A. D. 1276. 429 



The mayor and citizens of London had, during many years, prevent- 

 ed the citizens of Bremen from coming to England, for the very trifling 

 reafon, as alleged by thofe of Bremen, that a native of that city, who 

 was in the fervice of a citizen of London when a fine was levied from the 

 city by Henry III, had left the kingdom without paying his proportion 

 of it. The duke of Brunfwick, as fuperior of Bremen, requefled King 

 Edward to interpofe, and permit the merchants of Bremen to trade in 

 England, as they had done in the time of his progenitors. [^Foedera, V. 

 ii, pp. 1065, 1066.] 



1277, May 15"" — In thofe ages the power of making war and peace 

 was often afTumed by the maritime cities and towns, as well as by the 

 great lords : and as their hoflilities were openly avowed, they were not 

 ftigmatized as piracy, according to the modern fenfe of that word *. The 

 whole of the Cinque ports, as a community, have frequently taken upon 

 them to engage in wars with foreign towns or communities, wherein 

 the fovereigns on either fide had no adive concern., Such a warfare 

 they carried on againft the citizens of Calais in the year 1220 ; againft 

 thofe of Bayonne in 1237 ' ^^^ againft the fame again in 1277. The 

 later quarrel was terminated by the interpofition of King Edward, who 

 now gave the people of Bayonne one hundred pounds for the preferva- 

 tion of peace. [F^dera, V. 'i,pp. 250, 373 ; V. ii,/. 82.] 



Either the eftablifliment of the Englifh laws in Ireland by King John 

 was only partial, or they had flillen out of ufe ; for the people of Ire- 

 land made an etfer to the jufticiary (or viceroy) to pay to the king 

 eight thoufand marks, on condition that the laws of England Ihould be' 

 eftabliflied among them. The kingwas very well pleafed with the applica- 

 tion, for he thought the antient Irifli laws unworthy to be called laws, and 

 defired the jufticiary to inquire what was the general wifti of the people, 

 the prelates, and the nobles ; and, if he found the majority delirous of 

 the introdudion 'of the Englifli law among them, to bargain for the 

 largeft fum of money he could obtain for the king's confent. [Fcedera, 

 V. \i, pi 78.] . And, in two or three years after, the bufinefs appears to 

 have been accompUftied. [Rot. pat. 8 Ediv. /.] 



May 24.'" — The revenue railed from the Jews in England feems to 

 have hitherto confifted chiefly of tallages, arbitrarily impofed at the will 

 of the king. It was apparently in order to introduce fome regularity in 

 that branch of the revenue, and to let the Jews know what they had to 

 depend upon, that a ftatute had been made, containing a multitude of 

 provifions for controlling and . regulating their tranladions, and fixing 

 their payments to the king, whofe flaves (' ferfs') they are repeatedly 



* In thofe days, the men onboard all warlike vtfTcls wtre Called yS/r^to / and every veflel equipped 

 for war was called a piratic fliip, or mycparo in the Latin of the times. 



