accusations were read over to Richard, and he had named his principal advisers in each action, it was Henry of Lancaster’s care to discover the four Knights who actually strangled the Duke of Gloucester in theCastle of Calais; and having done so, he confined them in four separate prisons in London, ‘and would not,’ says Sir John Froissart, ‘have taken twenty thousand nobles for their deliverance.’ Sir Thomas Knolles, the Mayor, and the Citizens of London, were next acquainted with the Articles of Deposition, and the King’s confession concerning the four Knights; when the crowds, which had assembled in the Guildhall, cried out with execrations against them, and loudly demanded their immediate condemnation. This very speedily followed, and old London Bridge, which has in its days witnessed so many scenes of blood, was appointed the place for the exhibition of their heads; but in giving you a short narrative of this execution, we can go to no better authority than to the Herodotus of his time, Sir John Froissart, who, as you will doubtless recollect, was born at Valenciennes in 1337, and was Priest, Canon, and Treasurer of the Collegiate Church of Chimay; he died about 1401, and his Chronicles of his own time were compiled from the most authentic sources.“The French of that part of Froissart’s Chronicles to which I have alluded, commences ‘A donc se tirerent ensemble le Maire de Londres,’ &c., volume iv., chapter cxii.; but we shall take the excellent English of Colonel Johnes’ translation, Hafod Press, 1803, quarto, volume iv., pages 663-664. ‘The Mayor and Lawyers,’ says he, ‘retired to the judgment-seat, and the four Knights were condemned to death. They were sentenced to be brought before the apartment ofthe Tower of London in which King Richard was confined, that he might see them from the windows, and thence drawn on sledges by horses to Cheapside, each person separately, and there beheaded, their heads affixed to spikes on London Bridge, and their bodies hung upon a gibbet, and there left. When this sentence was pronounced, they hastened to execute it. Every thing being prepared, the Mayor of London, and the Lords who had assisted him in this judgment, set out from Guildhall with a large body of people, and came to the Tower of London, where they seized the four Knights of the King, Sir Bernard Brocas, the Lord Marclais, Master John Derby, Receiver of Lincoln, and the Lord Stelle, Steward of the King’s Household. They were all brought into the court, and each tied to two horses, in the sight of all in the Tower, who were eye-witnesses of it as well as the King, who was much displeased, and in despair; for the remainder of the King’s Knights that were with him looked for similar treatment, so cruel and revengeful did they know the Londoners. Without saying a word, these four were dragged from the streets to Cheapside, and on a fishmonger’s stall had their heads struck off, which were placed over the Gate on London Bridge, and their bodies hung on a gibbet. After this execution, every man retired to his home.’“The fatal tragedy of the reign of King Richard II. was at length consummated by his murder at Pontefract Castle, February 14th, 1399-1400; for whetherhe died of grief, starvation, or by the weapon of Sir Piers Exton, his death cannot be called by any other name; though Henry of Lancaster was not yet so firmly seated on the throne as to prevent numerous insurrections throughout the realm, on behalf of the younger Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, the legitimate heir to the crown. For about the year 1386, King Richard had appointed as his successor Roger Mortimer, the son of Edmond, second Earl of March, and Philippa his Countess, who was daughter and heiress to Lionel, Duke of Clarence,thirdson of King Edward III.: whereas Henry of Lancaster was the son of John of Ghent, who was onlyfourthson of that Monarch. One of the most famous of these insurrections, was that raised by Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, which was overthrown by Sir Thomas Rokeby, Sheriff of York, at Horselwood, on February the 19th, 1407-1408. In which encounter, Lord Thomas Bardolf,—who is a character in Shakspeare’s ‘Second Part of King Henry the Fourth,’—was mortally wounded, and died soon afterwards; but being on the party of the Earl, his body was quartered as a traitor’s, and set up at several places, with the Earl’s, one of which was London Bridge. This you find identified by Thomas of Walsingham, in his ‘Historiæ Angliæ,’ page 419; for there he says, with considerable pathos: ‘The root of Percy dies in ruin wild! for surely this Nobleman was altogether the living stock of the Percy name; and of most of the various others who were lost in his defeat. Forwhose unhappy end the common people did not grieve the least; recalling that famous, glorious, and magnificent man, and applying to him the mournful song of Lucan, where he says,
‘Brave Walworth, Knight, Lord Mayor, yet slewRebellious Tyler in his alarmes;The King therefore did give in lieuThe dagger to the City’s Arms.In the fourth Year of Richard II., Anno Domini, 1381.’
‘Brave Walworth, Knight, Lord Mayor, yet slewRebellious Tyler in his alarmes;The King therefore did give in lieuThe dagger to the City’s Arms.
In the fourth Year of Richard II., Anno Domini, 1381.’
“This, however, can stand for nothing, and thearguments for, and against, the popular reason for the introduction of the weapon, are best learned from the ancient English Chronicles and Historians of London. The principal Authors who assert that King Richard added the Dagger to commemorate the loyal valour of Walworth, are Richard Grafton, in his ‘Chronicle at large, and meere History of the Affayres of Englande, and Kinges of the same,’ London, 1569, folio, page 340; in the Margin: Raphael Holinshed, in his ‘Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland,’ London, 1586, volume ii., page 436: John Speed, in his ‘Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine,’ London, 1611, folio, volume ii., page 596; and Sir Richard Baker, in his ‘Chronicle of the Kings of England,’ London, 1733, folio, page 140.
“Such are the assertors of this very common legend; and the evidence against it, is given, firstly by old Stow, in his ‘Survey,’ volume i., page 506, at that part of it where he is treating of Walworth’s Monument, in the Church of St. Michael, Crooked Lane. He there states, you know, that, in the fourth Year of King Richard II.,—1380,—it was determined, in a Court of the Aldermen and Common Council of the City, that the old seal of the Mayoralty of London should be destroyed, and a new one, engraven with greater skill, then be provided. The device upon the new seal consisted of the effigies of the Saints Peter and Paul, with the Blessed Virgin above them, supported between two Angels, under as many tabernacles. Beneath the feet of the Saints were theArmorial Ensigns of the City, supported by two Lions, and two Serjeants at Arms. Now, Stow’s deductions from this fact are, firstly, that as the Mayor is not called by any title of Knighthood in this Seal, it was made before he received that dignity, and, therefore, before his gallant action in Smithfield, or, the augmentation could have been made to the City Arms. Secondly, he argues, that the Arms were the same in the old seal as in the new, and that, consequently, the weapon was not the dagger of Walworth, but the sword of St. Paul; for when the turbulent Robert Fitz-Walter was Banner-bearer to the City of London, his standard was red, charged with the image of St. Paul in gold, holding a sword, which, together with the head, hands, and feet of the effigy, was silver. These particulars you will also find in Stow’s ‘Survey,’ volume i., page 65; and such is the attempt of this worthy historian to prove the weapon to have been the sword of St. Paul’s Martyrdom, atAquæ Salviæ, on the 29th of June, A. D. 66. Now, since that holy Martyr is oftentimes called, by the more ancient writers, ‘the titularie patron of London,’ and since her chiefest metropolitan fane was, so early as 610, dedicated to his ever-fragrant memory, there is nothing impossible, or even unlikely, in all this: and that it should have been so, certainly arises from the circumstance that ‘Paul preached in the Islande of Britaine, which cannot be doubted; seeing both Sophronius, Patriarche of Jerusalem, and Theodoret, an ancient Doctor of the Chvrche,doe affirme and approve the same, saying that Fishers, Publicans, and the Tent-maker,’—St. Paul, see Acts xviii. 3,—‘which brought the evangelical light unto all nations, revealed the same unto the Britaines.’
