After his deposition Richard was confined in Pontefract Castle, Yorkshire, where he found, like his unfortunate ancestor Edward II., "that in the case of princes there is but a step from the prison to the grave." His death did not take place, however, until after Henry's accession.1

310. Summary.

Richard II.'s reign comprised,

1. The peasant revolt under Wat Tyler, which led eventually to the emancipation of the villeins, or serfs.

2. Wycliffe's reformation movement; his translation of the Latin Bible, with the rise of the Lollards.

3. The publication of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," the first great English poem.

4. The deposition of the king, and the transfer of the crown by Parliament to Henry, Duke of Lancaster.

1 Henry of Lancaster was the son of John of Gaunt, who was the fourth son of Edward III.; but there were descendants of that king's third son (Lionel, Duke of Clarence) living, who, of course, had a prior claim, as the following table shows.

This disregard of the strict order of succession furnished a pretext for the Civil

Wars of the Roses, which broke out sixty years later.

GENERAL VIEW OF THE ANGEVIN, OR PLANTAGENET,

PERIOD. - 1154-1399.

I. GOVERNMENT. II. RELIGION. III. MILITARY AFFAIRS.

IV.

LITERATURE, LEARNING, AND ART. - V. GENERAL INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE. - VI. MODE OF LIFE, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS.

GOVERNMENT.

311. Judicial Reforms. — In 1164, Henry II. undertook, by a series of statutes called the Constitutions of Clarendon, to bring the church under the common law of the land, but was only temporarily successful. By subsequent statutes he reorganized the administration of justice, and laid the foundation of trial by jury.

312. Town Charters. Under Richard I. many towns secured charters giving them the control of their own affairs in great measure. In this way municipal self-government arose, and a prosperous and intelligent class of merchants and artisans grew up who eventually obtained important political influence in the management of national affairs.

313. The Great, or National, Charter. - This pledge extorted from King John in 1215 put a check to the arbitrary power of the sovereign, and guaranteed the rights of all classes from the serf and the townsman to the bishop and baron. It consisted originally of sixtythree articles, founded mainly on the first royal charter (that of Henry I.), given in 1100. (See Paragraph No. 185, and note.)

It was not a statement of principles, but a series of specific remedies for specific abuses, which may be summarized as follows:

1. The church to be free from royal interference, especially in the election of bishops.

2. No taxes except the regular feudal dues (see Paragraph No. 200), to be levied except by the consent of the National Council.

3. The Court of Common Pleas (see Paragraph No. 197, note) not to follow the king, but remain stationary at Westminster. Justice to be neither sold, denied, nor delayed. No man to be imprisoned, outlawed, punished, or otherwise molested, save by the judgment of his equals or the law of the land. The necessary implements of all freemen, and the farming-tools of villeins or serfs, to be exempt from seizure.

4. Weights and measures to be kept uniform throughout the realm. All merchants to have the right to enter and leave the kingdom without paying for the privilege.

5. Forest laws to be justly enforced.

6. The charter to be carried out by twenty-four barons together with the mayor of London.

This document marks the beginning of a written constitution, and it proved of the highest value henceforth in securing good government. It was confirmed thirty-seven times by subsequent kings and parliaments, the confirmation of this and previous charters by Edward I. in 1297 being of especial importance.

314. Rise of the House of Commons. - In 1265, under Henry III., through the influence of Simon de Montfort, two representatives from each city and borough, or town, together with two knights of the shire, or country gentlemen, were summoned to meet with the lords and clergy in the National Council, or Parliament. From this time the body of the people began to have a voice in making the laws. Later in the period the knights of the shire joined the representatives from the towns in forming a distinct body in Parliament sitting by themselves under the name of the House of Commons. They obtained the power of levying all taxes, and also of impeaching before the House of Lords any government officer guilty of misuse of power.

