must now be mentioned. Those which were of most general national
interest were the First Statute of Westminster, which, as has been
before said, revived and re-established the old constitutions of
the country, and limited the employment of feudal aids; and the
Statute of Winchester, passed in 1285, which was a re-enactment
and completion of the Assize of Arms established by Henry II., and
aimed at once at the defence and police of the country. It laid
upon the counties, under heavy penalties, the duty of indicting
felons and robbers, ordered the police arrangements of walled
towns, the enlargement and clearing of the edges of public roads,
and further defined the arms which each class of the population
was bound to procure for the preservation of the land. Constables
and justices were to be appointed to see to the proper observance
of this statute, from whom subsequently grew the justices of the
peace. Some such statute was indeed very necessary, and even its
stringent provisions were not sufficient to establish order. In
1305, England was full of riotous outlaws, who were willing to
hire themselves out for purposes of private outrage when they were
not plying their own trade of robbery; these were known by the
name of “trail-bâtons.” To suppress them it was found necessary to
issue commissions to travelling justices, empowering them to act
summarily towards such breakers of the peace. Their strictness is
mentioned in the political songs of the day. It was impossible,
it was said, any longer to beat your children, you were at once
punished as a trail-bâton.[54] Even the stringency of these
measures of suppression mark Edward’s love of order. Lastly, must
be mentioned the great Acts for the confirmation of the charters,
which are sometimes regarded as the statute “De tallagio non
concedendo.” From this time forward arbitrary tallages, though
occasionally used, began to be regarded as illegal.
There were also two great statutes bearing almost entirely upon the
feudal relations of landed proprietors. The first was the statute
of “Quia Emptores” (1290), which forbad subinfeudation and the
formation of new manors. Its original object was to prevent feudal
lords from being defrauded of their dues. Henceforward, property
alienated ceased to belong in any sense to the subordinate grantor,
and returned to the property of the lord superior of the whole
estate. The effect, unforeseen by the enacters, was to increase the
number of independent gentry holding immediately from the crown or
from the great lords. The second statute is known by the name of
the Second Statute of Westminster, or “De donis conditionalibus.”
When an estate had been given to a man and to his children, it had
hitherto been held sufficient that the child should be born. The
estate had then become the absolute property of the man to whom it
had been granted, and he could alienate it at his will. It was now
enacted that he had but a life interest in it, that if his children
were not living at his death, it reverted to the original grantor.
Thus was established the power of entail. There remains one great
statute to be mentioned, the Statute of Mortmain. This was aimed
against the increasing power and wealth of the Church, and against
a legal trick by which laymen had freed themselves from feudal
liabilities. It had become a custom to give property to the Church
and to receive it back as tenant of the Church, thus freed from
obligation to lay superiors. At the same time, even though this
device was not used, the accumulation of property in the hands of
the Church withdrew it from many feudal duties. It passed, it was
said, “in mortuam manum”--into a dead hand. All transactions by
which lands or tenements could in any way pass into mortmain were
now forbidden. The same spirit which produced these laws had been
felt in the administration of justice, where the three courts of
Exchequer, King’s Bench and Common Pleas were finally separated,
and each provided with a full staff of officials. Even from this
short sketch of the work of Edward I. may be gathered the great
constitutional importance of the reign.
EDWARD II.
1307-1327.
Born 1284 = Isabella of France.
|
+-----------+------------+--+-----------------+
| | | |
Edward III. John, Earl of Joan = David II. Eleanor = Duke of
Cornwall. Gueldres.
CONTEMPORARY PRINCES.
_Scotland._ | _France._ | _Germany._ | _Spain._
| | |
Robert I., 1306. | Philip IV., 1285. | Albert, 1298. | Ferdinand IV.,
| Louis X., 1314. | Henry VII., 1308. | 1295.
| Philip V., 1316. | Louis IV., 1313. | Alphonso XI.,
| Charles IV., 1322. | | 1312.
POPES.--Clement V., 1305. Vacancy for two years. John XXII., 1316.
_Archbishops._ | _Chancellors._
|
Robert of Winchelsea, | John Langton, 1307. John de Salmon, 1320.
