Island kingdom bounded to the west by the Marcher lordships and the (still contested) principality of Wales conquered by Edward I; English lordships included parts of modern south Wales (from southern Pembrokeshire through Swansea, Cardiff and on towards Gloucester in England); bounded to the north by the kingdom of Scotland, to the east by the North Sea and to the south by the Channel; included Somerset, Devon and Cornwall to the south-west. Population up to the Black Death of 1348-9 approximately 4 million souls.
William Douglas (c. 1330 - 1384), first earl of Douglas; second son of Archibald Douglas and Beatrice Lindsay of Crawford. Douglas married Margaret, sister and heir of Thomas, earl of Mar, about 1357, although Froissart, in Book I, § 354, already refers to her as the countess of Douglas in 1356.
John of Gaunt (1340-99): duke of Lancaster, son of Philippa of Hainault and Edward III, king of England, who was a pretender to the Castilian throne by right of his marriage to Constanza, eldest daughter of Pedro I, king of Castile, who died in 1369. John of Gaunt was an important person in English political and military life during the last quarter of the fourteenth century, exercising great influence in domestic and foreign policy in England during the reign of Richard II, despite periods of unpopularity and strife with his royal nephew.
John of Gaunt (1340-99): duke of Lancaster, son of Philippa of Hainault and Edward III, king of England, who was a pretender to the Castilian throne by right of his marriage to Constanza, eldest daughter of Pedro I, king of Castile, who died in 1369. John of Gaunt was an important person in English political and military life during the last quarter of the fourteenth century, exercising great influence in domestic and foreign policy in England during the reign of Richard II, despite periods of unpopularity and strife with his royal nephew.
Island kingdom bounded to the west by the Marcher lordships and the (still contested) principality of Wales conquered by Edward I; English lordships included parts of modern south Wales (from southern Pembrokeshire through Swansea, Cardiff and on towards Gloucester in England); bounded to the north by the kingdom of Scotland, to the east by the North Sea and to the south by the Channel; included Somerset, Devon and Cornwall to the south-west. Population up to the Black Death of 1348-9 approximately 4 million souls.
John of Gaunt (1340-99): duke of Lancaster, son of Philippa of Hainault and Edward III, king of England, who was a pretender to the Castilian throne by right of his marriage to Constanza, eldest daughter of Pedro I, king of Castile, who died in 1369. John of Gaunt was an important person in English political and military life during the last quarter of the fourteenth century, exercising great influence in domestic and foreign policy in England during the reign of Richard II, despite periods of unpopularity and strife with his royal nephew.
William Douglas (c. 1330 - 1384), first earl of Douglas; second son of Archibald Douglas and Beatrice Lindsay of Crawford. Douglas married Margaret, sister and heir of Thomas, earl of Mar, about 1357, although Froissart, in Book I, § 354, already refers to her as the countess of Douglas in 1356.
He was probably born early in 1316 as the son of Walter Stewart, the high Steward of Scotland, and Marjorie Bruce, daughter of king Robert I of Scotland. Robert became heir to his namesake and grandfather, king Robert I Bruce in 1318. However, in 1324 a son was born to Robert I, the future David II. In 1326 Robert was recognised as David’s heir should the latter die without male issue. By this time Robert had inherited the title of steward of Scotland. At the Battle of Neville’s Cross Robert fled the field together with Patrick, earl of March. As King David II was taken prisonner and spent the next eleven years in English captivity, Robert Stuart became the guardian of Scotland until 1357. The relationship between David II and the Steward was poor and there is clear evidence that the Steward deliberately stalled progress towards the payment of the king’s ransom and his release from captivity. Shortly after David’s release in 1357 the Steward was created earl of Strathearn. King David II died without offspring on 22 February 1371 and Robert succeded him to the throne, being crowned on 27 March 1371. He died on 19 April 1390.
John of Gaunt (1340-99): duke of Lancaster, son of Philippa of Hainault and Edward III, king of England, who was a pretender to the Castilian throne by right of his marriage to Constanza, eldest daughter of Pedro I, king of Castile, who died in 1369. John of Gaunt was an important person in English political and military life during the last quarter of the fourteenth century, exercising great influence in domestic and foreign policy in England during the reign of Richard II, despite periods of unpopularity and strife with his royal nephew.
John of Gaunt (1340-99): duke of Lancaster, son of Philippa of Hainault and Edward III, king of England, who was a pretender to the Castilian throne by right of his marriage to Constanza, eldest daughter of Pedro I, king of Castile, who died in 1369. John of Gaunt was an important person in English political and military life during the last quarter of the fourteenth century, exercising great influence in domestic and foreign policy in England during the reign of Richard II, despite periods of unpopularity and strife with his royal nephew.
John of Gaunt (1340-99): duke of Lancaster, son of Philippa of Hainault and Edward III, king of England, who was a pretender to the Castilian throne by right of his marriage to Constanza, eldest daughter of Pedro I, king of Castile, who died in 1369. John of Gaunt was an important person in English political and military life during the last quarter of the fourteenth century, exercising great influence in domestic and foreign policy in England during the reign of Richard II, despite periods of unpopularity and strife with his royal nephew.
John of Gaunt (1340-99): duke of Lancaster, son of Philippa of Hainault and Edward III, king of England, who was a pretender to the Castilian throne by right of his marriage to Constanza, eldest daughter of Pedro I, king of Castile, who died in 1369. John of Gaunt was an important person in English political and military life during the last quarter of the fourteenth century, exercising great influence in domestic and foreign policy in England during the reign of Richard II, despite periods of unpopularity and strife with his royal nephew.
