On this Day in History ... 30th October

Rymer's Fœdera Volume 1. Concerning the truce with the Scots made by the King of England at the request of the King of France.

To all those who shall see or hear these letters, Edward, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine, greeting in God.

Know that, as the most noble prince, our dear and beloved cousin and brother, Philip, by the grace of God, King of France, has sent to us, by letters of credence sealed with his seal, his dear and faithful servants, Master Pierre de Mouncey, canon of Angers, clerk, and Sir Jean de Barres, called Piau de Chat, knight;

And that we should place trust in what they would tell us on behalf of the said King, as is contained in the said letters which they delivered to us on his behalf;

And the aforesaid Master Pierre and Sir John, by their credentials, have requested us, on behalf of the same King [of France], that we should grant a truce to those people of Scotland, with whom we are at war, at the prayer and request of the same King of France;

Wishing to obey in this matter, although it grieves us, we have granted the truce and allowed the armistice, as to a friend and amicable mediator, and not as to allies of those of Scotland, but as to one who in no way considers himself allied with them, as the aforementioned Master Pierre and Sir John told us on his behalf; and as a non-ally they requested us to grant it: for otherwise we would not have granted or given it, if he held himself in any way allied with them.

And for that said truce we have given, and promised to hold and maintain the armistice for the people of Scotland, for their persons, their supporters, and their allies, for their goods and possessions, from us, and from our supporters and allies, until the coming feast of Pentecost, in the following manner:

That each person shall hold what he holds, and may build, strengthen, cultivate, till, and do whatever he pleases with what he holds during the said truce.

And that everyone, on both sides, may go and come and trade safely, by sea and by land, from one country to another, and wherever they please, according to the laws and customs of the lands.

Thus, in all ways, they may not bring or carry into England, or into Ireland, or anywhere else within our power, any money except such as is current there, unless it be to our exchange, or unless they do not intend to put it into circulation or use it within our dominion.

Nor may they carry out of our dominion the money which is current there, nor good silver, under the penalty that has been previously ordained.

And that no one offend or do wrong to one another until the said day of Pentecost.

And this truce and this truce-bound ceasefire, in the manner described above, we promise to keep well and faithfully, and firmly to hold, for ourselves and our people, and through ourselves and our people, by sea and by land, until the said day of Pentecost.

And, in order firmly to keep and hold these things, we have caused our seneschal, Sir Walter de Beauchamp, to swear upon our soul.

In witness of all these things being loyally kept, held, and fulfilled, we have caused these open letters to be made, sealed with our seal"

Given at Dumfries, on the 30th day of the month of October, in the 28th year of our reign.

E qe chescune, d'une part & d'autre, porra aler, e venir, e marchander seurement, par mier, e par terre, d'une pays a d'autre, e la ou li plerra, selonc les leis & les usages des pays.

De treugis Scotis per Regem Angliæ ad petitionem Regis Franciæ.

A touz ceus qui ces lettres verront ou orront, Ed ward, par la grace de DEU, Roy d'Engleterre, seignur d'Irland, & ducs d'Aquitaigne, saluz en Dieu.

Sachez que, come tresnoble prince, nostre cher & ame cosin & frere, Philip, par la grace de DIEU, Roi de France, eit envoie a nous, par letters de creaunce, seales de son seal, ses ames & foiaux, mestre Pieres de Mouncey chanoigne d'Aungiers clerk, & monsire Johan de Barres dist Piau de Chat chivaler;

Et qe nous les creussiens de ceo qu'il nous diroyent de par le dit Roy, sicom est contenuz es dites lettres, qu'il nous baillerent de par li;

E li desusdites mestre Piere e monsire Johan, par leur creaunce, nous eyent requis, de par meisme celi Roy, qe nous a celes gentz d'Escoce, a qui nous avoms guerre, donissions treue, nous a la priere, e a la requeste de mesme le Roy de France;

Voillantz obeir en celle partie, ia soiet ceo q'il nous greve, avoms done la treue, e ottroie le soeffrance, come a ami & amiable compositour: & non come a alliez a ceus d'Escoce, mais come a celi qui de riens ne se tent aliez a eaux: sicome les avantditz mestre Piere e monsire Johan nous unt dist depar li: & com a non aliez nous unt requis qe nous la donissiens: que autrement ne la eussiens mie donee, ne grantee, s'il se tenist de riens alliez a eaux.

