CHAPTER IX. ELEANOR OF PROVENCE, QUEEN OF HENRY III.
(A.D. 1222 - 1291.)
Eleanor of Provence was married when she was only fourteen years old, and became the most unpopular queen that ever reigned over the English court. She was so beautiful as to be called La Belle, but her judgment was too immature tor her to stand all the adulation she received without being spoiled by it.
Before she entered her teens, Eleanor had written a poem in the Provençal dialect, which is remembered in her native country to this day. Born in that land of poetry and song, of parents who were both popular poets among the troubadors, young Eleanor's talent was fostered and encouraged by the very air she breathed.
It was this talent that was the means of placing her on the throne, for she wrote a romance in verse, selecting Richard, Earl of Cornwall, who was then preparing a crusade, for her hero. Romeo, her tutor, and one of the greatest Italian poets of his day, was so proud of his pupil, that he carried the composition to Richard, who was immensely flattered by it. But he could not, in return for the compliment, offer his hand and heart to La Belle Eleanor because he was already provided with one wife; therefore he did the next best thing—recommended her to his brother, Henry III.
So delighted was this king with the accounts he received of the beauty and genius of the maid of Provence, that he put 'a stop to the treaty under way for the hand of Joanna, daughter of the Earl of Pembroke, and forthwith despatched ambassadors to the court of Count Berenger to demand his daughter Eleanor in marriage. With the covetousness for which he was noted, he added a dower of twenty thousand marks to his demand.
The court objected to so large a sum. Henry lowered it, but even then the father would not agree, and so much bargaining was the result that the high-spirited court was on the point of putting an end to the affair altogether, when a peremptory order came from the king to conclude the marriage at once, with or without money. Then the contract was signed and the maiden was delivered with due solemnity to the ambassadors.
When she commenced her journey to England, the royal bride was attended by a train of knights, ladies and minstrels who accompanied her to the French frontier. There she was met by her eldest sister, the wife of King Louis, and after receiving the congratulations of her relatives, she embarked for Dover and landed there January 4, 1236.
A.D. 1236. She was married at Canterbury, where King Henry had received her with a splendid train of followers, and after the ceremony the royal couple proceeded to London, where preparations on a very grand scale had been made for the reception and coronation of the new queen.
Her apartments at Westminster Palace had been newly decorated and furnished by order of the king, and all the streets of London had been thoroughly cleansed.
The 20th of January was appointed for the coronation, and on the previous Saturday, Henry laid the first stone of the Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey.
The streets through which the procession passed were
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hung with flags, banners and garlands of flowers, and the houses were gaily decorated. Three hundred and sixty equestrians, preceded by the king's trumpeters, who sounded as they moved along, accompanied the royal pair from the tower. These were loyal citizens, who, mounted on richly caparisoned horses and clad in bright, embroidered satin and velvet garments, each carried in his hand a gold or silver cup to be used at the banquet. They were called cellarers, and it was their duty to hand wine to the royal butler, who passed it to the sovereigns. After the banquet, the butler always claimed the cup out of which the king had drank, the curtain that hung behind the royal table became the property of the doorkeepers, other perquisites being divided among the cooks and scullions. King Henry was very charitable and did not forget the poor, among whom a liberal supply of money was distributed by his orders.
At this coronation were worn the most splendid garments ever seen in England. They were made of the costliest satin and velvet, richly, embroidered in gold and silver, and the ladies wore head-dresses composed of rare and precious gems. The queen's crown was worth £1500, and her girdle was studded with jewels of great value.
The king, who had a taste for finery not often seen in men, wore a garment of gold tissue that glittered with every motion.
The expenses of Eleanor's coronation were so enormous that the king had to petition the Lords for money. They refused, saying, "that they had amply supplied funds both for his marriage and that of his sister Isabella, who had just been united to the Emperor of Germany; and as he had wasted the money he might defray the expenses of his wedding as best he could."
Great dissatisfaction was felt in England on account of the number of foreigners who had accompanied Queen Eleanor. Among these was her uncle, Peter of Savoy, who by the end of a year had gained such complete control over Henry that all the affairs of the kingdom were submitted to him.