1308-1313. | Walter Reynolds, 1310. Robert de Baldock, 1323.
Walter Reynolds, | John de Sandale, 1314. Adam de Orleton, 1327.
1313-1327. | John de Hotham, 1318.
_Note._--The names of the Justiciaries, who now became legal
rather than political officers, are no longer given. Throughout,
the names under the head of Spain are those of the Kings of
Castile.
The reign of Edward II. affords the best apology for any excessive
exertions of power which can be laid to the charge of Edward I.
It is plain that there existed a readiness on the part of the
nobles to take advantage of any weakness in the government of their
ruler; on the part of the clergy to reclaim the liberties of their
order; and of the lower classes to find a popular hero in every
opponent of the government. It would seem indeed that there was no
alternative between a strong and practically despotic government
and anarchy. It was not till the feudal barons of England had had
their fill of anarchy in the Wars of the Roses, and had destroyed
themselves, that constitutional government, in our sense of the
word, had a chance of existence, and our sympathies are constantly
divided between the Church and barons, whose efforts alone promised
freedom, and the power of the encroaching ruler, who alone ensured
order. For the weakling who could secure neither one nor the other
we can feel no sympathy. In the reign of Edward II. we feel as
if we had fallen back again to the time of his grandfather. The
great question at issue throughout is the same--Shall foreigners,
or indeed any other king-chosen favourites, supersede the national
oligarchy of great barons? The constant prominence of this question
(which in the present reign was further embittered by the personal
character of one at least of the favourites) renders it very
difficult to distinguish the part played by real patriotic demands
for good government and for constitutional limits to the royal
power. It is pretty clear that the favourites were the chief cause
of the disturbances of the reign; but, on the other hand, the
evident advantages offered by some of the baronial claims, and the
love of the populace, who ranked even Lancaster with its saints,
compel us to believe that these turbulent disturbers of the peace
were worthy of some sympathy.
[Sidenote: Edward’s friendship for Gaveston.]
[Sidenote: Barons demand his dismissal. March 3, 1308.]
When the late King died in the neighbourhood of Carlisle, he
believed that the war with Scotland would have been carried on by
his son, of whom he was very fond; while he thought he had secured
him from that danger which he had already foreseen would beset
his reign, by insisting on the dismissal of his favourite, Piers
Gaveston. Gaveston was a young man of Gascon or Basque origin, of
greater refinement apparently than the rough barons of England,
their equal, if not their superior, in martial exercises, and
possessing those courtly tastes for music and the arts which marked
the young King. But Edward disappointed his father’s hopes. He
had already (before his father had insisted on the dismissal of
Gaveston) gone so far as to beg for him, though in vain, the royal
county of Ponthieu. On his father’s death he immediately recalled
him. A hasty and ineffectual march into Scotland, where Aymer de
Valence was left as lieutenant, was all that came of the great
preparations at Carlisle, and the King’s mind seemed to be occupied
in lavishing favours on his friend. He gave him the Earldom of
Cornwall, hitherto an appanage of some royal prince. He seized the
property of Walter, Bishop of Lichfield, who in the late reign
had opposed him in his office as treasurer, and bestowed it on
Gaveston; and after that young man had, by his ostentation, by his
success in the lists, and by a reckless use of his happy gift of
applying nicknames, excited the anger of the great nobles, Edward
was foolish enough, on leaving England to do homage for his French
dominions, to leave him as Governor of the country. Consequently,
no sooner was he crowned than the Barons demanded in Parliament the
dismissal of the favourite. The demand could not be refused, and
Edward promised to accede to it, but proved at the same time how
determined he was to evade his promise, by not only bestowing fresh
grants on Gaveston, but by appointing him Lord Deputy of Ireland.
There for a year he reigned with almost royal power.
[Sidenote: Gaveston’s return.]
