SUMMARY. Thomas à Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, lived in the reign of Henry the Second. Before he was made Archbishop he was a great favourite with Henry, but afterwards the king was very much displeased with him. Four knights, who thought Henry wished that the Archbishop was dead, went to Canterbury and killed him in the cathedral. The king was very sorry when he heard of the murder, and allowed the bishops and monks to beat him as a punishment for speaking angrily about Becket. The people looked upon the Archbishop as a saint, and thousands used to go every year to his tomb. XI. SIR SIMON THE RIGHTEOUS. 1. Henry the Third governed the country so badly, that at last the barons compelled him to dismiss the men who were his favourites and who gave him bad advice, and made him promise to govern according to the laws. 2. Henry did not long keep his word, and, therefore, the barons, or great nobles, went to war with him. The leader of the barons was Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, a very brave and able man. 3. In a battle fought at Lewes in Sussex, the king and his son, Prince Edward, were taken prisoners. De Montfort was then the chief man in the country. 4. He called together the nobles and bishops, as was the custom, to assist in making laws. He also ordered the counties, cities, and towns to send members to the Parliament. They had never done so before, and their choosing members then was the first step towards forming the House of Commons. 5. When Prince Edward had been a prisoner for about a year he managed to escape. One day when he was out with his guards, he proposed that they SIR SIMON THE RIGHTEOUS. 31 should ride races. As soon as he saw that their horses were quite tired, he bade them goodbye and galloped off as quickly as he could. 6. The prince at once raised an army to fight against De Montfort, and a battle was fought at Evesham. 7. King Henry, who was still a prisoner, and was with De Montfort's army, nearly lost his life. One of Prince Edward's soldiers was on the point of killing him, when he cried out, "I am Henry of Winchester, your king." 8. Through the bad management of De Montfort's sons Prince Edward gained the victory, and the earl, after fighting bravely, was slain. 9. The people long mourned for him and sang hymns in his honour. For many years, whenever they spoke of him, they called him "Sir Simon the Righteous." Com-pel'led, forced. Es-cape', to run away from. Par'li-am-ent, place in England The bar'ons, the nobles. Henry III. began to reign, SUMMARY. Henry the Third governed the country so badly that the barons went to war with him. The leader of the barons was Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester. In a battle at Lewes the king and his son Prince Edward were taken prisoners. De Montfort called together the barons to help to make laws, and he allowed the counties, cities, and towns to send members to Parliament. This was the beginning of the House of Commons. Prince Edward soon escaped from his guards, raised an army, and defeated De Montfort at Evesham. The earl was slain in the battle. The people long mourned for him, and called him Sir Simon the Righteous. XII. THE PRINCE OF WALES. 1. When the English conquered our country the Britons were gradually driven into Wales. By and bye, instead of being called by their own name, they came to be known as the Welsh, a word meaning strangers. 2. They had their own chiefs and princes, made their own laws, and were not governed by the English king. As they thought the whole of the country belonged to them, they frequently went to war with the English who lived near them. 3. One of the bravest of the Welsh princes was named Llewellyn, who lived in the time of Edward the First. As Edward wished very much to add Wales to his kingdom, he soon found an excuse for going to war with Llewellyn. 4. Although the Welsh fought very bravely they were at length compelled to submit to the English. As Llewellyn acknowledged Edward to be his master he was allowed to continue Prince of Wales. 5. War, however, soon broke out again, and this time Llewellyn was taken prisoner. Edward ordered the prince's head to be cut off and sent to London. There it was crowned with ivy, and placed on the walls of the Tower. 6. Edward treated Llewellyn's head in mockery, because there was an old Welsh prophecy which said that the time would come when the Britons would again rule over the whole land and the prince be crowned in London. 7. Soon after Llewellyn's death all the Welsh THE PRINCE OF WALES. 33 chiefs were obliged to submit once more to Edward, and he became king of Wales as well as of England. 8. One day when the chiefs were all with Edward, he told them they should have as their prince one born in their country, and who could not speak a word of English. 9. Of course they were very pleased to hear that, and were much disappointed when the king presently showed them his little baby son, who had been born in Carnarvon Castle. 10. However, they laughed at the king's joke, and accepted the little baby as their prince. Ever since that time, the eldest son of the king or queen of England has borne the title of "The Prince of Wales." The Britons were driven into Wales by the English. They came to be known as the Welsh. They had their own chiefs and princes, made their own laws, and were often at war with the English. Edward the First wished to add Wales to his kingdom. He went to war with the Welsh and conquered them, but allowed their prince, Llewellyn, to continue Prince of Wales. War soon broke out again, and Llewellyn was taken prisoner and killed. Edward promised the Welsh that they should have as their prince one born in the country, and who could not speak a word of English. Then he showed them his son, whom he called the "Prince of Wales." Since that time the eldest son of the king or queen of England has borne that title. E. H. III. C XIII.-BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN. 1. At the time of Edward the First's death there was war between England and Scotland. not till many years later that the two countries came to be governed by one sovereign. 2. The war did not cease when the king died, but was continued by his son, Edward the Second. A few years after his father's death, Edward marched into Scotland at the head of the largest army that had ever gone into that country from England. 3. The English army was more than three times as large as that which the Scots could raise; but Robert Bruce, the Scottish king and leader, was a brave man and a good soldier, while Edward was very unwarlike. 4. The two armies met by a little stream called Bannockburn, near Stirling, and the battle which was fought is known by the name of the stream. 5. Before the English arrived, Bruce ordered his men to dig pits in the ground in front of his army, and to place stakes in them. They had then to fill the pits with brushwood, and to cover the tops carefully with the soil. 6. The Scots passed the night before the battle in fasting and praying, while the English spent it in feasting and merrymaking. 7. At daybreak the English host advanced with their bright shields and helmets glittering in the rays of the rising sun. When the Scots were ready to march, the whole army knelt down to pray. |