John of Gaunt (1340-99): duke of Lancaster, son of Philippa of Hainault and Edward III, king of England, who was a pretender to the Castilian throne by right of his marriage to Constanza, eldest daughter of Pedro I, king of Castile, who died in 1369. John of Gaunt was an important person in English political and military life during the last quarter of the fourteenth century, exercising great influence in domestic and foreign policy in England during the reign of Richard II, despite periods of unpopularity and strife with his royal nephew.
Island kingdom bounded to the west by the Marcher lordships and the (still contested) principality of Wales conquered by Edward I; English lordships included parts of modern south Wales (from southern Pembrokeshire through Swansea, Cardiff and on towards Gloucester in England); bounded to the north by the kingdom of Scotland, to the east by the North Sea and to the south by the Channel; included Somerset, Devon and Cornwall to the south-west. Population up to the Black Death of 1348-9 approximately 4 million souls.
According to Goodman, the Scots offered to join John of Gaunt in the fight against the rebels of the Peasants' Revolt with 20,000 soldiers, an offer which Gaunt refused.
Gaunt did indeed, before his return to England, apply for a safe-conduct in order to take refuge in Scotland should things take a turn for the worse for him. As Nigel Saul has noted, he would have suffered a grim fate at the hands of the rebels, just as his retainers and some of the king's ministers did.
This episode is related differently in some of the English sources; following these, both Anthony Goodman and J. M. W. Bean have noted that Gaunt expected his old ally the earl of Northumberland to aid him, but on his arrival at the earl's castle at Alnwick, Sir John Hotham and Thomas Motherby, an esquire, met him on behalf of the earl and asked him to find lodgings elsewhere. Apparently it was also made clear to Gaunt that Northumberland would not permit the duke to enter any royal castle in his custody until he knew whether Gaunt had the king's goodwill.
See Anthony Goodman, John of Gaunt, p. 81, J. M. W. Bean, 'Percy, Henry, first earl of Northumberland (1341-1408)', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison (Oxford: OUP, 2004); online ed., ed. Lawrence Goldman, May 2005, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/21932.
nul semblant n’en faisoit aux Escocs. Ainçoys se tenoit aussi
fort en ses traittiéz comme se Angleterre feust toute en bonne paix.
Tant fut par lementé et alé de l’un a l’autre que unes trieves furent prinses a durer III ans entre les Escocs et les Angloys et les
royaulmes de l’un et de l’autre.189 ¶ Quant ces trieves furent accor dees, les seigneurs furent l’un de vant l’autre en eulx honnourant, et la dist le conte de Douglas au duc de Lancastre: "Sire, nous sçavons bien le revelement et la rebellion du menu puepple d’Angleterre et le peril ou le royaulme d’Angleter re par telle incidence est et puet ve nir. Sy vous tenons a moult vaillant et a tres saige
quant sy franchement en voz traittiéz vous vous estes tousjours tenuz, car nul semblant
n’en avéz fait ne monstré. Sy vous disons, et vous offrons, que se il vous besoingne de cinq ou de six cens lances de nostre cousté, vous les
trouverés tantost pres tes toutes en vostre service."190 "Par ma foy," respondi le duc, "beaulx
seigneurs, grans mercys. Je n’y renonce, mais je ne cui de pas que mon seigneur
n’ait sy bon conseil que les choses venront a bien. Et touteffoiz je vueil de vous avoir
un sceür saufconduit pour moy et les miens pour moy en retourner et te nir en vostre paÿs se il me besoingne, tant que les choses soyent apaisiees."191 Le conte de Douglas et le conte de
Mouret, qui avoient la puissance du roy, luy accorderent legierement.
Adonc se de partirent ilz et prindrent congié l’un de l’autre. Les Escocs
s’en retournerent a Haindebourc. Et le duc et les siens s’en
retournerent vers Bervich et cuidoit le duc
proprement rentrer en la cité, car au passer il avoit laissiees ses pourve ances,
mais le cappitaine de la cité qui s’appelloit messire Mahieu Rademon lui denea
et luy clouy la porte au devant de luy et de ses gens et lui dist que il luy es toit deffendu
du conte de Northombre lande, regent et souverain pour le temps de toute la marche,
la frontiere et les paÿs de Northombrelande. Quant le duc en tendy ces
nouvelles, sy luy vindrent moult a contraire et a desplaisance. Sy respon dy: "Comment, Mahieu Rademon, y a yl en Northombrelande
autre souverain de moy mis et establi depuis que je passay et que je vous laissay mes
pourveances? Dont vient ceste nouvelleté?""Par ma foy," respondi le
chevalier, "monseigneur ouyl, et depar le roy, et ce que
je vous en faiz je le faiz enviz, mais faire le me couvient. Sy vous prie pour Dieu que
vous me teniéz pour ex cusé, car il m’est enjoint sus mon honneur et sus ma vie que point
n’y entrés, ne les vostres."192 Vous devéz
sçavoir que le duc fut moult esmerveilléz et courrouciéz de ces parolles, et non
pas sus le cheval lier singulierement, mais sus ceulx dont l’ordonnance venoit
quant il avoit travaillié pour les besoingnes d’Angle terre et on le
souspeççonnoit tel que on luy clouoit et deveoit la premiere ville d’Angleterre au léz devers Escoce, et yma ginoit que on luy faisoit grant blasme et
ne descouvroit mie la tout son courai ge ne ce qu’il en pensoit, et ne pressa plus avant
le chevalier, car bien veoit qu’il n’a voit nulle cause, car le chevalier sans
trop destroit commandement ne se feust ja maiz avanciéz de dire et faire ce qu’il disoit
et faisoit. Sy yssy de ce propos et en prist pb 78 v
With this setting, every word becomes a link to the online Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (DMF). Clicking on a word opens a window listing relevant entries on the DMF website.