020 



ENGLAND. 



Subdues 



llutory. Above fifty years after, the*e deputies and the knights 

 " "Y"*' of the shire* were united in one assembly, with the 

 same rights anil privileges, and now constitute the 

 third estate of the realm. 



A.D. 1196. Having procured a liberal supply from hi< partia- 

 l-mined to prosecute the war, both 

 in France and Scotland. He overran the latter king- 

 dom with a numerous army, received the submission 

 of the nobles, and carried Baliol a prisoner with him 

 to London. He sent an army of 70CH) men into (iui- 

 enne, under his brother Edmond ; but this prince soon 

 after dying, the command devohed on the Earl of Lin- 

 ' coin, who terminated the campaign without any mate- 

 rial advantage. Not discouraged by this failure, he 

 prepared to make a more |x>werful effort for the reco- 

 very of the ancient patrimony of his family. He en- 

 tered into an alliance with the Earls of Holland and 

 Flanders, and flattered himself that, at the head of the 

 allied forces, he might penetrate to Paris, and conn,*-! 

 Philip to purchase peace by the restoration of (iiii- 

 enne. Considerable supplies, however, were requisite 

 for the accomplishment of his plan ; and he obtained 

 from die barons and knights a grant of a twelfth of .ill 

 their moveables ; and from the boroughs an eighth. 1 fe 

 also applied to the clergy for a fifth of their move- 

 ables ; but here he met with an opposition, which put 

 a Stop, for a time, to his projected expedition. 



Pope Boniface VIII. had issued a bull, prohibiting 

 any tax being levied upon the clergy without hi 

 sent ; and the Archbishop of Canterbury told Edward, 

 that they owed obedience to their spiritual, in prefer- 

 HU dispute ence to their temporal sovereign. " If you refuse, then," 



with the 

 thrgj. 



tnrj mc- 



said the king, " to support the civil government, you 

 are unworthy to receive any benefit from it ;" and or- 

 der* were immediately issued to all the judges, to do 

 every man justice against the clergy, and to do them 

 justice against nobody. Being thus put out of thepro- 

 i of the laws, they found themselves at the mer- 

 cy of every ruffian who chose to insult, to plunder, or 

 even to maim them ; and they were at last glad to sub- 

 mit to the king's demands, that they might be again 

 admitted under the king's protection. 



These supplies, however, were still insufficient for 

 Edward's necessities ; and he was obliged to have re- 

 course to arbitrary measures, to complete his prepara- 

 tions. He carried off grain, and cattle, and other com- 

 modities necessary for supplying his army, wherever 

 he could find them; for which he merely gave his pro- 

 mise of after-payment : and, in order to recruit his 

 forces, he demanded the attendance of every man pos- 

 sessed of land worth L.20 a-year. These oppressive 

 exactions spread general discontent. The barons, jea- 

 lous of the royal prerogative, and afraid of their own 

 privileges, encouraged the complaints of the people ; 

 and, when Edward ordered the Earls of Hereford and 

 Norfolk, the constable and mareschal of England, to 

 take the command of the forces to be employed in Gas- 

 cony, these noblemen both refused, affirming that they 

 were only bound by their office to attend his person in 

 the wars. The king, in a rage, exclaimed to Hereford, 

 the constable, " Sir Earl, by God, yon shall either go 

 or hang!" "By God, Sir King," replied the constable, 

 " I will neither go nor hang !" The king found it pru- 

 dent not to press the matter ; and consequently with- 

 drew the expedition against Guienne : but he soon af- 

 ter embarked, with an army of 50,000 men, for Flan- 

 ders. 



The two earls had gained a strong party among the 

 borons ; and, when summoned to attend the parlia- 



ment, in the king's absence, thr\ 



and took pOMtmion .-apitiil. They pro- s "V^"' 



i, however, with moderation. Tiny bid their 

 demands before the council, and only required that 

 the two cl: Od receive a solemn Confirmation : 



that a clause hnul- 1 are the nation 



against all inquisition of fixes, without the consent of 

 parliament; and that tin y and their adherents should 

 be again received into favour. The charters wen 

 to the king in Flanders, who hesitated for a time to 

 gi\e I. tint the dangerous consequences of a 



ref'iis-il In in to him, he at last reluctantly 



complied, after his return, lie gave a more 



willing and absolute continuation of tli. .artcr, Confirms 



which so completely established its validity, that : 

 never afterwards formally disputeij. "" 



The war in Flanders was carried on with va: 

 Philip had taken Lisle, St Onier, Com 

 and Ypres ; but his career ,icd by the ai> 



ance of the English ; and In's resources ' uist- 



ed, he had reason to apprehend a reverse of fortune. 

 Edward, however, had been dis^ipointtd of pro-,: 

 assist nice from the king of tli> . had 



highly subsidised. : nd was equally desirous of comlu- A.D. 1298. 

 ding the war. Under the mediation of the 



two monarchs at last came to an accommodation, in 

 which they were both influenced by the most selfish 

 policy. Edward .-'handom-d his ally, the Eavl of i 



while Philip did the RKiiv. 1 with the king of Scot- React with 

 land, who was still a prisoner in England; and, by these France. 

 mutual sacrifices, they were left at liberty to prosecute 

 their particular conquests. 



A revolt of the Scots hastened the return of Edward. 

 That unhappy people, under the brave Wallace, strug- 

 gled for a time with the overwhelming power of Eng- 

 land ; and, though again subdued, and deprhi 

 their leader, yet they seized the first opportunity of 

 again rising against their oppressors and, led on by 

 Robert the Bruce, proceeded with a slow but certain 

 step to the establishment of their independence : (See A. D. 130G. 

 SCOTLAND). Edward, enraged at their frequent re- 

 volts, assembled an immense force ; and was hastening 

 to execute the most dreadful vengeance upon a nation, 

 which had caused him so much trouble and anxiety ; p^j, ot - 

 when he was suddenly taken ill at Carlisle, and died in Kilward. 

 the 35th year of his reign, and GQth of his age. July T. 



The abilities of this prince shone with equal lustre in 

 the cabinet as in the field. The many wise statutes 

 which he enacted, obtained for him the appellation of the 

 English Justinian ; and the improvements which he 

 made in the execution of the laws, gave security and 

 protection to the lowest orders of the people. But, 

 while he took care that his subjects should do justice 

 to each other, he was little solicitous about the recti- 

 tude of his own proceedings; and his arbitrary r.nd vio- 

 lent temper, often led him into measures which excited 

 the murmurs of the nation, and sometimes brought 

 them to the very brink of rebellion. But his prudence 

 in stopping in the moment of danger, and withdraw- 

 ing the causes of discontent, prevented any consider- 

 able disturbance during his reign. He tempered the 

 severity of his disposition by the affability of his man- 

 ners ; and few princes have been more revered and re- 

 spected by their subjects. The conquest of Scotland, 

 which he considered as the greatest enterprise of his 

 life, he left as a legacy to his son, whom he charged 

 with his last breath, to prosecute the war, and n 

 to desist till he had annexed that kingdom to his domi- 

 nions. 