Throughout his reign, Henry III. too frequently made demands on the purses of his subjects, to supply his unbounded extravagance, and Queen Eleanor was no check to him in this respect. Their tastes were similar, and Henry had in his wife a congenial companion, interested, as he was, in literature and art. Her influence over him was unbounded, and he was never known to refuse any demand she made, no matter how unreasonable it was.
Their first child was born at Westminster in 1239, and received the name of Edward, in honor of Edward the Confessor.
An attempt was made on the king's life one night by a crazy man named Ribald, who concealed himself in the palace during the day and stole into the king's bed-chamber at midnight. Fortunately Henry spent the night in another apartment, otherwise the score of stabs that the madman inflicted on the bolster would certainly have put an end to his majesty. The shrieks of one of the queen's maids of honor, who heard the would-be murderer shouting horrible threats with each thrust of his dagger, aroused the household, and the wretch was taken into custody.
A.D. 1241. In 1241, a year after the birth of her daughter Margaret, Queen Eleanor accompanied her husband to France, on an expedition against their brother-in-law, King Louis. After a series of defeats, they took refuge in Bordeaux, where many of Henry's knights and nobles forsook him and returned to England. He revenged himself by imposing upon them heavy fines,—his favorite mode of punishment
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Henry and Eleanor spent a merry winter at Bordeaux, amusing themselves with feasts and pageants that they could ill afford, and on their return to England, in 1243, Henry issued an order compelling the principal inhabitants of every town on the route to appear on horseback to give them welcome.
A.D. 1243. The marriage of the queen's youngest sister, to the king's brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall, who had become a widower, was solemnized in England the following autumn. On that occasion Henry called upon his Jewish subjects to furnish funds for the sumptuous festivities that he saw fit to give, and he spared no expense, for the wedding-dinner alone consisted of thirty thousand dishes.
But he remembered the poor as usual, and ordered all the children from the streets and highways of Windsor and its neighborhood to be collected together and feasted in the great hall of the palace, after which the royal children—of whom there were then three—were weighed, and silver coin placed in the balance was distributed among the destitute individuals present.
The following year the threatened war between England and Scotland was averted by a contract of marriage between the infant Princess Margaret of England and the heir of Scotland.
England was in such a dreadful state of misrule at this time that no traveller was safe from plunder; and in some counties no jury dared to punish the plunderer. Henry himself sat on the bench of justice and tried many cases. Once he summoned Lord Clifford for some offence, but the gentleman not only refused to answer, but forced the king's officers to eat the royal warrant, seal and all. He was severely punished.
One great cause of Eleanor's unpopularity was the means she employed for extorting money from her subjects. She compelled vessels carrying valuable cargoes to unload at her quay, no matter how inconvenient it might be, in order that she might receive the toll. When the royal funds were almost exhausted, the king and queen, with their son, Prince Edward, daily invited themselves to dine with the different rich men of London in turn, to save the expense of keeping up a table of their own. They added to this economical mode of living by insisting on costly presents from their entertainers as a proof of loyalty.
A.D. 1251. The year 1251 closed with the marriage of the Princess Margaret and Alexander III. of Scotland, whose engagement had been signed seven years before. As the bride was just ten years of age, and the groom twelve, they probably had not much choice in this matter.
On the morning preceding the ceremony, the youthful groom was knighted at York Cathedral. The wedding feast was served by the archbishop at a cost of four thousand marks; and he supplied six hundred oxen, that were all consumed at one meal. The costumes worn by the nobility were, as when Eleanor, her mother, was married, of the most extravagant material, scolloped, embroidered and ornamented with costly jewels. The queen and her ladies wore robes that trailed on the ground, but, as they were the same length all around, they had to be held up to enable the wearers to walk. The height at which they were raised depended upon the beauty or ugliness of the feet and ankles, no doubt. During this reign the hair was gathered under a network of gold, over which was usually thrown a gauze veil. Unmarried ladies wore ringlets, or long braids hanging down the back and fastened with ribbons. A head-dress made in the shape of a knight's helmet, with an aperture for the face to peep through, was
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worn by ladies, old and young, in the street, and must have been very becoming.
After Margaret's marriage, the king became even more extortionate in his demands for money than ever, and thus made a host of enemies. He applied for funds for a crusade, but was refused, and shortly after he was called upon to quell an insurrection at Guienne. This was the result of the recall of the Earl of Leicester, who had been governor there.