315. New Class of Barons. - Under Henry III. other influential men of the realm, aside from the great landholders and barons by tenure, began to be summoned to the king's council. These were called "barons by writ." Later (under Richard II.), barons were created by open letters bearing the royal seal, and were called "barons by patent." 1

316. Land Laws. During this period important laws [De Donis, or Entail, and Quia Emptores] respecting land were passed, which had the effect of keeping estates in families, and also of preventing their possessors from evading their feudal duties to the king. At the same time a restriction on the acquisition of land by the church (Statute of Mortmain), which was exempt from paying certain feudal dues, was also imposed to prevent the king's revenue from being diminished.

RELIGION.

317. Restriction of the Papal Power. - During the Angevin period the popes endeavored to introduce the canon law (a body of ordinances consisting mainly of the decisions of church councils and popes) into England, with the view of making it supreme; but Parliament, at Merton, refused to accept it, saying, "We will not change the laws of England." The Statute of Mortmain was also passed (see Paragraph No. 278) and other measures (Statute of Provisors and Statute of Præmunire), which forbade the Pope from taking the appointment of bishops and other ecclesiastics out of the hands of the clergy; and which prohibited any appeal from the king's court to the papal court. Furthermore, many hundreds of parishes, formerly filled by foreigners who could not speak English, were now given to native priests, and the sending of money out of the country to support foreign ecclesiastics was in great measure stopped.

During the crusades two religious military orders had been established, called the Knights Hospitallers and the Knights Templars. The object of the former was, originally, to provide entertainment for pilgrims going to Jerusalem; that of the latter, to protect them. Both had extensive possessions in England. In 1312 the order of Templars was broken up on a charge of heresy and evil life, and their property in England given to the Knights Hospitallers, who were also called Knights of St. John.

318. Reform. - The Mendicant Friars began a reformatory movement in the church and accomplished much good. This was followed by Wycliffe's attack on religious abuses, by his translation of the Bible, with the revival carried on by the "Poor Priests," and by the rise of the Lollards, who were eventually punished by the passage of severe laws, partly on the ground of their heretical opinions, and partly because they became in a measure identified with socialistic and communistic efforts to destroy rank and equalize property.

MILITARY AFFAIRS.

319. Scutage. - By a tax called scutage, or shield-money, levied on all knights who refused to serve the king in foreign wars, Henry II.

obtained the means to hire soldiers. By a law reviving the national militia, composed of freemen below the rank of knights, the king made himself in great measure independent of the barons, with respect to raising troops.

320. Armor; Heraldry. - The linked or mail armor now began to be superseded by that made of pieces of steel joined together so as to fit the body. This, when it was finally perfected, was called plate armor, and was both heavier and stronger than mail.

With the introduction of plate armor and the closed helmet it became the custom for each knight to wear a device, called a crest, on his helmet, and also to have one called a coat of arms (because originally worn on a loose coat over the armor). This served to distinguish him from others, and was of practical use not only to the followers of a great lord, who thus knew him at a glance, but it served in time of battle to prevent the confusion of friend and foe. Eventually, coats of arms became hereditary, and the descent, and to some extent the history, of a family can be traced by them. In this way heraldry serves as a help to the knowledge of men and events.

321. Chivalry; Tournaments. - The profession of arms was regulated by certain rules, by which each knight solemnly bound himself to serve the cause of religion and the king, and to be true, brave, and courteous to those of his own rank, to protect the ladies and succor all persons in distress. Under Edward III. chivalry reached its culmination and began to decline. One of the grotesque features of the attack on France was an expedition of English knights with one eye bandaged; this half-blind company having vowed to partially renounce their sight until they did some glorious deed. The chief amusement of the nobles and knights was the Tournament, a mock combat fought on horseback, in full armor, which sometimes ended in a real battle. At these entertainments a lady was chosen queen, who gave prizes to the victors.

322. The Use of the Long-Bow; Introduction of Cannon; Wars. - The common weapon of the yeomen, or foot-soldiers, was the longbow. It was made of yew-tree wood, and was of the height of the user. Armed with this weapon, the English soldiers proved themselves irresistible in the French wars, the French having no native archers of any account.

Roger Bacon is supposed to have known the properties of gunpowder