The quarrel thus begun became the chief question of the reign. All
other matters, even the conquest of Scotland, were subordinated
to it; and while it was continuing, Bruce was quietly subduing
fortress after fortress, and subjugating the whole south of
Scotland. In the following year, the King still further showed his
untrustworthiness by receiving Gaveston back in England. He met
him with great marks of affection at Chester, having probably had
recourse already to that dangerous expedient, a Papal dispensation
from his promises. In fact, again like his grandfather, Edward
found it expedient throughout his reign to keep on very friendly
terms with the Pope, and to back his authority by the undefined
power which the Head of the Church still wielded. It has been seen
how even his great father was unable to resist this temptation.
Clement V., an obsequious servant of the French King, and reigning
at Avignon, was very different from the formidable Boniface
VIII. There was no difficulty in persuading him to renew the old
alliance with the sovereign which placed the Church at his mercy.
Moreover, at this time he was anxious, in the interests of his
master, to procure Edward’s co-operation in the unprincipled
destruction of the order of the Temple. Philip IV. of France,
urged by an avaricious desire to confiscate the vast property of
this order, had set on foot the most extraordinary reports of
their licentiousness and blasphemy. In October 1307, all their
establishments were laid hands on, the inmates imprisoned, their
wealth confiscated. He then, in union with the Pope, begged all
his neighbours to adopt a similar course. Edward II. consented,
and in January 1308, all the Templars in England were imprisoned.
They were tried by the Church on the accusation of the Pope. In
France, torture, and the skill of Philip’s lawyers, had produced
certain confessions, on which the King acted, and the Order was
there destroyed, its Grand Master, James de Molé, being burnt
as a heretic. In England, not even torture, which was now first
used,[55] could produce any important revelations. The inquiries
lasted till 1311. Eventually, certain supposed proofs of heterodoxy
having been produced, some of the Knights were confined in
monasteries, the Order suppressed, and their property given to the
Hospitallers.
[Sidenote: General discontent and Statute of Stamford.]
[Sidenote: Appointment of the Lords Ordainers.]
The effect of Gaveston’s return, and the renewal of Papal
influence, was of course to increase the discontent, till, on
the 27th of July, at a Parliament held at Stamford, the King was
compelled to give his consent to a statute of reform. By this the
first Statute of Westminster was renewed, the undue power exercised
by the constables of the royal castles, and the extortions of the
officers of the royal household, were checked; all old taxes upon
wool and hides beyond the legal customs were removed; while, at the
same time, a general letter was directed to the Pope, begging him
to abstain from his exactions. The storm continued to rise. Very
shortly after this, the great Earls of Lancaster, Lincoln, Warwick,
and others, refused to appear at a meeting at York, if Gaveston
were present. A meeting summoned in London at the beginning of the
following year met with no better success. The Barons threatened
to appear in arms if they appeared at all. The King, in fear,
concealed Gaveston for a time; the Barons then indeed came, but
came only to demand a complete reformation in the government, to
which the King was compelled to give his consent. The precedent in
his grandfather’s reign was then followed. From the present March
to Michaelmas of the following year the government was placed
in the hands of a commission of twenty-one members, who were to
produce ordinances of general reform. Pending the production
of these ordinances, some preliminary articles were at once
established. For the payment of the King’s debts grants were to
be recalled, and his expensive housekeeping was to be limited.
To satisfy the national feeling, and in the hope of lightening
the taxes, the Italian house of the Frescobaldi, who had hitherto
farmed them, was to be deprived of that advantage, and Englishmen
alone were to be employed in their collection; and before all
things, the charters of liberty were to be observed.
[Sidenote: Useless assault on Scotland. 1311.]
[Sidenote: The Ordinances published.]
[Sidenote: Policy of the opposition.]
[Sidenote: Gaveston banished.]
Hoping, probably, to gain popularity for himself and his favourite,
and to be thus able to get rid of the Barons’ interference, Edward
determined on an expedition to Scotland; but the great Barons, on
the plea that they were busied with their ordinances, refused to
accompany him. Some of his immediate adherents, such as Gloucester,
Warrenne, his half-brother, Thomas, Earl of Norfolk,[56] and
Gaveston, alone went with him. His hopes of gaining popularity by
victory were disappointed. The Scotch retired before him. Though
Gaveston crossed the Forth, he could not bring on an engagement;
and when the English retreated, the Scotch hung upon their rear,
and pursued their advantages into the county of Durham. In his
necessity, the King was driven to illegal actions. He appropriated
the property of the Earl of Lincoln and of the Bishop of Durham,
and taxed the province of Canterbury. The Parliament, therefore,
was in no improved temper when Edward, leaving Gaveston in the
protection of Lady de Vescy, went to meet it in London in October.
