Polychronicon Ranulphi Higden maonachi Cestrensis; together with the English translations of John Trevisa and of an unknown writer of the fifteenth century.

Capitulum quadragesimum.

BONEFACIUS the viij^the succedid pope Celestinus the v^the xj. yere. This pope grawntede grete indulgences in v^the yere of

his governayle, whiche was þe yere iubile to men visitynge the apostles Petyr and Paule. Also he made the vj^the booke of the Decretalles, in whom he decided mony dowtes; also he did in|corporate mony constitucions extravagant of Honorius, Adrian, and of Innocencius, of Clement, and of other. ℞. But Celes|tinus, immediate predecessor to hym, prophecyede of this Bone|face [folio 384b] the pope in this wise: "Thow ascendeste lyke a fox, thow schalle reigne lyke a lyon, and schalle dye lyke a dogge;" and so hit happede. Insomoche that he entretede noble men ungoodely, and deposede diverse cardinalles, laborynge with alle his myȝhte to depose þe kynge of Fraunce. Wherefore William Longaret, a man gretely circumspecte in thynges agible, stuarde to the kynge of Fraunce, gedrenge a grete hoste,

toke the seide pope, settynge hym on a wilde horse, his face turnede to the tayle of the horse, and so thei causede the horse to renne, and at the laste he diede for hungre. Iohn Baillol, late made kynge of Scottelande, thro instigacion of the abbot of Meuros, brake his fidelite made to the kynge of Ynglonde, but he was taken soone and putte from his inheritaunce. Also William Wales instaurede guerre ageyn kynge Edwarde in the yere folowynge, but he was causede to fle in the secunde yere folowynge. Kynge Edwarde did sle lx. M. Scottes at Fou|church in the feste of Mary Magdalene. Also he seasonede [Sic in MS.] into his alle the temporalites of clerkes, and putte þeim as

exempte from his proteccion, in that thei wolde not helpe hym in the yere afore with theire goodes towarde the Scottes. For Robert, metropolitan of Ynglonde, by the consente of bischoppes, hade procurede a inhibicion of the pope that the clerkes scholde not ȝiffe eny thynge of the goodes of the churche to the kynge; neverthelesse mony prelates souȝhte the proteccion of the kynge for fere and drede. Kynge Edwarde, despysynge the cownsaile of the noble men of the londe, toke with hym a certeyne nowmbre of men of Ynglonde and of Wales, and saylede into Flaundres, as if he wolde have ȝiffe batelle to the kynge of Fraunce. But mony men seide that his mynde was so gretely fixede on Blanche, doȝhter of the kynge of Fraunce, that he wolde have ȝiffen the cuntre of Gascoigne for here to the kynge of Fraunce. But in that kynge Edwarde was olde, and Blanche yonge, Margaret, the suster of the kynge of Fraunce, was maryede to hym, of whom he gate ij. sonnes, Thomas and Edmund. Kynge Edwarde dampned sodenly unlawefull money, whom thei called pollardes, crokardes, and rosaryes. Edmund [folio 385a]

erle of Cornewaile, sonne of Richarde erle of Cornewaile and kynge of Alemanny, dyed in this yere with owte a childe, wherefore that cowntee returnede to the crowne. This yere was þe yere of Iubile, in whom mony pilgremes wente to Rome. Kynge Edwarde ȝafe to Edwarde the principate of Wales and the cowntee of Chestre. And William Waleis, a governoure of the Scottes, was drawen at London and honged, the hedde of whom was sette on the brigge of London, and his body, dividede into iiij. partes, was sende to iiij. places of Ynglonde. Kynge Edwarde sende to the pope letters decla|ratyve of the ryȝhte and lordeschippe that Ynglonde hathe on the realme of Scottelonde and of the kynges þerof. For Robert Bruȝ hade made compleynte afore to the pope that Edwarde

kynge of Ynglonde hade vexede þe realme of Scotlonde with|owte ryȝhte or title. Wherefore þe pope commaundede the kynge of Ynglonde to absteyne from þat vexacion, withowte he schewede more clerely that the realme of Scottelonde awe to be subiecte to hym. Benedict the thrydde succedid pope Bone|face not oon yere complete. Clement the v^the succedid pope Benedict xij. yere; þis pope laborede moche to gedre treasure and to edifye castells, and dampned the ordre of Templaryes. Also he ordeynede the vij^the booke of the Decretalles, whiche he callede Constitutions Clementyn, but he revokede þat booke

afterwarde in a cownsayle at Vienna, whom Iohn the xxij^ti his successor, innewede and incorporate. This pope Clement translate firste of alle other bischoppes of Rome the seete of the pope unto Avinion, but y leve as untowchede wheþer it was doen by the wylle of God or by the boldenesse of man. Kynge Edward made grete inquisicions in this yere ageyne malefactors and usurpers of the crowne, which inquisicion is called trail|baston. Robert Bruz usurpede the realme of Scottelond, and did sle Iohn Comyn abowte Ester, in the churche of freres Minors at Dounfrez, in that he wolde not consente to hym. But kynge Edwarde commynge into that cuntre, causede the seide Robert Bruȝ to fle, and hongede the sleers of the seide Iohn. [folio 385b] In whiche yere kynge Edwarde, taryenge nye to Carliell, causede Petre Gavaston, ffamilier with Edwarde his sonne, to abiure Ynglonde.