7. The great riches which that prince daily received from thence. 8. The immenfe expence already incurred by the king without any advantages gained in re turn. 9. The exceffive fums requifite for difcharging the debts then due, as alfo for defraying the expences of Prince Edmund's journey, and fettling him in quiet poffeffion of the kingdom; all which would amount to more money than the whole kingdom of England could produce. 10. The deftruction and impoverishment of England, which muft be the confequence of the feveral and frequent iters or circuits of the juftices, and of a variety of extortions, feizures, and other oppreffions. II. The fcantinefs of the king's and his fon's treasure, and the poverty of the English as well clergy as laity. 12. The troubles prevailing in Gafcony, Ireland, and Scotland. 13. The hoftile invafion of England by the Welch, in order to drive out the natives by force of arms. 14. The diminution of the power of England in refpect to its councellors, wealth, and people, which the departure of the Earl of Cornwall muft occafion. 15. The encouragement it would give to the King of France, and other neighbouring princes, but more especially to fuch as formerly poffeffed lands in England, to attack that kingdom, fo foon as the affairs of Sicily had drained it of men, councellors, arms, and money. 16. The refolutions they had taken not only to refufe giving VOL. XX. their affent to the king's taking upon himself the burthen of this bufinefs, left it should be furmised that they confented to his being betrayed or delivered into the hands of his enemies; but totally to decline being concerned in the bufinefs aforesaid jointly with the king; and that as well for the before-mentioned reafons, as on account of the immoderate and uncertain expence wherewith it must be attended, and which could not be raised. Laftly, The difficult and heavy terms required in cafe the business fhould be undertaken, and which might occafion the king's lofs of his right to that kingdom after infinite trouble and expence in order to obtain it. In this extremity the King and the Pope united in oppreffing the, people; the king iffued a proclamation, commanding all that were worth 151. per annum in land to take the order of knighthood, or to pay a certain fum: he also took a tallage of 500 marks from the citizens of London, and his Holinefs fent Ruftand his legate into England to extort money; for which purpose he fummoned an asfembly of the bishops and abbots, whom he acquainted with the Pope's and the King's pleasure. The demands of the legate were fo exorbitant, that they were received by the affembly with the greatest furprize and indignation. The Bishop of Worcester declared roundly, that he would lofe his life rather than comply. The Bishop of London faid, that if the mitre was taken off his head, he would clap on an helmet in its place. The legate was no less violent; and, in the end, the bishops and abbots K being being threatened with excommunication, were obliged to fubmit. It feems, however, that fome of the prelates did not comply with the Pope's demands; for, on the 10th of the kalends of October, 1256, he iffued a bull, whereby he excommunicated all the prelates who had not paid their tenths. Nor did his Holinefs ftop here; for he borrowed from feveral Italian merchants, in King Henry's name, 135,540 marks; and, to discharge thele debts, he caufed obligatory notes to be drawn upon the bishops and abbots in England, which they at firft refufed to pay, but, after feveral ftruggles, they agreed to repay thefe fums; and by a bull, dated the 5th of the kalends of October, 1256, ordered a fubfidy to be levied upon the clergy of Scotland for the payment of the debt contracted by King Henry for the affairs of Sicily. Upon the zoth of the nones of October, the Pope iffued a bull, allowing the king fix months time for the payment of the debt to him; and ordered the king to fend an army into Sicily upon pain of excommunication and interdict. In fhort, the demands of the Pope were infatiable, and he preffed the king continually to fend him money and troops to Italy; both of which, the parliament convened for that purpose, abfolutely refufed; and returned for answer to the king's demands, that he had unadvisedly accepted the kingdom of Sicily from the Pope without the counsel of his nobles, defpifing their deliberation and wifdom; that he ought to have been inftructed by the example of his brother, who had rejected the offer; that many difficulties would attend the conqueft of a country fo great a distance from England; that the fincerity of the Pope was much to be doubted; that the Apulians were a most treacherous people, who poifoned their relations; and concluded by declaring, that they neither could nor would longer bear with fuch extortions and oppreffions. At length the king adjourned the parliament to Oxford; and agreed, that the government fhould be reformed and put into