“The only authority adduced by Stow for the support of his novel hypothesis concerning the Dagger of London, is a Manuscript preserved in the City Chamber, and called ‘Liber Dunthorne,’ from William Dunthorne, the name of its author. It is, in form, a large folio volume, written in a very fair, small, black law text, on vellum; and its contents are ancient Civic Laws, commencing with the series of the City Charters, in the first of which, granted by William I., the initial W contains an illumination of the effigy of St. Paul, as already described. I will add only, that this venerable register is bound in wood, covered with rough calf leather, and garnished with brass bosses and clasps, now black with age; whilst on the cover, under a plate of horn, surrounded by a metal frame, is a piece of parchment bearing the name ‘Dvnthorne.’
“Notwithstanding, however, that the effigy of the most glorious Apostle St. Paul might be advanced into the banner of London, I think it still probable that the ancient Civic Armorial Ensigns were a White Shield bearing a Red Cross, having the first quarter either uncharged, or charged, as a distinction from the multitudes of places and persons which adopted the same insignia. For you may observe, that the Cross was anciently and commonly used by all Christiansas their badge; some Heralds deriving its introduction from the Emperor Constantine the Great, and others from so holy a person as Joseph, the Son of Joseph of Arimathea; who, being the first preacher of Christianity in Britain, when dying, drew with his own blood a red cross on a white banner, and promised victory to its followers, whilst they continued in the Christian faith. There is also much mystical meaning in this plain, yet noble ensign; for ‘the white shielde,’ says a very ancient and interesting author, ‘betokeneth purenes of life, and the crosse, the bludd that Christ shed for us, his especialle people of Englande.’—‘King Arthur,’ too, says John Bossewell, in his very rare and curious ‘Workes of Armorie,’ London, 1597, small 4to., Part 2., page 22 a, ‘that mightie Conquerour and worthie, had so great affection and loue to this signe, that he left his Armes which he bare before, and assumpted, or tooke to his Armes, as proper to his desire, a Crosse siluer, in a field vert; and on the first quarter thereof, was figured an Image of our Lady, with her Sonne in her armes. And bearing that signe, he did many marueiles in Armes, as in his books of Acts and valiant Conquests are remembred. Thus,’ adds he, ‘in olde time it may be perceiued what Princes thought of the Crosse.’ Now, without believing this origin to its utmost extent, we may nevertheless learn thereby, of how great antiquity is the bearing of that most honourable Ordinary; ‘whose godly observation,’ says John Guillim, in his ‘Display of Heraldry,’ bestedition, by James Coats, London, 1724, folio, page 51, ‘was in great use in the primitive Church; though, in later times, it hath been dishonourably entertained by two kinds of fantastics; the one, who so superstitiously doat on it that they adore it like their God; the other, who so unchristianly detest it, that they slander the most godly and ancient use thereof in our first initiating unto Christ, as if it were some devilish idol. But the true soldiers of such a captain, need not to be ashamed to bear his ensign.’
“There is also yet another historical reason given why the Red Cross of St. George should be so often adopted in England; for it is related, that when Robert, Duke of Normandy, the son of our King William I., was prosecuting his victories against the Turks, and laying siege to the famous City of Antioch, A. D. 1098, it was almost relieved by a considerable army of Saracens. In this difficulty there appeared the beatific vision of St. Demetrius, St. Mercurius, and St. George, coming down from the mountains of Syria; the latter being clothed entirely in white, and bearing a Red Cross on his banner, and, at the head of an innumerable reinforcement; which miraculous interference not only reanimated the Christians, but also caused the infidels to fly, and the Crusaders to possess themselves of the City. This legend is related by Matthew Paris, a Monk of St. Albans, in the 13th century, in his ‘Historia Major,’ Paris, 1644, folio, page 29: and it consequently made St. George to become exceedingly famous at that time; and tobe esteemed a patron, not of the English only, but of Christianity itself.
“So much, Mr. Barnaby, for the use of the Cross in our City Arms; and as to the distinction borne in the first quarter, there are some who hold the belief that the Roman letter L once occupied the place of the sword. This story appears to have originated with a Mr. William Smith, a Merchant of London, who was created Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms, on October the 22nd, 1597. As he had travelled much on the Continent, and ‘was honest, of a quiet conversation, and well-languaged,’ the Officers of the Heralds’ College solicited to have him joined to their society; and it was from the reminiscences of his former travels, that he was enabled to state the following particulars concerning the original distinction attached to the City Arms, wherein he opposes the hypothesis of Stow. ‘The Auncient Armes of the Cittie of London, as they stand in (the uppermost North Window of) our Lady Church at Andwerp, in which Church windowes stand the effigies of King Edward the Third, and all his children; with most of the Armes of the Corporate Townes of England at that tyme; and this standeth first, and hath an ould Roman L in the first quarter, which John Stowe tooke in an ould seale which he had seene, for a sword, afferminge thereby that it was the Sworde of St. Paule, patron of the saide Cittie: whereby he constantly affermed that they had aunciently soe borne it, and that it was no reward giuen by KingRichard the Second, as our Chronicles reporte, for the seruice done in Smythfieeld against Watt Tyler yeRebell, by William Wallworth, Maior of London, whoe slewe the sayd Tyler with his dagger; in memory whereof, say they, the dagger was added to the Cittie’s Armes.’ This passage you will find in two ancient Manuscript copies of Heraldical Collections for London, in the Harleian Library, No. 1464, page 1; and No. 1349, page 2 b; attended by sketches of the ancient and modern bearings, drawn in pen and ink, technically calledTricks of Arms. This same story, told in the very same words, with two rude sketches of the Arms in the margin, is also to be found in one of Philpott’s Manuscripts, in the Library at the Heralds’ College, marked P b. No. 22, page 10 a; where it is written on paper, in an ancient running hand about the year 1602; and, what is extremely singular, there does not appear to be any other entry of the City Arms in the books of that Office.
“Notwithstanding, however, as Strype tells us, in his most interesting ‘Life of John Stow,’ prefixed to his ‘Survey,’ volume i., page 15, that the worthy old Citizen, and Master Rouge Dragon, were well acquainted, and communicated their labours to each other, yet he says also, that Stow would not be persuaded concerning the Dutch blazon of the London Arms, but affirmed them to have been always the same. I have but two other proofs to bring forward concerning these bearings; and then I will no longertrespass upon your long-tried patience, but return back with all speed to ourmemorabiliaof London Bridge.
