ENGLAND. 



609 



HlVJMTT. 



Dec. 29. 

 1170. 



Is murder- 

 ed. 



Hcnry'i 

 grief and 

 abmission. 



Conquest of 

 Ireland. 



perated, M to hint a wish that seme one would deliver 

 him from the aggressions of this audacious priest. The 

 words were scarcely spoken, when four gentlemen of 

 his household, Hugh de Moreville, Richard Brito, Wil- 

 liam de Traci, and Reginald Fitz-Urse, resolved to 

 avenge their monarch's wrongs, and secretly proceeded 

 to England. They were no sooner gone, than their 

 design was suspected, when the king immediately dis- 

 patched a messenger after them, charging them to at- 

 tempt nothing against the life of the primate. But be- 

 fore the messenger could overtake them, the deed was 

 done, and Becket was no more. The assassins had 

 found the prelate in the archiepiscopal palace, and, load- 

 ing him with menaces and reproaches, followed him to 

 St Benedict's church, where he went to hear vespers, 

 and murdered him before the altar. The account of 

 this transaction filled Henry with sorrow and conster- 

 nation. He knew that he would be held up by his 

 enemies as the murderer of the Archbishop, and would 

 be exposed to the hatred and detestation of his subjects, 

 who would regard Becket as a saint and a martyr. In- 

 terdicts and excommunications, he had reason to dread, 

 would be the consequences of this event, and though 

 totally ignorant of the fact, yet in vain would he plead 

 his innocence, if the church should think him guilty. 

 His grief was consequently poignant and sincere. He 

 secluded himself in his apartment, and for three days 

 refused all kind of food and sustenance. When he was 

 recalled from his solitude by the intreaties of his cour- 

 tiers, his first step was to convince the Pope of his inno- 

 cence ; and, for this purpose, a splendid embassy was 

 immediately dispatched to Rome, to make all submis- 

 sion to his Holiness. The name of Henry was received 

 by the sacred college with every expression of horror 

 and execration ; and the indignation of Alexander could 

 only be appeased, by the ambassadors asserting, upon 

 oath, the innocence of their master, and engaging that 

 he would submit himself entirely to the judgment of 

 the Pope. The dreaded punishment was thus averted, 

 and the trial of his conduct, in the murder of the pri- 

 mate, was committed to the cardinals Albert and Theo- 

 din, who were appointed legates, and ordered to pro- 

 ceed to Normandy for that purpose. 



In the mean time, Henry, with a view to divert the at- 

 tention of his people from this subject, undertook the 

 conquest of Ireland. He had received a grant of this 

 country from Pope Adrian III. and subdued it with such 

 rapidity, that in a fewmonths he received the submission 

 of the whole island : (See IRELAND. ) But he was re- 

 called from this conquest by the arrival of the legates in 

 Normandy, who had become impatient of his delay in 

 appearing before them. At the first conference, he found 

 their demands so exorbitant, that the negotiation was bro- 

 ken off; and as the time for taking advantage of Becket's 

 murder was now past, they found themselves under the 

 necessity of lowering their terms, when an accommoda- 

 tion was at last happily effected. 



Henry having regained the favour of the church, and 

 established tranquillity throughout his extensive domi- 

 nions, was regarded as the most powerful potentate of 

 Europe. A numerous family gave lustre, and pronii- 

 sed stability to his throne, and he looked forward to a 

 peaceful and happy reign. But his happiness was but 

 short-lived. His eldest son Henry, who had married 

 Margaret, daughter of the French king, had been ap- 

 pointed his father's successor in the kingdom of Eng- 

 land, the duchy of Normandy, and the counties of An- 

 jou, Maine, and Touraine ; Richard was invested in the 

 duchy of Guienne, and county of Poictou ; Geoffrey 



VOL. VIII. PART II. 



inherited the duchy of Brittany in right of his wife ; 

 and Ireland was destined for John. These arrange- 

 ments were intended to prevent a.'l jealousy among his 

 sons, and perpetuate the greatness of his family. But 

 he found his government disturbed, and his life imbit- 

 tered, by those very sons whose fortunes he had been so 

 anxious to establish. Young Henry, who was brave, 

 affable, but aspiring and ambitious, being instigated by 

 the king of France, desired his father to resign to him 

 the immediate possession either of England or Norman- 

 dy. On his receiving a direct refusal, lie fled to Louis, 

 and prepared to enforce, by arms, what was denied to 

 his request. He was soon after joined by his brothers 

 Richard and Geoffrey, who had been incited to rebel- 

 lion by their mother Queen Eleanor ; and who had al- 

 so demanded the government of those territories which 

 had been assigned them. This unnatural combination 

 was openly encouraged and supported by Louis, who 

 engaged the chief vassals of his crown by oath to ad- 

 here to the cause of young Henry ; and this prince in 

 return bound himself never to desert his French allies. 

 William king of Scotland, with the Counts of Flanders, 

 Boulogne, Blois, and Eu, also entered into the confede- 

 racy, and a. plan was projected for a general invasion of 

 Henry's dominions. In this emergency, Henry at first 

 had recourse to the court of Rome, to reduce his undu- 

 lit'ul children to obedience, and he procured from the 

 Pope the excommunication of his enemies ; but this 

 produced very little effect, and he was at last compelled 

 to take up arms in his own defence. His licentious ba- 

 rons, however, were in general in favour of the young 

 Princes, whose government they knew would be less 

 vigilant and severe than that of their father, and conse- 

 quently many of them, particularly the Earls of Ches- 

 ter and Leicester, openly declared against their sove- 

 reign. Surrounded on every side by enemies, he sought 

 assistance from the Brabancons, or Cottoreaux, a tribe 

 of lawless banditti, who had long disturbed the tran- 

 quillity of the continental states by their depredations, 

 and who proffered tlu-ir swords to those who would most 

 freely pay them. With twenty thousand of these, and 

 a few faithful nobles, Henry proceeded to the relief of 

 Verneiiil, which had been invested by the enemy. The 

 garri-iun had engaged to capitulate, if not relieved with- 

 in three days. On the third day the English army ap- 

 peared in sight, when Louis, dreading an attack, insidi- 

 ously demanded a conference, to settle the articles of a 

 general peace. Henry readily consented ; but Louis 

 in the meanwhile obliged the garrison to surrender ac- 

 cording to agreement, and, having set fire to the place, 

 began to retire with his army. Henry, enraged at such 

 treachery, fell upon the retreating army, and put them 

 to the rout. He then crushed the insurgents in Brit- 

 tany, and, while victorious, renewed the negotiations. 

 At a conference with the king of France, held between 

 Trie and Gisors, Henry beheld, with sorrow, his three 

 sons in the retinue of his enemy ; but anxious to bring 

 them to obedience, he proposed to them the most liberal 

 terms. He insisted on retaining the sovereign autho- 

 rity in all his dominions, but offered to Henry half the 

 revenues of England, with some places of surety in that 

 kingdom ; or, if he chose to reside in Normandy, half 

 the revenues of that duchy, with all those of Anjou. 

 To Richard, he made a similar offer in Guienne ; and 

 he promised to resign .ill Brittany in favour of Geoffrey. 

 These advantageous offers, however, were rejected ; and 

 Henry was recalled to Englamrby an invasion of the 

 Scots. 



William had entered Northumberland, and commit- 

 4 H 



History. 



Revolt of* 

 Prince 

 Henry and 

 his brothers.' 



A. D. 1173. 



The king 

 offers them 

 terms of re- 

 conciliation. 



