ENG 
the mitre from his head, he would put on a helmet. But 
though the bifhops and clergy were obliged to acquiefce 
in furniffiing a part of this wanton expence, the barons 
(fill continued refra&ory ; and, inftead of fupplies, an- 
fwered with expoftulations. They urged the king’s par. 
tiality to foreigners; they aggravated the injuftice of his 
favourites, and the unfair ieizures made by his officers 
from men of mercantile profefiions. The parliament 
therefore was diffolved (for fo the general affiembly of 
the nation began now to be called), and another was foon 
after convened with as little fuccefs. The urgency of the 
king’s affairs required that money (hould be procured ; 
and yet the legate never failed, upon thofe occafions, to 
obftrudt the king’s demands, by making others for the 
pope. It was on this occalion that Henry went amongft 
fuch of his fubjefts as were attached to him, and begged 
for affiftance at their own houfes. At one time, he would 
get money by pretending to take up the crofs, on an ex¬ 
pedition to the Holy Land ; at another, he would prevail 
by aiferting that he vvasVefolved 10 re-conquer his French 
dominions; till his barons, perceiving the diftrefs to 
which he was reduced, refolved, in mere- pity, to grant 
him aid ; and a very liberal fupply was railed, for which 
lie renewed their charter with more than ufual folemnity. 
All the prelates and abbots were affembled, A. D. 1205, 
with burning tapers in their hands; the Magna Cliarta 
was read in their prefence; and they denounced fentence 
of excommunication againft all who ffiould infringe its 
articles. Thus folemn were their mutual engagements; 
but the wretched Henry had no fooner received the fup¬ 
plies for which his parliament had been convoked, than 
he forgot every article of what he had fo folemnly agreed 
to obferve. 
About this time an infurreiStion broke out in Gafcony, 
which then formed a part of the Engl iffi dominions; and 
that people even invited the king of Caftile to take pof- 
feffion of their country. But Henry, however unwarlike, 
refolved to undertake an expedition to quell this rebel¬ 
lion. Accordingly he fummoned all his military tenants 
to meet him at Portfmouth, and on the 15th of Augnft, 
1254, he arrived 1 Bourdeaux with a gallant army, which 
foon reftored the province to order, and obliged the king 
of Caftile to renounce his pretenfions to Gafcony. The 
reconciliation was fo complete, that a marriage was con¬ 
cluded between the king’s fon Edward, heir apparent of 
England, and Eleanora, princefs of Caftile. On this occa- 
fion we have one of the mo ft firiking inftances of the low 
cunning and mean charadter of Henry : being (till co¬ 
vetous of gold to diftribute among his friends in this new 
alliance, he carefully concealed the fuccefs of his arms, 
and fent over his commands to the queen and his brother 
earl of Cornwall, regents of England in his abfence, to 
call a parliament, and demand a further fupply for car¬ 
rying.on the expedition. A parliament was alfembled ; 
but the wary barons refufed to grant the aid, until they 
were better informed of the progrefs of the war. The 
earl of Leicefler arriving from Gafcony in the interim, 
made known the true hate of the king’s affairs, and ex- 
pofed Henry’s diffionourable arts to impofe on the people, 
which effedbially ferved to revive their former diftruft of 
his government, and contempt of his perfon. 
