CHAPTER VIII.

[pg 187]CHAPTER VIII.The king's unexpected return, 30 Nov., 1340.It was one of the conditions of the Flemish alliance, mentioned at the close of the last chapter, that the campaign of 1340 should open with the siege of Tournay, and it was with this object specially in view that Edward had set out from England. After his brilliant victory over the French fleet which opposed his passage Edward marched upon Tournay. Its siege, however, proved fruitless, and, disappointed and money-less, he slipt back again to England and made his appearance unexpectedly one morning at the Tower528(30 Nov.).Dismisses ministers and orders an enquiry as to collection of revenue.The justices at the Tower, March-April. 1341.The king attributed the failure of the war to the remissness of his ministers in sending money and supplies. Scarcely had he landed before he sent for the chancellor, the treasurer, and other ministers who were in London, and not only dismissed them from office, but ordered them each into separate confinement. John de Pulteney was one of those made to feel the king's anger, and he was relegated to the castle of Somerton, but as soon as Edward's irritability had passed off he and others obtained their freedom.529A searching enquiry was instituted in the spring of[pg 188]the following year (1341) as to the way in which the king's revenues had been collected in the city. Objection was raised to the judges holding their session within the city and they sat at the Tower. Great tumult prevailed, and the citizens refused to answer any questions until the judges had formally acknowledged the City's liberties. A special fund was raised for the purpose of defending the City's rights.530From the 5th March to the 17th March the justices sat, and then an adjournment was made until the 16th April. On resumption of the session another adjournment immediately took place owing to parliament sitting at Westminster, and when the judges should have again sat, the Iter was suddenly determined by order of the king.531The king showed much annoyance at the attitude taken up by the citizens, or at least by a certain portion of them, with respect to this enquiry, and endeavoured to procure the names of the ringleaders.532Failing in this, and not wishing to make an enemy of the city on which he largely depended for resources to carry out his military measures, he bestowed a general pardon on the citizens, and promised that no Iter should be held at the Tower for a period of seven years.533Charter to the city, dated 26 March, 1341.As a further mark of favour he granted to the City, soon after the abrupt termination of the Iter, a charter confirming previous charters; allowing the citizens in express terms to vary customs that might in course of time have become incapable of being put[pg 189]into practice, and declaring the city's liberties not subject to forfeiture through non-user.534The city called upon to furnish the king with 26 ships.In August (1341) the citizens met to consider the question of levying a sum of £2,000, of which 2,000 marks was due to certain citizens in part payment of the £5,000 lent to the king, and 1,000 marks was required for the discharge of the city's own debts. A certain number of aldermen and commoners were at the same time appointed to confer with the king's council touching the sending of ships of war beyond the seas. The result of the interview was made known to the citizens at a meeting held later on in the same month. A further grievous burden (vehemens onus) was to be laid upon them; they were called upon to provide no less than twenty-six ships, fully equipped and victualled at their own cost.535The king's expedition to Brittany, Oct., 1342.The ships were probably wanted for conveying forces over to Brittany under the command of Sir Walter de Maunay, in the following year. The king himself made an expedition to that country in October, 1342, having previously succeeded in borrowing the sum of £1,000 from the citizens. He had asked for £2,000, but was fain to be content with the lesser sum, security for repayment of which was demanded and granted.536A truce with France for three years.In March, 1343, Edward returned to England, having made a truce with France for three years.537He was beginning to learn the value of the English[pg 190]longbow and the cloth-yard shaft in the field of battle. Hitherto he, like others before him, had placed too much reliance on charges by knights on horseback. What the longbow could effect, under proper management, had been experienced at Falkirk in 1298. It had proved a failure at Bannockburn in 1314 through bad strategy, but at Halidon Hill twenty years later (1333) it was again effective. It was destined soon to work a complete reform in English warfare; and the yeoman and archer were to supersede the noble and knight. The London burgess and apprentice were especially apt with the weapon from constant practice in Finsbury fields. Edward realised the necessity of fostering the martial spirit of the Londoners, and on one occasion (January, 1344) invited the wives of the burgesses to witness a tournament at Windsor, where they were entertained right royally.538Renewal of the war in 1345.Before the expiration of the truce Edward was busy with preparations for a renewal of the war. Four hundred London archers were to be got ready by Midsummer of 1344, as the king was soon to cross the sea; and 100 men-at-arms and 200 horsemen were to be despatched to Portsmouth.539In 1345, a royal commission was issued for the seizure for the king's use of all vessels lying in the river.540A further contingent of 160 archers was ordered to Sandwich by Whitsuntide, and in August the city received another order for yet more archers.541In September, the king informed the mayor by letter that, owing to the defective[pg 191]state of his fleet and the prevalence of contrary winds, he had postponed setting sail for a short time; the civic authorities were to keep their men-at-arms and archers ready to set out the morrow after the receipt of orders to march.542Six months elapsed, during which the citizens were kept under arms waiting for orders, when, on the 18th March, 1346, another letter was sent by the king to the effect that he had now fully made up his mind to set sail from Portsmouth a fortnight after Easter. The men-at-arms, the horsemen, and the archers, were to be ready by a certain day on pain of losing life, limb, and property. On the 28th March, the archers mustered in "Totehull" or Tothill Fields, near Westminster.543Expedition to France sets sail, 10 July, 1346.The expedition did not actually sail from Portsmouth until the 10th July, the fleet numbering 1,000 vessels more or less.544Previous to his departure, Edward caused proclamation to be made in the city and elsewhere, to the effect that the assessments that had been made throughout the country for the purpose of equipping the expedition, should not be drawn into precedent.545News of the king's arrival and success in Normandy, 3 Aug.On the 3rd August the regent forwarded to the city a copy of a letter he had received from the king, giving an account of his passage to Normandy and of the capture of various towns, and among them of Caen. There he had discovered a document of no little importance. This was none other than an[pg 192]agreement made in 1338, whereby Normandy had bound itself to assist the king of France in his proposed invasion and conquest of England.546This document the king transmitted to England by the hands of the Earl of Huntingdon, who was returning invalided, and it was publicly read in St. Paul's Churchyard, with the view of stirring the citizens to fresh exertions in prosecuting the war. The king's own letter was also publicly read in the Husting by the regent's order.547The City was exhorted to have in readiness a force to succour the king, if need be. Every effort was made to raise money, and the regent did not hesitate to resort to depreciation of the coinage of the realm in order to help his father. The City made a free gift to the king of 1,000 marks and lent him 2,000 more.548The battle of Creçy, 26 Aug., 1346.On the 26th August the battle of Creçy was won against a force far outnumbering the English army. The victory was due in large measure to the superiority of the English longbow over the crossbow used by the Genoese mercenaries; but it was also a victory of foot soldiers over horsemen. The field of Bannockburn had shown how easy a thing it was for a body of horsemen to crush a body of archers, if allowed to take them in the flank, whilst that of Halidon Hill had more recently taught the king, from personal experience, that archers could turn the tide of battle against any direct attack, however violent. Edward profited by the experience of that day. He not only protected the flank of his archers, but interspersed among them dismounted horsemen with levelled[pg 193]spears, the result being that the French were driven off the field with terrible slaughter.Siege and surrender of Calais, 1346-1347.Flushed with victory Edward proceeded to lay siege to Calais. His forces, which had been already greatly reduced on the field of Creçy, suffered a further diminution by desertion. The mayor and sheriffs of London were ordered to seize all deserters, whether knights, esquires, or men of lower order, found in the city, and to take steps for furnishing the king with fresh recruits and store of victuals.549By Easter of the following year, the City was called upon to furnish two vessels towards a fleet of 120 large ships, which the council had decided to fit out. All ships found in the port of London were pressed into the king's service.550In July (1347) the king was in need of more recruits and provisions.551Calais still held out, although both besiegers and besieged were reduced to sore straits. At last it surrendered (4 Aug.). Edward spared the lives of its principal burgesses at the intercession of his queen, but he cleared the town of French inhabitants, and invited Londoners and others to take up their abode there, offering them houses at low rents and other inducements.552A truce with Philip was agreed on, and Edward returned home. For a time England was resplendent with the spoils of the French war—"A new sun seemed to shine," wrote Walsingham.553Every woman of position went gaily decked with some portion of the plunder of the[pg 194]town of Caen or Calais; cupboards shone with silver plate, and wardrobes were filled with foreign furs and rich drapery of continental workmanship. The golden era was of short duration.The Black Death, 1348-1349.In August, 1348, the pestilential scourge, known as the Black Death,554appeared in England, and reached London in the following November. The number of victims it carried off in the city has been variously computed,555but all conjectures of the kind must be received with caution. All that is known for certain is that the mortality caused a marked increase in the number of beggars, and, at the same time, raised the price of labour and provisions within the city's walls to such a degree that measures had to be taken to remedy both evils.556Besides the losses by death, the population of the city and the country generally was sensibly diminished by the flight of numbers of inhabitants to the continent, with the hope of escaping the ravages of the plague. The king's treasury threatened soon to become empty, and the country left defenceless, if this were allowed to go on unchecked; he therefore ordered the sheriffs of London to see that no men-at-arms, strangers or otherwise, left[pg 195]the kingdom, with the exception of well-known merchants or ambassadors, without the king's special order.557Pilgrimages to Rome or elsewhere were made an excuse for leaving England, at a time when the king's subjects could ill be spared. The king endeavoured to limit this drain upon the population of the kingdom by allowing none to cross the sea without his special licence. The city authorities having negligently executed his orders in this respect, received a rebuke in October, 1350, and were told to be more strict in their observance for the future.558A fresh truce with France, commencing 13 June, 1350.On the night which ushered in New Year's day, 1350, an abortive attempt had been made by the French to recapture Calais. This ill success rendered Philip the more willing to agree to a further prolongation of the truce with England. Notification of this cessation of hostilities was duly sent to the sheriffs of London.559Before the truce had come to an end Philip of Valois had ceased to live, and had been succeeded on the throne of France by John II.Measures taken for the suppression of piracy, July, 1350.The city had scarcely recovered from the ravages of the late pestilence, before it was called upon (24 July, 1350) to furnish two ships to assist the king in putting down piracy. These were accordingly fitted out; the ship of Andrew Turk being furnished with 40 men-at-arms and 60 archers, whilst that of Goscelin de Cleve had on board 30 men-at-arms and 40 archers.560With their aid, Edward succeeded in utterly defeating a Spanish fleet which had recently inflicted much damage on the Bordeaux wine fleet,[pg 196]and capturing 24 large ships laden with rich merchandise.561The citizens had further to submit to a tax on wool and wine, in order to maintain the king's vessels engaged in putting down piracy.562Charter relative to the City's gold mace, 10 June, 1354.In 1354 an exception was made by special charter of the king in favour of the City of London, and its sergeants were permitted to carry maces of gold or silver, or plated with silver, and bearing the royal arms. Ten years before the commons of England had petitioned the king (inter alia) not to allow any one to carry maces tipped with silver in city or borough, except the king's own officers. All others were to carry maces tipped with copper only (virolez de cuevere), with staves of wood as formerly. The petition was granted saving that the sergeants of the City of London might carry their mace within the liberties of the city and before the mayor in the king's presence.563This same year (1354), moreover, the king with the assent of parliament had again forbidden the carrying of gold or silver maces. Thenceforth, maces were to be of iron, brass or tin, or staves tipped with latten, and not to bear representations of the royal arms, but the arms or signs of the city using them. Again exception was made in the case of London; two sergeants of the City as well as of the City of York being permitted to carry gold or silver maces, but they were not to be surmounted with the royal arms. This led to a humble remonstrance from the whole body of the citizens of London, presented to the chancellor and[pg 197]the council by their mayor, Adam Fraunceys, and within a month the charter above mentioned was granted. That the charter originated or authorized the title of "Lord" Mayor, as some have supposed, is extremely improbable.Renewal of war with France, 1355.In 1355, all efforts to convert the truce into a final peace having failed, war with France was renewed. Edward was soon called home by fresh troubles in Scotland. Having recovered Berwick, which had been taken by surprise, and formally received the crown of Scotland from Edward Baliol, he prepared to rejoin his son, the Black Prince, in France, and in March, 1356, ordered the city to furnish him with two vessels of war.564Battle of Poitiers, 19 Sept., 1356News of the battle of Poitiers (19 September, 1356), and of the defeat and capture of the French king, was received in the city by letter from the Prince of Wales, dated 22nd October.565Again the English longbow, combined with superior tactics, gained the day. The prince, on his return, made a triumphal entry into the city, passing over London Bridge on his way to Westminster, with the captive king and the king's son in his train.566The streets were almost impassable for the multitude that thronged them; and for the moment the citizens forgot at what cost to themselves the victory had been gained. A truce—a welcome truce—for two years followed.567[pg 198]Grievances of the city laid before the king.Only a few weeks before the prince's return the citizens had laid before the king a list of their grievances and prayed for redress.568They had complained of being charged taxes and talliages in excess of any other of the commons. They had lent the king at Dordrecht no less a sum than £60,000, and had incurred further loss by the discrepancy between the weight for weighing wool at Dordrecht and that of England. They had lent the king further sums of £5,000 and £2,000 on two separate occasions, which had not been repaid. The sum of £40,000 had been advanced to the king's merchants at Calais and elsewhere, and this, together with other sums lent (amounting to over £30,000), was still outstanding to the grievous hurt of many citizens. They had, moreover, been called upon to undergo more charges than others with respect to the king's expeditions to Scotland, Flanders and France, and in providing men-at-arms, archers and ships, in aid of his wars. Nor did their complaints stop here. The king's purveyors had been accustomed to seize the carriages, victuals and merchandise of citizens without offering payment for the same, in direct contravention of the king's first charter to the city. Owing, moreover, to deaths by the plague, so much property had come into mortmain that the city had become impoverished, and one-third part of it rendered void of inhabitants. These points they had desired the king to consider, inasmuch as the city had always been loyal and peaceful, setting an example to the whole country. The petition wound up with the usual complaint against the privileges allowed foreign merchants, and a request[pg 199]that the king would grant them letters patent under the great seal, such as they might show to the purveyors whenever they attempted to take anything without payment.569Edward's last invasion of France, 1359-1360.After the expiration of the truce Edward again set out for France. That country, however, had suffered so much during the last two years at the hands of freebooters, that Edward experienced the greatest difficulty in finding sufficient provisions for his army. Whilst he was traversing France in search of a force with which to try conclusions in the field, a Norman fleet swept down upon the south coast and sacked Winchelsea. The news of this disaster so incensed the king that he determined to march direct on Paris. The Londoners, in the meantime, assisted in fitting out a fleet of eighty vessels, manned with 14,000 men, including archers, in order to wipe out this disgrace, but the enemy contrived to make good their escape.570The peace of Bretigny, 1360.At length Edward was induced to accede to the terms offered by France, and the peace of Bretigny was concluded (8th May, 1360). The terms were very favourable to England, although Edward consented to abandon all claim to the French crown. King John was to be ransomed, but the price set on his release was so high that some years elapsed before the money could be raised, and then only with the assistance of a few of the livery companies of the city,[pg 200]which showed their sympathy with the captured king by contributing to the fund being raised for the purpose of restoring him to liberty.571It was John's high sense of honour that kept him in captivity in England until his death in 1364. He had in fact been liberated and allowed to return to France soon after the conclusion of peace, on payment of part of his ransom, hostages being accepted for payment of the remainder. In 1363 one of the hostages broke his pledge and fled, and John, shocked at such perfidy, returned Regulus-like to England. Hence it was that he appears as one of the four kings whom Picard, the mayor, entertained that same year at a banquet, followed by play at dice and hazard.572England at peace, 1360-1369.The citizens now enjoyed a period of leisure which they were not slow to turn to account. The years which followed the peace of Bretigny, until war broke out afresh in 1369, witnessed the re-organisation of many of the trade and craft guilds. Some of these, like the Goldsmiths, the Tailors or Linen-Armourers, and the Skinners, had already obtained charters from Edward soon after his accession, so had also the Fishmongers, although the earliest extant charter of the company is dated 1363. The Vintners date their chartered rights from the same year; the Drapers from 1364; whilst the more ancient company of Weavers obtained a confirmation of their privileges in 1365.