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Outline of Universal History

G >> George Park Fisher >> Outline of Universal History




_Becket_, with the other prelates, swore to observe these
statutes; but he repented of the act, was absolved by the Pope from
his oath, and fled to France. Later a reconciliation took place
between him and the king. Becket returned to England, but with a
temper unaltered. A hasty expression of Henry, uttered in wrath, and
indicating a desire to be rid of him, was taken up by four knights,
who attacked the archbishop, and slew him, near the great altar in the
cathedral at Canterbury (Dec. 29, 1170). The higher nobles welcomed
the occasion to revolt. _Henry_ was regarded as the instigator of
the bloody deed, and was moved to make important concessions to the
Pope, _Alexander III_. His life was darkened by quarrels with his
sons. In 1173 the kings of France and Scotland, and many nobles of
Normandy and England, joined hands with them. Henry, afflicted with
remorse, did penance, allowing himself to be scourged by the monks at
the tomb of Becket, or "St. Thomas,"--for he was canonized. The people
rallied to him, and the nobles were defeated. The rebellion came to an
end. The king of Scotland became more completely the vassal of
England. In another rebellion the king's sons rebelled against him: in
1189 _John_, the youngest of them, joined with his brother
Richard. Then Henry's heart was broken, and he died.

CONQUEST OF IRELAND.--In the first year of Henry's reign, he was
authorized by _Pope Hadrian IV._ to invade Ireland. In 1169
_Dermot of Leinster_, a fugitive Irish king, undertook to enlist
adventurers for this service. He was aided by _Richard of Clare_,
earl of Pembroke, called _Strongbow_, and others. They were
successful; and in 1171 _Henry_ crossed over to Ireland, and was
acknowledged as sovereign by all the chiefs of the South. A synod
brought the Irish Church into subjection to the see of Canterbury. But
there was constant warfare, and the North and East of the island were
not subdued. The whole country was not conquered until
_Elizabeth's_ time, four centuries later.

WEAKENING OF GREAT VASSALS IN FRANCE.--The weakening of _Henry's_
power was the salvation of _Louis VII._, who had more the spirit
of a monk than of an active and resolute monarch. At his death a new
epoch is seen to begin. The dominion of the great vassals declines,
and the truly monarchical period commences. It was the change which
ended in making the king the sole judge, legislator, and executive of
the country. _Louis the Fat, Philip Augustus,_ and _St. Louis
(Louis IX.)_ are the early forerunners of _Louis XIV._, under
whom the absolute monarchy was made complete.

PHILIP AUGUSTUS OF FRANCE (1180-1223): RICHARD THE LIONHEARTED OF
ENGLAND (1189-1199).--_Philip Augustus_ was the last king of
France to be crowned before his accession. The custom had helped to
give stability to the regal system. Now it was no longer
needful. Philip was only fifteen years old when he began to reign
alone. For forty-three years he labored with shrewdness and
perseverance, and with few scruples as to the means employed, to build
up the kingly authority. His first act was a violent attack on the
_Jews_, whom he despoiled and banished. This was counted an act
of piety. He acquired _Vermandois, Valois_, and _Amiens_;
refusing to render homage to the Bishop of Amiens, who claimed to be
its suzerain. During the life of _Henry II._, Philip had allied
himself closely with his son _Richard_ (the Lion-hearted), who
succeeded his father. _Richard_ was passionate and quarrelsome,
yet generous. He was troubadour as well as king. After his coronation
(1189), the two kings made ready for a Crusade together. To raise
money, _Richard_ sold earldoms and crown lands, and exclaimed
that he would sell London if he could find a buyer. The two kings set
out together in 1190. They soon quarreled. _Philip_ came home
first, and, while _Richard_ was a prisoner in Austria, did his
best to profit by his misfortunes, and to weaken the English reigning
house. In the absence of _Richard, John_, his ambitious and
unfaithful brother, was made regent by the lords and the London
citizens. As nothing was heard of the king, John claimed the
crown. Hearing of the release of _Richard, Philip_ wrote to
_John_ (1194), "Take care of yourself, for the devil is let
loose." _Richard_ made war on _Philip_ in Normandy, but Pope
_Innocent III._ obliged the two kings to make a truce for five
years (1199). Two months after, Richard was mortally wounded while
besieging a castle near _Limoges_, where it was said that a
treasure had been found, which he as the suzerain claimed. He had
never visited England but twice; and, although he always had the fame
of a hero, the country had no real cause to regret his death.