“The first of these is, that in Mr. J. B. Nichols’s ‘Brief Account of the Guildhall of the City of London,’ London, 1819, octavo, we are told, at page 34, that in the Eastern Crypt of that building, the groinings of the roof meet in bosses carved with Armorial Ensigns; some being those of King Edward the Confessor, and others those of the City of London. ‘It is worthy of remark,’ adds the Author of this volume, in the same place, ‘that the Arms of London represented in the bosses on the side aisleshavethe dagger, while all those in the centre aisle arewithoutit.’ I will make no other commentary upon this, than, that part of the crypt is said to have been built antecedent to the reign of King Richard II., or, probably, formed part of the ancient Guildhall, erected, as some suppose, in 1189; the present building being commenced, as Stow tells us in his ‘Survey,’ volume i., page 558, in 1411, during the reign of Henry IV. The last evidence which I have to cite on this subject, is a small, but rare tract in the British Museum, entitled ‘The Citie’s Advocate in this Case, or Question of Honour and Armes; whether Apprenticeship extinguisheth Gentry?’ London, 1629, 4to. The Author of this volume is supposed to have been that John Philipot, or Philpott, whom I before mentioned, who was created Somerset Herald, on July the 8th, 1624, and who died on the 25th of November, 1645. He engraves both the banner of St. Paul, supported byan effigy of Robert Fitz-Walter, and the Arms as they are now borne, for the Ensigns of London; and states that they were ‘a copy of that which an old imperfect larger volume at the Office of Armes containeth.’ He cites this record in proof of Stow’s veracity in explaining the weapon to signify the Sword of St. Paul; and adds that his effigy as ‘titularie patron of London, aduanced itself into the standard, and upon the shield were those well-known armories of the crosse and weapon.’ It is, perhaps, almost unworthy of mention, that Edward Hatton, in his ‘New View of London,’ London, 1708, 8vo., volume i., in the inscription to the frontispiece representing the City Arms, blazons them ‘Argent, a Cross Gules: on ye1st quarter a sword (by some falsly called ytof St. Paul, by others yedagger of Sr. Wm. Walworth; but I take it to represent ytof Justice) of ye2nd:’ this idea, however, is without the slightest support either in reason, history, research, or heraldry. Such is the chief evidence now extant concerning our Civic Ensigns, which you will find very fully and wittily considered, by a learned and facetious gentleman, an intimate of mine, in a paper signed R. S., printed in a periodical of much merit, entitled the ‘New European Magazine,’ volume iv., May, 1824, pages 397-401.
“Mr. Barnaby Postern,” said I, as I concluded this discourse on our Civic Heraldry,“I have spoken somewhat at length on this subject, partly on account of its great interest, and partly because you ever and anon remind me of the sentiment uttered by that talkative knave,Gratiano, in the ‘Merchant of Venice;’ who says,—
‘Well! keep me company but two years more,Thou shalt not know the sound of thine own tongue!’
‘Well! keep me company but two years more,Thou shalt not know the sound of thine own tongue!’
But, as we have now gotten through our wanderings for the present, let me recall to your mind that our Bridge history was brought down to the period when——”
“To the time,” interrupted the Antiquary, “when the prompt courage and prudence of the youthful Richard, after the death of the rebel Tyler, the valour of the famous Henry Spencer, Bishop of Norwich, and the united efforts of the King’s Armies and Councils, had succeeded in putting an end to one of the most extensive and dangerous insurrections ever known in England. During these turbulent times at home, the King’s Ambassadors abroad had been vainly endeavouring to negociate a marriage between their Sovereign, and a daughter of the Duke of Milan. On the failure of which negociation, he demanded the hand of Anne of Luxemburg, daughter of the Emperor Charles IV., and sister to Wenceslaus, Emperor and King of Bohemia; with whom, on May the 2nd, 1381, his marriage was formally concluded at Nuremburg. I mention this only to remind you, to whom the Pageants were presented which I shall very speedily have to notice. Before, however, that we arrive at any events so entertaining as these, Imust mention some other circumstances, and repeat to you another extract from a Patent Roll concerning the appointment of a Gate-Keeper to London Bridge, recorded in the eighth Year of King Richard II., A. D. 1385., Membrane the 22nd. It is addressed, ‘For Walter Fesecock,’ and in English runs in the following terms; the original Latin being printed in Hearne’s ‘Liber Niger,’ volume i., page *486.
“‘The King to all to whom these presents shall come,—Greeting. Know ye, that of our special grace, and for the good service of our beloved Walter Fesecock, one of our Bargemen, we grant to the same Walter, for as much as in us lieth, the Officer of Gate-keeper of the Bridge of our City of London; he being near to us, and paying to us a price not exceeding thirteen shillings and four pence by the year: that is to say, he is to have the said office, with the profits belonging thereto, for the term of his life; in the manner that John Chese, deceased, had the office aforesaid, by the grant of our most dear Lord and grandfather deceased. In testimony of which thing, Witness the King, at Westminster, on the eighth day of April. By Writ of Privy Seal.’
“I am next, Mr. Geoffrey Barbican, to speak of a famous action on London Bridge, which most authors who have written the history of that edifice, place five or six, and some even eight, years later, than it really happened; which I cannot imagine to have arisen from any other cause, than that of their carelessly following each other, or else copying Stow, inhis ‘Survey,’ page 61, without turning to the original ancient Author, whom he cites in the margin of his ‘Annals,’ pages 312-313, as his authority for the fact. This memorable exhibition was a solemn Justing between an English and a Scottish Knight, as a display of the valour of their different countries; which was held on St. George’s day, the 23d of April, 1390; and not, as Stow has most unaccountably stated, in the works which I have quoted, either in 1395 or 1396. The authorities with which I shall support my argument, are ancient, and some of them even contemporary; but we will first relate the plain story from the elegant Latin of Hector Boethius, a Scottish Historian, who was born at Dundee in 1470: the best edition of whose ‘Scotorum Historiæ’ is that printed at Paris in folio, 1575; where, on page 335 b, the passage commencing ‘Durante inter Anglos Scotosque pace publica,’ is, in English, to the following effect.
“‘During the general peace between the Scots and the English, many of the English, who were of Knightly rank, and who excelled in military arts and prowess, frequented Scotland, and there also came many Scots into England; producing, on both parts, many honourable tournaments, to which mutual challenges were published. Of these feats, the most worthy of memory was accounted that victory on London Bridge, by David Lindesay, Earl of Crawfurd. An Englishman, the Lord Wells, was then the Ambassador of King Richard, in Scotland, and wasattending at a solemn banquet, where many persons, both Scots and English, were discoursing upon courage and arms. ‘Away with this strife of words,’ said the Englishman; ‘whoever would experience the valour of the English, let his name be declared, and also a time and place be appointed, wherever ye list, for a single passage of arms, and I am ready. I call on thee,’ said he to David, ‘who hast spent many words against me, and thou shalt have to just with me rather than all the rest.’ ‘Yea, truly,’ said David, ‘and I will do it blithely, if thou canst bring the King to consent to it.’ The King agreeing, the Englishman made choice of the place, and, because it should be in another country, he selected London Bridge: David named the time, the holy St. George’s day, because he was the chief patron of soldiers. Thereupon the Lord Wells returned to London, and David provided himself with arms, as well as he might. As the day was approaching, he made a journey with thirty-two persons in his train, immediately to London,’—this, however, is an error, for there were but twenty-nine in all, as I shall presently shew,—‘coming to King Richard, who received them with great honour.’
