CHAP. I. MURDER OF EDWARD II. 19 that the great stone of Scone, on which the Kings A.D. 1328. of Scotland were crowned, together with various treasures and documents which Edward the First had carried away from Scotland, should also be restored. It was further agreed, that Bruce should pay the sum of £20,000, divided into three annual instalments, to the King of England; that his son David, then in his sixth year, who afterwards became David the Second of Scotland, should be married to Edward's sister, Joan of the Tower, then only in her seventh year; and that certain estates belonging to nobles who had sided with the English, and which had thereby become forfeit, should be restored to them. It was certainly desirable to try to restore peace, on a firm footing, between the two countries; but the treaty was most unpopular with the English, and Treaty there were riots in London, when, in compliance with unpopular, its provisions, it was attempted, but in vain, to remove and restore the regal stone of Scone. The partly betreaty was supposed by the people, to be the work was the of Isabella and Mortimer, who were already greatly Mortimer. disliked; partly, on account of Mortimer's insolence; partly, because of the general belief, that they were living an adulterous life together; and partly, because it was commonly thought, that the money, to be paid by Bruce, was destined for their private use. Four months after the signing of the treaty, David and Joan were solemnly betrothed at Berwick-onTweed. cause it work of Edward While the negotiations with Scotland were going Murder of on, Edward's father was barbarously murdered; in his prison at Berkeley Castle. This took place on the 1 Knighton, col. 2553. A.D. 1328. 21st of September, while Edward was at Lincoln; but, it is nearly certain, that no suspicion that the event was caused by violence, was then entertained; for the young King took no steps to enquire into the cause of his father's death, and did not hurry the leisurely progress he was making through central England. CHAP. II. EDWARD'S MARRIAGE. 21 CHAPTER II. FROM THE MARRIAGE OF EDWARD TO THE FALL OF MORTIMER. marr.age with Hainault, PEACE with Scotland having been settled for a A.D. 1328. time, another object now occupied young Edward's thoughts. This was his approaching marriage with Edward's the niece of Sir John of Hainault. The alliance had been discussed, during the visit of Queen Isabella to Philippa of the Count of Hainault in 1326,1 and was further considered while Sir John was in the North of England. The King wrote to the Pope from York on the 15th of August, only a few days after leaving Stanhope, to ask him to grant a dispensation for the marriage. The relationship was somewhat remote, as the Prince and his intended bride were only the great-grandchildren of a common ancestor;2 but, the Pope's permission was necessary to legalise the marriage. Shortly after Sir John of Hainault's departure, 1 Buchon (Froissart, vol. i. p. 7, note) shows clearly that Edward did not accompany his mother to Flanders, and therefore the romantic story of his falling in love with Philippa falls to the ground. PHILIP III. 2 |