EDWARD THE SECOND,
the sonne of Edward the first.

Table of Contents Added by Transcriber

The tenour of the kings letters patents.
The tenour of the said sixt letter lacking a direction.

Edward, the second of that name, the sonne of Edward the first, borne at Carnaruan in Wales, began his reigne ouer England the seauenth day of Iulie, in the yeare of our Lord 1307, of the world, 5273, of the comming of the Saxons 847, after the conquest 241, about the tenth yeare of Albert emperour of Rome, and the two and twentith of the fourth Philip, surnamed Le Beau, as then king of France, and in the third yeare after that Robert le Bruce had taken vpon him the crowne and gouernement of Scotland. His fathers corpse was conueied from Burgh vpon Sands, vnto the abbie of Waltham, there to remaine, till things were readie for the buriall, which was appointed at Westminster.

Within thrÉe daies after, when the lord treasurer Walter de Langton bishop of Couentrie and Lichfield (thorough whose complaint PÉers de Gaueston had bÉene banished the land) was going towards Westminster, to make preparation for the same buriall, he was vpon commandement from the new king arrested, committed to prison, and after deliuered to the hands of the said PÉers, being then returned againe into the realme, who sent him from castell to castell as a prisoner. His lands and tenements were seized to the kings vse, but his mooueables were giuen to the foresaid PÉers. Walter Reignold that had bÉene the kings tutor in his childhood, was then made lord treasurer, and after when the sÉe of Worcester was void, at the kings instance he was by the pope to that bishoprike preferred. Also Rafe bishop of London was deposed from the office of lord Chancellour, and Iohn Langton bishop of Chichester was thereto restored. Likewise, the barons of the excheker were remooued, and other put in their places. And Amerie de Valence earle of Penbroke was discharged of the wardenship of Scotland, and Iohn de Britaine placed in that office, whom he also made earle of Richmond.

But now concerning the demeanour of this new king, whose disordered maners brought himselfe and manie others vnto destruction; we find that in the beginning of his gouernement, though he was of nature giuen to lightnesse, yet being restreined with the prudent aduertisements of certeine of his councellors, to the end that he might shew some likelihood of good proofe, he counterfeited a kind of grauitie, vertue and modestie; but yet he could not throughlie be so bridled, but that foorthwith he began to plaie diuers wanton and light parts, at the first indÉed not outragiouslie, but by little and little, and that couertlie. For hauing reuoked againe into England his old mate the said PÉers de Gaueston, he receiued him into most high fauour, creating him earle of Cornewall, and lord of Man, his principall secretarie, and lord chamberlaine of the realme, through whose companie and societie he was suddenlie so corrupted, that he burst out into most heinous vices; for then vsing the said PÉers as a procurer of his disordred dooings, he began to haue his nobles in no regard, to set nothing by their instructions, and to take small hÉed vnto the good gouernement of the common-wealth, so that within a while, he gaue himselfe to wantonnes, passing his time in voluptuous pleasure, and riotous excesse: and to helpe them forward in that kind of life, the foresaid PÉers, who (as it may be thought, he had sworne to make the king to forget himselfe, and the state, to the which he was called) furnished his court with companies of iesters, ruffians, flattering parasites, musicians, and other vile and naughtie ribalds, that the king might spend both daies and nights in iesting, plaieng, blanketing, and in such other filthie and dishonorable exercises: and moreouer, desirous to aduance those that were like to him selfe, he procured for them honorable offices, all which notable preferments and dignities, sith they were ill bestowed, were rather to be accounted dishonorable than otherwise, both to the giuer and the receiuer, sith

About the thirtÉenth day of October, a parlement was holden at Northampton, in the which it was ordeined by the kings appointment, that the coine of his father king Edward should be still currant, notwithstanding the basenesse thereof, as some reputed it, and therefore it was mooued in the parlement to haue it disanulled. ¶ Also, order was taken for the buriall of his fathers corpse, which was solemnelie conueied from Waltham, and brought to Westminster the seauen and twentith day of October following, where with all funerall pompe it was interred. Moreouer, at the same parlement, a marriage was concluded betwixt the earle of Cornewall PÉers de Gaueston, and the daughter of Gilbert de Clare earle of Glocester, which he had by his wife the countesse Ioane de Acres the kings sister, which marriage was solemnized on All hallowes day next insuing.