“Of the actual time when Sir David Lindsay came to England to engage in this passage of arms, we have the most authentic proof, in the original writs granted for his safe conduct, which are yet extant in that interesting body of Scots’ Records, entitled ‘Rotuli Scotiæ,’ or the Rolls of Scotland. These invaluablehistorical documents contain,—says the Rev. Thomas Hartwell Horne, in his excellent notices of them attached to the printed copies, published by the Commissioners of the Public Records, London, 1819, folio, volume ii., page 7,—‘an important collection of Records, illustrative of the Political Transactions between England and Scotland.’ They commence with the nineteenth year of King Edward I.—A. D. 1290,—and terminate with the eighth year of King Henry VIII.—1516. With the exception of two Rolls of 1339 and 1360, the 13th and 34th of Edward III., which are in the Chapter House at Westminster, all the remainder are deposited in the Wakefield Tower, in the Tower of London. The character in which they are written, of course, varies according to the different reigns, but it is, in general, a small and clear current Court-hand, with a moderate proportion of contractions; and their contents are composed of Treaties, Ransoms, Attainders, Grants, Licenses, and Passes of Safe Conduct for persons during war, some of which I am about to mention to you, as being proof of the Justing on London Bridge, in 1390. In the Second Volume then of the printed ‘Rotuli Scotiæ,’ page 103, Column 1; or on Membrane 3 of the original Roll of the 13th of Richard II.,—1389-90 you will find the first of these instruments, a translation of which runs thus.
“‘Safe conduct for David de Lyndesey, Knight, for the duel to be fought with John de Welles.
‘The King to all and singular, our Sheriffs, Mayors,Bailiffs, Ministers, and faithful subjects, within and without our liberties, to whom these present letters shall come, Greeting. Know ye, that because our beloved and faithful John de Welles,—for the perfecting of a certain Passage of Arms within our Kingdom of England, against David de Lyndeseye, of Scotland, Knight, as he appears to have been calumniated by the said David,—he is petitioner to us for the security of the said David, with his followers and servants coming into our Kingdom aforesaid, for the cause aforesaid, and graciously to provide for their remaining here, and returning again to their own country. We therefore, inclined at the supplication and urgent request of our liegemen who are at this time assisting to us, do undertake for the coming of the said David,with twenty and nine persons of his company and retinue, in armour, David himself being in the said number, and twelve other Knights, with their Esquires, Varlets, and Pages also accounted, and with thirty horses, into our kingdom aforesaid, for the completing of the aforesaid Passage of Arms with the said John, from the sixth day of May next approaching; for the coming of the same, and for their cause of remaining, and for their going out and returning to their own parts: nevertheless upon condition, that if any of the aforesaid who may be outlaws to us or our kingdom, shall present themselves in our Kingdom aforesaid, under the colour and protection of the company of David, they shall not enter nor remain in our safe and secure conduct.We will also, that the said David be sufficiently armed for himself: with trusses’—most probably couches, or beds—‘for himself, and also during the completing of the Passage of Arms aforesaid, to carry, conduct, and have such with him, to be used for him upon any attack. And therefore we command you, and all of you whatsoever, that the said David, with his men, arms, and horses aforesaid, with all their harness coming into our Kingdom aforesaid, in the manner and for the cause aforesaid, is, in remaining here, and in returning to his own country, to be in friendship, protection, and defence; not bringing upon them, nor permitting to be brought upon them, any injury, molestation, damage, or grievance. In testimony of which, this shall last from the first day of April next to come, for the two months then immediately following; to be accounted from the first day of the same. Witness the King, at Westminster, the twenty-second day of January. By Letter of Privy Seal.’
“And now, Sir, let us suppose the parapet of London Bridge decorated with rich hangings of tapestry and cloth of gold, such as we know it was customary to adorn those edifices with on occasions of rejoicing and triumph. The lists for a Justing, you remember, were sixty paces in length, by forty in breadth, but as the whole width of the Bridge was but forty feet, this rule, though made by Thomas, Duke of Gloucester, Uncle to Richard II., the King in whose reign we now are, must have been dispensedwith; for, estimating the pace at two feet and an half, the measurement amounts to 150 feet by 100. The ground within the lists was to be paved with large stones, hard, level, and firm; and the entrances, which were commonly erected East and West, were to be fenced with bars, seven feet, or more, in height, that a horse might not be able to leap over them. At either end of the lists were erected the tents of the tilters, having their shields suspended over the entrances; which it was also customary to hang up at the windows of the houses where they lodged, at once to denote their residence, and to declare their Knightly intentions. We find, however, in that very curious and sumptuous work by Dr. Samuel Rush Meyrick, entitled ‘A Critical Enquiry into Ancient Armour,’ London, 1824, folio, volume ii., page 59,Note, that he supposes that the lists for this Justing upon London Bridge, were without the centre paling between the Knights, called, in France, the double Lists, because, he imagines, one of the champions was overthrown by the concussion of their steeds.
“We will, however, now return to the account of this Justing given by Boethius; ‘When the day of battle was come,’ continues he, ‘both parties being armed, were most honourably conducted to the Bridge, which was filled in all parts with noble spectators, with whom Richard was seated in an eminent place; though a great concourse of the common people also was collected, excited by the novelty of the event, and the fame of the champions. The signal beinggiven, tearing their barbed horses with their spurs, they rushed hastily together with a mighty force, and with square-ground spears, to the conflict. Neither party was moved by the vehement impulse and breaking of the spears; so that the common people affected to cry out that David was bound to the saddle of his horse, contrary to the law of arms, because he sat unmoved, amidst the splintering of the lances on his helmet and visage. When Earl David heard this, he presently leaped off his charger, and then as quickly vaulted again upon his back without any assistance; and, taking a second hasty course, the spears were a second time shivered by the shock, through their burning desire to conquer. And now a third time were these valorous enemies stretched out and running together: but then the English Knight was cast down breathless to the earth, with great sounds of mourning from his countrymen that he was killed. Earl David, when victory appeared, hastened to leap suddenly to the ground; for he had fought without anger, and but for glory, that he might shew himself to be the strongest of the champions, and casting himself upon Lord Wells, tenderly embraced him until he revived, and the surgeon came to attend him. Nor, after this, did he omit one day to visit him in the gentlest manner during his sickness, even like the most courteous companion. He remained in England three months by the King’s desire, and there was not one person of nobility who was not well-affected towards him.’
“This extended residence of Sir David Lindsay in England, is also proved by a renewal of his safe conduct, which was granted him in the following terms; the original instrument being recorded on Membrane 3 of the Roll for the Year already mentioned; and a copy is inserted on page 104, column 1, of the printed edition of the ‘Rotuli Scotiæ.’
“‘Renewal of the Safe Conduct of David de Lyndeseye, Knight.