The Ordinances were there produced. In addition to the articles
already granted, there were others which seem to explain the policy
of the opposition, and to show the chief forms of misgovernment at
that time prevalent. No war was to be carried on without consent
of Parliament;--taken in connection with the conduct of Bohun
and Bigod in the last reign, with the abstention of the Barons
from the war with Scotland, and with the treaty between Bruce and
Lancaster, which will be afterwards mentioned, this seems to show
that the Barons desired a complete settlement of England before
engaging in foreign wars. All taxes upon wool and other exports
since the coronation of Edward I. were to be removed:--the Barons
seem to have seen that export duties are a tax on production, and
are advantageous in the long run to foreign manufactures only.
The great officers of state were to be nominated with consent of
Parliament; while, to complete the system, the sheriffs, whom
Edward I. had made elective, were to be nominated by these great
officers; in other words, the royal power was to be restricted by
a baronial oligarchy. Parliament was to be held at least once a
year, which, considering that his father had held at least three
Parliaments a year, seems to show a tendency on the part of the
King to arbitrary government. Bad companions were to be removed
from the King, and his household reformed. Many of these companions
are mentioned by name, and appear to have been foreigners. The
King’s tastes had collected around him foreigners connected with
display of the arts, and on them he had lavished favours, which
excited the national feeling. But the chief attack after all was
upon Gaveston, his countryman De Beaumont, and his sister, Lady de
Vescy. It was ordered that Gaveston should leave the kingdom by the
port of Dover on the 1st of November, and never again enter any
territory belonging to the English Crown.[57]
[Sidenote: His reappearance with the King. 1312.]
[Sidenote: The baronial chiefs.]
[Sidenote: Gaveston beheaded at Warwick.]
In pursuance of these Ordinances, Gaveston left England, and
took refuge in Flanders. But before the year was over he again
appeared in England, and joined Edward as he hurried to the North,
to be, as he believed, less within the reach of his enemies. At
Knaresborough, Edward thought himself strong enough to put forward
a proclamation declaring the banishment of Gaveston contrary to the
Constitution. He readmitted him to favour, and restored him his
property. It was even reported that he was intriguing to secure
him a retreat in Scotland. This flagrant violation of his word set
all England against the King. The old Archbishop Winchelsea of
Canterbury, as in the last reign, became a centre of revolution; he
excommunicated Gaveston, while the Barons, at the head of whom were
now the Earls of Lancaster and Hereford, proceeded to take active
measures. This Lancaster was the eldest son of Edmund, brother
of Edward I. His power in England was enormous; he was Earl of
five counties. From his father he had received Lancaster and the
confiscated estates of De Montfort and Ferrers, the Earldoms namely
of Leicester and Derby; he had married the heiress of the De Lacys,
and upon the death of the Earl of Lincoln had succeeded to the
Earldoms of Lincoln and Salisbury. He began that opposition, which
will be frequently mentioned afterwards, of the younger branch of
the Plantagenets to the reigning house. Hereford, the son of the
great Humphrey Bohun, was the hereditary chief of the baronial
party. He had married Elizabeth, the King’s sister. The leaders of
the baronial party agreed to repair to those parts of England where
they had most influence. Lancaster proceeded northwards so rapidly,
that the King had to fly before him, and was nearly captured at
Newcastle, where Gaveston’s jewels and horses fell into Lancaster’s
hands, and thence he took ship for Scarborough. Lancaster took
up his position in the middle of England, while the rest of the
baronial party besieged Gaveston in that fortress, where he was
soon obliged to surrender. This he did to the Earl of Pembroke,
who was no enemy to the King, upon a promise that if he could not
come to terms with the Barons he should be restored to Scarborough.
