The Story of LondonWheatley, Henry B. (Henry Benjamin)
History
The Story of London
Wheatley, Henry B. (Henry Benjamin)
London (England) -- History
In John's reign London opened its gates to the forces of the Barons,
organised under Robert Fitz-Walter, Castellan of London, as 'Marshal of
the army of God and Holy Church.' During the period that the Barons
were at war with John, Prince Louis of France lived in the Tower prior
to his renunciation of all right of sovereignty in England, and his
return to France.
Henry III., in 1236, summoned the Council to meet him in the Tower, but
the Barons had so little faith in their King that they refused to
assemble there. The King was satisfied to be safe in the Tower in 1263,
while Simon de Montfort, with the barons, pitched tents at Isleworth.
The Londoners were distinctly disloyal, and Stow tells us that 'when the
Queene woulde have gone by water unto Windsore, the Londoners getting
them to ye bridge in great numbers, under the which she must passe,
cryed out on her, using many vile reprochfull words, threwe durte and
stones at her, that shee was constrained to returne again to the
Towre.'[96]
In Edward I.'s reign Raymund Lully, the alchemist, is said to have taken
up his residence in the Tower at the King's desire, and to have
performed in the royal presence the experiment of transmuting some
crystal into a mass of diamond or adamant, of which the King is said to
have made little pillars for the tabernacle of God. The biographers of
Lully, however, express the belief that he never visited England.
Edward II. seldom visited the Tower, except when he sought shelter from
his subjects. His Queen gave birth there to her eldest daughter, who was
known as Jane of the Tower. His second son, John of Eltham, who was born
on August 15, 1316, was appointed Warden of the City of London and
Warden of the Tower when he was ten years of age. In 1328, a year after
his father's death, John of Eltham was created Earl of Cornwall, and in
1336 he himself died.
The first years of Edward III.'s reign were spent in the Tower, and the
King was forced to remain there till he had put down Mortimer and was
able to assume the government himself. He made many additions to the
buildings, and Clark supposes that he built the Beauchamp and Salt
Towers, and perhaps the Bowyer. The King took great pride in the Tower,
which he made his chief arsenal, and strongly fortified and garrisoned.
Hence his anger in 1340 when he unexpectedly returned to England and
found the Tower unguarded. His first act was to imprison the Constable
and other officers for their negligence. The Mayor, the Clerk of the
Exchequer, and many others whose duty it was to raise or receive the
subsidies which had been granted were thrown into prison.[97]
The Tower stands out very prominently in the history of the reign of
Richard II. We have already seen in the second chapter what crimes were
perpetrated there during the Peasants' Revolt in 1381.
In 1390 a grand international tournament was arranged, when many
foreigners of distinction became the guests of the King in the Tower.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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