Up to John's reign many barons continued to hold large estates in
Normandy, in addition to those they had acquired in England; hence
their interests were divided between the two countries. Through war
John lost his French possessions (S191). Henceforth the barons shut
out from Normandy came to look upon England as their true home. From
Henry II's reign the Normans and the English had been gradually
mingling; from this time they became practically one people. John's
tyranny and cruelty brought their union into sharp, decisive action.
The result of his greed for money, and his defiance of all law, was a
tremendous insurrection. Before this time the people had always taken
the side of the King against the barons; now, with equal reason, they
turned about and rose with the barons against the King.
Under the guidance of Archbishop Langton, barons, clergy, and people
demanded reform. The Archbishop brought out the half-forgotten
charter of Henry I (S135, note 1). This now furnished a model for
Magna Carta, or the "Great Charter of the Liberties of England."[2]
[2] Magna Carta: see SS195-202; and see Constitutional Documents,
p.xxix.
It contained nothing that was new in principle. It was simply a
clearer, fuller, stronger statement of those "rights of Englishmen
which were already old."
John, though wild with rage, did not dare refuse to affix his royal
seal to the Great Charter of 1215. By doing so he solemnly
guaranteed: (1) the rights of the Church; (2) those of the barons;
(3) those of all freemen; (4) those of the villeins, or farm
laborers. The value of this charter to the people at large is shown
by the fact that nearly one third of its sixty-three articles were
inserted in their behhalf. Of these articles the most important was
that which declared that no man should be deprived of liberty or
property, or injured in body or estate, save by the judgment of his
equals or by the law of the land.
In regard to taxation, the Charter provided that, except the customary
feudal "aids,"[3] none should be levied unless by the consent of the
National Council. Finally, the Charter expressly provided that
twenty-five barons--one of whom was mayor of London--should be
appointed to compel the King to carry out his agreement.
[3] For the three customary feudal aids, see S150.
11. Henry III and the Great Charter; the Forest Charter; Provisions of
Oxford; Rise of the House of Commons; Important Land Laws.
Under Henry III the Great Charter was reissued. But the important
articles which forbade the King to levy taxes except by consent of the
National Council, together with some others restricting his power to
increase his revenue, were dropped, and never again restored.[1]
[1] See Stubbs's "Select Charters" (Edward I), p.484; but compare note
I, p.443.
On the other hand, Henry was obliged to issue a Forest Charter, based
on certain articles of Magna Carta, which declared that no man should
lose life or limb for hunting in the royal forests.
Though the Great Charter was now shorn of some of its safeguards to
liberty, yet it was still so highly prized that its confirmation was
purchased at a high price from successive sovereigns. Down to the
second year of Henry VI's reign (1423) we find that it had been
confirmed no less than thirty-seven times.
Notwithstanding his solemn oath (S210), the vain and worthless
Henry III deliberately violated the provisions of the Charter, in
order to raise money to waste in his foolish foreign wars or on his
court circle of French favorites.
Finally (1258), a body of armed barons, led by Simon de Montfort, Earl
of Leicester, forced the King to summon a Parliament at Oxford. There
a scheme of reform, called the "Provisions of Oxford," was adopted
(S209). By these Provisions, which Henry swore to observe, the
government was practically taken out of the King's hands,--at least as
far as he had power to do mischief,--and entrusted to certain councils
or committees of state.
A few years later, Henry refused to abide by the Provisions of Oxford,
and civil war broke out. De Montfort, Earl of Leicester, gained a
decisive victory at Lewes, and captured the King. The Earl then
summoned a National Council, made up of those who favored his policy
of reform (S213). This was the famous Parliamnet of 1265. To it De
Montfort summoned: (1) a small number of barons; (2) a large number of
the higher clergy; (3) two knights, or country gentlemen, from each
shire; (4) two burghers, or citizens, from every town.
The knights of the shire had been summoned to Parliamnet before;[2]
but this was the first time that the towns had been invited to send
representatives. By that act the Earl set the example of giving the
people at large a fuller share in the government than they had yet
had. To De Montfort, therefore, justly belongs the glory of being
"the founder of the House of Commons." His work, however, was
defective (S213); and owing, perhaps, to his death shortly afterwards
at the battle of Evesham (1265), the regular and continuous
representation of the towns did not begin until thirty years later.
[2] They were first summoned by John in 1213.
Meanwhile, 1279-1290, three land laws of great importance were
enacted. The first limited the acquisition of landed property by the
Church;[3] the second encouraged the transmission of land by will to
the eldest son, thus keeping estates together instead of breaking them
up among several heirs;[1] the third made purchasers of estates the
direct feudal tenants of the King.[2] The object of these three laws
was to prevent landholders from evading their feudal obligations;
hency they decidedly strengthened the royal power.[3]
[3] Statute of Mortmain (1279): see S226; it was especially directed
against the acquisition of land by monasteries.
[1] Statute De Donis Conditionalibus or Entail (Westminster II) (1285):
see S225.
[2] During the same period the Statute of Winchester (1285)
reorganized the national militia and the police system (S224).