Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 1.djvu/330

316 bloody encounters took place between the opposite parties, without any interference from, their Governments, the latter remaining passive spectators of these proceedings. The Normans having collected a fleet of about 200 vessels, of different sizes, made a descent upon the coast of Gascony, hung a number of sailors whom they took prisoners, and carried off large quantities of stores, with which they returned to St. Malo, in Brittany, No sooner were they safely at anchor than an English fleet appeared at the mouth of the harbour. The sailors of the cinque ports, with only about eighty ships, had set out to meet the enemy. The Normans accepted the challenge to decide the matter by a pitched battle, which was fought, by mutual agreement, at a spot on the coast. The result of the battle was decisive in favour of the English, who took the Norman ships and massacred all on board, no quarter being given in any case. The two nations might thus be said to be at war for some time before their rulers took any part in the matter. The result of this battle was to excite to the utmost the vindictive feelings of the French and their desire for vengeance. Philip, who was himself enraged at the result of the engagement, perceived that the time was come when the people would hail with delight the declaration of war with England, and when such a war might be undertaken with the best chance of success.

Philip assumed the right to punish the English king, who, as Duke of Aquitaine, might be said to be a vassal of the French crown. Officers sent by Philip attempted to seize some of the English lands, but they were driven back by the troops in possession. He then summoned the "Duke of Aquitaine" to appear before his suzerain after the feast of Christmas. Edward considered it prudent not wholly to disregard this summons, and he sent his brother Edmund to arrange terms with Philip. On this occasion it would appear that Edward, influenced by the ties of blood, made choice of a bad instrument. The negotiation terminated by an agreement on the part of Edmund to surrender Gascony to the French king for a period of forty days as a satisfaction for his wounded honour, receiving the promise of Philip that it should be faithfully given up at the expiration of that time.

The French king now declared himself satisfied; but when the forty days were over, and Edward demanded restitution of Gascony, he received the refusal which was to be anticipated. Philip now assumed a bolder front, declared that Edward had not fulfilled the duties of a vassal, and summoned him once more, as Duke of Aquitaine, to appear before his peers. The summons being disregarded, he declared him contumacious, and condemned him to the loss of all his estates in France. This declaration was immediately followed by active measures, while Edward, on his part, prepared for war with all his customary energy. He formally renounced his vassalage to the French crown, and assembled a powerful fleet at Portsmouth. For several weeks the winds wore contrary, and during that time the impatient monarch was compelled to remain in a condition of inactivity.

Meanwhile the Welsh, who probably were incited by Philip, broke out into insurrection, took possession of many castles and towns on their borders, and slaughtered great numbers of the English, Edward immediately led the greater part of his army into Wales, having first sent a body of troops into Gascony, and commanded his powerful fleet to attack and plunder the French coast. A number of sanguinary sea-fights took place between the French and. English, and in nearly every instance the French were defeated with heavy loss.

The campaign of Edward in Wales was by no means brief or unattended with danger. The mountaineers once more distinguished themselves by an obstinate resistance, and the rigours of winter approached to add to the privations and difficulties of the royal troops. Several months passed away before the Welsh were again reduced to submission. Madoc, their loader, the foremost and best man in this new struggle for liberty, was at length compelled to surrender, and he, with other of the most dangerous chiefs, were cast into dungeons for life. And thus, after the country had been again ravaged, and the homes of great numbers of the people lay in ashes, the rebellion was quelled. The story which has long been current respecting the hanging of the Welsh bards by Edward, rests on no contemporary authority, and therefore must be rejected as devoid of truth. There is no question that the king was capable of that, or any other savage act by which vengeance for the past or advantage for the future was to be obtained; but it is the business of history to illustrate a man's character by his actions, and not to deduce from that character a confirmation of doubtful statements.

No sooner was the submission of the Welsh complete than the position of affairs in Scotland again demanded Edward's presence, and compelled him to relinquish his intention of crossing the Channel in person. The nobles of Guienne had lately declared themselves in his favour, and thither the king dispatched a small body of troops under the command of his brother Edmund. Soon after landing Edmund died, and the command fell upon the Earl of Lincoln, who attacked the French towns and fortresses with success, driving out the whole of the French garrisons. This state of things, however, was soon afterwards reversed. The towns were retaken by the forces of Philip, and his uncle, the Count d'Artols, at the head of a well-apppointed and numerous army, defeated the English in several engagements, and ultimately drove them out of the country, with the exception of a few towns on the coast. Reprisals took place, and the whole seaboard of Brittany was plundered by the English fleet, which inflicted great damage upon the inhabitants, and punished them with an indiscriminating cruelty. The French, with their allies, made similar attempts on this side of the Channel; and on one occasion they landed at Dover, and sacked the town while the male inhabitants were absent. The men of Dover returned to find many of their wives and children murdered, and they overtook the marauders before they could reach their ships, and slew several hundreds of them.

The policy of Edward towards Scotland had been insulting and imperious to a degree which can hardly be considered judicious. The king whom he had raised to the throne was thwarted in every assumption of independent sovereignty, and was made to feel that his oath of vassalage was no form, but a galling and bitter reality. Complaints against the government of Ballol were never wanting from his disaffected subjects, and these readily