PHILIPPA OF HAINAULT, QUEEN OF EDWARD III. CHAPTER I. THE happy union of the illustrious Philippa with her thrice-renowned lord had been previously cemented by mutual preference, manifested in the first sweet spring-time of existence, when prince Edward took refuge with his mother, queen Isabella, at the court of Hainault. "Count William of Hainault had at that time four daughters," says Froissart; "these were Margaret, Philippa, Joanna, and Isabel. The young prince, during his mother's residence in Hainault, paid more court and attention to Philippa than to any of the others, who also conversed with him more frequently, and sought his company oftener, than any of her sisters.” This was in 1326, when prince Edward was in his fifteenth year, and the lady Philippa a few months younger. She was tall in stature, and adorned with the brilliant complexion for which the women of her country are celebrated. A poet of her time has commemorated "her roseate hue and beauty bright;" and it can well be imagined that, without any claims to regularity of features, her early bloom was beautiful. The youthful lovers, after residing together in the palace of the count of Hainault, at Valenciennes, for about a fortnight, were separated. Edward embarked, with his mother and John of Hainault, on the dangerous expedition of invading his unfortunate father's kingdom, while his beloved was left in a state of uncertainty whether the exigencies of the state and the caprice of relatives would ultimately permit to be joined the hands of those whose hearts had already elected each other. Although a decided affection subsisted between young Edward and Philippa, it was not considered in accordance with the royal etiquette of that era for the heir of England to acknowledge that he had disposed of his heart without the consent of the parliament and council. Queen Isabella undertook the arrangement of this affair, and soon led the public authorities to the decision that a daughter of the count of Hainault would 1 The particular daughter of be the most desirable alliance for her son. that family was not specified in the document requesting the dispensation of the pope; the words are, "to marry a daughter of that nobleman, William, count of Hainault, Holland, and Zealand, and lord of Friesland." Thus the lovers remained seven months after the coronation of Edward in a state of suspense. The council at last gravely decided that Adam Orleton, the notorious bishop of Hereford, should visit the court of Hainault, and choose, among the daughters of the count, the young lady who seemed most worthy to be the queen England. As the choice of the bishop and king fell on Philippa, the young king had certainly informed Adam Orleton, in confidence, which princess among the fair sisterhood was the elected lady of his heart. The proceedings of the bishop are thus narrated by our last rhyming chronicler, Hardyng:2 "He sent forth then to Hainault, for a wife, A bishop and other lords temporal. 'Which daughter of the five should be our queen?' Who counsell'd thus with sad avisement, We will have her with fairest form, I ween.' To which they all accorded with one mind, And chose Philippe that was full feminine, As the wise bishop did determine. But then among them-selfs they laughed aye; Those lords then said, 'Their bishop judged full sooth This passage, among many others, will prove that personal beauty was considered by our ancestors as a most desirable qualification in a queenconsort. For this reason, these biographies are compelled by truth to dwell on the personal advantages possessed by our queens. The queens of England appear, with few exceptions, to have been the finest women of their time. of The young king, then about sixteen, sent to Sir John of Hainault, whom he well knew in England, "that he should love a niece of his more than any lady in the world, on his account, and therefore begged him to speed on the marriage treaty and dispensation;" for the near relationship of their mothers put the bride and bridegroom in the second degree of cousinship. Sir John gave them such sumptuous entertainment as would be tiresome 1 The name of Philippa is not mentioned till the last instrument from Avignon was executed, dated Sept. 3, 1327.