“After the interment the king took his way;To the south he went, through Lindesay;He inquired, as he went, who did such trespass;Brake his peace with deed, while he in Scotland was?Of such should be spoken, if men of them plaint,Those that the peace had broken, if they might be attaint.Wise men of God gave answer to the king,That such folks were, it was a certain thing;Through the land is done such great grievance,That if not mended soon, a war may rise of chance.These contenders where’er they assigned a place that is,There they come together, and made a sikerness (engagement)That they shall all go, to whom or where they will,To rob, beat, or slay, against all manner skill.They offer a man to beat, for two shillings or three;With piked staves great, beaten shall he be:In fair or market they shall seek him out;All the land is set with such folks stout.For men of such manners, unless there be some justice,In some few years, perchance, a war shall rise.The king heard all they said—the plaint of each town;And gave them a new name, and called them ‘Trailbastoun.’The king through the land did seek men of renown,And with the justices them bound, to sit on Trailbastoun;Some on quest they ’demned to be bounden in prisons;And those that fled they banisht as the king’s felons.”
“After the interment the king took his way;To the south he went, through Lindesay;He inquired, as he went, who did such trespass;Brake his peace with deed, while he in Scotland was?Of such should be spoken, if men of them plaint,Those that the peace had broken, if they might be attaint.Wise men of God gave answer to the king,That such folks were, it was a certain thing;Through the land is done such great grievance,That if not mended soon, a war may rise of chance.These contenders where’er they assigned a place that is,There they come together, and made a sikerness (engagement)That they shall all go, to whom or where they will,To rob, beat, or slay, against all manner skill.They offer a man to beat, for two shillings or three;With piked staves great, beaten shall he be:In fair or market they shall seek him out;All the land is set with such folks stout.For men of such manners, unless there be some justice,In some few years, perchance, a war shall rise.The king heard all they said—the plaint of each town;And gave them a new name, and called them ‘Trailbastoun.’The king through the land did seek men of renown,And with the justices them bound, to sit on Trailbastoun;Some on quest they ’demned to be bounden in prisons;And those that fled they banisht as the king’s felons.”
“After the interment the king took his way;To the south he went, through Lindesay;He inquired, as he went, who did such trespass;Brake his peace with deed, while he in Scotland was?Of such should be spoken, if men of them plaint,
“After the interment the king took his way;
To the south he went, through Lindesay;
He inquired, as he went, who did such trespass;
Brake his peace with deed, while he in Scotland was?
Of such should be spoken, if men of them plaint,
Those that the peace had broken, if they might be attaint.Wise men of God gave answer to the king,That such folks were, it was a certain thing;Through the land is done such great grievance,That if not mended soon, a war may rise of chance.These contenders where’er they assigned a place that is,There they come together, and made a sikerness (engagement)That they shall all go, to whom or where they will,To rob, beat, or slay, against all manner skill.They offer a man to beat, for two shillings or three;With piked staves great, beaten shall he be:In fair or market they shall seek him out;All the land is set with such folks stout.
Those that the peace had broken, if they might be attaint.
Wise men of God gave answer to the king,
That such folks were, it was a certain thing;
Through the land is done such great grievance,
That if not mended soon, a war may rise of chance.
These contenders where’er they assigned a place that is,
There they come together, and made a sikerness (engagement)
That they shall all go, to whom or where they will,
To rob, beat, or slay, against all manner skill.
They offer a man to beat, for two shillings or three;
With piked staves great, beaten shall he be:
In fair or market they shall seek him out;
All the land is set with such folks stout.
For men of such manners, unless there be some justice,In some few years, perchance, a war shall rise.The king heard all they said—the plaint of each town;And gave them a new name, and called them ‘Trailbastoun.’
For men of such manners, unless there be some justice,
In some few years, perchance, a war shall rise.
The king heard all they said—the plaint of each town;
And gave them a new name, and called them ‘Trailbastoun.’
The king through the land did seek men of renown,And with the justices them bound, to sit on Trailbastoun;Some on quest they ’demned to be bounden in prisons;And those that fled they banisht as the king’s felons.”
The king through the land did seek men of renown,
And with the justices them bound, to sit on Trailbastoun;
Some on quest they ’demned to be bounden in prisons;
And those that fled they banisht as the king’s felons.”
