his great friends the Percies abandoned him; the Welsh foiled his attacks in person, and the Irish very Arms of Percy, earl of h Henry, lord Percy of Alnwick, served in France and in Flanders in the wars of the latter part of the reign of Edward III. He was rewarded with the office of marshal, and, acting in that capacity at the coronation of Richard II., he was created earl of Northumberland. Being also warden of the east marches, he was engaged in frequent hostilities with the Scots, and in 1378 captured Berwick, which he committed to the care of Sir Matthew Redman. Apprehending an attempt at its surprise, the earl directed Redman to admit no one without an order from himself; John of Gaunt passed that way, and was refused entry, of which he bitterly complained to the king; and when some time after a plot for seizing the place was discovered, he charged the earl with treason, and endeavoured to procure his condemnation; the accusation, however, was disbelieved, and Northumberland was employed in negotiating a treaty of peace with France. He was subsequently reconciled to John of Gaunt (who was his kinsman by marriage), and warmly espoused the cause of his son, Henry of Lancaster; he thus became an object of suspicion to Richard II., was summoned to court, and not appearing, his estates were forfeited; the king, however, went on his second expedition to Ireland without seizing them, and Henry landed, and became king, mainly by the aid of Northumberland, who received vast grants, such as the Isle of Man, the justiceship of Chester, and many castles in Wales, while the Isle of Anglesey was bestowed on his son Hotspur. They together defeated the Scots at Homildon, in 1402, and captured the earl of Douglas, but either repenting of the part they had acted against Richard, or offended at the refusal of Henry to allow them to treat for the liberation of their kinsman, Sir Edmund Mortimer, from the hands of Glyndwr, they resolved to dethrone the usurper. It is probable, however, that meaner motives also actuated them. Henry's grants had been large, but he had left them to conduct the Welsh and Scottish wars on their own resources; and Henry Percy complains, in a letter dated June 26, 1403, remaining among the Privy Council Records, that "£20,000 and more" was owing to his father and himself on that account. The great difficulty of Henry's reign, as is abundantly evident from the same class of documents, was want of money; their claim was left unpaid, and they took up arms. Their enterprise miscarried; young Percy was killed at Shrewsbury, but the earl obtained a pardon; he soon after joined Archbishop Scrope's rising, was in consequence obliged to flee to Scotland, and subsequently to Wales, and being after a while induced to return to England, was defeated and killed at Bramham-moor, near Leeds, Feb. nearly threw off the English yoke; and he was at variance with his eldest son, who manifested some desire to depose him. At length, worn out by repeated attacks of epilepsy, he died March 20, 1413, and was buried at Canterbury. Henry was twice married: first, to Mary de Bohun, youngest daughter and coheiress of Humphrey, earl of Hereford; and secondly, to Joan of Navarre, who survived him till 1437. His issue, who were all by his first 19, 1408. His body was quartered and the portions set up in London, Lincoln, Berwick, and Newcastle; but after a few months they were taken down by permission of Henry, and delivered to his friends for burial. The earl's son, Henry, was, when quite young, associated with his father in the charge of the Scottish marches, and there his wellknown appellation of Hotspur was acquired. In 1385 he was sent to succour Calais, and made many daring incursions into Picardy; afterwards served at sea, then killed the earl of Douglas at Otterburn, but was himself captured, through pursuing his advantage too far. He soon obtained his freedom, and in 1389 passed over to Calais, and thence into Britanny, being retained as the king's soldier at the rate of £100 per annum. He joined Henry, and received from him the wardenship of the east marches, the justiceship of North Wales, and the Isle of Anglesey, but afterwards fell in arms against him at Shrewsbury. His son Henry, after many years of exile in Scotland, was restored to his title and estates in 1414, and was killed fighting on the Lancastrian side at the first battle of St. Alban's, in 1455. Thomas Percy, the younger brother of the earl, served in France under the Black Prince, and was seneschal of the Limousin. He was afterwards made admiral of the north sea, and captain of Calais. He was also admiral of the fleet that conveyed the earl of Buckingham's troops to Britanny in 1380. His fleet was dispersed by a storm, and his own ship disabled; while in that condition, it was attacked by a Spanish vessel of greatly superior force, but Sir Thomas captured his opponent by boarding, carried his prize into port, and sold it, with the money replaced the equipment which the troops he had on board had lost, and led them in gallant order to join the earl. He afterwards became steward of the household to Richard II., and was created earl of Worcester, but treacherously forsook him on his return from Ireland, and received from Henry IV. the lieutenancy of Wales. He joined in the fatal enterprise of his brother and nephew, and being taken at Shrewsbury, was beheaded the day after. wife, (she died in 1394, at the age of 24,) were four sons and two daughters; viz. 1. HENRY, who succeeded him. 2. Thomas, born in 1389, was appointed lieutenant of Ireland in 1401, and created duke of Clarence in 1412. He served in France in that year, and also under his brother, and was killed at Beauge, in Anjou, March 22, 1421. He left no issue by his wife, Margaret, daughter of Thomas Holland, earl of Kent, and relict of John Beaufort, earl of Somerset, but his natural son, Sir John of Clarence, had a grant of several manors in Ireland from Henry VI., by patent dated July 11, 1427. 