The earl had been replaced by Prince Edward, who was only fourteen, and therefore incapable of managing public affairs. Before his departure, King Henry appointed Eleanor regent of England, but requested her to advise with his brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall, on matters of importance. He sailed from Portsmouth August 6, and arrived at Bordeaux on the 15th of the same month.
Queen Eleanor's first act, on finding herself in power, was to tax the London citizens more heavily than her husband had ever done, and those who refused her unjust claims were sent to the Marshalsea Prison. This conduct aroused universal indignation, and the following year, when parliament was summoned for the purpose of demanding aid to carry on the war in Gascony, they peremptorily declined to give it.
Every other means having failed, Henry instructed his brother to extort money from the Jews, and no sooner did he get it than he sent for Eleanor to help him to squander it on the nuptials of Princess Eleanor of Castile with their eldest son, Prince Edward. Queen Eleanor willingly resigned the cares of government to the Earl of Cornwall, and with his wife, Prince Edmund, her second son, and a retinue of knights and ladies, sailed for Bordeaux, where she was warmly welcomed by her husband.
A.D. 1255. After Prince Edward's marriage, his parents went to pass a fortnight at the court of King Louis. The day after their arrival, King Henry distributed so much money among the poor of Paris and gave such a grand entertainment to the crowned heads assembled to meet him, that it was called the Feast of Kings.
On their return home, which occurred January 27, 1255, the king and queen made a public entry into the city of London, and received a present of a hundred pounds and a valuable piece of plate from the citizens.
Shortly after, the royal couple were made extremely anxious by a report that the young king and queen of Scots were deprived of their rights and kept in close confinement by the regents, Sir John Baliol and Comyns. The queen's physician was immediately despatched to Scotland to ascertain the facts. He managed to obtain a secret interview with Margaret, who gave a lamentable account of her treatment. She said, "that she had been rudely torn from her husband and shut up in a dismal place, the dampness of which had seriously injured her health, and, so far from having any share in the government, she and he were treated with disrespect and were in danger of their lives."
Queen Eleanor was so distressed at the condition of her child, that she accompanied the king on a northern campaign, constantly urging him to do something to aid her. The Earl of Gloucester was sent to Scotland for that purpose, and with John Mansel gained admittance to Edinburgh castle, by disguising themselves in the dress of Baliol's tenants. Then, secretly admitting their followers, they surprised the garrison, restored the young king and queen to each other's society and carried their cruel jailers, Baliol and Ross, before King Henry at Alnwick. Throwing themselves at the feet of the sovereign, the traitors implored for mercy and were forgiven, but as Baliol
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was Henry's own subject he had to pay a heavy fine, which his majesty pocketed for his own private wants.
Queen Eleanor was lying ill at Wark Castle, and requested her daughter Margaret, with the young king of Scotland, to join her without delay. They obeyed, and as soon as the royal mother was convalescent, accompanied her to Woodstock, where King Henry joined them. The court was kept with extraordinary splendor at that beautiful palace, which contained three kings and three queens, with their retinues, during the winter of 1255, for besides the English and the Scottish royal couples, there was Richard, Earl of Cornwall, who had been elected King of the Romans, and his second wife, Queen Eleanor's sister.
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They all made a public entry into London in February, wearing their crowns and royal robes, and the entire populace assembled to witness the splendid procession. After the departure of the royal visitors, there was a season of misery and gloom caused by a dreadful famine, and by the drain that had been made on the public treasury by the King and Queen of the Romans, who, on departing for Aix-la-Chapelle, where they were to be crowned, carried with them seven hundred thousand pounds sterling. Added to this were the battles of the barons, to whom both Henry and Eleanor had made themselves obnoxious by frequent acts of selfishness and injustice, and finally the shameful attack upon the Jews, whose wealth had excited the envy of the nation.
