On this Day in History ... 26th September

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. After receiving these apostolic letters, the King convened a council at Lincoln¹, and after due deliberation, he gave the following reply:

"The Most High², the Inspector of hearts, knows, inscribed in the indelible script of our memory's archive, that our ancestors and forefathers, the kings of England, have from the most ancient times held superior and direct dominion over the kingdom of Scotland and its kings in temporal matters and their dependencies; and from those kings of Scotland, and from the nobles of that kingdom from whom they wished to receive it, they obtained lawful homage and oaths of fealty for the kingdom of Scotland. We, continuing in possession of this right and lordship in our own time, have likewise received the same homage and fealty from both the King of Scotland and the nobles of the realm. Nay more, such was the prerogative of right and dominion that our ancestors enjoyed over the kingdom of Scotland and its kings, that they would bestow that kingdom upon their loyal subjects; and even remove kings for just causes, and appoint others in their place to reign under them. These facts are undoubtedly held to have been known and acknowledged by all, though perhaps something else, falsely insinuated through deception by enemies of peace and sons of rebellion, may have been suggested to your paternal ears. We humbly pray that your Holiness may turn your eye away from their scheming and imaginary fabrications. And we devoutly entreat your paternal excellence that, keeping the deeds of former times intact for the sake of brevity, we may be permitted to mention a few things by way of example."³

Rex acceptis hujusmodi literis apostolicis, convocavit concilium Lincolniæ, et, deliberato consilio, respondit sic:

Altissimus, Inspector cordium, nostræ scrinio memoriæ indelebili stilo novit inscribi, quod antecessores et progenitores nostri, reges Angliæ, jure superiori et directo dominio ab antiquissimis retro temporibus regno Scotia et ipsius regibus in temporalibus et annexis eisdem præfuerunt, et ab eisdem regibus pro regno Scotiæ, et ejusdem regni proceribus a quibus habere volebant, legalia homagia et fidelitatis juramenta receperunt. Nos, juris et dominii possessionem continuantes hujuswards reply. modi, pro tempore nostro, eadem tam a rege Scotiæ quam ab ipsis regni proceribus recepimus. Quinimmo tanta juris et dominii prærogativa super regnum Scotia et ejusdem regem gaudebant, quod regnum ipsum fidelibus suis conferebant; reges etiam ex causis justis amovebant, et constituerunt sub se loco ipsorum alios regnaturos. Quæ proculdubio notoria fuisse et esse creduntur apud omnes, licet aliud forsan paternis auribus per pacis æmulos et rebellionis filios fuerit falsa insinuatione suggestum; a quorum machinosis et imaginariis figmentis ut vestræ sanctitatis oculus avertatur suppliciter quæsumus; et paternam excellentiam devotis affectibus exoramus, ut, brevitatis causa gestis anteriorum temporum salvis, quædam exempli causa tangamus.

Note 1. The writs of summons for the meeting of this parliament are dated at Rose Castle, Cumberland [Map], on the 26th of September, 1300. The King at the same time sent orders to the different monasteries to search their chronicles, and transmit to him whatever they could discover relative to the Scottish kingdom. He also directed the chancellors of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge to send four or five doctors in the common law to consult on the Scottish succession. Rymer, Fœdera, 1.923, 924. The evidence thus collected was embodied in a letter to the Pope, drawn up, it appears, by Rishanger; which letter, we find from an entry in Bishop Stapleton's Kalendar, though intended to be sent, was never actually dispatched. Vide Documents and Records illustrating the History of Scotland, i. Introd. CXXX, by Sir F. Palgrave. The copy of this document preserved by Guisborough differs considerably from the enrolment extant on the Rot. Claus, 29 Edward I m, 10, dorso, in the Tower of London. As there seems some probability that the enrolment was made from an earlier draught of the letter, it has been thought advisable to print the text of the document from the MSS. of Guisborough, with the variations of the enrolment as notes.

Note 2. To the Most Holy Father in Christ, Lord Boniface, by divine providence Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Roman and Universal Church, Edward, by the same grace, King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine, devout kisses of the blessed feet. The following we submit not in the form or guise of a legal judgment, but entirely outside the context of litigation, for the purpose of calming the conscience of your holy paternity. May the Most High,..." etc. Rot. Claus.

Note 3. In place of this passage, the enrolment has the following: These things, without a doubt, were known and are acknowledged from ancient times, although perhaps something different may have been falsely insinuated to Your Paternal Ears by the enemies of peace and sons of rebellion. May your providence, we beseech you, reject their scheming and imaginary fabrications. Now, in the time of Eli and the prophet Samuel, there was a certain brave and distinguished man named Brutus, of Trojan descent, who, after the destruction of the city of Troy, arrived with many Trojan nobles in a certain island then called Albion, which was inhabited by giants. Having overcome and slain them by his own power and that of his followers, he named the island 'Britain' after himself, and his companions he called 'Britons'. He also built a city, which he named Trinovantum, now called London. Later, he divided his kingdom among his three sons: to Locrinus, the eldest, he gave that part of Britain which is now called England; to Albanactus, the second-born, he gave the part that was then called Albania from the name of Albanactus, and is now called Scotland; and to Camber, the youngest, he gave the part then named Cambria after himself, now known as Wales, while reserving royal dignity for Locrinus as the eldest. Then, two years after Brutus's death, a certain king of the Huns named Humber arrived in Albania and killed Albanactus, brother of Locrinus. When Locrinus, King of the Britons, heard this, he pursued Humber, who, fleeing, drowned in a river which was thereafter named Humber after him. And thus, Albania reverted to the aforementioned Locrinus. Likewise, Dunwallo, King of the Britons, killed Stater, King of Scotland, who had rebelled against him, and received his land in submission. Also, the two sons of Dunwallo, Belinus and Brennius, divided their father's kingdom between them, in such a way that Belinus, the elder, held the crown of the island with Britain, Wales, and Cornwall; and Brennius, to reign under him, received Scotland, for Trojan custom required that the right of inheritance should fall to the eldest son. Likewise, Arthur, the most famous Prince and King of the Britons, subjugated Scotland, which had rebelled against him, and almost completely destroyed its people. Later, he appointed a certain man named Anguselus as King of Scotland. And afterward, when King Arthur celebrated a most splendid feast at the city of Legions [Caerleon, Gwent] all the kings subject to him were present there, among whom was Anguselus, King of Scotland, who, rendering the service owed for the kingdom of Scotland, carried King Arthur's sword before him. And so, in succession, all kings of Scotland were subject to all kings of the Britons. But when the English kings later came to power in the said island and obtained its monarchy and dominion, then thereafter Edward...

