DURING THE FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH CENTURIES. 79 



to the downfall of Henry, and continuing loyal to the same 

 family was deprived of its privileges after the battle of 

 Tewkesbury 1 , regaining them only by paying a fine of 500 

 marks to Edward the Fourth. 



The most notable feature in the assessment of 1453 ls ^ e 

 low contingent of the Northern counties, and of those on the 

 Welsh border. Chester is exempt altogether. But Northumber- 

 land, Cumberland, and Westmoreland pay very little to the 

 acre, the second of these considerably less than any other 

 county, the first far less proportionately than it did in 1341. 

 It may seem that the quota of Northumberland is reduced 

 by the fact that in this contribution the Bishopric of Durham 

 is assessed, while it was not assessed in 1341, and the Bishopric 

 of Durham, in the sense of the County Palatine, contained that 

 portion of Northumberland which extends to Holy Island or 

 Lindisfarne. But again, the general exemption of Durham from 

 these contributions must have been connected with the peculiar 

 tenure of the County Palatine, and therefore must have been as 



true in 1453 as ^ was * n 1 34 I - 



Probably the explanation is to be found in the Scotch wars. 

 Edward the First wished to unite the lowlands of Scotland 

 to England, for no statesman for five centuries after Edward 

 cared much for the subjugation of North-west Scotland. He 

 knew that to effect this union, to obtain which he tried feudal 

 law and war, it was desirable to keep clear of continental 

 difficulties. He had the ordinary fortune of military statesmen, 

 for one of his own nobles rebelled against him and created 

 an independent Scotland, and his successors, taking advantage 

 of the mad project of the English Plantagenet kings, that of 

 the conquest of France, were always allies of France, especially 

 in the difficulties of England. This alliance was of great 

 benefit to Scotland. It gave a poor and scanty population, 

 led or rather ruled by the worst aristocracy which has ever 

 been known, a national feeling strong enough to enable them 



1 It seems that Edward seized the Mayor's sword of office before he resumed the 

 franchise of Coventry. 



