brated chieftain, Sir William Wallace, was defeated; after which the King returned to York, and in 1299, held another Parliament there. In 1304, Edward completed the reduction of Scotland, though not its subjugation; and after disbanding his army, he ordered the Courts of Exchequer and King's Bench, which had continued during seven years at York, to resume their former station at Westminster.*

York then ranked amongst the English ports, and furnished one vessel to Edward's fleet; but Hull had already begun to rise its fame as a maritime town, and when vessels were built on a larger scale, it absorbed a great share of the commerce which was formerly confined to this city.

Edward, having conquered and united the principality of Wales to the crown of England, and having constrained the Scots to swear fealty to him, spent the winter before his death at Carlisle, where he summoned his last Parliament. The Scots, taking advantage of the King's absence, and of his having dismissed his army, assembled their dispersed forces, attacked and obtained a signal victory over the English troops, and took prisoner the Earl of Pembroke, who commanded in Scotland. Exasperated at this unexpected revolution, Edward resolved to march into the heart of Scotland, and destroy the kingdom from sea to sea; and to that end he summoned all the vassals of the crown to meet him at Carlisle, about the middle of summer, on pain of forfeiting their fees. But, whilst "man proposes, God disposes;" no sooner had Edward assembled the finest army England had ever seen, than he was seized with a distemper, which put an end to his days, and all his projects. On his death-bed he earnestly recommended Prince Edward, his eldest son and successor, to prosecute the war with Scotland with the utmost vigour. He also advised the Prince to carry along with him his remains at the head of the army, not doubting but that the sight of his bones would daunt the courage of the enemies he had thrice conquered. After these last orders to his son, he caused himself to be carried by easy journeys to meet the enemy; but he had not advanced above five miles, to a village in Cumberland, called Burghupon-Sands, when his sickness was increased by an attack of dysentery, which carried him off on the 7th of July, 1307, in the 68th year of his age, and 35th of his reign. And thus ended the career of the warlike, politic, but unjust King Edward I., who has been deservedly called "the hammer of Scotland." His body was conveyed to Westminster Abbey, and laid by the remains of Henry, his father; and the memory of his death is preserved on

the spot where he died, by a square pillar bearing an appropriate Latin inscription.*<

One of the greatest evils of the feudal system was, that when a feeble monarch filled the throne, the kingdom was torn to pieces by domestic faction and civil war. The vast domains of some of the nobles, over which their authority was almost unlimited, gave them a power nearly equal to that of the King; and the reader of English history is well aware that these factious chieftains often raised the standard of rebellion, even against their monarchs. Edward II. was one of the most weak and unfortunate of the English Kings; and his idleness, incapacity, and passion, for favourites, proved his ruin. His inordinate attachment to Piers de Gaveston, together with the haughty, arrogant, and insolent disposition of the favourite, led to a combination of the nobility against them. Gaveston, and some of his followers, had been banished from the kingdom by Edward I., but in the year 1312, Edward II., in an evil hour, invited him to meet him at York, and "received him as a gift from heaven.t"

On this occasion the King kept his Christmas at York. The return of the favourite excited the resentment of the Barons, and, as we have stated, a powerful conspiracy was formed against him. Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, cousin-german to the King, first Prince of the blood, and one of the most opulent and powerful subjects in the kingdom, was the chief of the party who had bound themselves, by an oath, to expel Gaveston; and he suddenly raised an army, and marched to York, the walls of which city Edward had caused to be strongly fortified, and put in a posture of defence, in anticipation of this outbreak.