E por cela dite treue avoms done, e soffrance promis a tenir e garder as gentz d'Escoce, as persones, a lour aidauntz, & a lour alliez, a lour biens, e a lour choses, de nous, e de nos aidauntz, & de noz alliez, jusques au jour de la Pentecoste, procheinement avenir, en tieu manere;

Qe chescun tendra ce quil tent, e porra edefier, efforcier, laborer, cotiver, & fere ce qu'il li plerra, ou ce qu'il tent, durant la dite treue.

E qe chescune, d'une part & d'autre, porra aler, e venir, e marchander seurement, par mier, e par terre, d'une pays a d'autre, e la ou li plerra, selonc les leis & les usages des pays.

Issint, totes voyes, qu'il ne porront mettre, ne porter en Engleterre, ne en Irland, ne nule part aillours, en nostre poair, moneye fors tiele come y court, si ceo ne seit a nostre chaunge, ou si ensi n'est qu'il ne la voillent mettre, ne emploier en nostre poair.

Ne ne porront enporter, hors de nostre poair, la monoye que y court, ne bon argent, sur la forfeture qe en est avant ordene.

E que nul mespreigne, ne mefface les uns vers les autres, jusqes au dit jour de la Pentecost.

Et ceste treue e ceste soffrance, en la manere, qe desus est devisee, nous promettoms a garder bien & leaument, & firmement a tenir de nous, e de noz, e par nous, e par les noz, e par mer, e par terre, jusques au dit jour de la Pentecost.

Et, por ces choses firmement garder & tenir, avoms fet jurer, en l'alme de nous, monsire Gautier de Beauchamp nostre seneschal.

En tesmoignance de totes ces choses leaument garder, tenir e acomplir, nous avoms fet faire cestes lettres overtes, seallees de nostre seal.

Donees a Dumfrees, le XXX jour du moys de Octobre, l'an de nostre regne vint e octisme.

Condes de Barcelona by Masearo Volume 2. From his second marriage to Doña Leonor of Portugal. Without children.

Hardly had the King been widowed by Doña Maria when he immediately arranged his second marriage with Doña Leonor [aged 20], a princess of noble qualities, daughter of King Alfonso IV and Queen Beatriz, monarchs of Portugal. Despite the significant obstacles raised by the King of Castile, an avowed enemy of the King of Aragon, in an attempt to thwart this union, the marriage nevertheless took place in the city of Barcelona, where the new queen arrived by sea on November 15 of the same year that her predecessor, Doña Maria, had died. However, the King suffered the sorrow of losing this second wife to pestilence at the end of October [30th October 1348] the following year, 1348, without her leaving any offspring. She died in the city of Teruel, where the royal couple happened to be due to the extension of the Cortes and the disputes and unrest with Castile and the supporters of the Union, which eventually led to the bloodiest of wars.

The Queen's body was later taken to Poblet and rests in the same tomb as her husband, according to Finestres.

De Segundas Nupcias Con Doña Leonor De Portugal. Sin Hijos.

Apenas enviudó el Rey de D.ª Maria contrató inmediatamente su segundo enlace con D. Leonor , princesa de altas prendas , hija de D. Alfonso IV y de D.ª Beatriz monarcas de Portugal¹ , y a pesar de los grandes obstáculos que opuso el rey de Castilla , enemigo declarado del de Aragon , para frustrar este casamiento , se efectuó no obstante la union conyugal en la ciudad de Barcelona , donde llegó por mar la nueva Reina el dia 15 de noviembre del mismo año de la muerte de su antecesora D.ª Maria ; pero el Rey tuvo el disgusto de perder esta segunda esposa de pestilencia á fines de octubre del siguiente año de 1548 , sin que le dejase fruto alguno de sucesion , en la ciudad de Teruel donde se hallaban casualmente los dos esposos con motivo de la prorrogacion de córtes y de las desavenencias y disturbios con Castilla y los partidarios de la Union , que acabaron en la mas sangrienta guerra.