Quæ proculdubio ab antiquo notoria fuerunt et existunt, licet aliud forte paternis auribus per pacis æmulos et rebellionis filios fuerit falsa insinuatione suggestum; quorum machinosa et imaginaria figmenta vestra providentia quæsumus aspernetur. Sub temporibus itaque Ely et Samuelis prophetæ vir quidam strenuus et insignis Brutus nomine, de genere Trojanorum, post excidium urbis Trojæ cum multis nobilibus Trojanorum applicuit in quandam insulam tunc Albion vocatam, a gigantibus inhabitatam, quibus sua et suorum devictis potentia et occisis, eam nomine suo Britanniam sociosque suos Britones appellavit, Et ædificavit civitatem quam Trinovantum nuncupavit, qua modo Londonia nominatur. Et postea regnum suum tribus filiis suis divisit, scilicet Locrino primogenito illam partem Britanniæ quæ nunc Anglia dicitur; et Albanacto secundo natu illam partem que tunc Albania a nomine Albanacti, nunc vero Scotia nuncupatur; et Cambro filio minori partem illam nomine suo tunc Cambria vocatam, quæ nunc Wallia vocitatur; reservata Locrino seniori regia dignitate. Itaque biennio post mortem Bruti applicuit in Albaniam quidam rex Hunorum nomine Humber; et Albanactum fratrem Locrini occidit. Quo audito Locrinus rex Britonum persecutus est eum. Qui fugiens submersus est in flumine, quod de nomine suo Humber vocatur, Et sic Albania revertitur ad dictum Locrinum. Item Dunwallo rex Britonum Staterium regem Scotia sibi rebellem occidit, et terram ejus in deditionem recepit. Item duo filii Dunwallonis scilicet Belinus et Brennius inter se regnum patris sui diviserunt, ita quod Belinus senior diadema insula cum Britannia, Wallia, et Cornubia possideret. Brennius vero sub eo regnaturus Scotiam acciperet; petebat enim Trojana consuetudo ut dignitas hæreditatis primogenito proveniret. Item Arturus rex Britonum princeps famosissimus Scotiam sibi rebellem subjecit et pene totam gentem delevit. Et postea quendam nomine Anguselum inregem Scotiæ præfecit. Et cum postea idem rex Arturus apud civitatem Legionum festum faceret celeberrimum, interfuerunt ibidem omnes reges sibi subjecti, inter quos Anguselus rex Scotiæ servitium pro regno Scotiæ exhibens debitum, gladium regis Arturi detulit ante ipsum. Et successive omnes reges Scotiæ omnibus regibus Britonum fuere subjecti. Succedentibus autem regibus Anglis in prædicta insula, et ipsius monarchiam et dominium obtinentibus, subsequenter Edwardus, etc.

"Sanctissimo in Christo patri domino B, divina providentia sanctæ Romanæ ac universalis ecclesiæ summo pontifici, Edwardus ejusdem gratia rex Angliæ, dominus Hiberniæ, et dux Aquitaniæ, devota pedum oscula beatorum. Infrascripta non in forma nec in figura judicii, sed omnino extra judicium, pro serenanda sanctæ paternitatis vestre conscientia vobis transmittimus exhibenda. Altissimus," etc. Rot. Claus.

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. In the same year, Archbishop Thomas of York died in the month of September, namely, on the ninth day before the Kalends of October [23rd September 1304], and was buried at Southwell [Map] on the sixth day before the Kalends of October [26th September 1304]. He was succeeded by Master William de Greenfield, elected on the Friday before the feast of Saint Nicholas [4th December 1304], and confirmed at Lyon by Pope Clement XII in the following year. King Edward troubled Archbishop Thomas in a new way. Although custom had it that, because of the baronies which archbishops and bishops held from him, the king had custody of them during vacancies, and could grant the prebends and churches belonging to those baronies if they fell vacant in that time, still, the pope was accustomed to grant the prebends and dignities that fell vacant because of the confirmation and consecration of bishops-elect in the Roman Curia. So it happened that the pope granted the prebend of Stillingfleet of Archbishop Thomas. The archbishop had also obtained from the Curia the right, upon his return, to give the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre in York Minster to whomever he wished; and he gave it to one James Segrave. But the king, moved by counsel from I know not whom, began to claim such vacancies for himself, and granted it instead to one of his clerks, John Busse. He sent letters to the archbishop ordering him to admit Busse and give him corporal possession. The archbishop replied that the matter had been dealt with by the pope, and that he neither could nor should do anything. The king immediately had him summoned before his justices, to answer for contempt by a writ Quare non admisit ["Why he did not admit [him]"]. There was no one in the king's council, nor any of the lawyers, who could or dared to defend him; and so the archbishop himself, in his own person, like one of the common people, bareheaded before all the people, made his answer, for the courtiers did not love him. When he would not change his answer, but repeated that it was an act of the pope, they declared him undefended, and seized his barony into the king's hand. He went away sorrowful, and sorrow was followed by illness, and illness by death. When he was dead, the king carried out the same procedure against the dean and chapter. But they, fearing the king's harshness, because he intended to seize all their temporalities, placated him in part, and admitted the said clerk to the same chapel, putting the prebend, as a favour to the king, into suspension.

Eodem anno obiit Thomas archiepiscopus Eborum, mense Septembri scilicet nono kalendas Octobris, et sepultus est apud Sutwell, sexto kalendas Octobris. Cui successit magister Willelmus de Grenefelde, die Veneris ante William festum Sancti Nicholai electus, et Lugduno a papa Clemente XII confirmatus in sequenti anno. Dominus rex inquietavit archiepiscopum Thomam novo modo; licet consuetudo se habeat sic, quod dominus rex, ratione baroniarum quas tenent de eo archiepiscopi et episcopi, habeat custodias earundem tempore vacationis, et præbendas et ecclesias ad advocationes earundem spectantes vacantes medio tempore conferat; tamen præbendas et dignitates per confirmationem et consecrationem electorum in curia Romana vacantes, dominus papa conferre consuevit; tical affairs. et sic contulit præbendam istius Thomæ de Styvelington. Ipse etiam archiepiscopus impetravit in curia, quod capellam Sancti Sepulchri in ecclesia Eborum conferre posset in reditu suo cui vellet, et dedit eam cuidam Jacobo Segrave. Modo dominus rex, nescio quo ductus consilio, cœpit vendicare taliter vacantes, et eam" contulit cuidam clerico suo Johanni Busse, misitque literas suas domino archiepiscopo ut eum admitteret, et in possessionem duceret corporalem. Qui respondit, hoc esse factum domini papæ, nec se posse quicquam facere seu debere; statimque rex eum vocari fecit coram justitiariis suis de contemptu responsurus per breve, Quare non admisit. Nec fuit aliquis de consilio suo seu aliquis narratorum omnium qui posset vel auderet respondere pro eo; immo ipsemet in propria persona, quasi unus de populo et coram omni populo, discooperto capite respondebat, non enim eum amabant curiales. Cumque nollet suum mutare responsum, sed factum domini papæ iterabat, pronunciaverunt eum indefensum, et baroniam suam in manum domini regis seisierunt. Recessitque tristis, et tristitia successit infirmitas, et infirmitati mors extrema sociatur. Quo mortuo, fecit dominus rex eundem processum contra decanum et capitulum. At illi timentes sævitiam regis, eo quod dominus rex omnia temporalia sua seisisse voluerat, placaverunt eum in parte, et prædictum clericum admiserunt ad capellam eandem, ponentes præbendam ex gratia regis in suspenso.