The mob was led on by the Marshal of London and John Fitz-John, a powerful baron, killing and plundering without mercy, men, women and children of that noble race, and driving hundreds from their beds into the street half clad as they were. The next morning they began again with such demoniacal yells that the queen, who was at the Tower, was so terrified that she got into her barge with several of her ladies, intending to escape to Windsor Castle. But as soon as the populace observed the royal barge, they made a rush for the bridge, crying: "Drown the witch!—drown the witch!" at the same pelting the queen with mud and trying to sink the vessel by hurling down huge blocks of wood and stone that they tore from the unfinished bridge. There was nothing for Eleanor to do but to hasten back to the Tower, where she remained until nightfall, then sought shelter in the Bishop of London's palace at St. Paul's, whence she was privately removed to Windsor Castle, where Prince Edward was garrisoned with his troops.
A.D. 1264. While the civil war continued King Henry took the queen and her children to France, where she remained under the care of King Louis and her sister Margaret.
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At the battle of Lewes, the king and Prince Edward were captured and locked up in the Castle of Wallingford. As soon as Eleanor heard their sad fate she sent word to Sir Warren de Basingbourne, her son's favorite knight, that Wallingford was feebly guarded and could not resist an attack. Sir Warren lost no time in crossing the country with three hundred horsemen, and laid siege to the castle, which, contrary to his expectation, was warmly defended. At last the besiegers called out to Sir Warren that "if they wanted Prince Edward, they should have him bound hand and foot, and shot from the mangonel"—a war engine used for throwing stones. On hearing this, the prince begged leave to speak with his friends, and appearing on the wall "assured them that if they persevered in the siege, he should be destroyed." Thereupon Sir Warren and his chevaliers withdrew.
The royal prisoners were afterwards removed to Kenilworth Castle, and Lady Maud Mortimer, who was warmly attached to the queen, helped Prince Edward to escape. Having sent him the necessary instructions, she had a swift horse concealed in a thicket on a certain day when it was planned that he was to ride races with his attendants. When all the horses were tired out, he approached the spot where Lady Maud's fresh one awaited him, and after mounting, he turned to his guard and said: "Commend me to my sire, the king, and tell him I shall soon be at liberty." He then galloped off to a hill, about a mile distant, where a band of armed knights awaited him.
Although the queen was living in France at this time, she made several secret visits to England, to ascertain the true state of affairs there. After her husband's dreadful defeat at Lewes, she pawned all her jewels, and, with the money thus raised, collected a powerful army that might have subdued the whole kingdom if they had ever reached it. But the Almighty mercifully ordained otherwise, and before Queen Eleanor, with her foreign troops, set sail, the battle of Evesham was fought and won by Prince Edward.
A.D. 1265. At this battle King Henry was wounded in the shoulder and would have been cut down by one of his own soldiers, who mistook him for an enemy, had he not cried out in a feeble voice: "Slay me not, I am Henry of Winchester, your king."
An officer who happened to be within hearing, conducted him to Prince Edward, and thus the royal father and son met once more. After tenderly embracing his sire, the prince knelt to receive his blessing.
A succession of victories for Edward soon put an end to the barons' wars and reinstated the royal family of England. It is much to the credit of King Henry, that after he was restored to power, not one of his enemies was brought to the scaffold. But he punished them with such heavy fines that many of the rebel barons were reduced to penury.
A.D. 1269. Henry III. lived to witness the completion of St. Edward's chapel at Westminster, which he had begun fifty years before. On St. Edward's day, October 13, 1269, assisted by his two sons and his brother, the King of the Romans, he bore the bier of Edward the Confessor to the chapel and deposited it in the new receptacle. This ceremony was witnessed by the whole court, and Queen Eleanor offered at the shrine a silver image of the Virgin, besides jewels of great value. King Henry reserved the old coffin of the saint for his own use, and was placed in it just three years later, having expired on the 16th of November, 1272.
He was buried at Westminster Abbey, near the shrine of Edward the Confessor. His funeral was conducted with great magnificence by the Knights Templars-military monks who, in the middle ages, acted as bankers and money-brokers to all Europe—and they raised a fine monument to his memory, which was afterwards inlaid with precious stones brought from the Holy Land for that purpose, by Edward I., King Henry's heir.
Queen Margaret, of Scotland, followed her royal father to the grave within the year, and then, bowed down with suffering and sorrow, Queen Eleanor retired to Ambresbury, where four years later she entered the convent and took the veil.
