A History of England, Period I. Mediæval Monarchy

by J. Franck Bright

English neglect the opportunity.

Poitou remains French.

Although he had thus worsted his domestic enemies the Justiciary was surrounded with difficulties. Philip Augustus had died in 1223, and had been succeeded by his son Louis VIII., the old enemy of England. He had begun his reign with a threat of renewed war, to which the disturbed state of Poitou and Guienne afforded a constant opportunity. In those countries there was a succession of unceasing disputes between town and town and noble and noble; the country roughly forming itself into two parties, the towns and the nobles. In 1224, war had in fact broken out. Henry had sought the friendship of the German Emperor Frederick against France, and connected himself with Peter Duke of Brittany, and when Louis appeared at the head of a great army, nominally for a war against the Albigenses, it seemed probable that its real aim was the English provinces. Louis’ unexpected death changed the state of affairs. The new king was a child in the hands of his mother Blanche, and the French nobles took the opportunity to loosen the connection between themselves and the crown which Philip II. had established, and thus destroyed for the present the possibility of united national action. But although, on the first slackening of authority, all Poitou passed into the English hands, the chance of forming a united opposition among the discontented French nobles was allowed to pass unused. One by one even the old allies of the English returned to their allegiance to France. At length, Richard, the King’s brother, who had the title of Count of Poitou, and had commanded his army, joined in the general pacification.

Hubert’s continued power.

It was the financial difficulties of the government which had chiefly prevented the success of this war. The opposition to Hubert de Burgh was constant, and it had only been upon condition of again signing the Charter that the King had been able to raise a fifteenth for the French war. This tax was probably the first raised in strict accordance with the terms of the Charter. De Burgh was honestly desirous, in opposition to the arbitrary views of his rival Des Roches, that the King should rule constitutionally, and both by proclamation and by official letters he took care to spread a knowledge of the Charter in the country. Although Henry was declared of age in 1227, when he was twenty, the government of De Burgh practically continued. He was made Earl of Kent, and declared Justiciary for life; and his victory was completed by the absence of Peter des Roches, who thought it better to withdraw for a time to the Crusades. His rule was not very popular among the nobles: not only was he naturally disliked by the chiefs of the adverse party, he even quarrelled with Richard, the King’s brother, and with William Marshall. Such an act indeed as the following could scarcely have failed to make him enemies. An inquisition was issued to examine into the title deeds[35] of all tenants in chief, who were obliged to make good their titles by large payments. The sum derived from this inquiry amounted to £100,000.

Langton supports his policy.

Change of Popes: increased exactions.

The support which the Justiciary invariably received from Langton bears witness to the national character of his government. The Archbishop’s efforts to free the Church from its foreign slavery were perhaps even more laborious than those of the Justiciary. Already the system which reached such excesses afterwards had been established. Gualo and Pandulf had been but single instances of a number of Roman officials who had grown rich on gifts of English benefices; and now the Roman Court determined, under the pretext of raising money for the Crusade, to demand both in France and England two benefices in each diocese and each abbey for the exclusive use of Rome. In neither country was the demand allowed. Otho, a Papal legate, held a council in 1226 at Westminster, and brought forward the demand. The clergy would probably have had to yield, had not the Archbishop, by private negotiations with the Pope, succeeded in getting the Legate’s commission withdrawn. The clergy then expressly declared that by the laws of England they were free from such exactions. That England was allowed thus to escape, and that the exactions were comparatively so light in these first years of the reign, is due to the character of Honorius and to the interest which he always took in the young King, whom he regarded as his special vassal and ward. The case was different when he was succeeded by Gregory IX., the nephew of Innocent III., and the heir to his imperious temper. It was fortunate that his constant war with the German Emperor prevented him from meddling much with English politics.

Death of Langton. 1228.

But this period, during which England was governed by such patriotic leaders as De Burgh and Langton, working in harmony with one another, was coming to a close. In 1228, the Archbishop died, and was succeeded, after a disputed election, by Richard Chancellor of Lincoln, who was authoritatively nominated by the Pope. The new Archbishop did not live long, and was in his turn succeeded, also on the nomination of the Pope, by Edmund Rich, a man of great sanctity and singleness of purpose. In the following year, a quarrel occurred between the King and the Justiciary, which was probably the beginning of that nobleman’s fall.