El cadaver de la Reina fué conducido despues á Poblet , y descansa en el mismo sepulcro que su esposo segun Finestres².

Note 1. Real Archive , Curia 11. Pet . III.

Note 2. Hist . de Poblet , tom . 1.º , pág . 283 , y alli mismo pueden verse muchas noticias de sepulturas Reales en aquel monasterio .

Memoires Jacques du Clercq. In the year of grace 1453, on the penultimate day of October, after the dispensation from the court of Rome had arrived, sent by command of Duke Philip of Burgundy, who had obtained it, declaring that the Pope dispensed Charles, Count of Charolais, son of Duke Philip, and granted him permission to take as wife and spouse Catherine of Bourbon, his first cousin, children of brother and sister, in the town of Lille in Flanders: the said Charles married the said Catherine of Bourbon. The duchess, his mother, was at Lille, and the duke was at Dijon in Burgundy. This marriage was carried out so hastily that the night before, Charles knew nothing of it; and it was said that he did not willingly agree to it, because she was his cousin. It was also said that the duchess his mother, and Anthony the Bastard, his brother, and others, strongly urged him to marry in England the daughter of the Duke of York, who claimed the kingdom of England. The duke, having been informed of this, and for that reason, before departing on his journey to Germany, had his son betrothed to Catherine of Bourbon, and afterward had the dispensation obtained. It was also commonly said that before the betrothal was completed, the duke, seeing that his son would gladly have withdrawn, summoned him, along with his bastard son, and, in the presence of several lords, said to him: "I have heard that you are reluctant to make the marriage I wish you to make. I do not know what moves you, except that I have been told you would gladly marry in England. I want you to know that although I have had great alliances with the English, and long ago allied myself with them to avenge my father's death, my heart and courage have never been English, and I want you to understand that. If I believed that you would do this and seek such an alliance, I would cast you out of all my lands, and you would never enjoy any lordship that I possess. And more still, if I believed that my bastard son here present, or any others, had advised you in this matter, I would have him put in a sack and drowned, and likewise all those who advised you thus. I leave it at that, as I have said". By the duke's express command, Charles lay with his wife that same night. Thereafter he loved her so much that it was a fine thing to see the good life they led in marriage; and it was truly said that for nothing would Charles have gone to any other woman than his own. For at that time it was a great pity that the sin of lust prevailed strongly, especially among princes and married people; and he was considered the most gallant companion who could deceive and seduce the most women, the more licentious he was. And this same sin of lust prevailed even more among the prelates of the Church and among all churchmen. And during the time that the duke was away from his lands, he had left the government of all his territories to his son Charles, who was then twenty years old. In that governance Charles conducted himself very well, and made himself greatly feared by enforcing justice, for above all things he wished justice to be done. There was, however, one danger, as people said: that he sometimes acted or took information without wishing to hear both sides, for which reason he was greatly feared, and people longed for the return of his father.