[pg 201]Minor guilds, like the Founders, the Plumbers, the Fullers and others, had to content themselves with the recognition of their ordinances by the civic authorities alone between 1364 and 1369.The king's favour was purchased in 1363 by a gift of nearly £500, to which the livery companies largely contributed.573The amount of each subscription varied from half-a-mark to £40, the latter sum being contributed by the Mercers, the Fishmongers, the Drapers, and the Skinners respectively. The Tailors subscribed half that amount, being outdone by the Vintners, who contributed £33 6s.8d.The renewal of the war, 1369.With the renewal of the war, a change comes over the pages of the City's annals. The London bachelor and apprentice is drawn off from his football and hockey, with which he had beguiled his leisure hours, and bidden to devote himself to the more useful pursuits of shooting with arrow or bolt on high days and holidays.574Once more we meet with schedules of men-at-arms and archers provided by the City for service abroad, and of assessments made on the City's wards to pay for them.575Every inducement in the shape of plunder was held out to volunteers for enlistment, and public proclamation was made to the effect that the spoils of France should belong to the captors themselves.576City loans, 1370-1371.It was an easier matter for the City to provide the king with money than men. In 1370 it advanced a[pg 202]sum of £5,000,577and in the following year a further sum of £4,000, and more was subscribed by the wealthier citizens, among whom were William Walworth, who contributed over £200, Adam Fraunceys, Simon de Mordon, and others.578New form of taxation, 1371.Still the expenses of the war exceeded the supply of money, and resort was had to a new form of taxation, by which it was hoped that a sum of £50,000 might be realised. By order of parliament, made in March, 1371, the sum of 22s.3d.was to be levied on every parish in the kingdom, the number of parishes being reckoned as amounting to 40,000. It soon became apparent that the number of existing parishes throughout the country had been grossly miscalculated. There were not more than 9,000, and the amount of assessment had to be proportionately raised. It was necessary to summon a council at Westminster in June, to remedy the miscalculation that had been made in March. Half of the representatives of the late parliament were summoned to meet the king, and among them two of the city's members, Bartholomew Frestlyng and John Philipot—"the first Englishman who has left behind him the reputation of a financier."579The mistake was rectified, the charge of 22s.3d.was raised to 116s.and the city was called upon to raise over £600.580In the meantime the civic authorities had, in answer to the king's writ,581prepared a return of the[pg 203]number of parish churches, chapels and prebends within the city.582It was found that within the city and suburbs there were 106 parish churches583and thirty prebends, but only two of the latter were within the liberties. There was also the free chapel of St. Martin's-le-Grand, which embraced eleven prebends, all within the liberty of the city, and there were, moreover, two other chapels within the liberty. Besides these (the return stated) there were none other.The city as an ecclesiastical centre.The bare fact that there existed over 100 parishes, each with its parish church, within so small an area as that covered by the city and its suburbs, is of itself sufficient to remind us that, besides having a municipal and commercial history, the city also possesses an ecclesiastical. The church of St. Paul, the largest foundation in the city, with its resident canons exercising magnificent hospitality, was a centre to which London looked as a mother, although it was not strictly speaking the metropolitan cathedral. That title properly applies to the Minster at Canterbury; but the church of Canterbury being in the hands of a monastic chapter left St. Paul's at the head of the secular clergy of southern England.584Besides the hundred and more churches there were monastic establishments and colleges which covered a good fourth part of the whole city. The collegiate church of St. Martin's-le-Grand almost rivalled its neighbour the[pg 204]cathedral church itself in the area of its precinct. The houses of the Black Friars and Grey Friars in the west were only equalled by those belonging to the Augustine and Crossed Friars towards the east; while the Priory of St. Bartholomew found a counterpart in the Priory of Holy Trinity. The church was everywhere and ruled everything, and its influence manifests itself nowhere more strongly than in the number of ecclesiastical topics which fill the pages of early chronicles in connection with London.585The prosecution of the war, 1371-1375.The war brought little credit or advantage in return for outlay. In January, 1371, the Black Prince had returned to England with the glory of former achievements sullied by his massacre at Limoges, and the City of London had made him a present of valuable plate.586The conduct of the war was transferred to his eldest surviving brother, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. In 1372 the king himself set out with the flower of the English nobility, and accompanied by a band of London archers and crossbow men.587The expedition, which had for its object the relief of Rochelle, and which is said to have cost no less than £900,000, proved disastrous, and Edward returned after a brief absence.588In 1373 the city furnished him with a transport barge called "The Paul of London." The barge when it left London for Southampton was fully supplied with rigging and tackle; nevertheless, on its arrival at the latter port, it was found to be so deficient in equipment that it[pg 205]could not proceed to sea. The only explanation that the master of the barge could give of the matter was that a certain number of anchors and cables had been lost on the voyage. The City paid twenty marks to make up the defects.589The year was marked by a campaign under Lancaster which ended in the utmost disaster. The French avoided a general action; the English soldiers deserted, and as the winter came on the troops perished from cold, hunger and disease. By 1374 the French had recovered nearly all of their former possessions. England was tired of the war and of the ceaseless expenditure it involved. It was with no little joy that the Londoners heard, in July, 1375,590that peace had been concluded.Charges against city aldermen, 1376.In April, 1376, a parliament met, known as the Good Parliament,591and before granting supply it demanded an account of former receipts and expenditure. No less than three city aldermen were charged with malversation. Richard Lyons, of Broad Street ward, was convicted with Lord Latimer of embezzling the king's revenue, and sentenced to imprisonment and forfeiture of goods.592Adam de Bury, of Langbourn ward, who had twice served the office of mayor, was charged with appropriating money subscribed for the ransom of the French king and fled to Flanders to avoid trial;593whilst John Pecche of Walbrook ward[pg 206]was convicted of an extortionate exercise of a monopoly of sweet wines and his patent annulled. All three aldermen were deposed from their aldermanries by order of an assembly of citizens composed of representatives from the various guilds and not from the wards.594A new system of election by the guilds, instead of the wards, introduced, 1376.The guilds, indeed, were now claiming a more direct participation in the government of the city than they had hitherto enjoyed, and their claim had given rise to so much commotion that the king himself threatened to interpose.595The threat was not liked, and the citizens hastened to assure him that no disturbance had occurred in the city beyond what proceeded from reasonable debate on an open question, and that to prevent the noise and tumult arising from large assemblies, they had unanimously decided that in future the Common Council should be chosen from the guilds and not otherwise.596This reply was sent to the king by the hands of two aldermen—William Walworth and Nicholas Brembre—and six commoners, and the following day (2 August) the king sent another letter accepting the explanation that had been offered, and expressing a hope that the city would be so governed as not to require his personal intervention.597Not only was the common council to be selected in future by the guilds, but the guilds were also to elect the mayor and the sheriffs. The aldermen and the[pg 207]commons were to meet together at least once a quarter,598and no member of the common council was to serve on inquests, nor be appointed collector or assessor of a talliage. This last provision may have been due to the recent discoveries of malversation, but, however that may be, it was found to work so well that it was more than once re-enacted.599These changes in the internal administration of the city were avowedly made by virtue of Edward's charter, which specifically gave the citizens a right to remedy hard or defective customs.600The old system of election by wards reverted to in 1384.The power of the guilds in the matter of elections to the common council was not of long duration. Before ten years had elapsed representation was made that the new system had been forced on the citizens, and in 1384 it was resolved to revert to the old system of election by and from the wards.601Proceedings against Alice Perers, the king's mistress, 1376.Encouraged by the success which had so far attended their efforts of reform, the good parliament next attacked Alice Perers, the king's mistress. Of humble origin, and not even possessing the quality of good looks, this lady, for whom the mediæval chroniclers have scarcely a good word to say,602nevertheless gained so complete a mastery over the king as to favour the popular belief that she indulged in magic. At length her barefaced interference in public affairs[pg 208]led to an award against her of banishment and forfeiture. Upon the dissolution of the good parliament (6 July, 1376), and the meeting of a new parliament, elected under the direct influence of the Earl of Lancaster, who once more gained the upper hand now that the Black Prince was dead, Alice Perers was allowed to return.603She was again in disgrace soon after Richard's accession, when her property, much of which consisted of real estate in the City,604became escheated, and the citizens of London were promised redress for any harm she might have done them.605She was afterwards married to Sir William de Windsor, who, in 1376, had got himself into trouble over a disturbance in Whitefriars606—a quarter of the city which, under the name of Alsatia, became afterwards notorious for riots, and as the resort of bad characters. Towards the close of 1379 her sentence of banishment, never strictly enforced, was revoked and pardon extended to her and her husband.607Charter forbidding free trade to merchant strangers, 4 Dec., 1376.In December, 1376, the citizens obtained a charter from the king, with the assent of parliament, granting that no strangers (i.e.non-freemen) should thenceforth be allowed to sell by retail within the city and suburbs. This had always been considered a grievance, ever since free trade had been granted to merchant strangers by the parliament held at York in 1335.Hostility between the City and Lancaster.The last year of Edward's reign was one of serious opposition between the City and the selfish and unprincipled[pg 209]Lancaster. In so far as the duke, with the assistance of Wycliffe, meditated a reform among the higher clergy, he might, if he would, have had the city with him. The citizens, like the great reformer himself, were opposed to the practice of the clergy heaping up riches and intermeddling with political matters. The duke, however, went out of his way to hurt the feelings of the citizens, by proposing to abolish the mayoralty and otherwise encroach upon their liberties.608Not content with this he took the occasion when Wycliffe was summoned to appear at St. Paul's (19 Feb., 1377), to offer violence to Courtenay, their bishop. This so incensed the citizens that the meeting broke up in confusion. The next day the mob, now thoroughly roused, hastened to the Savoy where the duke resided. He happened, however, to be dining in the city at the time, with a certain John de Ypre. The company had scarcely sat down to their oysters before a soldier knocked at the door and warned them of the danger. They forthwith jumped up from the table, the duke barking his shins (we are told) in so doing, and, making their way to the riverside, took boat for Kennington, where the duke sought protection in the house of the Princess of Wales. Thanks to the intervention of the bishop, who appeared on the scene, the mob did but little serious harm, beyond ill-using a priest and some of the duke's retainers whom they happened to come across.609[pg 210]Interview between the king and the citizens to explain matters.The civic authorities were naturally anxious as to what the king might say and do in consequence of the outbreak, and desired an interview in order to explain matters. Lancaster was opposed to any such interview taking place. The London mob had seized upon an escutcheon of the duke, displayed in some public thoroughfare, and had reversed it by way of signifying that it was the escutcheon of a traitor.610This had particularly raised his anger. Nevertheless, in spite of his efforts to prevent it, an interview was accorded to a deputation from the city, of which John Philipot acted as spokesman. After drawing the king's attention to the threatened attack on the privileges of the city, and the proposed substitution of a "captain" for a mayor, Philipot offered an apology for the late riot. It had taken place, he said, without the cognisance of the civic authorities. Among a large population there were sure to be some bad characters whom it was difficult to restrain, even by the authority of the mayor, when once excited. A mob acted after the manner of a tornado, flying hither and thither, bent on committing havoc at anybody's expense, even its own, but, thank God! the duke had suffered no harm nor had any of his retinue been hurt. The king having listened to the deputation, assured them in reply, that so far from wishing to lessen the privileges of the city, he had a mind to enlarge them. They were not to alarm themselves, but to go home and endeavour to preserve peace. On leaving the presence the deputation met the duke, with whom they interchanged courtesies.611In the meanwhile lampoons on the duke were posted in the city. The duke became[pg 211]furious and demanded the excommunication of the authors. The bishops hesitated through fear of the mob, but at last the Bishop of Bangor was induced by representations made to him by leading citizens, who wished it to be known that they did not approve of such libels, to execute the duke's wishes.612Another interview with the king at Shene.The duke was determined to have his revenge, and again the citizens were summoned to appear before the king, who was lying at Shene. This time they did not get off so easily. The mayor, Adam Stable, was removed, and Nicholas Brembre appointed in his place. A fresh election of aldermen took place,613and the City did penance for the recent insult to the duke's escutcheon by offering, at the king's confidential suggestion, a wax taper bearing the duke's arms in St. Paul's. Even that did not satisfy him; nay, it was adding insult to injury (he said), for such an act was an honour usually paid to one who was dead! The citizens were in despair, and doubted if anything would satisfy him, short of proclaiming him king.614The king's death, 21 June, 1377.One of the last acts of Edward was to restore the Bishop of Winchester to the temporalities of which he had been deprived by the duke, and this restitution was made at the instance and by the influence of Alice Perers,615who within a few weeks robbed her dying paramour of his finger rings and fled.616

