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By William E. Steinman:
Part 92, Edward II and Parliament:
December 27, 2004:
Now we can get back to kings and their goings on. There can be little doubt that Edward II (1284 - 1327) was a disappointment to his father. He took the throne when his pop died in 1307. The war with Scotland was grinding on, and the treasury was running negative numbers. In fairness to Edward II, the war and the deficit were inherited from his father. The rest of his problems, however, were his own doing.
With no trouble at all, Edward II bungled everything that was in his power to bungle. He ignored his peers and chose to hang out with Piers Gaveston who was almost certainly a homosexual and who his father had exiled. Edward recalled him and gave him the earldom of Cornwall, no less. Then he recalled some other exiled troublemakers, Archbishop Winchelsey and Bishop Bek of Durham.
The barons knew the score and were not giving much slack to this guy. Through the Parliament they exercised a great deal of power. In his coronation they changed his oath. He had to promise to Honor the laws of the realm meaning the laws that protected the barons and freemen like the Magna Carta. A few months later these guys came to Parliament carrying weapons and made sure Edward II understood that the crown was important, but the king was not necessarily so.
Edward II had one special enemy and opponent in Thomas the 2nd, Earl of Lancaster. His main thing was to get personal power, In 1310 he helped force Edward to surrender his power to a committee of Ordainers. Then, in 1311 they passed what were called the Ordinances of 1311. In these, Gaveston was again exiled along with some other favorites of the king. The Ordinances also required consent of the barons to start a foreign war and placed limits of the use on the king's privy seal. There were also a long list of officials to be appointed with the consent of the barons in Parliament. They threw out the king's private bank and redirected all revenues to the Exchequer under their control and they revoked a bunch of royal land grants.
Gaveston was silly enough to return again and Lancaster and other barons formed a confederacy to protect the Ordinances. Of course there was a conflict wherein Gaveston was captured and executed. Edward II pardoned Lancaster who promptly began to mess with the royal household ending up in effective control of England. Then Edward acquired a couple of allies in the persons of Hugh le Despenser and his son.
There were more goings on and betrayals and a treaty. Edward and Lancaster got into a power struggle and finally a small war with Edward and his allies against Lancaster. Lancaster was finally captured and executed for treason by Edward's order in 1322. Then Edward went on a rampage and had a whole bunch of Lancaster sympathizers offed. It wasn't over yet. Edward promptly revoke the Ordinances. The Statute of York was also announced. This restored the kings's royal authority and gave a new political role to Parliament. While in power, Edward's allies the Dispensers began to reform the administration and actually built up the treasury.
There was still one problem and it turned out to be a big one. His queen, Isabella did not like Edward or the Dispensers. In Paris, she hooked up with the exiled Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl and 8th Baron of Wigmore. Together they invaded England in 1326 and gained the support of all of London. In the ensuing fight, the government was overthrown and the Dispensers were executed. Then they threw Edward II into the slammer where he was persuaded to abdicate in favor of his son, Edward III. Sure!
Edward III was crowned in 1327, but he was still a minor. After that, Mortimer took over rule of England for all practical purposes. Somehow, Edward II died when he was in prison in Berkeley Castle. There is no record as to how it happened. For sure, we may guess that Mort and Izzy had something to do with it. Mortimer was kind of full of himself having power over all of England. He took over other people's estates and generally ignored rights and protocol.
A few of the barons got fed up and they persuaded Edward III to act. In 1330 Mortimer was picked up at Nottingham and tossed into the infamous Tower of London. Later, Parliament condemned him to death for notorious crimes. That is legalese for ticking off the barons. He was hanged at Tyburn and Edward III came into power.
There was a lot of going on with Parliament under the rule of Edward II. Looking at the situation, we can discern a gradual movement away from royal prerogatives toward a more parliamentary rule. For sure, this did not happen overnight, but it had been growing since the Magna Carta was signed in 1215. There was still a lot more to come.
We know that a form of parliamentary advice had been going on since the Anglo Saxon kings consulted with councils of religious leaders and ministers. That was way back in the 11th century. It was not until the 13th century that Parliament began to shape up as a distinct political body. Under the weak rule of Edward II, the Parliament necessarily acquired more power and evolved into the House of Lords. The main problem with this body was that almost anyone who was or had been a part of the nobility was admitted. That makes the system pretty unwieldy with 670 people who are qualified to hold a seat in this house.
In the early 13th century, there was no House of Commons. This body began to form in the late 13th century. At first it was just representatives who were sent to petition Parliament or the King, or to accept commitments. These were knights or burgesses elected by the groups they represented. They had no chamber of their own. It was in the 14th century that they began to sit in their own house separate from the lords.
This was a very important development in the evolution of democracy. It marks the point in history when the people began to have a real voice in their government. In ancient Rome we had a similar development when the plebeians began to acquire representation in the Roman Senate. For sure, Caesar put an end to that when he crossed the Rubicon and established the Roman Empire.
The House of Commons faired a great deal better then the plebeians
of Rome. It was the kings power that was gradually reduced under
the influence of the parliament. After that, the House of Commons
gained more and more power as the power of the lords diminished.
Now, it is clear that membership in the House of Lords is more
honorary that political. The House of Commons is the effective
power in the United Kingdom.
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