A Student's History of England, v. 1: B.C. 55-A.D. 1509: From the Earliest Times to the Death of King Edward VIIGardiner, Samuel Rawson
History
A Student's History of England, v. 1: B.C. 55-A.D. 1509: From the Earliest Times to the Death of King Edward VII
Gardiner, Samuel Rawson
Great Britain -- History; Great Britain -- History -- Outlines, syllabi, etc.
14. =The 'Confirmatio Cartarum.' 1297.=--In =1297= Edward, having
subdued the Scots in the preceding year, resolved to conduct one army
to Flanders, and to send another to Gascony to maintain his rights
against Philip IV. He therefore called on his barons to take part in
these enterprises. Amongst those ordered to go to Gascony were Roger
Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, and Humfrey Bohun, Earl of Hereford. They
declared that they were only bound to follow the king himself, and
that as Edward was not going in person to Gascony they would not go.
"By God, Sir Earl," said the king to one of them, "you shall either go
or hang." "By God," was the reply, "I will neither go nor hang." The
two earls soon found support. The barons were sore because Edward's
reforms had diminished their authority. The clergy were sore because
of their recent treatment. The merchants were sore because of the
exactions to which they had been subjected. Archbishop Winchelsey
bound the malcontents together by asking Edward to confirm _Magna
Carta_ and other charters granted by his predecessors, and by adding
other articles now proposed for the first time, so as to preclude him
from demanding taxes not granted by Parliament. Edward found that the
new articles restricted his action more than it had been restricted by
the older charters. He was deeply vexed, as he thought that he
deserved to be trusted, and that, though he had exacted illegal
payments, he had only done so out of necessity. He saw, however, that
he must yield, but he could not bring himself to yield in person, and
he therefore crossed the sea to Flanders, leaving the Prince of Wales
to make the required concession. On October 10, =1297=, the
_Confirmatio Cartarum_, as it was called, was issued in the king's
name. It differed from _Magna Carta_ in this, that whereas John had
only engaged not to exact feudal revenue from his vassals without
consent of Parliament, Edward I. also engaged not to exact customs
duties without a Parliamentary grant. From that time no general
revenue could be taken from the whole realm without a breach of the
law, though the king still continued for some time to raise tallages,
or special payments, from the tenants of his own demesne lands.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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