‘The King to all and singular the Sheriffs, Mayors, Bailiffs, Officers, and our faithful subjects within and without our liberties, to whom these present letters shall come, Greeting. Know ye, that David de Lyndeseye of Scotland, Knight, hath lately come, by authority of our safe conduct into our Kingdom, for the perfecting of some certain passages of arms within the same, with nine and twenty persons in his company and retinue, David himself being of their number; and because he yet appears in our said Kingdom, and purposes for a short space of time to remain and continue within our Kingdom, some certain impediment and affairs of great importance touching his own person being in the mean while to be concluded: We, at the immediate request of David himself, to whom we are at this time graciously inclined, do undertake for the remaining of the said David, with the aforesaid twenty and nine persons of his society and retinue, David himself being accounted of their number, with their horses and harness, for the matter aforesaid; and afterwards fortheir returning into their own parts under our safe and secure conduct. Nevertheless, upon condition that if any traitors to us or our Kingdom, or any outlaws from the same, present them in our Kingdom under pretence and protection of David’s company, they shall not enter nor remain therein. We will also, however, that the said David be sufficiently armed, with trusses for his own person, for the perfecting of the aforesaid passage of arms, to carry, conduct, and have with him, to be used for him upon any attack whatsoever. And therefore we will and command you, and all of you, that the said David, with his men, arms, and horses aforesaid, with all their harness, in our Kingdom, in the manner and for the cause aforesaid, is, in remaining, and afterwards in returning to his own countries, to be in friendship, protection, and defence,’ &c. as before. ‘In testimony of which, these presents shall last for the two months immediately following. Witness the King at Westminster, on the thirteenth day of May. By the King himself.’
“That I may the better complete the narrative of this Knight’s residence in England, I will yet give you the translations of two writs more, recorded on the Second Membrane of the same Roll, and printed upon the same page as the last, Column 2.
“‘Another Renewal of the same Safe Conduct.
‘The King by his Letters Patents, which shall last from the first day of June next to come, for the two months then immediately ensuing, to be accountedfrom the first day of the same, undertakes for his safe and secure conduct, and for the King’s special protection and defence to David Lyndesey, of Scotland, Knight, coming into the King’s realm of England, with twenty and nine persons of his company and retinue, David himself being accounted in their number, to be confirmed in Towns by virtue of the license of the Mayors, Bailiffs, and Keepers of the same, on his entering and returning towards the countries of Scotland, with his familiar people, their horses, harness, and all goods whatsoever. Witness the King, at Westminster, on the twenty-fifth day of May. By Bill of Privy Seal.’
“We have lastly, in the following warrant, an authentic notice of his departure for Scotland.
“‘Safe Conduct for the Scottish Ship for the carriage of the Armour of David Lyndesey.
‘The King by his Letters Patents, which shall last from the first day of June next to come, for the two months then immediately ensuing, to be accounted from the first day of the same, engages for his safe and secure conduct, and for his special protection and defence to a certain vessel of Scotland, called Seinte Marie, Ship of Dundee, whereof William Snelle is Master, with twelve Mariners crossing the seas for trading, the said Master and Mariners not carrying with them any property or goods whatsoever, nor any illicit goods, or prohibited merchandise, out of the Kingdom of the King aforesaid, excepting only one complete Armour of War for the body of David Lyndesey of Scotland, Knight. Witness the King, at Westminster, the twenty-fifth day of May. By Letter of Privy Seal.’
“Such, then, are the particulars of this memorable event, as related by Boethius, and supported by proofs from the most undoubted records, which fix it in the Year 1390; illustrated also by the addition of some curious particulars from Stow’s translation of the passage given in his ‘Annals,’ which I have already cited; though it is far beyond my ability to give you either the elegance or strength of expression, which the original author has infused into his narrative. Now, for the time when this Justing took place, let me observe that Boethius does not mention any year; Stow has called it 1395 and 1396; Raphael Holinshed, who professed to have translated the Scottish Historian in the Second part of his ‘Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland,’ London, 1585-86, volume i., page 252, makes it 1398; and James Howell, whose account of London Bridge is a verbatim reprint of Stow’s, in his ‘Londinopolis,’ London, 1657, folio, page 22, sets it down as 1381. So far, then, all are at variance: but these are only the later and English Authors; whilst, on the other hand, we have the following positive assurance of John de Fordun, a Scottish Priest, who is said in 1377 to have dedicated his History of Scotland to the Cardinal Walter Wardlaw, Bishop of Glasgow; the best edition of whose work, ‘Johannis de Fordun Scotichronicon,’ with the Continuation of Walter Bower, Abbot of St. Columb’s Isle,in 1424, is that of Walter Goodall, Edinburgh, 1759, folio; where, in volume ii., book xv., chapter iv., page 422, is the passage to which I have alluded. ‘In the same year, and on the 21st of the month,’—it commences, these being 1390, and April,—‘the Lord David Lindesay is made first Earl of Crawfurd, a valiant Knight, and in all warlike virtues most highly commended; who, with other proofs of them, had a glorious triumph over the Lord Wells of England, in his days a most famous soldier, at London, in the presence of King Richard II., in the year 1390, in a warlike pastime with spears: of which proof of military prowess, the fame hath hitherto been widely celebrated throughout England.’
“The next authority which I shall adduce is that of Andrew of Wyntoun, a Scottish Chronicler, who was Canon Regular of St. Andrews, and Prior of the Monastery of St. Serf in Loch-leven; and who died about the year 1420. The best edition of his labours is that beautiful one, entitled ‘The Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland, be Androw of Wyntown, Priowr of Sanct Serfis Ynche,’—that is Isle,—‘in Loch levyn. Now first published with Notes and a Glossary, by David Macpherson,’ London, 1815, 8vo., 2 volumes. In the Second Volume of this work then, at page 353, the commencement of Chapter xi. reads thus,—
‘Qwhen Schyr David the Lyndyssay radeTil Lundyn, and thare Tourné made.A thowsand thre hyndyr and nynty yhereFrà the Byrth of oure Lord dereThe gud Lyndyssay, Schyr Dawy,Of Glenesk the Lord mychty,Honest, abil, and avenand,Past on (safe) conduct in Ingland.’
‘Qwhen Schyr David the Lyndyssay radeTil Lundyn, and thare Tourné made.
A thowsand thre hyndyr and nynty yhereFrà the Byrth of oure Lord dere
The gud Lyndyssay, Schyr Dawy,Of Glenesk the Lord mychty,Honest, abil, and avenand,Past on (safe) conduct in Ingland.’
“This Author, indeed, never mentions London Bridge, and assigns a different day for the encounter, as we read in the verses on the next page.
‘Swà ewyn a-ponthe sext dayOf that moneth that we call May,Thai ilk forsayd Lordis tway,The Lyndyssay and the Wellis thayOn horse ane agane othir ranAs thare taylyhè (tally, a bond, or indenture to fight) ordanyd than.The Lyndyssay thare wyth manful forsStrak qwyte the Wellis fra his horsFlatlyngis downe a-pon the grene.Thare all his saddile twm (toom, empty) was sene.’
‘Swà ewyn a-ponthe sext dayOf that moneth that we call May,Thai ilk forsayd Lordis tway,The Lyndyssay and the Wellis thayOn horse ane agane othir ranAs thare taylyhè (tally, a bond, or indenture to fight) ordanyd than.The Lyndyssay thare wyth manful forsStrak qwyte the Wellis fra his horsFlatlyngis downe a-pon the grene.Thare all his saddile twm (toom, empty) was sene.’
