throne. Mass was then sung, and, at the offertory, two bishops led the king to the altar, where he made an oblation, and the like was done after the benediction. When mass was concluded, the king was led by two bishops, preceded as before, to the choir, where having assumed a lighter crown and robes, he then went to the coronation banquet. There the archbishops,

bishops, earls, and barons, ranged according to their dignities, feasted sumptuously; and wine was supplied so plenteously, that it streamed down the floors and walls of the palace. Those who held lands by tenure of services at the coronation were in attendance, and performed their duties.

These festivities were sullied by a sanguinary and disgraceful riot. Numbers of Jews had flocked to England in the reign of Henry II., where they were honourably protected by that liberal and enlightened sovereign. Grateful for such unusual favours, they assembled at London to subscribe among themselves, in order to make Richard a splendid present on the day of his coronation. Unfortunately Richard was persuaded by some of the bigots who surrounded him, that the Jews were accustomed to practice magic on sovereigns during the time of the coronation, and he therefore issued an edict, prohibiting any Jew from entering the church while the ceremony was performed, or appearing at the palace during dinner. Curiosity overcame prudence; several of the most considerable Jews mingled with the crowd, and gathered round the gates of the palace. One of them, endeavouring to force an entrance, was struck in the face by an overzealous Christian; this signal roused the fanaticism of the multitude: a general assault was made upon the Jews, who fled in confusion towards the city. Some wretches, eager for plunder, raised a cry that the king had given orders for the extermination of the unbelieving Jews, and as this was by no means impro

bable, when the king was a crusader, it received implicit credit. The city mob, swelled by the multitudes who had come from the country, atttacked the houses of the Jews, which the inhabitants defended with great courage and obstinacy. The enraged populace, when night came on, finding that they could not break into the houses, hurled brands and torches on the roofs and through the windows. Conflagrations burst forth in various parts of the city, which consumed not only the houses of the Jews, but those of the Christians adjoining. The king, hearing of the disturbance, sent Ralph de Glanville, the chief justiciary, and other noblemen, to disperse the mob, but they were unable to control the infuriate rioters, and were forced to fly for their lives. Towards morning the rabble quarrelled among themselves about the division of the booty, and mere weariness, together with anxiety to secure their plunder, induced them to disperse. Richard caused several of the ringleaders and most notorious malefactors to be apprehended the next day; they were hanged as a terror to others, a proclamation was issued, taking the Jews under the royal protection, and the tranquillity of the city was restored. Few persecutions were felt more bitterly by the Jews than this massacre, as is manifest from the pathetic terms in which it is recorded by Rabbi Joseph.

"And King Henry fell sick, and died of grief; for the Lord raised up evil from his own house, when he was by the Castle Chinon.

"And he died, and his son Richard reigned in his stead, in the year four thousand nine hundred and fifty, which is the year one thousand one hundred and ninety; and they put the royal crown upon his head in the city of London, in the royal palace, which was without the city. And there gathered themselves together in that place, much people from Yzarphat and from the isles of the sea. And also the Jews, the heads of the

people, were among those who came to bring gifts unto the king. And the people murmured against them, saying, 'The thing is not right, that the Jews should look at the crown wherewith the priests crowned him;' and they pursued them and reviled them. But the king knew nothing of it. And a report was heard in the city, saying, 'The word came forth from the mouth of the king to destroy the Jews.' And they arose suddenly against them, and pulled down their houses and their towers, and killed of them about thirty men. And some of them slaughtered their children and themselves, that they might not abide that bitter day: there fell slain, Rabbi Jacob from Orleans, for the sake of the holiness of his Creator, on that fearful day. But of all this King Richard knew nothing, till he heard the voice of the multitude; and he said, 'What is this today?' and the doorkeeper said, 'Nothing; only that the boys rejoice, and are merry in heart.' And it came to pass, when he heard this great evil, his anger was much kindled, and his wrath burned within him. And he commanded, and they tied the doorkeeper to the tails of the horses, and dragged him, and cast him about in the markets, and in the streets, until his spirit departed, and he died. Blessed be He who giveth vengeance! Amen."

After his return from captivity, Richard had the ceremony of his coronation repeated, at the request of his nobles, who thought such a form necessary to remove the disgrace of imprisonment. On this occasion, one of the swords was borne by the king of Scotland, and the others by the earls of Warrenne and Chester. Matthew Paris says, that Richard submitted to this repetition of the coronation with great reluctance.

JOHN.

John ascended the throne, to the prejudice of the hereditary rights of his nephew Arthur, by virtue of a

form of election. The archbishops, bishops, earls, barons, and other the estates of the realm, being assembled in the church of Westminster, May 27th, 1199, Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, addressed them in these memorable words:

"Hear all men! It is well known to your wisdom, that no man hath any right of succession to this crown, unless he be elected for his own merits by the unanimous consent of the kingdom, with invocation of the Holy Ghost; after the manner and similitude of Saul, whom God set over his chosen people, though he was neither the son of a king, nor sprung of a royal line; and in like manner after him, David, the son of Jesse, the former because he was brave, and suited to the royal dignity, the latter because he was humble and pious. So that he who surpasses all within the realm in fitness for royalty, should preside over all in dignity and power. But if any one of the family of the deceased sovereign should excel others, his election should be the more readily and cheerfully conceded. Wherefore, as our late sovereign Richard died without issue of his body, and as his brother, Earl John, now present, is wise, brave, and manifestly noble, we, having respect both to his merits and his royal blood, unanimously and with one accord elect him to be our sovereign."

This was the most decisive form of election since the Conquest, and it is so commemorated in Langtoft:

The arsbishop Hubert of Canterbirie the se
Com with gode hert to do the solempnitie
At Westmynster thorgh assent of erle & baroun
To that I ore menta Hubert gaf the coroun.

The people responded with shouts of "Long live the king!" Queen Isabella was crowned October 8th, A. D. 1200, and at the same time the ceremonies of John's coronation were partially repeated.

a To him I before mentioned.

HENRY III.

After the death of John, London being in possession of the French prince, Louis, an assembly of the principal authorities was convened at Winchester, under the presidency of Gualo, the papal legate. The principal persons who attended the council were, Peter, bishop of Winchester, Jocelyn, bishop of Bath, Ranulph, earl of Chester, William, earl of Pembroke and earl marshal, William, earl of Ferrers, and Philip of Albany, together with a great number of abbots, priors, and other ecclesiastics. They unanimously resolved that the young king should be crowned on the 28th of October, A. D. 1216. The ceremony was performed in the cathedral of Winchester, by the bishop of that see, aided by the bishop of Bath. The papal legate compelled Henry to do homage to the holy Roman church and Pope Innocent for his kingdom of England and Ireland; he also made him swear that he would pay an annual tribute of one thousand marks to the papal see, as his father had stipulated to do, when he was absolved from the sentence of excommunication. In return for this submission, Gualo excommunicated the French prince, and all his adherents in England. The ceremony of coronation was repeated by Stephen Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, as Holinshed informs us: "Moreover, in the yeare of our Lord 1220, and upon the seaventeenth day of Maie, being Whitsunday, the king was eftsoones solemnelie crowned at Westminster, to the end it might be said that now after the extinguishment of all seditious factions, he was crowned by the generall consent of all the estates and subjects of his realm."

Early in the year 1236, Henry married the Lady Eleanor, daughter to the earl of Provence, whose beauty is celebrated by all the chronicles. Langtoft says: