a prisoner nineteen years. He was treated kindly during his long captivity, and by studying the works of the English poets, particularly the immortal Chaucer, he became the best A.D. versifier of his age. King Robert never recovered this 1406. fatal blow, and dying a year after, Albany became regent, retaining his power at the will of the English king, who could always manage him at pleasure by threatening to liberate his nephew. Thus each of these rulers had a hold over the other the Scottish governor by having the pretended monarch of England, Henry by having in his power the real heir of the crown of Scotland.

The parliaments were not very compliant during this reign, and the unscrupulous Henry was frequently obliged to submit to their wishes. The Commons were generally more submissive than the Lords. On one occasion, to avoid the necessity of asking for supplies to meet the charges of the Welsh war, he made a proposal, which the Commons eagerly seconded, that he should resume all former grants, that he should not have the power of alienating the ancient inheritance of the crown without the consent of parliament, and that he should forthwith appropriate to himself certain portions of church property, so that the Commons might be eased of taxes, and the king live upon his own. This measure, which would have affected half the property in the kingdom, was violently opposed, more particularly by the clergy, the Archbishop of Canterbury even taxing the Commons with irreligion. In 1407, the king's call for subsidies aroused much discontent, of which the Earl of Northumberland endeavoured to take advantage, with the hope of not only recovering his forfeited estates and honours, but of dethroning his sovereign. Neither in Scotland, Wales, nor France could he obtain the support he sought; but at length, with the aid of some of the turbulent border nobles, he advanced as far south as Knaresborough. At Branham Moor, near Tadcaster, he was met by Sir Thomas Rokeby, and perished in the conflict which ensued (1408).

4. For some years England now enjoyed perfect tranquillity, if we except a few disturbances in the Welsh marches.. But a fierce struggle was carried on at sea between the French and the English. In 1403, when Henry was marching against the rebellious Hotspur, the French, with whom England was at peace, had dishonourably attacked Guienne, made frequent descents on our coasts, and plundered every English ship they could surprise at sea. They captured a whole fleet of mer

chantmen, and took the islands of Guernsey and Jersey. The English seamen retaliated on their own account, burning the towns on the coast, and frequently penetrating far into the interior of France. In 1406, a formidable attempt was made on Guienne by the Duke of Orleans, and John the Fearless of Burgundy was sent to drive the English out of Calais. Both of these expeditions signally failed. This led to the animosity of the Orleans and Burgundian families,—of the Armagnacs and Bourguignons; and it was soon after a treaty had been patched up between these factions that an English army under the Duke of Clarence, Henry's second son, landed in Normandy, ostensibly in support of the Orleanists. No battle was fought, and Clarence at the head of 8000 men traversed the whole of France, and reached Bordeaux in safety.

The close of Henry's career was approaching: cares and remorse had made him prematurely old both in body and mind, and epileptic fits shook his strong frame. While praying at Saint Edward's shrine in Westminster Abbey, he was seized with his last fit. He was carried thence into the Jerusalem chamber, and as he lay on his deathbed, he recalled the old prophecy that he should die at Jerusalem. He expired on the 20th of March 1413, in the forty-seventh year of his age, and the fourteenth of his reign.

5. PARLIAMENT.-The reign of Henry IV. is a signal instance that the people of England have generally profited by the ill-gotten power of their kings, and enlarged their constitutional freedom under monarchs whose title to the throne was unsound. It was quite natural that it should be so, and that such kings should make concessions for the purpose of securing the good-will of the people. The Commons complained that sometimes statutes were passed as laws in the framing of which they were not consulted, and it was conceded to them that nothing should be held as a new law unless they had given their consent to every word of it. The two houses of parliament maintained that they were entitled to inquire into the manner in which the king conducted the business of the executive government, and to get wicked or incompetent ministers dismissed. In the eighth year of his reign, the Commons presented a series of demands amounting to thirty-one articles, to which the king was compelled to accede, though many of them were unpalatable to an ambitious monarch. Among the grievances thus checked was the practice of the king's council interfering with matters which belonged pro

perly to the courts of law, and the alienation of the royal revenues, which the Commons insisted ought to be reserved for the royal household and the payment of the king's debts.

The Commons kept a peculiar watch over their special supplies to the king, and learned better than ever how effectual a hold the possession of the purse gave them on their constitutional principles. They adopted the plan of driving bargains with the crown, by presenting petitions of grievances which must be redressed before they would vote money. In the

sixth year of Henry's reign, they granted some taxes on the condition that the money should be expended on the defence of the kingdom, and not otherwise; and they appointed treasurers of their own, who were sworn to see the amount properly applied.

Henry IV. was twice married: Mary Bohun, his first wife, bore him four sons, Henry, Thomas, John, and Humphrey, and two daughters, of whom the elder married the Duke of Bavaria, and the younger the King of Denmark. His second wife, daughter of the King of Navarre and widow of the Duke of Brittany, was childless.

