In was in 1309 that the great Percy family first obtained possession of Alnwick and its domain. Henry Percy purchased it from Anthony Bek, Bishop of Durham, who had somehow obtained power over it, and the brave De Vesci family disappear. About this date Northumberland was in a miserable condition; it was the reign of the feeble Edward II., and Bruce had invaded the four northernmost counties of England, and was exacting tribute from them. The English were safe only within their fortresses. However, the brave Sir Thomas Gray, who held Norham Castle, did much to uphold the falling honour of England, and Henry Percy almost rebuilt the castle of Alnwick, which in his son’s time successfully withstood a siege. But at last peace was restored by the Treaty of Northampton in 1328, by the terms of which the English king renounced all claim to Scotland. The Percy family were of Norman origin, deriving their name from a Norman village. William de Percy crossed to England just after the battle of Hastings, and received grants of land in Yorkshire. Agnes de Percy married Jocelin, Count of Louvain, and their son Henry took his mother’s surname. From that year onward, the the Christian name of Henry was always given to the eldest son; there were fourteen Henry Percies! Even in these wild times the Percies were distinguished by the boldness of their spirits. One of the Counts of Louvain, grandfather of the first Henry Percy, shocked the men of his day by hanging some of his enemies with the church bell-ropes. It was not the hanging that was objected to—hanging was common enough; but the use of church-ropes for the purpose was thought very wicked! After they had rebuilt Alnwick Castle and settled down there, the Percies soon established their power in the North. At the coronation of Richard II., in 1377, a Henry Percy was Marshal of England, and he was then made Earl of Northumberland. His son, "Hotspur," was the most famous of all the Percies. In their time, the battles of Otterbourne and Homildon Hill were fought. But they rebelled against Henry IV. and Hotspur was killed at the battle of Shrewsbury (1403), while his father was slain a few years later at Bramham Moor, his head set up on London Bridge, and quarters of his body on the gates of Berwick, Newcastle, Lincoln, and London, to discourage others from following in his footsteps! Henry, son of "Hotspur," was the second earl. He repaired and added to the castle and was present at the battle of Agincourt. It was not the habit of the Percies to die in their beds, and this one was killed in the Wars of the Roses, at the first battle of St Albans, in 1455.