The phrasetrail‐bastonis, in old French, “draw the staff.” The use and intent of it in the present case has been learnedly discussed by various writers; but it appears to be beyond a doubt that, as Sir Francis Palgrave remarks, “it designates theoffenderand theoffence, not the court or tribunal.” In the “Chronicle of Rochester,” already referred to—on the margin of which we find various pictorial illustrations—the representation here given is of two men fighting with bludgeons. And it is evident that the real object of this special commission was to put down, in a resolute and summary manner, what in modern phrase would be styled “club‐law.” These commissions seem to have been so useful and efficient, as to be continued for about eighty years, or until the middle of the reign of Richard II. Stowe speaks ofthem as holding special sessions, occasionally, in the metropolis; mentioning particularly “at the stone‐cross near the Strand, over against the bishop of Coventry’s house;” and sometimes within that prelate’s mansion.
Calling to mind the terrible example made of the judges in the seventeenth year of Edward’s reign, and combining with it this special and vigorous suppression of provincial disorders, we cannot fail to be reminded of the portrait sketched by the laureate in his recent Idylls; or avoid a question, whether the poet had not this sovereign in his memory when he drew such a portrait:—
“The blameless king went forth and cast his eyesOn whom his father Uther left in chargeLong since to guard the justice of the king.He looked, and found them wanting; and as nowMen weed the white horse on the Berkshire hills,To keep him bright and clean as heretofore,He rooted out the slothful officerOr guilty, which, for bribe had winked at wrong;And in their chairs set up a stronger race,With hearts and hands …… and moving everywhere,Cleared the dark places and let in the law,And broke the bandit‐holds, and cleansed the land.”
“The blameless king went forth and cast his eyesOn whom his father Uther left in chargeLong since to guard the justice of the king.He looked, and found them wanting; and as nowMen weed the white horse on the Berkshire hills,To keep him bright and clean as heretofore,He rooted out the slothful officerOr guilty, which, for bribe had winked at wrong;And in their chairs set up a stronger race,With hearts and hands …… and moving everywhere,Cleared the dark places and let in the law,And broke the bandit‐holds, and cleansed the land.”
“The blameless king went forth and cast his eyesOn whom his father Uther left in chargeLong since to guard the justice of the king.He looked, and found them wanting; and as nowMen weed the white horse on the Berkshire hills,To keep him bright and clean as heretofore,He rooted out the slothful officerOr guilty, which, for bribe had winked at wrong;And in their chairs set up a stronger race,With hearts and hands …… and moving everywhere,Cleared the dark places and let in the law,And broke the bandit‐holds, and cleansed the land.”
“The blameless king went forth and cast his eyes
On whom his father Uther left in charge
Long since to guard the justice of the king.
He looked, and found them wanting; and as now
Men weed the white horse on the Berkshire hills,
To keep him bright and clean as heretofore,
He rooted out the slothful officer
Or guilty, which, for bribe had winked at wrong;
And in their chairs set up a stronger race,
With hearts and hands …
… and moving everywhere,
Cleared the dark places and let in the law,
And broke the bandit‐holds, and cleansed the land.”
One or two other incidents, bearing upon the same point in the king’s character, fall in our way at this period;—that is, in the last three or four years of Edward’s life.
Sir Nicholas de Segrave was a knight of distinction, probably a brother of John de Segrave, who commanded the English forces at Roslyn. Sir John de Cromwell accused him of treason. Segrave, disliking the formalities of a legal investigation, challenged his accuser to decide the question by wager of battle. But Edward, whose discerning mind always revolted from the absurd idea of deciding a questionofrightorwrongby mere physical force, and who had, twenty years before, protested against such a proposal when made by two foreign princes, very naturally refused his consent. The combatants, apparently, thought that they might evade his decision, by crossing the sea, to fight the duel in France. Segrave returned, and was immediately arrested for disregarding the king’s prohibition. The case, doubtless, was a novel one, and when the offender was brought to trial, the judges remained three days in deliberation; and at last declared the offender to be liable to the punishment of death, and the forfeiture of his property; but added, gratuitously, that “it was in the king’s power to pardon him.” Edward’s indignant exclamation seems to reveal one point in his character. “Foolish men,” he cried out, “after so long a deliberation, to tell me that it is in my power to have mercy! Why, I will do that for a dog who casts himself on my grace!—of what value, then, is such a recommendation? However, put your sentence into writing, that it may remain law for the future.” Segrave was then remanded to prison; but after a few days, thirty knights petitioned for his pardon, and offered to be sureties for his future good behaviour. So entreated, Edward gave him a free pardon, and released his property from forfeiture.
