SECTION III.

GENERAL HISTORY DURING THE FOURTEENTH AND FIFTEENTH CENTURIES.

1. ENGLAND AND FRANCE DURING THE FOURTEENTH AND
FIFTEENTH CENTURIES.

ANALYSIS. 1. Continuation of the histories of France and England.-2. Defeat of Edward II. in the battle of Bannockburn. Edward offends the barons. [Gascony.] The Great Charter confirmed, and annual parliaments ordained.-3. Rebellion of the barons, and death of Edward. Reign of Edward III. Invasion of Scotland. [Halidon Hill.]

FRENCH AND ENGLISH WARS.-4. Edward disputes the succession to the throne of France. Invasion of France, and battle of Cressy. [Cressy.] Defeat of the Scots, and capture of Calais. [Durham. Calais.]-5. Renewal of the war with France, and victory of Poictiers. (1356.) Anarchy in France. Treaty of Bretigny. The conquered territory. [Bretigny. Aquitaine. Bordeaux.]-6. Renewal of the war with France in 1368. Relative condition of the two powers. The French recover their provinces. [Bayonne. Brest, and Cherbourg.]-7. Death of Edward III. of England, and Charles V. of France. The distractions that followed in both kingdoms. [Orleans. Lancaster. Gloucester.] Wat Tyler's insurrection. [Blackheath.]-8. Character of Richard II. He is deposed, and succeeded by Henry IV. (1399.) The legal claimant. Origin of the contentions between the houses of York and Lancaster.-9. Insurrection against Henry. [Shrewsbury.]-10. Accession of Henry V., and happy change in his character. He invades France, and defeats the French in the battle of Agincourt.-11. Civil war in France, and return of Henry. The treaty with the Burgundian faction. Opposition of the Orleans party. [The States General. The dauphin.]-12. The infant king of the English, Henry VI., and the French king Charles VII. Joan of Arc. Her declared mission.-13. Successes of the French, and fate of Joan.-14. The English gradually lose all their continental possessions, except Calais. Tranquillity in France.

15. Unpopularity of the reigning English family. Popular insurrection. Beginning of the WARS OF THE Two Roses. [St. Albans.]-16. Sanguinary character of the strife. First period of the war closes with the accession of Edward IV., of the house of York.-17. The French king. The reign of Edward IV. The earl of Warwick. Overthrow of the Lancastrians. The fate of Margaret, her son, and the late king Henry IV. [Warwick. Tewkesbury.]-18. The cotemporary reign of Louis XI. of France. The relations of Edward and Louis.-19. Fate of Edward V., and accession of Richard III. Defeat and death of Richard, and end of the "Wars of the Two Roses." [Richmond. Bosworth.]

20. REIGN OF HENRY VII. The impostors Simnel and Warbeck. [Dublin.]-21. Treaties with France and Scotland. The Scottish marriage.-22. Why the reign of Henry VII. is an important epoch in English history.

II. OTHER NATIONS AT THE CLOSE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.

1. DENMARK, SWEDEN AND NORWAY. Union of Calmar. [Calmar.]

2. The RUSSIAN EMPIRE. Its early history. [Dnieper. Novogorod.] Divisions of the kingdom in the eleventh century.-3. Tartar invasions. The reign of John III. duke of Moscow. Russia at the end of the fifteenth century.-4. Founding of the OTTOMAN EMPIRE, on the ruins of the Eastern or Greek empire. [Emir.] The Turkish empire at the close of the fourteenth century. The sultan Bajazet overthrown by Tamerlane.-5. The TARTAR EMPIRE OF TAMERLANE. Defeat of the Turks. Turks and Christians unite against the Tartars. Death of Tamerlane. [Samarcand. Angora.]-6. Taking of Constantinople by the Turks, and extinction of the Eastern empire.

