heraldryofyorkmi01custuoft

362 THE HERALDRY OF YORK MINSTER.
possessor of the provinces of the south between the Rhone, the Loire,
the Pyrenees, and the 'Bay of Biscay. Touraine, Poitou, Anjoumois,
Saintouge, Guienne, Gascony, La Berri, La Manche, Le Limousin, and
the greatest part of Auvergne belonged to him. The Count of Thoulouse
did him homage for that province of which he had always defended
the independence; and the possessions of the King of Aragon along
the Mediterranean, from Perpiguan to the mouth of the Rhone, were
placed by treaties of alliance in a sort of dependence on him. In fact,
when John ascended the throne, the influence of England in France
extended over forty-seven of the departments, while Philip Augustus
hardly ruled over twenty.
Under the baneful regime of the appropriately nicknamed "Lackland,"
however, the disintegration commenced. By the foul murder of his nephew,
Arthur, he lost the greater part of his French dominions at one blow,
for the French king summoned him, as his feudal superior, to appear
before him and answer the charge ; and on his refusal took possession
of the whole of Aquitaine with but little resistance from John, who
returned to England, and by a treaty signed at Parthenay, in 1214, a
truce for five years was agreed on between John and Philip Augustus,
the condition of which was that the former should give up his possessions
north of the Loire, viz., Normandy, Brittany, Anjou, Maine, and Touraine.
So that Henry III., on his accession, possessed only Gascony and part
of Guienne, though he probably held some castles and had some indefinite
hold on parts of Poitou. In 1240 he demanded the restitution of Normandy,
which was refused ;
and Simon de Montfort invaded Gascony, and
eventually made himself governor of the province. But Henry quarrelled
with De Montfort, intestine troubles ensued at home, and nothing more
was done during this reign.
Edward I., on his return from the Holy Land, did homage to
Philip III. in these vague but significant words " My Lord the King, I do
:
"homage for all the lands I ought to hold of you." In 1293 a dispute with
France commenced by a quarrel between certain English and Norman
sailors getting water for their vessels, which developed into sundry seafights
between their rival ships, and culminated in Edward being summoned
by Philip as his vassal to answer for injuries and rebellions committed.
Edward not appearing, his dominions were declared forfeited, and the
French attempted to take possession. Edmond, Earl of Lancaster, was sent
to negotiate for peace, but, by means of the Queen and Queen-Dowager of
France, was overreached, the French being allowed to garrison the six
principal castles in the province, promising to evacuate them when the
conditions were completed, which they eventually refused to do. War was
declared, and an army made ready; but disturbances breaking
out in