In the “Placita Roll” of 1304 there occurs the following entry:—
“Roger de Heefham complained to the king, that whereas he was the justice appointed to hear and determine a dispute between Mary, the wife of William de Braose, plaintiff, and William de Brewes, defendant, respecting a sum of eight hundred marks which she claimed from him, and had decided in favour of the former; the said William, immediately after judgment was pronounced, contemptuouslyapproached the bar, and asked the said Roger, in gross and upbraiding language, if he would defend that judgment; and he afterwards insulted him, in bitter and taunting terms, as he was going through the exchequer‐chamber, saying, ‘Roger, Roger, thou hast now obtained thy will of that thou hast long desired.’
“For this offence, William de Brewes, being arraigned before the king and his council, acknowledged his guilt; and because contempt and disrespect, as well towards the king’s ministers as towards the king himself or his court, are very odious to the king, as hath of late expressly appeared when his majesty expelled from his household, for nearly half a year, his dearly‐beloved son, Edward prince of Wales, on account of certain improper words which he had addressed to one of his ministers, and suffered him not to enter his presence until he had rendered satisfaction to the said officer for his offence—it was agreed by the king and his council that the aforesaid William should proceed unattired, bareheaded, and holding a torch in his hand, from the king’s bench in Westminster Hall, in full court, to the exchequer, and there ask pardon from the aforesaid Roger, and make an apology for his trespass, and shall be afterwards committed to the Tower, during the king’s pleasure.”
The pointed reference here made to the king’s anger and stern rebukes of his son, naturally directs our thoughts to this passage in Edward’s life. His prescient consciousness of the young prince’s weakness, and his strong dislike to Gaveston, his chief seducer, are already well known. We have alluded to one distinguished man, who is indicated in the above extract, as the minister with whom the young prince had been brought into collision. Walter Langton, bishop of Chester (sometimes called bishop of Lichfield orCoventry), was the king’s treasurer; and the prince had a stated income payable out of the royal exchequer. Under such guidance as that of Gaveston, it was inevitable that this income would prove insufficient; and that urgent demands for larger supplies would naturally follow. Hence the quarrels and the violent language, alluded to in the sentence on William de Brewes. Another glimpse of light on this subject is afforded by a letter from the prince to the earl of Lincoln, which has recently been discovered in the chapterhouse at Westminster. In that letter the prince thus describes these circumstances:—
“On Sunday, the 13th of June, we came to Midhurst, where we found our lord the king, our father. On the Monday following, on account of certain words which, it had been reported to the king, had taken place between us and the bishop of Chester, he was so enraged with us that he has forbidden us, or any of our retinue, to dare to enter his house; and he has forbidden all the people of his household and of the exchequer to give or lend us anything for the support of our household. We are staying at Midhurst to wait his pleasure and favour, and we shall follow after him, as well as we are able, at a distance of ten or twelve miles from his house, until we have been able to recover his good will; which we very much desire. Wherefore we especially entreat you, that on your return from Canterbury, you would come towards us; for we have great need of your aid and your counsel.”
The firmness and severity of the king, in this instance, was of no ordinary kind, and we know from the after‐life of the younger Edward, that extreme severity was absolutely necessary. The royal prohibition was so effectual, that the young prince encountered real difficulties, and the king was induced, in the course of July to recal his prohibition, andto allow things to revert to their ordinary course. But so long as Gaveston was the prince’s companion, it was inevitable that his course should be a vicious and a wretched one. The quarrels with the king’s treasurer recurred continually, and in 1305 we read that—
“This year king Edward put his son, prince Edward, in prison, because that he had riotously broken into the park of Walter Langton, bishop of Chester, and destroyed the deer. And because the prince had done this deed by the procurement of a lewd and wanton person, one Piers Gaveston, an esquire of Gascony, the king banished him (Gaveston) out of the realm; lest the prince, who delighted much in his company, might, by his evil and wanton conduct, fall into evil and naughty rule.”116
We now know, by the sad fate of Edward II., how well‐founded were his father’s apprehensions. We see, too, how great was Gaveston’s ascendancy, and his consequent audacity, in that he appears very quickly to have stolen back again into the prince’s society. For we find an ordinance for his banishment, dated “Lanercost, Feb. 26, 1307,” in which he is commanded to swear that he will not return; and the prince, that he will not recal him. And so strong was the conviction which had fastened on the king’s mind, of the fatal tendency of this friendship, that one of his last injunctions to the prince, just before his death, was,never to recal Gaveston. That injunction, however, like all others, was disregarded; and the loss of his throne, and of his life, was young Edward’s well‐merited punishment.