The Leading Facts of English History Part 23

258. Summary.

Richard II's reign comprised:

1. The peasant revolt under Wat Tyler, whic hled eventually to the emanc.i.p.ation of the villeins, or farm laborers.

2. Wycliffe's reformation movement and his complete translation of the Latin Bible, with the rise of the Lollards.

3. The publication of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," the first great English poem.

4. The deposition of the King, and the transfer of the crown by Parliament to Henry, Duke of Lancaster.

General Reference Summary of the Angevin, or Plantegenet, Period (1154-1399)

I. Government. II. Religion. III. Military Affairs. IV. Literature, Learning, and Art. V. General Industry and Commerce. VI. Mode of Life, Manners, and Customs.

I. Government

259. Judicial Reforms.

In 1164 Henry II undertook, by a series of statutes called the Const.i.tutions of Clarendon, to bring the Church under the common law of the land, but was only temporarily successful. By subsequent statutes he reorganized the administration of justice, and laid the foundation of trial by jury.

260. Town Charters.

Under Richard I many towns secured charters giving them the control of their own affairs in great measure. In this way munic.i.p.al self-government arose, and a prosperous and intelligent cla.s.s of merchants and artisans grew up who eventually obtained important political influence in the management of national affairs.

261. Magna Carta, or the Great National Charter.

This pledge, extotrted from King John in 1215, put a check to he arbitrary power of the sovereign, and guaranteed the rights of all cla.s.ses, from the serf and the townsman to the bishop and baron (S199). It consisted originally of sixty-three articles, founded mainly on the first royal charter (that of Henry I), given in 1100 (S135).

Magna Carta was not a statement of principles, but a series of specific remedies for specific abuses, which may be summarized as follows:

1. The Church to be free from royal interference, especially in the election of bishops.

2. No taxes except the regular feudal dues (S150) to be levied, except by the consent of the Great Council, or Parliament.

3. The Court of Common Pleas (see p. 73, not 1) not to follow the King, but to remain stationary at Westminster. Justice to be neither sold, denied or delayed. No man to be imprisoned, outlawed, punished, or otherwissssse molested, save by the judgment of his equals or by the law of the land. The necessary implements of all freemen, and the farming tools of villeins, or farm laborers (S113), to be exempt from seizure.

4. Weights and measures to be kept uniform throughout the realm. All merchants to have the right to enter and leave the kingdom without paying exorbitant tolls for the privilege.

5. Forest laws to be justly enforced.

6. The charter to be carried out by twenty-five barons together with the mayor of London.

This doc.u.ment marks the beginning of a written const.i.tution, and it proved of the highest value henceforth in securing good government.

It was confirmed thirty-seven times by subsequent kings and parliaments, the confirmation of this and previous charters by Edward I in 1297 being of especial importance.

262. Rise of the House of Commons.

In 1265, under Henry III, through the influence of Simon de Montfort, two representatives from each city and borough, or town, together with two knights of the s.h.i.+re, or country gentlemen, were summoned to meet with the Lords and Clergy in the Great Council, or Parliament; but the House of Commons did not become a permanent body until the Model Parliament of 1295 was summoned. From that time the body of the people began to have a permanent voice in making the laws.

Later in the period the knights of the s.h.i.+re joined the representatives from the towns in forming a distinct body in Parliament, sitting by themselves under the name of the House of Commons. They a.s.serted their right to a.s.sent to legislation, and (1376) they exercised hte right of impeaching before the House of Lords government officers guilty of misuse of power. Somewhat later (1407) they obtained the sole right to originate "Money Bills," that is, grants or appropriations of money for public purposes or for the King's use.

263. New Cla.s.s of Barons.

Under Henry III other influential men of the realm, aside from the barons, who were tenants in chief, began to be summoned to the King's council. These were called "barons by writ." Later (under Richard II), barons were created by open letters bearing the royal seal, and were called "barons by patent."[1]

[1] This is the modern method of raising a subject (e.g. the poet, Alfred Tennyson) to the peerage. It marks the fact that from the thirteenth century the owners.h.i.+p of land was no longer considered a necessary condition of n.o.bility; and that the peerage was gradually developing into the five degrees, which were completed in 1440, in the following ascending order: barons, viscounts, earls, marquises, dukes.

