GIS 



E N G L A N 1). 



H: . -:T. 



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Antitsl *. 



Battle of 

 KrnJimn, 

 uid death 



Irr. 



without opposition, he endeavoured to increase his po- 

 puUrity, and strengthen his |x>wcr, l>y admitting into 

 share of the government n order of nirii, which h.nl 

 hitherto regarded as unworthy of a voice in the 

 cils of the n:itiun. I Ic summoned a new p.irlia- 

 at London ; and, Ix-sides its usual members, lie 

 ordered returns to be made of two knights from each 

 shire, and of dcputic- from tile boroughs. This WM 



the first einbryoof the House of Common-, aniiistitu- 

 vhic!i. in prixv- of time, proved une of the nio.-t 

 useful and powerful members of the Kriti-h con-titu- 

 tion, and which irr.iduallv rescued the kingdom from 

 aristocratical, as well as from regal tyranny. 



Leicester continued to act in the most arbitrary man- 

 ner, and. trusting to his popularity, proceeded 

 tinguish all riv.ii opposition among the barons. He 

 1 the Earl of Derby, whom he threw into prison, 

 and obliged otl i r.- to have the kingdom. The Earl of 

 Gloucester even began to dread his authority, and reti- 

 red to his estates on the borders of Wales. These dis- 

 sensions rev i vet! the hopes of the royalists; and they 

 farther encouraged by the general wish of t he- 

 nation for the lilxTation of the \oiing prince, which 

 Leicester found himself compelled to gratify. That no- 

 bleman, however, stipulated for the delivery of all the 

 royal castle-:, and that the prince should neither leave 

 the kingdom, nor introduce any foreign forces into it 

 during three years. This treaty was of very little ad- 

 vantage to Edward, who, though declared tree by the 

 Iwrons, found himself surrounded by the emissaries of 

 Leicester. He at last, however, contrived, by the as- 

 sistance of Gloucester, to make his escape; which was no 

 sooner known than the royalists flew to arms, and, being 

 joined by many of the discontented barons, presented 

 an opposition, which Leicester was unable to withstand, 

 lie had followed the Earl of Gloucester with an army 

 into Hereford ; and here he found himself surrounded 

 by his enemies. Edward had cut off all communication 

 with his friends, by destroying the bridges on the Se- 

 vern ; and had also surprised and dispersed an army 

 under his son Simon de Mountfort, which was hastening 

 to his relief. Ignorant of his son'.- fate, Leicester hail 

 crossed the river in boats, and encamped at Eve-sham, 

 in expectation of reinforcements. Here he was at- 

 tacked by Edward, at the head of the royalists, who 

 \\rn- inspirited by their recent victory. The rebels, 

 who had been weakened by sickness and desertion, de- 

 fended themselves with great bravery ; but at last gave 

 way on all sides, and were pursued with innm use 

 slaughter. Leicester, with his oldest son Henry, and 

 alxiut !()'() knights, fell in the action. The old king, 

 who had been placed in the front of the rebel army, 

 was wounded, and in great danger of being killed ; but, 

 when the blow was falling upon him, he cried out, " I 

 am Henry of Winchester, your king!" when beinsj im- 

 mediately recognised, he was carried to a place of safe- 

 ty. Hy this decisive victory, Edward at once quelled a 

 rebellion which had lasted Sat several \var-, and which 

 had threatened to extirpate his family, und to extin- 

 guish the prerogatives of the crown. The rebellion, 

 however, had been so extensive, that the king, 0:1 re- 

 suming his authority, found it necessary to e: -.cici*c it 

 with clemency and moderation. No blood was shed on 

 the scnftbld; and the only attainders that were fully car- 

 ried into execution, were those of the Mountfort family. 



