ople by the glorious King, Saint Edward,
your predecessor?" "I grant and promise them," was the royal answer.
"Sire, will you preserve, towards God and holy Church, and to the clergy
and people, peace and concord in God, fully, according to your power?"
"I will keep them," said the King. "Sire, will you in all your
judgments do equal and righteous justice and discretion, in mercy and
truth, according to your power?" "I will so do." "Sire, will you
grant, to be held and kept, the righteous laws and customs which the
commonalty of your realm shall choose, and defend them, and enforce them
to the honour of God and according to your power?" King Edward's answer
was, "I grant and promise them." Twenty years later, chiefly by the
machinations of his wicked wife, aided by the blinded populace whom she
had diligently misled, Edward was _deposed_ at Kenilworth, January 20,
1327; and after being hurried from place to place, he was at last
_murdered_ in Berkeley Castle, September 21, 1327, and _buried_ in
Gloucester Cathedral on December 20th.

In the companion volume, _In All Time of our Tribulation_, will be found
the story, as told by the chroniclers, of his burial by the Abbot and
monks of Gloucester. The Wardrobe Accounts, however, are found to throw
considerable doubt upon this tale. We find from them, that the Bishop
of Llandaff, three knights, a priest, and four lesser officials, were
sent by the young King "to dwell at Gloucester with the corpse of the
said King his father," which was taken from Berkeley Castle to
Gloucester Abbey on October 21st. (_Compotus Hugonis de Glaunvill_,
Wardrobe Accounts, 1 Edward the Third, 58/4). For the funeral were
provided:--Three robes for knights, 2 shillings 8 pence each; 8 tunics
for ditto, 14 pence each; four great lions of gilt picture-work, with
shields of the King's arms over them, for wax mortars [square basins
filled with wax, a wick being in the midst], placed in four parts of the
hearse; four images of the Evangelists standing on the hearse, 66
shillings, 8 pence; eight incensing angels with gilt thuribles, and two
great leopards rampant, otherwise called volant, nobly gilt, standing
outside the hearse, 66 shillings, 8 pence... An empty tun, to carry the
said images to Gloucester, 21 shillings... Taking the great hearse from
London to Gloucester, in December, 5 days' journey; for wax, canvas,
napery, etcetera. Wages of John Darcy, appointed to superintend the
funer