7. POLAND. Commencement and early history of Poland. Extent of the kingdom at the close of the fifteenth century. [Poland. Lithuania. Teutonic knights. Moldavia.]-8. The GERMAN EMPIRE at the close of the fifteenth century. Elective monarchs.-9. Causes that render the history of Germany exceedingly complicated. The three powerful States of Germany about the middle of the fourteenth century. [Luxemburg. Bohemia. Moravia. Silesia.

Lusatia. Brandenburg. Holland. Tyrol. Austria.]-10. Austrian princes of Germany. Important changes made during the reign of Maximilian. [Worms.]-11. SWITZERLAND revolts from Austria. Long-continued wars. Switzerland independent at the close of the fifteenth century. [Rutuli. William Tell. Morgarten. Sempach.]-12 ITALIAN HISTORY during the central period of the Middle Ages. The Italian republics. [Genoa.] Duchy of Milan.-13. The Florentines. Contests between the Genoese and Venetians. [Levant.] Genoa at the close of the fifteenth century.-14. History of Venice. Her power at the end of the fifteenth century. [Morea.] The popes, and kings of Naples. Interference of foreign powers.-15. SPAIN. Union of the most powerful Christian States. Overthrow of the Saracen dominions in Spain. [Navarre. Aragon. Castile. Leon. Granada.]-16. History of PORTUGAL. [Farther account of Portugal.]

III. DISCOVERIES.

1. Navigation, and geographical knowledge, during the Dark Ages. Revival of commerce. [Pisa.] Discovery of the magnetic needle. The art of printing. Discovery of the Canaries. Portuguese discoveries. [Canàries. Cape de Verd and Azore islands.]-2. Views and objects of Prince Henry. His death. Fame of the discoveries patronized by him. Christopher Columbus. The bold project conceived by him. [Lisbon. Ireland. Guinea.]-3. The trials of Columbus. His final triumph, in the discovery of America. Vasco de Gama. Closing

remarks.

I. ENGLAND AND FRANCE DURING THE FOURTEENTH AND FIFTEENTH CENTURIES.—1. France and England occupy the most prominent place in the history of European nations during the closing period of the Middle Ages; and as their annals, during most of this period, are so intimately connected that the history of one nation is in great part the history of both, the unity of the subject will best be preserved, and repetition avoided, by treating both in connection.

2. The reign of Edward II. of England, whose defeat by the Scots in the famous battle of Bannockburn has already been mentioned, although inglorious to himself, and disastrous to the British arms, was not, on the whole, unfavorable to the progress of constitutional liberty. The unbounded favoritism of Edward to Gaveston, a handsome youth of Gascony,' whom the king elevated in wealth and dignities above all the nobles in England, roused the resentment of the barons; and the result was the banishment of the favorite, and a reformation of abuses in full parliament. (A. D. 1313.) The Great Charter, so often violated, was again confirmed; and the important provision was added, that there should be an annual assembling of parliament, for protection of the people, when "aggrieved by the king's ministers against right."

3. But other favorities supplied the place of Gaveston: the nobles rebelled against their sovereign: his faithless queen Isabella, sister of the king of France, took part with the malcontents, and

1. Gascony, before the French Revolution, was a province of France, situated between the Garonne, the sea, and the Pyrenees. The Gascons are a people of much spirit; but their exaggeration in describing their exploits has made the term gasconade proverbial. (Map No. XIII.)

Edward was deposed, imprisoned, and afterwards murdered. (A. D. 1327.) Edward III., crowned at fourteen years of age, unable to endure the presence of a mother stained with the foulest crimes, caused her to be imprisoned for life, and her paramour, Mortimer, to be executed. He then applied himself to redress the grievances which had proceeded from the late abuses of authority; after which he invaded Scotland, and defeated the Scots at Halidon Hill; but on his withdrawal from the country, the Scottish arms again triumphed.

WARS.