JOHN OF ENGLAND (1199-1216).--John (surnamed _Sansterre_, or
_Lackland_, a name given to the younger sons, whose fathers had
died before they were old enough to hold fiefs) was chosen
king. Anjou, Poitou, and Touraine desired to have for their duke young
_Arthur_, duke of Brittany, the son of _Geoffrey_, John's
elder brother. _Philip Augustus_ took up the cause of Arthur, but
deserted him when he had gained for himself what he wished. When
Philip wished to reopen the war he took advantage of a complaint from
one of John's vassals, Hugh of Lusignan, whose affianced bride John
had stolen away. As suzerain Philip summoned John to answer at Paris,
and when he did not appear the court declared his fiefs forfeited. It
was in this war that Arthur was captured by his uncle and was
murdered. This crime served only to strengthen Philip's cause. He
seized on _Normandy_, which thenceforward was French, and
_Brittany_, which became an immediate fief of the king (1204). He
took the other possessions of England in Northern Gaul. There were
left to the English the duchy of _Aquitaine_, with _Gascony_
and the _Channel Islands_. The lands south of the Loire John had
inherited from his mother.

TYRANNY OF JOHN.--John robbed his subjects, high and low, under the
name of taxation. Not content with forcing money out of the Jews, one
of whom he was said to have coerced by pulling out a tooth every day,
he treated rich land-owners with hardly less cruelty. He had not, like
_Henry II._, the support of the people, and added to his
unpopularity by hiring soldiers from abroad to help him in his
oppression.

JOHN'S QUARREL WITH THE POPE: MAGNA CHARTA.--As rash as he was
tyrannical, John engaged in a quarrel with Pope _Innocent III_.
The monks of Canterbury appointed as archbishop, not the king's
treasurer, whom he bade them choose, but another. The Pope neither
heeded the king nor confirmed their choice, but made them elect a
religious and learned Englishman, _Stephen Langton_. _John_,
in a rage, drove the monks out of Canterbury, and refused to recognize
the election. The Pope excommunicated him, and laid England under an
_interdict_; that is, he forbade services in the churches, and
sacraments except for infants and the dying; marriages were to take
place in the church porch, and the dead were to be buried without
prayer and in unconsecrated ground. As _John_ paid no regard to
this measure of coercion, _Innocent_ declared him deposed, and
charged the king of France to carry the sentence into effect
(1213). Resisted at home, and threatened from abroad, _John_ now
made an abject submission, laying his crown at the feet of
_Pandulph_, the Pope's legate. He made himself the vassal of the
Pope, receiving back from him the kingdoms of England and Ireland,
which he had delivered to _Innocent_, and engaging that a yearly
rent should be paid to Rome by the king of England and his
heirs. _Philip_ had to give up his plan of invading
England. _John's_ tyranny and licentiousness had become
intolerable. _Langton_, a man of large views, and the English
Church, united with the barons in extorting from him, in the meadow of
_Runnymede_,--an island in the Thames, near Windsor,--the
_Magna Charta_, the foundation of English constitutional
liberty. It secured two great principles: _first_, that the king
could take the money of his subjects only when it was voted to him for
public objects; and _secondly_, that he could not punish or
imprison them at his will, but could only punish them after
conviction, according to law, by their countrymen.

The Great Charter is based on the charter of Henry I. It precisely
defines and secures old customs, 1. It recognizes the rights of the
Church. 2. _It secures person and property from seizure and
spoliation without the judgment of peers or the law of the land._
3. There are regulations for courts of law. 4. Exactions by the lord
are limited to the three customary feudal aids. The benefits granted
to the vassal are to be extended to the lower tenants. 5, How the
Great Council is to be composed, and how convened, is
defined. 6. The "liberties and free customs" of London and of other
towns are secured. 7. Protection is given against certain oppressive
exactions of the Crown. 8. The safety of merchants against exactions
in coming into England, and in going out, and in traveling through
it, is guaranteed. 9. There is some provision in favor of the
villain.

WAR WITH FRANCE.--_John_ joined in a great coalition against
_Philip Augustus_. He was to attack France in the south-west;
while the emperor, _Otto IV._, and the counts of Flanders and
Boulogne, with all the princes of the Low Countries, were to make
their attack on the north. It was a war of the feudal aristocracy
against the king of the French. At the great battle of _Bouvines_
(1214) the French were victorious. The success, in the glory of which
the communes shared, added no territory to France; but it awakened a
national spirit. _John_ was beaten in _Poitou_, and went
home.