[pg 187]CHAPTER VIII.The king's unexpected return, 30 Nov., 1340.It was one of the conditions of the Flemish alliance, mentioned at the close of the last chapter, that the campaign of 1340 should open with the siege of Tournay, and it was with this object specially in view that Edward had set out from England. After his brilliant victory over the French fleet which opposed his passage Edward marched upon Tournay. Its siege, however, proved fruitless, and, disappointed and money-less, he slipt back again to England and made his appearance unexpectedly one morning at the Tower528(30 Nov.).Dismisses ministers and orders an enquiry as to collection of revenue.The justices at the Tower, March-April. 1341.The king attributed the failure of the war to the remissness of his ministers in sending money and supplies. Scarcely had he landed before he sent for the chancellor, the treasurer, and other ministers who were in London, and not only dismissed them from office, but ordered them each into separate confinement. John de Pulteney was one of those made to feel the king's anger, and he was relegated to the castle of Somerton, but as soon as Edward's irritability had passed off he and others obtained their freedom.529A searching enquiry was instituted in the spring of[pg 188]the following year (1341) as to the way in which the king's revenues had been collected in the city. Objection was raised to the judges holding their session within the city and they sat at the Tower. Great tumult prevailed, and the citizens refused to answer any questions until the judges had formally acknowledged the City's liberties. A special fund was raised for the purpose of defending the City's rights.530From the 5th March to the 17th March the justices sat, and then an adjournment was made until the 16th April. On resumption of the session another adjournment immediately took place owing to parliament sitting at Westminster, and when the judges should have again sat, the Iter was suddenly determined by order of the king.531The king showed much annoyance at the attitude taken up by the citizens, or at least by a certain portion of them, with respect to this enquiry, and endeavoured to procure the names of the ringleaders.532Failing in this, and not wishing to make an enemy of the city on which he largely depended for resources to carry out his military measures, he bestowed a general pardon on the citizens, and promised that no Iter should be held at the Tower for a period of seven years.533Charter to the city, dated 26 March, 1341.As a further mark of favour he granted to the City, soon after the abrupt termination of the Iter, a charter confirming previous charters; allowing the citizens in express terms to vary customs that might in course of time have become incapable of being put[pg 189]into practice, and declaring the city's liberties not subject to forfeiture through non-user.534The city called upon to furnish the king with 26 ships.In August (1341) the citizens met to consider the question of levying a sum of £2,000, of which 2,000 marks was due to certain citizens in part payment of the £5,000 lent to the king, and 1,000 marks was required for the discharge of the city's own debts. A certain number of aldermen and commoners were at the same time appointed to confer with the king's council touching the sending of ships of war beyond the seas. The result of the interview was made known to the citizens at a meeting held later on in the same month. A further grievous burden (vehemens onus) was to be laid upon them; they were called upon to provide no less than twenty-six ships, fully equipped and victualled at their own cost.535The king's expedition to Brittany, Oct., 1342.The ships were probably wanted for conveying forces over to Brittany under the command of Sir Walter de Maunay, in the following year. The king himself made an expedition to that country in October, 1342, having previously succeeded in borrowing the sum of £1,000 from the citizens. He had asked for £2,000, but was fain to be content with the lesser sum, security for repayment of which was demanded and granted.536A truce with France for three years.In March, 1343, Edward returned to England, having made a truce with France for three years.537He was beginning to learn the value of the English[pg 190]longbow and the cloth-yard shaft in the field of battle. Hitherto he, like others before him, had placed too much reliance on charges by knights on horseback. What the longbow could effect, under proper management, had been experienced at Falkirk in 1298. It had proved a failure at Bannockburn in 1314 through bad strategy, but at Halidon Hill twenty years later (1333) it was again effective. It was destined soon to work a complete reform in English warfare; and the yeoman and archer were to supersede the noble and knight. The London burgess and apprentice were especially apt with the weapon from constant practice in Finsbury fields. Edward realised the necessity of fostering the martial spirit of the Londoners, and on one occasion (January, 1344) invited the wives of the burgesses to witness a tournament at Windsor, where they were entertained right royally.538Renewal of the war in 1345.Before the expiration of the truce Edward was busy with preparations for a renewal of the war. Four hundred London archers were to be got ready by Midsummer of 1344, as the king was soon to cross the sea; and 100 men-at-arms and 200 horsemen were to be despatched to Portsmouth.539In 1345, a royal commission was issued for the seizure for the king's use of all vessels lying in the river.540A further contingent of 160 archers was ordered to Sandwich by Whitsuntide, and in August the city received another order for yet more archers.541In September, the king informed the mayor by letter that, owing to the defective[pg 191]state of his fleet and the prevalence of contrary winds, he had postponed setting sail for a short time; the civic authorities were to keep their men-at-arms and archers ready to set out the morrow after the receipt of orders to march.542Six months elapsed, during which the citizens were kept under arms waiting for orders, when, on the 18th March, 1346, another letter was sent by the king to the effect that he had now fully made up his mind to set sail from Portsmouth a fortnight after Easter. The men-at-arms, the horsemen, and the archers, were to be ready by a certain day on pain of losing life, limb, and property. On the 28th March, the archers mustered in "Totehull" or Tothill Fields, near Westminster.543Expedition to France sets sail, 10 July, 1346.The expedition did not actually sail from Portsmouth until the 10th July, the fleet numbering 1,000 vessels more or less.544Previous to his departure, Edward caused proclamation to be made in the city and elsewhere, to the effect that the assessments that had been made throughout the country for the purpose of equipping the expedition, should not be drawn into precedent.545News of the king's arrival and success in Normandy, 3 Aug.On the 3rd August the regent forwarded to the city a copy of a letter he had received from the king, giving an account of his passage to Normandy and of the capture of various towns, and among them of Caen. There he had discovered a document of no little importance. This was none other than an[pg 192]agreement made in 1338, whereby Normandy had bound itself to assist the king of France in his proposed invasion and conquest of England.546This document the king transmitted to England by the hands of the Earl of Huntingdon, who was returning invalided, and it was publicly read in St. Paul's Churchyard, with the view of stirring the citizens to fresh exertions in prosecuting the war. The king's own letter was also publicly read in the Husting by the regent's order.547The City was exhorted to have in readiness a force to succour the king, if need be. Every effort was made to raise money, and the regent did not hesitate to resort to depreciation of the coinage of the realm in order to help his father. The City made a free gift to the king of 1,000 marks and lent him 2,000 more.548The battle of Creçy, 26 Aug., 1346.On the 26th August the battle of Creçy was won against a force far outnumbering the English army. The victory was due in large measure to the superiority of the English longbow over the crossbow used by the Genoese mercenaries; but it was also a victory of foot soldiers over horsemen. The field of Bannockburn had shown how easy a thing it was for a body of horsemen to crush a body of archers, if allowed to take them in the flank, whilst that of Halidon Hill had more recently taught the king, from personal experience, that archers could turn the tide of battle against any direct attack, however violent. Edward profited by the experience of that day. He not only protected the flank of his archers, but interspersed among them dismounted horsemen with levelled[pg 193]spears, the result being that the French were driven off the field with terrible slaughter.Siege and surrender of Calais, 1346-1347.Flushed with victory Edward proceeded to lay siege to Calais. His forces, which had been already greatly reduced on the field of Creçy, suffered a further diminution by desertion. The mayor and sheriffs of London were ordered to seize all deserters, whether knights, esquires, or men of lower order, found in the city, and to take steps for furnishing the king with fresh recruits and store of victuals.549By Easter of the following year, the City was called upon to furnish two vessels towards a fleet of 120 large ships, which the council had decided to fit out. All ships found in the port of London were pressed into the king's service.550In July (1347) the king was in need of more recruits and provisions.551Calais still held out, although both besiegers and besieged were reduced to sore straits. At last it surrendered (4 Aug.). Edward spared the lives of its principal burgesses at the intercession of his queen, but he cleared the town of French inhabitants, and invited Londoners and others to take up their abode there, offering them houses at low rents and other inducements.552A truce with Philip was agreed on, and Edward returned home. For a time England was resplendent with the spoils of the French war—"A new sun seemed to shine," wrote Walsingham.553Every woman of position went gaily decked with some portion of the plunder of the[pg 194]town of Caen or Calais; cupboards shone with silver plate, and wardrobes were filled with foreign furs and rich drapery of continental workmanship. The golden era was of short duration.The Black Death, 1348-1349.In August, 1348, the pestilential scourge, known as the Black Death,554appeared in England, and reached London in the following November. The number of victims it carried off in the city has been variously computed,555but all conjectures of the kind must be received with caution. All that is known for certain is that the mortality caused a marked increase in the number of beggars, and, at the same time, raised the price of labour and provisions within the city's walls to such a degree that measures had to be taken to remedy both evils.556Besides the losses by death, the population of the city and the country generally was sensibly diminished by the flight of numbers of inhabitants to the continent, with the hope of escaping the ravages of the plague. The king's treasury threatened soon to become empty, and the country left defenceless, if this were allowed to go on unchecked; he therefore ordered the sheriffs of London to see that no men-at-arms, strangers or otherwise, left[pg 195]the kingdom, with the exception of well-known merchants or ambassadors, without the king's special order.557Pilgrimages to Rome or elsewhere were made an excuse for leaving England, at a time when the king's subjects could ill be spared. The king endeavoured to limit this drain upon the population of the kingdom by allowing none to cross the sea without his special licence. The city authorities having negligently executed his orders in this respect, received a rebuke in October, 1350, and were told to be more strict in their observance for the future.558A fresh truce with France, commencing 13 June, 1350.On the night which ushered in New Year's day, 1350, an abortive attempt had been made by the French to recapture Calais. This ill success rendered Philip the more willing to agree to a further prolongation of the truce with England. Notification of this cessation of hostilities was duly sent to the sheriffs of London.559Before the truce had come to an end Philip of Valois had ceased to live, and had been succeeded on the throne of France by John II.Measures taken for the suppression of piracy, July, 1350.The city had scarcely recovered from the ravages of the late pestilence, before it was called upon (24 July, 1350) to furnish two ships to assist the king in putting down piracy. These were accordingly fitted out; the ship of Andrew Turk being furnished with 40 men-at-arms and 60 archers, whilst that of Goscelin de Cleve had on board 30 men-at-arms and 40 archers.560With their aid, Edward succeeded in utterly defeating a Spanish fleet which had recently inflicted much damage on the Bordeaux wine fleet,[pg 196]and capturing 24 large ships laden with rich merchandise.561The citizens had further to submit to a tax on wool and wine, in order to maintain the king's vessels engaged in putting down piracy.562Charter relative to the City's gold mace, 10 June, 1354.In 1354 an exception was made by special charter of the king in favour of the City of London, and its sergeants were permitted to carry maces of gold or silver, or plated with silver, and bearing the royal arms. Ten years before the commons of England had petitioned the king (inter alia) not to allow any one to carry maces tipped with silver in city or borough, except the king's own officers. All others were to carry maces tipped with copper only (virolez de cuevere), with staves of wood as formerly. The petition was granted saving that the sergeants of the City of London might carry their mace within the liberties of the city and before the mayor in the king's presence.563This same year (1354), moreover, the king with the assent of parliament had again forbidden the carrying of gold or silver maces. Thenceforth, maces were to be of iron, brass or tin, or staves tipped with latten, and not to bear representations of the royal arms, but the arms or signs of the city using them. Again exception was made in the case of London; two sergeants of the City as well as of the City of York being permitted to carry gold or silver maces, but they were not to be surmounted with the royal arms. This led to a humble remonstrance from the whole body of the citizens of London, presented to the chancellor and[pg 197]the council by their mayor, Adam Fraunceys, and within a month the charter above mentioned was granted. That the charter originated or authorized the title of "Lord" Mayor, as some have supposed, is extremely improbable.Renewal of war with France, 1355.In 1355, all efforts to convert the truce into a final peace having failed, war with France was renewed. Edward was soon called home by fresh troubles in Scotland. Having recovered Berwick, which had been taken by surprise, and formally received the crown of Scotland from Edward Baliol, he prepared to rejoin his son, the Black Prince, in France, and in March, 1356, ordered the city to furnish him with two vessels of war.564Battle of Poitiers, 19 Sept., 1356News of the battle of Poitiers (19 September, 1356), and of the defeat and capture of the French king, was received in the city by letter from the Prince of Wales, dated 22nd October.565Again the English longbow, combined with superior tactics, gained the day. The prince, on his return, made a triumphal entry into the city, passing over London Bridge on his way to Westminster, with the captive king and the king's son in his train.566The streets were almost impassable for the multitude that thronged them; and for the moment the citizens forgot at what cost to themselves the victory had been gained. A truce—a welcome truce—for two years followed.567[pg 198]Grievances of the city laid before the king.Only a few weeks before the prince's return the citizens had laid before the king a list of their grievances and prayed for redress.568They had complained of being charged taxes and talliages in excess of any other of the commons. They had lent the king at Dordrecht no less a sum than £60,000, and had incurred further loss by the discrepancy between the weight for weighing wool at Dordrecht and that of England. They had lent the king further sums of £5,000 and £2,000 on two separate occasions, which had not been repaid. The sum of £40,000 had been advanced to the king's merchants at Calais and elsewhere, and this, together with other sums lent (amounting to over £30,000), was still outstanding to the grievous hurt of many citizens. They had, moreover, been called upon to undergo more charges than others with respect to the king's expeditions to Scotland, Flanders and France, and in providing men-at-arms, archers and ships, in aid of his wars. Nor did their complaints stop here. The king's purveyors had been accustomed to seize the carriages, victuals and merchandise of citizens without offering payment for the same, in direct contravention of the king's first charter to the city. Owing, moreover, to deaths by the plague, so much property had come into mortmain that the city had become impoverished, and one-third part of it rendered void of inhabitants. These points they had desired the king to consider, inasmuch as the city had always been loyal and peaceful, setting an example to the whole country. The petition wound up with the usual complaint against the privileges allowed foreign merchants, and a request[pg 199]that the king would grant them letters patent under the great seal, such as they might show to the purveyors whenever they attempted to take anything without payment.569Edward's last invasion of France, 1359-1360.After the expiration of the truce Edward again set out for France. That country, however, had suffered so much during the last two years at the hands of freebooters, that Edward experienced the greatest difficulty in finding sufficient provisions for his army. Whilst he was traversing France in search of a force with which to try conclusions in the field, a Norman fleet swept down upon the south coast and sacked Winchelsea. The news of this disaster so incensed the king that he determined to march direct on Paris. The Londoners, in the meantime, assisted in fitting out a fleet of eighty vessels, manned with 14,000 men, including archers, in order to wipe out this disgrace, but the enemy contrived to make good their escape.570The peace of Bretigny, 1360.At length Edward was induced to accede to the terms offered by France, and the peace of Bretigny was concluded (8th May, 1360). The terms were very favourable to England, although Edward consented to abandon all claim to the French crown. King John was to be ransomed, but the price set on his release was so high that some years elapsed before the money could be raised, and then only with the assistance of a few of the livery companies of the city,[pg 200]which showed their sympathy with the captured king by contributing to the fund being raised for the purpose of restoring him to liberty.571It was John's high sense of honour that kept him in captivity in England until his death in 1364. He had in fact been liberated and allowed to return to France soon after the conclusion of peace, on payment of part of his ransom, hostages being accepted for payment of the remainder. In 1363 one of the hostages broke his pledge and fled, and John, shocked at such perfidy, returned Regulus-like to England. Hence it was that he appears as one of the four kings whom Picard, the mayor, entertained that same year at a banquet, followed by play at dice and hazard.572England at peace, 1360-1369.The citizens now enjoyed a period of leisure which they were not slow to turn to account. The years which followed the peace of Bretigny, until war broke out afresh in 1369, witnessed the re-organisation of many of the trade and craft guilds. Some of these, like the Goldsmiths, the Tailors or Linen-Armourers, and the Skinners, had already obtained charters from Edward soon after his accession, so had also the Fishmongers, although the earliest extant charter of the company is dated 1363. The Vintners date their chartered rights from the same year; the Drapers from 1364; whilst the more ancient company of Weavers obtained a confirmation of their privileges in 1365.[pg 201]Minor guilds, like the Founders, the Plumbers, the Fullers and others, had to content themselves with the recognition of their ordinances by the civic authorities alone between 1364 and 1369.The king's favour was purchased in 1363 by a gift of nearly £500, to which the livery companies largely contributed.573The amount of each subscription varied from half-a-mark to £40, the latter sum being contributed by the Mercers, the Fishmongers, the Drapers, and the Skinners respectively. The Tailors subscribed half that amount, being outdone by the Vintners, who contributed £33 6s.8d.The renewal of the war, 1369.With the renewal of the war, a change comes over the pages of the City's annals. The London bachelor and apprentice is drawn off from his football and hockey, with which he had beguiled his leisure hours, and bidden to devote himself to the more useful pursuits of shooting with arrow or bolt on high days and holidays.574Once more we meet with schedules of men-at-arms and archers provided by the City for service abroad, and of assessments made on the City's wards to pay for them.575Every inducement in the shape of plunder was held out to volunteers for enlistment, and public proclamation was made to the effect that the spoils of France should belong to the captors themselves.576City loans, 1370-1371.It was an easier matter for the City to provide the king with money than men. In 1370 it advanced a[pg 202]sum of £5,000,577and in the following year a further sum of £4,000, and more was subscribed by the wealthier citizens, among whom were William Walworth, who contributed over £200, Adam Fraunceys, Simon de Mordon, and others.578New form of taxation, 1371.Still the expenses of the war exceeded the supply of money, and resort was had to a new form of taxation, by which it was hoped that a sum of £50,000 might be realised. By order of parliament, made in March, 1371, the sum of 22s.3d.was to be levied on every parish in the kingdom, the number of parishes being reckoned as amounting to 40,000. It soon became apparent that the number of existing parishes throughout the country had been grossly miscalculated. There were not more than 9,000, and the amount of assessment had to be proportionately raised. It was necessary to summon a council at Westminster in June, to remedy the miscalculation that had been made in March. Half of the representatives of the late parliament were summoned to meet the king, and among them two of the city's members, Bartholomew Frestlyng and John Philipot—"the first Englishman who has left behind him the reputation of a financier."579The mistake was rectified, the charge of 22s.3d.was raised to 116s.and the city was called upon to raise over £600.580In the meantime the civic authorities had, in answer to the king's writ,581prepared a return of the[pg 203]number of parish churches, chapels and prebends within the city.582It was found that within the city and suburbs there were 106 parish churches583and thirty prebends, but only two of the latter were within the liberties. There was also the free chapel of St. Martin's-le-Grand, which embraced eleven prebends, all within the liberty of the city, and there were, moreover, two other chapels within the liberty. Besides these (the return stated) there were none other.The city as an ecclesiastical centre.The bare fact that there existed over 100 parishes, each with its parish church, within so small an area as that covered by the city and its suburbs, is of itself sufficient to remind us that, besides having a municipal and commercial history, the city also possesses an ecclesiastical. The church of St. Paul, the largest foundation in the city, with its resident canons exercising magnificent hospitality, was a centre to which London looked as a mother, although it was not strictly speaking the metropolitan cathedral. That title properly applies to the Minster at Canterbury; but the church of Canterbury being in the hands of a monastic chapter left St. Paul's at the head of the secular clergy of southern England.584Besides the hundred and more churches there were monastic establishments and colleges which covered a good fourth part of the whole city. The collegiate church of St. Martin's-le-Grand almost rivalled its neighbour the[pg 204]cathedral church itself in the area of its precinct. The houses of the Black Friars and Grey Friars in the west were only equalled by those belonging to the Augustine and Crossed Friars towards the east; while the Priory of St. Bartholomew found a counterpart in the Priory of Holy Trinity. The church was everywhere and ruled everything, and its influence manifests itself nowhere more strongly than in the number of ecclesiastical topics which fill the pages of early chronicles in connection with London.585The prosecution of the war, 1371-1375.The war brought little credit or advantage in return for outlay. In January, 1371, the Black Prince had returned to England with the glory of former achievements sullied by his massacre at Limoges, and the City of London had made him a present of valuable plate.586The conduct of the war was transferred to his eldest surviving brother, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. In 1372 the king himself set out with the flower of the English nobility, and accompanied by a band of London archers and crossbow men.587The expedition, which had for its object the relief of Rochelle, and which is said to have cost no less than £900,000, proved disastrous, and Edward returned after a brief absence.588In 1373 the city furnished him with a transport barge called "The Paul of London." The barge when it left London for Southampton was fully supplied with rigging and tackle; nevertheless, on its arrival at the latter port, it was found to be so deficient in equipment that it[pg 205]could not proceed to sea. The only explanation that the master of the barge could give of the matter was that a certain number of anchors and cables had been lost on the voyage. The City paid twenty marks to make up the defects.589The year was marked by a campaign under Lancaster which ended in the utmost disaster. The French avoided a general action; the English soldiers deserted, and as the winter came on the troops perished from cold, hunger and disease. By 1374 the French had recovered nearly all of their former possessions. England was tired of the war and of the ceaseless expenditure it involved. It was with no little joy that the Londoners heard, in July, 1375,590that peace had been concluded.Charges against city aldermen, 1376.In April, 1376, a parliament met, known as the Good Parliament,591and before granting supply it demanded an account of former receipts and expenditure. No less than three city aldermen were charged with malversation. Richard Lyons, of Broad Street ward, was convicted with Lord Latimer of embezzling the king's revenue, and sentenced to imprisonment and forfeiture of goods.592Adam de Bury, of Langbourn ward, who had twice served the office of mayor, was charged with appropriating money subscribed for the ransom of the French king and fled to Flanders to avoid trial;593whilst John Pecche of Walbrook ward[pg 206]was convicted of an extortionate exercise of a monopoly of sweet wines and his patent annulled. All three aldermen were deposed from their aldermanries by order of an assembly of citizens composed of representatives from the various guilds and not from the wards.594A new system of election by the guilds, instead of the wards, introduced, 1376.The guilds, indeed, were now claiming a more direct participation in the government of the city than they had hitherto enjoyed, and their claim had given rise to so much commotion that the king himself threatened to interpose.595The threat was not liked, and the citizens hastened to assure him that no disturbance had occurred in the city beyond what proceeded from reasonable debate on an open question, and that to prevent the noise and tumult arising from large assemblies, they had unanimously decided that in future the Common Council should be chosen from the guilds and not otherwise.596This reply was sent to the king by the hands of two aldermen—William Walworth and Nicholas Brembre—and six commoners, and the following day (2 August) the king sent another letter accepting the explanation that had been offered, and expressing a hope that the city would be so governed as not to require his personal intervention.597Not only was the common council to be selected in future by the guilds, but the guilds were also to elect the mayor and the sheriffs. The aldermen and the[pg 207]commons were to meet together at least once a quarter,598and no member of the common council was to serve on inquests, nor be appointed collector or assessor of a talliage. This last provision may have been due to the recent discoveries of malversation, but, however that may be, it was found to work so well that it was more than once re-enacted.599These changes in the internal administration of the city were avowedly made by virtue of Edward's charter, which specifically gave the citizens a right to remedy hard or defective customs.600The old system of election by wards reverted to in 1384.The power of the guilds in the matter of elections to the common council was not of long duration. Before ten years had elapsed representation was made that the new system had been forced on the citizens, and in 1384 it was resolved to revert to the old system of election by and from the wards.601Proceedings against Alice Perers, the king's mistress, 1376.Encouraged by the success which had so far attended their efforts of reform, the good parliament next attacked Alice Perers, the king's mistress. Of humble origin, and not even possessing the quality of good looks, this lady, for whom the mediæval chroniclers have scarcely a good word to say,602nevertheless gained so complete a mastery over the king as to favour the popular belief that she indulged in magic. At length her barefaced interference in public affairs[pg 208]led to an award against her of banishment and forfeiture. Upon the dissolution of the good parliament (6 July, 1376), and the meeting of a new parliament, elected under the direct influence of the Earl of Lancaster, who once more gained the upper hand now that the Black Prince was dead, Alice Perers was allowed to return.603She was again in disgrace soon after Richard's accession, when her property, much of which consisted of real estate in the City,604became escheated, and the citizens of London were promised redress for any harm she might have done them.605She was afterwards married to Sir William de Windsor, who, in 1376, had got himself into trouble over a disturbance in Whitefriars606—a quarter of the city which, under the name of Alsatia, became afterwards notorious for riots, and as the resort of bad characters. Towards the close of 1379 her sentence of banishment, never strictly enforced, was revoked and pardon extended to her and her husband.607Charter forbidding free trade to merchant strangers, 4 Dec., 1376.In December, 1376, the citizens obtained a charter from the king, with the assent of parliament, granting that no strangers (i.e.non-freemen) should thenceforth be allowed to sell by retail within the city and suburbs. This had always been considered a grievance, ever since free trade had been granted to merchant strangers by the parliament held at York in 1335.Hostility between the City and Lancaster.The last year of Edward's reign was one of serious opposition between the City and the selfish and unprincipled[pg 209]Lancaster. In so far as the duke, with the assistance of Wycliffe, meditated a reform among the higher clergy, he might, if he would, have had the city with him. The citizens, like the great reformer himself, were opposed to the practice of the clergy heaping up riches and intermeddling with political matters. The duke, however, went out of his way to hurt the feelings of the citizens, by proposing to abolish the mayoralty and otherwise encroach upon their liberties.608Not content with this he took the occasion when Wycliffe was summoned to appear at St. Paul's (19 Feb., 1377), to offer violence to Courtenay, their bishop. This so incensed the citizens that the meeting broke up in confusion. The next day the mob, now thoroughly roused, hastened to the Savoy where the duke resided. He happened, however, to be dining in the city at the time, with a certain John de Ypre. The company had scarcely sat down to their oysters before a soldier knocked at the door and warned them of the danger. They forthwith jumped up from the table, the duke barking his shins (we are told) in so doing, and, making their way to the riverside, took boat for Kennington, where the duke sought protection in the house of the Princess of Wales. Thanks to the intervention of the bishop, who appeared on the scene, the mob did but little serious harm, beyond ill-using a priest and some of the duke's retainers whom they happened to come across.609[pg 210]Interview between the king and the citizens to explain matters.The civic authorities were naturally anxious as to what the king might say and do in consequence of the outbreak, and desired an interview in order to explain matters. Lancaster was opposed to any such interview taking place. The London mob had seized upon an escutcheon of the duke, displayed in some public thoroughfare, and had reversed it by way of signifying that it was the escutcheon of a traitor.610This had particularly raised his anger. Nevertheless, in spite of his efforts to prevent it, an interview was accorded to a deputation from the city, of which John Philipot acted as spokesman. After drawing the king's attention to the threatened attack on the privileges of the city, and the proposed substitution of a "captain" for a mayor, Philipot offered an apology for the late riot. It had taken place, he said, without the cognisance of the civic authorities. Among a large population there were sure to be some bad characters whom it was difficult to restrain, even by the authority of the mayor, when once excited. A mob acted after the manner of a tornado, flying hither and thither, bent on committing havoc at anybody's expense, even its own, but, thank God! the duke had suffered no harm nor had any of his retinue been hurt. The king having listened to the deputation, assured them in reply, that so far from wishing to lessen the privileges of the city, he had a mind to enlarge them. They were not to alarm themselves, but to go home and endeavour to preserve peace. On leaving the presence the deputation met the duke, with whom they interchanged courtesies.611In the meanwhile lampoons on the duke were posted in the city. The duke became[pg 211]furious and demanded the excommunication of the authors. The bishops hesitated through fear of the mob, but at last the Bishop of Bangor was induced by representations made to him by leading citizens, who wished it to be known that they did not approve of such libels, to execute the duke's wishes.612Another interview with the king at Shene.The duke was determined to have his revenge, and again the citizens were summoned to appear before the king, who was lying at Shene. This time they did not get off so easily. The mayor, Adam Stable, was removed, and Nicholas Brembre appointed in his place. A fresh election of aldermen took place,613and the City did penance for the recent insult to the duke's escutcheon by offering, at the king's confidential suggestion, a wax taper bearing the duke's arms in St. Paul's. Even that did not satisfy him; nay, it was adding insult to injury (he said), for such an act was an honour usually paid to one who was dead! The citizens were in despair, and doubted if anything would satisfy him, short of proclaiming him king.614The king's death, 21 June, 1377.One of the last acts of Edward was to restore the Bishop of Winchester to the temporalities of which he had been deprived by the duke, and this restitution was made at the instance and by the influence of Alice Perers,615who within a few weeks robbed her dying paramour of his finger rings and fled.616

