Page images
PDF
EPUB

97.-CHRONOLOGY OF PRINCIPAL EVENTS.

A.D.

FROM THE ACCESSION OF THE CONQUEROR TO THE DEATH OF HENRY III.

1066 Coronation of William in Westminster Abbey.

1068 William extends his conquests to Devonshire, Somersetshire, Gloucestershire, and Oxford, and many fortified cities.

1072 William advances into Scotland; subdues Maicolm III.

1073 William lays waste Northumbria; Egelwin, Bishop of Durham, retires to Lindisfarne; Durham is taken by William and fortified.

Hugh the Wolf, Earl of Chester, invades North Wales and builds Rhuddlan Castle.
Hereward raises an insurrection in Lincolnshire, Huntingdon, and Cambridge. The
English make a fortified camp in the Isle of Ely; William besieges them for three
months; the monks of Ely betray the camp; the English surrender, but Hereward
escapes; he afterwards takes the oath of allegiance to William.
William takes with him an English army and reduces Maine.

Edgar Atheling goes to Rouen to William.

1077-9 Robert of Normandy, William's eldest son, claims that province; he is refused; he revolts; William besieges him in the Castle of Gesberoy; is wounded by Robert; he abandons the siege; Robert is reconciled to the king.

1085 The Dane-geld again laid on by the king.

The king lays waste a circumference of ninety miles in Hampshire to make a hunting ground. He enacts the forest laws.

1087 July. William lays siege to Mantes; it is taken and burned; he receives an injury by his horse stumbling; he is carried to Rouen; removes to the monastery of St. Gervas; liberates state prisoners; bequeathes Normandy to Robert, and gives 5,0007. of silver to Henry.

Sept. 9. Death of William the Conqueror.

His body is carried to Caen and is buried in St. Stephen's church.

Sept. 26. William Rufus is crowned at Westminster by Lanfranc, archbishop of
Canterbury.

The bishop of Bayeux raises an insurrection in England in favour of Robert of
Normandy.

The Normans are defeated at sea; Rufus calls the Saxons together; besieges Odo, the
bishop, in Pevensey Castle; Pevensey and Rochester Castles are surrendered to
the king.

1089 Archbishop Lanfranc dies; Rufus seizes the revenues of Canterbury.

1091 Jan. Rufus invades Normandy at the head of an English army; a peace is concluded and Rufus retains many towns.

Rufus engages in a war with Malcolm III. of Scotland.

Nov. 13. Malcolm III. and his son Edward killed at the siege of Alnwick Castle.
Nov. 16. Queen Margaret his wife, the sister of Edgar Atheling, dies.

1096 Robert resigns Normandy to Rufus for a sum of money.

1100 Aug. 1. Rufus is slain by an arrow in the New Forest, shot by Sir Walter Tyrrel. Rufus is buried in Winchester Cathedral.

Aug. 5. Accession of Henry I.; he is crowned in Westminster Abbey by Maurice, bishop of London.

Henry grants a charter of liberties; restores the rights of the church; and promises to restore the laws of Edward the Confessor.

Nov. 11. Henry marries Maud, daughter of Malcolm, king of Scots.

1101 Henry goes to war with some of his barons; siege of Arundel Castle; of Bridgenorth; it is captured; capitulation of Shrewsbury.

1106 Henry invades Normandy; lays siege to Tenchebray; Robert marches to its relief; is defeated and taken prisoner, and Normandy falls into the possession of Henry.

A.D.

1106 Edgar Atheling is taken prisoner at the same place; is brought to England, and a pension is allowed him.

Duke Robert is committed to prison for life; he attempts to escape; is blinded by order of Henry.

1110 Matilda, the daughter of Henry, affianced to Henry V., emperor of Germany, and a tax laid on the country to pay the marriage portion.

1117 Thomas à Becket is born.

1118 Maud the Good, queen of Henry, dies.

Henry is engaged in a war with his Norman barons.

The Order of the Templars founded.

1120 Nov. 25. Henry sets sail from Barfleur for England.

The Blanche-nef, the ship in which Prince William embarked, is wrecked and all perish.