About the two and twentith of Ianuarie, the king sailed ouer into France, and at Bullongne in Picardie on the foure and twentith day of Ianuarie, he did homage to the French king for his lands of Gascoine and Pontieu, and on the morrow after, maried Isabell the French kings daughter, and on the seauenth of Februarie he returned with hir into England, and comming to London, was ioifullie receiued of the citizens, and on the fiue and twentith daie of Februarie, being Shrouesundaie in the leape yeare, they were solemnlie crowned by the bishop of Winchester, bicause that Robert the archbishop of Canturburie was not as then within the realme. There was such prease and throng of people at this coronation, that a knight called sir Iohn Bakewell aliÀs Blackwell, was thrust or crowded to death. ¶ On the day of the circumcision this yeare, a great tempest of thunder and lightning began about euensong time, that continued the most part of the night following.

On wednesdaie after the Epiphanie, the knights templers in England were apprehended all in one day by the kings commandement, vpon suspicion of hainous crimes & great enormities by them practised, contrarie to the articles of the christian faith. The order of their apprehension was on this wise. The king directed his writs vnto all and euerie the shiriffes of counties within the realme, that they should giue summons to a certeine number of substantiall persons, knights or other men of good accompt, to be afore them at certeine places within their gouernements, named in the same writs, on the sunday the morrow after the Epiphanie then next insuing, and that the said shiriffes faile not to be there the same day in their owne persons, to execute that which in other writs to them directed, and after to be sent, should be conteined. The date of this writ was the fiftÉenth of December.

The second writ was sent by certeine chapleins, in which the shiriffes were commanded vpon the opening of the same, foorthwith to receiue an oth in presence of the said chapleins, to put in execution all that was therein conteined, and not to disclose the contents to any man, till they had executed the same with all expedition, and therewith to take the like oth of those persons, whom by vertue of the first writ they had summoned to appeare afore them. An other writ there was also framed & sent by the same chapleins, by the which the said shiriffes were commanded to attach by their bodies, all the templers within the precinct of their gouernements, and to seize all their lands and goods into the kings hands, togither with their writings, charters, dÉeds, and miniments, and to make thereof a true inuentarie and indenture, in presence of the warden of the place, whether he were brother of that order, or any other, & in presence of honest men being neighbors; of which indenture, one part to remaine in the custodie of the said warden, and the other with the shiriffe, vnder his seale that should so make seizure of the said goods: and further, that the said goods and chattels should be put in safe custodie, and that the quicke goods and cattell should be kept and found of the premisses as should sÉeme most expedient, and that their lands and possessions should be manured and tilled to the vttermost commoditie.

Further, that the persons of the said templers being attached, in manner as before is said, should be safelie kept in some competent place out of their owne houses, but not in streight prison, but in such order, as the shiriffes might be sure of them to bring them foorth when he should be commanded, to be found in the meane time according to their estate of their owne goods so seized, and hereof to make a true certificat vnto the treasurer and barons of the excheker, what they had doone concerning the premisses, declaring how manie of the said templers they had attached, with their names, and what lands and goods they had seized by vertue of this precept. The date of these two last writs was from Biflet the 20 of December, and the returne thereof to be made vnto the excheker, was the morrow after the Purification. There were writs also directed into Ireland, as we haue there made mention, and likewise vnto Iohn de Britaine earle of Richmond the lord warden of Scotland, & to Eustace de Cotesbach chamberleine of Scotland, to Walter de Pederton iustice of Westwales, and to Hugh Aldighle aliÀs Audlie iustice of Northwales, to Robert Holland iustice of Chester, vnder like forme and maner as in Ireland we haue expressed.

The malice which the lords had conceiued against the earle of Cornewall still increased, the more indÉed through the high bearing of him, being now aduanced to honour. For being a goodlie gentleman and a stout, he would not once yÉeld an inch to any of them, which worthilie procured him great enuie amongst the chÉefest pÉeres of all the realme, as sir Henrie Lacie earle of Lincolne, sir Guie earle of Warwike, and sir Aimer de Valence earle of Penbroke, the earles of Glocester, Hereford, Arundell, and others, which vpon such wrath and displeasure as they had conceiued against him, thought it not conuenient to suffer the same any longer, in hope that the kings mind might happilie be altered into a better purpose, being not altogither conuerted into a venemous disposition, but so that it might be cured, if the corrupter thereof were once banished from him.

Herevpon they assembled togither in the parlement time, at the new temple, on saturdaie next before the feast of saint Dunstan, and there ordeined that the said PÉers should abiure the realme, and depart the same on the morrow after the Natiuitie of saint Iohn Baptist at the furthest, and not to returne into the same againe at any time then after to come. To this ordinance the king (although against his will) bicause he saw himselfe and the realme in danger, gaue his consent, and made his letters patents to the said earles and lords, to witnesse the same.