-Foedera, vol. iv. 2 Hardyng was a Lincolnshire man, a chronicler and an antiquary, brought up in the family of the earl of Northumberland, so famous in the deposition of Richard II. In his youth he acted as secretary to his lord, and was present at the battle of Shrewsbury. He is, therefore, nearly a contemporary, and, as such, his authority is great. His age must have been extreme, as he lived through the whole of the reigns of the house of Lancaster was pensioned by Henry VI. in 20%. per an num, and finally presented his complete history to Edward IV.: he must then have been more than ninety. He mentions five daugh ters of Hainault: the eldest Sybella, who had been contracted to Edward III. in his infancy, and was dead at this time. 1327.] Royal bride's journey to York. 379 to relate. He most willingly complied with their requests, if the pope and holy church had no objection. Two of the knights and some able clerks were despatched to Avignon, where the pope and college consented most benignantly. On their return to Valenciennes, immediate preparations were made for the dress and equipage of a lady who was considered worthy to be the queen of England. Edward III. was then at Nottingham. He charged1 "his beloved Bartholomew de Burghersh, constable of Dover, to receive and welcome into his kingdom that noble person, William, count of Hainault, with the illustrious damsel Philippa, his daughter, and the familiars of the said count and damsel; and he charges all and singular his nobility and people of the counties through which the count, damsel, and familiars may pass, to do them honour and give them dutiful aid." It was necessary for the lady Philippa and her escort to travel across England to meet the royal bridegroom, who was then performing his warlike noviciate on the Scottish border, under the auspices of his mother and Mortimer, against the great Robert Bruce. Philippa was married at Valenciennes by procuration, soon after the date of this instrument. She embarked for England at, Wisant, landed at Dover with all her suite, and arrived in London December 23, 1327, with a retinue and display of magnificence in accordance with the great wealth of her country. She was escorted by her uncle, John of Hainault, and not by her father, as was expected. A solemn procession of the clergy introduced her into the city, and she was presented by the lord mayor and aldermen of London with a service of plate, worth 3007., as a marriage gift—a benefaction prompted, most likely, by the gratitude of the citizens for a treaty of commerce established between England and the Low Countries in the preceding summer, when these nuptials were first publicly agitated. The king was still with his army in the north, York being his head-quarters; and though London was in an uproarious state of rejoicing at the arrival of the young queen, she set out immediately to meet her lord. But there were feastings and sumptuous entertainments in London for three weeks after her landing. Philippa passed New-year's day at the abbey of Peterborough. She was escorted on her northern journey by the cousin-german of the king, John Bohun, earl of Hereford and Essex, and lord high-constable. An alarming riot occurred at the abbey owing to the tyranny of Hereford, who, when Philippa was about to depart, seized by violence on a little child, Godfrey de la Marck, under the protection of the abbot of Peter 1 Fœdera, vol. iv. Adam Orleton, who began the negotiation, had not the honour of finishing the treaty. He had at this time fallen into disgrace with Isabella and Mortiher, for accepting the rich bishopric of Winchester without the consent of the crown, and pertinaciously refusing to 'pay a bribe high enough to satisfy the rapacity of the queen-mother. The astute priest considered she was too much in his power to need such consideration.-See the preceding biography. borough, and, claiming him as the son of one of his vassals, carried him off in the royal cortège. No other adventures of the queen's bridal progress are recorded: the dismal season and bad roads made it tedious. The royal marriage did not take place until January the 24th, 1327-8, when the hands of Edward and Philippa were united at York minster. The magnificence of the espousals was heightened by the grand entry of a hundred of the principal nobility of Scotland, who had arrived in order to conclude a lasting peace with England, cemented by the marriage of the king's little sister, Joanna. The parliament and royal council were likewise convened at York, and the flower of the English nobility, then in arms, were assembled, round the young king and his bride. The royal pair kept Easter at York, and after the final peace with Scotland, they returned southward from Lincoln to Northampton, and finally settled in June, at the beautiful summer palace of Woodstock, which seems the principal abiding-place of Philippa while her young husband was yet under the tutelage of Mortimer and the queen-mother. A dead silence is kept in all the public documents regarding the amount of Philippa's portion,-for reasons good, since the queen-mother had already spent it. As for the