The lands I ought to hold

 #OTD in 1274 Edward I paid homage to Philip III in Paris for the duchy of Gascony. He used this form of words: 

 "Lord king, I do you homage for all the lands which I ought to hold of you". The conditional statement is significant. Via the Treaty of Paris in 1259, the French kings were supposed to hand over the lands of Agenais, Quercy and Saintonge to the English, as well as the three dioceses of Limoges, Cahors and Périgeuex. When Philip came to the throne, he set aside his father's promises and ignored Henry III's repeated requests for the land to be handed over. 

The new king of England, Edward I, used more forceful methods. On 8 August, just two days after swearing homage, his seneschal of Gascony took an army into Limousin and attacked Philip's vassal in the region, the Viscomtesse of Limoges. The chronicle of Limoges describes what followed: 

"The king of England's seneschal, who had come to the aid of the citizens of Limoges against the viscountess of Limoges, had a great victory over her army, between Aixe and the town of Limoges. He wounded and captured many of them, killing a nobleman and many others, without loss to him or his allies, at which the townsfolk rejoiced greatly. Moreover, they captured the banner of Gilbert de Tamines." 

Edward had been invited in by the citizens of Limoges, who wished to throw off Philip and have the King of England for overlord instead. The Gascon army was nominally led by Edward's wife, Eleanor of Castile. However, the seneschal, Luke de Tany, commanded the army on the battlefield, while Eleanor stayed in the monastery at Limoges. 

The little-known war of Limoges dwindled away into a compromise, whereby Edward was allowed to retain the homage of those citizens who wished to be English subjects. However, he was obliged to pay war damages to Philip, his overlord. This was just one of many conflicts and disputes arising from the Paris agreement, which sowed the seeds of the Hundred Years War. 

(First pic is of the remains of the Viscountess's castle at Aixe, near Limoges; second is of a psalter believed to have been commissioned by Eleanor for her favourite son, Alphonso).