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Thomas Somerville, says in his "Life and Times": "I am a descendant of the ancient family of Somerville of Cambusnethan, which was a branch of the Somervilles of Drum, ennobled in the year 1424. Upon the death of George Somerville, of Corhouse, fifty years ago, I became the only male representative of the family."
Ambitious nobles aspired to the kingship, but their efforts were vain. The army of the iron flail quickly put an end to all such hopes. In 1423 Ziska invaded Moravia and Austria, to keep his troops employed, and lost severely in doing so. In 1424 his enemies at home again made head against him, led an army into the field, and pursued him to Kuttenberg.
He was in the first place the representative of the third son of Edward III.; on the death of his cousin the Earl of March, in 1424, he became heir to that property and title. He was Duke of York, Earl of March, and Earl of Rutland, in England; Earl of Ulster and Earl of Cork, Lord of Connaught, Clare, Meath, and Trim, in Ireland.
The French cardinals protested against the election, and created Robert of Geneva pope, under the title of Clement VII., who established himself at Avignon. Urban had three successors, the last of whom was Gregory XII. The Avignon pope was followed by Benedict XIII., who maintained his claim to the papal chair till his death in 1424.
Twenty-one years were devoted to their making, by Ghiberti and his assistants, with the stipulation that all figures in the design were to be personal work of the master, the assistants only attending to secondary details. The doors were in place in April, 1424. The competition for the Baptistery doors reads like a romance, and is familiar to most people who know anything of historic art.
But now he met a conquering enemy against whose arms there was no defence. Death encountered him on the route, and carried him off October 12, 1424. Thus ends the story of an extraordinary man, and the history of a series of remarkable events.
At Crevant-sur-Yonne, on the 31st of July, 1423, and at Verneuil, in Normandy, on the 17th of August, 1424, the French were beaten, and their faithful allies, the Scots, suffered considerable loss. In the latter affair, however, several Norman lords deserted the English flag, refusing to fight against the King of France.
In 1424, the year after James's return, a tax of twelvepence in the pound was imposed by the Parliament at Perth, for the maintenance of the King's state and payment of his ransom, upon all goods, lands, and annual revenues of whatever description, both spiritual and temporal, which was passed with the consent of the estates, no doubt under the stimulus of the general rejoicing at the King's return.
Such considerations however had little weight with Humphrey; and in October 1424 he set sail for Calais without their knowledge with a body of five thousand men. In a few months he succeeded in restoring Hainault to Jacqueline, and Philip at once grew lukewarm in his adherence to the English cause.
'To our right trusty and well-beloved Cousin the Lord Malcolm Stewart of Glenuskie this letter be taken. 'We greet you well, and pray you to come to us without loss of time, having need of you, we being a free man and no captive. 'Yours, 'JAMES R. 'Written at the Castle of Windsor this St. David's Day, 1424.
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