at Forfair. , the 25 day of Aprill, in the yeere of our Lord 1057. Immediatlie 4 parlement after his coronation he called a parlement at Forfair, in the which he rewarded them with lands and liuings that had assisted him against Makbeth, aduancing them to fees and offices as he saw cause, & commanded that speciallie those, that bare the surname of anie offices or lands, should haue and inioy the same. He created manie earles, lords, barons, and knights. Manie of them, changed into that before were thanes, were at this time made earles, as Fife, Menteth, ... Leuenox, . . . Cathnes, Rosse, and Angus. These were the first earles that haue beene heard of amongst the Scotishmen1 (as their histories doo make mention.) Manie new surnames were taken vp at this time amongst them, as Cauder, . . Seiton, . . . with manie other that had possessions giuen them, which gaue names to the owners for the time. Thanes earles. Surnames. THE Shaksperian play entitled The life and death of King Iohn opens shortly after the King's first coronation, on Ascension Day (May 27), 1199; and closes with his death on October 19,2 1216. This is also the time embraced by an anonymous writer's Troublesome Raigne of Iohn King of England, 1591; a play which Shakspere has closely followed, without making any independent use of historical sources. The author of The Troublesome Raigne probably derived most of his historical matter from Holinshed; from whose Chronicles the larger part of the succeeding excerpts is taken. Act I. sc. i.-I begin with the excerpts which form the sources of the opening scene. [Hol. iii. 157/1/11.] Iohn the yoongest son of Henrie the Anno Reg. 1. second was proclaimed king of England, beginning his reigne the sixt daie of April,3 in the yeare of our Lord 1199. . . . This Rog. Houed. 2 Or October 18. The words in M. Paris (Wendover), ii. 668, are: "Qui [Johannes] postea, in nocte quae diem sancti Lucae Evangelistae proxime secuta est, ex hac vita migravit." Coggeshale (184) says that John died about midnight, "in festo Sancti Lucae evangelistae." The date of Richard I.'s death. But John's regnal years are computed from his coronation on Ascension Day (May 27), 1199. Matth. man, so soone as his brother Richard was deceassed, sent Hubert archbishop of Canturburie, and William Marshall earle of Striguill (otherwise called Chepstow) into England, both to proclaime him king, and also to see his peace kept; togither with Geffrey Fitz Peter lord cheefe iustice, and diuerse other barons of the realme; whilest he himselfe went to Chinon where his brothers treasure laie, which was foorthwith deliuered vnto him by Robert de Turneham and therewithall the castell of Chinon and Sawmer and diuerse other places, which were in the custodie of the foresaid Robert. But Thomas de Furnes nephue to the said Robert Rog. Houed. de Turneham deliuered the citie and castell of Angiers vnto Arthur duke of Britaine. For, by generall consent of the nobles and peeres of the countries of Aniou, Maine, and Touraine, Arthur knowledged was receiued as the liege and souereigne lord of the same livered to John by] Robert de Turneham [, and] Sawmer. Thomas de Furnes Arthur ac in Anjou, Maine, and Touraine.] Strife amongst the English sub iects on the other side of sea. countries. For euen at this present, and so soone as it was knowne that king Richard was deceased, diuerse cities and townes, on that side of the sea belonging to the said Richard whilest he liued, fell at ods among themselues, some of them indeuouring to preferre king Iohn, other labouring rather to be vnder the gouernance of [Arthur son Arthur duke of Britaine: considering that he seemed by most right to be their cheefe lord, forsomuch as he was sonne to Geffrey elder brother to Iohn. And thus began the broile in those quarters, whereof in processe of time insued great inconuenience, and finallie the death of the said Arthur, as shall be shewed hereafter. to Geoffrey, elder brother to John.] [Eleanor Now whilest king Iohn was thus occupied in recouering his brothers treasure, and traueling with his subiects to reduce them to his obedience, queene Elianor his mother, by the helpe of Hubert archbishop of Canturburie and other of the noble men swear