The text of Philip’s sentence was only discovered in the late 19th century. He ordered the king of England to surrender the oath of fidelity he had received from the bourgeois; if he neglected to do this, the seneschal of Périgord would force him. Philip also instructed Edward to abstain from fighting the Viscomtesse of Limoges, who would remain in possession of the town. A second letter was sent to Edward, this time a personal message, in which the French king told his cousin to remove his bailiff from Limoges and to recognise the right of Marguerite to armed justice in the event of rebellion.
In short, Edward was told to get the hell out. The English king was a long way to the south, embroiled in his dispute with Gaston de Béarn. For the moment he ignored Philip and got on with the business in hand. He persuaded the court of Gascony to provide testimony that Gaston had been summoned to appear before the king on three successive occasions. The culprit refused all three, so Edward was empowered to move against him.
On 11 November the assembly gave Edward the go-ahead for military action. This was very similar to the conflict with Prince Llywelyn of Wales a couple of years later, when the king gained parliamentary approval for war after Llywellyn had refused five separate summons.
 |
| Mont-de-Marsan |
Edward marched into Marson and Gabardan, where all resistance collapsed after barely a fortnight. On 27 November Gaston’s daughter Constance came before the king and offered to yield up her father’s castles. She also forced the mayor and commune of Mont-de-Marsan to submit to Edward; the grovelling terms they offered are recorded in Gaston Register A.
See translation of the text below:
“To all those who may look upon these present letters, the mayor, the jurats and the whole government of Mont-de-Marsan give greeting in true sincerity. You should know that we, in firm and solemn covenant, do promise and bind ourselves, and so swear on the Sacred Gospel of God, to our illustrious lord, the lord Edward, king of England, lord of Ireland and duke of Aquitaine, and to you, the lord of Saint John, archdeacon of Bracence in the church of Aque, and Iterius Bochard, clerk, who require and receive this commitment in the name of the king, that we shall faithfully defend for the security of the king the burgus and town of Mont-de-Marsan; and that we will deliver and hand over to the said lord king, or to his seneschal of Gascony, whether by their proven command or that of another, the said town and the fortified houses therein whensoever it may be required of us, so that the town may be garrisoned and defended by men at arms, for the purpose of the war which the lord king is presently conducting against the lord Gaston, viscount of Bearn; also for their carrying out therefrom warfare or whatsoever they please, whether in their going from there, their remaining there, or their returning there, in arms or otherwise, against the same lord Gaston and his supporters.
Furthermore, we promise, bind ourselves and swear as before that we will neither permit the entry of the said lord Gaston or any of his supporters into the said burgus and town nor permit them to cause therefrom any hurt to the said lord king, his men-at-arms or his supporters, nor shall we offer him any kind of aid or cooperation for the duration of this war. And if we shall in any way contravene this our promise, our covenant or our oath, we do submit ourselves and all our goods, whether movable or fixed, entirely to the will of the said lord king and his heirs, that they may be fully compensated by us according to their will and pleasure. Indeed, we give them or their proxies full power in this matter and do renounce all privilege, jurisdiction, customary rights and legal authority, whether canon or civil, by means of which we may in any way be able to contravene [this agreement]. In testimony of which, we, the said mayor, jurats and town government cause to be affixed here the seal of our community.
Enacted in the cloister of Mont-de-Marsan, in the presence and at the command of the lady Constance, of Martin, official of the court of Adour, of Fortanerius, prior of Mont-de-Marsan, of brother Raymond William de Morgohans, Guardian, and of Bertrand de la Dos and William Arnald de Mont Auser, squires. Given at Mont-de-Marsan, on the Monday before the feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle, in the year of our Lord 1273.'”
Many thanks to Rich Price for the above translation.
No comments:
Post a Comment