L'AN de grace mil quatre cent liiij, le penultiesme jour d'octobre, après ce que la dispense de cour de Rome fust venue, par le commandement du duc Philippe de Bourgogne, lequel avoit envoyé icelle dispense contenant comment le pape dispensoit Charles, comte de Charollois, fils du duc Philippe, et lui donnoit congié de prendre a femme et espouse Catherine de Bourbon, sa cousine germaine, enfans de frere et soeur, en la ville de Lille lez Flandres; icelluy Charles espousa ladite Catherine de Bourbon; la duchesse sa mere estant a Lille, et ledit duc a Digeon en Bourgogne, et fust ledit marriage sy forcement fait, que la nuict de devant ledit Charles n'en savoit riens, et, disoit on, que ledit Charles ne le faisoit point vollontiers, pour autant que c'estoit sa cousine; et aussy que la duchesse sa mere et Anthoine le bastard, son frere, et L'isle. aultres le induisoient fort a soy marrier en An gleterre a la fille du duc d'Yorc, lequel duc disoit appartenir a lui le royaume d'Angleterre, de quoy ledit duc fust adverty, et pour ceste cause ains qu'il se partist pour faire son voyage en Allemagne, il feit fiancer son fils a icelle Catherine de Bourbon, puis leur envoya querir la dispense, et me fust dit et disoit on communement encoires plus. C'est a sçavoir que ains ledit fianchage fust pourfaict, que le duc veoit bien que son fils eust volontiers recullé, que le duc manda son fils, et le bastard son fils, et presents plusieurs seigneurs, lui dit: "J'ay entendu que tu fais enuis le marriage que j^e veux que tu fasses, j^e ne sçay qui te meult, sinon que on m'a dit que tu te marrirois vollontiers en Angleterre a telle; j^e veux bien que tu saches que combien que j'ay eu grandes allianches aulx Anglois, et pour vengier la mort de mon pere, j^e me sois pieça allié a eulx, sy ne fust oncques mon coeur et mon courraige anglois, et veux bien que tu le saches; si j^e cuidois que tu le feis et que tu te volsisse allier, j^e te bou teray hors de touts mes pays, ne jamais de seigneurie que j'ay tu ne joyrois, et encoires plus, si j^e cuidois que mon fils bastard, que voila present, te le conseillat ne aultres, j^e le ferois mectre en ung sacq et noyer, et touts ceulx qui te conseilleroient de toutes ces choses. j^e m'en attends a ce qu'il en est, toutes voyes, comme dit ay". Par le commandement très exprès du duc, Charles coucha icelle nuict avecq sa femme, laquelle depuis il aima tant que c'estoit belle chose de la belle vie touchant marriage qu'ils menoient, et disoient pour vray, que pour rien icelluy Charles n'eust allé a aultre femme que la sienne; car lors c'estoit grande pitié que le pechié de luxure regnoit moult fort et par especial es princes et gens marriés; et estoit le plus gentil compagnon qui plus de femmes sçavoit tromper et avoir au moment, qui plus luxurieulx estoit; et mesme regnoit encoires plus icelluy pechié de luxure es preslats de l'eglise et en touts gens d'eglise. Et comme le temps durant que le duc fust hors de ses pays, ledit duc eut laissé le gouvernement de touts ses pays a Charles son fils qui estoit en l'age de vingt ans, auquel gouvernement ledit Charles se contint très bien, et se faisoit fort craindre en faisant justice, car il volloit sur toutes choses que justice fust faite; ung dangier y avoit, comme on disoit, c'estoit qu'il estoit informé et s'informoit aucune fois, sans vouloir ouyr partie, pourquoy on le doubtoit moult et desiroit on la re venue de son pere.

Samuel Pepys' Diary. 27th October 1662. He told me what great faction there is at Court; and above all, what is whispered, that young Crofts [aged 13] is lawful son to the King [aged 32], the King being married to his mother¹. How true this is, God knows; but I believe the Duke of York [aged 29] will not be fooled in this of three crowns.