[pg 187]CHAPTER VIII.The king's unexpected return, 30 Nov., 1340.It was one of the conditions of the Flemish alliance, mentioned at the close of the last chapter, that the campaign of 1340 should open with the siege of Tournay, and it was with this object specially in view that Edward had set out from England. After his brilliant victory over the French fleet which opposed his passage Edward marched upon Tournay. Its siege, however, proved fruitless, and, disappointed and money-less, he slipt back again to England and made his appearance unexpectedly one morning at the Tower528(30 Nov.).Dismisses ministers and orders an enquiry as to collection of revenue.The justices at the Tower, March-April. 1341.The king attributed the failure of the war to the remissness of his ministers in sending money and supplies. Scarcely had he landed before he sent for the chancellor, the treasurer, and other ministers who were in London, and not only dismissed them from office, but ordered them each into separate confinement. John de Pulteney was one of those made to feel the king's anger, and he was relegated to the castle of Somerton, but as soon as Edward's irritability had passed off he and others obtained their freedom.529A searching enquiry was instituted in the spring of[pg 188]the following year (1341) as to the way in which the king's revenues had been collected in the city. Objection was raised to the judges holding their session within the city and they sat at the Tower. Great tumult prevailed, and the citizens refused to answer any questions until the judges had formally acknowledged the City's liberties. A special fund was raised for the purpose of defending the City's rights.530From the 5th March to the 17th March the justices sat, and then an adjournment was made until the 16th April. On resumption of the session another adjournment immediately took place owing to parliament sitting at Westminster, and when the judges should have again sat, the Iter was suddenly determined by order of the king.531The king showed much annoyance at the attitude taken up by the citizens, or at least by a certain portion of them, with respect to this enquiry, and endeavoured to procure the names of the ringleaders.532Failing in this, and not wishing to make an enemy of the city on which he largely depended for resources to carry out his military measures, he bestowed a general pardon on the citizens, and promised that no Iter should be held at the Tower for a period of seven years.533Charter to the city, dated 26 March, 1341.As a further mark of favour he granted to the City, soon after the abrupt termination of the Iter, a charter confirming previous charters; allowing the citizens in express terms to vary customs that might in course of time have become incapable of being put[pg 189]into practice, and declaring the city's liberties not subject to forfeiture through non-user.534The city called upon to furnish the king with 26 ships.In August (1341) the citizens met to consider the question of levying a sum of £2,000, of which 2,000 marks was due to certain citizens in part payment of the £5,000 lent to the king, and 1,000 marks was required for the discharge of the city's own debts. A certain number of aldermen and commoners were at the same time appointed to confer with the king's council touching the sending of ships of war beyond the seas. The result of the interview was made known to the citizens at a meeting held later on in the same month. A further grievous burden (vehemens onus) was to be laid upon them; they were called upon to provide no less than twenty-six ships, fully equipped and victualled at their own cost.535The king's expedition to Brittany, Oct., 1342.The ships were probably wanted for conveying forces over to Brittany under the command of Sir Walter de Maunay, in the following year. The king himself made an expedition to that country in October, 1342, having previously succeeded in borrowing the sum of £1,000 from the citizens. He had asked for £2,000, but was fain to be content with the lesser sum, security for repayment of which was demanded and granted.536A truce with France for three years.In March, 1343, Edward returned to England, having made a truce with France for three years.537He was beginning to learn the value of the English[pg 190]longbow and the cloth-yard shaft in the field of battle. Hitherto he, like others before him, had placed too much reliance on charges by knights on horseback. What the longbow could effect, under proper management, had been experienced at Falkirk in 1298. It had proved a failure at Bannockburn in 1314 through bad strategy, but at Halidon Hill twenty years later (1333) it was again effective. It was destined soon to work a complete reform in English warfare; and the yeoman and archer were to supersede the noble and knight. The London burgess and apprentice were especially apt with the weapon from constant practice in Finsbury fields. Edward realised the necessity of fostering the martial spirit of the Londoners, and on one occasion (January, 1344) invited the wives of the burgesses to witness a tournament at Windsor, where they were entertained right royally.538Renewal of the war in 1345.Before the expiration of the truce Edward was busy with preparations for a renewal of the war. Four hundred London archers were to be got ready by Midsummer of 1344, as the king was soon to cross the sea; and 100 men-at-arms and 200 horsemen were to be despatched to Portsmouth.539In 1345, a royal commission was issued for the seizure for the king's use of all vessels lying in the river.540A further contingent of 160 archers was ordered to Sandwich by Whitsuntide, and in August the city received another order for yet more archers.541In September, the king informed the mayor by letter that, owing to the defective[pg 191]state of his fleet and the prevalence of contrary winds, he had postponed setting sail for a short time; the civic authorities were to keep their men-at-arms and archers ready to set out the morrow after the receipt of orders to march.542Six months elapsed, during which the citizens were kept under arms waiting for orders, when, on the 18th March, 1346, another letter was sent by the king to the effect that he had now fully made up his mind to set sail from Portsmouth a fortnight after Easter. The men-at-arms, the horsemen, and the archers, were to be ready by a certain day on pain of losing life, limb, and property. On the 28th March, the archers mustered in "Totehull" or Tothill Fields, near Westminster.543Expedition to France sets sail, 10 July, 1346.The expedition did not actually sail from Portsmouth until the 10th July, the fleet numbering 1,000 vessels more or less.544Previous to his departure, Edward caused proclamation to be made in the city and elsewhere, to the effect that the assessments that had been made throughout the country for the purpose of equipping the expedition, should not be drawn into precedent.545News of the king's arrival and success in Normandy, 3 Aug.On the 3rd August the regent forwarded to the city a copy of a letter he had received from the king, giving an account of his passage to Normandy and of the capture of various towns, and among them of Caen. There he had discovered a document of no little importance. This was none other than an[pg 192]agreement made in 1338, whereby Normandy had bound itself to assist the king of France in his proposed invasion and conquest of England.546This document the king transmitted to England by the hands of the Earl of Huntingdon, who was returning invalided, and it was publicly read in St. Paul's Churchyard, with the view of stirring the citizens to fresh exertions in prosecuting the war. The king's own letter was also publicly read in the Husting by the regent's order.547The City was exhorted to have in readiness a force to succour the king, if need be. Every effort was made to raise money, and the regent did not hesitate to resort to depreciation of the coinage of the realm in order to help his father. The City made a free gift to the king of 1,000 marks and lent him 2,000 more.548The battle of Creçy, 26 Aug., 1346.On the 26th August the battle of Creçy was won against a force far outnumbering the English army. The victory was due in large measure to the superiority of the English longbow over the crossbow used by the Genoese mercenaries; but it was also a victory of foot soldiers over horsemen. The field of Bannockburn had shown how easy a thing it was for a body of horsemen to crush a body of archers, if allowed to take them in the flank, whilst that of Halidon Hill had more recently taught the king, from personal experience, that archers could turn the tide of battle against any direct attack, however violent. Edward profited by the experience of that day. He not only protected the flank of his archers, but interspersed among them dismounted horsemen with levelled[pg 193]spears, the result being that the French were driven off the field with terrible slaughter.Siege and surrender of Calais, 1346-1347.Flushed with victory Edward proceeded to lay siege to Calais. His forces, which had been already greatly reduced on the field of Creçy, suffered a further diminution by desertion. The mayor and sheriffs of London were ordered to seize all deserters, whether knights, esquires, or men of lower order, found in the city, and to take steps for furnishing the king with fresh recruits and store of victuals.549By Easter of the following year, the City was called upon to furnish two vessels towards a fleet of 120 large ships, which the council had decided to fit out. All ships found in the port of London were pressed into the king's service.550In July (1347) the king was in need of more recruits and provisions.551Calais still held out, although both besiegers and besieged were reduced to sore straits. At last it surrendered (4 Aug.). Edward spared the lives of its principal burgesses at the intercession of his queen, but he cleared the town of French inhabitants, and invited Londoners and others to take up their abode there, offering them houses at low rents and other inducements.552A truce with Philip was agreed on, and Edward returned home. For a time England was resplendent with the spoils of the French war—"A new sun seemed to shine," wrote Walsingham.553Every woman of position went gaily decked with some portion of the plunder of the[pg 194]town of Caen or Calais; cupboards shone with silver plate, and wardrobes were filled with foreign furs and rich drapery of continental workmanship. The golden era was of short duration.The Black Death, 1348-1349.In August, 1348, the pestilential scourge, known as the Black Death,554appeared in England, and reached London in the following November. The number of victims it carried off in the city has been variously computed,555but all conjectures of the kind must be received with caution. All that is known for certain is that the mortality caused a marked increase in the number of beggars, and, at the same time, raised the price of labour and provisions within the city's walls to such a degree that measures had to be taken to remedy both evils.556Besides the losses by death, the population of the city and the country generally was sensibly diminished by the flight of numbers of inhabitants to the continent, with the hope of escaping the ravages of the plague. The king's treasury threatened soon to become empty, and the country left defenceless, if this were allowed to go on unchecked; he therefore ordered the sheriffs of London to see that no men-at-arms, strangers or otherwise, left[pg 195]the kingdom, with the exception of well-known merchants or ambassadors, without the king's special order.557Pilgrimages to Rome or elsewhere were made an excuse for leaving England, at a time when the king's subjects could ill be spared. The king endeavoured to limit this drain upon the population of the kingdom by allowing none to cross the sea without his special licence. The city authorities having negligently executed his orders in this respect, received a rebuke in October, 1350, and were told to be more strict in their observance for the future.558A fresh truce with France, commencing 13 June, 1350.On the night which ushered in New Year's day, 1350, an abortive attempt had been made by the French to recapture Calais. This ill success rendered Philip the more willing to agree to a further prolongation of the truce with England. Notification of this cessation of hostilities was duly sent to the sheriffs of London.559Before the truce had come to an end Philip of Valois had ceased to live, and had been succeeded on the throne of France by John II.Measures taken for the suppression of piracy, July, 1350.The city had scarcely recovered from the ravages of the late pestilence, before it was called upon (24 July, 1350) to furnish two ships to assist the king in putting down piracy. These were accordingly fitted out; the ship of Andrew Turk being furnished with 40 men-at-arms and 60 archers, whilst that of Goscelin de Cleve had on board 30 men-at-arms and 40 archers.560With their aid, Edward succeeded in utterly defeating a Spanish fleet which had recently inflicted much damage on the Bordeaux wine fleet,[pg 196]and capturing 24 large ships laden with rich merchandise.561The citizens had further to submit to a tax on wool and wine, in order to maintain the king's vessels engaged in putting down piracy.562Charter relative to the City's gold mace, 10 June, 1354.In 1354 an exception was made by special charter of the king in favour of the City of London, and its sergeants were permitted to carry maces of gold or silver, or plated with silver, and bearing the royal arms. Ten years before the commons of England had petitioned the king (inter alia) not to allow any one to carry maces tipped with silver in city or borough, except the king's own officers. All others were to carry maces tipped with copper only (virolez de cuevere), with staves of wood as formerly. The petition was granted saving that the sergeants of the City of London might carry their mace within the liberties of the city and before the mayor in the king's presence.563This same year (1354), moreover, the king with the assent of parliament had again forbidden the carrying of gold or silver maces. Thenceforth, maces were to be of iron, brass or tin, or staves tipped with latten, and not to bear representations of the royal arms, but the arms or signs of the city using them. Again exception was made in the case of London; two sergeants of the City as well as of the City of York being permitted to carry gold or silver maces, but they were not to be surmounted with the royal arms. This led to a humble remonstrance from the whole body of the citizens of London, presented to the chancellor and[pg 197]the council by their mayor, Adam Fraunceys, and within a month the charter above mentioned was granted. That the charter originated or authorized the title of "Lord" Mayor, as some have supposed, is extremely improbable.Renewal of war with France, 1355.In 1355, all efforts to convert the truce into a final peace having failed, war with France was renewed. Edward was soon called home by fresh troubles in Scotland. Having recovered Berwick, which had been taken by surprise, and formally received the crown of Scotland from Edward Baliol, he prepared to rejoin his son, the Black Prince, in France, and in March, 1356, ordered the city to furnish him with two vessels of war.564Battle of Poitiers, 19 Sept., 1356News of the battle of Poitiers (19 September, 1356), and of the defeat and capture of the French king, was received in the city by letter from the Prince of Wales, dated 22nd October.565Again the English longbow, combined with superior tactics, gained the day. The prince, on his return, made a triumphal entry into the city, passing over London Bridge on his way to Westminster, with the captive king and the king's son in his train.566The streets were almost impassable for the multitude that thronged them; and for the moment the citizens forgot at what cost to themselves the victory had been gained. A truce—a welcome truce—for two years followed.567[pg 198]Grievances of the city laid before the king.Only a few weeks before the prince's return the citizens had laid before the king a list of their grievances and prayed for redress.568They had complained of being charged taxes and talliages in excess of any other of the commons. They had lent the king at Dordrecht no less a sum than £60,000, and had incurred further loss by the discrepancy between the weight for weighing wool at Dordrecht and that of England. They had lent the king further sums of £5,000 and £2,000 on two separate occasions, which had not been repaid. The sum of £40,000 had been advanced to the king's merchants at Calais and elsewhere, and this, together with other sums lent (amounting to over £30,000), was still outstanding to the grievous hurt of many citizens. They had, moreover, been called upon to undergo more charges than others with respect to the king's expeditions to Scotland, Flanders and France, and in providing men-at-arms, archers and ships, in aid of his wars. Nor did their complaints stop here. The king's purveyors had been accustomed to seize the carriages, victuals and merchandise of citizens without offering payment for the same, in direct contravention of the king's first charter to the city. Owing, moreover, to deaths by the plague, so much property had come into mortmain that the city had become impoverished, and one-third part of it rendered void of inhabitants. These points they had desired the king to consider, inasmuch as the city had always been loyal and peaceful, setting an example to the whole country. The petition wound up with the usual complaint against the privileges allowed foreign merchants, and a request[pg 199]that the king would grant them letters patent under the great seal, such as they might show to the purveyors whenever they attempted to take anything without payment.569Edward's last invasion of France, 1359-1360.After the expiration of the truce Edward again set out for France. That country, however, had suffered so much during the last two years at the hands of freebooters, that Edward experienced the greatest difficulty in finding sufficient provisions for his army. Whilst he was traversing France in search of a force with which to try conclusions in the field, a Norman fleet swept down upon the south coast and sacked Winchelsea. The news of this disaster so incensed the king that he determined to march direct on Paris. The Londoners, in the meantime, assisted in fitting out a fleet of eighty vessels, manned with 14,000 men, including archers, in order to wipe out this disgrace, but the enemy contrived to make good their escape.570The peace of Bretigny, 1360.At length Edward was induced to accede to the terms offered by France, and the peace of Bretigny was concluded (8th May, 1360). The terms were very favourable to England, although Edward consented to abandon all claim to the French crown. King John was to be ransomed, but the price set on his release was so high that some years elapsed before the money could be raised, and then only with the assistance of a few of the livery companies of the city,[pg 200]which showed their sympathy with the captured king by contributing to the fund being raised for the purpose of restoring him to liberty.571It was John's high sense of honour that kept him in captivity in England until his death in 1364. He had in fact been liberated and allowed to return to France soon after the conclusion of peace, on payment of part of his ransom, hostages being accepted for payment of the remainder. In 1363 one of the hostages broke his pledge and fled, and John, shocked at such perfidy, returned Regulus-like to England. Hence it was that he appears as one of the four kings whom Picard, the mayor, entertained that same year at a banquet, followed by play at dice and hazard.572England at peace, 1360-1369.The citizens now enjoyed a period of leisure which they were not slow to turn to account. The years which followed the peace of Bretigny, until war broke out afresh in 1369, witnessed the re-organisation of many of the trade and craft guilds. Some of these, like the Goldsmiths, the Tailors or Linen-Armourers, and the Skinners, had already obtained charters from Edward soon after his accession, so had also the Fishmongers, although the earliest extant charter of the company is dated 1363. The Vintners date their chartered rights from the same year; the Drapers from 1364; whilst the more ancient company of Weavers obtained a confirmation of their privileges in 1365.