Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 17.djvu/23

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Edward I
17
Edward I

been played upon him. Windsor surrendered on 26 July, and on 18 Aug. Edward agreed to terms that had been arranged by the king of the Romans. From 19 Sept. to 7 Oct. he was with his father at Boulogne. On the failure of the attempt at arbitration that was made there he returned to England, and at the parliament held on 14 Oct. he refused to agree to the barons' terms, complained that Earl Ferrers had seized three of his castles, and again took up his quarters at Windsor. He succeeded in winning over several barons to the royal side; he was now fully recognised as head of the party, and he made a strict alliance with the lords marchers (Wikes). In company with several of his new allies he joined the king in summoning the surrender of Dover Castle on 4 Dec. The castellan refused, and the royal forces retired. On the 10th he was party to the agreement to refer the question of the validity of the provisions to Lewis XI. Immediately after Christmas he set sail for France with his father. They had a stormy passage, and Edward made many vows for his safety. On 23 Jan. 1264 Lewis pronounced against the provisions.

The barons were dissatisfied with the result of the appeal, and Edward again made war in the marches; he joined his father at Oxford, and on 5 April, in company with the king and his uncle Richard, attacked Northampton. Simon de Montfort the younger, who defended the town, was taken prisoner, and would have been slain had not Edward forbidden it. After wasting the lands of Earl Ferrers and levelling his castle of Tutbury, Edward marched towards London, for some of the citizens offered to deliver the city to him. Leicester prevented this, and the king's army encamped in great force before Lewes. On 13 May Edward joined with the king of the Romans in sending a defiance to Leicester and Gloucester, who had now advanced with the baronial army to within a few miles of the town. In the battle of the next day, Wednesday, 14th, Edward occupied the right of the army, and early in the morning charged the Londoners, who, under the command of Hastings, were passing by the castle where he was Quartered, in order to gain the town. They fled in confusion, and Edward, who was determined to take vengeance on them for the insults they had put on his mother the year before, pursued them, it is said, for four miles, and cut down a large number of them (Rishanger, p. 32; Wikes, p. 151). As he returned from the pursuit he fell upon the enemy's baggage, and spent much time in taking it. When, as late, it is said, as 2 p.m. ('usque ad octavam horam,' Chron. Mailros, p. 195), he brought his men back to Lewes, he found that the battle was lost, that his father had taken refuge in the priory, and that his uncle was a prisoner. His men fled, and he and those who still followed him forced their way into the church of the Franciscans (Ann, Wav. p. 357). By the capitulation that followed, he and his cousin, Henry of Almaine, were made hostages for their fathers' conduct. They were taken to Dover and were put under the care of Henry de Montfort, who treated them as captives, and 'less honourably than was fitting' (Wikes, p. 153). Before long they were moved to Wallingford for greater safety. While Edward was there an unsuccessful attempt was made to rescue him (Rob. of Gloucester). He was afterwards lodged in Leicester's castle at Kenilworth, where he was during the following Christmas. While there he appears to have been treated honourably, for the countess was his aunt, and he was allowed to receive visitors, though he was closely watched. The subject of his release was debated in the parliament held in London in January 1265, and on 8 March terms were finally agreed upon which, while putting an end to his period of confinement, still left him helpless in Leicester's hands, and handed over to the earl the county of Chester and several of his most important possessions to be exchanged for other lands. A quarrel broke out between Leicester and Gilbert of Gloucester, and on 26 April Leicester made Edward march along with him to the town of Gloucester, for he thought it necessary to take some measures to check Earl Gilbert, who was now in alliance with the Mortimers and other marchers. Edward was next taken to Hereford. He kept up an understanding with the marchers through his chamberlain, Thomas of Clare, the earl's younger brother, and on 28 May effected his escape. He rode the horses of several of his attendants, one after another, as though to try their speed, and when he had tired them, mounted his own and rode away with Thomas, another knight, and four squires to the spot where Roger Mortimer was waiting for him, and was conducted in safety to Mortimer's castle at Wigmore. He entered into an alliance with Gloucester at Ludlow, swearing that if he was victorious he would cause 'the ancient, good, and approved laws to be obeyed,' that he would put away the evil customs that had of late obtained in the kingdom, and would persuade his father to remove aliens both from his realm and council, and not allow them to have the custody of castles or any part in the government. In other words, the direct control that had been exer-