John gave his consent? What was its nature? Describe the franchises of the towns which it protected.

18. What was the most important feature of the great charter? Try to give an account of the reasons why trial by jury was so important and beneficial. Did King John sincerely intend to adhere to the great charter? Describe the circumstances of his death.

19. What improvements in commerce took place at this time? What was the state of trade in Scotland? Did the dwellings of the poor people improve as much as those of the rich? Describe the Norman castles.

20. Give an account of what William the Conqueror and his successors did for learning. When were the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford founded? What were the two classes into which the studies of young men were at that time divided?

CHAPTER XII.

ENGLAND FROM THE ACCESSION OF HENRY III. TO THE DEATH OF EDWARD II., A. D. 1216-1327.

Henry III.-Prince Louis returns to France-Rivalry of Peter des Roches and Hubert de Burgh-Parliament refuses Supplies-Solemn Confirmation of the Great Charter-Mad Parliament-Representative System— The Three Estates-Battle of Evesham-Edward I.-Attempt on his Life at Jaffa-Invasion of Wales-Scottish and French Wars-Oppressions of the Jews-Edward II.-Piers de Gaveston-The Ordainers-Gaveston's Execution-Unsuccessful War in Scotland-Progress of Edward Bruce in Ireland-Hugh Despenser-The Fate of Lancaster-Coalition against Edward-Death of the Despensers-Murder of the King at Berkeley Castle.

Henry III., A. D. 1216-1272.

1. Ar the death of John, the city of London and all the southern counties of England acknowledged the authority of Prince Louis of France; and in the north his cause, though not triumphant, was the more popular. The barons, however, who had not abandoned King John, adopted as their monarch his son, the youthful Henry of Winchester, then only ten years old. They were more conversant than Louis with the constitutional customs of the country, and knew that the people would not acknowledge Henry as their sovereign until he was crowned, and had taken the coronation oath. They accordingly led him to Gloucester, and in the cathedral of that city, in presence of the cardinal legate Gualo, and the bishops of Winchester, Exeter, and Bath, placed on the head of the royal child a circle of gold, a temporary substitute for the diadem which John had lost in the sands of the Wash, and

Oct. 28, received from the new king an oath of fealty to the 1216. Holy See. In the following November, a great council } was held at Bristol, where the Earl of Pembroke, the marshal of England, was chosen Protector, with the title of Rector Regis et Regni (governor of the king and kingdom). Here also the Great Charter was revised and confirmed, its articles being reduced from sixty-one to forty-two.

Prince Louis soon discovered that John's death was not so favourable to him as he had hoped. The youth and innocence of Henry III. captivated the affections of the English, while the arrogance of the French daily added to their unpopularity. The clergy, in obedience to Gualo's orders, read every Sunday and holiday the sentence of excommunication fulminated by the pope against the partisans of Louis; and in a brief space the king's party became so formidable that the French prince was compelled to raise the siege of Dover, which had been valiantly defended by Hubert de Burgh. The Tower of London, however, was surrendered to him not long after, and he reduced the castles of Hertford and Berkhampstead. In the following year, the French cause became desperate, and Louis, cooped up within the walls of London, was glad to propose terms of accommodation, by which an amnesty was granted to all the English barons who had espoused his interests, the prisoners on both sides were released, and the privileges of London, as well as of all other cities and boroughs, were confirmed. Louis then set sail for France with his foreign associates, but was so poor that he was obliged to borrow money from the citizens of London to defray the expenses of his journey (1217).

Peter des Roches, bishop of Winchester, a Poitevin by birth, and the high-justiciary Hubert de Burgh, had succeeded to the government of the kingdom on the death of Pembroke. These two ministers were jealous of each other; but the legate Pandulph held the balance between them. This cardinal succeeded in establishing peace on the Welsh frontier, in negotiating a treaty between England and Scotland, in marrying Joanna, Henry's eldest sister, to Alexander, king of Scotland, and in obtaining from the latter for De Burgh the hand of one of the Scottish princesses who had been delivered to John, and who had ever since remained in England. In 1223, Henry III. was declared of age, and Des Roches, baffled in all his attempts to overthrow his rival, concealed his discomfiture by a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

2. The year 1225 is memorable in the history of the English constitution. As war had become necessary for the recovery of Guienne and Poitou, which Louis VIII. had overrun, a parliament was summoned at Westminster, from which De Burgh demanded the necessary supplies. At first the assembly would give nothing, but afterwards consented to grant a fifteenth of all movable property, on condition that Henry should ratify the two charters. With this the king immediately complied, and an army was sent into Guienne; but the papal legate interfered, and a truce for a year was entered into. In 1229, when the war was renewed, failure and disgrace attended the English army in France. Henry had wasted his time and his means in feasting and idle pageantry, and having again demanded supplies from his barons, they refused on the ground of his thoughtlessness and extravagance.