A.D. 1291. She survived her husband nineteen years, and when she died her body was embalmed and placed in a vault until King Edward, her son, returned from his campaign in Scotland. Then he summoned all his barons and clergy to Ambresbury, where the funeral rites were duly performed and his mother's body was buried. Her heart was conveyed to London and interred in a church.
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CHAPTER X. ELEANORA OF CASTILE, FIRST QUEEN OF EDWARD I.
(A.D. 1244-1291).
Edward I. was only fifteen years old when he accompanied his mother across the Pyrenees from Bordeaux, to claim the hand of Eleanora, sister to King Alphonso of Castile, to whom he had been betrothed several months before.
A.D. 1256. The marriage was solemnized a few days, after his arrival, feasts and tournaments in honor of the event followed, and then the little bride of ten years proceeded with her lord to Paris. She was present at the feast of kings, given by King Henry to celebrate his son's marriage, of which mention is made in the preceding reign.
When Henry III. and Queen Eleanor returned to England, the young couple went with them and made their public entry into the metropolis in grand state.
Among the numerous entertainments given to welcome the bride, that which took place at the house of John Mansel, the secretary of state, was the most remarkable. All the royal family, with their entire retinue, were present, and as the mansion was by no means capacious enough to accommodate so large a party, tents were erected on the surrounding grounds. Considering that seven hundred messes of meat were served at one meal, it is not surprising that Mansel's house was too small.
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A few months later, Prince Edward took his little wife to Bordeaux to complete her education, which had scarcely begun at the time of her marriage. While she pursued her studies, the prince led the life of a knight-errant, wandering from place to place, and taking part in various tilting matches and tournaments until summoned to England to take part in the civil wars that resulted, after several years, in the complete restoration of Henry III.
A.D. 1265. Peace was so far established in 1265 as to warrant the return of Queen Eleanor, who took her daughter-in-law home with her.
Prince Edward met the ladies at Dover, and was delighted to welcome his wife, who had, during her absence, developed into a remarkably handsome woman. She had clear cut, delicate features, a fine figure, and magnificent black hair, peculiar to Spanish ladies.
The young couple set up their establishment at the palace of Savoy, built by Edward's uncle, but passed much of their time at Windsor Castle, where, a year later, their first son was born. He received the name of John, after his unworthy grandfather. In 1267 a second son was born and named Henry.
Prince Edward was too restless a man and too much of a soldier to settle down to a life of luxury and ease, and an escape from injury, or perhaps death, that he had one day when playing chess at Windsor, turned his thoughts towards a crusade. He had just left the table, with no special purpose, when the centre stone of the ceiling fell and crushed the chair he had occupied. This circumstance convinced him that he was under Divine protection and that his life was spared for some great work.
He therefore began his preparations for a campaign in Syria forthwith. Prince Edward was eminently fitted for a crusader, being a powerful man, tall, well formed, remarkably agile in wielding his sword, and an excellent horseman.
His wife loved him so fondly that she resolved to accompany him, though it was a sacrifice to leave her two lovely little boys. All the hardships and dangers attendant upon a crusade were laid before Eleanora in graphic colors, but she was willing to brave them all rather than let her husband go without her. "Nothing," said this faithful wife, "ought to part those whom God hath joined, and the way to heaven is as near, if not nearer, from Syria as from England or my native Spain."
Before leaving England, Eleanora, in company with Queen Eleanor, visited the various shrines throughout the kingdom and made offerings, some of them being of great value.
A.D. 1270. In the spring of 1270 the young couple bade farewell to the two sons they were never to see again, and set sail for Bordeaux, thence to Sicily, where they were to be joined by King Louis of France, with his army.
But the death of King Louis occurring at this time, deprived Prince Edward of the aid he had counted on, and caused his detention for several months. The King of Sicily tried to persuade him to abandon the crusade, but heroically striking his breast the prince exclaimed:—"Sang de Dieu, if all should desert me, I would lay siege to Acre, if only attended by Fowen my groom!"
In the spring and summer of 1271 Edward made two successful campaigns and defeated the Saracens with great slaughter. Returning to Cyprus for reinforcements, he undertook the siege of Acre, and established a reputation in the Holy Land, not inferior to that of his great uncle, Cour de Lion.