Chronicle of Jean le Bel Volume 1. When the said Sir Hugh saw that he had accomplished part of his will, having destroyed the greatest barons of England, driven the queen and her eldest son out of the kingdom, and brought the king entirely under his control, he afterward caused many worthy men to be executed and put to death without law or judgment, merely because he held them in suspicion. So greatly did he abuse his power through pride that the barons who remained, and others still in the country, could endure him no longer. Some of them therefore made a secret agreement among themselves and quietly informed the queen, their aforesaid lady, who had been for the space of three years in Paris¹, she and her eldest son, as though banished and driven from her land and kingdom, as you have heard, that if she could find a way or means to secure men-at-arms to the number of a thousand suits of armour or thereabout, and would return with her son and company into the realm of England, they would all rally to her and to him and obey him as their lord. For they could no longer endure the disorders and deeds that the king committed in the land by the counsel of the said Sir Hugh² and of those who were of his party.

Quant ledit messire Hue vit qu'il avoit fait une partie de ses voulentés, mis à destruction les plus grands barons d'Angleterre, la royne et son aisné filz hors du royaume dechassé, et qu'il avoit ainsy le roy à sa voulenté attrait, il fist aprez tant de bonnes gens justicer et mettre à mort sans loy et sans jugement pour tant qu'il les tenoit pour suspets, et tant fist de merveilles par son orgueil que les barons qui demourés estoient et les remanans ou pays ne le pœurent plus porter, ains quirent les aucuns accord entre eulx paisiblement et firent si secretement sçavoir à la royne, leur dame dessusdite, qui avoit esté bien par l'espace de III ans à Paris, elle et son aisné filx, comme bannye et dechassée de son pays et royaume, comme vous avez ouy, se elle pouoit trouver voye ne maniere quoy elle pœut avoir gens d'armes jusques à la somme de mille armeures de fer ou là entour, elle voulsist ramener son filz et toute sa compaignie où royaume d'Angleterre, ils trairoient tous vers elle et luy et obeiroient comme à leur seigneur, car ilz ne pouoient plus porter les desroys et faitz que le roy faisoit où pays par le conseil dudit messire Huon et de ceulx qui de son accord estoient.

Note 1. Isabella did not remain three years in Paris with her son. Having landed in France in March 1325, we find that on 27th August 1326, at Mons, her son Edward promised to marry Philippa of Hainaut, daughter of William of Hainaut, within the two years following that date. Murimuth and Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke say she landed at Orwell 'on the Friday just before the feast of Saint Michael' being the 26th September 1326. The Historia Roffensis and the Annales Pauline have 24th September.

Isabelle ne resta pas trois ans à Paris avec son fils, car, débarquée en France au mois de mars 1325, nous voyons que, le 27 août 1326, à Mons, son fils Édouard promet d'épouser Philippe de Hainaut, fille de Guillaume de Hainaut, dans les deux ans qui suivront cette date. (Froissart, éd. Kervyn, t. II, p.502 et 503, et, d'après Adam Murimutb, elle débarqua en Angleterre le 28 septembre 1326. — Murimuth, éd. Thompson, p46.)

Note 2. Rymer publishes a whole series of letters from Edward II addressed to Isabella, to his son Edward, to the pope, to the cardinals, and others, in which he urges the queen and his son to return and forbids his son to marry without his consent. In several of these letters, reference is made to the influence of Hugh Despenser over Edward II.

Rymer (Fœdera, éd. de la Record commission, t. II, I^er partie, p. 615 et suiv.) fait connaître toute une suite de lettres d'Édouard II à Isabelle, à son fils Édouard, au pape, aux cardinaux, etc., par lesquelles il engage la reine et son fils à revenir et interdit à son fils de se marier sans son consentement. Dans plusieurs de ses lettres, il est fait allusion à l'influence de Hugues Spencer sur Édouard Il.

Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. The siege of Tournai¹ lasted until the feast of Saints Cosmas and Damian [26th September 1340], which is the day before the vigil of Saint Michael. On that day, after many negotiations about arranging a truce, initiated by the French. a truce was agreed upon at their request, to last until the feast of Saint John the Baptist next following, so that peace could be negotiated in the meantime. Prisoners were released on both sides under a sworn agreement that they would return by the said feast day if no final peace was concluded. Thus, the siege of Tournai was lifted, and, to speak truly, it was much to the displeasure of the King of England. For the king had with him only a few Englishmen at that time; all the rest were mercenaries, who had received no pay for a fortnight, because the expected funds from England had not arrived. Furthermore, the Duke of Brabant and the Count of Hainaut, who had fought primarily for the king so that the towns and castles which the French tyrant had taken from them and unjustly detained would be restored with the king's help, which had been done, no longer saw any benefit in continuing a war that was not their own. Therefore, once their objective had been achieved, they, by a unified decision, urged and almost forced the king to agree to a truce, whose will he had, for the time being, to follow. So the truce was made and the siege lifted, an outcome that displeased only the English, the Flemings, and a few other mercenaries.

Duravit obsidio Torneacensis usque ad festum sanctorum Cosme et Damiani, quod est pridie vigilie sancti Michaelis. Quo die, post plurimos tractatus super treuga ineunda, per Francos procurata, in quam fuerat consensum ad peticionem Gallicorum usque ad festum sancti Iohannis Baptiste, extunc proximo futurum, duraturam, ut posset interim de pace tractari, et redditi fuerunt hinc et inde captivi, sub convencione iurata redeundi ad dictum festum in casu quo non fieret pax finalis. Sic fuerat soluta obsidio Tornacensis, et, si verum fateatur, ad magnam displicenciam regis Anglie. Rex nempe non habuit secum nisi paucos Anglicos ibidem, set omnes alii fuerunt stipendiarii, quibus per quindenam nihil fuerat solutum pro eo quod pecunia expectata de Anglia non venit. Preterea dux Brabancie et comes Hannonie, qui pro eo potissime cum rege militarunt, ut ville et castra, que tirannus Francorum ipsis abstulit et iniuste detinuit, forent eis per auxilium regis restituta, quod et fuit factum, set, cessante causa pro qua laborabant, non plus placuit eiis guerra aliena, propterea uno assensu regem provocarunt, et quasi coegerunt, ad treugam ineundam, quorum oportuit ipsum pro tunc sequi voluntatem. Treuga igitur capta et obsidio soluta solis Anglicis et Flandrensibus et aliis paucis stipendiariis displicuerunt.

