A History of England, Period I. Mediæval Monarchy

by J. Franck Bright

Loss of all his allies. 1342.

New opening in Brittany.

As arranged, the truce with France continued till midsummer 1342. During that time Edward found that his German allies had completely left him, and that even Louis of Bavaria had been won over to Philip. This change in the Emperor’s policy was caused by a wish to obtain Philip’s mediation with his enemy the Pope. He excused it by urging that the treaty of Esplechin had been made without his consent. Thus left without allies, and impoverished by his late subsidies, which indeed, in the absence of money, he had in some instances been obliged to pay in raw wool, Edward might have been content to leave France alone, had he not obtained a new footing in Brittany. The war there was again a war of succession. John III. of Brittany had three brothers, Guy, Peter, and John Earl of Montfort. Guy and Peter died before their brother the Duke. Guy had a daughter, Jane, who as heir of the duchy had married Charles of Blois, the French King’s nephew. But upon the death of John, his sole surviving brother, John Earl of Montfort claimed the duchy, and did homage to Edward as King of France. The Peers of France adjudged the duchy to Charles of Blois, and the two kings armed in favour of their respective allies. Charles was at first successful, and took John of Montfort prisoner. The war was, however, carried on with enthusiasm by his wife, Jane of Flanders. She had the good wishes of the people, and held out during the winter in the fortress of Hennebone. She was almost reduced by famine, when the arrival of Sir Walter Manny, who was followed later in the year by Edward himself, raised the siege. But the country now became the battleground between England and France. Edward on the one hand, and the French King’s eldest son on the other, entered the duchy, but so little was effected, that at the end of the year a truce for three years and eight months was entered into, the matters at issue being referred to the Pope.

The Pope’s position as Arbiter of Europe.

It is somewhat surprising to see how constantly the judgment of the Papal See is appealed to, even more frequently than in earlier times, when its authority was of greater weight. No doubt the spiritual position of the Popes had constantly been used as a means of interference in secular questions, and by mere force of encroachment the Pontiff had come to be regarded as the natural arbiter of Europe. But behind this there lay a more real ground for the exercise of the Papal authority. The Papal Curia had in fact inherited a certain portion of the powers and duties of the Roman Empire. During the vigour of Imperial institutions difficulties arising between various states included within the limits of the Empire were settled by the Emperor, who thus became the guardian of international law. When the Empire lost its universal character, and the German Kaiser (whatever vague notions of universal power may have hung about his title) became practically the sovereign only of a part of Europe, he lost the power of enforcing his decisions in the case of quarrels between Princes, who were in fact his equals. National quarrels must therefore have been settled by the sword alone, had not the Court of Rome, still claiming universality, still supplying trained lawyers and adequate courts, afforded an opportunity for continuing in some degree the system of international arbitration. The natural inclination of a spiritual power towards peace rendered still more easy this transfer to the Papacy of the guardianship of the international relations of Europe. The thirteenth century had been remarkable for its systematizing character. Powers, acknowledged by common practice and consent but not reduced to system, began to be defined; and as Edward I. in England and Philip IV. in France had brought into fixed and legal shape the lax constitutions of their several kingdoms, so Boniface VIII. had attempted to render Rome a formal court of appeal in all questions of international law. It was thus that we find Wallace and the guardians of Scotland appealing to Rome in their quarrel, and the Pope asserting his supremacy over the Scotch kingdom at the close of the reign of Edward I., and thus that we constantly find the Kings of Europe appealing to the decision of the Papal Curia.

Mediation of the Pope offered. 1343.

Decay of Papal influence.

Mediation accepted conditionally.

The King’s commercial difficulties.

Mediation fails.