[pg 201]Minor guilds, like the Founders, the Plumbers, the Fullers and others, had to content themselves with the recognition of their ordinances by the civic authorities alone between 1364 and 1369.The king's favour was purchased in 1363 by a gift of nearly £500, to which the livery companies largely contributed.573The amount of each subscription varied from half-a-mark to £40, the latter sum being contributed by the Mercers, the Fishmongers, the Drapers, and the Skinners respectively. The Tailors subscribed half that amount, being outdone by the Vintners, who contributed £33 6s.8d.The renewal of the war, 1369.With the renewal of the war, a change comes over the pages of the City's annals. The London bachelor and apprentice is drawn off from his football and hockey, with which he had beguiled his leisure hours, and bidden to devote himself to the more useful pursuits of shooting with arrow or bolt on high days and holidays.574Once more we meet with schedules of men-at-arms and archers provided by the City for service abroad, and of assessments made on the City's wards to pay for them.575Every inducement in the shape of plunder was held out to volunteers for enlistment, and public proclamation was made to the effect that the spoils of France should belong to the captors themselves.576City loans, 1370-1371.It was an easier matter for the City to provide the king with money than men. In 1370 it advanced a[pg 202]sum of £5,000,577and in the following year a further sum of £4,000, and more was subscribed by the wealthier citizens, among whom were William Walworth, who contributed over £200, Adam Fraunceys, Simon de Mordon, and others.578New form of taxation, 1371.Still the expenses of the war exceeded the supply of money, and resort was had to a new form of taxation, by which it was hoped that a sum of £50,000 might be realised. By order of parliament, made in March, 1371, the sum of 22s.3d.was to be levied on every parish in the kingdom, the number of parishes being reckoned as amounting to 40,000. It soon became apparent that the number of existing parishes throughout the country had been grossly miscalculated. There were not more than 9,000, and the amount of assessment had to be proportionately raised. It was necessary to summon a council at Westminster in June, to remedy the miscalculation that had been made in March. Half of the representatives of the late parliament were summoned to meet the king, and among them two of the city's members, Bartholomew Frestlyng and John Philipot—"the first Englishman who has left behind him the reputation of a financier."579The mistake was rectified, the charge of 22s.3d.was raised to 116s.and the city was called upon to raise over £600.580In the meantime the civic authorities had, in answer to the king's writ,581prepared a return of the[pg 203]number of parish churches, chapels and prebends within the city.582It was found that within the city and suburbs there were 106 parish churches583and thirty prebends, but only two of the latter were within the liberties. There was also the free chapel of St. Martin's-le-Grand, which embraced eleven prebends, all within the liberty of the city, and there were, moreover, two other chapels within the liberty. Besides these (the return stated) there were none other.The city as an ecclesiastical centre.The bare fact that there existed over 100 parishes, each with its parish church, within so small an area as that covered by the city and its suburbs, is of itself sufficient to remind us that, besides having a municipal and commercial history, the city also possesses an ecclesiastical. The church of St. Paul, the largest foundation in the city, with its resident canons exercising magnificent hospitality, was a centre to which London looked as a mother, although it was not strictly speaking the metropolitan cathedral. That title properly applies to the Minster at Canterbury; but the church of Canterbury being in the hands of a monastic chapter left St. Paul's at the head of the secular clergy of southern England.584Besides the hundred and more churches there were monastic establishments and colleges which covered a good fourth part of the whole city. The collegiate church of St. Martin's-le-Grand almost rivalled its neighbour the[pg 204]cathedral church itself in the area of its precinct. The houses of the Black Friars and Grey Friars in the west were only equalled by those belonging to the Augustine and Crossed Friars towards the east; while the Priory of St. Bartholomew found a counterpart in the Priory of Holy Trinity. The church was everywhere and ruled everything, and its influence manifests itself nowhere more strongly than in the number of ecclesiastical topics which fill the pages of early chronicles in connection with London.585The prosecution of the war, 1371-1375.The war brought little credit or advantage in return for outlay. In January, 1371, the Black Prince had returned to England with the glory of former achievements sullied by his massacre at Limoges, and the City of London had made him a present of valuable plate.586The conduct of the war was transferred to his eldest surviving brother, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. In 1372 the king himself set out with the flower of the English nobility, and accompanied by a band of London archers and crossbow men.587The expedition, which had for its object the relief of Rochelle, and which is said to have cost no less than £900,000, proved disastrous, and Edward returned after a brief absence.588In 1373 the city furnished him with a transport barge called "The Paul of London." The barge when it left London for Southampton was fully supplied with rigging and tackle; nevertheless, on its arrival at the latter port, it was found to be so deficient in equipment that it[pg 205]could not proceed to sea. The only explanation that the master of the barge could give of the matter was that a certain number of anchors and cables had been lost on the voyage. The City paid twenty marks to make up the defects.589The year was marked by a campaign under Lancaster which ended in the utmost disaster. The French avoided a general action; the English soldiers deserted, and as the winter came on the troops perished from cold, hunger and disease. By 1374 the French had recovered nearly all of their former possessions. England was tired of the war and of the ceaseless expenditure it involved. It was with no little joy that the Londoners heard, in July, 1375,590that peace had been concluded.Charges against city aldermen, 1376.In April, 1376, a parliament met, known as the Good Parliament,591and before granting supply it demanded an account of former receipts and expenditure. No less than three city aldermen were charged with malversation. Richard Lyons, of Broad Street ward, was convicted with Lord Latimer of embezzling the king's revenue, and sentenced to imprisonment and forfeiture of goods.592Adam de Bury, of Langbourn ward, who had twice served the office of mayor, was charged with appropriating money subscribed for the ransom of the French king and fled to Flanders to avoid trial;593whilst John Pecche of Walbrook ward[pg 206]was convicted of an extortionate exercise of a monopoly of sweet wines and his patent annulled. All three aldermen were deposed from their aldermanries by order of an assembly of citizens composed of representatives from the various guilds and not from the wards.594A new system of election by the guilds, instead of the wards, introduced, 1376.The guilds, indeed, were now claiming a more direct participation in the government of the city than they had hitherto enjoyed, and their claim had given rise to so much commotion that the king himself threatened to interpose.595The threat was not liked, and the citizens hastened to assure him that no disturbance had occurred in the city beyond what proceeded from reasonable debate on an open question, and that to prevent the noise and tumult arising from large assemblies, they had unanimously decided that in future the Common Council should be chosen from the guilds and not otherwise.596This reply was sent to the king by the hands of two aldermen—William Walworth and Nicholas Brembre—and six commoners, and the following day (2 August) the king sent another letter accepting the explanation that had been offered, and expressing a hope that the city would be so governed as not to require his personal intervention.597Not only was the common council to be selected in future by the guilds, but the guilds were also to elect the mayor and the sheriffs. The aldermen and the[pg 207]commons were to meet together at least once a quarter,598and no member of the common council was to serve on inquests, nor be appointed collector or assessor of a talliage. This last provision may have been due to the recent discoveries of malversation, but, however that may be, it was found to work so well that it was more than once re-enacted.599These changes in the internal administration of the city were avowedly made by virtue of Edward's charter, which specifically gave the citizens a right to remedy hard or defective customs.600The old system of election by wards reverted to in 1384.The power of the guilds in the matter of elections to the common council was not of long duration. Before ten years had elapsed representation was made that the new system had been forced on the citizens, and in 1384 it was resolved to revert to the old system of election by and from the wards.601Proceedings against Alice Perers, the king's mistress, 1376.Encouraged by the success which had so far attended their efforts of reform, the good parliament next attacked Alice Perers, the king's mistress. Of humble origin, and not even possessing the quality of good looks, this lady, for whom the mediæval chroniclers have scarcely a good word to say,602nevertheless gained so complete a mastery over the king as to favour the popular belief that she indulged in magic. At length her barefaced interference in public affairs[pg 208]led to an award against her of banishment and forfeiture. Upon the dissolution of the good parliament (6 July, 1376), and the meeting of a new parliament, elected under the direct influence of the Earl of Lancaster, who once more gained the upper hand now that the Black Prince was dead, Alice Perers was allowed to return.603She was again in disgrace soon after Richard's accession, when her property, much of which consisted of real estate in the City,604became escheated, and the citizens of London were promised redress for any harm she might have done them.605She was afterwards married to Sir William de Windsor, who, in 1376, had got himself into trouble over a disturbance in Whitefriars606—a quarter of the city which, under the name of Alsatia, became afterwards notorious for riots, and as the resort of bad characters. Towards the close of 1379 her sentence of banishment, never strictly enforced, was revoked and pardon extended to her and her husband.607Charter forbidding free trade to merchant strangers, 4 Dec., 1376.In December, 1376, the citizens obtained a charter from the king, with the assent of parliament, granting that no strangers (i.e.non-freemen) should thenceforth be allowed to sell by retail within the city and suburbs. This had always been considered a grievance, ever since free trade had been granted to merchant strangers by the parliament held at York in 1335.Hostility between the City and Lancaster.The last year of Edward's reign was one of serious opposition between the City and the selfish and unprincipled[pg 209]Lancaster. In so far as the duke, with the assistance of Wycliffe, meditated a reform among the higher clergy, he might, if he would, have had the city with him. The citizens, like the great reformer himself, were opposed to the practice of the clergy heaping up riches and intermeddling with political matters. The duke, however, went out of his way to hurt the feelings of the citizens, by proposing to abolish the mayoralty and otherwise encroach upon their liberties.608Not content with this he took the occasion when Wycliffe was summoned to appear at St. Paul's (19 Feb., 1377), to offer violence to Courtenay, their bishop. This so incensed the citizens that the meeting broke up in confusion. The next day the mob, now thoroughly roused, hastened to the Savoy where the duke resided. He happened, however, to be dining in the city at the time, with a certain John de Ypre. The company had scarcely sat down to their oysters before a soldier knocked at the door and warned them of the danger. They forthwith jumped up from the table, the duke barking his shins (we are told) in so doing, and, making their way to the riverside, took boat for Kennington, where the duke sought protection in the house of the Princess of Wales. Thanks to the intervention of the bishop, who appeared on the scene, the mob did but little serious harm, beyond ill-using a priest and some of the duke's retainers whom they happened to come across.609[pg 210]Interview between the king and the citizens to explain matters.The civic authorities were naturally anxious as to what the king might say and do in consequence of the outbreak, and desired an interview in order to explain matters. Lancaster was opposed to any such interview taking place. The London mob had seized upon an escutcheon of the duke, displayed in some public thoroughfare, and had reversed it by way of signifying that it was the escutcheon of a traitor.610This had particularly raised his anger. Nevertheless, in spite of his efforts to prevent it, an interview was accorded to a deputation from the city, of which John Philipot acted as spokesman. After drawing the king's attention to the threatened attack on the privileges of the city, and the proposed substitution of a "captain" for a mayor, Philipot offered an apology for the late riot. It had taken place, he said, without the cognisance of the civic authorities. Among a large population there were sure to be some bad characters whom it was difficult to restrain, even by the authority of the mayor, when once excited. A mob acted after the manner of a tornado, flying hither and thither, bent on committing havoc at anybody's expense, even its own, but, thank God! the duke had suffered no harm nor had any of his retinue been hurt. The king having listened to the deputation, assured them in reply, that so far from wishing to lessen the privileges of the city, he had a mind to enlarge them. They were not to alarm themselves, but to go home and endeavour to preserve peace. On leaving the presence the deputation met the duke, with whom they interchanged courtesies.611In the meanwhile lampoons on the duke were posted in the city. The duke became[pg 211]furious and demanded the excommunication of the authors. The bishops hesitated through fear of the mob, but at last the Bishop of Bangor was induced by representations made to him by leading citizens, who wished it to be known that they did not approve of such libels, to execute the duke's wishes.612Another interview with the king at Shene.The duke was determined to have his revenge, and again the citizens were summoned to appear before the king, who was lying at Shene. This time they did not get off so easily. The mayor, Adam Stable, was removed, and Nicholas Brembre appointed in his place. A fresh election of aldermen took place,613and the City did penance for the recent insult to the duke's escutcheon by offering, at the king's confidential suggestion, a wax taper bearing the duke's arms in St. Paul's. Even that did not satisfy him; nay, it was adding insult to injury (he said), for such an act was an honour usually paid to one who was dead! The citizens were in despair, and doubted if anything would satisfy him, short of proclaiming him king.614The king's death, 21 June, 1377.One of the last acts of Edward was to restore the Bishop of Winchester to the temporalities of which he had been deprived by the duke, and this restitution was made at the instance and by the influence of Alice Perers,615who within a few weeks robbed her dying paramour of his finger rings and fled.616