usual dower of the queens of England, the whole of its lands were possessed by the queen-mother; but by & <leed, executed at Northampton,2 May 5th, "the king," says the venerable father, Roger, bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, "had promised that 15,000l. per annum of lands should be settled on her." Queenborough was part of the young queen's dower; the Saxon kings had a strong castle there called Kyngborough, on a rising ground commanding a fine view over the Thames. Edward III. pulled down the ruins, and began a residence for his queen, meant to facilitate their frequent visits to her native country: he changed the name of the place to Queen borough, in compliment to her. Gibbon, the historian, claims for his ancestor Gibbon, king Edward's architect, the honour of designing and building Philippa's palace in the Isle of Sheppey. Nothing remains of it now, excepting a few crumbling walls just above the soil, some indications of the donjon, mount, and an old well. Isabella provided so richly for herself and her daughter-in-law, that she left her son, the sovereign of England, nearly penniless. After assisting at the marriage of his niece, Sir John of Hainault returned to his native country, laden with jewels and rich presents. Few of the Hainaulters who had escorted her to England stayed with queen Philippa; but among those who remained was a youth, named Sir Wantelet de Mauny, whose office was to carve for her. The coronation of the young queen did not take place till more than two years P. 41. 1 Bishop Patrick's Hist. 'of Peterborough, 4 Froissart. This attendant of queen Philippa is Sir Walter Mauny, so celebrated as one of the first knights of the Garter. 1330.] Birth of Edward the Black Prince. 381 after her marriage. The king, from his palace at Eltham, issued a summons, dated the 28th of February, 1330,"for his beloved and faithful Bartholomew de Burghersh to appear with his barons of the Cinque-ports, to do their customary duties at the coronation of his dearest queen Philippa, which takes place if God be propitious, the Sunday next to the feast of St. Peter, in the cathedral of Westminster." It took place on that day with no particular splendour, for the rapacity of Isabella and Mortimer had absorbed all the funds provided to support the dignity of the crown. But the period of their sway drew near its close: the young lion of England had already manifested signs of disdain at the ignoble restraint in which he was held. Parliament was summoned that spring at Woodstock, whither Philippa and her royal lord had retired after the coronation. A singular document is dated from thence the succeeding April, in which the king informs his treasurer, "that his faithful and beloved Robert de Vere, being earl of Oxford, was hereditary chamberlain to the queens of England; at all coronations the ancestors of the earl had officiated in the same capacity, and that in consequence he claimed the bed in which the queen had slept, her shoes, and three silver basins,- -one in which she washed her head, and two others in which she washed her hands. And the king desires that the earl may freely receive the basins and the shoes; but as for her bed, the treasurer is to pay the earl-chamberlain a hundred marks as a compensation for his claim thereon." While the young king was yet under the dominion of his unworthy mother, his consort, Philippa, gave birth to her firstborn, afterwards the celebrated hero, Edward, surnamed the Black Prince. He first saw the light at the palace of Woodstock, June 15, 1330. The great beauty of this infant, his size, and the firm texture of his limbs, filled every one with admiration who saw him. Like that renowned queen-regent of France, Blanche of Castile, mother of St. Louis, Philippa chose to nourish her babe at her own bosom. It is well known that the portraits of the lovely young Philippa and her princely boy formed the favourite models for the Virgin and Child at that era. ment was In order to celebrate the birth of the heir of England, a grand tournaproclaimed at London. Philippa and all the female nobility were invited to be present. Thirteen knights were engaged on each side, and the tournament was held in Cheapside, between Wood-street and Queen-street: the highway was covered with sand to prevent the horses' feet from slipping, and a grand temporary tower was erected, made of boarding, filled with seats for the accommodation of the queen and her ladies. But scarcely had this fair company entered the tower, when the scaffolding suddenly gave way, and all present fell to the 1 Edward III. Patent rolls. 2 Fœdera, vol. iv. p. 426. 3 Face' would be more likely, but the actual word is capitie. |