The Coronation Oath of Edward II
On 25 February 1308 Edward II, the sixth king of the Plantagenet line, was crowned at Westminster Abbey before the senior clergy, the high officers of state, and the nobles. In keeping with the custom of English kings, he took an oath in a question-and-answer form with the archbishop of Canterbury. He promised to uphold the laws and customs that earlier kings had granted to the English people, especially those of Edward the Confessor. He swore to be faithful to God, the holy Church, the clergy, and the people, and to give them peace. He also swore to observe justice, equity, mercy, and truth in all his judgments, and to respect and defend the good laws and customs that the people of the realm should choose.
A King Who Gave the Realm Away
After swearing this oath and being anointed with the sacred oils, Edward handed the government to corrupt and unfit men and surrendered himself to a scandalous relationship with Piers Gaveston, who served as the favorite of his court. The barons rebelled, seized Gaveston and put him to death in 1312, and made both the king and England subject to a feudal oligarchy.
The Scots then defeated Edward at Bannockburn. He returned in disgrace and consoled himself with a new favorite, Hugh Despenser. His wife, Isabella of France, whom he had neglected, plotted with her lover Roger Mortimer and deposed him in 1326. Soon afterward he was killed at Berkeley Castle by one of Mortimer's agents, and his fifteen-year-old son took the throne as Edward III.
The Beginnings of Parliament
One of the most important events of this period was the establishment in 1322 of a principle that gave every law its validity only if a national assembly had consented to it. English kings had long summoned a royal council of nobles and high clergy whenever they were uncertain how to act. In 1295 Edward I, who was at war with France, Scotland, and Wales and badly needed money and fighting men, ordered each city, borough, and town to send two burgesses with the right to vote, and each shire to send two knights, to a national assembly. Together with the royal council it formed the first Parliament of England.
The logic was practical. Towns had money, so their representatives had to be persuaded to vote for the king. The shires were full of free landholders who could supply the strongest archers and lancers. The time had come to combine these forces and lay the foundation of British government.
Not a Democracy
No full democracy was claimed. Although the towns had freed themselves, or would by 1400, from the control of great lords, the vote of townspeople was limited to a small minority of property owners. Government remained in the hands of the nobles and clergy. They held most of the country's land, the majority of the population were their serfs or tenants, and they organized and led the armed forces.
How Parliament Worked
Under Edward III the national assembly came to be called Parliament, and it met in the royal palace at Westminster. The seating followed rank:
- The archbishops of Canterbury and York, eighteen bishops, and the great abbots sat beside the king.
- Fifty lay lords, including dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons, took their places as the other part of the upper house.
- The Prince of Wales and the royal council gathered near the throne.
- The judges of the kingdom attended to advise on points of law, sitting on woolsacks as a reminder of the vital place of wool in English trade.
At the opening of a session the burgesses and knights, who later became known as the Commons, stood bareheaded below a bar that separated them from the high clergy and lords. In this way the assembly had an upper and a lower house, as it did from 1295. The king or his master of ceremonies gave a speech to both houses and set out the matters to be discussed.
The Procedure and the Power of the Purse
The Commons then withdrew to another hall, usually the chapter house of Westminster Abbey, and debated the king's proposals. When the discussion was over they chose a Speaker from among themselves to report the result to the upper house and carry their petitions to the king. At the close of the session the king called the two houses together again, answered the petitions, and dissolved them. Only the king had the power to summon and dissolve Parliament.
Both houses claimed freedom of debate and usually enjoyed it fully. They often voiced their opinions to the ruler himself, in person or in writing, bluntly and forcefully, although in a few cases the king had to jail especially bold critics. In theory legislation belonged to Parliament. In practice most laws that passed were bills submitted by the king's ministers. Even so, members offered their views and objections, and until they were satisfied they refused to vote money bills. This financial power was the Commons' only weapon, and it grew as the costs of government rose and the towns became wealthier. The monarchy was neither absolute nor constitutional.
