It might have been expected that the victorious party would now
introduce a policy of reaction and autocratic government. But the king
was old and broken by his late misfortunes: his son the prince was wise
beyond his years, and Gloucester and many other of the present
supporters of the crown had originally been friends of reform, and had
not abandoned their old views. They had deserted Montfort because he was
autocratic and masterful, not because they had altogether disapproved of
his policy. Hence we find Gloucester insisting that the remnant of the
vanquished party should not be subjected to over heavy punishment, and
even making an armed demonstration, in the spring of 1267, to demand the
re-enactment of the Provisions of Oxford. Ultimately the troubles of the
realm were ended by the Dictum of Kenilworth (Oct. 31, 1266) and the
Statute of Marlborough (Nov. 1267). The former allowed nearly all of
Montfort's faction to obtain amnesty and regain their estates on the
payment of heavy fines; only Simon's own Leicester estates and those of
Ferrers, earl of Derby, were confiscated. The latter established a form
of constitution in which many, if not all, of the innovations of the
Provisions of Oxford were embodied. The only unsatisfactory part of the
pacification was that Llewelyn of Wales, who had ravaged the whole March
while he was Montfort's ally, was allowed to keep a broad region (the
greater part of the modern shire of Denbigh) which he had won back from
its English holders. His power in a more indirect fashion extended
itself over much of Mid-Wales. The line of the March was distinctly
moved backward by the treaty of 1267.
Death of Henry III.
King Henry survived his restoration to nominal, if not to actual,
authority for seven years. He was now too feeble to indulge in any of
his former freaks of foreign policy, and allowed the realm to be
governed under his son's eye by veteran bureaucrats, who kept to the old
customs of the land. Everything settled down so peacefully that when the
prince took the cross, and went off to the Crusades in 1270, no trouble
followed. Edward was still absent in Palestine when his father died, on
the 16th of November 1272. For the first time in English history there
was no form of election of the new king, whose accession was quietly
acknowledged by the officials and the nation. It was nearly two years
after his father's death that he reached England, yet absolutely no
trouble had occurred during his absence. He had taken advantage of his
leisurely journey home to pacify the turbulent Gascony, and to visit
Paris and make a treaty with King Philip III. by which the frontiers of
his duchy of Aquitaine were rectified, to some slight extent, in his
favour. He, of course, did homage for the holding, as his father had
done before him.
Edward I.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account