years at this rate. In short, whatever they be, I believe there is no good man, but will rather hazard his person to keep the enemy abroad, than see a French and Irish army in the bowels of our own country, destroying our substance, burning our habitations, and committing the barbarities, which they committed in the Palatinate for, certainly, by one month's ravage of this nature, we should lose more blood and treasure, than can, probably, be spent to bring the war to an honourable and happy conclusion.

That happy moment is not, perhaps, so far, as some people imagine; for whosoever will cast his eyes on the present posture of affairs in Europe, must needs conclude, that the French cannot hold it out much longer.

THE WARS AND CAUSES OF THEM,

BETWEEN

ENGLAND AND FRANCE,

FROM

WILLIAM THE FIRST TO WILLIAM THE THIRD,

WITH A

TREATISE OF THE SALIQUE LAW.

By D. J. and revised by R. C. Esq: MDCXCVII.

GREAT and various have the actions been between England and

France, since the invasion of the Normans, anno dom. 1066, which makes September next *just 629 years; but, that the French nation should make a conquest of England hereby, nothing is more manifestly untrue, that people being a distinct nation from the French, who conquering that province by main force, from Neustria, called it Normandia, in the reign of Charles le Simple; whence, by the way, it is worth remarking, what kind of kings France hath often had, and what sort of epithets their own chronicles give them, which stand upon publick record to all posterity, as Charles le Simple, Charles le. Chauve, Charles le Gros, Charles le Gras, Charles le Phrenetique, Phillip le long, Lovis le Begue, &c. Now, though there have been many and mighty quarrels, warlike encounters, and feuds betwixt England and France, yet, in the reign of the Saxon kings, the historians make little mention of any; but since England was joined,

• 1697.

as it were, to the continent, by the addition of Normandy, there have been as frequent traverses of war as have happened between any two nations; for, of those twenty-eight kings and queens, which have reigned here, from William the first to William the third, there have been but a very few of them free from actual wars with France; yet, in so long a tract of time, when the French were at their highest pitch of power, they never did nor had any adequate power to invade England; it is true that they took footing once or twice in the Isle of Wight, but it quickly grew too hot for them. And touching Lewis the French king's son, who did stay, and sway the sceptre here about two years, whereof they so much vaunt: That was no invasion but an invitation, being brought in by the discontented barons in England; so that, in a manner, France was the theatre of the war between the two nations, down from William the first to the present time.

As for the great battles which were fought from time to time, it is confessed by the French historians themselves, that the English were at most but half in number to them in almost all engagements; insomuch that, by pure prowess and point of sword, the English possessed two parts of three in that populous kingdom, and, how all came to be lost again, will appear by the sequel of the story: but here I cannot omit one remarkable accident, that was concomitant with the English arms in France, and that is, that, when the English were at the height of their conquests in that kingdom, the Pope came to reside at Avignon in France, and there was a common saying which continues still in memory among the vulgar, 'Ores! le pape est devenu Francois, & Christ est devenu Anglois,' i. e. Lo! the Pope is become a Frenchman, and Christ an Englishman; which related to the marvellous exploits and successes the English had in that kingdom, which were such that Sir Walter Raleigh, speaking of the famous Punick wars, puts this query: 'If one should ask, which was the valiantest, the Roman or the Carthaginian? one might answer, the Englishman, who performed greater feats of arms than either of them; insomuch that some foreign authors give this character of France, that it was the stage whereon the English acted their valour so often.

It is true that in canvassing of treaties, in subtleties or shuffling the cards, and mental reservations, they were mostly too hard for the English, who naturaliy use downright dealing, and real integrity; but, in point of performance of what was stipulated, especially if the article related to money, whereof we drew from them vast sums, they seldom exactly performed the capitulation of any treaty, as foreign writers observe; so that part of king John's ransom is yet behind, besides the money which was to be paid for Tournay, in Henry the eighth's time; the five hundred-thousand crowns, which Edward the sixth was to have for Bologne; and those great expences which queen Elisabeth was to have for sending her armies to aid Henry the fourth, and the French reformists, two parts of three are not paid to this day; but of these and other things more hereafter in their proper place.

ENGL

NGLAND, exclusive of Scotland, which had but very little share in the wars we are to treat of, is the greatest, most southern, and best part of the island of Great Britain, heretofore called Albion and Britannia; it lies, together with Wales, in the form of a great triangle, whereof the southern shore is the base, and Berwick the opposite angle; it was divided by the Romans into five parts, by the Saxons into seven kingdoms, and now, Wales included, into fifty two shires or counties. It is a fruitful country, full of valiant and industrious inhabitants; but, in regard to its boundaries, bears no proportion to France, even considered in its narrowest limits, over which, notwithstanding, it has so often and so gloriously triumphed, as will manifestly appear in the series of the ensuing history.

But because, the wars with France, in the time of the Saxons, are very obscurely recorded as to their time, cause, and effects, we will, therefore, begin with,

WHO

WILLIAM I.