4. On the death, in the year 1328, of Charles IV. of France, the last of the male descendants of Philip the Fair, the I. FRENCH crown of that kingdom became the object of contest be- AND ENGLISH tween Edward III. of England, the son of Philip's daughter Isabella, and Philip of Valois, son of the brother of Philip. After war had continued several years between the two nations, with only occasional intervals of truce, in the year 1346 Edward, in person, invaded France, and, supported by his heroic son Edward, called the Black Prince, then only fifteen years of age, gained a great victory over the French in the famous battle of Cressy'―slaying more of the enemy than the total number of his own army. (Aug. 26th, 1346.) A few weeks after the battle of Cressy, the Scots, who had seized the opportunity of Edward's absence to invade England, were defeated in the battle of Durham,' and their king David Bruce taken prisoner. (Oct. 17, 1346.) To crown the honors of the campaign, the important seaport of Calais, in France, surrendered to Edward, after a vigorous siege; and this important acquisition was retained by the English more than two centuries.

1. Halidon Hill is an eminence north of the river Tweed, not far from Berwick.

2. Cressy, or Crecy, is a small village, in the former province of Picardy, ninety-five miles north-west from Paris. It is believed that cannon, but of very rude construction, were first employed by the English in this battle. (Map No. XIII.)

3. Durham, the capital of the county of the same name, is an important city in the north of England, two hundred and thirty miles north-west from London. The field on which the battle was fought, some distance north of Durham, on the road to Newcastle, (Oct. 17th, 1346,) was called Neville's Cross. (Map No. XVI.)

4. Calais (Eng. Cal-is, Fr. Kah-la',) a seaport of France, on the Straits of Dover, in the former province of Picardy, is fifty miles north of Cressy. In 1558 Calais was retaken by surprise by the duke of Guise. In 1596 it was again taken by the English under the archduke Albert, but in 1598 was restored to France by the treaty of Nervins.

The obstinate resistance which Calais made to Edward III. in 1347, is said to have so much incensed the conqueror that he determined to put to death six principal burgesses of the town, who, to save their fellow citizens, had magnanimously placed themselves at his disposal; but that he was turned from his purpose only by the tears and entreaties of his queen Philippa. It is believed, however, that Froissart alone, among his cotemporaries, relates this story; and doubts may very reasonably be entertained of its truth. (Map No. XIII.)

5. After a truce of eight years, during which occurred the death of the French monarch, Philip of Valois, and the accession of his son John to the throne of France, war was again renewed, but was speedily terminated by a great victory, which the Black Prince obtained over king John in the battle of Poictiers. (Sept. 1356.) The French monarch, although taken prisoner, and conveyed in triumph. to London, was treated with great moderation and kindness; but his captivity produced in France the most horrible anarchy, which was carried to the utmost extreme by a revolt of peasants, or serfs, against their lords, in most of the provinces surrounding the capital. At length, while king John was still a prisoner, the two nations concluded a treaty at Bretigny,' (A. D. 1360,) which provided that king John should be restored to liberty, and that the English monarch should renounce his claim to the throne of France, and to the possession of Normandy and other provinces in the north; but that the whole south-west of France, embracing more than a third of the kingdom, and extending from the Rhone nearly to the Loire, should be guaranteed to England. The territory obtained from France was erected into the principality of Aquitaine, the government of which was intrusted to the Black Prince, who, during several years, kept his court at Bordeaux.'

6. The treaty with France was never fully ratified; and in the year 1368 war between the two countries was commenced anew, the blame of the rupture being thrown by each nation upon the other. In the interval since the late treaty a great change had taken place in the condition of the rival powers: king Edward was now declining in age; and his son the Black Prince was enfeebled by disease; and the ceded French provinces were eager to return to their native king; while, on the other hand, France had recovered from her great losses, and the wise and popular Charles V. occupied the throne, in the place of the rash and intemperate John. France gradually recovered

1. Bretigny is a small hamlet six miles south-east from Chartres, and fifty miles south-west from Paris, in the former province of Orleans.

2. Aquitaine (Aquitania) was the name of the Roman province in Gaul south of the Loire. Since the time of the Romans it has been sometimes a kingdom and sometimes a duchy. Before the revolution, what remained of this ancient province passed under the name of GuiBordeaux was its capital. (Map No. XIII.)

enne.