1126 Matilda, the widow of the Emperor Henry V., and daughter of Henry I., is declared the next heir to the throne.

1127 Matilda is married to Geoffrey Plantagenet at Rouen.

1183 Matilda is delivered of a son at Mans, who is afterwards Henry II. of England.

Henry again causes his barons to swear to support the succession of Matilda and her children.

1135 Robert of Normandy dies in Cardiff Castle.

Nov. 25. Henry is taken sick while in Normandy.

Dec. 1. He dies, leaving all his territories to his daughter Matilde.

Stephen arrives in London, and is acknowledged king by the citizens.

Dec. 26. He is crowned at Westminster.

He calls a meeting of the barons and clergy at Oxford, who swear to obey him so long as he preserves the church discipline; the pope confirms his election as king. Stephen grants a charter of liberties; he allows his barons to fortify their castles.

1136 Stephen goes to Normandy and is received as the lawful successor.

1137 Robert Earl of Gloucester comes to England; swears fealty to Stephen; raises an insurrection in favour of Matilda; is aided by the King of Scots; Norwich and other royal castles are taken; Stephen regains them.

1138 March. David, king of Scots, invades England.

Aug. 22. The battle of the Standard is fought at Northallerton.

1139 Matilda lands in England; Stephen surprises her in Arundel Castle; she is allowed to depart; the barons of the north and west join Matilda. Stephen defeats the barons at Ely and other places.

1141 Feb. 2. Robert Earl of Gloucester takes Stephen prisoner before Lincoln.

March 2. The Bishop of Winchester abandons Stephen, and the following day gives
his benediction to Matilda in Winchester Cathedral; she assumes royal authority.
Matilda is driven from London by Queen Maud, and retires to Oxford; and thence to
Winchester Castle.

Aug. 1. The bishop besieges Winchester Castle.

Sept. 14. Matilda makes her escape from the castle, and reaches Gloucester.
Her adherents, the Earl of Gloucester, and others are taken prisoners.

Nov. 1. Stephen is set at liberty in exchange for Robert Earl of Gloucester

1147 Oct. Robert Earl of Gloucester dies of a fever.

Matilda quits England.

1150 Prince Henry succeeds as duke of Anjou.

1152 Eleanor, wife of Louis VII. of France, is divorced.

Prince Henry marries her, and attains Poictou, Guienne, and Aquitaine.

He lands in England with an army; he is met by Stephen at Wallingford ; a truce is agreed upon.

1153 Nov. 7. A peace is concluded at Winchester between Stephen and Prince Henry; the latter is adopted as his son; appointed his successor, and has the kingdom given to him after the king's death.

1154 Oct. 25. King Stephen dies, and is buried at Faversham Monastery.

Dec. Henry arrives in England and enters Winchester.

Dec. 19. He is crowned with his queen in Westminster Abbey.

A.D.

1156 Thomas à Becket is made chancellor of England, preceptor to the prince, and warden of the Tower.

1157 Henry invades Wales; the Welch, after a few months, do homage and give hostages. 1164 Jan. 25. Becket and the clergy sign a series of articles rendering the clergy subject to the civil courts for felony at Clarendon, in Wiltshire, called the Constitutions of Clarendon.

1167 May. Becket excommunicates in the church of Vezeley the supporters of the constitutions of Clarendon; and several of the favourites of Henry.

1167 Dermond MacMurrough, king of Leinster, acknowledges himself vassal to Henry, at Aquitaine, and Henry grants him protection; he comes to England; engages with Richard de Clare, earl of Pembroke, called Strongbow, and Maurice Fitzgerald and Robert Fitzstephen, for aid in his restoration; returns to Ireland.

The Empress Matilda dies at Rouen.

1169 Peace is concluded between the kings of England and France; Henry's sons do homage for their several fiefs, &c. Marriage is agreed between Prince Richard, and Alice, a daughter of Louis.

Dec. 1. Becket lands at Sandwich; proceeds to Canterbury.

1170 Maurice Fitzgerald arrives from England. Dublin is reduced.

June 14. Prince Henry is crowned during his father's lifetime by the Archbishop of
York.

July 22. A congress is held on the borders of Touraine, when Henry and Becket are
reconciled.

Becket is murdered in St. Augustine's Church, Canterbury.

1171 Oct. 18. Henry, attended by Strongbow and a large army, lands at Crook, near Waterford, and receives the submission of many princes and chieftains; all Ireland, except Ulster, is subjugated.