Pembroke persuaded him to go with him to his castle at Wallingford,
but on the way, during a temporary absence of Pembroke, he was
surprised by Warwick, who hated him for having nicknamed him “The
Black Dog,” brought to his castle of Warwick, and there beheaded on
Blacklow Hill. The King was naturally full of anger, nor did he, in
fact, ever forgive Lancaster, but he yielded to necessity, being
perhaps in a particularly good humour at the birth of a son and
heir; and the Barons, who appeared in arms at Ware, all received
pardon in exchange for some slight concessions, among others for
the restoration of Gaveston’s jewels. It was not, however, till the
close of the following year that the pardons were completed, Edward
having in the meantime been to France.
[Sidenote: Renewal of war with Scotland. 1314.]
[Sidenote: Battle of Bannockburn.]
This closes the first period of the reign, but it is plain that
the Barons were not yet satisfied. Their chief enemy was removed,
but their policy was not accepted. Thus, when in 1314 the King
collected a large army, many of them still held aloof, though
they sent their forces. If Scotland was to be saved it was time
for energetic action. One by one the fortresses had been taken.
Stirling still held out, but the Governor promised to capitulate
unless relieved before St. John’s Day. By a rapid march Edward
reached the place before the fatal day. But Bruce was ready to
receive him. He had arranged his troops a little to the south and
east of the castle, with his right resting on the little brook
Bannockburn. His position was carefully prepared. His front was
partly covered by a marsh, and where this ceased and waste land
began he had dug shallow pitfalls, with a pointed stake in each,
to check the advance of the heavy cavalry, of which the English
army then consisted. His left was defended by the cliffs of the
castle. Edward Bruce commanded the right, Thomas Randolf the left,
Walter Stewart and James Douglas the centre, a small rearguard was
commanded by Bruce himself. On the eve of St. John’s the English
attempted to secure Stirling, but were beaten back by Randolf. On
the morning of the 24th of June, the Abbot of Inchaffray said mass
in the Scotch army. As they knelt, Edward exclaimed, “See, they
beg pardon.” But Ingram of Umfranville, a Scotch nobleman, by his
side, replied, “Yes, sire, but of Heaven, not of you.” Immediately
after this the battle began, and already the weight of the English
men-at-arms and the flights of arrows were thinning the Scotch
ranks, when Bruce fell upon the flank of the archers with his
reserve. The fortune of the day was still doubtful, when troops
were seen advancing with flying standards behind the Scotch. They
were the camp followers of Bruce’s army, who were eagerly pushing
forward to watch the fight, but the English believed it was the
arrival of reinforcements. They had already found enough to do, and
did not wait the new arrivals. The flight soon became a disorderly
rout. The horses stumbled and fell in the pitfalls or stuck fast in
the morass, and the Scotch pursued ruthlessly. With difficulty the
King, under the guidance of the Earl of Pembroke, escaped from the
field, and sought safety with a few hundred men in Dunbar, whence
he took ship to Berwick. The Earl of Gloucester, with great numbers
of Barons and Knights, were left dead upon the field, and during
the retreat the Earl of Hereford was captured at Bothwell. He was
subsequently exchanged for the Bishop of Glasgow and Bruce’s wife
and daughter, who had long been in honourable custody in England.
[Sidenote: Edward refuses to treat. Consequent disasters.]
Edward thought for a moment of renewing the war, and again summoned
a fresh army; but the condition of England rendered further
action impossible. The discontented Earls attributed the disaster
to the refusal of the King to accept the Ordinances, and to the
influence of his new favourites Beaumont and Despenser. Money,
too, was wanting; and the King’s renewed efforts to obtain it from
the clergy by means of the new Archbishop Walter were met with
firm opposition. But though war was useless, he would not listen
to Bruce’s overtures for peace, obstinately refusing to regard
that Prince in any other light than that of a rebel. The North of
England was thus left open to the fierce inroads of the Scotch.
[Sidenote: Wars in Wales and Ireland.]
[Sidenote: Edward Bruce’s invasion of Ireland.]
[Sidenote: He is crowned King. 1316.]
[Sidenote: Is killed at Dundalk.]