III. 1242 Opposition absolute refusal of aid,' the confirmation of the charters CHAP. having usually solved the difficulty. So important was this refusal considered at the time, that a special report of the proceedings 2 was drawn up, in order of the that the barons' answer might not be forgotten. They baronage: enumerated the various occasions on which tax had been paid, and the conditions under which assent had been given. The king had not kept his promises; his confirmation of the charters was worthless. They asked, pertinently enough, what had become of the money voted five years before, and declared moreover that the king used judicial means to amerce his subjects unjustly. As for the war with France, it would be time enough to discuss that when the King of France had broken truce. In this famous protest the political principles right to know what had become of their money is advanced. clearly demanded, and the report incidentally proves not only that discussion on taxation was usual, and that a tax, instead of being merely announced, had come to be demanded, but it shows that the barons had begun to interfere even in the executive. The discussion of peace or war is a great step towards the actual exercise of executive authority. The summons to this Parliament, addressed by the king to the magnates, recognises the right, in stating that the object of their meeting is to discuss 'certain important business touching our State and that of our kingdom.'3 One would much wish to know what part Simon de Montfort took in this debate. Many barons supported the 'Contradixerunt igitur regi in faciem, nolentes amplius sic pecunia sua frustratorie spoliari.'--Matt. Par. 580. 2 Matt. Par. 581, 582; Stubbs, Sel. Ch. 359. 3 This was not however the first time the summons had taken this form, as Gneist, Verw. 302, seems to imply; see note to p. 12. CHAP. III. 1242-44 Effect on England of the struggle between Pope and Emperor. Protest of the English Church. king in the field, though they had withstood him in the council-hall, and among them, if the song already mentioned can be relied on, was Simon de Montfort.' From May 1242 till September 1243 the king was abroad. No sooner did he return than the constitutional difficulties began again. The year 1243 was an important one for England. It was the year of the accession of Innocent IV, under whom the gigantic struggle between the papacy and the empire came to its climax, and enlisted on one side or the other all the forces of the civilised world. The policy of the Church had a most important effect on the internal affairs of England, and more than any other single cause contributed to the outbreak of 1258. Innocent, immediately after his accession, made strenuous efforts to collect funds for a renewal of the conflict with the empire. The visit of the papal nuncio, Martin, who came armed with unusual powers, and enforced local contributions throughout England early in the year 1244, produced an indignant remonstrance from the English Church. The clergy, besides declaring the demand in itself unjust, in that the Emperor was not yet condemned by the voice of Christendom, set forth the evils produced by this constant drain on the national Church, whose funds ought to have been devoted to other purposes, and declared that without consent of the king and magnates, their joint patrons, they had no right to contribute at all. The spirit of the protest is intensely national; the clergy were anxious to join with the laity to protect their 1 See p. 55. Ann. Burt. 265. It is given also by Matt. Par. 535, under the year 1240, as coming from the rectors of Berkshire. III. 1242-44 difficulties opposition. common rights. In another protest,' apparently CHAP. drawn up about the same time, they appeal to the origin of the English Church and the objects for which it was endowed, while they point out the danger of an attack from the Emperor, which this subservience to Rome may cause. Nor were the Pecuniary laity backward in the struggle. The disastrous exproduce pedition to France, condemned even by the kings general partisans,2 had exhausted the private means of many. The inhabitants of the Cinque Ports had defended the coast at their own expense.3 Individual contributions, extortions from the Londoners, and the like had just sufficed to keep the Court from penury while the king remained in France. But the evil day could not be avoided; Henry appeared again as a suppliant before his Parliament. cil of 1244: union of clergy and In the autumn of 1244 the magnates assembled The counfor the usual Council at Westminster. The king opened the proceedings by putting forward his demand for an aid, and received the answer that the question should be discussed. The clergy took counsel by themselves, and, having resolved on united action, proposed to the lay magnates that they should join their forces. The barons replied that they would do nothing without consent of the whole body. Thereupon they elected a committee of twelve, four from Matt. Par. 622. 2 T. Wikes, 90. pecunia.' $ Fœd. i. 250. Matt. Par. 600. 'Consumpta inutiliter, ut assolet, innumerabili 'Secundum voluntatem et æstimationem extor torum pecuniam civium mutilarunt.' • The chronology is much confused here, but it appears probable that this council was held between the end of August and the middle of November-such at least is the verdict of Prof. Stubbs, Const. Hist. ii. 61, note 3. See Matt. Par. 639 seq. laity. CHAP. 1244-45 Parliamentary each of the three bodies into which the council appears to have been theoretically divided.' There were four earls: those of Cornwall, Leicester, Norfolk, and Pembroke. From the corresponding class of the opposition: clergy there were four chosen: the Archbishop-elect of Canterbury, and the Bishops of Winchester, Lincoln, and Worcester. Of the baronage, lay and ecclesiastical, appeared two abbots and two lay barons. It was resolved that what the twelve thought best should be explained to the whole body, and that the twelve should enter into no negotiation with the protest and king but by consent of all. A formal complaint was then drawn up, stating that the king had not kept the promises made at the confirmation of charters in 1237, that the public money was wasted, that for want of a Chancellor unjust privileges and exemptions were conferred. They demanded therefore that a Justiciar and a Chancellor should be appointed, who should uphold the Commonwealth. demands of parlia ment. The king tries to coerce the clergy. The king, after repeated efforts which failed to bend or weary out the stubborn resistance of the baronage, prorogued the council till next spring with certain vague promises, trusting that dissension would cause a split in the enemies' camp. Hoping to find the clergy more amenable than the lay barons, he attempted to coerce them separately The committee is said to have been elected by the clerus, the laici, the barones, four from each class. The usual division of the clergy attending a council into bishops (including archbishops) and abbots, answered to that of the laity into earls and barons; but here the clerus are the bishops, the laici are the earls, and the barones are the rest of the clergy and laity. The Chancellor, Ralph, Bishop of Chichester, was just dead (Jan. 31, 1244); the last justiciar was dismissed ten years before (see note 2 p. 61). The CHAP. III. 1244-45 by exhibiting letters from the Pope, bidding them contribute to the support of a king, of all the kings of the earth, the dearest to the Holy See.' clergy, unable to resist the pressure put upon them by king and Pope, were at their wits' end, and were beginning to yield, when the noble bearing of Bishop Grosseteste turned the scale. Persuaded by his words, 'Let us not be divided from the common council; for it is written, If we be divided, we shall all die,' they avoided the royal solicitations by a timely flight from London. They were however soon assembled again to hear the demands of the nuncio Martin, who had lately arrived, and, having been somewhat roughly repelled by the king, had made direct application to the clergy. Placed thus, as they themselves expressed it, like corn in the mill, they began to argue that they would have to choose between two evils, and seeing that the kings petition was supported by the Pope, and that it did not do violence to their national prejudices, they resolved to give way to the royal demand. Meanwhile the magnates had sketched out Proposed a plan, in accordance with which the king should governtransact the business of government with the aid of ment. four Councillors or Conservators of Liberties, as they were to be called. These were to be elected by the whole body of the baronage, and two of the number 1 Matt. Par. 640, gives what appears to be a draft sketch of a scheme of government, to be presented to the king, his consent to which, with a confirmation of charters, was to be the condition of a new vote. It is inserted by Matthew Paris without any remark, and may possibly not belong to this year, but the ideas expressed in it make it appear improbable that it should come any earlier, while they are in accord with the demands put forward at this time. Prof. Stubbs points out (Const. Hist. ii. 63) that in several respects this scheme resembles the later plans of de Montfort. The clergy yield. inclined to plan of |