Note 1. The siege of Tournay lasted nine weeks, from the 23rd July. The truce was signed on the 25th September 1340. Deeds of King Edward III by Robert of Avesbury.

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. "To the most holy father in Christ, lord Clement, by divine providence supreme pontiff of the most holy Roman Church, Edward, by the same grace king of England and France and lord of Ireland, [offers] the devout kisses of the blessed feet. Considering the clemency of the Apostolic See, which is wont to be supremely solicitous for the fostering of the devotion of Christ's faithful and the salvation of souls, seeking not its own things but those of Jesus Christ, our trust is reasonably held that your maturity, raised by divine grace to the watchtower of apostolic eminence and to the brightness of merits and knowledge, will mercifully take care to reform those things which diminish the honour of the Church and the devotion of the people, and which threaten the peril of souls and of property. We do not doubt that it has come to public knowledge how, from the beginning of the nascent Church in our kingdom of England, by the kings of England, our forebears, and by the nobles and faithful men of the said realm, worthy of perpetual remembrance, the primacy, for the increase of divine worship, constructed churches and further endowed them with possessions, strengthened them with privileges, and placed in them fit ministers who faithfully propagated the Catholic faith among the peoples and in the tongues subject to them; by whose care and diligence the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts wonderfully flourished there in worship and fruit. But, what is to be lamented, the shoots of that vineyard are degenerating into wild vines, and the boars from the forest are laying it waste, and solitary beasts are devouring it, while the impositions and provisions of the Apostolic See, which now prevail more heavily than before, seize for the hands of unworthy men, and especially foreigners, the possessions of that heritage, against the pious will and ordinance of the donors; and its dignities and rich benefices are conferred on unworthy persons and aliens, often suspected by us, who do not reside in the said benefices, who do not recognize the faces of the sheep committed to them, who do not understand the language, but, the care of souls neglected, like hirelings seek only temporal gains. And thus the worship of Christ is diminished, the care of souls is neglected, hospitality is withdrawn, the rights of the churches are destroyed, the buildings of the clergy fall into ruin, the devotion of the people is diminished, and the clergy of the said realm, men of great learning and honourable life, who could profitably exercise the care and governance [of souls] and who would be suitable for our counsels and those of the public, abandon study because the hope of fitting promotion is taken away, which we know is not pleasing to the will of God. Nay rather, a serious prejudice to us and to our faithful subjects, and inestimable peril, is at hand unless we take prompt and prudent precautions in this matter. For the right of patronage which we and our faithful subjects possess in such benefices is weakened; our court, in which alone cases concerning the right of patronage of the said benefices ought to be heard, is evaded; and thus the rights of our crown perish as disgracefully as they do harmfully, and the treasure of the realm is carried off to foreigners, nay, to say nothing of our ill-wishers, perhaps by subtle contrivance; and with the clergy of the realm thus brought low and the treasury thereof drained, the realm is rendered weak in adversity. All these things, and other inconveniences which follow from the aforesaid matters, were openly set forth before us in our general parliament by the commons of the said realm, accompanied by their unanimous and earnest petition that we should quickly take steps to meet the said losses, which to the said community seem intolerable. But we, plainly beholding with open eyes the depression of the English Church and the disinheritance of the royal crown, and the aforesaid evils, which, if long dissimulated, would likely increase to yet graver ones, bring these matters before you, the successor of the prince of the apostles, who received from Christ the command to feed, not to shear, the Lord's sheep, and to strengthen, not to cast down, his brethren, beseeching with earnest desire that, having duly weighed the premises, and considering that by right magistrates are to be chosen from among the people, and, according to the saying of the prophet, defenders are to be appointed from the midst of the people, something which we read was done by the blessed apostles when they sent to the nations men having knowledge of their own tongues, also considering the fullness of devotion in which our royal house, and the clergy and people of the said realm, have hitherto persevered in obedience to the said See (for which reason a fatherly affection would not heap upon them burdens and grievances), you may be willing, as a father laying up treasure for his children, to lighten the weight of the said impositions, provisions, and burdens, now prevailing through the Apostolic See; granting further that patrons may not lose the comfort of their patronage, and that the cathedral and other churches of the said realm may enjoy free elections and their effect, churches which our said progenitors in former times, upon each vacancy, were wont by their royal right to confer freely upon fit persons, and which they afterwards, at the request and instance of the said See, under certain modes and conditions, granted that elections should be made in the said churches by their chapters, a grant which was by the Apostolic See, of its certain knowledge, confirmed. But contrary to the form of the grant and confirmation aforesaid, the said See, by its reservations and provisions, takes away from the said chapters the aforesaid elections, and from us the right and prerogative which, according to the form of the said grant, belong to us in this matter; wherefore, according to the law of our said realm, since the condition expressed in the grant is not observed, the grant is annulled and the matter reverts to its original state. Wherefore, upon the premises, may your kindness deign, we beseech you, for the honour of God and the salvation of souls, and for the removal of the aforesaid scandals and prejudices, to apply a prompt and wholesome remedy, so that we and ours, desiring, as we ought, to revere your most holy person and the holy Roman Church, may, these said intolerable evils having ceased, rest in the sweetness of your fatherly love, and that our devotion may revive, refreshed by the display toward us of the mercy of your pious moderation. May the Most High preserve you for the governance of His holy Church through prosperous and long-lasting times. Given at Westminster on the 26th day of September [1343], in the fourth year of our reign of France and the seventeenth of our reign of England."