The Saracen admiral, bent on revenge, sent a messen-
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ger several times to the prince, with letters, in which he expressed his desire to become a Christian convert. He was always received in private, because the admiral's life would be in danger from his own people unless the utmost secrecy were observed. The fifth time the ambassador presented himself, Edward was lying on a lounge, clad in a loose garment, as the weather was very warm. He was soon absorbed in the letters that had been written on purpose to please him. Suddenly the letter-carrier drew forth a poniard and aimed at the prince, who fortunately perceived the treachery in time to receive the blow on his arm. The man made another attempt, but Edward felled him to the ground with a powerful kick in the breast, then seizing a stool, killed him outright. The sound of the scuffle brought in Prince Edward's attendants, one of whom beat out the brains of the treacherous messenger. "What was the use of striking a dead man?" asked the prince, with stern reproach.
A surgical operation became necessary before the wounded arm could be cured, but at the end of a fortnight Edward was able to mount his horse, the attention and good nursing of his wife having hastened his recovery.
Eleanora had a little princess soon afterward, and called her Joanna of Acre, from the place of her birth.
As his army had become much reduced, Prince Edward took leave of the Holy Land and returned to Sicily with his wife and infant. Sad news awaited them, for a messenger announced the death of their two little boys in England, and they had scarcely recovered from the shock when another arrived to inform them that Henry III. also had died.
The firmness and resignation with which Edward had borne the loss of his sons now gave way to an outburst of grief that surprised every one, particularly as his father's death made him King of England. When questioned on the subject Edward replied: "The loss of infants may be repaired by the same God that gave them, but when a man has lost a good father it is not in the course of nature for God to send him another."
The royal pair spent a year in Rome before returning to England. During their passage through France, Edward took part in several tournaments, and did not land at Dover with his wife until August 2, 1273.
A.D. 1273. Preparations for their coronation were speedily concluded, and that important ceremony took place on the 19th of August. Great enthusiasm was exhibited by the citizens of London, who had enjoyed a season of such prosperity since the establishment of peace that they were anxious to prove their loyalty to the new king and queen by lavish expenditure. Both houses of parliament assembled to welcome their majesties, and for two weeks after the coronation banquets were served every day in the wooden buildings that had been erected in the palace grounds for that purpose. The rich and the poor, the country yeoman and the Londoner, were welcomed alike and entertained free of charge. It was a fortnight of universal rejoicing, and the opening reign promised to be an exceedingly popular one. But the most remarkable feature of the coronation was this: while the king was at a feast prepared in the palace for the lords who had attended him during the ceremony, King Alexander of Scotland came to pay his respects, accompanied by a hundred knights. They arrived on horseback, and, as each man alighted, his horse was turned loose to become the property of any person, no matter what his station, who might be lucky enough to capture him. Afterwards came Edmund, the king's brother, the Earls of Pembroke and Warren, with their train of knights, and the horses of this whole party were likewise turned loose. Llewellyn, the Prince of Wales, did not appear at the coronation, and this displeased the king so much that he sent to inquire into the cause, whereupon the prince replied that as he had reconquered all the Welsh territory that Edward's Norman predecessors had taken possession of, he owed no homage to the King of England.
Later, when Llewellyn's bride was on her way to Wales, her vessel was captured by the Bristol merchantmen, and the damsel was taken prisoner. King Edward treated her with courtesy, and placed her in charge of the queen at Windsor Castle. Then the prince submitted to the required homage with alacrity and went to Worcester, where the King and Queen of England met him, bringing his lady love with them. The marriage ceremony was performed at Worcester Cathedral; King Edward gave the bride away, the queen supported her at the altar, and both honored the marriage feast with their presence. A year later the young princess died, then her husband repented of his homage and suddenly invaded England, but he was killed on the battle-field without accomplishing anything.
A.D. 1283. Wales was in such an unsettled state in 1283 that King Edward found his presence there very necessary. The queen went with him and established her court at Rhuddlan Castle. By that time the royal couple had several children, and their sixth daughter, Princess Isabella, was born soon after their arrival in Wales.