HO was invidiously termed the conqueror, by the monks of those times, as the learned Sir William Temple has well observed; though it is as true, he could not claim in right of succession, himself being illegitimate, and Edgar Atheline, of the Saxon blood royal, to take place before him, but must, therefore, reign by virtue either of a compact or previous choice of the people of England, the sword which he had then in his hand, no doubt, powerfully disposing of them also to such an election; he proved to be a warlike king of England, as he had been a successful duke of Normandy. But, though he had wonderful success in the battle of Hastings, which was fought, October the fourteenth, an. 1066, and got the day with the slaughter of above sixty-thousand of his English enemies, yet things did not succeed so well with him in his Kentish expedition; for, directing his march towards Dover, with a design to reduce Kent first under his obedience, as considering this country to be the key of England, and that what he had already done, would be of little account, if this were not accomplished: The Kentish men, upon report hereof, assembled to archbishop Stigand, at Canterbury, and, after serious consultation, resolved to arm, and to force the conqueror either to confirm their ancient liberties, or to die valiantly in the field in defence of them; and so, under the command of the archbishop and the abbot Eglesine, rendezvoused at Swanescomb, where, it was agreed, all the passages should be stopped, and that they should make use of the adjacent woods for a covert from the discovery of the enemy, till he were fast within their net. The duke, next day, expecting no such ambuscade, in his march, finds himself with part of his army surrounded all of a sudden, with ́numerous squadrons of horse, and battalions of foot; which seemed the more surprising to him, because that, every man for a signal, as it was agreed upon, carrying a green bough in his hand, they appeared unto him like a moving wood, wherein he was in danger of quickly losing himself. Stigand approaches to the duke, tells him

the occasion of such an assembly, what their demands were, and what their resolves, if refused. The duke, wisely considering the danger, grants all their requests, and, upon that, was admitted into Rochester, and had the earldom of Kent and Dover castle yielded to him.

The former part of this king's reign, as may be well imagined, was taken up in making provision for his adventurers, and in subduing, settling, and modelling of his new English subjects, amongst whom were frequent tumults and insurrections, occasioned mostly thro' the insults of the Normans, that but too readily provoked them upon every occasion, presuming, no doubt, very much upon the favour of the king their countryman, who, on times, shewed too much partiality in that regard. It is true, he had not been a year inthroned, before he was obliged, upon commotions there, to pass over into, Normandy; but we do not find, till about ten years after, that he had any foreign wars, when, passing over into Bretagne, he laid siege' to the castle of Dolence, belonging to Earl Ralph; which engaged Philip, king of France, into the quarrel, and so with a mighty army marches against king William, who, finding himself hereby much streightened for provision, broke up his siege, not without loss, both of men and horses, and of some of his baggage, and hereupon ensued an accommodation; but, not a year after, Robert, the king's eldest son, to whom, upon his assuming of the English crown, he had assigned the dukedom of Normandy, in the presence of king Philip of France, because now his father, as he pretended, would not suffer him to enjoy the said dukedom in quiet, went into France, and, being by the said king Philip assisted with forces, committed great ravages in Normandy, burning many towns, and, at length, engaged with the king his father in battle, near the castle of Garbery, in France; the king, according to his usual manner, charged with great resolution, and spared not to expose his person to all dangers, insomuch that he had in this action, first, the misfortune to be unhorsed himself, his son William wounded, and many of his family slain, and, as an addition hereunto, through intemperate anger to curse his son Robert, who, it was observed, never prospered after. Things, after this, continued in a tolerable state of amity between Philip and this king, till the last year of his reign, when residing in Normandy, and being grown very corpulent, the French king was pleased to speak reproachfully of him, saying, The king of England lieth at Roan, and keeps his chamber as lying-in women do, and there nourisheth his fat belly,' did so offend king William, that he said, 'Well, when after my delivery I go to church, I shall offer a thousand candles to him, and sware to the same by God's resurrection and his brightness; and this he made good the latter end of August, the same year, when he entered France, with fire and sword, and burnt down the city of Meaux, together with the church of St. Mary, and two friars inclosed therein, who superstitiously persuaded themselvss they ought not forsake their cell in such extremity, though to the apparant hazard of their lives. This king died at Roan, Anno Dom. 1087, when he had reigned twenty

years, eight months, and sixteen days, and lived three score and four years, and was buried at Caen in Normandy.

The causes of his wars were, first, an irruption made by the French into Normandy, contrary to the articles of peace; and, secondly, the contumelious language used by king Philip, concerning his

person.

WILLIAM II.

SIRNAMED Rufus, or the red, during his twelve years and about eight months reign, had no wars with France, neither do we read of any just cause given to engage him thereto; but he unjustly invaded Normandy, then subject to his brother Robert, and dispossessed him of the county of Owe, many castles, and some monasteries; bnt was, in the mean time, by divine justice, assaulted by his younger brother, Henry, in his own dominions, and it had like to have cost him his life, for he was bore down in fight, from his horse, by a valiant knight, who, taking his sword to kill him, was stopped by the king's crying out, Hold thy hand, knave, I am the king of England;' which words so struck the knight with reverence, that he mounted him upon another horse; and the king, to recompense his valour and submission, swore, by St. Luke's face, he should be his knight, and be written in his white book. He was accidently killed by Sir Walter Tyrrell, as he was hunting in the New Forest, anno 1100; buried at Winchester, and died unlamented.

HENRY I.

WHO for his learning was called Beauclerk, was youngest son to William the conqueror; he, passing over into Normandy, made war against the earl of Anjou, who kept Maine against his will, and this engaged Lewis, the French king, to take part with the latter; whereupon ensued many sore battles, both in France and Normandy, between them with various success; at length, taking Anjou's daughter for wife to his son William, peace was concluded. But it will not be amiss to give the reader a taste of the high spirit and resolution of this king, in a personal quarrel he had in France. In his father's life-time, he accompanying his eldest brother, Robert, into that kingdom, while the latter associated himself with the then French king; Henry, according to the suitableness of their years, took up with the company and divertisements of the Dauphin, and being one evening at Chess together, the Dauphin happened to lose a considerable sum of money to the prince at that game; whereat the former grew so enraged, that, after some reproachful language, he struck the prince, who, not brooking the high affront, with the chess-board knocks the Dauphin fairly to the ground, and being intent to pursue his revenge, his brother, Robert, fortunately came in, and, minding him of the danger, away they both fled, and with great haste and difficulty recovered the next part of Normandy, before their pursuers could reach them. This king made his exit,