A History and Defence of Magna Charta Author:Samuel Johnson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: n4 other p.eers of that country, who fwore none of them would make peace without the other. Within a week's time after the appointed rendezvous at Gloucefter, th... more »ere arrived at Dover many armed men from the parts beyond the fea, and Baldwin De Gysnes with a force out of Flanders, who came to the King at Gloucefter. This force, with what he had before, made a numerous army, with which he advanced to Hereford. After. this, the King, bj the advice of bifhop Peteii, fends a defiance to fhe marftjal by the tyfhop of St. Davids, asd thereupon marches tp make war upon hirr and Jays fiege to orie of his caftles. But when he had furioufly aflfaulted it many days in vain, and his army wanted pro- vifions, fo that there was a neceffity of raifing the fiege, the King grew afhamed of his enter- prize.: whereupon'hefent feveral bifhops to the earj niarfhal to Qetire him to fave the King's honour i and that he might not be thbught to have made a fiege to no purpofe, to furrender him the (caflje upon thefe conditions: Firft, that he woufd after fifteen days reftore to the earj rnarfhal the caftle again entire, and in the fame ftate it was. fecondly, that in the mean time he would and amend all things that were amifs in thethe kingdom, by the advice of the bifhops, who were his fureties for the performance of theft things. And to perfect and complete all this, the King appointed the marfhal and the banifhed lords to come to a parliament, which he meant to hold at Weftminfter the firft week after Michaelmas. When the fifteen days were out, from the time of the marfhal's furrender of his caftle into the King's hands, upon condition, that after the term he fhould have it reftored to him again, the mar- fhaj fent to the King, to defire him to deliver him back his caftle according to the covena...« less