“We have, however, sufficient authority for believing that this Justing did actually take place on St. George’s day, for Hector Boethius states, on page 336 b. of his ‘History,’ that because it was through the protection of St. George, on whose day Sir David, or rather Earl, Lindsay fought, he had gained this victory, he founded a Chantry, with a gift of 48 marks,—£32 yearly,’—for seven Priests, with divers Virgins, for ever to sing holy Anthems to the Saintly Soldier in the Church of Dundee. ‘The which,’ adds he, ‘they did unto our time,’—that is, about eighty years afterwards—‘not without singular commendations to the Earl.’
“The Poem also speaks of the use of other weapons than lances; and gives both Sir David Lindsay and King Richard a less degree of courtesy than we find mentioned elsewhere, as you will discover in the following passage.
‘Qwhen all thare cursis on hors wes dune,To-gyddyr thai mellayid on fute swne,Wyth all thare wapnys, as by the taylyhèOblyst thai ware, for til assaylyhè.Swà wyth thare knwys at the lastIlk ane at othir strak rycht fast,Swà of this to tell yow mareThe Lyndyssay fastnyd his daggareIn-till Wellis armowris fyneWelle lauche (a good depth) and hym lyftyd syneSum thyng fra the earth wyth pyth;And all (rycht) manful wertu wythOppynly before thame allHe gave the Wellis a gret fall,And had hym haly at his willQwhat evyr he wald have dwne hym til.The Kyng, in his Swmere CastelleThat all this Towrne sene had welle,Sayd, ‘Lyndyssay, Cusyne, gud Lyndissay,Do forth that thow suld do this day.’As to be sayd, do furth thi dete,Thare shall ná man here mak lete.’”
‘Qwhen all thare cursis on hors wes dune,To-gyddyr thai mellayid on fute swne,Wyth all thare wapnys, as by the taylyhèOblyst thai ware, for til assaylyhè.Swà wyth thare knwys at the lastIlk ane at othir strak rycht fast,Swà of this to tell yow mareThe Lyndyssay fastnyd his daggareIn-till Wellis armowris fyneWelle lauche (a good depth) and hym lyftyd syneSum thyng fra the earth wyth pyth;And all (rycht) manful wertu wythOppynly before thame allHe gave the Wellis a gret fall,And had hym haly at his willQwhat evyr he wald have dwne hym til.The Kyng, in his Swmere CastelleThat all this Towrne sene had welle,Sayd, ‘Lyndyssay, Cusyne, gud Lyndissay,Do forth that thow suld do this day.’As to be sayd, do furth thi dete,Thare shall ná man here mak lete.’”
“Letmefinish this story, Mr. Postern,” said I, as he concluded his repetition of these old Scottish verses; “if itbeto have a finish, and you do not really intend to keep me all night in the year 1390for we must not, certainly, let two such champions pass without one word concerning their families and their Arms; nor leave without distinction the actual Sir David Lindsay, and Lord Wells, who were engaged in this very famous passage of arms. You must, I am sure, remember, Mr. Barnaby, that the immortal Sir William Dugdale, Garter King of Arms, hath, in his ‘Baronage of England,’ London, 1676, folio, volume ii., page 11, a memoir of Lord Wells, very meet to be mentioned here. His Lordship was the descendant of Adam de Welles, who lived in the time of Richard I. and he had served in the wars in Flanders, France, and Scotland, under the Kings Edward III., and Richard II., and the valiant John, Duke of Lancaster. As he was ten years old at his father’s death in 1360, he must have been about forty when he justed on London Bridge; and after having been summoned to Parliament from 1376 to 1420, he is supposed to have died in the following year, on the Tuesday next after the Feast of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, which being Sunday, August the 24th, 1421, made it the 26th of the month. Andrew of Wyntown, whom you have quoted, says of this Lord, you remember, in his Chronicle, volume ii., page 354, alluding to the Justing on London Bridge:—
‘For in all Ingelond afore thanThe Welles was a commended man;Manful, stoute, and of gud pyth,And high of harte he was there wyth.’
‘For in all Ingelond afore thanThe Welles was a commended man;Manful, stoute, and of gud pyth,And high of harte he was there wyth.’
“He bore for Arms, Or, a Lion rampant doublequeuée, Sable. Of Sir David Lindsay, of Glenesk, commonly called Earl of Crawfurd, you may see some notices with proofs, in ‘The Peerage of Scotland,’ by Sir Robert Douglas, Edited by John Philip Wood, Esq., Edinburgh, 1813, folio, volume i., page 375. He married Catherine, fifth daughter of Robert II., King of Scotland, and his brother-in-law, Robert III., created him Earl of Crawfurd, April 21st, 1398; though Hector Boethius, on page 336 b of his ‘History,’ denies this, saying:—‘There are who write, that the before-named David was created the first Earl of Craufurd by King Robert the Third; but because we discover by the witness of ancient volumes, that James his father,’—rather his uncle, who was created Baron of Crawfurd, January 1st, 1382,—‘was made Earl by Robert the Second, we have followed a different manner in the history of this family.’ Earl David was, however, twice a Commissioner and Ambassador to England, in 1404 and 1406; and it is probable that he died before 1412. The arms borne by the Lindsays were Gules, a fesse Chequé Argent and Azure; but his victorious banner has long since fallen a prey to a mightier conqueror: the lance and the falchion which struck down all before them, have been in their turn overcome by slow-consuming decay: the champion himself lives but in these scattered fragments; remembered only by descendants, or antiquaries; his tomb, and that of his rival, are alike unknown, and even if they could be traced,—
‘The Knights are dust,And their good swords are rust,Their souls are with the Saints we trust!’”
‘The Knights are dust,And their good swords are rust,Their souls are with the Saints we trust!’”
I must own that I thought it a little uncivil in Mr. Barnaby Postern, as I finished these reflections with an air of great philosophical wisdom, to give a short dry cough, push the tankard towards me, and then to say, “Sorrow is dry, Mr. Geoffrey, and morality is musty; so do you take another draught of the sack, and I’ll give you another chapter from the Chronicles of London Bridge.”
“And now, Sir,” recommenced my visitor, “that our history may not be without the mention of at least one strange fish, connected with London Bridge, let me tell you, that on Christmas day in the year 1391, as Stow tells us in his ‘Annals,’ page 30 b, ‘a Dolphin came forth of the Sea, and played himself in the Thames at London to the Bridge; foreshewing, happily, the tempests that were to follow within a weeke after; the which Dolphin being seene of Citizens, and followed, was, with much difficulty, intercepted and brought againe to London, shewing a spectacle to many of the height of his body, for he was tenne foote in length. These Dolphins are fishes of the sea, that follow the voices of men, and reioyce in playing of instruments, and are wont to gather themselves at musick. These, when they play in rivers, with hasty springings or leapings, doe signifie tempests to follow. The seas containe nothing more swift nor nimble, for oftentimes with their skips, theymount ouer the sailes of ships.’ The original of this story is to be found, with many more particulars concerning Dolphins, in the ‘Historia Brevis,’ of Thomas Walsingham, London, 1574, folio, the admirable edition by Archbishop Parker, page 380.