3. John, born in 1390, was appointed constable of England in 1403, and was created duke of Bedford in 1415. His talents upheld the English rule in France, and he died regent of that kingdom, at Paris, Sept. 14, 1435. He married, first, Anne, sister of Philip, duke of Burgundy, and soon after her death, (which occurred Nov. 14, 1432,) Jaqueline of Luxemburg, who survived him until 1472, and became the wife of Sir Richard Woodville, and mother of Elizabeth, the queen of Edward IV. 4. Humphrey, born in 1391, was created duke of Gloucester in 1414. He was protector of England during the minority of his nephew, Henry VI., was involved in foreign wars through an imprudent marriage, opposed by his uncle, Cardinal Beauforti, and at last was iHe was the third son of John of Gaunt by Catherine Swinford. He entered the Church, became dean of Wells, and when young was promoted to the see of Lincoln; he succeeded Wykeham as bishop of Winchester, and in later years was made cardinal and papal found dead in his bed, under suspicious circumstances, Feb. 1447. He married, but was afterwards divorced from, Jaqueline of Holland; his second wife, Eleanor, daughter of Lord Cobham, was accused of witchcraft and treason, and after doing penance in London, was imprisoned, first at Calais, and afterwards in the Isle of Man, for the remainder of her life. He left a natural daughter, Antigone, who married Henry Grey, earl of Tankerville. 5. Blanche, born in 1392, was married when only ten years old to Louis, son of the emperor Rupert, and died in childbed, May 22, 1409. 6. Philippa, born in 1393, married Eric XIII., of Denmark. She acted with wisdom and courage as regent of the kingdom while Eric made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and defended Copenhagen from an attack of the Holsteiners, but failing in an attempt on Stralsund, their stronghold, she was brutally beaten by her savage husband, and died of grief in the monastery of Wadstena very shortly after, Jan. 5, 1430j. Henry bore the same arms as his grandfather, Edward III., viz., ancient France and England quarterly. Arms of Henry IV. legate. He was esteemed a profound canonist, held the office of chancellor thrice, was employed on frequent embassies, and made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He was for many years at variance with his nephew Gloucester, and died very shortly after him, April 11, 1447. Eric, who was half-witted, and had before been saved from expulsion by the popularity of his queen, was soon after driven from his kingdom; he lived for a while as a pirate in Gothland, but ended his days in the monastery of Rugenvald, in Pomerania. Supporters, a lion and antelope, also an antelope and swan, are ascribed to him, but on doubtful authority. Beside the collar of SS. K numerous badges and devices, as a genet, an eagle displayed, crescents, the fox's tail, panthers and eagles crowned, appear to have been employed by him. It is impossible to form a favourable estimate of the character of Henry. Great talents he no doubt had, but it seems equally certain that he had few virtues1. His persecution of the Lollards, whose patron he had formerly been, and whose dislike to Richard had been so serviceable to himself, proved him utterly devoid of care for any interests but his own; his seizure and imprisonment of the prince of Scotland, and siding alternately with one and the other party in France, shewed him wanting in honourable feeling; his cruelty was signally manifested in many instances; and perhaps the most that can with truth be said for him, is, that he probably was not guilty of the murder of his predecessor, as has been often charged on him. A.D. 1399. Henry of Lancaster is received as king by the parliament, Sept. 30m. His tomb at Canterbury is covered with this ornament, which is known to have been borne by him when earl of Derby; it is presumed to stand for " Souveraigne," and to have been meant as an assertion of his claim to the throne. If credit could be given to the speech ascribed to Richard in confinement by a French chronicler, (published by the English Historical Society,) Henry was guilty of so many crimes, that even his own father wished him to be put to death, but the king spared him, against the advice of his counsellors. m Archbishop Arundel preached a sermon on the occasion, taking for his text 1 Samuel ix. 17, "Behold the man whom I spake to thee of; this same shall reign over My people." |