Note 1. There has been much confusion as to the name and parentage of Charles's mistress. Lucy Walter was the daughter of William Walter of Roch Castle, co. Pembroke, and Mr. S. Steinman, in his "Althorp Memoirs" (privately printed, 1869), sets out her pedigree, which is a good one. Roch Castle was taken and burnt by the Parliamentary forces in 1644, and Lucy was in London in 1648, where she made the acquaintance of Colonel Algernon Sidney [aged 25]. She then fell into the possession of his brother, Colonel Robert Sidney². In September of this same year she was taken up by Charles, Prince of Wales. Charles terminated his connection with her on October 30th, 1651, and she died in 1658, as appears by a document (administration entry in the Register of the Prerogative Court) met with by the late Colonel Chester. William Erskine, who had served Charles as cupbearer in his wanderings, and was appointed Master of the Charterhouse in December, 1677, had the care of Lucy Walter, and buried her in Paris. He declared that the King never had any intention of marrying her, and she did not deserve it. Thomas Ross, the tutor of her son, put the idea of this claim into his head, and asked Dr. Cosin to certify to a marriage. In consequence of this he was removed from his office, and Lord Crofts [aged 37] took his place (Steinman's "Althorp Memoirs"). Lucy Walter took the name of Barlow during her wanderings.

Note 2. Not clear who Colonel Robert Sidney is since Algernon Sidney didn't have a brother called Robert. Algernon's brothers were Philip Sidney 3rd Earl of Leicester [aged 43] and Henry Sidney 1st Earl Romney [aged 21].

Samuel Pepys' Diary. 30th October 1668. Up betimes; and Mr. Povy [aged 54] comes to even accounts with me, which we did, and then fell to other talk. He tells, in short, how the King [aged 38] is made a child of, by Buckingham [aged 40] and Arlington [aged 50], to the lessening of the Duke of York [aged 35], whom they cannot suffer to be great, for fear of my Chancellor's [aged 59] return, which, therefore, they make the King violent against. That he believes it is impossible these two great men can hold together long: or, at least, that the ambition of the former is so great, that he will endeavour to master all, and bring into play as many as he can. That Anglesey [aged 54] will not lose his place easily, but will contend in law with whoever comes to execute it. That the Duke of York, in all things but in his cod-piece, is led by the nose by his wife [aged 31]. That W. Coventry [aged 40] is now, by the Duke of York, made friends with the Duchess; and that he is often there, and waits on her. That he do believe that these present great men will break in time, and that W. Coventry will be a great man again; for he do labour to have nothing to do in matters of the State, and is so usefull to the side that he is on, that he will stand, though at present he is quite out of play. That my Baroness Castlemayne [aged 27] hates the Duke of Buckingham. That the Duke of York hath expressed himself very kind to my Lord Sandwich [aged 43], which I am mighty glad of. That we are to expect more changes if these men stand. This done, he and I to talk of my coach, and I got him to go see it, where he finds most infinite fault with it, both as to being out of fashion and heavy, with so good reason that I am mightily glad of his having corrected me in it; and so I do resolve to have one of his build, and with his advice, both in coach and horses, he being the fittest man in the world for it, and so he carried me home, and said the same to my wife. So I to the office and he away, and at noon I home to dinner, and all the afternoon late with Gibson at my chamber about my present great business, only a little in the afternoon at the office about Sir D. Gawden's accounts, and so to bed and slept heartily, my wife and I at good peace, but my heart troubled and her mind not at ease, I perceive, she against and I for the girle, to whom I have not said anything these three days, but resolve to be mighty strange in appearance to her. This night W. Batelier come and took his leave of us, he setting out for France to-morrow.

On 30th October 1914 at Zandvoorde during the he First Battle of Ypres.

Charles Pelham [aged 27] [Lord Worsley] was killed in action. His wife, Alexandra Vivian [aged 24], who did not remarry, subsequently purchased the land in the town of Zandvoorde in which he was buried. Following his re-interrment at the Town Cemetery Military Extension at Ypre in 1921, the land became the site of the Household Cavalry Memorial.

Hugh William Grosvenor [aged 30] was killed in action.

Gerald Ernest Francis Ward [aged 36] was killed in action His body was never recovered and he is commemorated at the Menin Gate.

Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice [aged 40] was killed in action.

The 1st Life Guard's war diary noted the action at Zandvoorde -[7]

Zandvoorde-Oct 30 6am Heavy bombardment of position opened. At 7.30am position was attacked by large force of infantry. This attack proved successful owing to greatly superior numbers. Regiment retired in good order about 10.00am except C Squadron on the left flank from which only about ten men got back. Remainder of Squadron missing. Also one machine gun put out of action.