1172 May. Henry is absolved from the murder of Becket by the pope's legates at Avranches. Prince Henry is again crowned; his consort Margaret, daughter of Louis of France, is crowned with him.

Prince Henry demands the sovereignty of either England or Normandy.

He flies to the French court.

1173 March. Richard and Geoffry, the king's other sons, go to the French court, and Queen Eleanor abandons her husband, but is retaken and imprisoned.

Prince Henry is acknowledged sole king of England by Louis of France; the three princes swear that they will not make peace with Henry without the consent of the barons of France.

Henry declares that England belongs to the jurisdiction of the pope.

June. The war commences in Normandy, but the rebels and invaders are repulsed. 1174 July 8. Henry returns to England, and lands at Southampton, bringing as prisoners his own and Prince Henry's wife; does penance at the grave of Becket.

He is scourged in the church.

July 12. Ranulph de Glanville takes William the Lion prisoner with sixty Scottish lords.

Henry is reconciled to his children, and peace is restored.

Dec. William the Lion is released, on doing homage to Henry, by the treaty of
Falaise.

1175 Henry again at variance with his eldest son; they are reconciled.

Ireland is subjected to England by treaty; the King of Ireland does homage.

1183 Prince Richard refuses to do homage to his brother Henry for the duchy of Aquitaine; war commences between them.

1183-4 King Henry and Prince Geoffry are at war with Prince Henry and Prince Richard; Prince Henry submits to his father.

Prince Henry falls sick at Château Martel.

June 11. He dies.

Henry takes Limoges by assault; takes several castles; captures Bertrand de Born; pardons him.

1186 Prince Geoffry is killed at a tournament.

1188 Jan. Peace between Henry and Philip; they meet and agree to march to the Holy

Land.

A.D.

1188 Nov. Prince Richard aoes homage to King Philip for his father's continental territories.

Philip and Richard take many of Henry's towns.

1189 July 6. King Henry dies at Chinon, and is buried at Fontevraud.

Queen Eleanor is liberated and made regent.

Richard I. returns to England, accompanied by Prince John.

Sept. 3. Richard is crowned at Westminster by Baldwin, archbishop of Canterbury.
Massacre of the Jews in London.

Richard raises money for the crusade.

1190 March 16. A great massacre of the Jews at York.

Sept. 23. Richard arrives at Massina, and afterwards takes it.

Richard arrives at Rhodes; he sails for Cyprus, reduces the island, and sends the emperor to a castle at Tripoli; he marries Berengaria at Limasol; embarks for Acre.

June 8. Richard arrives at Acre; the siege of the castle proceeds. The kings of England and France quarrel.

1191 June 12. Acre is surrendered.

Philip quits Acre and returns to France.

The Crusaders massacre the hostages given at the capitulation of Acre.

Aug. 22. Richard marches towards Jerusalem.

Sept. 7. Defeats Saladin near Azotus and takes possession of Jaffa.

Oct. 9. Prince John is declared chief governor of England; Longchamp, the justiciary,

is deposed; John obtains possession of the Tower.

Nov. Richard marches from Jaffa; retreats to Ascalon.
Quarrel between the Duke of Austria and Richard.

He negotiates for peace with Saladin.

1192 Saladin takes the town of Jaffa all but the citadel; Richard retakes it; battle of Jaffa. Truce is made for three years between the Crusaders and Saladin.

Oct. Richard sails from Acre.

Nov. Reaches Corfu; he is driven on shore on the coast of Istria; he is discovered; is captured by the Duke of Austria and confined in the castle of Tiernstein.

John goes to France and does homage to King Philip for his brother's dominions on the continent.

1193 The Duke of Austria sells King Richard to the Emperor Henry; he is confined in the Tyrol.

Sept. 22. Terms are agreed upon for the liberation of Richard; 70,000 marks are raised for the ransom.

1194 Feb. Richard is liberated.

March 13. He lands at Sandwich, and marches to London.

May. Richard lands at Barfleur. John submits and is forgiven. Philip is defeated in several engagements.

1195 Hubert Walter is appointed grand justiciary.

1196 William Fitz-Osborne heads a secret society; he is arrested; he stabs Geoffry, a citizen; is hanged in West Smithfield.