The King, hearing of the approach of Lancaster, fled with his favourite to Newcastle, whither the Earl followed in pursuit of them; but before the arrival of the pursuers, Edward had just time to escape to Tynemouth, where he embarked, and sailed with Gaveston to Scarborough. The castle of the latter place being deemed impregnable, the King left his favourite in it (some say that he made him governor of that fortress), and returned to York, either to raise an army to oppose his enemies, or, by his presence, to allay their animosity. In the meantime the confederated nobles sent the Earl of of Pembroke, with a strong force, to besiege Scarborough, which, after a gallant defence, capitulated upon merciful terms (afterwards flagrantly violated

The original monument was erected by Henry, Duke of Norfolk, in 1685; but it having gone to decay, the present pillar was raised by the late Earl of Lonsdale, in 1803. + Stowe's Annals.

by the victor) which extended even to Gaveston himself, who was, however, taken prisoner. Pembroke, now master of the person of this public enemy, conducted him to the castle of Deddington, near Banbury, where, on pretence of other business, he left him protected by a feeble guard. Warwick, probably in concert with Pembroke, attacked the castle; the garrison refused to make any resistance, and the unfortunate Gaveston was yielded up to him, and conducted to Warwick Castle. The Earls of Lancaster, Hereford, and Arundel, immediately repaired thither, and without any regard, either to the laws or the military capitulation, they ordered the obnoxious favourite to be beheaded, and the execution took place on Blacklow Hill (now Gaversley Heath), on the 20th of June, 1312.* Such was the miserable end of Edward's first favourite.

After the disastrous battle of Bannockburn, in 1314, in which Edward lost about 50,000 men, he narrowly escaped to York, where he held a great council. At this time the prices of the following articles were fixed by the King's writs :-for a stall or corn fed ox, not more than £1. 4s.; for a grass fed ox, not more than 16s.; for a fat stalled cow, 12s.; for a corn fed mutton with wool grown, 1s. 8d.; a fat hog, two years old, not to exceed 3s. 4d.; a fat goose, 24d.; a fat capon, 2d.; a fat hen, or two chickens, 14d.; and 24 eggs, not more than 1d.

In the year 1315 there was a great famine and mortality; the flesh of beasts was corrupted; men were forced to feed on dogs and horses; many, it is said, eat not only their own children, but stole others to devour them also; whilst the old prisoners in some of the prisons fell upon those newly brought in amongst them, and greedily devoured them whilst half alive. In the year following, Sir Josseline Danville, and his brother Robert, who, with 200 men in the habit of friars, attacked the episcopal palace at Durham, and committed many notable robberies, were executed at York. In the same year the King issued orders from Beverley, for arming the whole population of Yorkshire and Northumberland, between the ages of 16 and 60, both horse and foot; with directions that they should be prepared to march with him against the Scots; and he appointed officers to see that his commands were carried into execution. On the 15th of September he ordered the levy in

Hinderwell's Hist. Scarborough, p. 51.

The regular and established modes of assembling armies in former times, when the constitutional military force of England consisted of feudal troops, and the posse comitatus, were as follows:-The tenant who held in capite, that is one who held immediately from the King, the quantity of land amounting to a Knight's fee, was to hold himself in readiness, with horse and arms, to serve the King in war, either at home or abroad,

the county of York to be inspected. The northern parts of the kingdom were so exhausted that the King was compelled to recruit his forces from the southern and western parts; and on the 12th of August, 1318, he issued orders from Nottingham, to every city and borough throughout England, to raise the number of men appointed in the respective summonses; and to have them well armed and accoutred, to resist the threatened invasion of the Scots. The campaign not having commenced till the following spring, the King issued orders early in the year for arming the population of the whole kingdom, between the ages of 20 and 60.