“As the political troubles which succeeded the appearance of this monster, were productive of a very sumptuous triumph upon London Bridge, I shall take the freedom to remind you, that King Richard being greatly attached to regal magnificence and banquets, naturally found his revenues very insufficient to support the splendours of his Court; for, as Walsingham and Knyghton, the best historians of the time, assert, he valued himself upon surpassing all the other Sovereigns of Europe in magnificence; they add that he daily entertained no less than six thousand individuals; that three hundred servants were employed in his kitchen alone; and that his Queen had an equal number of females in her service. To supply the means for this extraordinary splendour, he endeavoured to procure aid from the Citizens of London; and sent to borrow from them the large sum of £1000; but it then was an unhappy time in England, for a dreadful Plague and Famine had overspread the land, and they not only refused his Majesty’s request, but, upon a Merchant of Lombardy offering to comply with it, they violently attacked, and almost slew him. This was early in the year 1392; and on the 25th of May following, the King, incensed to a very great degree, summoned a Parliament at Stamford, whenthe City Charter was seized; the Law Courts were removed to York; and the Mayor, Sheriffs, and principal Citizens, deposed and imprisoned; until, by the mediation of Queen Anne, the Bishop of London, and the Duke of Gloucester, the King’s anger was in some degree pacified, and he consented to indulge the Londoners with an audience at Windsor. At this interview the Citizens, after submitting themselves to the King’s pleasure, offered him £10,000 for the redemption of their privileges; but were dismissed in dejection and uncertainty; though when Richard was informed of their sorrow, he determined to proceed immediately to London, to re-assure them of his favour. It was upon this occasion, that the Bridge bore a very important part in the triumph; though the ceremony of receiving the King and Queen with great splendour and a considerable train, began at Wandsworth; where four hundred of the Citizens well mounted, and habited in one livery, entreated him to ride through his Chamber of London. At St. George’s Church, in Southwark, the procession was met by Robert Braybrooke, Bishop of London, and his Clergy of the City, followed by five hundred boys in surplices, who attended them through the streets towards Westminster. When the train arrived at the Gate of London Bridge, nearly the whole of the inhabitants, orderly arranged according to their age, rank, and sex, advanced to receive it, and presented the King with a fair milk-white steed, harnessed and caparisoned in cloth of gold, brocaded in red and white,and hung full of silver bells; whilst to the Queen was presented a palfrey, also of white, caparisoned likewise in white and red. The other streets of London, too, put on all their bravery; the windows and walls being hung with cloths of gold, silver, and silk; the Conduit in Cheapside poured out floods of red and white wine; a child, habited like an angel, crowned the King and Queen with golden crowns, from a sumptuous stage covered with performers in rich dresses; a table of the Trinity wrought in gold, and valued at £800, was given to the King, and another of St. Anne to his consort; and truly I know of nothing which might so well express the splendours of that day, as the passage with which Walsingham concludes his notice of it. ‘There was so much glory,’ says he, ‘so much pomp, so great variety of divers furniture provided, that to have undertaken it might have been a triumph to any King. For horses and trappings, plate of gold and silver, clothes of gold, silk, and velvet, ewers and basons of yellow gold, gold in coin, precious stones, and jewels so rich, excellent, and beautiful, were given to him, that their value and price might not easily be estimated.’
“This gorgeous scene took place on the 29th of August, and you will find my authorities for this account of it in Henry Knyghton’s books ‘De Eventibus Angliæ,’ printed in Twysden’s ‘Scriptores,’ already cited, page 2740; in Robert Fabyan’s ‘Chronicles of England and Fraunce,’ London, 1559, folio, volume ii., page 334; in Stow’s ‘Annals,’ page 307; and inMaitland’s ‘History,’ volume i., page 180. I will but observe, to finish this portion of history, that the Citizens redeemed their Charter by the payment of £10,000; and the King, by his Letters Patent, dated at Westminster, in February 1392-93, restored them to his favour; and so, observes Stow in his ‘Annals,’ ‘the troubles of the Citizens came to quietnesse; which troubles, the Dolphin in the Thames at Christmas last past, did happily signifie afar off.’ Though Maitland, at page 180 of his ‘History,’ volume i., most unaccountably makes the Dolphin appear the Christmasafterthis fine was paid.
“I can scarcely imagine, worthy Mr. Barbican, what could induce the accurate Stow,—and of course all other Authors of London history,—to remark, when speaking of the year 1395, our next eminent epoch in the Chronicles of London Bridge, that, because the Justing which we have already spoken of was, as he says, then holden upon it, such ‘history proveth that at that time, the Bridge being coaped on either side, was not replenished with houses built thereupon, as since it hath been, and now is.’ You will observe that this passage, which occurs in volume i., page 61, of his ‘Survey,’ is no interpolation of later, or more unskilful, Editors, because it is to be found in the first black-letter edition of that most valuable work, 1598, small folio. Now, in most of his preceding pages he has been giving proofs of the Bridge being built upon at an early period to some extent; and I also, after him and others, have adducedto you abundant evidence that such was the case. I have shewn that the Gate and Towers were certainly as ancient as 1264; that in the Patent granted to Isenbert of Xainctes, in 1201, it is stated ‘that the rents and profits of the several houses, which the said Master of the Schools shall cause to be erected on the Bridge, shall be for ever appropriated to repair, maintain, and uphold the same;’ that in the Patent of relief granted by Edward I., in 1280, it is observed that the dilapidations of the Bridge may occasion not only its sudden fall, ‘but also the destruction of innumerable people dwelling on it;’ and that in the reign of the same Edward, the Assize Rolls mention the very rents and situations of houses then standing on London Bridge. All this, I imagine, might be received as fair and conclusive evidence that this part of the City was built upon and inhabited, long before 1395; to which let me add, that Richard Bloome, one of the continuators of Stow, observes, on page 62, when speaking of the dreadful conflagration of the Bridge in 1632-33, that some of the houses remained unbuilt until the year 1666, when the Great Fire of London destroyed all the new edifices. ‘But,’ rejoins he, ‘the old ones at the South end, some of which were built in the reign of King John,’—and he died, you will remember in 1215,—‘were not burnt.’ It is, however, extremely probable, that London Bridge did not even in 1395 present that form of a continued street which was afterward its most celebrated and peculiar character. There were, I doubt not, severalplaces open to the water, perhaps, as Stow says, ‘plainly coped with stone;’ and in one of these, it is most probable, that the Justing, which he erroneously mentions in that year, took place.
