fe, a daughter of the Duke of
Brabant, thought this heiress, with her wide possessions, a suitable
match for her own young half-brother Joceline of Louvain. The marriage
took place; and thereafter followed the long line of Henry Percies
(Henry being a favourite name of the Counts of Louvain) who played such
a large part in the history of both England and Scotland; for, as nearly
every Percy was a Warden of the Marches, Scottish doings concerned them
more or less intimately--indeed, often more so than English affairs.

It was the third Henry Percy who purchased Alnwick in 1309 from Antony
Bec, Bishop of Durham and guardian of the last De Vesci, and from that
time the fortunes of the Percies, though they still held their Yorkshire
estates, were linked permanently with the little town on the Aln, and
the fortress which alike commanded and defended it. The fourth Henry
Percy began to build the castle as we see it now; but to call him "the
fourth" is a little confusing, as he was the second Henry Percy, Lord of
Alnwick. On the whole, it will be clearer to begin the enumerations of
the various Henry Percies from the time they became Lords of Alnwick. It
was, then, Henry Percy the second, Lord of Alnwick, who began the
re-building of the castle; he also was jointly responsible for the
safety of the realm during the absence of Edward III. in the French
wars, and in this official capacity, no less than in that of a Border
baron whose delight it was to exchange lusty blows with an ever-ready
foe, he helped to win the battle of Neville's Cross. His son, Henry,
married a sister of John of Gaunt, and their son, the next Henry Percy,
was that friend who stood John Wycliffe in such good stead, when he was
cited to appear before the Bishop of London. Henry Percy, who had been
made Earl Marshal of England, and the Duke of Lancaster took their
places one on each side of Wycliffe, and accompanied him to St. Paul's,
clearing a way for him through the crowd. It does not belong to this
story to tell how their private quarrels with the Bishop prevented
Wycliffe's interrogation, and how he left the Cathedral without having
uttered a word; we are concerned at the moment with his North-country
friend, who, the same year, was created Earl of Northumberland, which
title he was given after the coronation of Richard II. Nor was this all,
for he was that Northumberland whose doings in the next reign fill so
large a part of Shakespeare's Henry IV., and