1175. 1176. 1177. 1178. 1179. 1180. 1181. 1183. 1184. 1186. 1188. 1189. 1190. 1191. 1192. Henry returns to England, and remains two whole years. Henry arbitrates between Castile and Navarre. A selection of five judges (a) is made from the Curia Regis, out of which are afterwards developed the Courts of King's Bench and Common Pleas. The highest appellate jurisdiction is reserved to the king in the Ordinary Council. Richard de Lucy (who has been justiciar for twenty-five years) retires, and is succeeded by Ranulf de Glanvill. Henry goes to Normandy, and of the remaining nine years of his reign spends only two and a half in England in four different visits. The Assize of Arms is issued to regulate the national fyrd (or militia). War between Henry's sons. Their revolt against him. Henry, eldest son of the king, dies. Assize of the Forest, to regulate the management of the royal forests. Saladin tithe. First tax upon personal property. Henry is expelled from Touraine by his son Richard and Philip of [By the Great Assize established in this reign recognition by jury in RICHARD I., 1189-1199 (10 YEARS). Born 1157; Married, 1191, Berengaria of Navarre. Richard receives investiture of Normandy, and comes over to He persecutes the Jews, raises money for the crusade (b), and William Longchamp, the chancellor, becomes justiciar and John, brother of Richard, receives a large grant of land. Richard arrives at Acre. July 12. Acre is taken. The communa (or corporation) of London is first legally recog- Oct. 9. Richard sails from Acre, and on his way home is seized "If these are the predecessors of the twenty-five aldermen of the wards, the year 1200 may be regarded as the date at which the communal constitution of London was completed" (Stubbs). "The two limits of municipal change between the reign of Henry III. and that of Henry VII. may be simply stated. "In 1216 the most advanced among the English towns had succeeded in obtaining, by their respective charters and with local differences, the right of holding and taking the profits of their own courts under their elected officers, the exclusion of the sheriff from judicial work within their boundaries, the right of collecting and compounding for their own payments to the crown, the right of electing their own bailiffs, and in some instances of electing a mayor; and the recognition of their merchant guilds by charter, and of their craft guilds by charter or fine. The combination of the several elements thus denoted was not complete. "At the close of the period (the reign of Henry VII.) the typical constitution of a town is a close corporation of mayor, aldermen, and council, with precisely defined numbers and organization, not indeed uniform, but of the same general conformation; possessing a new character denoted by the name of corporation in its definite legal sense; with powers varying in the different communities which have been modified by the change, and in practice susceptible of wide variations" (Stubbs). 1197. Philip of Suabia (to 1208) and Otto IV. (to 1215) become rival Kings of Germany. 1198. Innocent III. becomes Pope (to 1216). 1204. Fourth Crusade. 1193. 1194. 1195. 1197. 1198. 1199. 1200. 1202. 1203. 1204. 1205. by Leopold, Duke of Austria, and handed over to the Emperor Henry VI. John does homage to Philip of France for Normandy. Richard's ransom is raised by five different kinds of taxes (a). Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, Glanvill's nephew, succeeds Walter of Coutances as justiciar. Richard is set at liberty. He comes back to England, and raises more money by sales and extortion. He is crowned a second time. He goes to Normandy in May, and is reconciled to John, and does He engages in a series of wars with Philip of France till his death. Geoffrey Fitz-Peter succeeds Archbishop Hubert as justiciar. JOHN, 1199-1216 (17 YEARS). 1189, Hadwisa of Gloucester. John is acknowledged in Normandy, and receives the surrender of Arthur, son of Geoffrey and Constance, takes refuge at the court of Archbishop Hubert, William Marshall, and Geoffrey Archbishop Hubert becomes chancellor. Philip makes peace with John, and acknowledges him as king. Philip summons John for oppressing the barons of Poitou. John refuses to appear, and Philip and Arthur attack his dominions. Philip summons John to answer for Arthur's death, and in default Philip takes Normandy, Maine, Anjou, and Touraine. The younger monks of Canterbury elect their sub-prior, Reginald; Any other aids or scutages are to be voted by a council of prelates and greater barons summoned separately, and of lesser barons and tenants-in-chief summoned by writ addressed to the sheriff in the county court. 4. Justice. a. Common Pleas shall not follow the King's Curia, but be held in one fixed place (Westminster). b. Recognition of novel disseisin (recent eviction), mort d'ancester (inheritance of real property), darrein presentment (last presentation to a living), to be tried by a jury at the county court, before the king's judges and four knights of the shire chosen by the shire, every quarter; and amercements are not to be ruinous, but fixed by a jury of equals of the condemned. c. No sheriff, coroner, constable, or bailiff of the king is to try pleas of the Crown (i.e. criminal prosecutions carried on in the name of the Crown). d. No man is to be imprisoned, outlawed, punished, or molested but by the judgment of his equals, or by the law of the land. e. The sheriffs and officers are to know the law of the land. 5. General. a. The writ "præcipe" (i.e. for calling cases into the King's Court) is not to be used. b. Goods of those who die without a will are to go to their heirs. c. Ferms (fixed taxes) of the shires are not to be increased. d. All goods seized by the king's purveyors to be paid for. e. All are to have their choice of payment or labour in if work is to be done for the king. person, Merchants are to come in and out of the kingdom freely. 6. Forests and Rivers. a. All forests made in the last reign are to be disforested, and all rivers opened for navigation. b. The forest abuses are to be inquired into by twelve sworn knights. c. Forest law is only to apply to those who live in forests. 7. Temporary. a. The king will give back all charters to their owners. b. Foreign mercenaries and officers are to be dismissed. c. Justice is to be done to the Welsh, and to the King of Scots. d. The charter is to be carried out by twenty-five barons, of whom the Mayor of London is one. 1206. 1207. 1208. 1209. 1210. 1211. 1213. 1214. 1215. Innocent III. causes the monks of Canterbury at Rome to elect Innocent consecrates the new archbishop. John refusing to receive him, England is placed under an interdict. John marches to the north, and receives homage (which he had received also in 1200) from the King of Scotland, such homage as was received before the Treaty of Falaise. John is excommunicated by Innocent, and in revenge seizes the property of the bishops. John goes to Ireland. Innocent threatens to depose John, and to employ Philip to do Wales, taking advantage of the threat, makes war on John. English victory over the French fleet at Damme. John proposes to Archbishop Langton absolves him, but the barons again refuse because their tenures forbid them. Aug. 4. First united representation of townships on the royal demesne; four men and the reeve are summoned from each township to the assembly at St. Albans called to estimate the damage due to the bishops, and for other business (a). Aug. 25. At a council at St. Paul's the charter of Henry I., which Geoffrey Fitz-Peter dies, and Peter des Roches, Bishop of Nov. 7. Each sheriff is directed to send four discreet men of the shire The battle of Bouvines. Otto the Emperor, the Count of Flanders, and the Earl of Salisbury, John's half-brother, are defeated by Philip of France. John, being in Poitou, and hearing of the battle, makes peace, and returns to England. John grants to the Church freedom of election to episcopal sees The barons collect an army, and are received in London. John collects mercenaries under Falkes de Breauté. Pandulf, the papal legate, excommunicates the chief leaders of the barons. Archbishop Langton goes to Rome. Innocent disallows the Great Charter, excommunicates John's The barons offer the crown to Louis, son of Philip of France. |