DEPOSITION OF JOHN.--In England, _John_ found that all his
exertions against the _Charter_, even with the aid of Rome, were
unavailing. In a spirit of vengeance, he brought in mercenary
freebooters, and marched into Scotland, robbing and burning as he
went. Every morning he burned the house in which he had lodged for the
night. At length the English barons offered the crown to _Louis_,
the eldest son of _Philip Augustus_; but _John_ died in 1216,
and _Louis_ found himself deserted. He had shown a disposition to
give lands to the French.

THE ALBIGENSIAN WAR.--The war against the _Albigenses_ began in
the reign of _Philip_; but he pleaded that his hands were full,
and left it to be waged by the nobles. That sect had its seat in the
south of France, and derived its name from the city of _Albi_. It
held certain heterodox tenets, and rejected the authority of the
priesthood. In 1208, under _Innocent III._, a crusade was preached
against _Raymond VI._, count of Toulouse, in whose territory most
of them were found. This was first conducted by _Simon de
Montfort_, and then by Philip's son, _Louis VIII._, the county
of _Toulouse_ being a fief of France. The result of the desolating
conflict was, that part of the count's fiefs were in 1229 transferred
to the crown, and the country itself in 1270. In that year, at the
council of Toulouse, the _Inquisition_, a special ecclesiastical
tribunal, was organized to complete the extermination of the
_Albigensians_ who had escaped the sword. The advantages resulting
from the crushing of the sovereignties of the south were sure to come
to the French monarchy. But _Philip_ left it to the nobles and to
his successors to win the enticing prize.

The first period of rivalry between England and France ends with
_John_ and _Philip Augustus_. For one hundred and twenty
years, each country pursues its course separately. Monarchy grows
stronger in France: constitutional government advances in England.

LOUIS IX. OF FRANCE (1226-1270).--In _Louis IX._ (St. Louis)
France had a king so noble and just that the monarchy was sanctified in
the eyes of the people. At his accession he was but eleven years old,
and with his mother, _Blanche_ of Castile, had to encounter for
sixteen years a combination of great barons determined to uphold
feudalism. Most of them staid away from his coronation. When the young
king and his mother approached _Paris_, they found the way barred;
but it was opened by the devoted burghers, who came forth with arms in
their hands to bring them in. The magistrates of the communes swore to
defend the king and his friends (1228). They were supported by the
Papacy. In 1231 the war ended in a way favorable to royalty. The treaty
of 1229 with _Raymond VII._, count of _Toulouse_, led to the
gradual absorption of the South. _Theobald_ of _Champagne_
became king of _Navarre_, and sold to the crown _Chartres_
and other valuable fiefs. In the earlier period of his reign Louis was
guided by his wise, even if imperious, mother, who held the regency.

ENGLAND AND FRANCE.--In 1243 _Louis_ defeated _Henry III._ of
England, who had come over to help the count of _La Marche_ and
other rebellious nobles. In 1245 _Charles of Anjou_, the king's
brother, married _Beatrice_, through whom _Provence_ passed
to the house of Anjou. The king's long absence (1248-1254), during the
sixth Crusade, had no other result but to show to all that he combined
in himself the qualities of a hero and of a saint. After his return,
his government was wise and just, and marked by sympathy with his
people. In 1259 he made a treaty with _Henry III._, yielding to
him the _Limousin, Périgord_, and parts of _Saintonge_, for
which Henry relinquished all claims on the rest of France. _Louis_
fostered learning. The University of Paris flourished under his
care. In his reign _Robert of Sorbon_ (1252) founded _the
Sorbonne_, the famous college for ecclesiastics which bears his
name.

CIVIL POLICY OF LOUIS.--In his civil policy _Louis_ availed
himself of the Roman law to undermine feudal privileges. The legists
enlarged the number of cases reserved for the king himself to
adjudicate. He established new courts of justice, higher than the
feudal courts, and the right of final appeal to himself. He made the
king's "Parliament" a great judicial body. He abolished in his domains
the judicial combat, or _duel_,--the old German method of
deciding between the accused and the accuser. He liberated many
serfs. But, mild as he was, he had no mercy for Jews and heretics. In
his intercourse with other nations, he blended firmness and courage
with a fair and unselfish spirit. He refused to comply with the
request of the Pope to take up arms against the emperor, _Frederic
II._; but he threatened to make war upon him if he did not release
the prelates whom he had captured on their way to Rome. The "Pragmatic
Sanction" of St. Louis is of doubtful genuineness. It is an assertion
of the liberties of the Gallican Church. With loyalty to the Holy See,
and an exalted piety, Louis defended the rights of all, and did not
allow the clergy to attain to an unjust control. _Voltaire_ said
of him, "It is not given to man to carry virtue to a higher point." He
stands in the scale of merit on a level with _Alfred_ of England.