By the King's order, according to Stowe, the Clerks of the Exchequer set out for York, on the 15th of October, 1319, with the Domesday Book and other records, which, with provision, laded twenty-one carts. The Judges of the King's Bench came at the same time, and continued to transact the business of the court in the city of York for six months.f

In 1318, the whole of the north of England, to the middle of Yorkshire, was ravaged with fire and sword, by an army of Scottish marauders, under the command of Bruce's famous Generals,-Thomas Randolph, Earl of Murray, and Sir James Douglas; and having burned the towns of Northallerton, Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Skipton, and Scarborough, and

at his own expense, for a stated time; generally 40 days in the year; and this service being accomplished, the tenant could either return home, or if he or his followers afterwards continued to serve with the army, they were paid by the King. The quantity of land, or sum of money, which constituted a Knight's fee, appears to have varied at different periods. In the reigns of Henry II., and Edward II., a Knight's fee was stated at £20 per annum; and the number of Knight's fees in the kingdom was estimated at 60,000. Grose's Mil. Antiq., vol. i., p. 4. A tenant who had several Knight's fees, might discharge them by able substitutes. The posse comitatus included every free man between the ages of 15 and 60. The chief duty of this body being to preserve peace, under the command of the Sheriff, they differed from the feudal troops, inasmuch as they were not liable to be called out, except in case of internal commotion, or actual invasion: on such occasions they could legally be marched out of their respective counties, but in no case could they be sent to do military duty out of the kingdom. Besides these means of raising armies, under the authority of the royal prerogative, on extraordinary occasions, districts, cities, burghs, and even particular persons, were obliged to find men, horses, and arms, at the will and pleasure of his sovereign. After the 16th of Edward III. (1343), new forms and modes of raising men were adopted. The monarchs contracted with their nobility and gentry to find them soldiers, at certain wages, and their parliaments supplied them with the means.

The comparative proportion of men raised in different towns in the neighbourhood may be seen in the following list:-York, 100 foot; Beverley, 30; Scarborough, 30; Hull, 20; Grimsby, 20; Doncaster, 10; Stamford, 15; and Derby, 10.

+ Ryley, p. 564.

imposed a contribution of 1,000 marks upon the inhabitants of Ripon, they returned to Scotland, laden with much plunder, and carrying with them a great number of prisoners. This calamity was followed next year by a famine and pestilent disease, which carried off great numbers of the inhabitants left in the plundered districts. In 1320, the army raised by Edward being at length organised, that monarch marched into the north at the head of it, and laid siege to the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed; but he had scarcely sat down before that place, when Randolph, the Scottish General, instead of attacking the King at Berwick, led his forces across the Solway, and laid the country waste with fire and sword, even to the gates of York; and after burning the suburbs of the city, returned northwards with their booty. William de Melton, at that time Archbishop, indignant at the insult thus offered to the city, took up arms, and hastily raised an army, composed of priests, canons, monks, husbandmen, artificers, and others, to the number of 10,000 men; and with this undisciplined band, he pursued the Scots, and unfortunately overtook them at Myton-upon-Swale, three miles east of Boroughbridge; where, with more zeal than skill, he attacked them on the 12th of October (1320).

"These able soldiers," says Holinshed, "had, as experienced commanders, the Archbishop, and Bishop of Ely, being the leaders of these warlike troops; much fitter to pray for the success of a battle, than to fight it." Aware of the pursuit, the Scots laid an ambuscade, and waited for the Archbishop's army, in the order of battle. According to the old chronicler, the scene of the battle was the "Myton meadow, near the Swale water." This would then be a large open field, now enclosed, and known by the name of "The Ings," and extends about a mile along the east bank of the Swale, before its junction with the Ure, and an equal distance down the north bank of the Ouse. "Our idea of the battle," writes the editor of the Battle Fields of Yorkshire, "is, that the English were advancing, over the open field, towards the Swale, enclosed on two sides by rivers, when the Scots, 'among the hay kockes bushed,' on the higher ground to the north, above, and about the village of Myton, setting fire to the hay, rushed suddenly, under cover of the smoke, upon their unprepared antagonists, cooped up in a bad situation, and routed them with little loss on their own side; while that of the English amounted to between 3,000 and 4,000, of which 2,000 were drowned, most probably in the waters of the Ouse, opposite the village of Dunsforth, where the river is both wide and deep." It is however certain, that after a feeble resistance, the English were defeated, with the loss just stated, including Nicholas Fleming, who was then for the seventh time Mayor of York.

T