Worsley was in command of the Machine Gun section of the Royal Horse Guards defending the area around Zandvoorde to the East of Ypres. They had come under overwhelming pressure and most of the unit had been withdrawn and replaced by 1st Life Guards in which Hugh Grosvenor served. However the MG section, being essential to the defence of the line was retained in the front line along with its crew, led by Lord Worsley. The events concerning the death of both men are discussed in "1914 - The Days of Hope" by Lyn McDonald. Worsley was not the image of the spit and polish of the Household Brigade. He was covered in mud and had not shaved for a week having been subject to continual attacks by the German elite troops ranged against them. He wrote home that his last shave "was all the washing I've had time for in the last ten days". The incoming Life Guards had one Machine Gun inoperative so Worsley's gun was retained as it covered a vital section of the line. His team were tired and hungry having missed out on a meal during the relief by the 1st Life Guards, who had already consumed their own rations whilst moving up to the line and could not help their brothers in arms. However a timely parcel arrived from Worsley's mother containing chocolate which was shared equally amongst the MG team. They remained in position for six days and nights in appalling weather and under attack by overwhelming numbers. Their trench was shallow, and dug on the forward slope before Zandvoorde in full view of the Germans. It was clear to Hugh Grosvenor that the position was exposed and that the Germans were massing for another attack. Grosvenor sent the following message to his HQ "There appears to be a considerable force of the enemy to my front and to my right front. They approach to within about seven hundred yards at night. Our shells have not been near them on this flank". What remained unsaid was that the German artillery certainly had the range of the British trenches and had delivered significant quantities of shellfire, clearly with little reply.

The morning of 30th November dawned as the eighth consecutive day that Worsley's MG team had spent in the line. At 06.00hrs the German barrage started and it was intense. For 90 minutes there was little that the British could do but deal with their battered trenches and their wounded. Worsley's team had to cover their vital Machine Gun with their bodies to protect it from mud and dirt - they well knew that when the shelling stopped they would need it in full working order. When the shelling stopped and the Germans advanced it was over in minutes. An official report confirmed that "the (German) attack proved successful owing to greatly superior numbers" and that the Regiment had "retired in good order". Not all had retired in good order. Hugh Grosvenor and Charles Worsley were occupied in dealing with Germans swarming over their trenches and firing on them at close range and soon it came down to hand to hand fighting. The inevitable conclusion soon came. One man retiring looked back and saw Worsley still standing, firing at the enemy about to overwhelm the trench. There was nobody left alive to tell the tale of the final moments. There were no British wounded. There were no prisoners taken. A cavalry squadron, fighting as dismounted infantry, had simply ceased to exist. By 08.30 news that the 7th Cavalry Brigade had been pushed off the Zandvoorde ridge reached 1st Corps HQ. Perhaps the Commander, General Sir Douglas Haig, took a moment to spare a thought for Worsley who was married to Haig's wife's younger sister.

There was a postscript. The German unit that captured Worsley's trench was the 1st Bavarian Jaeger Regiment and one of its officers found the bodies and on searching them for papers found that Worsley was a Lord. He ordered that any personal effects, including a gold ring should be taken from the body and returned to Worsley's family. Unfortunately the German officer was himself killed a few days later and the effects never found their way back to England. All of the British bodies were buried in a mass grave which remains unfound to this day and all are commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial. All but one; Worsley's body was given a separate burial and via neutral Holland the German authorities passed information of its location. After the war it was located and is now buried in Ypres Town Cemetery Extension, just yards from that of another aristocratic Freemason HRH Prince Maurice of Battenberg. The land where Worsley's body was found was purchased by his wife and now is the site of the Household Division Memorial. Lyn McDonalds book includes photos of Worsley and his wife at the quayside before his embarkation to France and also his temporary grave marker.