1277. CHAг. have recourse to the protection of Edward, and XIII. they feconded with all their intereft, which was extensive, his attempts to enflave their native country. The Welsh prince had no refource but in the inacceffible fituation of his mountains, which had hitherto, through many ages, defended his forefathers against all attempts of the Saxon and Norman conquerors; and he retired among the hills of Snowdun, refolute to defend himfelf to the last extremity. But Edward, equally vigorous and cautious, entering by the north with a formidable army, pierced into the heart of the country; and having carefully explored every road before him, and fecured every pass behind him, approached the Welsh army in its laft retreat. He here avoided the putting to trial the valor of a nation, proud of its ancient independence, and inflamed with animofity against its hereditary enemies; and he trufted to the flow, but fure effects of famine, for reducing that people to subjection. The rude and fimple manners of the natives, as well as the mountainous fituation of their country, had made them entirely neglect tillage, and truft to pafturage alone for their fubfiftence: A method of life which had hitherto fecured them against the irregular attempts of the English, but expofed them to certain ruin, when the conqueft of the country was steadily purfued, and prudently planned by Edward. Destitute of magazines, cooped up in a narrow corner, they, as well as their cattle, fuffered all the rigors of famine; and Lewellyn, without 1277. being able to strike a stroke for his independence, cHA P. was at laft obliged to fubmit at difcretion, and XIII. receive the terms impofed upon him by the victor". He bound himself to pay to Edward 50,000 19 Nov. pounds, as a reparation of damages, to do homage to the crown of England; to permit all the other barons of Wales, except four near Snowdun, to fwear fealty to the fame crown; to relinquifh the country between Cheshire and the river Conway; to fettle on his brother Roderic a thousand marks a year, and on David five hundred; and to deliver ten hoftages as fecurity for his future fubmiffion ". 16 EDWARD, on the performance of the other articles, remitted to the prince of Wales the payment of the 50,000 pounds ", which were ftipu lated by treaty, and which, it is probable the poverty of the country made it abfolutely impoffible for him to levy. But notwithstanding this indulgence, complaints of iniquities soon arose on the fide of the vanquished: The English, infolent on their eafy and bloodlefs victory, oppreffed the inhabitants of the diftricts which were yielded to them: The lords marchers committed. with impunity all kinds of violence on their Wellh neighbours: New and more fevere terms were imposed on Lewellyn himself; and Edward, when the prince attended him at Worcester, exacted a 25 16 Ibid. p. 106. Trivet, T. Wykes, p. 105. p. 251. Walfing. P. 47. Rymer, vol. ii. p. 88. 37 XIII. 1277. CHAP promise that he would retain no perfon in his principality who should be obnoxious to the English monarch ". There were other perfonal infults, which raised the indignation of the Welsh, and made them determine rather to encounter a force, which they had already experienced to be fo much fuperior, than to bear oppreffion from the haughty victors. Prince David, feized with the national spirit, made peace with his brother, and promised to concur in the defence of public liberty. The Welsh flew to arms; and Edward, not difpleased with the occafion of making his conqueft final and abfolute, affembled all his military tenants, and advanced into Wales with an army, which the inhabitants could not reasonably hope to refift. The fituation of the country gave the Welsh at first fome advantage over Luke de Tany, one of Edward's captains, who had paffed the Menau with a detachment ": But Lewellyn, being furprifed by Mortimer, was defeated and flain in an action, and 2000 of his followers were put to the fword ". David, who fucceeded him in the principality, could never collect an army fufficient to face the English; and being chaced from hill to hill, and hunted from one retreat to another, was obliged to conceal himfelf under various difguifes, and was at laft be 18 Dr. Powell's Hift. of Wales, P. 344, 345. "Walfing. p. so. Heming, vol. i. p. 9. Trivet, p. 258. T. Wykes, p. 110. Trivet, p. 256. Ann. Waverl. 20 Heming. vol. i. p. 11. p. 235. 28 XIII. 1283 trayed in his lurking-place to the enemy. Edward c H A'P. fent him in chains to Shrewsbury; and bringing him to a formal trial before all the peers of England, ordered this fovereign prince to be hanged, drawn, and quartered, as a traitor, for defending by arms the liberties of his native country, together with his own hereditary authority All the Welsh nobility fubmitted to the conqueror; the laws of England, with the fheriffs and other minifters of justice, were established in that principality; and though it was long before national antipathies were extinguished, and a thorough union attained between the people, yet this important conqueft, which it had required eight hundred years fully to effect, was at last, through the abilities of Edward, completed by the English. THE king, fenfible that nothing kept alive the ideas of military valor and of ancient glory, fo much as the traditional poetry of the people, which, affifted by the power of mufic, and the jollity of feftivals, made deep impreffion on the minds of the youth, gathered together all the Welsh bards, and from a barbarous, though not abfurd policy, ordered them to be put to death". THERE prevails a vulgar story, which, as it well fuits the capacity of the monkish writers, is carefully recorded by them: That Edward, af 21 Heming. vol. i. p. 12. Trivet, p. 259. Ann. Waverl, p. 238. T. Wykes, p. 111. M. Weft. p. 411. 1284. XIII. CHAP. fembling the Welsh, promifed to give them a prince of unexceptionable manners, a Welshman by birth, and one who could fpeak no other language. On their acclamations of joy, and promise of obedience, he invested in the principality his fecond fon Edward, then an infant, who had been born at Carnarvon. The death of his eldest fon Alfonfo, foon after, made young Edward heir of the monarchy: The principality of Wales was fully annexed to the crown; and henceforth gives a title to the eldeft fon of the kings of England. 1286. THE fettlement of Wales appeared fo complete to Edward, that, in less than two years after, he went abroad, in order to make peace between Alphonfo, king of Arragon, and Philip the Fair, who had lately fucceeded his father Philip the Hardy on the throne of France ". The difference between these two princes had arisen about the kingdom of Sicily, which the pope, after his hopes from England failed him, had bestowed on Charles, brother to St. Lewis, and which was claimed upon other titles, by Peter king of Arragon, father to Alphonfo. Edward had powers from both princes to fettle the terms of peace, and he fucceeded in his endeavours; but as the controverfy nowife regards England, we fhall not enter into a detail of it. He ftayed abroad above three years; and on his return, found many dif orders to have prevailed, both from open violence, and from the corruption of juftice. 23 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 149, 150. 174: THOMAS |