fi : 2 



ENGLAND. 



A term of 

 lw king. 



A. I). 1324. 



The queen 

 formi the 



Dethroning 

 her hus- 

 lund. 



Deithof 



ft*. 



by 



Ix-ing repulsed, they fled towards Boron ghbr 



being met by a bo.lv of ruyali-t-. under Sir 

 Andrew Marvin. Hereford was sliir, and Lancaster 



V this prince wa< taken in arm 



was condemned by a court martial, and was led to exe- 

 l.oiicd with indignities and derision. The ili-..th 

 r.-:-!ir was followed by tlwt of hi* principal con- 

 federates. Many :iUo were thrown into prison, and 

 otlicrs escaped Ix-yond seas. The v nrite 



seized upon the most considerable forfeitures. His ra- 

 pacity was insatiable. It disgusted even the loyal ba- 

 rons, and exposed him to general odium. 



A difference having arisen Ixtwc.n I'.dward and 

 Charles the Fair, king of France, r. -p. ctir.g the duchy 

 of ( Miicnne, Isabella was pennitted to go over to 1 

 in order to adjust matters with her brother. C'l. 

 however, required that the king of England should ap- 

 pear in his court, and do homage for that duchy ; but 

 ax there were many obstacles to such a journey, the 

 queen proposed that Guienne should be given to young 

 I'.dward, and that the prince should come to 1'aris aisd 

 do homage to his superior lord. The king, glad of in- 

 dulging in his indolence, and in the society of his fa- 

 vourite, willingly consented. The queen, having now 

 got the young prince into her power, was resolved to 

 employ his influence for her own aggrandizement. She 

 had fixed her affections, which had been long estranged 

 from her husband, upon Roger Mortimer, a powerful 

 baron, who, having been engaged in the late rebellion, 

 had cM-aped into France. At the French court also she 

 met with many English fugitives, the remains of the 

 Lancastrian faction, who were ready to countenance 

 any of her schemes that were likely to be the means of 

 restoring them to their possessions and their country. 

 Being thus supported, and having gained over the Earls 

 of Kent and Norfolk, brothers to the king, as also the 

 Earl of Leicester, brother and heir to Lancaster, and 

 the Archbishop of Canterbury, with many other noble- 

 men and prelates, she landed on the coast of Suffolk, 

 with SOOO foreign troops. She ojx'iily declared that bur 

 only object was the expulsion of the Spencers from 

 power ; but with the ruin of the favourites, she medi- 

 tated also the dethronement of her husband. As the 

 Spencers were universally hated, the people soon flock- 

 ed to her standard, and even Robert de Watteville, who 

 was sent by the king to oppose her, joined her with all 

 his forces. Edward endeavoured to rouse the citizens 

 of London in his defence, but in vain ; and being in a 

 manner deserted, he fled towards Bristol. Thither he 

 was pursued by the Earl of Kent, and the foreign mer- 

 cenaries. He then passed over into Wales, leaving the 

 castle of Bristol to the charge of the elder Spencer, who 

 had lately been created Earl of Winchester ; but he was 

 no sooner gone, than the garrison mutinied, and deli- 

 vered up their governor to the rebellious barons. This 

 venerable nobleman, now in his ninetieth year, was con- 

 demned without trial, was hanged upon a gibbet, had 

 his body cut to piece* and thrown to the dogs, and his 

 head sent to Winchester to be exposed to the derision 

 of the populace. His son soon after shared the same 

 fate. The king, disappointed of the expected succours, 

 had attempted to escape into Ireland, but, being driven 

 back by a storm, he fell into the hands of the rebels, 

 and was committed to the castle of Kenitworth, under 

 the custody of the Earl of Leicester. The queen then 

 . summoned a parliament at Westminster, in which the 

 " king was charged with incapacity for government, and 

 neglecting the public welfare. He was consequently 

 and was soon after compelled, by menaces, to 



V.. D. : 



his own resignation. The young prince was then ! 



crowned King ; but tile whole authority of the go-, 

 ment fell into the hands of his mother, and her 

 niour Mortimer. Not content, however, with the im- 

 ] n-unnicnt of lu-r husband, and her own exaltation, the 

 queen endeavoured to hasten his death, by the most 

 ignominious and cruel treatment. Her criminal cor- 

 re-pondcnce with Mortimer had In-come apparent to 

 all; and as they became halt d for their vices, the de- 

 throned monarch was regarded with pity and % iur-i- 

 tion. They did not consider tliem-civcs as saie. while 

 the king liv id. He was sent lr. :n prison to pi; 

 and made the sport of his mercenary keepers. F.very 

 mean was tried to break his spirit. He was kept to- 

 tally destitute of all the comfort-, and almost oft!; 

 cessaries of life. At one time they ordered him to be 

 si m ved, in the open fields, with cold and dirty water 

 from a neighbouring ditch ; when they refused to 

 change it, he burst into tears, w hicli bedewing his 

 t'.uc, lie exclaimed, that, in^spite of their crueltv 

 should be shaved with clean and warm water. But 

 sorrow and aflliction were instruments of murder too 

 tardy for the impatience of his enemies ; and Mortimer 

 sent secret orders to his keeper to have him instantly 

 dispatched. The assassins sei/.cd him while in bed, 

 ana, in order to prevent any outward marks of violence 

 appearing on his person, they held him down with a 

 table which they flung over him. and thrust a pipe up 

 his body, through which they inserted a red hot iron, 

 which consumed his bowels. His agonizing shrieks, And mut 



however, discovered to nil the inhabitants of Berkeley ^<: 

 castle, the barbarous murder of their unfortunate king. 



Indolence and attachment to favourites were the 

 great blemishes in the character of this monarch ; wid 

 from these sprung all his misfortunes. He was of an 

 agreeable figure ; mild, gentle, mid inoffensive in his 

 disjMisitioiis ; unsuspicious in his confidence, and ar- 

 dent in his friendship ; and was, in c\vry respect, bet- 

 ter fitted for enjoying the tranquillity and endearments 

 of domestic life, than for bearing rule over a fierce and 

 turbulent people. 



On the deposition of Edward II. the Earl of I.nncas- Kd ward III. 

 ter was appointed by parliament the guardian of the 

 young king's person, with a council of regency, coiisUt- 

 ing of five prelates and seven peers; and though Morti- 

 mer's name was not included in the number, yet he pos- 

 ' the chief authority, and every thing was clone by 

 his influence, or direction. The Scots, taking advantage 

 of the unsettled state of England, broke into the northern 

 counties, and carried desolation and ruin wherever they 

 came. Young Edward, at the head of a numerous army, 

 marched to the frontiers to oppose them. But tht enemy War with 

 were commanded by the celebrated warriors, the i'.url Scniloml. < 

 of Murray and Lord Douglas, who knowing their infe- 

 riority in numbers, eluded all his pursuits, yet conti- 

 nued their depredations. Edward at last found them 

 encamped on the southern banks of the Were ; but the 

 position had been chosen with such judgment, that he 

 found it impracticable to attack them with any prospect 

 of success. They afterwards moved farther up the ri- 

 ver, still preserving, however, the advantage of the 

 ground. Here Edward followed them, and, burning 

 with a passion for military glory, iiisi-ted uixm attack- 

 ing them at all hazards; but he wu* over-ruled by Mor- 

 timer, who trusted that necessity would oblige the enemy 

 to change their situation, and thus uflcr tliei ^y 



victory. But this delay had nearly proved fatal to Ed- 

 ward. Douglas, with -00 chosen follow ers. secretly en- 

 tered die English camp in the uight-time, and peuetru- 



