A. D. have given the finishing stroke to his fortunes. Bedford resolved to penetrate into the south of France, and for that purpose formed the siege of Orleans. Every 1428. effort was made to defend this city, on which the hopes of France now seemed to depend. The siege was tedious, but the English were gradually gaining ground, when that wonderful visionary, Joan of Arc, appeared to restore the sinking destiny of France. A secret horror thrilled the English soldiers, which their officers either shared or could not remove; defeat attended them every where; the provinces and towns of France returned joyfully to their allegiance; the duke of Burgundy was reconciled to his sovereign, and the English were, in a few years, driven out of every part of France but Calais. 1450. Thus, happily for both countries, ended all the magnificent projects of the conquest of France. Scotland. From a very early period Scotland had been governed by kings. These were frequently engaged in wars and alliances with the northern princes of the heptarchy. When Duncan king of Scotland was murdered by Macbeth, an army was sent by Edward the Confessor against the usurper, and Malcolm, the rightful heir, was restored to the throne. This prince espoused the sister of Edgar Atheling, and many of the English fled to Scotland from the tyranny of the Conqueror, The Scots began now to make occasional inroads into England. In one of these, William king of Scotland was taken prisoner by Henry II., and, as a part of the conditions of his liberty, was forced to do homage for his whole kingdom, the Scottish kings having hitherto done so only for Cumberland, which they held. Richard I., however, renounced this right. On the death of Alexander III., near a century after- 1286. wards, a dispute arose about the succession to the Scottish throne. That monarch having left no descendant but a grand-daughter, who did not long survive him, the right fell to the descendants of David earl of Huntingdon, third son of David I.; of these John Baliel was grandson of Margaret, the earl's eldest daughter; Robert Bruce was son of Isabel, his second daughter. The rules of succession not being at that time well established, it was a doubtful question which was the true heir. To avoid a recourse to arms, the parliament of Scotland determined to refer the matter to the arbitration of Edward I., a prince extolled for wisdom and prudence. Edward seized this occasion of obtaining the sovereignty of Scotland: he appeared on the frontier with a large army, and compelled all the Scottish nobles, including the two candidates, to swear fealty to him as liege lord; he made them give him possession of the kingdom, and then declaring Baliol the true heir, put him in posses1292. sion of it, on his renewing his oath of fealty. A. D. The Scottish nation, and even their king, were indignant at being thus trepanned and degraded: a secret alliance was formed with France; a dispensation of the king's oath of fealty was procured from the pope; and, on being summoned to appear in an English parliament 1296. at Newcastle, Baliol refused to attend. Edward entered Scotland at the head of 30,000 foot and 4000 horse, and quickly over-ran and subdued the entire kingdom. Baliol was forced to submit and implore forgiveness, English garrisons were placed in the fortresses, and earl Warrenne left governor. This earl being obliged to return to England on account of his health, the administration was left in the hands of Ormsby and Cressingham, who oppressed the people without mercy. A gentleman, named William Wallace, was so provoked as to kill an English officer. Knowing he had no mercy to expect, he fled to the woods and collected a party, with whom he continually harassed the English; numbers joined him; several of the principal barons countenanced him; and the whole country was on the eve of rising, when Warrenne collected an army of 40,000 men, and suddenly returned. Making an attack on the camp of Wallace, near Stirling, the English were totally routed, and Cressingham slain. The nation now rose, and bestowed on Wallace the title of regent. The English were expelled; but Edward, who had been in Flanders, returned, collected an army of 80,000 men, and entered the country. The Scots ventured to give him battle at Falkirk (June 22), A. D. when they were routed with great slaughter. They still 1298. carried on the contest; but Wallace was betrayed by his friend sir John Menteith, and the intrepid patriot was executed in London as a rebel. 