"Sanctissimo in Christo patri domino Clementi, divina providentia sacrosanctæ Romanæ ecclesiæ summo pontifici, Edwardus, eadem gratia, rex Angliæ et Franciæ et dominus Hiberniæ, devota pedum oscula beatorum. Pensata sedis apostolicæ clementia, quæ de fomento devotionis Christi fidelium et animarum salute, solet esse summe sollicita, non quærens quæ sunt sua sed quæ sunt potius Jesu Christi, tenet probabiliter nostra fiducia, quod vestra maturitas in specula celsitudinis apostolicæ, præclaritate meritorum et scientiæ divinitus jam erecta, ea quæ decus ecclesiæ et devotionem plebis attenuant, ac animarum et rerum pericula comminantur, curabit misericorditer reformare. In publicam autem non ambigimus notitiam pervenisse, qualiter ab exordio nascentis ecclesiæ in regno nostro Angliæ, progenitorum nostrorum regum Angliæ, et procerum ac fidelium dicti regni, digne recolenda, prioritas propter divini cultus augmentum construxit ecclesias, et ipsas amplius dotavit possessionibus, privilegiis communivit, et ponens in eis ministros idoneos, qui fidem catholicam in subjectis sibi linguis et populis fideliter propagarunt, per quorum curam et sollicitudinem vinea Domini Sabaoth in cultu et fructu ibidem mirifice fecundavit; sed quod dolendum est, ipsius vineæ propagines degenerantur in labruscas, et exterminant illam apri de silva, singularesque feræ depascunt eam, dum impositiones et provisiones sedis apostolicæ, quæ solito gravius invalescunt, ipsius peculium contra piam voluntatem et ordinationem donatorum manus occupant indignorum, et præsertim exterorum, et ejus dignitates et beneficia pinguia personis conferuntur indignis ac alienigenis, plerumque nobis suspectis, qui non resident in dictis beneficiis, et vultus commissorum eis pecorum non agnoscunt, linguam non intelligunt, sed animarum cura neglecta, velut mercenarii solummodo temporalia lucra quærunt, et sic diminuitur Christi cultus, animarum cura negligitur, subtrahitur hospitalitas, ecclesiarum jura depereunt, ruunt ædificia clericorum, attenuatur devotio populi, clerici dicti regni, viri magnæ literaturæ et conversationis honestæ, qui curam regimen possent salubriter peragere, et forent pro nostris et publicis consiliis opportuni, studium deserunt propter promotionis congruæ spem ablatam, quæ divinæ scimus non esse placita voluntati. Quinimmo grave nostrum et fidelium nostrorum versatur in præjudicium et inestimabile periculum, nisi super hoc citius et consultius caveamus. Nam jus patronatus, quod nos et fideles nostri in talibus obtinemus beneficiis, enervatur; curia nostra, in qua duntaxat causæ super jure patronatus dictorum beneficiorum tractari debent, deluditur; et sic jura coronæ nostræ tam probrose quam damnose depereunt, et regni thesaurus ad extraneos, ne dicamus nostros malivolos, asportatur, subtili forsitan conjectura, et regni depresso sacerdotio, et ejus exhausto thesauro, redditur regnum debile in adversis, quæ singula et alia quæ ex præmissis sequuntur incommoda, fuerunt coram nobis in parliamento nostro generali per communitatem dicti regni palam exposita, unanimi et ferventi petitione subjuncta, ut prædictis dispendiis quæ prædictæ communitati videntur intolerabilia, celeriter occurramus. Nos autem Anglicanæ depressionem ecclesiæ et exhæredationem coronæ regiæ, ac mala prædicta quæ dissimulata diutius adjicerent verisimiliter graviora, patulo cernentes intuitu, ad vos successorem apostolorum principis, qui ad pascendum non ad tondendum oves Dominicas, ac ad confirmandos non ad deprimendos fratres suos mandatum a Christo suscepit, ista deferimus votivis affectibus supplicantes, quatinus præmissis debite ponderatis, ac considerato quod de jure creandi sunt de vico populi magistratus, et juxta dictum prophetæ, dandi sunt de sedentis loco populi munitores, quod per beatos apostolos legitur esse factum, dum gentibus viros linguarum suarum habentes notitiam transmiserunt; pensata etiam devotionis plenitudine, qua domus nostra regia, et clerus et populus dicti regni perstiterunt hactenus in obedientiam dictæ sedis, propter quod non haberet paternus affectus eis onera et gravamina cumulare, velitis, ut pater filiis thesaurizans, alleviare dictarum impositionum et provisionum ac onerum, jam per sedem apostolicam invalescentium, gravitatem, permittentes ulterius ut patroni patronatus sui solatium non amittant, ecclesiæque cathedrales et aliæ dicti regni liberas electiones et earum effectum habeant, quas quidem ecclesias dicti progenitores nostri dudum in singulis vacationibus earundem personis idoneis jure suo regio libere conferebant, et postmodum ad rogatum et instantiam dicta sedis, sub certis modis et conditionibus concesserunt, quod electiones fierent in dictis ecclesiis per capitula earundem, quæ concessio fuit per sedem apostolicam ex certa scientia confirmata. Sed contra formam concessionis et confirmationis prædictarum, dicta sedes per reservationes et provisiones suas dictis capitulis electiones adimit supradictas, et nobis jus et prærogativam, quæ juxta formam dictæ concessionis, nobis competunt in hac parte, propter quod, juxta legem dicti regni nostri, ex quo lex in concessione posita non servatur, concessio resolvitur et res statum revertitur in primævum. Super præmissis itaque dignetur quæsumus vestra benignitas, ad honorem Dei et salutem animarum, necnon ad tollenda scandala, præjudicia prælibata, festinum et salubre temperamentum apponere, ut nos et nostri personam vestram sanctissimam et sanctam Romanam ecclesiam revereri cupimus ut debemus, cessantibus dictis malis intolerabilibus, in paternæ vestræ dilectionis dulcedine quiescamus, revirescatque vestra devotio per ostensam nobis piæ moderationis vestræ clementiam recreata. Conservet vos Altissimus ad regimen ecclesiæ suæ sanctæ per tempora prospera et longæva. Datum apud Westmonasterium XXVI die Septembris anno regni nostri Franciæ quarto, regni vero nostri Angliæ decimo septimo."