3. Bordeaux, called by the Romans Burdigala, an important commercial city and seaport of France, is on the west bank of the Garonne, fifty-five miles from its mouth, and three hundred and seven miles south-west from Paris. Montesquieu and Montaigne, Edward the Black Prince, pope Clement V., and Richard II. of England, were natives of this city. (Map No. XIIL)

a. Feb. 1358. This revolt was called La Jacquerie, from Jacques Bon Homme, the leader of the rebels.

most of her provinces without obtainining a single victory, although the keys of the country-Bordeaux, Bayonne,' Calais, Brest, and Cherbourg-were still left in the hands of the English.

7. On the death of Edward (A. D. 1377) the crown fell to the son of the Black Prince, Richard II., then only eleven years of age. Three years later, Charles V., by his death, left the crown of France to his son Charles VI., a youth of only twelve years. Both kingdoms suffered from the distractions attending a regal minority-in France the people were plundered by the exactions of the regents, and the kingdom harassed by the factious struggles for power between the dukes of Bur' gundy and Orleans; and in England similar results attended the contests for the regency between the king's uncles, the dukes of Lancaster,' York,' and Gloucester. In the year 1381 the injustice of parliamentary taxation occasioned a famous revolt of

1. Bayonne is on the south side of the Adour, four miles from its mouth, near the southwestern extremity of France. Bayonne is strongly fortified, and, although often besieged, has never been taken. The military weapon called the bayonet takes its name from this city, where it is said to have been first invented, and brought into use at the siege of Bayonne, during the war between Francis I. and Charles V. (Map No. XIII.)

2. Brest and Cherbourg are small but strongly-fortified seaport towns in the north-west of France. Cherbourg was the last town in Normandy retained by the English. (Map No. XIII.) 3. Burgundy and Orleans. An account of Burgundy has already been given. Orleans, a city of France, and formerly capital of the province of the same name, is situated on the Loire, sixty-eight miles south-west from Paris. Orleans occupied the site of the ancient Genabum, the emporium of the Cornutes, which was taken and burned by Cæsar. (Cæsar B. VII. 12.) It subsequently rose to great eminence, and was unsuccessfully besieged by At' tila and Odoacer. It became the capital of the first kingdom of Bur' gundy under the first race of French kings. Philip of Valois erected it into a duchy and peerage in favor of his son; and Orleans has since continued to give the title of duke to a prince of the blood royal. Charles VI. conferred the title of "duke of Orleans" on his younger brother, who became the founder of the Valois-Orleans line. Louis XIV. conferred it on his younger brother Philip, the founder of the Bourbon dynasty of the house of Orleans. Louis Philip was the first and only ruliug prince of the Bourbon-Orleans dynasty. (Map No. XIII.)

4. Lancaster, which has given its name to the "dukes of Lancaster," is a seaport town on the coast of the Irish Sea, forty-six miles from Liverpool, and two hundred and five miles north-west from London. Lancaster is supposed, from the urns, altars, and other antiquities found there, to have been a Roman station. The first earl of Lancaster was created in 1266. In 1351 Henry, earl of Derby, was made duke of Lancaster: John Gaunt, fourth son of Edward III., married Blanch, the duke's daughter, and, by virtue of this alliance, succeeded to the title. His son Henry of Bolingbroke became duke of Lancaster on his father's death in 1398, and finally Henry IV., king of England in 1399, from which time to the present this duchy has been associated with the regal dignity. (Map No. XVI.)

5. York, See Note, p. 209. (Map No. XVI.)

6. Gloucester is on the east bank of the Severn, ninety-three miles north-west from London. It was founded by the Romans A. D. 44; and Roman coins and antiquities are frequently dug up on the supposed site of the old encampment. Richard II. created his uncles dukes of York and Gloucester; and since that time the ducal title has remained the highest title of English nobility. The duke of Lancaster was the only one who really possessed a duchy (the county of Lancaster; subject to his government, and that was reunited to the crown in 1461. (Map No. XVI.)