1340.] Royal challenge declined. 387 Philippa to interfere in this extraordinary manner between armies ready to engage are perfectly consistent with the spirit of the middle ages. Her kinsman, king Robert of Sicily, a royal astrologer, had cast the nativities of Philip and Edward, and declared that he foresaw the discomfiture of the king of France, if ever he fought against his rival. The letters of king Robert, alarming the sisterly fears of the countess Jeanne, induced her interference. At Tournay, Edward was endeavouring to provoke Philip into a personal combat. This excellent method of determining a succession-war Philip declined, because the cartel was not directed to the king of France. The whole English camp cried out at the cowardice of Philip; and a poet belonging to Edward, possessing more loyalty than Latin, wrote the following couplet, "Si valeas, venias, Valois! depelle timorem Which may be rendered, Valois, be valiant! vile fear can't avail thee; Edward, who had himself sent a rhyming declaration of war to Philip, swore "these were valiant verses," and caused them to be fastened to an arrow, and shot into Philip's encampment. Both the mighty Edward and his faithful queen were literally in a state of bankruptcy at this juncture. She had given up her crown, and all the jewels she possessed, which her royal lord had pawned to the Flemish merchants; but his wants were still so great, that to raise a further sum he pawned the person of his valiant kinsman, the earl of Derby, who actually gave himself up to personal restraint, while Edward stole away with his queen, and the child she nourished, to Zealand. Here he embarked with Philippa and the infant John of Gaunt, attended by a few servants. The ship was small, the weather stormy, and the royal passengers were in frequent danger of losing their lives: however, at midnight, December 2, 1340, they landed safely on Tower-wharf. Here the king found that three nurses, and the rest of the royal children, constituted the sole garrison of his regal fortress of the Tower: the careless constable, Nicholas de la Beche, had decamped that evening to visit a lady-love in the city, and his warders and soldiers, following his example, had actually left the Tower to take care of itself. The great Edward, who, owing to the untoward state of his finances, was not in the mildest of tempers, took possession of the fortress of his capital in a towering rage. As his return was wholly unexpected, the conster person to his creditors." In answer to this appeal, the commons granted the fleece of the ninth sheep and the ninth lamb throughout England: coin seemed to be as scarce with the subjects as with their royal master and mistress. 2 Froissart. nation of constable de la Beche may be supposed, when he had concluded his city visit. It was well for the careless castellan that the gentle Philippa was by the side of her incensed lord at that juncture. About this time, the heart of the mighty Edward swerved for awhile from its fidelity to Philippa; and had not the royal hero been enamoured of a lady of exemplary virtue, the peace of the queen might have been for ever destroyed. Sir William Montacute had been rewarded for the good service he did the king in the beginning of his reign, by the title of the earl of Salisbury. He had married the fair Katherine de Granson, and received the castellanship of Wark-castle, whither he had taken his countess, who lived in retirement away from the court. In the mean time, Salisbury had been captured in the French war. His castle in the north, which was defended by his countess and his nephew, was besieged in the second Scottish war by king David, 1342. Young Montacute, by a bold personal adventure, carried the news of the distress of the countess to king Edward, who was encamped near Berwick. At the approach of Edward, the king of Scots raised the siege of Wark, The royal hero's interview with Katherine the Fair follows, in the words of Froissart :-"The moment the countess heard of the king's approach, she ordered all the gates to be thrown open, and went to meet him most richly dressed, insomuch that no one could look at her but with wonder and admiration at her noble deportment, great beauty, and affability of behaviour. When she came near king Edward, she made her obeisance to the ground, and gave him thanks for coming to her assistance; and then conducted him into the castle, to entertain and honour him. Every one was delighted with her; but the king could not take his eyes from her, so that a fine spark of love struck upon his heart, which lasted a long time, for he did not believe that the whole world produced any other lady so worthy of being beloved. They entered the castle hand in hand. The countess led him first to the hall, and then to the best chamber, which was very richly furnished, as belonging to so fine a lady. King Edward kept his eyes so fixed upon the countess, that the gentle dame was quite abashed. After he had sufficiently examined his apart ment, he retired to a window, and, leaning on it, fell into a reverie, s off profound "The countess left him to order dinner to be made ready, and the tables set, and the hall ornamented and set out; likewise