PARLIAMENTS IN FRANCE.--The word _parliament_ in French history
has a very different meaning from that which it bears when applied to
the English institution of the same name. There were thirteen
parliaments in France, each having a jurisdiction of its own. They
were established at different times. Of these the Parliament of Paris
was the oldest and by far the most important. The king and other
suzerains administered justice, each in his own domain. The Parliament
of Paris was originally a portion of the king's council that was set
apart to hear causes among the fiefs. It considered all appeals and
judicial questions. But in the reign of _Louis IX._,
commissioners, or _baillis_, of the king, held provincial courts
of appeal in his name. The great suzerains established, each in his
own fief, like tribunals, but of more restricted authority. Louis
IX. made it optional with the vassal to be tried by his immediate
suzerain, or in the king's courts, which were subordinate to his
council. As time went on, the authority of the royal tribunals
increased, as that of the feudal courts grew weaker. In the Parliament
of Paris, a corps of legists who understood the Roman law were
admitted with the lords, knights, and prelates. More and more these
"counsellors" were left to themselves. Later there was a division into
_Chambers_, of which the _Grand Chamber_ for the final
hearing and decision of appeals was of principal importance. _Philip
the Fair_ (1303) gave a more complete organization to
Parliament. He provided that it should hold two annual sittings at
Paris. Thus there grew up a judicial aristocracy. After 1368 the
members were appointed for life. At length, under _Henry IV._,
the seats in Parliament became hereditary. The great magistrates thus
constituted wore robes of ermine, or of scarlet adorned with
velvet. _The Palace of Justice_ (_Palais de Justice_), on an
island in the Seine, was given to Parliament for its sessions by
_Charles V_. In its hall scenes of tragic interest, including, in
modern times, the condemnation of _Marie Antoinette_ and of
_Robespierre_, have taken place. The crown was represented by a
great officer, a public prosecutor or attorney-general (_procureur
général_). He and his assistants were termed the "king's people"
(_gens du roi_). They had the privilege of speaking with their
hats on. It was an ancient custom to enroll the royal ordinances in
the parliamentary records. Gradually it came to be considered that no
statute or decree had the force of law unless it was entered on the
registers of Parliament. Great conflicts occurred with the kings when
Parliament refused "to register" their edicts or treaties. Then the
king would hold "a bed of justice,"--so called from the cushions of
the seat where he sat in the hall of Parliament, whither he came in
person to command them to register the obnoxious enactment. This royal
intervention could not be resisted: commonly the enrollment would be
made, but sometimes under a protest. Each of the local parliaments
claimed to be supreme in its own province: they were held to
constitute together one institution, and all the judges were on a
level. Attempts at political interference by Parliaments, the kings
resisted. At the French Revolution in 1790, the Parliaments were
finally abolished.

HENRY III. (1216-1272).--John's eldest son, _Henry_, when he was
crowned by the royalists, was only nine years old. For a short time he
had a wise guardian in _William, Earl of Pembroke_. In two
battles, one on the land and one on the sea, _Louis VIII._
(1223-1226), son of _Philip Augustus_ of France, was defeated. He
made peace, and returned to France. Henry married _Eleanor_, the
daughter of _Raymond_, count of _Provence_,--a beautiful and
accomplished woman, but she was unpopular in England. The king, as
well as his wife, lavished offices, honors, and lands upon
foreigners. He was a weak prince, and unwisely accepted for his second
son, _Edmund_, the crown of the _Two Sicilies_, which could
be won only at the expense of England. This measure induced the barons
to compel Henry to a measure equivalent to the placing of authority in
the hands of a council. This brought on a war between the king and the
barons. The latter were led by _Simon de Montfort_ (the second of
the name), who had inherited the earldom of Leicester through his
mother. Through him PARLIAMENT assumed the form which it has since
retained. The greater barons, the lords or peers, with the bishops and
principal abbots, came together in person, and grew into the House of
Lords. The freeholders of each county had sent some of the knights to
represent them. The attendance of these knights now began to be
regular; but besides the two knights from each county, who were like
the county members of our own time, _Simon_ caused each
_city_ and _borough_ to send two of their citizens, or
_burgesses_. Thus the _House of Commons_ arose. _Simon_
defeated _Henry_ at _Lewes_ (1264): but the barons flocked
to the standard of Prince _Edward_, who escaped from custody; and
Simon was defeated and slain at the battle of _Evesham_ in
1265. _Henry_ was restored to power. He died in 1272, and was
buried in _Westminster Abbey_, which he had begun to
rebuild. Under Henry, the _Great Charter_, with some alterations,
was three times confirmed. A _Charter of the Forest_ was added,
providing that no man should lose life or limb for taking the king's
game. Cruel laws for the protection of game in the forests or
uncultivated lands had been a standing grievance from the days of the
Norman Conquest. The confirming of the _Great Charter_ in 1225
was made the condition of a grant of money from the National Council
to the king. When the bishops, in 1236, desired to have the laws of
inheritance conformed to the rules of the Church, the barons made the
laconic answer, "We will not change the laws of England" (_Nolumus
leges Anglice mutare_).