I ). Earl of Gloucester, to whom Edward wasgrcat- 

 Iv indebted for the recovery of his liberty and the suc- 

 cess of his cause, considering his serrices undervalued, 

 attempted to renew the flames of rebellion, and excited 

 the Londoners to take up arm*. This insurrection was 



soon suppressed by the activity of the prince; and HUtorjr. 



(ilouec-U-r was pardoned, and received into favour, >< ~~,~~*' 



u|K>n his entering into a bond of -Mi.OOO marks, to keep 



the peace. 1 '.ilw ard. howe\ er, to relieve himself from 



all apprehi n-ion of disquiet from tile formidable p<i\M r 



and turbulent disposition of this nobleman, determined 



to carry him along with him to the Holy Land, whither 



he had promi-ed to accompany the king of France. 



While Edward was reviving among the Saracens the 

 glory of the English name, his lather wa- unable to pro- 

 tect hi- subject-, from the jxiwer of the barons, who re- 

 newed their oppressions, anil committed continual ra- 



throiighout the kingdom. Worn out with age, !Jtli of 

 the feeble Henry could ill manage a sceptre, which in Ill " r >' '" 

 his best days had been wrested from him by a turbu- Nuv. 16. 

 lent nobility. After the departure of hi* son, his health I* 7 *- 

 visibly declined, and he expired at St 1 dmond-bury, in 

 the tilth year of hi- aire, and 5Gth of his reign. 



Edward had reached Sicily on his return home, when Edward I. 

 he he:ird of his father's death. His MICCC ion, however, 

 being undisputed, and the council having appointed a 

 powerful regency during his absence, he was in no 

 hurry to take possession of his crown, but spent a year 

 in France. He arrived in England after an absence 

 of about three years, and was crowned at Westminster 

 amidst the joyful acclamations of his people. 



A prince like Edward, who had already gained tin- 

 affections of hi- subjects, and possessed abilities and 

 courage, might easily have extended the'prerogati-. 

 the crown as they 'were enjoyed by his most warlike 

 predecessors ; but he was contented with more mode- 

 rate authority, and set himself to the correction of 

 abuses in the government, and in guarding against those 

 civil commotions which had been so frequent during . 



tlic- reign of his lather. He protected the people from B j lOm (j on 

 the oppressions of tin- barons, by a strict and impartial ,,1 the king. 

 administration of justice: He appointed commissioners 

 to inquire into disorders and crimes of all kinds, and 

 rigorously to inflict the punishment of the laws : Thc-e 

 were distinct from the ordinary judges, and wire con- 

 fined to the western counties of England, where bands 

 of banditti had become so numerous and powerful as 

 to set all law at defiance. The terror, however, which 

 the severity of the commissioners excited, soon put a 

 stop to their depredations. The corruption of the 

 judges, themselves was a more serious evil ; and to such 

 an extent did it prevail, that when they were brought 

 to trial before parliament, all of them, except two, who 

 were clergymen, were dejxi.-cd and severely fined. The 

 king afterwards compelled all the new judges to take 

 an oath that they would receive no bribes. 



The Jews were the greate.- 1 suli'cn-rs in this general 

 renovation of the laws ; and as they were hated both by 

 the prince and the people, they were often condemned 

 upon the slightest pretences. In London alone, '280 Prrsccutio 

 of them were hanged for adulterating the coin ; many of the Jc 

 of them had their lands and goods sold and confis- 

 cated ; and Edward, prompted by bis zcnl against infi- 

 delity, or rather by his rapacity, at la>t banished them 

 the kingdom, and despoiled them of all their prop, 

 except what was sufficient to bear their charges to i'<>- 

 reign countries. Having regulated the internal affairs 

 of the kingdom in a manner which promised security 

 to himself and to his people, Edward turned his views 

 to the conquest of Wales. 



The Welsh were the only remains of the ancient 

 Britons that had preserved, among their inaccessible 

 mountains, their laws and customs uncontaminated by 

 foreign invasion. Bearing a hereditary enmity against 

 the English, who enjoyed the rich possessions from 