fealty and barons of the land, trauelled as diligentlie to procure the English people to receiue their oth of allegiance to be true to king Iohn.. strove to make the English to John.] [John owed his crown chiefly to Eleanor.] [Hol. iii. 158/1/42.] And all this was doone cheeflie by the working of the kings mother, whom the nobilitie much honoured and loued. For she, being bent to prefer hir sonne Iohn, left no stone vnturned to establish him in the throne, com paring oftentimes the difference of gouernement betweene a king that is a man, and a king that is but a child. For as Iohn was 32 yeares old, so Arthur duke of Britaine was but a babe to speake of.... Surelie queene Elianor the kings mother was sore against hir nephue Arthur, rather mooued thereto by enuie conceiued against his mother, than vpon any iust occasion giuen in the behalfe of the child, for that she saw, if he were king, how his mother Constance would looke to beare most rule within the realme of England, till hir sonne should come to lawfull age, to gouerne of himselfe 1. When this dooing of the queene was signified vnto the said Constance, she, doubting the suertie of hir sonne, committed him to the trust of the French king, who, receiuing him into his tuition, promised to defend him from all his enimies, and foorthwith furnished the holds in Britaine with French souldiers. There is no historical authority for Chatillon's embassage; nor did Philip demand that England and Ireland should be yielded to Arthur. Immediately after Richard I.'s death, Anjou, Maine, and Touraine acknowledged, as we have seen, Arthur's right, while England passed without question under the dominion of John. Such was the position of affairs at the coronation of John, shortly after which event the action of both plays begins with Chatillon's embassy. Chatillon having departed, John says (I. i. 48, 49): Our Abbies and our Priories shall pay This expeditions charge. Faulconbridge is commissioned to wring from "hoording Abbots" the money needed (III. iii. 6-11), and afterwards we hear that he is in England," ransacking the Church" (III. iv. 171, 172). Shakspere merely tells us what the older dramatist brings on the stage, in a scene when the Bastard visits a Franciscan friary, to collect money for John. Perhaps Shakspere's precursor embellished a case recorded by Holinshed, which gave the regular clergy special ground to complain of John's harshness. In 12002 he ordered that horses and cattle belonging to "the white moonks" (Cistercians), and left by them in his forests after October 13, should be forfeited to him. 1 Eleanor to Constance (II. i. 122, 123): "Out, insolent! thy bastard shall be King, That thou maist be a Queen, and checke the world!” 2 In 1210, after his return from an expedition into Ireland, John extorted £100,000 from the regular clergy and military orders. "The moonks of the Cisteaux order, otherwise called white moonks, were constreined to paie 40 thousand pounds of siluer at this time, all their priuileges to the contrarie notwithstanding."-Hol. iii. 174/2/61 (M. Paris, ii. 530, 531). [The Cister cians would give John nothing payment of the £30,000 [Hol. iii. 162/1/44.] The cause that mooued the king to deale so hardlie with them was, for that they refused to helpe towards the him with monie, when before his last going ouer into Normandie, he demanded it of them towards the paiment. of the thirtie Coggeshale, thousand pounds which he had couenanted to pay the French (30,000 marks. 101, 103) which he had promised Philip.] Philip king Richards bastard son slue the vicount of Limoges. king. King John is then required to hear the appeal of Robert Faulconbridge, who claims his paternal inheritance, on the ground that his elder brother, Philip, is illegitimate. Concerning Philip (or Richard) Faulconbridge's historic original, Holinshed records that, in the year 1199, [Hol. iii. 160/2/69.] Philip, bastard sonne to king Richard,1 to whome his father had giuen the castell and honor of Coinacke, killed the vicount of Limoges, in reuenge of his fathers death, who was slaine (as yee haue heard) in besieging the castell of Chalus Cheuerell. Faulconbridge's choice is the chief subject of the scene in which he is first