Such imprudent meafures eventually encouraged Simon 
de Montfort, earl of Leicefler, to attempt to wreft the 
feeptre from the feeble hand which held it. This noble¬ 
man had efpoufed Eleanor, dowager to William earl of 
Pembroke, and filter to the king. His addrefs gained 
him the affections of all orders of men, but could not 
prote 61 him againft the levity of his fovereign. He had 
alternately enjoyed the favour, and been expofed to the 
hatred, of Henry ; and, being of too independent a fpirit 
to become fublervient to the minions of that prince, he 
found, more honour and advantage in cultivating his inte- 
relt with the public. He filled every place with com¬ 
plaints againft the infringement of the great charter; and 
a quarrel which he had with William de Valence, the 
LAND. 5S3 
king’s half brother, determined him, if poffible, to ftop 
the further encroachments of the dependents and favour¬ 
ites of the king. He fecretly called a meeting of the mod 
powerful barons, particularly Humphrey de Boluin, high 
conftable, Roger Bigod earl marifchal, and the earls of 
Warwick and Gloucefter. To thefe he depidted in glow¬ 
ing colours the oppreffions exercifed againft all orders of 
the people; the violation of the barons’ privileges, and 
the continual depredations made on the clergy ; and while 
he magnified the generality of their anceftors, who at the 
expence of their blood had extorted the great charter 
from the crown, he lamented their own degeneracy, who 
allowed fo important an advantage to be wrefted from 
them by a weak prince, and a tribe of infolent parafites. 
Thefe topics being well fuited to the fentiments of the 
people, the barons embraced a refolution of redreffing 
the public grievances, by taking into their own hands 
the adminiftration of government. They entered the par¬ 
liament clad in complete armour, with their fwords by 
their (ides ; and when the king, (truck with their martial 
appearance, afked, whether they intended to make him 
prifoner ? Roger de Bigod replied for the reft, “ That he 
was not their prifoner, but their fovereign ; but as he 
had fo frequently fuffered himfelf to be carried away by 
ill-advifers, he mult now yield to more ftrict regulations, 
and confer authority on thofe who were willing and able 
to redrefs the national grievances.” Henry, partly al¬ 
lured by tlie hopes of a fupply, and partly intimidated 
by the menacing afpedt of the barons, acquiefced, and 
fummoned another parliament at Oxford, in order to di- 
geft the new plan of government. This parliament, which 
from the confufion that attended its meafures, was after¬ 
wards denominated the mad parliament, chofe twelve ba¬ 
rons, to whom were added twelve more chofen by the 
king’s minifters. Thefe twenty-four barons, with the earl 
of Leicefter at their head, were endowed with fupreme 
authority, and authorifed to reform the abufes of the 
date. Their firft ftep, June 11, 1258, was calculated for 
the good of the people, as it marked the rude outline of 
the houfe of commons. They ordered that four knights 
(hould be chofen by each county, who fhoula examine 
into the grievances of their refpedtive condiments, and 
to attend at the enfuing parliament, to give information 
of their complaints. They ordained that three fefiions of 
parliament (hould be regularly holden every year; that 
a new high ffieriff fliould be annually chofen ; that no 
wards nor caftles ffiould be trufted in the hands of fo¬ 
reigners ; no new forefts made ; nor the revenues of any 
of the counties let to farm. Thefe regulations were fo 
juft, and their beneficial effects fo obvious, that they 
merited the praife and approbation of every candid and 
ingenuous mind. But fo dangerous and fo delufive is the 
exercife of arbitrary power, that it became no longer the 
fecurity of the people, but the uncontrolled eftablifh- 
ment of its own authority, that this confederacy endea¬ 
voured to effect. Inftead of refigning when they had ful¬ 
filled the purpofes of their appointment, they ftill main¬ 
tained therrdelves in full power; at one time pretending 
that they had not yet digefted the affairs of the (tate ; at 
another, that their continuance in authority was the only 
remedy the people had againft the faithlefs character of 
the king. The whole ftate accordingly underwent a com¬ 
plete alteration : its former officers were all removed, and 
dependents of the twenty-four barons were put in their 
room ; they even impofed an oath upon every individual 
of the nation, binding them to an implicit obedience of 
all the laws and regulations then fuggefted, or to be fug- 
gefted, by tliemfelves. They not only abridged the au- 
thority of the king, but deftroyed the efficacy of parlia¬ 
ment, by giving up to twelve perfons all parliamentary 
power between each feftion. Thus thefe ambitious nobles, 
after having trampled upon the crown, threw proftrate 
all the rights of the people; and a vile oligarchy was 
on the point of being eftablillied upon the ruins of their 
liberties. 
The 