264. Land Laws.

During this period important laws (De Donis, or Entail, and Quia Emptores) respecting land were pa.s.sed, which had the effect of keeping estates in families, and also of preventing their possessors from evading their feudal duties to the King. At the same time the Statute of Mortmain (a restriction on the acquisition of land by the Church, which was exempt from paying certain feudal dues) was imposed to prevent the King's revenue from being diminished.

II. Religion

265. Restriction of Papal Power.

During the Angevin period the popes endeavored to introduce the canon law (a body of ordinances consisting mainly of the decisions of Church councils and popes) into England, with the view of making it supreme; but the Parliament of Merton refused to accept it, saying, "We will not change the laws of England."

The Statute of Mortmain was also pa.s.sed (SS226, 264) and other measures (Statutes of Provisors and Statute of Praemunire) (S243), which forbade the Pope from taking the appointment of bishops and other ecclesiastics out of the hands of the clergy; and which prohibited any appeal from the King's Court to the Papal Court.

Furthermore, many hundreds of parishes, formerly filled by foreigners who could not speak English, were now given to native priests, and the sending of money out of the country to support foreign ecclesiastics was in great measure stopped.

During the Crusades two religious military orders had been established, called the Knights Hospitalers and the Knights Templars.

The object of the former was, originally, to provide entertainment for pilgrims going to Jerusalem; that of the latter, to protect them.

Both had extensive possessions in England. In 1312 the order of Templars was broken up on a charge of heresy and evil life, and their property in England given to the Knights Hospitalers, who were also called Knights of St. John.

266. Reform.

The Mendicant or "Begging Friars" began a reformatory movement in the Church and accomplished much good. This was followed by Wycliffe's attack on religious abuses, by his complete translation of the Bible, with the revival carried on by the "Poor Priests," and by the rise of the Lollards. Eventually severe laws were pa.s.sed against the Lollards, partly because of their heretical opinions, and partly because they became in a measure identified with socialistic and communistic efforts to destroy rank and equalize property.

III. Military Affairs

267. Scutage.

By a tax called scutage, or s.h.i.+eld money, levied on all knights who refused to serve the King in foreign wars, Henry II obtained the means to hire soldiers. By a law reviving the national militia, composed of freemen below the rank of knights, the King made himself in a considerable measure independent of the barons with respect to raising troops.

268. Armor; Heraldry.

The linked or mail armor now began to be superseded by that made of pieces of steel joined together so as to fit the body. This, when it was finally perfected, was called plate armor, and was both heavier and stronger than mail.

With the introduction of plate armor and the closed helmet it became the custom for each knight to wear a device, called a crest, on his helmet, and also to have one called a coat of arms (because originally worn on a loose coat over the armor).

The coat of arms served to distinguish the wearer from the others, and was of practical use not only to the followers of a great lord, who thus knew him at a glance, but it served in time of battle to prevent the confusion of friend and foe. Eventually, coats of arms became hereditary, and the descent, and to some extent the history, of a family can be traced by them. In this way heraldry may often prove helpful in gaining knowledge of men and events.

269. Chivalry; Tournaments.

The profession of arms was regulated by certain rules, by which each knight solemnly bound himself to serve the cause of religion and the King, and to be true, brace, and courteous to those of his own rank, to protect ladies (women of gentle birth), and succor all persons in distress. Under Edward III the system of knighthood and chivalry reached its culmination and began to decline.

One of the grotesque features of the attack of France was an expedition of English knights with one eye bandaged; this half-bling company having vowed to partially renounce their sight until they did some glorious deed. The chief amus.e.m.e.nt of the n.o.bles and knights was the tournament, a mock combat fought on horseback, in full armor, which sometimes ended in a real battle. At these entertainments a lady was chosen queen, who gave prizes to the victors.

270. The Use of the Long Bow; Introduction of Cannon; Wars.

The common weapon of the yeomen, or foot soldiers, was the long bow.

It was made of yew-tree wood, and was the height of the user. Armed with this weapon, the English soldiers proved themselves irresistable in the French wars, the French having no native archers of any account.

Roger Bacon is supposed to have known the properties of gunpowder as early as 1250, but no practical use was made of the discovery until the battle of Cre'cy, 1346, when a few very small cannon are said to have been employed by the English against the enemy's cavalry. Later, cannon were used to throw heavy stones in besieging castles. Still later, rude handguns came slowly into use. From this period kings gradually began to realize the full meaning of the harmless-looking black grains, with whose flash and noise the Oxford monk had amused himself.