The king's unexpected return, 30 Nov., 1340.It was one of the conditions of the Flemish alliance, mentioned at the close of the last chapter, that the campaign of 1340 should open with the siege of Tournay, and it was with this object specially in view that Edward had set out from England. After his brilliant victory over the French fleet which opposed his passage Edward marched upon Tournay. Its siege, however, proved fruitless, and, disappointed and money-less, he slipt back again to England and made his appearance unexpectedly one morning at the Tower528(30 Nov.).Dismisses ministers and orders an enquiry as to collection of revenue.The justices at the Tower, March-April. 1341.The king attributed the failure of the war to the remissness of his ministers in sending money and supplies. Scarcely had he landed before he sent for the chancellor, the treasurer, and other ministers who were in London, and not only dismissed them from office, but ordered them each into separate confinement. John de Pulteney was one of those made to feel the king's anger, and he was relegated to the castle of Somerton, but as soon as Edward's irritability had passed off he and others obtained their freedom.529A searching enquiry was instituted in the spring of[pg 188]the following year (1341) as to the way in which the king's revenues had been collected in the city. Objection was raised to the judges holding their session within the city and they sat at the Tower. Great tumult prevailed, and the citizens refused to answer any questions until the judges had formally acknowledged the City's liberties. A special fund was raised for the purpose of defending the City's rights.530From the 5th March to the 17th March the justices sat, and then an adjournment was made until the 16th April. On resumption of the session another adjournment immediately took place owing to parliament sitting at Westminster, and when the judges should have again sat, the Iter was suddenly determined by order of the king.531The king showed much annoyance at the attitude taken up by the citizens, or at least by a certain portion of them, with respect to this enquiry, and endeavoured to procure the names of the ringleaders.532Failing in this, and not wishing to make an enemy of the city on which he largely depended for resources to carry out his military measures, he bestowed a general pardon on the citizens, and promised that no Iter should be held at the Tower for a period of seven years.533Charter to the city, dated 26 March, 1341.As a further mark of favour he granted to the City, soon after the abrupt termination of the Iter, a charter confirming previous charters; allowing the citizens in express terms to vary customs that might in course of time have become incapable of being put[pg 189]into practice, and declaring the city's liberties not subject to forfeiture through non-user.534The city called upon to furnish the king with 26 ships.In August (1341) the citizens met to consider the question of levying a sum of £2,000, of which 2,000 marks was due to certain citizens in part payment of the £5,000 lent to the king, and 1,000 marks was required for the discharge of the city's own debts. A certain number of aldermen and commoners were at the same time appointed to confer with the king's council touching the sending of ships of war beyond the seas. The result of the interview was made known to the citizens at a meeting held later on in the same month. A further grievous burden (vehemens onus) was to be laid upon them; they were called upon to provide no less than twenty-six ships, fully equipped and victualled at their own cost.535The king's expedition to Brittany, Oct., 1342.The ships were probably wanted for conveying forces over to Brittany under the command of Sir Walter de Maunay, in the following year. The king himself made an expedition to that country in October, 1342, having previously succeeded in borrowing the sum of £1,000 from the citizens. He had asked for £2,000, but was fain to be content with the lesser sum, security for repayment of which was demanded and granted.536A truce with France for three years.In March, 1343, Edward returned to England, having made a truce with France for three years.537He was beginning to learn the value of the English[pg 190]longbow and the cloth-yard shaft in the field of battle. Hitherto he, like others before him, had placed too much reliance on charges by knights on horseback. What the longbow could effect, under proper management, had been experienced at Falkirk in 1298. It had proved a failure at Bannockburn in 1314 through bad strategy, but at Halidon Hill twenty years later (1333) it was again effective. It was destined soon to work a complete reform in English warfare; and the yeoman and archer were to supersede the noble and knight. The London burgess and apprentice were especially apt with the weapon from constant practice in Finsbury fields. Edward realised the necessity of fostering the martial spirit of the Londoners, and on one occasion (January, 1344) invited the wives of the burgesses to witness a tournament at Windsor, where they were entertained right royally.538Renewal of the war in 1345.Before the expiration of the truce Edward was busy with preparations for a renewal of the war. Four hundred London archers were to be got ready by Midsummer of 1344, as the king was soon to cross the sea; and 100 men-at-arms and 200 horsemen were to be despatched to Portsmouth.539In 1345, a royal commission was issued for the seizure for the king's use of all vessels lying in the river.540A further contingent of 160 archers was ordered to Sandwich by Whitsuntide, and in August the city received another order for yet more archers.541In September, the king informed the mayor by letter that, owing to the defective[pg 191]state of his fleet and the prevalence of contrary winds, he had postponed setting sail for a short time; the civic authorities were to keep their men-at-arms and archers ready to set out the morrow after the receipt of orders to march.542Six months elapsed, during which the citizens were kept under arms waiting for orders, when, on the 18th March, 1346, another letter was sent by the king to the effect that he had now fully made up his mind to set sail from Portsmouth a fortnight after Easter. The men-at-arms, the horsemen, and the archers, were to be ready by a certain day on pain of losing life, limb, and property. On the 28th March, the archers mustered in "Totehull" or Tothill Fields, near Westminster.543Expedition to France sets sail, 10 July, 1346.The expedition did not actually sail from Portsmouth until the 10th July, the fleet numbering 1,000 vessels more or less.544Previous to his departure, Edward caused proclamation to be made in the city and elsewhere, to the effect that the assessments that had been made throughout the country for the purpose of equipping the expedition, should not be drawn into precedent.545News of the king's arrival and success in Normandy, 3 Aug.On the 3rd August the regent forwarded to the city a copy of a letter he had received from the king, giving an account of his passage to Normandy and of the capture of various towns, and among them of Caen. There he had discovered a document of no little importance. This was none other than an[pg 192]agreement made in 1338, whereby Normandy had bound itself to assist the king of France in his proposed invasion and conquest of England.546This document the king transmitted to England by the hands of the Earl of Huntingdon, who was returning invalided, and it was publicly read in St. Paul's Churchyard, with the view of stirring the citizens to fresh exertions in prosecuting the war. The king's own letter was also publicly read in the Husting by the regent's order.547The City was exhorted to have in readiness a force to succour the king, if need be. Every effort was made to raise money, and the regent did not hesitate to resort to depreciation of the coinage of the realm in order to help his father. The City made a free gift to the king of 1,000 marks and lent him 2,000 more.548The battle of Creçy, 26 Aug., 1346.On the 26th August the battle of Creçy was won against a force far outnumbering the English army. The victory was due in large measure to the superiority of the English longbow over the crossbow used by the Genoese mercenaries; but it was also a victory of foot soldiers over horsemen. The field of Bannockburn had shown how easy a thing it was for a body of horsemen to crush a body of archers, if allowed to take them in the flank, whilst that of Halidon Hill had more recently taught the king, from personal experience, that archers could turn the tide of battle against any direct attack, however violent. Edward profited by the experience of that day. He not only protected the flank of his archers, but interspersed among them dismounted horsemen with levelled[pg 193]spears, the result being that the French were driven off the field with terrible slaughter.Siege and surrender of Calais, 1346-1347.Flushed with victory Edward proceeded to lay siege to Calais. His forces, which had been already greatly reduced on the field of Creçy, suffered a further diminution by desertion. The mayor and sheriffs of London were ordered to seize all deserters, whether knights, esquires, or men of lower order, found in the city, and to take steps for furnishing the king with fresh recruits and store of victuals.549By Easter of the following year, the City was called upon to furnish two vessels towards a fleet of 120 large ships, which the council had decided to fit out. All ships found in the port of London were pressed into the king's service.550In July (1347) the king was in need of more recruits and provisions.551Calais still held out, although both besiegers and besieged were reduced to sore straits. At last it surrendered (4 Aug.). Edward spared the lives of its principal burgesses at the intercession of his queen, but he cleared the town of French inhabitants, and invited Londoners and others to take up their abode there, offering them houses at low rents and other inducements.552A truce with Philip was agreed on, and Edward returned home. For a time England was resplendent with the spoils of the French war—"A new sun seemed to shine," wrote Walsingham.553Every woman of position went gaily decked with some portion of the plunder of the[pg 194]town of Caen or Calais; cupboards shone with silver plate, and wardrobes were filled with foreign furs and rich drapery of continental workmanship. The golden era was of short duration.The Black Death, 1348-1349.In August, 1348, the pestilential scourge, known as the Black Death,554appeared in England, and reached London in the following November. The number of victims it carried off in the city has been variously computed,555but all conjectures of the kind must be received with caution. All that is known for certain is that the mortality caused a marked increase in the number of beggars, and, at the same time, raised the price of labour and provisions within the city's walls to such a degree that measures had to be taken to remedy both evils.556Besides the losses by death, the population of the city and the country generally was sensibly diminished by the flight of numbers of inhabitants to the continent, with the hope of escaping the ravages of the plague. The king's treasury threatened soon to become empty, and the country left defenceless, if this were allowed to go on unchecked; he therefore ordered the sheriffs of London to see that no men-at-arms, strangers or otherwise, left[pg 195]the kingdom, with the exception of well-known merchants or ambassadors, without the king's special order.557Pilgrimages to Rome or elsewhere were made an excuse for leaving England, at a time when the king's subjects could ill be spared. The king endeavoured to limit this drain upon the population of the kingdom by allowing none to cross the sea without his special licence. The city authorities having negligently executed his orders in this respect, received a rebuke in October, 1350, and were told to be more strict in their observance for the future.558A fresh truce with France, commencing 13 June, 1350.On the night which ushered in New Year's day, 1350, an abortive attempt had been made by the French to recapture Calais. This ill success rendered Philip the more willing to agree to a further prolongation of the truce with England. Notification of this cessation of hostilities was duly sent to the sheriffs of London.559Before the truce had come to an end Philip of Valois had ceased to live, and had been succeeded on the throne of France by John II.Measures taken for the suppression of piracy, July, 1350.The city had scarcely recovered from the ravages of the late pestilence, before it was called upon (24 July, 1350) to furnish two ships to assist the king in putting down piracy. These were accordingly fitted out; the ship of Andrew Turk being furnished with 40 men-at-arms and 60 archers, whilst that of Goscelin de Cleve had on board 30 men-at-arms and 40 archers.560With their aid, Edward succeeded in utterly defeating a Spanish fleet which had recently inflicted much damage on the Bordeaux wine fleet,[pg 196]and capturing 24 large ships laden with rich merchandise.561The citizens had further to submit to a tax on wool and wine, in order to maintain the king's vessels engaged in putting down piracy.562Charter relative to the City's gold mace, 10 June, 1354.In 1354 an exception was made by special charter of the king in favour of the City of London, and its sergeants were permitted to carry maces of gold or silver, or plated with silver, and bearing the royal arms. Ten years before the commons of England had petitioned the king (inter alia) not to allow any one to carry maces tipped with silver in city or borough, except the king's own officers. All others were to carry maces tipped with copper only (virolez de cuevere), with staves of wood as formerly. The petition was granted saving that the sergeants of the City of London might carry their mace within the liberties of the city and before the mayor in the king's presence.563This same year (1354), moreover, the king with the assent of parliament had again forbidden the carrying of gold or silver maces. Thenceforth, maces were to be of iron, brass or tin, or staves tipped with latten, and not to bear representations of the royal arms, but the arms or signs of the city using them. Again exception was made in the case of London; two sergeants of the City as well as of the City of York being permitted to carry gold or silver maces, but they were not to be surmounted with the royal arms. This led to a humble remonstrance from the whole body of the citizens of London, presented to the chancellor and[pg 197]the council by their mayor, Adam Fraunceys, and within a month the charter above mentioned was granted. That the charter originated or authorized the title of "Lord" Mayor, as some have supposed, is extremely improbable.Renewal of war with France, 1355.In 1355, all efforts to convert the truce into a final peace having failed, war with France was renewed. Edward was soon called home by fresh troubles in Scotland. Having recovered Berwick, which had been taken by surprise, and formally received the crown of Scotland from Edward Baliol, he prepared to rejoin his son, the Black Prince, in France, and in March, 1356, ordered the city to furnish him with two vessels of war.564Battle of Poitiers, 19 Sept., 1356News of the battle of Poitiers (19 September, 1356), and of the defeat and capture of the French king, was received in the city by letter from the Prince of Wales, dated 22nd October.565Again the English longbow, combined with superior tactics, gained the day. The prince, on his return, made a triumphal entry into the city, passing over London Bridge on his way to Westminster, with the captive king and the king's son in his train.566The streets were almost impassable for the multitude that thronged them; and for the moment the citizens forgot at what cost to themselves the victory had been gained. A truce—a welcome truce—for two years followed.567[pg 198]Grievances of the city laid before the king.Only a few weeks before the prince's return the citizens had laid before the king a list of their grievances and prayed for redress.568They had complained of being charged taxes and talliages in excess of any other of the commons. They had lent the king at Dordrecht no less a sum than £60,000, and had incurred further loss by the discrepancy between the weight for weighing wool at Dordrecht and that of England. They had lent the king further sums of £5,000 and £2,000 on two separate occasions, which had not been repaid. The sum of £40,000 had been advanced to the king's merchants at Calais and elsewhere, and this, together with other sums lent (amounting to over £30,000), was still outstanding to the grievous hurt of many citizens. They had, moreover, been called upon to undergo more charges than others with respect to the king's expeditions to Scotland, Flanders and France, and in providing men-at-arms, archers and ships, in aid of his wars. Nor did their complaints stop here. The king's purveyors had been accustomed to seize the carriages, victuals and merchandise of citizens without offering payment for the same, in direct contravention of the king's first charter to the city. Owing, moreover, to deaths by the plague, so much property had come into mortmain that the city had become impoverished, and one-third part of it rendered void of inhabitants. These points they had desired the king to consider, inasmuch as the city had always been loyal and peaceful, setting an example to the whole country. The petition wound up with the usual complaint against the privileges allowed foreign merchants, and a request[pg 199]that the king would grant them letters patent under the great seal, such as they might show to the purveyors whenever they attempted to take anything without payment.569Edward's last invasion of France, 1359-1360.After the expiration of the truce Edward again set out for France. That country, however, had suffered so much during the last two years at the hands of freebooters, that Edward experienced the greatest difficulty in finding sufficient provisions for his army. Whilst he was traversing France in search of a force with which to try conclusions in the field, a Norman fleet swept down upon the south coast and sacked Winchelsea. The news of this disaster so incensed the king that he determined to march direct on Paris. The Londoners, in the meantime, assisted in fitting out a fleet of eighty vessels, manned with 14,000 men, including archers, in order to wipe out this disgrace, but the enemy contrived to make good their escape.570The peace of Bretigny, 1360.At length Edward was induced to accede to the terms offered by France, and the peace of Bretigny was concluded (8th May, 1360). The terms were very favourable to England, although Edward consented to abandon all claim to the French crown. King John was to be ransomed, but the price set on his release was so high that some years elapsed before the money could be raised, and then only with the assistance of a few of the livery companies of the city,[pg 200]which showed their sympathy with the captured king by contributing to the fund being raised for the purpose of restoring him to liberty.571It was John's high sense of honour that kept him in captivity in England until his death in 1364. He had in fact been liberated and allowed to return to France soon after the conclusion of peace, on payment of part of his ransom, hostages being accepted for payment of the remainder. In 1363 one of the hostages broke his pledge and fled, and John, shocked at such perfidy, returned Regulus-like to England. Hence it was that he appears as one of the four kings whom Picard, the mayor, entertained that same year at a banquet, followed by play at dice and hazard.572England at peace, 1360-1369.The citizens now enjoyed a period of leisure which they were not slow to turn to account. The years which followed the peace of Bretigny, until war broke out afresh in 1369, witnessed the re-organisation of many of the trade and craft guilds. Some of these, like the Goldsmiths, the Tailors or Linen-Armourers, and the Skinners, had already obtained charters from Edward soon after his accession, so had also the Fishmongers, although the earliest extant charter of the company is dated 1363. The Vintners date their chartered rights from the same year; the Drapers from 1364; whilst the more ancient company of Weavers obtained a confirmation of their privileges in 1365.[pg 201]Minor guilds, like the Founders, the Plumbers, the Fullers and others, had to content themselves with the recognition of their ordinances by the civic authorities alone between 1364 and 1369.The king's favour was purchased in 1363 by a gift of nearly £500, to which the livery companies largely contributed.573The amount of each subscription varied from half-a-mark to £40, the latter sum being contributed by the Mercers, the Fishmongers, the Drapers, and the Skinners respectively. The Tailors subscribed half that amount, being outdone by the Vintners, who contributed £33 6s.8d.The renewal of the war, 1369.With the renewal of the war, a change comes over the pages of the City's annals. The London bachelor and apprentice is drawn off from his football and hockey, with which he had beguiled his leisure hours, and bidden to devote himself to the more useful pursuits of shooting with arrow or bolt on high days and holidays.574Once more we meet with schedules of men-at-arms and archers provided by the City for service abroad, and of assessments made on the City's wards to pay for them.575Every inducement in the shape of plunder was held out to volunteers for enlistment, and public proclamation was made to the effect that the spoils of France should belong to the captors themselves.576City loans, 1370-1371.It was an easier matter for the City to provide the king with money than men. In 1370 it advanced a[pg 202]sum of £5,000,577and in the following year a further sum of £4,000, and more was subscribed by the wealthier citizens, among whom were William Walworth, who contributed over £200, Adam Fraunceys, Simon de Mordon, and others.578New form of taxation, 1371.Still the expenses of the war exceeded the supply of money, and resort was had to a new form of taxation, by which it was hoped that a sum of £50,000 might be realised. By order of parliament, made in March, 1371, the sum of 22s.3d.was to be levied on every parish in the kingdom, the number of parishes being reckoned as amounting to 40,000. It soon became apparent that the number of existing parishes throughout the country had been grossly miscalculated. There were not more than 9,000, and the amount of assessment had to be proportionately raised. It was necessary to summon a council at Westminster in June, to remedy the miscalculation that had been made in March. Half of the representatives of the late parliament were summoned to meet the king, and among them two of the city's members, Bartholomew Frestlyng and John Philipot—"the first Englishman who has left behind him the reputation of a financier."579The mistake was rectified, the charge of 22s.3d.was raised to 116s.and the city was called upon to raise over £600.580In the meantime the civic authorities had, in answer to the king's writ,581prepared a return of the[pg 203]number of parish churches, chapels and prebends within the city.582It was found that within the city and suburbs there were 106 parish churches583and thirty prebends, but only two of the latter were within the liberties. There was also the free chapel of St. Martin's-le-Grand, which embraced eleven prebends, all within the liberty of the city, and there were, moreover, two other chapels within the liberty. Besides these (the return stated) there were none other.The city as an ecclesiastical centre.The bare fact that there existed over 100 parishes, each with its parish church, within so small an area as that covered by the city and its suburbs, is of itself sufficient to remind us that, besides having a municipal and commercial history, the city also possesses an ecclesiastical. The church of St. Paul, the largest foundation in the city, with its resident canons exercising magnificent hospitality, was a centre to which London looked as a mother, although it was not strictly speaking the metropolitan cathedral. That title properly applies to the Minster at Canterbury; but the church of Canterbury being in the hands of a monastic chapter left St. Paul's at the head of the secular clergy of southern England.584Besides the hundred and more churches there were monastic establishments and colleges which covered a good fourth part of the whole city. The collegiate church of St. Martin's-le-Grand almost rivalled its neighbour the[pg 204]cathedral church itself in the area of its precinct. The houses of the Black Friars and Grey Friars in the west were only equalled by those belonging to the Augustine and Crossed Friars towards the east; while the Priory of St. Bartholomew found a counterpart in the Priory of Holy Trinity. The church was everywhere and ruled everything, and its influence manifests itself nowhere more strongly than in the number of ecclesiastical topics which fill the pages of early chronicles in connection with London.585The prosecution of the war, 1371-1375.The war brought little credit or advantage in return for outlay. In January, 1371, the Black Prince had returned to England with the glory of former achievements sullied by his massacre at Limoges, and the City of London had made him a present of valuable plate.586The conduct of the war was transferred to his eldest surviving brother, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. In 1372 the king himself set out with the flower of the English nobility, and accompanied by a band of London archers and crossbow men.587The expedition, which had for its object the relief of Rochelle, and which is said to have cost no less than £900,000, proved disastrous, and Edward returned after a brief absence.588In 1373 the city furnished him with a transport barge called "The Paul of London." The barge when it left London for Southampton was fully supplied with rigging and tackle; nevertheless, on its arrival at the latter port, it was found to be so deficient in equipment that it[pg 205]could not proceed to sea. The only explanation that the master of the barge could give of the matter was that a certain number of anchors and cables had been lost on the voyage. The City paid twenty marks to make up the defects.589The year was marked by a campaign under Lancaster which ended in the utmost disaster. The French avoided a general action; the English soldiers deserted, and as the winter came on the troops perished from cold, hunger and disease. By 1374 the French had recovered nearly all of their former possessions. England was tired of the war and of the ceaseless expenditure it involved. It was with no little joy that the Londoners heard, in July, 1375,590that peace had been concluded.Charges against city aldermen, 1376.In April, 1376, a parliament met, known as the Good Parliament,591and before granting supply it demanded an account of former receipts and expenditure. No less than three city aldermen were charged with malversation. Richard Lyons, of Broad Street ward, was convicted with Lord Latimer of embezzling the king's revenue, and sentenced to imprisonment and forfeiture of goods.592Adam de Bury, of Langbourn ward, who had twice served the office of mayor, was charged with appropriating money subscribed for the ransom of the French king and fled to Flanders to avoid trial;593whilst John Pecche of Walbrook ward[pg 206]was convicted of an extortionate exercise of a monopoly of sweet wines and his patent annulled. All three aldermen were deposed from their aldermanries by order of an assembly of citizens composed of representatives from the various guilds and not from the wards.594A new system of election by the guilds, instead of the wards, introduced, 1376.The guilds, indeed, were now claiming a more direct participation in the government of the city than they had hitherto enjoyed, and their claim had given rise to so much commotion that the king himself threatened to interpose.595The threat was not liked, and the citizens hastened to assure him that no disturbance had occurred in the city beyond what proceeded from reasonable debate on an open question, and that to prevent the noise and tumult arising from large assemblies, they had unanimously decided that in future the Common Council should be chosen from the guilds and not otherwise.596This reply was sent to the king by the hands of two aldermen—William Walworth and Nicholas Brembre—and six commoners, and the following day (2 August) the king sent another letter accepting the explanation that had been offered, and expressing a hope that the city would be so governed as not to require his personal intervention.597Not only was the common council to be selected in future by the guilds, but the guilds were also to elect the mayor and the sheriffs. The aldermen and the[pg 207]commons were to meet together at least once a quarter,598and no member of the common council was to serve on inquests, nor be appointed collector or assessor of a talliage. This last provision may have been due to the recent discoveries of malversation, but, however that may be, it was found to work so well that it was more than once re-enacted.599These changes in the internal administration of the city were avowedly made by virtue of Edward's charter, which specifically gave the citizens a right to remedy hard or defective customs.600The old system of election by wards reverted to in 1384.The power of the guilds in the matter of elections to the common council was not of long duration. Before ten years had elapsed representation was made that the new system had been forced on the citizens, and in 1384 it was resolved to revert to the old system of election by and from the wards.601Proceedings against Alice Perers, the king's mistress, 1376.Encouraged by the success which had so far attended their efforts of reform, the good parliament next attacked Alice Perers, the king's mistress. Of humble origin, and not even possessing the quality of good looks, this lady, for whom the mediæval chroniclers have scarcely a good word to say,602nevertheless gained so complete a mastery over the king as to favour the popular belief that she indulged in magic. At length her barefaced interference in public affairs[pg 208]led to an award against her of banishment and forfeiture. Upon the dissolution of the good parliament (6 July, 1376), and the meeting of a new parliament, elected under the direct influence of the Earl of Lancaster, who once more gained the upper hand now that the Black Prince was dead, Alice Perers was allowed to return.603She was again in disgrace soon after Richard's accession, when her property, much of which consisted of real estate in the City,604became escheated, and the citizens of London were promised redress for any harm she might have done them.605She was afterwards married to Sir William de Windsor, who, in 1376, had got himself into trouble over a disturbance in Whitefriars606—a quarter of the city which, under the name of Alsatia, became afterwards notorious for riots, and as the resort of bad characters. Towards the close of 1379 her sentence of banishment, never strictly enforced, was revoked and pardon extended to her and her husband.607Charter forbidding free trade to merchant strangers, 4 Dec., 1376.In December, 1376, the citizens obtained a charter from the king, with the assent of parliament, granting that no strangers (i.e.non-freemen) should thenceforth be allowed to sell by retail within the city and suburbs. This had always been considered a grievance, ever since free trade had been granted to merchant strangers by the parliament held at York in 1335.Hostility between the City and Lancaster.The last year of Edward's reign was one of serious opposition between the City and the selfish and unprincipled[pg 209]Lancaster. In so far as the duke, with the assistance of Wycliffe, meditated a reform among the higher clergy, he might, if he would, have had the city with him. The citizens, like the great reformer himself, were opposed to the practice of the clergy heaping up riches and intermeddling with political matters. The duke, however, went out of his way to hurt the feelings of the citizens, by proposing to abolish the mayoralty and otherwise encroach upon their liberties.608Not content with this he took the occasion when Wycliffe was summoned to appear at St. Paul's (19 Feb., 1377), to offer violence to Courtenay, their bishop. This so incensed the citizens that the meeting broke up in confusion. The next day the mob, now thoroughly roused, hastened to the Savoy where the duke resided. He happened, however, to be dining in the city at the time, with a certain John de Ypre. The company had scarcely sat down to their oysters before a soldier knocked at the door and warned them of the danger. They forthwith jumped up from the table, the duke barking his shins (we are told) in so doing, and, making their way to the riverside, took boat for Kennington, where the duke sought protection in the house of the Princess of Wales. Thanks to the intervention of the bishop, who appeared on the scene, the mob did but little serious harm, beyond ill-using a priest and some of the duke's retainers whom they happened to come across.609[pg 210]Interview between the king and the citizens to explain matters.The civic authorities were naturally anxious as to what the king might say and do in consequence of the outbreak, and desired an interview in order to explain matters. Lancaster was opposed to any such interview taking place. The London mob had seized upon an escutcheon of the duke, displayed in some public thoroughfare, and had reversed it by way of signifying that it was the escutcheon of a traitor.610This had particularly raised his anger. Nevertheless, in spite of his efforts to prevent it, an interview was accorded to a deputation from the city, of which John Philipot acted as spokesman. After drawing the king's attention to the threatened attack on the privileges of the city, and the proposed substitution of a "captain" for a mayor, Philipot offered an apology for the late riot. It had taken place, he said, without the cognisance of the civic authorities. Among a large population there were sure to be some bad characters whom it was difficult to restrain, even by the authority of the mayor, when once excited. A mob acted after the manner of a tornado, flying hither and thither, bent on committing havoc at anybody's expense, even its own, but, thank God! the duke had suffered no harm nor had any of his retinue been hurt. The king having listened to the deputation, assured them in reply, that so far from wishing to lessen the privileges of the city, he had a mind to enlarge them. They were not to alarm themselves, but to go home and endeavour to preserve peace. On leaving the presence the deputation met the duke, with whom they interchanged courtesies.611In the meanwhile lampoons on the duke were posted in the city. The duke became[pg 211]furious and demanded the excommunication of the authors. The bishops hesitated through fear of the mob, but at last the Bishop of Bangor was induced by representations made to him by leading citizens, who wished it to be known that they did not approve of such libels, to execute the duke's wishes.612Another interview with the king at Shene.The duke was determined to have his revenge, and again the citizens were summoned to appear before the king, who was lying at Shene. This time they did not get off so easily. The mayor, Adam Stable, was removed, and Nicholas Brembre appointed in his place. A fresh election of aldermen took place,613and the City did penance for the recent insult to the duke's escutcheon by offering, at the king's confidential suggestion, a wax taper bearing the duke's arms in St. Paul's. Even that did not satisfy him; nay, it was adding insult to injury (he said), for such an act was an honour usually paid to one who was dead! The citizens were in despair, and doubted if anything would satisfy him, short of proclaiming him king.614The king's death, 21 June, 1377.One of the last acts of Edward was to restore the Bishop of Winchester to the temporalities of which he had been deprived by the duke, and this restitution was made at the instance and by the influence of Alice Perers,615who within a few weeks robbed her dying paramour of his finger rings and fled.616