Adam Murimuth Continuation. "To the most holy father in Christ and lord, Clement, by divine providence supreme pontiff of the most holy Roman and universal Church, Edward, by the same grace king of France and England and lord of Ireland, devoutly kisses the blessed feet. Considering the clemency of the Apostolic See, which is accustomed to be most solicitous for fostering the devotion of the faithful of Christ and for the salvation of souls, seeking not its own interests but rather those of Jesus Christ, our confidence reasonably holds that your prudence, now raised by divine favour to the watchtower of apostolic height through the brilliance of your merits and learning, will mercifully take care to reform those things which diminish the honour of the Church and the devotion of the people, and which threaten dangers to souls and to temporal goods. Moreover, we do not doubt that it has come to public knowledge how, from the beginning of the Church in our kingdom of England, the praiseworthy zeal of our progenitors, the kings of England, and of the nobles and faithful of that realm, for the increase of divine worship, built churches, endowed them richly with possessions, and fortified them with privileges, placing in them suitable ministers who happily propagated the Catholic faith among the peoples subject to them in their own languages; through whose care and diligence the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts flourished there wonderfully in cultivation and fruit. But, which is to be lamented, the shoots of that vineyard are turning into wild grapes, and the boars of the forest are destroying it and the beasts of the field devour it, since, by the impositions and provisions of the Apostolic See, which are growing more burdensome than usual, its property, contrary to the pious will and ordinance of the founders, is seized by the hands of the unworthy, and especially of foreigners; and its dignities and rich benefices are conferred upon alien persons, often suspect to us, who do not reside in those benefices, nor recognize the faces of the flock committed to them, nor understand the language, but, neglecting the care of souls, like hirelings seek only temporal profit. Thus, the worship of Christ is diminished, the care of souls neglected, hospitality withdrawn, the rights of churches decay, buildings fall into ruin, the devotion of the people is weakened, and the clergy of the realm, men of great learning and upright life, who might beneficially claim and exercise such offices and would be useful for our and the public counsel, abandon study because the hope of suitable advancement is taken away; which we know is not pleasing to the divine will. Indeed, grave prejudice and inestimable danger fall upon us and our faithful subjects unless we speedily and wisely provide remedy: for the right of patronage, which we and our subjects possess in such benefices, is weakened; our court, in which causes concerning such patronage ought to be heard, is undermined; and thus the rights of our crown are shamefully and harmfully diminished, and the treasure of the realm is carried off to foreigners, if not to say to our enemies, perhaps by subtle design, so that, once the priesthood of the realm is weakened and its wealth exhausted, the kingdom may be rendered weaker in adversity. All these matters, and the other harms which follow from them, were openly laid before us in our general parliament by the commons of the realm, together with a unanimous and urgent petition that we should swiftly provide remedy for these losses, which seem intolerable to them. We, therefore, clearly perceiving the oppression of the English Church, the disinheritance of the royal crown, and the aforesaid evils, which, if longer ignored, would likely grow worse, bring these matters before you, successor of the prince of the apostles, who received from Christ the charge to feed, not to shear, His sheep, and to strengthen, not oppress, his brethren; humbly beseeching you that, having duly weighed these things, and considering that rulers ought to be appointed from among the people, and, as the prophet says, that vinedressers should be given from among that same people, as was done by the blessed apostles when they sent to the nations men who knew their languages, and also considering the fullness of devotion which our royal house, clergy, and people of this realm have hitherto shown in obedience to that See, so that paternal affection ought not to burden them with such grievances, you may be pleased, as a father storing up for his children, to lighten the burden of these impositions, provisions, and charges which have grown so heavy through the Apostolic See; and further to permit that patrons do not lose the benefit of their patronage, and that the cathedral churches and others of this realm may enjoy free elections and their effect. These churches our said progenitors formerly, at each vacancy, freely conferred by their royal right upon suitable persons; and afterwards, at the request and instance of the said See, they granted, under certain forms and conditions, that elections should be made in those churches by their chapters, which concession was confirmed by the said See with full knowledge. But, contrary to the form of that concession and confirmation, the said See, by its reservations and provisions, removes those elections from the said chapters and takes from us the right and prerogative which, according to the form of that concession, belong to us in this matter; for which reason, according to the law of our realm, since the condition of the grant is not observed, the grant is annulled and the matter reverts to its original state. Upon these matters, therefore, we pray that your kindness may deign, for the honour of God and the salvation of souls, and to remove the aforesaid scandals and injuries, to apply a prompt and wholesome remedy, so that we and ours, who desire, as we ought, to revere your most holy person and the Holy Roman Church—may, when these intolerable evils cease, rest in the sweetness of your fatherly love, and that our devotion may flourish again, refreshed by the clemency of your gracious moderation shown to us. May the Most High preserve you for the governance of His holy Church in prosperous and long times. Given at Westminster, on the 26th day of September [1343], in the fourth year of our reign of France and the seventeenth of our reign of England."