“Anne of Bohemia, the Queen of Richard II., dying in 1394, his sorrow for her loss was both passionately expressed, and deservedly bestowed; though, so early afterwards as in 1396, during an interview between him and that insane Monarch, Charles VI. of France, a truce was concluded betwixt the two Kingdoms for twenty-eight years, and Richard espoused Isabel, the French King’s eldest daughter, although she was then under eight years of age; whence she was called ‘The Little,’ and the English Sovereign was about thirty. This marriage was solemnized by Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Church of St. Nicholas, at Calais, on Wednesday, October the 31st, or rather the 1st of November, when Richard is said to have expended on the occasion, the immense sum of three hundred thousand marks, or in modern coinage £200,000. On the 2nd of November they sailed for England, and on arriving at Blackheath the Royal train was met by the usual procession of the Mayor and Aldermen of London, habited in scarlet, who attended the King to Newington, where he dismissed them, as he was to rest for a short time at Kennington. On the 13th, however, Richard and his Consort entered the City on their way to the Tower; when so vast a multitude was collected on London Bridge to see the youngQueen pass, that nine persons were killed in the crowd, of whom the Prior of the Austin Canons at Tiptree, in Essex, was one, and a worshipful matron of Cornhill was another. John Stow is commonly cited as the authority for this circumstance, and it may be seen related in his ‘Annals,’ page 315; though it is also to be found in ‘The Chronicle of Fabian,’ London, 1559, small folio, page 338. Robert Fabian, as you must well remember, was, in 1493, an eminent Merchant and Sheriff of London, and died in 1512, about thirteen years previously to the birth of John Stow. You will also see the following notice of the event in the Harleian Manuscripts, No. 565, article 5, page 61 a, which consists of ‘A Chronicle of English Affairs, and especially of those relating to the City of London, from the first year of King Richard I., 1189, to the 21st of Henry VI., 1442, inclusive’—‘In yis yere, a bouzte yefeste of Alhalwen, Isabell yeKynges doughter of Fraunce was spoused to Kyng Richard at Caleys: whiche afterward on yeviij day of Januer was crowned Quene at Westmr. At whos comynge to London, yePriour of Typtre in Essex, with other viij persones vp on London bregge in yegret prees weren crowsed to yedeth.’ Now, as I shall hereafter frequently, have to cite this Chronicle for some particulars of events not to be found in any other Annals, I must observe that it is a small quarto, fairly written on parchment, in a current Court-hand of the time of Edward IV., and decorated with vermillion lines and ornaments.
“It was, you will recollect, in 1397, that Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, and uncle to Richard II., being charged with disaffection and conspiracy, was suddenly carried to Calais; in which confinement and exile he died, on the 24th of September in the same year, of an apoplectic fit, as some Historians relate, although the greater number charge Richard with his murder, and assert that he was smothered, or strangled: for he was rude and overbearing in his disposition, and usually opposed the King in most of his measures; censured his extravagant expenditure, and on several occasions is said to have reproached and upbraided him with great severity of language. On these accounts is the Duke’s death charged upon the King, and his favourites; and you have a very curious and interesting examination of the circumstance, in Richard Gough’s ‘History and Antiquities of Pleshy, in the County of Essex,’ London, 1803, quarto, pages 85-123. The reign of this unfortunate Monarch was, however, nearly at a close; for, on the 29th of September, 1399, he resigned the ensigns of Royalty to the Duke of Lancaster, afterwards Henry IV., and in the formal accusation, consisting of 33 Articles, drawn up for his deposition, in the fourth he is charged with having caused the murder of the Duke of Gloucester. When these accusations were read over to Richard, and he had named his principal advisers in each action, it was Henry of Lancaster’s care to discover the four Knights who actually strangled the Duke of Gloucester in theCastle of Calais; and having done so, he confined them in four separate prisons in London, ‘and would not,’ says Sir John Froissart, ‘have taken twenty thousand nobles for their deliverance.’ Sir Thomas Knolles, the Mayor, and the Citizens of London, were next acquainted with the Articles of Deposition, and the King’s confession concerning the four Knights; when the crowds, which had assembled in the Guildhall, cried out with execrations against them, and loudly demanded their immediate condemnation. This very speedily followed, and old London Bridge, which has in its days witnessed so many scenes of blood, was appointed the place for the exhibition of their heads; but in giving you a short narrative of this execution, we can go to no better authority than to the Herodotus of his time, Sir John Froissart, who, as you will doubtless recollect, was born at Valenciennes in 1337, and was Priest, Canon, and Treasurer of the Collegiate Church of Chimay; he died about 1401, and his Chronicles of his own time were compiled from the most authentic sources.
“The French of that part of Froissart’s Chronicles to which I have alluded, commences ‘A donc se tirerent ensemble le Maire de Londres,’ &c., volume iv., chapter cxii.; but we shall take the excellent English of Colonel Johnes’ translation, Hafod Press, 1803, quarto, volume iv., pages 663-664. ‘The Mayor and Lawyers,’ says he, ‘retired to the judgment-seat, and the four Knights were condemned to death. They were sentenced to be brought before the apartment ofthe Tower of London in which King Richard was confined, that he might see them from the windows, and thence drawn on sledges by horses to Cheapside, each person separately, and there beheaded, their heads affixed to spikes on London Bridge, and their bodies hung upon a gibbet, and there left. When this sentence was pronounced, they hastened to execute it. Every thing being prepared, the Mayor of London, and the Lords who had assisted him in this judgment, set out from Guildhall with a large body of people, and came to the Tower of London, where they seized the four Knights of the King, Sir Bernard Brocas, the Lord Marclais, Master John Derby, Receiver of Lincoln, and the Lord Stelle, Steward of the King’s Household. They were all brought into the court, and each tied to two horses, in the sight of all in the Tower, who were eye-witnesses of it as well as the King, who was much displeased, and in despair; for the remainder of the King’s Knights that were with him looked for similar treatment, so cruel and revengeful did they know the Londoners. Without saying a word, these four were dragged from the streets to Cheapside, and on a fishmonger’s stall had their heads struck off, which were placed over the Gate on London Bridge, and their bodies hung on a gibbet. After this execution, every man retired to his home.’
“The fatal tragedy of the reign of King Richard II. was at length consummated by his murder at Pontefract Castle, February 14th, 1399-1400; for whetherhe died of grief, starvation, or by the weapon of Sir Piers Exton, his death cannot be called by any other name; though Henry of Lancaster was not yet so firmly seated on the throne as to prevent numerous insurrections throughout the realm, on behalf of the younger Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, the legitimate heir to the crown. For about the year 1386, King Richard had appointed as his successor Roger Mortimer, the son of Edmond, second Earl of March, and Philippa his Countess, who was daughter and heiress to Lionel, Duke of Clarence,thirdson of King Edward III.: whereas Henry of Lancaster was the son of John of Ghent, who was onlyfourthson of that Monarch. One of the most famous of these insurrections, was that raised by Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, which was overthrown by Sir Thomas Rokeby, Sheriff of York, at Horselwood, on February the 19th, 1407-1408. In which encounter, Lord Thomas Bardolf,—who is a character in Shakspeare’s ‘Second Part of King Henry the Fourth,’—was mortally wounded, and died soon afterwards; but being on the party of the Earl, his body was quartered as a traitor’s, and set up at several places, with the Earl’s, one of which was London Bridge. This you find identified by Thomas of Walsingham, in his ‘Historiæ Angliæ,’ page 419; for there he says, with considerable pathos: ‘The root of Percy dies in ruin wild! for surely this Nobleman was altogether the living stock of the Percy name; and of most of the various others who were lost in his defeat. Forwhose unhappy end the common people did not grieve the least; recalling that famous, glorious, and magnificent man, and applying to him the mournful song of Lucan, where he says,