The following year the queen removed to the Castle of Caernarvon, because it was the strongest fortress in Wales, and the king wanted to feel that she was safe from insurgents. There, in a gloomy little chamber, ten feet by eight, a prince was born on the 25th of April, 1284. The room had no fireplace, but tapestry was hung on the walls to keep out draughts. It was Queen Eleanora who first put tapestry to this use in England in imitation of a Moorish custom that she had seen adopted in Spain. A Welsh nurse was procured for the infant, because the queen knew that it would please the people to have a native woman in that position. Edward I. was at Rhud-dlan Castle, trying to negotiate a treaty of peace with the authorities of Wales, when a gentleman arrived to inform him of the birth of his son. He was so delighted that he knighted the man on the spot and made him a present of some lands.
The king then hastened to Caernarvon to see his wife and baby. Three days later all the chiefs from the different parts of North Wales met at the castle to tender their submission to Edward, and to implore him to appoint them a prince of their own land, whose native tongue was neither French nor Saxon.
Edward assured them that he would comply, whereupon they promised that if his character was free from stain, they would certainly accept him without a murmur. Then the king ordered his infant son to be brought in, and presenting him to the assembly, said, "that he was a native of their country, his character was without reproach, that he could not speak a word of English or French, and that if they pleased, the first words he uttered should be Welsh."
As there was no alternative, the rough mountaineers kissed the little hand and swore fealty to Edward of Caernarvon.
The queen soon removed to Conway Castle, where she was surrounded with all the comforts and luxuries the age afforded. Under her influence the Welsh made rapid strides towards civilization, and she felt happy to be among them; but they had been so barbarous when she first went to their country that the king had to threaten se-
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vere punishment to any one "who should strike the queen or snatch anything out of her hand."
A.D. 1285. King Alexander of Scotland died in 1285, and his heiress, the Princess Margaret of Norway, was by consent of the nobles of Scotland, solemnly betrothed to little Edward of Caernarvon, Prince of Wales.
In 1290, Queen Eleanora was the mother of nine beautiful princesses, to whose care and education she devoted a great deal of time. They occupied a retired portion of Westminster Palace, which was called in consequence, Maiden Hall. One of these princesses entered a convent, not long after the ninth one was born, and during the same year three others married. The rejoicings that attended the nuptial ceremonies were suddenly brought to a close by a dreadful calamity. It had been arranged that the little Queen Margaret of Scotland should go to England to be educated under the guidance of Queen Eleanora, but she died on the voyage. This sad event was disastrous to Scotland, and threatened the prosperity of the whole kingdom, by severing the bond that would have united it had the marriage between Margaret and Edward been consummated.
A.D. 1291. As soon as the king heard of Margaret's death he started for Scotland, bidding his beloved Eleanora to follow as speedily as possible. But before he reached his destination a messenger overtook him with news of the queen's dangerous illness. She had been attacked with fever while travelling through Lincolnshire, and prevented from proceeding. Edward turned back instantly, and everything was lost sight of excepting that his dear wife was ill and suffering. Notwithstanding that he pushed forward with utmost haste, he arrived too late, for the queen was dead. King Edward's grief was so deep for a time that he was unable to attend to public affairs of any description. He followed the corpse of his wife for thirteen days, stopping at every important town to have a funeral ceremony performed at the largest church where all the neighboring priests and monks assembled for the purpose. As the royal bier approached London the officers and principal citizens met it, clad in black hoods and gowns, and marched in solemn procession to Westminster Abbey.
Queen Eleanora was buried at the feet of her royal father-in-law. Besides the beautiful monument in bronze for which King Edward paid an Italian artist £1700, he erected others in the shape of a cross in memory of the chère reine, as he called his wife, at each of the places where the funeral procession halted on the way to London. The last stopping place was the one now called Charing Cross, a perversion of the original French, which signified "dear queen's cross."
Eleanora of Castile was sincerely lamented in England; for as Walsingham says of her: "To our nation, she was a living mother, the column and pillar of the whole realm. She was a godly, modest and merciful princess, who consoled the sorrow-stricken, and made those friends that were at discord."
During the reign of Edward I. and Eleanora, sculpture, architecture, casting in brass and bronze, and wood-carving were encouraged, and many beautiful specimens of these branches of art appeared in England.
Of all the children of this royal couple, the nun-princess and Edward II. were the only ones that reached middle age.