"Sanctissimo in Christo patri ac domino Clementi, divina providentix sacrosanctæ Komanæ ac uniyersalis ecclesiæx summo pontifici, Edwardus, ejusdem gratia rex Franciæ et Angliæ et dominus Hiberniæ, devota pedum oscula beatorum. Pensata sedis apostolicæ clementia, quæ de fomento devotionis Christi fidelium et animarum salute solet esse summe sollicita, non quærens quæ sunt suæ sed qua sunt potius Jesu Christi, tenet probabiliter nostra fiducia quod vestra maturitas, in specula celsitudinis apostolicæ præ claritate meritorum et scientiæ divinitus jam erecta, ea, quæ decus ecclesiæ et devotionem plebis attenuant ac animaram et rerum pericula comminantur, curabit misericorditer reformare. In publicam autem non ambigimus notitiam pervenisse qualiter, ab exordio nascentis ecclesiæ in regno nostro Angliæ, progenitoram nostrorum regum Angliæ et procerum ac fidelium dicti regni digne recolenda prioritas, propter divini cultus augmentum, construxit ecclesias et ipsas amplis dotavit possessionibus et privilegiis communivit, ponens in eis ministros idoneos, qui fidem catholicam in subjectis sibi linguis et populis feliciter propagarant; per quorum curam et solicitudinem vinea Domini Sabaoth in oultu et fructu ibidem mirifice fecundavit: sed, quod dolendum est, ipsius vineæ propagines degenerantur in labruscas, et exterminant illam apri de silva singularesque feræ depascunt eam, dum per impositiones et provisiones sedis apostolicæ, quæ solito gravius invalescunt, ipsius peculium, contra piam voluntatem et ordinationem donatorum, manus occupant indignorum et præsertim exterorum; et ejus dignitates et beneficia conferuntur pinguia personisa alienigenis, plerumque nobis suspectis, qui non resident in dictis beneficiis ot vultus commissorum eis pecorum non agnoscunt, linguam non intelligunt, sed, animarum cura neglecta, veluat mercenarii solummodo temporalia lucra quærunt; et sic diminuitur Christi cultus, animarum cura negligitur, subtrahitur hospitalitas, ecclesiarum jura depereunt, ruunt ædificia clericorum attenuatur devotio popali, clerici dicti regni, viri magnæ literaturæ et conversationis honestæ, qui curam et regimen possent sibi salubriter vendicare et peragere, et forent pro mnostris et publicis consiliis opportuni, studium deserunt propter promotionis congruæ spem ablatam—quæ divinæ scimus non esse placita voluntati. Quin immo grave nostrum et fidelium nostroram —versatur præjudicium et inæstimabile -periculam, nisi super hoc citius et consultius caveamus: nam jus patronatus, quod nos et fideles nostri in talibus optinemus beneficiis, enervatur; curia nostra, in qua dumtaxat causæ super jure patronatus dictoruam beneficiorum tractari debent, deluditur; et sic jura coronæ nostræ tam probrose quam dampnose depereunt, et regni thesaurus ad extraneos, ne dicamus mostros malivolos, asportatur, subtili forsitan conjectura ut, regni depresso sacerdotio et ejus exhausto thesauro, reddatur regnum debilius in adversis. Quæ singula et alia quæ ex præmissis sequuntur incommoda fuerunt coram nobis, in parliamento nostro generali, per communitatem dicti regni palam exposita, unanimi et ferventi petitione subjuncta, ut prædictis dispendiis quæ dictæ communitati videntur intolerabilia celeriter occurramus. Nos autem, Anglicanæ depressionem ecclesiæ et exheredationem coronæ regiæ ac mala prædicta, quæ, dissimulata diutius, adjicerent verisimiliter graviora, patulo cernentes intuitu, ad vos, successorem apostolorum principis, qui ad pascendum non ad tondendum oves Dominicas, ac ad confirmandum et non ad deprimendum fratres suos, mandatum a Christo suscepit, ista deferimus, votivis affectibus supplicantes quatinas, præmissis debite ponderatis, ac considerato quod de jure creandi sunt de vico populi magistratus, et, juxta dictum prophetæ, dandi sunt de eodem loco populi vinitores, quod per beatos apostolos legitur esse factum, dum gentibus viros linguaram suarum habentes notitiam transmiserunt, pensata etiam devotionis plenitudine, qua domus nostra regis et clerus et populus dioti regni præstiterant hactenus in obedientiam dictæ sedis, propter quod non haberet paternus affectus eis onera et gravamina cumulare, velitis, ut pater filiis thesaurizans, alleviare dictarum impositionum et provisionum ac onerum, tam per sedem apostolicam invalescentium, gravitatem; permittentes ulterius ut patroni patronatus sui solatium non amittant, ecclesiæque cathedrales et aliæ dicti regni liberas electiones et earum effectum habeant. Quas quidem ecclesias dicti progenitores nostri dudum, in singulis vacationibus earandem, personis idoneis jure suo regio libere conferebant, et postmodum, ad rogatum et ad instantiam dictæ sedis, sub certis modis et conditionibus concesserunt quod electiones fierent in dictis ecclesiis per capitula earandem; quæ concessio fuit per sedem ipsam ex certa scientiaconfirmata. Sod, contra formam concessionis et confirmationis prædictarum, dicta sedes, per reservationes et provisiones suas, dictis capitulis electiones adimit supradictas et nobis jus et prærogativam, quæ juxta formam dictæ concessionis nobis competunt in hac parte; propter quod, juxta legem dicti regni nostri, ex quo lex in concessione posita non observatur, concessio resolvitur et res statum revertitur in primævam. Super præmissis itaque dignetur, quæsumus, vestra benignitas, ad honorem Dei et salutem animarum, necnon ad tollendum scandala et præjudicia prælibata, festinum et salubre temperamentum apponere,ut noset nostri, qui personam vestram sanctissimam et sanctam Romanam ecclesiam revereri cupimus, ut debemus, cessantibus dictis malis intolerabilibus, in paternæ vestræ dilectionis dalcedine quiescamus, revirescatque nostra devotio, per ostensam nobis piæ moderationis vestræ clementiam recreata. Conservet vos Altissimus ad regimen ecclesiæ suæ sanctæ per tempora prospera et longiora. Datæ apud Westmonasterium, XXVJ die Septembris, anno regni nostri Franciæ quarto, regni vero nostri Angliæ XVIJ."

Memoires Jacques du Clercq. On the 26th day of September, in the year 1465, in the town of Brussels, on a Thursday, there died a most noble and excellent lady, Catherine of Bourbon, wife of the Count of Charolais, who left only one daughter, named Mary, and had never had any other child. This lady was renowned as being the most humble, the most gracious, and of the best conduct that any lady could be. The Count and she had loved one another perfectly, so much so that it was not known that, since the Count had married her, he had had dealings with any other woman. It was said that she was so gentle that she was scarcely ever seen angered. The Duchesses of Burgundy and of Bourbon, her mothers, were present at her passing. The Duchess of Burgundy showed marvellous care in attending her day and night, so that at the hour of her death she said that the Duchess of Burgundy was more truly her mother than the mother who had borne her. This Duchess of Burgundy was very devout and cared little for the world, and for this reason did not remain with the Duke her husband, but instead allowed the Duchess of Bourbon, his sister, to keep him company, who had done so for two or three years before, together with several of her children, sons and daughters.

Le xxvje jour de septembre, l'an mil iiije lxv, en la ville de Bruxelles par ung jeudy, cloist son dernier jour très noble et excellente dame Catherine de Bourbon, femme du comte de Charollois, laquelle ne delaissa que une fille seullement nommée Marie, et n'avoit oncques eu plus d'enfant. Icelle dame avoit la renommée d'estre la plus humble, la plus benigne, et pleine de meilleurs moeurs que dame que poeult estre: le comte et elle avoient aimé l'ung l'autre parfaitement, et telle1 ment qu'il n'estoit point sceu que puis que le comte l'euist epousé, il euist a faire a aultre femme que a elle. On disoit qu'elle estoit tant gracieuse que a peu l'avoit oncques veu courrouchiée; les duchesses de Bourgogne et de Bourbon, ses meres, feurent a son trespas; laquelle duchesse de Bourgogne feit merveilleux debvoir de la garder nuict et jour, tellement que a l'heure de sa mort elle dit que la duchesse de Bourgogne estoit mieux sa mere, que sa mere qui l'avoit portée. Icelle duchesse de Bourgogne estoit moult devote, et lui challoit peu du monde, et a ceste cause ne se tenoit pas avecq le duc son mary, ainsy laissoit estre la duchesse de Bourbon, soeur de son mary, laquelle tenoit compagnie au duc, et avoit tenu deux ou trois ans paravant avecq plusieurs de ses enfants, fils et filles.