presented to us, and he is best remembered in connexion with this supreme moment of his life. A like choice was made by the renowned Dunois, the Bastard of Orleans, whom we meet with in the First Part of Henry VI. It is possible that the earlier dramatist (whose Faulconbridge was inherited by Shakspere) availed himself of the main situation in Dunois's case; to which more effect was given by bringing on the stage a legitimate younger brother, who vehemently urges his right, and is supported by his mother, who is anxious to conceal her shame. These additions are, as the reader will perceive, the most important modifications in the following story, which is narrated by Halle (6th of Hen. VI., pp. 144, 145). Lewes Duke of Orleance (murthered in Paris 2 by Ihon Duke of Burgoyne) was owner of the Castle of Coucy, on the Frontiers of Fraunce toward Arthoys; whereof he made Constable the lord of Cauni, a man not so wise as his wyfe was fayre; and 1 Mr. Watkiss Lloyd (Essays on Shakspere, ed. 1875, p. 196) saw a resemblance both in name and character between Faulconbridge and Falco de Brenta or Faukes de Breauté, whom Hol. calls Foukes de Brent. Hol. relates how Faukes served John in the barons' war (1215-16), and afterwards aided the royalists in their struggle with Lewis. Another bastard Fauconbridge-"a man of no lesse corage then audacitie" (see illustration of 3 Hen. VI., I. i. 239), "a stoute harted manne" (Hardyng-Grafton, 459)—was a contemporary of Edward IV. 2 In 1407. Lewis Duke of Orleans was brother to Charles VI. John Duke of Burgundy, their first cousin, is present-but does not speak-in Henry V. III. v. [The wife of Cauny was the Lord of beloved by Lewis Duke of Orleans. forth a boy, whom her alleged to bastard.] She brought husband's next of kin be a [The child's was debated legitimacy before the Presidents of the Parliament of Paris, he was and, when eight, he was called hose son upon by them to say he was.] yet she was not so faire, but she was aswell beloued of the duke of Orleance, as of her husband. Betwene the duke and her husbande (I cannot tell who was father) she conceived a child, and brought furth a prety boye called Ihon; whiche chylde beynge of the age of one yere, the Duke disceased, and not longe after the mother and the lorde of Cawny ended their lyues. The next of kynne to the lord Cawny chalenged the enheritaunce, which was worth four thousand crownes a yere, alledgyng that the boye was a bastard and the kynred of the mothers syde, for to saue her honesty, it plainly denyed. In conclusion, this matter was in contention before the Presidentes of the parliament of Paris, and there hanged in controuersie tyll the child came to the age of .viij. yeres old. At whiche tyme it was demaunded of him openly [p. 145] whose sonne he was: his frends of his mothers syde aduertised him to requyre a day, to be aduised of so great an answere; whiche he asked, & to hym it was graunted. In the meane season his sayed frendes persuaded him to claime his inheritaunce, as sonne to the lord of Cawni, which was an honorable liuinge, and an auncient patrimony; affirming that, if he said contrary, he not onely slaundered hys mother, shamed himself, & stayned hys bloud, but also should haue no lyuyng, nor any thynge to take to. The scolemaister, thinking that hys disciple had well learned his lesson, & woulde reherse it according to hys instruccion, brought hym before the Iudges at the daye assigned; and, when the question was repeted to him again, he boldly answered, "my harte geueth me, and my noble corage [The boy "telleth me, that I am the sonne of the noble Duke of Orleaunce; 'more glad to be his Bastarde, wyth a meane liuyng, then the "lawful sonne of that coward cuckolde Cauny, with hys foure thousande crounes [a year]." The iustices muche merueyled at his bolde answere, and his mothers cosyns detested him for shamynge of his mother; and his fathers supposed1 kinne reioysed in gayninge the patrimony & possessions. Charles, Duke of Orleance, hearynge of thys iudgement, toke hym into his family and gaue him great offices & fees, which he wel deserued, for 1 ? supposed father's. answered that he was not coward cuckold Cauny's awful son, noble Duke's but the bastard.] E |