London Stor 



Londoners shows that they would not have permitted it willingly, and 

 the supposition that it could have been done against their will cannot 

 be entertained for a moment ; yet the fact remains that it was done, 

 and the further fact remains that London does not possess the original 

 of that charter, nor is any copy or abstract of it known, nor has any 

 ever been found even among the enrolments or old charters preserved 

 at the record office. It is clear that the city records of mayors pro- 

 pounds a question which the civic authorities are not able to answer 

 when it is asked, if King John gave you a charter to elect a mayor for 

 the first time in 1214, where is the charter that gave you authority 

 to elect a mayor for the first time in 1189 ? The charter was lost; 

 there is no other answer to be given ; for that there was such a charter 

 the honest and faithful historians of the time whose works still remain 

 abundantly record. Walter of Coventry, Roger of Hovedene, and 

 Benedict of Peterborough, all contemporary, who testify to the fact of 

 the grant, use precisely the same words in describing the details, as 

 follows : "The Count of Mortagne," you will remember that that was 

 one of Earldoms of Normandy given to John by Richard, " the Count 

 of Mortagne and the archbishop of Rouen and the king's other jus- 

 ticiaries granted to the citizens of London, to have their commune, and 

 the Count of Mortagne and the archbishop of Rouen and almost 

 all the bishops and earls and barons of the realm swore that they 

 would most firmly maintain it so long as it should please the king." 

 Ralph de Diceto, dean of St. Paul's, says " that all the before-men- 

 tioned magnates (that is John, the archbishop, the bishops, earls and 

 barons) swore that they would maintain the commune of London; " 

 and further tells us that "this parliament was holden in the chapter 

 house of St. Paul, London." Richard of Devizes, another contem- 

 porary, gives an account of the affair, which is the more valuable be- 

 cause he was evidently hostile to the pretensions of the city. He says: 

 " On that very day was granted and instituted the commune of the 

 Londoners, and the magnates of the whole realm, and even the bishops 

 of the province itself, are compelled to swear to it. London learnt 

 now for the first time, in obtaining the commune, that the realm had 

 no king, for neither Richard nor his father and predecessor Henry 

 would ever have allowed this to be done, even for a million marks of 

 silver. How great are the evils which spring from a commune may 

 be understood from the common saying < It puffs up the people with 

 arrogance and frightens the kings.' " And Geraldus Cambrensis in his 

 life of Geoffrey, archbishop of York, describes the event as follows: 

 "All the citizens having been assembled as a body the commune was 

 granted to them and was sworn to by all." 