1198 Richard defeats Philip near Gisors.

1199 April 6. Death of King Richard; is buried at Fontevraud.

May 25. John lands at Shoreham.

May 27. He is crowned at Westminster.

The French king demands for Arthur of Brittany all John's continental possessions except Normandy.

Arthur is knighted by Philip.

1200 Peace concluded, and Arthur disinherited.

John marries Isabella, the wife of the Count de la Marche.

He is recrowned at Westminster with his queen.

1201 Constance, mother of Arthur of Brittany, dies.

1202 Arthur invests the town of Mirebeau; takes it; Queen Eleanor, widow of Henry II., defends the citadel; John marches to her relief.

July 31. John obtains possession of the town and takes Arthur, the Count de la Marche, and others, prisoners.

Arthur is confined at Falaise and afterwards in the castle of Rouen.

A.D.

1203 April 3. Death of Arthur.

A general insurrection takes place in Brittany; many of John's territories are taken.
Dec. John flies from Rouen to England.

1204 Rouen, Verneuil, and Château Gaillard surrender to Philip, and Normandy is re-annexed to the French dominions.

Brittany, Anjou, Maine, Touraine, and Poictou acknowledge Philip.

1207 John disputes with the pope the right of appointing bishops; John de Gray is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury; the pope appoints Stephen Langton.

1208 March 23. The kingdom is laid under an interdict.

1209 John is excommunicated.

1213 John is deposed by the pope. Philip collects a large fleet for the invasion of Eng land; John sends out ships; they destroy the principal part of the French fleet. May 15. John swears fealty to the pope and surrenders his kingdom.

The Barons refuse to embark in an expedition against France; John makes war on
them.

Aug. 25. Langton swears the barons at London to maintain the charter of Henry I.
Sept. 29. John again swears fealty to the pope.

1214 Nov. 20. The barons meet at St. Edmund's Bury, and swear to assert their rights. 1215 Jan. The barons demand the Great Charter.

The barons meet at Stamford; march to Oxford; they present the heads of their demands; they elect Robert FitzWalter their leader.

May 24. They enter London; John agrees to their terms.

June 15. Meeting at Runnymead; John grants the Great Charter.

John invites an army of foreign mercenaries, and takes Rochester Castle; the barons are excommunicated by the pope.

Dec. 16. The barons are again excommunicated and London laid under an interdict. The English crown is offered to Louis, son of Philip, king of France, by the confederate barons.

1216 May 30. The French army lands at Sandwich; Louis takes Rochester Castle.

June 2. He enters London, and the barons do homage and swear fealty to him in St.
Paul's Cathedral.

Louis unsuccessfully besieges Dover Castle.

Oct. John marches through Peterborough; his baggage and army are nearly all swallowed up by the wash at Fossdike; he repairs to Swineshead Abbey.

Oct. 15. John is seized with fever; he appoints his son Henry his successor; the barons with him swear fealty to the prince.

Oct. 18. King John dies; is buried in Worcester Cathedral.

Accession of Henry III.

Oct. 26. Henry is crowned at St. Peter's Church, Gloucester.

Nov. 11. Great council at Bristol; the Earl of Pembroke chosen Protector; Magna
Charta is revised.

Dec. 6. Louis takes Hertford Castle.

1217. May 20. The battle called "The Fair of Lincoln" fought.

Aug. 23. French fleet sails from Calais.

Aug. 24. Hubert de Burgh takes or destroys the whole.

Sept. 11. Louis agrees to abandon his claim on England.

Sept. 14. He sails for France.

Oct. 2. The barons who had adhered to Louis are received at court.

Oct. 4. New charter granted to the city of London.

The Charter of Forests is granted.

1219 May. The Earl of Pembroke, the regent, dies, and is buried in the Temple Church. Hubert de Burgh and the Bishop of Winchester are appointed regents.

Pandulph is made legate.

1225 A parliament is summoned at Westminster; money is granted on condition of the ratification of the two charters.

1236 Henry marries Eleanor, daughter of the Count of Provence.

1238 Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, marries Eleanor, countess dowager of Pembroke,

sister of King Henry.

1248 The parliament remonstrate with Henry; and refuse supplies.

« PreviousContinue »