6. THE LOLLARDS.-During the reign of Henry IV. the fires of persecution burst out anew against the proselytes of Wickliffe. With the zeal of their master they preached against the riches, luxury, and vicious lives of the clergy. Their sermons were not without effect even on those who did not share in their opinions, but who began to entertain scruples as to the payment of tithes. On the petition of the clergy against the Lollards (a name given in the Low Countries to the persecuted Franciscans and other enthusiasts, from their practice of singing hymns*), a statute (known as 2 Henry IV. c. 15) was passed, whereby all persons who propagated the new doctrine by preaching, writing, teaching, or discourse, were required to renounce their heresies, and deliver up all their heretical books, and submit themselves to the church, on pain of being delivered over to the secular arm and burned alive. But although the Commons so far listened to the clergy, they complained of the weight of taxes falling entirely upon the people, while the church, which held a third of all the property in the kingdom, was exempt.

Meantime, the statute against Lollardism, the first actual law in England against heresy, was not allowed to remain a

In one of the old German dialects, lollen or lullen signifies to sing as a mother when she lulls her babe.

dead letter. Its first victim was William Sawtre, parish priest of Saint Osith's, in London, and formerly of Saint Margaret's, at Lynn in Norfolk, of which living he had been deprived on a charge of heresy in 1399. He petitioned parliament that he might be heard before them on certain religious points. His prayer was granted, and he appeared before the primate Arundel in the Convocation. The charges brought against him touched the important doctrine of transubstantiation, and as in his replies he still persisted that the sacramental bread continued to be bread after consecration, he was delivered over to the secular power to undergo the penalty of the new law. Sawtre was burned in Smithfield in the beginning of March 1401, leaving a name which is still slandered by his persecutors, but which the reformed church will ever hold in deserved respect. William Thorpe, a priest distinguished for learning and ability, was the next victim, who, in all probability, died in prison; and, in 1410, a poor tailor suffered on the spot which witnessed Sawtre's martyrdom. Although crushed by these terrible examples, Lollardism still continued to spread

in secret.

Henry V. (of Monmouth), A. D. 1413-1422.

7. Henry of Monmouth, eldest son of Henry of Bolingbroke, succeeded to his father's throne on the 21st of March 1413, and was crowned on the 9th of April following. The stories of his irregular life, when Prince of Wales, are probably exaggerated, but, consecrated as they are by the graphic pen of our great dramatic poet, it is impossible to separate the youth from the witty Falstaff and his dissolute companions. On his accession, however, all was changed: the men who had most severely censured his disorders were called to his councils, and among their number was the Chief-justice Gascoigne.

The first year of Henry's reign was disturbed by a popular commotion in London. The principles of the Lollards had spread extensively among the poorer classes; and the enthusiasm of this new sect, their numbers, and the innovations they desired to introduce, not only into the ecclesiastical hierarchy, but also into the laws of the state, had caused much alarm among the nobility, the great landed proprietors, and the prelates. The king seems to have shared in their apprehensions, and a rumour spread abroad that severe measures would be taken to check the progress of the strolling preachers. Upon this anonymous placards were posted on the church-doors,

stating, that if the Lollards were persecuted, a hundred thousand men would rise in their defence.

The leader of these religious innovators, or rather the man on whose talent they most relied, was Sir John Oldcastle, commonly called Lord Cobham, supposed by some to be the original of Falstaff. If his early life had been dissipated, his maturer years were marked by sincere but ill regulated piety. He was summoned to appear in the primate's court, but resisted the authority of the church, until the king sent an armed force to his castle of Cowling in Kent, when he surrendered, and was taken prisoner to the Tower. Here he was convicted of incorrigible heresy, and delivered over to the secular arm; but before the day of punishment arrived, he succeeded in making his escape. The fury of the church now fell upon the humbler sectarians, thirty of whom suffered in St Giles's Fields.

8. France was at this time torn by factions, which sprung up like weeds in a rank soil during the long madness of Charles VI. The Burgundians and Armagnacs seized the reins of government by turns. All principles of honour and purity were trampled under foot. The several provinces made war upon each other; the best men were either murdered by the populace or handed over to bloodstained tribunals, whenever they were suspected of holding opinions contrary to those of the ruling faction.

Henry V. thought this a favourable opportunity for reviving the claims of his great-grandfather Edward III. to the throne of France. To his peremptory demand of the crown no answer was returned; and about a month later he intimated that he would be satisfied with the fulfilment of the treaty of Bretigny (made in the reign of Edward III.), with the addition of Normandy, Maine, Anjou, and part of Provence, together with the hand of Charles's daughter Catherine, and a marriage portion of two millions of crowns. Negotiations were protracted until the middle of April 1415, when Henry announced to his council his intention of invading France to recover his lawful inheritA French war had always been popular in England, and under their young and martial king the people hoped for the most brilliant successes. But all his plans were nearly frustrated at the moment of sailing by the discovery of a plot against his life. The principal conspirators, among whom were the Earl of Cambridge, the king's own brother, and Lord Scroop, who always slept in Henry's bed, fell beneath the blow of the executioner.

ance.