Occasionally, however, in the case of
prisoners of importance, monarchs deemed it necessary, for political
reasons, to forbid the ransom of prisoners.
The Scottish nobles were as indignant as the Percys. They had regarded
it as a matter of course that they would be shortly liberated. Their
ransom, however heavy, would be soon forthcoming; for it was one of the
conditions on which land was held that, in case of the lord being taken
prisoner, each of his tenants must contribute largely, in proportion to
his holding, towards the payment of his ransom.
The order of the king clearly meant that they were to be taken to
London and held there as hostages, perhaps for years; and so not only
to ensure England against another invasion, but to further any designs
of conquest that the king might entertain. With three of the great
earls of Scotland--one of them the son of the Regent--and Douglas, the
military leader of the Scots, in his hands; and with the Earl of Dunbar
as his ally, Scotland would be practically at his mercy.
An important meeting was held at Alnwick, at which the Scottish nobles,
the Earl of Northumberland, and Hotspur were alone present, and here
matters of vital interest to the kingdom were arranged.
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