The king's unexpected return, 30 Nov., 1340.

The king's unexpected return, 30 Nov., 1340.

It was one of the conditions of the Flemish alliance, mentioned at the close of the last chapter, that the campaign of 1340 should open with the siege of Tournay, and it was with this object specially in view that Edward had set out from England. After his brilliant victory over the French fleet which opposed his passage Edward marched upon Tournay. Its siege, however, proved fruitless, and, disappointed and money-less, he slipt back again to England and made his appearance unexpectedly one morning at the Tower528(30 Nov.).

Dismisses ministers and orders an enquiry as to collection of revenue.

Dismisses ministers and orders an enquiry as to collection of revenue.

The justices at the Tower, March-April. 1341.

The justices at the Tower, March-April. 1341.

The king attributed the failure of the war to the remissness of his ministers in sending money and supplies. Scarcely had he landed before he sent for the chancellor, the treasurer, and other ministers who were in London, and not only dismissed them from office, but ordered them each into separate confinement. John de Pulteney was one of those made to feel the king's anger, and he was relegated to the castle of Somerton, but as soon as Edward's irritability had passed off he and others obtained their freedom.529A searching enquiry was instituted in the spring of[pg 188]the following year (1341) as to the way in which the king's revenues had been collected in the city. Objection was raised to the judges holding their session within the city and they sat at the Tower. Great tumult prevailed, and the citizens refused to answer any questions until the judges had formally acknowledged the City's liberties. A special fund was raised for the purpose of defending the City's rights.530From the 5th March to the 17th March the justices sat, and then an adjournment was made until the 16th April. On resumption of the session another adjournment immediately took place owing to parliament sitting at Westminster, and when the judges should have again sat, the Iter was suddenly determined by order of the king.531The king showed much annoyance at the attitude taken up by the citizens, or at least by a certain portion of them, with respect to this enquiry, and endeavoured to procure the names of the ringleaders.532Failing in this, and not wishing to make an enemy of the city on which he largely depended for resources to carry out his military measures, he bestowed a general pardon on the citizens, and promised that no Iter should be held at the Tower for a period of seven years.533

Charter to the city, dated 26 March, 1341.

Charter to the city, dated 26 March, 1341.

As a further mark of favour he granted to the City, soon after the abrupt termination of the Iter, a charter confirming previous charters; allowing the citizens in express terms to vary customs that might in course of time have become incapable of being put[pg 189]into practice, and declaring the city's liberties not subject to forfeiture through non-user.534

The city called upon to furnish the king with 26 ships.

The city called upon to furnish the king with 26 ships.

In August (1341) the citizens met to consider the question of levying a sum of £2,000, of which 2,000 marks was due to certain citizens in part payment of the £5,000 lent to the king, and 1,000 marks was required for the discharge of the city's own debts. A certain number of aldermen and commoners were at the same time appointed to confer with the king's council touching the sending of ships of war beyond the seas. The result of the interview was made known to the citizens at a meeting held later on in the same month. A further grievous burden (vehemens onus) was to be laid upon them; they were called upon to provide no less than twenty-six ships, fully equipped and victualled at their own cost.535

The king's expedition to Brittany, Oct., 1342.

The king's expedition to Brittany, Oct., 1342.

The ships were probably wanted for conveying forces over to Brittany under the command of Sir Walter de Maunay, in the following year. The king himself made an expedition to that country in October, 1342, having previously succeeded in borrowing the sum of £1,000 from the citizens. He had asked for £2,000, but was fain to be content with the lesser sum, security for repayment of which was demanded and granted.536

A truce with France for three years.

A truce with France for three years.

In March, 1343, Edward returned to England, having made a truce with France for three years.537He was beginning to learn the value of the English[pg 190]longbow and the cloth-yard shaft in the field of battle. Hitherto he, like others before him, had placed too much reliance on charges by knights on horseback. What the longbow could effect, under proper management, had been experienced at Falkirk in 1298. It had proved a failure at Bannockburn in 1314 through bad strategy, but at Halidon Hill twenty years later (1333) it was again effective. It was destined soon to work a complete reform in English warfare; and the yeoman and archer were to supersede the noble and knight. The London burgess and apprentice were especially apt with the weapon from constant practice in Finsbury fields. Edward realised the necessity of fostering the martial spirit of the Londoners, and on one occasion (January, 1344) invited the wives of the burgesses to witness a tournament at Windsor, where they were entertained right royally.538

Renewal of the war in 1345.

Renewal of the war in 1345.

Before the expiration of the truce Edward was busy with preparations for a renewal of the war. Four hundred London archers were to be got ready by Midsummer of 1344, as the king was soon to cross the sea; and 100 men-at-arms and 200 horsemen were to be despatched to Portsmouth.539In 1345, a royal commission was issued for the seizure for the king's use of all vessels lying in the river.540A further contingent of 160 archers was ordered to Sandwich by Whitsuntide, and in August the city received another order for yet more archers.541In September, the king informed the mayor by letter that, owing to the defective[pg 191]state of his fleet and the prevalence of contrary winds, he had postponed setting sail for a short time; the civic authorities were to keep their men-at-arms and archers ready to set out the morrow after the receipt of orders to march.542Six months elapsed, during which the citizens were kept under arms waiting for orders, when, on the 18th March, 1346, another letter was sent by the king to the effect that he had now fully made up his mind to set sail from Portsmouth a fortnight after Easter. The men-at-arms, the horsemen, and the archers, were to be ready by a certain day on pain of losing life, limb, and property. On the 28th March, the archers mustered in "Totehull" or Tothill Fields, near Westminster.543

Expedition to France sets sail, 10 July, 1346.

Expedition to France sets sail, 10 July, 1346.

The expedition did not actually sail from Portsmouth until the 10th July, the fleet numbering 1,000 vessels more or less.544Previous to his departure, Edward caused proclamation to be made in the city and elsewhere, to the effect that the assessments that had been made throughout the country for the purpose of equipping the expedition, should not be drawn into precedent.545

News of the king's arrival and success in Normandy, 3 Aug.

News of the king's arrival and success in Normandy, 3 Aug.

On the 3rd August the regent forwarded to the city a copy of a letter he had received from the king, giving an account of his passage to Normandy and of the capture of various towns, and among them of Caen. There he had discovered a document of no little importance. This was none other than an[pg 192]agreement made in 1338, whereby Normandy had bound itself to assist the king of France in his proposed invasion and conquest of England.546This document the king transmitted to England by the hands of the Earl of Huntingdon, who was returning invalided, and it was publicly read in St. Paul's Churchyard, with the view of stirring the citizens to fresh exertions in prosecuting the war. The king's own letter was also publicly read in the Husting by the regent's order.547The City was exhorted to have in readiness a force to succour the king, if need be. Every effort was made to raise money, and the regent did not hesitate to resort to depreciation of the coinage of the realm in order to help his father. The City made a free gift to the king of 1,000 marks and lent him 2,000 more.548

The battle of Creçy, 26 Aug., 1346.

The battle of Creçy, 26 Aug., 1346.

On the 26th August the battle of Creçy was won against a force far outnumbering the English army. The victory was due in large measure to the superiority of the English longbow over the crossbow used by the Genoese mercenaries; but it was also a victory of foot soldiers over horsemen. The field of Bannockburn had shown how easy a thing it was for a body of horsemen to crush a body of archers, if allowed to take them in the flank, whilst that of Halidon Hill had more recently taught the king, from personal experience, that archers could turn the tide of battle against any direct attack, however violent. Edward profited by the experience of that day. He not only protected the flank of his archers, but interspersed among them dismounted horsemen with levelled[pg 193]spears, the result being that the French were driven off the field with terrible slaughter.

Siege and surrender of Calais, 1346-1347.

Siege and surrender of Calais, 1346-1347.

Flushed with victory Edward proceeded to lay siege to Calais. His forces, which had been already greatly reduced on the field of Creçy, suffered a further diminution by desertion. The mayor and sheriffs of London were ordered to seize all deserters, whether knights, esquires, or men of lower order, found in the city, and to take steps for furnishing the king with fresh recruits and store of victuals.549By Easter of the following year, the City was called upon to furnish two vessels towards a fleet of 120 large ships, which the council had decided to fit out. All ships found in the port of London were pressed into the king's service.550

In July (1347) the king was in need of more recruits and provisions.551Calais still held out, although both besiegers and besieged were reduced to sore straits. At last it surrendered (4 Aug.). Edward spared the lives of its principal burgesses at the intercession of his queen, but he cleared the town of French inhabitants, and invited Londoners and others to take up their abode there, offering them houses at low rents and other inducements.552A truce with Philip was agreed on, and Edward returned home. For a time England was resplendent with the spoils of the French war—"A new sun seemed to shine," wrote Walsingham.553Every woman of position went gaily decked with some portion of the plunder of the[pg 194]town of Caen or Calais; cupboards shone with silver plate, and wardrobes were filled with foreign furs and rich drapery of continental workmanship. The golden era was of short duration.

The Black Death, 1348-1349.

The Black Death, 1348-1349.

In August, 1348, the pestilential scourge, known as the Black Death,554appeared in England, and reached London in the following November. The number of victims it carried off in the city has been variously computed,555but all conjectures of the kind must be received with caution. All that is known for certain is that the mortality caused a marked increase in the number of beggars, and, at the same time, raised the price of labour and provisions within the city's walls to such a degree that measures had to be taken to remedy both evils.556Besides the losses by death, the population of the city and the country generally was sensibly diminished by the flight of numbers of inhabitants to the continent, with the hope of escaping the ravages of the plague. The king's treasury threatened soon to become empty, and the country left defenceless, if this were allowed to go on unchecked; he therefore ordered the sheriffs of London to see that no men-at-arms, strangers or otherwise, left[pg 195]the kingdom, with the exception of well-known merchants or ambassadors, without the king's special order.557Pilgrimages to Rome or elsewhere were made an excuse for leaving England, at a time when the king's subjects could ill be spared. The king endeavoured to limit this drain upon the population of the kingdom by allowing none to cross the sea without his special licence. The city authorities having negligently executed his orders in this respect, received a rebuke in October, 1350, and were told to be more strict in their observance for the future.558

A fresh truce with France, commencing 13 June, 1350.

A fresh truce with France, commencing 13 June, 1350.

On the night which ushered in New Year's day, 1350, an abortive attempt had been made by the French to recapture Calais. This ill success rendered Philip the more willing to agree to a further prolongation of the truce with England. Notification of this cessation of hostilities was duly sent to the sheriffs of London.559Before the truce had come to an end Philip of Valois had ceased to live, and had been succeeded on the throne of France by John II.

Measures taken for the suppression of piracy, July, 1350.

Measures taken for the suppression of piracy, July, 1350.

The city had scarcely recovered from the ravages of the late pestilence, before it was called upon (24 July, 1350) to furnish two ships to assist the king in putting down piracy. These were accordingly fitted out; the ship of Andrew Turk being furnished with 40 men-at-arms and 60 archers, whilst that of Goscelin de Cleve had on board 30 men-at-arms and 40 archers.560With their aid, Edward succeeded in utterly defeating a Spanish fleet which had recently inflicted much damage on the Bordeaux wine fleet,[pg 196]and capturing 24 large ships laden with rich merchandise.561The citizens had further to submit to a tax on wool and wine, in order to maintain the king's vessels engaged in putting down piracy.562

Charter relative to the City's gold mace, 10 June, 1354.

Charter relative to the City's gold mace, 10 June, 1354.

In 1354 an exception was made by special charter of the king in favour of the City of London, and its sergeants were permitted to carry maces of gold or silver, or plated with silver, and bearing the royal arms. Ten years before the commons of England had petitioned the king (inter alia) not to allow any one to carry maces tipped with silver in city or borough, except the king's own officers. All others were to carry maces tipped with copper only (virolez de cuevere), with staves of wood as formerly. The petition was granted saving that the sergeants of the City of London might carry their mace within the liberties of the city and before the mayor in the king's presence.563This same year (1354), moreover, the king with the assent of parliament had again forbidden the carrying of gold or silver maces. Thenceforth, maces were to be of iron, brass or tin, or staves tipped with latten, and not to bear representations of the royal arms, but the arms or signs of the city using them. Again exception was made in the case of London; two sergeants of the City as well as of the City of York being permitted to carry gold or silver maces, but they were not to be surmounted with the royal arms. This led to a humble remonstrance from the whole body of the citizens of London, presented to the chancellor and[pg 197]the council by their mayor, Adam Fraunceys, and within a month the charter above mentioned was granted. That the charter originated or authorized the title of "Lord" Mayor, as some have supposed, is extremely improbable.

