Let us, at this point, consider briefly the relations of London with the King. London, as we know already, except for a very brief period, had no over-lord except the King himself. This, one of her greatest privileges, caused the personal character of the Sovereign to be even more strongly felt by the citizens of London than by the rest of the Kingdom. In London, far more than in the rest of the country, the cause of order and authority rested upon the personal character of the King. If he were strong, the City was well-ordered; if he were weak, the City fell into disorder and confusion. Edward the First, when the City was manifestly beyond the control of the officers, deposed the Mayor for a time and governed the City by his own Warden till order was re-established. This power of the King over the City was not considered usurpation; it was part of the recognised order of things; every citizen knew that he was a servant of the King. On this point let me quote certain wholesome words of Cunningham (_Hist. of Trade_, p. 131):— “Of all the cant which is current in the present day about history, none is more pernicious than that which despises the story of real personages and real events and busies itself about abstractions, which tells us that it is not concerned with kings and battles, but with the life of the people. It is true indeed that in modern times the life of the people can be treated apart from the consideration of the personal character of George IV. or William IV. But in the Norman reigns this was not the case; security for person and property, intercourse with other nations and commercial advance were directly connected with the personal character of the King; the life of the people was most deeply affected in every way by the strength or weakness of his disposition.” The King’s revenue was made up of many distinct branches: (1) there were the Royal domain, manor, and estates scattered about the country and let to tenants; (2) there were the fines paid on great occasions; (3) pre-emption, that is, the right of buying what he pleased at his own price; when his purveyors bought goods exposed for sale this was called “prise”; (4) military tenures, by which for each five tithes of land the King might demand a knight’s services for forty days; (5) aids and fines, as on great occasions, such as the marrying of the King’s daughter; (6) the wealth of the Jews who were the King’s property; he was heir to their estates, and could without question seize on all they had; (7) Danegeld, which William continued; its name was changed but the tax remained; (8) tallages, which were aids in time of special need.