to welcome the knights and lords who accompanied the king. When she had given all 1 In Milles' Catalogue of Honour, the parentage of the countess of Salisbury is clearly traced. She was the daughter of William de Granson, a Burgundian knight of imperial lineage, a favourite of Edmund, earl of Lancaster, who prevailed on Sibyl, heiress of lord Tregose of Wiltshire, to marry his friend. Granson possessed nothing in the world but a handsome person and a very doubtful pedi gree, derived from the emperors of Constanti nople. Katherine the Fair was the only child of this couple, and was endowed richly with her mother's wealth and her father's beauty. She bestowed both on the brave earl of Salis bury. Dugdale confirms this account by quoting charters, in which he calls the countess Katherine de Grandison. 1342.] The king in love with Lady Salisbury. 389 the orders to her servants she thought needful, she returned with a cheerful countenance to king Edward, and said, 'Dear sir, what are you musing on? Such meditation is not proper for you, saving your grace. You ought rather to be in high spirits, having freed England from her enemy without loss of blood.' The king replied, 'Oh, dear lady! you must know that, since I have been in this castle, some thoughts have oppressed my mind that I was not before aware of; so that it behoves me to reflect; as I am uncertain what may be the event, I cannot withdraw my attention.'-' Dear sir,' answered the lady, 'you ought to be of good cheer, and feast with your friends, to give them more pleasure, and leave off pondering; for God has been very bountiful to you in your undertakings, so that you are the most feared and renowned prince in Christendom. If the king of Scotland have vexed you by the mischiefs he hath done in your kingdom, you will speedily be able to make reprisals in his dominions. Therefore come, if it please you, into the hall to your knights, for dinner will soon be served.'-'Oh, sweet lady!' said king Edward, 'there be other things which touch my heart, and lie heavy there, than what you talk of. For, in good truth, your beauteous mien and the perfections of your face and behaviour have wholly overcome me, and so deeply impress my heart, that my happiness wholly depends on meeting a return to my flame, which no denial from you can ever extinguish.'-'Oh! my dread lord,' replied the countess, 'do not amuse yourself by laughing at me and trying to tempt me, for I cannot believe you are in earnest as to what you have just said. Is it likely that so noble and gallant a prince as you are would ever think of dishonouring either me or my husband, a valiant knight, who has served you so faithfully, and who now lies in a doleful prison on your account? Certainly, sir, this would not redound to your glory; nor would you be the better for it, if you could have your wayward will.' hands; "The virtuous lady then quitted the king, who was astonished at her words. She went into the hall to hasten dinner; afterwards she approached the king's chamber, attended by all the knights, and said to him, 'My lord king, your knights are all waiting for you, to wash their for they, as well as yourself, have fasted too long.' King Edward left his apartment and came to the hall, where, after he had washed his hands, he seated himself with his knights at the dinner, as did the lady also; but the king ate very little, and was the whole time pensive, casting his eyes, whenever he had the opportunity, on the countess. Such behaviour surprised his friends; for they were not accustomed to it, never having seen the like before in their king. They supposed it was his chagrin at the departure of the Scots without a battle. The king remained at the castle the whole day, without knowing what to do with himself. Thus did he pass that day and a sleepless night, debating the matter within his own heart. At daybreak he rose, drew out his whole army, raised his camp, and made ready to follow the Scots. Upon taking leave of the countess, he said, 'My dear lady, God preserve you safe till I return! and I pray that you will think well of what I have said, and have the goodness to give me a different answer.'-'My gracious liege,' replied the countess, God of his infinite goodness preserve you, and drive from your noble heart such villanous thoughts; for I am, and ever shall be, ready to serve you, but only in what is consistent with my honour and with yours.' The king left her, quite astonished at her answers." The love of king Edward wandered from queen Philippa but for a short time; yet it was owing to the high principles of Katherine the Fair that he never swerved into the commission of evil.1 Queen Philippa, attired in the august robes of the new order of the Garter, and attended by the ladies whom the gallantry of king Edward associated with his knights, assisted her royal lord in holding the first chapter at Windsor, on St. George's-day, 1343. The story that the origin of this order, the order of the Garter, took its rise from an accident that happened to the countess of Salisbury's dress when dancing with king Edward III., must be untrue, since we have seen that the knights of the Blue Garter were confederated by Cœur de Lion long