Renewal of war with France, 1355.

Renewal of war with France, 1355.

In 1355, all efforts to convert the truce into a final peace having failed, war with France was renewed. Edward was soon called home by fresh troubles in Scotland. Having recovered Berwick, which had been taken by surprise, and formally received the crown of Scotland from Edward Baliol, he prepared to rejoin his son, the Black Prince, in France, and in March, 1356, ordered the city to furnish him with two vessels of war.564

Battle of Poitiers, 19 Sept., 1356

Battle of Poitiers, 19 Sept., 1356

News of the battle of Poitiers (19 September, 1356), and of the defeat and capture of the French king, was received in the city by letter from the Prince of Wales, dated 22nd October.565Again the English longbow, combined with superior tactics, gained the day. The prince, on his return, made a triumphal entry into the city, passing over London Bridge on his way to Westminster, with the captive king and the king's son in his train.566The streets were almost impassable for the multitude that thronged them; and for the moment the citizens forgot at what cost to themselves the victory had been gained. A truce—a welcome truce—for two years followed.567

Grievances of the city laid before the king.

Grievances of the city laid before the king.

Only a few weeks before the prince's return the citizens had laid before the king a list of their grievances and prayed for redress.568They had complained of being charged taxes and talliages in excess of any other of the commons. They had lent the king at Dordrecht no less a sum than £60,000, and had incurred further loss by the discrepancy between the weight for weighing wool at Dordrecht and that of England. They had lent the king further sums of £5,000 and £2,000 on two separate occasions, which had not been repaid. The sum of £40,000 had been advanced to the king's merchants at Calais and elsewhere, and this, together with other sums lent (amounting to over £30,000), was still outstanding to the grievous hurt of many citizens. They had, moreover, been called upon to undergo more charges than others with respect to the king's expeditions to Scotland, Flanders and France, and in providing men-at-arms, archers and ships, in aid of his wars. Nor did their complaints stop here. The king's purveyors had been accustomed to seize the carriages, victuals and merchandise of citizens without offering payment for the same, in direct contravention of the king's first charter to the city. Owing, moreover, to deaths by the plague, so much property had come into mortmain that the city had become impoverished, and one-third part of it rendered void of inhabitants. These points they had desired the king to consider, inasmuch as the city had always been loyal and peaceful, setting an example to the whole country. The petition wound up with the usual complaint against the privileges allowed foreign merchants, and a request[pg 199]that the king would grant them letters patent under the great seal, such as they might show to the purveyors whenever they attempted to take anything without payment.569

Edward's last invasion of France, 1359-1360.

Edward's last invasion of France, 1359-1360.

After the expiration of the truce Edward again set out for France. That country, however, had suffered so much during the last two years at the hands of freebooters, that Edward experienced the greatest difficulty in finding sufficient provisions for his army. Whilst he was traversing France in search of a force with which to try conclusions in the field, a Norman fleet swept down upon the south coast and sacked Winchelsea. The news of this disaster so incensed the king that he determined to march direct on Paris. The Londoners, in the meantime, assisted in fitting out a fleet of eighty vessels, manned with 14,000 men, including archers, in order to wipe out this disgrace, but the enemy contrived to make good their escape.570

The peace of Bretigny, 1360.

The peace of Bretigny, 1360.

At length Edward was induced to accede to the terms offered by France, and the peace of Bretigny was concluded (8th May, 1360). The terms were very favourable to England, although Edward consented to abandon all claim to the French crown. King John was to be ransomed, but the price set on his release was so high that some years elapsed before the money could be raised, and then only with the assistance of a few of the livery companies of the city,[pg 200]which showed their sympathy with the captured king by contributing to the fund being raised for the purpose of restoring him to liberty.571It was John's high sense of honour that kept him in captivity in England until his death in 1364. He had in fact been liberated and allowed to return to France soon after the conclusion of peace, on payment of part of his ransom, hostages being accepted for payment of the remainder. In 1363 one of the hostages broke his pledge and fled, and John, shocked at such perfidy, returned Regulus-like to England. Hence it was that he appears as one of the four kings whom Picard, the mayor, entertained that same year at a banquet, followed by play at dice and hazard.572

England at peace, 1360-1369.

England at peace, 1360-1369.

The citizens now enjoyed a period of leisure which they were not slow to turn to account. The years which followed the peace of Bretigny, until war broke out afresh in 1369, witnessed the re-organisation of many of the trade and craft guilds. Some of these, like the Goldsmiths, the Tailors or Linen-Armourers, and the Skinners, had already obtained charters from Edward soon after his accession, so had also the Fishmongers, although the earliest extant charter of the company is dated 1363. The Vintners date their chartered rights from the same year; the Drapers from 1364; whilst the more ancient company of Weavers obtained a confirmation of their privileges in 1365.[pg 201]Minor guilds, like the Founders, the Plumbers, the Fullers and others, had to content themselves with the recognition of their ordinances by the civic authorities alone between 1364 and 1369.

The king's favour was purchased in 1363 by a gift of nearly £500, to which the livery companies largely contributed.573The amount of each subscription varied from half-a-mark to £40, the latter sum being contributed by the Mercers, the Fishmongers, the Drapers, and the Skinners respectively. The Tailors subscribed half that amount, being outdone by the Vintners, who contributed £33 6s.8d.

The renewal of the war, 1369.

The renewal of the war, 1369.

With the renewal of the war, a change comes over the pages of the City's annals. The London bachelor and apprentice is drawn off from his football and hockey, with which he had beguiled his leisure hours, and bidden to devote himself to the more useful pursuits of shooting with arrow or bolt on high days and holidays.574Once more we meet with schedules of men-at-arms and archers provided by the City for service abroad, and of assessments made on the City's wards to pay for them.575Every inducement in the shape of plunder was held out to volunteers for enlistment, and public proclamation was made to the effect that the spoils of France should belong to the captors themselves.576

City loans, 1370-1371.

City loans, 1370-1371.

It was an easier matter for the City to provide the king with money than men. In 1370 it advanced a[pg 202]sum of £5,000,577and in the following year a further sum of £4,000, and more was subscribed by the wealthier citizens, among whom were William Walworth, who contributed over £200, Adam Fraunceys, Simon de Mordon, and others.578

New form of taxation, 1371.

New form of taxation, 1371.

Still the expenses of the war exceeded the supply of money, and resort was had to a new form of taxation, by which it was hoped that a sum of £50,000 might be realised. By order of parliament, made in March, 1371, the sum of 22s.3d.was to be levied on every parish in the kingdom, the number of parishes being reckoned as amounting to 40,000. It soon became apparent that the number of existing parishes throughout the country had been grossly miscalculated. There were not more than 9,000, and the amount of assessment had to be proportionately raised. It was necessary to summon a council at Westminster in June, to remedy the miscalculation that had been made in March. Half of the representatives of the late parliament were summoned to meet the king, and among them two of the city's members, Bartholomew Frestlyng and John Philipot—"the first Englishman who has left behind him the reputation of a financier."579The mistake was rectified, the charge of 22s.3d.was raised to 116s.and the city was called upon to raise over £600.580

In the meantime the civic authorities had, in answer to the king's writ,581prepared a return of the[pg 203]number of parish churches, chapels and prebends within the city.582It was found that within the city and suburbs there were 106 parish churches583and thirty prebends, but only two of the latter were within the liberties. There was also the free chapel of St. Martin's-le-Grand, which embraced eleven prebends, all within the liberty of the city, and there were, moreover, two other chapels within the liberty. Besides these (the return stated) there were none other.

The city as an ecclesiastical centre.

The city as an ecclesiastical centre.

The bare fact that there existed over 100 parishes, each with its parish church, within so small an area as that covered by the city and its suburbs, is of itself sufficient to remind us that, besides having a municipal and commercial history, the city also possesses an ecclesiastical. The church of St. Paul, the largest foundation in the city, with its resident canons exercising magnificent hospitality, was a centre to which London looked as a mother, although it was not strictly speaking the metropolitan cathedral. That title properly applies to the Minster at Canterbury; but the church of Canterbury being in the hands of a monastic chapter left St. Paul's at the head of the secular clergy of southern England.584Besides the hundred and more churches there were monastic establishments and colleges which covered a good fourth part of the whole city. The collegiate church of St. Martin's-le-Grand almost rivalled its neighbour the[pg 204]cathedral church itself in the area of its precinct. The houses of the Black Friars and Grey Friars in the west were only equalled by those belonging to the Augustine and Crossed Friars towards the east; while the Priory of St. Bartholomew found a counterpart in the Priory of Holy Trinity. The church was everywhere and ruled everything, and its influence manifests itself nowhere more strongly than in the number of ecclesiastical topics which fill the pages of early chronicles in connection with London.585

The prosecution of the war, 1371-1375.

The prosecution of the war, 1371-1375.

The war brought little credit or advantage in return for outlay. In January, 1371, the Black Prince had returned to England with the glory of former achievements sullied by his massacre at Limoges, and the City of London had made him a present of valuable plate.586The conduct of the war was transferred to his eldest surviving brother, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. In 1372 the king himself set out with the flower of the English nobility, and accompanied by a band of London archers and crossbow men.587The expedition, which had for its object the relief of Rochelle, and which is said to have cost no less than £900,000, proved disastrous, and Edward returned after a brief absence.588In 1373 the city furnished him with a transport barge called "The Paul of London." The barge when it left London for Southampton was fully supplied with rigging and tackle; nevertheless, on its arrival at the latter port, it was found to be so deficient in equipment that it[pg 205]could not proceed to sea. The only explanation that the master of the barge could give of the matter was that a certain number of anchors and cables had been lost on the voyage. The City paid twenty marks to make up the defects.589The year was marked by a campaign under Lancaster which ended in the utmost disaster. The French avoided a general action; the English soldiers deserted, and as the winter came on the troops perished from cold, hunger and disease. By 1374 the French had recovered nearly all of their former possessions. England was tired of the war and of the ceaseless expenditure it involved. It was with no little joy that the Londoners heard, in July, 1375,590that peace had been concluded.

Charges against city aldermen, 1376.

Charges against city aldermen, 1376.

In April, 1376, a parliament met, known as the Good Parliament,591and before granting supply it demanded an account of former receipts and expenditure. No less than three city aldermen were charged with malversation. Richard Lyons, of Broad Street ward, was convicted with Lord Latimer of embezzling the king's revenue, and sentenced to imprisonment and forfeiture of goods.592Adam de Bury, of Langbourn ward, who had twice served the office of mayor, was charged with appropriating money subscribed for the ransom of the French king and fled to Flanders to avoid trial;593whilst John Pecche of Walbrook ward[pg 206]was convicted of an extortionate exercise of a monopoly of sweet wines and his patent annulled. All three aldermen were deposed from their aldermanries by order of an assembly of citizens composed of representatives from the various guilds and not from the wards.594

A new system of election by the guilds, instead of the wards, introduced, 1376.

A new system of election by the guilds, instead of the wards, introduced, 1376.

The guilds, indeed, were now claiming a more direct participation in the government of the city than they had hitherto enjoyed, and their claim had given rise to so much commotion that the king himself threatened to interpose.595The threat was not liked, and the citizens hastened to assure him that no disturbance had occurred in the city beyond what proceeded from reasonable debate on an open question, and that to prevent the noise and tumult arising from large assemblies, they had unanimously decided that in future the Common Council should be chosen from the guilds and not otherwise.596This reply was sent to the king by the hands of two aldermen—William Walworth and Nicholas Brembre—and six commoners, and the following day (2 August) the king sent another letter accepting the explanation that had been offered, and expressing a hope that the city would be so governed as not to require his personal intervention.597

Not only was the common council to be selected in future by the guilds, but the guilds were also to elect the mayor and the sheriffs. The aldermen and the[pg 207]commons were to meet together at least once a quarter,598and no member of the common council was to serve on inquests, nor be appointed collector or assessor of a talliage. This last provision may have been due to the recent discoveries of malversation, but, however that may be, it was found to work so well that it was more than once re-enacted.599These changes in the internal administration of the city were avowedly made by virtue of Edward's charter, which specifically gave the citizens a right to remedy hard or defective customs.600

The old system of election by wards reverted to in 1384.

The old system of election by wards reverted to in 1384.

The power of the guilds in the matter of elections to the common council was not of long duration. Before ten years had elapsed representation was made that the new system had been forced on the citizens, and in 1384 it was resolved to revert to the old system of election by and from the wards.601

Proceedings against Alice Perers, the king's mistress, 1376.

Proceedings against Alice Perers, the king's mistress, 1376.

Encouraged by the success which had so far attended their efforts of reform, the good parliament next attacked Alice Perers, the king's mistress. Of humble origin, and not even possessing the quality of good looks, this lady, for whom the mediæval chroniclers have scarcely a good word to say,602nevertheless gained so complete a mastery over the king as to favour the popular belief that she indulged in magic. At length her barefaced interference in public affairs[pg 208]led to an award against her of banishment and forfeiture. Upon the dissolution of the good parliament (6 July, 1376), and the meeting of a new parliament, elected under the direct influence of the Earl of Lancaster, who once more gained the upper hand now that the Black Prince was dead, Alice Perers was allowed to return.603She was again in disgrace soon after Richard's accession, when her property, much of which consisted of real estate in the City,604became escheated, and the citizens of London were promised redress for any harm she might have done them.605She was afterwards married to Sir William de Windsor, who, in 1376, had got himself into trouble over a disturbance in Whitefriars606—a quarter of the city which, under the name of Alsatia, became afterwards notorious for riots, and as the resort of bad characters. Towards the close of 1379 her sentence of banishment, never strictly enforced, was revoked and pardon extended to her and her husband.607

Charter forbidding free trade to merchant strangers, 4 Dec., 1376.

Charter forbidding free trade to merchant strangers, 4 Dec., 1376.

In December, 1376, the citizens obtained a charter from the king, with the assent of parliament, granting that no strangers (i.e.non-freemen) should thenceforth be allowed to sell by retail within the city and suburbs. This had always been considered a grievance, ever since free trade had been granted to merchant strangers by the parliament held at York in 1335.

Hostility between the City and Lancaster.

Hostility between the City and Lancaster.

The last year of Edward's reign was one of serious opposition between the City and the selfish and unprincipled[pg 209]Lancaster. In so far as the duke, with the assistance of Wycliffe, meditated a reform among the higher clergy, he might, if he would, have had the city with him. The citizens, like the great reformer himself, were opposed to the practice of the clergy heaping up riches and intermeddling with political matters. The duke, however, went out of his way to hurt the feelings of the citizens, by proposing to abolish the mayoralty and otherwise encroach upon their liberties.608Not content with this he took the occasion when Wycliffe was summoned to appear at St. Paul's (19 Feb., 1377), to offer violence to Courtenay, their bishop. This so incensed the citizens that the meeting broke up in confusion. The next day the mob, now thoroughly roused, hastened to the Savoy where the duke resided. He happened, however, to be dining in the city at the time, with a certain John de Ypre. The company had scarcely sat down to their oysters before a soldier knocked at the door and warned them of the danger. They forthwith jumped up from the table, the duke barking his shins (we are told) in so doing, and, making their way to the riverside, took boat for Kennington, where the duke sought protection in the house of the Princess of Wales. Thanks to the intervention of the bishop, who appeared on the scene, the mob did but little serious harm, beyond ill-using a priest and some of the duke's retainers whom they happened to come across.609

Interview between the king and the citizens to explain matters.

Interview between the king and the citizens to explain matters.

The civic authorities were naturally anxious as to what the king might say and do in consequence of the outbreak, and desired an interview in order to explain matters. Lancaster was opposed to any such interview taking place. The London mob had seized upon an escutcheon of the duke, displayed in some public thoroughfare, and had reversed it by way of signifying that it was the escutcheon of a traitor.610This had particularly raised his anger. Nevertheless, in spite of his efforts to prevent it, an interview was accorded to a deputation from the city, of which John Philipot acted as spokesman. After drawing the king's attention to the threatened attack on the privileges of the city, and the proposed substitution of a "captain" for a mayor, Philipot offered an apology for the late riot. It had taken place, he said, without the cognisance of the civic authorities. Among a large population there were sure to be some bad characters whom it was difficult to restrain, even by the authority of the mayor, when once excited. A mob acted after the manner of a tornado, flying hither and thither, bent on committing havoc at anybody's expense, even its own, but, thank God! the duke had suffered no harm nor had any of his retinue been hurt. The king having listened to the deputation, assured them in reply, that so far from wishing to lessen the privileges of the city, he had a mind to enlarge them. They were not to alarm themselves, but to go home and endeavour to preserve peace. On leaving the presence the deputation met the duke, with whom they interchanged courtesies.611In the meanwhile lampoons on the duke were posted in the city. The duke became[pg 211]furious and demanded the excommunication of the authors. The bishops hesitated through fear of the mob, but at last the Bishop of Bangor was induced by representations made to him by leading citizens, who wished it to be known that they did not approve of such libels, to execute the duke's wishes.612

Another interview with the king at Shene.

Another interview with the king at Shene.

The duke was determined to have his revenge, and again the citizens were summoned to appear before the king, who was lying at Shene. This time they did not get off so easily. The mayor, Adam Stable, was removed, and Nicholas Brembre appointed in his place. A fresh election of aldermen took place,613and the City did penance for the recent insult to the duke's escutcheon by offering, at the king's confidential suggestion, a wax taper bearing the duke's arms in St. Paul's. Even that did not satisfy him; nay, it was adding insult to injury (he said), for such an act was an honour usually paid to one who was dead! The citizens were in despair, and doubted if anything would satisfy him, short of proclaiming him king.614

The king's death, 21 June, 1377.

The king's death, 21 June, 1377.

One of the last acts of Edward was to restore the Bishop of Winchester to the temporalities of which he had been deprived by the duke, and this restitution was made at the instance and by the influence of Alice Perers,615who within a few weeks robbed her dying paramour of his finger rings and fled.616

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