CHAPTER IV. RISE OF THE BURGHER CLASS: SOCIETY IN THE ERA OF THE
CRUSADES.


RISE OF THE CITIES.--Under feudalism, only two classes present
themselves to view,--the nobility and the clergy on the one hand, and
the serfs on the other. This was the character of society in the ninth
century. In the tenth century we see the beginnings of an intermediate
class, the germ of "the third estate." This change appears in the
cities, where the _burghers_ begin to increase in intelligence,
and to manifest a spirit of independence. From this time, for several
centuries, their power and privileges continued to grow.

GROWTH OF THE CITIES.--The same need of defense that led to the
building of towers and castles in the country drove men within the
walls of towns. Industry and trade developed intelligence, and
produced wealth. But _burghers_ under the feudal rule were
obliged to pay heavy tolls and taxes. For example, for protection on a
journey through any patch of territory, they were required to make a
payment. Besides the regular exactions, they were exposed to most
vexatious depredations of a lawless kind. As they advanced in thrift
and wealth, communities that were made up largely of artisans and
tradesmen armed themselves for their own defense. From self-defense
they proceeded farther, and extorted exemptions and privileges from
the _suzerain_, the effect of which was to give them a high
though limited degree of self-government.

ORIGIN OF MUNICIPAL FREEDOM.--It has been supposed that municipal
government in the Middle Ages was a revival of old Roman rights and
customs, and thus an heirloom from antiquity. The cities--those on the
Rhine and in Gaul, for example--were of Roman origin. But the view of
scholars at present is, that municipal liberty, such as existed in the
Middle Ages, was a native product of the Germanic peoples. The cities
were incorporated into the feudal system. They were subject to a lay
lord or to a bishop. In _Italy_, however, they struggled after a
more complete republican system.

CITIES AND SUZERAINS.--In the conflicts which were waged by the cities,
they were sometimes helped by the suzerain against the king, and
sometimes by the king against the nearer suzerain. In _England_
the cities were apt to ally themselves with the nobility against the
king: in _Germany_ and _France_ the reverse was the fact. But
in _Germany_ the cities which came into an immediate relation to
the sovereign were less closely dependent on him than were the cities
in France on the French king.

TWO CLASSES OF CITIES.--Not only did the cities wrest from the lords a
large measure of freedom: it was often freely conceded to them. Nobles,
in order to bring together artisans, and to build up a community in
their own neighborhood, granted extraordinary
privileges. _Charters_ were given to cities by the king.
Communities thus formed differed from the other class of cities in not
having the same privilege of administering justice within their limits.

GERMAN CITIES.--The cities in Germany increased in number on the fall
of the Hohenstaufen family. They made the inclosure of their walls a
place of refuge, as the nobles did the vicinity of their castles. They
eventually gained admittance to the _Diets_ of the empire. They
formed _leagues_ among themselves, which, however, did not become
political bodies, any more than the Italian leagues.

THE ROMAN LAW.--The revised study of the Roman law brought in a code at
variance with feudal principles. The middle class, that was growing up
in the great commercial cities, availed themselves, as far as they
could, of its principles in regard to the inheritance of property. The
_legists_ helped in a thousand ways to emancipate them from the
yoke of feudal traditions.

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.--The cities themselves often had vassals, and
became suzerains. Government rested in the hands of the
magistrates. They were chosen by the general assembly of the
inhabitants, who were called together by the tolling of the bell. The
magistrates governed without much restraint until another election,
unless there were popular outbreaks, "which were at this time," as
Guizot remarks, "the great guarantee for good government." Where the
courage and spirit of burghers were displayed was in the maintenance of
their own privileges, or purely in self-defense. In all other relations
they showed the utmost humility; and in the twelfth century, when their
emancipation is commonly dated, they did not pretend to interfere in
the government of the country.

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