1305. Robert Bruce, who had been in the English service, now stepped forward to defend his own and his country's rights. The Scottish nation rose once more; the English were driven out of the country, and Bruce was crowned at Scone. Edward now found he had all his work to do over again; he sent an army, under Aymer de Valence earl of Pembroke, who defeated Bruce, and forced him to take shelter in the Western Isles. The king was himself advancing, determined to wreak his vengeance on the Scots, when he sickened and died at Carlisle, with his last breath charging his son to prose- 1307. cute the war. Edward II. was anxious to get back to England, and after a few feeble efforts he left Scotland. Bruce who had returned, made himself master of the whole kingdom except a few fortresses, and even made inroads into England. Edward was roused; he collected a large force, and entered Scotland. The English army was 80,000 strong; that of Bruce did not exceed 30,000. But he ventured to give them battle at Bannockburn, near Stirling (June 1314. 14), where he totally defeated them. This victory, one of the most glorious ever obtained, secured the independence of Scotland, and reduced to nothing all the hopes founded on the iniquitous attempt of Edward I. One more fruitless effort was made by Edward, and a truce was 1323. then concluded for thirteen years. On the death of Robert Bruce, who left a son, a minor, Edward III. secretly encouraged the son of John Baliol to put forward his claim to the Scottish kingdom. A. D. 1332. raised a small army, with which he landed on the coast of Fife, and advanced into the heart of the country, where he defeated the Scottish army of 30,000 men, under the earl of Mar. He then took Perth, and was crowned at Scone. But having dismissed the greater part of his English followers, he was soon after driven back into England. He here made large offers to Edward, particularly engaging to renew the homage which had been given up by Mortimer in Edward's minority, if he would assist him to regain his throne. Edward collected a large army; the Scots encountered him at Halidon-hill, 1333. near Berwick (July 19), and were defeated with the loss of nearly 20,000 men and the chief of their nobility. But still Scotland was unconquered. The English forces might over-run and destroy the country; but as soon as they retired, the natives repossessed it, and again bade them defiance. David, the son of Robert Bruce, had taken refuge in France, but had returned, and driven Baliol out of 1846. Scotland. At the solicitation of the king of France, 1385. with whom he had made an alliance, he invaded England. Queen Philippa, at the head of 12,000 men, met him at Neville's Cross, near Durham (October 17), and the Scottish king was defeated and taken prisoner. After a captivity of ten years, he was released for a ransom of 100,000 marks. Richard II. invaded Scotland, at the head of 60,000 men, and ravaged the country, as usual; but in the meantime 30,000 Scots retaliated on the west of England, and Richard returned without having effected 1401. any thing. Henry IV. led an army into Scotland to no purpose. The Scots immediately after invaded Eng1402. land, but were defeated by the Percies at Humbledown. The Scots afterwards aided the Percies in their rebellion. Robert III. of Scotland was a feeble prince: hi brother, the duke of Albany, seized the government and aimed at the throne: to effect this purpose, he resolved to remove his nephews; and he threw David, the elder, A. D. into prison, where he perished of hunger. Robert, to save James, his younger son, sent him to France; but 1407. the ship was taken by the English, and Henry IV. refused to restore the young prince to liberty. Robert died of grief; and now, by possessing the person of the young king, Henry was able to keep the duke of Albany in dependence, and secure his kingdom from inroads. He, however, gave the young monarch an excellent education. Ever since the time of Edward III., the French and Scottish nations had been in strict alliance against the common enemy. When Henry V. had had such a career of success in France, the Scottish nation and the regent saw plainly that they must submit if that country was conquered, and a body of 7000 men was sent to the 1421. aid of the dauphin, who treated them with great favour. Throughout the war, Scottish volunteers crowded to the French standard; and, in the reign of Henry VI., the duke of Bedford recommended it as the best policy, to marry the young king of Scots to the king's cousin, the daughter of the earl of Somerset, and give him his liberty. This was done, and James, during his short 1423. reign, proved one of the greatest of the Scottish monarchs. He was murdered by his kinsman the earl of Athol. 1437. During the wars of the Roses, Scotland was too much distracted by factions to be able to take any advantage of the state of England. In the reign of Henry VII., James IV. gave countenance and assistance to Perkin Warbeck ; but the war was happily terminated by the marriage of the Scottish monarch with Margaret, eldest daughter of 1502. Henry. Scandinavia. Denmark and Norway we have seen early formed into monarchies. Sweden remained longer divided into small independent districts. The Swedes and Goths at length agreed to form one state, to be governed alternately by a Goth of the race of Svercher, and a Swede of that of Eric. The natural consequence was endless assas |