Samuel Pepys' Diary. 26th September 1668. Could sleep but little last night, for my concernments in this business of the victualling for Sir Prince, so up in the morning and he comes to me, and there I did tell him all, and give him my advice, and so he away, and I to the office, where we met and did a little business, and I left them and by water to attend the Council, which I did all the morning, but was not called in, but the Council meets again in the afternoon on purpose about it. So I at noon to Westminster Hall [Map] and there stayed a little, and at the Swan [Map] also, thinking to have got Doll Lane thither, but elle did not understand my signs; and so I away and walked to Charing Cross [Map], and there into the great new Ordinary, by my Lord Mulgrave's, being led thither by Mr. Beale [aged 36], one of Oliver's, and now of the King's Guards; and he sat with me while I had two grilled pigeons, very handsome and good meat: and there he and I talked of our old acquaintances, W. Clerke and others, he being a very civil man, and so walked to Westminster and there parted, and I to the Swan [Map] again, but did nothing, and so to White Hall, and there attended the King [aged 38] and Council, who met and heard our answer. I present, and then withdrew; and they sent two hours at least afterwards about it, and at last rose; and to my great content, the Duke of York [aged 34], at coming out, told me that it was carried for Prince at 6d. 8d., and 8 3/4d.; but with great difficulty, I understand, both from him and others, so much that Sir Edward Walker told me that he prays to God he may never live to need to plead his merit, for D. Gawden's sake; for that it hath stood him in no stead in this business at all, though both he and all the world that speaks of him, speaks of him as the most deserving man of any servant of the King's in the whole nation, and so I think he is: but it is done, and my heart is glad at it. So I took coach and away, and in Holborne overtook D. Gawden's coach, and stopped and went home, and Gibson to come after, and to my house, where Prince did talk a little, and he do mightily acknowledge my kindness to him, and I know I have done the King and myself good service in it. So he gone, and myself in mighty great content in what is done, I to the office a little, and then home to supper, and the boy to read to me, and so to bed. This noon I went to my Lady Peterborough's [aged 46] house, and talked with her about the money due to her Lord, and it gives me great trouble, her importunity and impertinency about it. This afternoon at Court I met with Lord Hinchingbrooke [aged 20], newly come out of the country, who tells me that Creed's business with Mrs. Pickering [aged 26] will do, which I am neither troubled nor glad at.

Chronicle of Jean le Bel Volume 2. In the year of grace 1350, King Philip of France died¹, and his son, the Duke of Normandy, was crowned at Reims². He was called King John of France, and he immediately debased the coinage out of greed³, and had new écus made which were called 'Johannes', of which the third part was copper.

L'an de grace mil CCCL, trespassa le roy Philippe de France', et fut couronné son filz le duc de Normendye à Rains. Si fut appellé le roy Jehan de France, et empira tantost les monnoyes par convoitise, et fit faire nouveaulx escus qu'on nommoit Johannes, dont la tierce partie estoit cuivre.

Note 1. Philip VI died in the night from Sunday 22nd to Monday 23rd August, as Gilles li Muisis indicates,, although he makes an error in saying that the night of Saint Bartholomew, that is, the 23rd, was a Sunday. This error is repeated by the Grandes Chroniques, which say that Philip of Valois died on Sunday 23rd August. But 23rd August was a Monday. The Chronique de Richard Lescot 22nd August. All these errors and divergences are very well explained by the fact that he died in the night of 22nd to 23rd August, the eve of Saint Bartholomew. Although the Grandes Chroniques and Richard Lescot say that he died at Nogent-le-Roi, Eure-et-Loir, Luce's Froissart, relying on the fact that the castle of Nogent-le-Roi belonged to the King of Navarre, says that Philip VI must rather have died at the abbey of Coulombs, situated one kilometre from Nogent. His opinion is confirmed by Gilles li Muisis, who says that he died 'in the monastery of Sainte-Colombe, of the order of Saint Benedict, which is situated near the city of Chartres'. According to the Grandes Chroniques, Philip VI’s body was brought to Notre-Dame of Paris on Thursday 26th August, and on Saturday 28th August his funeral took place. He was buried at Saint-Denis 'on the left side of the high altar'. His entrails were taken to the Jacobins in Paris, and his heart to Bourgfontaine in Valois.

1. Philippe VI mourut dans la nuit du dimanche 22 au lundi 23 août, comme l'indique Gilles li Muisis (op. cé P400), qui, cependant, commet une erreur en disant que la nuit de la Saint-Barthélemy (soit le 23) était un dimanche. Cette erreur est reproduite par les Grandes chroniques, t. V, p495, qui disent que Philippe de Valois mourut le dimanche 23 août. Or, le 23 août est un lundi. La Chronique de Richard Lescot (p. 88), place sa mort le 22 août. Toutes ces erreurs et ces divergences s'expliquent très bien par ce fait qu'il mourut dans la nuit du 22 au 23 (veille de la Saint-Barthélemy). Bien que les Grandes chroniques et Richard Lescot disent qu'il mourut à Nogent-le-Roi (Eure-et-Loir, arr. de Dreux, ch-l. de cant.), M. Luce, dans son édition de Froissart, t. LV, p. x1, n.2, s'appuyant sur ce que le château de Nogent-le-Roi appartenait au roi de Navarre, dit que Philippe VI dut plutôt mourir à l'abbaye de Coulombs, située à un kilomètre de Nogent. Son opirion est confirmée par Gilles li Muisis, qui dit qu'il mourut "in monasterio S. Columbæ ordinis Sancti Benedicti quod est situm prope eivitatem Carnotensem". D'après les Grandes chroniques, le corps de Philippe VI fut apporté à Notre-Dame de Paris le jeudi 26 août et le samedi 28 août eurent lieu ses obsèques, et il fut enterré à Saint-Denis "au costé senestre du grant autel". Ses entrailles furent portées aux Jacobins, à Paris, et son cœur à Bourgfontainc en Valois. Voy. aussi Guillaume de Nangis, éd. Géraud, t. Il, p. 221 et 222, et le compte des obsèques de ce roi publiées dans les Archives historiques, artistiques et linéraires, t. Il, p. 49 et suiv.

Note 2. The coronation of John the Good took place at Reims on Sunday 26th September 1350.

2. Le couronnement de Jean le Bon eut lieu à Reims le dimanche 26 septembre 1350. (Froissart, éd. Luce, t. IV, p400, et Grandes Chroniques, t. VI, p. 1.)

Note 3. Already Philip of Valois, by an ordinance of 21st August 1350, had debased the coinage. John the Good, who had to put this into effect, himself ordered a further debasement on 19th March and 14th May 1351.

3. Déjà Philippe de Valois, par ordonnance du 21 août 1350, avait affaibli la monnaie, (Ord., t. XII, p. 95.) Jean le Bon, qui avait dà la mettre à exécution, ordonna lui-même un nouvel affaiblissement le 19 mars et le 14 mai 1351. (Ord., t I, p. 389 et 428.)