be fore the countess was born; therefore the Garter was a part of the order that had been devised many years previously to the era of king Edward. But that the countess of Salisbury was considered the heroine of the newly-revived order, we have the express words of Froissart, as follows: “You have all heard how passionately king Edward was smitten with the charms of that noble lady, Katherine, countess of Salisbury. Out of affection to the said lady, and his desire to see her, he proclaimed a great feast, in August, 1343. He commanded all his own lords and knights should be there without fail, and he expressly ordered the earl of Salisbury to bring the lady his wife, with as many young ladies as she could collect to attend her. The earl very cheerfully complied with the king's request, for he thought no evil, and his good lady dared not say nay. 'Though he appears still to have cherished a chivalric and heroic attachment for the countess, he soon showed that he had resigned what she very properly told him were "villanous thoughts." In proof of this fact we find him, directly, making a two year's truce with the king of Scotland, one of the conditions of which was," that king David should undertake a negotiation with his ally, the king of France, to exchange the earl of Moray, a prisoner of king Edward, for the earl of Salisbury," then in captivity in the dismal towers of the Châtelet.-Froissart. * For several ages after the institution of the order of the Garter, every knight was accompanied by his lady, who was considered to belong to it. Sir Harris Nicolas, in his admirable work on the order of the Garter, fully proves that the ladies of the knights wore its badge. Several monuments still exist where it may be seen. The monumental statue of lady Harcourt, at Stanton-Harcourt, displays the order of the Garter, with the celebrated motto on the left arm. She was born a Byron, and married Sir Robert Har court, elected knight of the Garter in 1463. The effigy of the duchess of Suffolk, grand. daughter to Chaucer, at Ewelme church, has the garter and motto buckled round the left arm, not as an armlet, but as a bracelet. The lady Tankerville, whose statue was lately at St. Katherine's by the Tower, had the same noble badge on her left arm. If the ladiescompanions of this noble order were restored according to the original institution of Edward III. and Philippa, how much splendour would such improvement add to the court of our fair queen! The Garter-robes of queen Philippa are charged in the wardrobe accounts.-Exchequer rolls. 1345.] Heroine of the order of the Garter. 391. She came, however, much against her will; for she guessed the reason which made the king so earnest for her attendance, but was afraid to disover it to her husband, intending by her conduct and conversation to make he king change his opinion." Froissart likewise adds, " that all the ladies and damsels who assisted at the first convocation of the order of the Garter came superbly dressed, excepting the countess of Salisbury, who attended the festival dressed as plainly as possible; she did not wish the king to admire her, for she had no intention to obey him in any thing evil that might tend to the dishonour of her dear lord." The repetition of the xpression, "any thing evil," is certainly in allusion to the mysterious notto of the order. Queen Philippa made her last visit to Norwich in the course of the ame year, tradition says, accompanied by her son Edward, prince of Wales, who displayed his early prowess in chivalry by tilting at a tourlament proclaimed at his mother's favourite East Anglian city. It is a natter still in dispute by the learned there, whether the queen lodged at he prior's country house at Trowse-Newton, or at the monastery in the Close. But after her expulsion by the monks of Durham from her lodgng in their monastery, it is most likely she resided at the country-house, eparately from her son or husband. She was entertained by the citizens of Norwich at an expense of 377. 4s. 64d. Philippa kept the birthday of her mighty lord with great festivity at Woodstock, in the year 1345. Here, in that sylvan palace, where she had spent the first years of her happy wedlock, did she find herself, in middle life, surrounded by a train of beautiful children, at the head of whom was Edward, prince of Wales, then on the eve of winning his vast need of renown. Philippa's protégé, Chaucer, has, in these elegant lines, lescribed one lovely feature of the favourite retreat of his royal mistress. He speaks of a maple- that is fair and green, Before the chamber windows of the queen At Woodstock." CHAPTER II. In the first years of her marriage, queen Philippa had been the constant attendant on her husband in his campaigns: the annals of the year 1346 display her character in a more brilliant light, as the sagacious ruler of his kingdom and the victorious leader of his feudal militia. After the order of the Garter had been fully established, king Edward reminded his valiant knights and nobles that, with him, they made a vow to assist distressed ladies; he then specified that the countess de Montfort particularly required the aid of his chivalry, for her lord was held in cap |