The King's Power Outside Parliament
The king could not directly change laws that Parliament had passed or make new ones on his own. For most of the year, however, there was no Parliament to restrain him, and he issued orders and decrees that affected the whole life of the country. His place on the throne was hereditary, not elective. His person was regarded as sacred, and obedience and loyalty to him were instilled by religion, tradition, law, education, and oaths. If these were not enough, the law of treason supplied the rest: a person convicted of treason was dragged through the streets to the gallows, disemboweled with his entrails burned before his eyes, and then hanged.
Edward III: Knight Rather Than Statesman
Edward III took the reins of government in 1330 at the age of eighteen and began one of the most eventful reigns in English history. A contemporary chronicler said that his body was beautiful and his face like that of the gods. Until excess with women wore him down, he had the full look of a king. He was more a knight than a statesman and often neglected domestic politics. As long as Parliament paid for his campaigns he left most power to it. Throughout his long reign he tried to add France to his kingdom and in doing so devastated the French.
Chivalry and the Order of the Garter
Edward combined chivalry, generosity, and an interest in women. After building the Round Tower at Windsor with the forced labor of 722 men, he founded a Round Table of favorite knights and presided over many tournaments. Froissart relates that Edward tried to seduce the lovely Countess of Salisbury, was politely rebuffed, and then held a tournament so that he could feast his eyes on her beauty. The story does not seem reliable. A charming legend says that when the countess was dancing at court her garter fell to the floor, and the king picked it up and said, "Shame on him who thinks evil of it." These words became the motto of the Order of the Garter, which Edward founded around 1349.
Alice Perrers and Queen Philippa
Alice Perrers was an easier conquest than the countess. Although she was married, she yielded to the king and in return received large grants of land. She gained such influence over him that Parliament protested. According to Froissart, who was a credulous pensioner of the queen, Queen Philippa bore all of this patiently and forgave him. On her deathbed she asked him only to carry out her obligations to charitable institutions and to choose no grave but one beside hers. The king, weeping, promised to do so, then went back to Alice and gave her the queen's jewels.
War as the Business of Kings
Edward fought his battles with strength, courage, and skill. In that age war was among the highest and most important tasks of kings. Rulers who were not warriors were despised, and in English history three such kings were deposed. Every European nobleman was trained for war, and his advancement in wealth and power depended on his ability and courage in using weapons. The people suffered heavily from war, but until the reign of Edward III they seldom took part in it themselves. Their children heard tales of the victories of old knights, and they praised the kings who had shed the most foreign blood and forgot the memory of war's damage.
The Turn Against the War
When Edward decided to conquer France, only a few advisers dared to counsel compromise. After the war had lasted a generation, and even the wealthy were bent under taxes, the national conscience awoke and a cry for peace arose everywhere. As Edward's victories gave way to defeats, the fear of national bankruptcy brought discontent close to rebellion. Until 1370 fortune stayed with Edward thanks to the faithful and wise services of Sir John Chandos in war and politics.
The Last Years of the Reign
When Chandos died, Edward's son John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, so called because he was born in Ghent, took his place as head of the royal council. He governed carelessly and gave power to thieves who filled their own treasuries from the wealth of the people. In Parliament the demand for reform grew, and some devout men even prayed for the king's early death for the sake of the national welfare. Another of Edward's sons, called the Black Prince after the dark armor he wore in battle, might have given strength to the government, but he died in 1376 while the old king was still alive.
The Good Parliament and Its Failure
The Parliament of that year, remembered as a good one, decreed reforms:
- It jailed offenders and lawbreakers.
- It expelled Alice Perrers from the court.
- It obliged the bishops to excommunicate her if she returned.
After Parliament dissolved, Edward ignored these decrees, put power in the hands of John of Gaunt again, and called Alice back to the royal bed. Not one bishop even spoke a word of rebuke. The stubborn king at last accepted death in 1377. His grandson, the eleven-year-old son of the Black Prince, became king as Richard II, amid economic and political disorder and a religious revolution.