De Burgh's fall was now at hand. Though beloved by the people, the barons envied his power, and the king cast a longing eye on his wealth. His former rival Peter des Roches soon returned, and Hubert was accused of winning the king's affections by magic and enchantments. The fallen minister sought an asylum from his enemies at Merton Abbey, and afterwards in a church at Brentwood in Essex, where he took his station near the altar, with a crucifix in one hand and a consecrated wafer in the other. But his enemies, disregarding the sanctity of the place, dragged him forth, and having bound him naked upon a horse, they conveyed him to the Tower. As soon as this violation of the sanctuary was known, the bishops took the alarm, and the king was constrained to order De Burgh to be carried back to Brentwood church. To prevent his escape, however, the sheriff of the county was commanded to dig a deep trench round the building, and to enclose it with palisades; and after forty days' confinement, Hubert was obliged to surrender and stand his trial. He was sentenced to forfeit all his property, except what he inherited from his family, and to be confined in Dover Castle. About a year afterwards he escaped, and joined the insurgent nobles in Wales, who readily availed themselves of the co-operation of so able a man. At length peace was made between the king and the barons, when Hubert's estates were restored; but he never afterwards took a prominent part in the govern

ment.

3. Peter des Roches and his Poitevins were now triumph

ant, while foreign adventurers crowded the court and filled every office of trust and importance. The barons again had recourse to arms; but dissension prevented their success. Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, now took up the national cause, and threatened to excommunicate the king if he did not immediately banish Des Roches and his associates. Henry complied, and dismissed the foreigners; but having married Eleanor of Provence in 1236, fresh hordes followed her to England. One of her uncles became prime minister, another archbishop of Canterbury, and a third guardian of Earl Warenne. Henry's four half-brothers were loaded with honours and riches; and his noble English wards were married to portionless Provençal damsels. But he was still poor, and could only obtain supplies by promising to dismiss every foreigner, and redress a long list of grievances. But no promises or oaths could bind him, and his unpopularity reached its height through the disgraceful defeats he suffered in 1242 in the French war. Parliament now refused any further supplies, and Henry resorted to the most tyrannical means of replenishing his exhausted treasury. At length, all other resources failing, he was compelled to assemble a parliament in 1253, when the barons insisted on a solemn confirmation of their liberties. They met in Westminster Hall, the bishops and abbots arrayed in their canonical robes, and each one holding a lighted taper in his hand. The Archbishop of Canterbury stood forth, and denounced excommunication against all who should infringe the charters of the kingdom, directly or indirectly, and, as he concluded, the surrounding prelates and dignitaries dashed their tapers on the ground, exclaiming, "May the soul of every one who incurs this sentence so stink and be extinguished in hell." To this the king added: "So help me God! I will keep these charters inviolate as I am a man, as I am a Christian, as I am a knight, as I am a king!" Even this solemn promise failed to bind him, and in 1258 the barons met in parliament in complete armour, and compelled the king to intrust the powers of government to a committee of their own body, with authority to extirpate abuses and enact good laws. The meeting was adjourned to Oxford, when, on the 11th of June, the "Mad Parliament," as it was called, appointed a committee of twenty-four; one half nominated by the barons, the other by the king. Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, was placed at the head of the new council. This nobleman was a for

eigner, the youngest son of that Count de Montfort who led a crusade against the Albigenses. In right of his mother Amicia he had succeeded to the earldom of Leicester, and after his marriage with Eleanor, dowager countess of Pembroke, and sister of the king, he set himself in decided opposition to the cncroachments of the foreign favourites. He was the most popular man of his day, the nobles, clergy, and people alike regarding him with favour. This led to his banishment from court, but his popularity nevertheless increased as that of the king declined.

4. THE REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM.-After nominating the committee of twenty-four, parliament enacted that four knights should be elected by the freeholders of each county to lay before parliament all breaches of law and justice that might occur, that a new sheriff should be annually chosen by the freeholders of each county, and that three sessions of parliament should be held regularly every year. But the jealousy of the barons, the intrigues of the court, and the rivalry between Leicester and the Earl of Gloucester, the king's brother, neutralized the benefits to be derived from these acts. The proceedings, however, were of the greatest importance in the history of the English constitution, as they may be called the origin of the representative system, which is the soul of our parliamentary legislation. Almost from the time of the Conqueror the great barons used to assemble to give advice to the monarch, and to offer him pecuniary aids; and it has been said that the smaller barons chose representatives even before the time of Henry III.; but it is to the barons under De Montfort that we owe the thorough establishment of the practice. It was under his authority, too, that the system was extended to the towns, and that the burgesses became a part of the legislative power, by choosing representatives to parliament.

Having been released by the pope from his oath to observe the provisions of Oxford, and taking advantage of a division among the barons, Henry endeavoured to free himself from their control, and escape from the fulfilment of his solemn obligations, which gave rise to a civil war in 1261. It was for a time suspended, while the differences of the contending parties were submitted to the arbitration of the French king in 1264; but it was soon renewed, and carried on with greater fury than ever, till the decisive victory gained by the barons at Lewes placed the king and his son entirely in their power.