the hands of twenty-four commiffioners, who formed the fix famous articles, called the Provifions or Statutes, of Oxford. The barons, before they broke up, agreed upon an oath of affociation, whereby they obliged themselves to maintain thefe provifions with their lives and fortunes; and the city of London foon afterwards entered into the affociation. The king, being deprived of great part of his power by these provifions, was abfolved by Pope Urban the Fourth from his oath which he had taken to obferve thefe ftatutes; whereupon he declared to the parliament at London, that he would not be longer bound by them. He took poffeffion of the Tower, and difmiffed by proclamation all the officers who had been appointed by the twenty-four commiffioners, and nominated others in their room. The barons, after feveral fruitless attempts for an accommodation, had recourse to arms. The Earl of Leicester, who was at the head of the confederates, having taken the king prifoner at the battle of Lewes, obliged him to iffue fuch mandates as he thought proper. All the officers of the crown and of the household were named by the earl; and the whole authority, as well as arms, of the ftate, were lodged in his hands. He inftituted in each county officers, to whom were given the title of confervators of the peace, and invested them with new and arbitrary powers. In the body of each commiffion appointing the confervators of the peace, there was a precept to every of them, to fend four knights of each county, to be chofen by the affent of the county, for the whole county, to meet the king at London upon the octaves of the Holy Trinity then next enfuing. These commiffions bear date the 4th of June, 48 Henry III. A. D. 1258. The parliament met accordingly, and approved of the new plan of government formed by the barons. Leicester, being in the zenith of his power, caufed writs to be iffued in the king's name, for a new parliament to meet at London on the octaves of St. Hilary. To this parliament only twenty-three of the temporal barons which were of his party, and a great number of ecclefiaftics, who were devoted to his interest, were fummoned; and, the better to increafe and turn to advantage his popularity, he caused general writs to be fent to the fheriff of each county, to return two knights for each hire, and for each borough two burgeffes, to fit in parliament. It has been afferted by Dr. Brady, Mr. Hume, Mr. Whitaker, and others, that this was the first time that the cities and boroughs fent deputies to reprefent them in parliament; which opinions have been controverted by Mr. Petit, Mr. Tyrrel, Mr. Hody, and the late Lord Lyttelton. But, without entering into this conteft, it may be remarked, that, fince the time of the Earl of Leicester's adminiftration, the right of the citizens and burgeffes to fit in parliament hath never been queftioned; although the commons were not regularly fummoned to parliament for many years afterwards. It may not be improper to obferve, that Pope Urban the Fourth, by his bull, dated 5 kall. Aug. 1263, revoked the grant of Sicily to Prince Edmund; and his fucceffor, Pope Clement the Fourth, granted the fame to Charles of Anjou, brother to St. Lewis King of France. Upon the 6th of June, 1265, the king, whilft he was in Leicester's power, iffued a commiffion to feveral perfons therein named, to renounce the kingdom of Sicily in the name and on the behalf of him and his fon Edmund; and Leicester afterwards caufed that renunciation to be notified to the Pope by a letter from the king. Indeed, that Earl was obliged in honour to take these fteps, as he and feveral of his adherents had bound themselves by an oath not to make peace with the king until he had renounced his pretenfions to the kingdom of Sicily. But Prince Edmund had ample amends for the lofs of that kingdom; for upon the 4th of Auguft, 1265, his brother, Prince Edward, having defeated Leicester and his adherents at the battle of Evesham, the immenfe eftates of that Earl, together with thofe of Robert Ferrers, Earl of Derby, John of Monmouth, and others, were given to Prince Edmund, who was created Earl of Lancafter, Leicester, Derby, and Campaigne. These vaft poffeffions laid the foundation of K 2 the the future greatness of the house of Lancaster; the power and influence of which increased to fuch a heighth, that Henry of Bolingbrook, being too powerful for a fubject, depofed his coufin german King Richard II. and mounted the throne of this kingdom. And thus, in the perfon of Prince Edmund, were originally founded the great contentions which long fubfifted between the two houfes of York and Lancaster. The Ceremonial of making the King's TH HIS account is extracted from an original manufcript, elegantly written, beautifully illuminated, and richly bound, which was fome time in the library of Henry Duke of Norfolk, Earl marshal of England, to whom it came by descent from Thomas the great duke of Norfolk, beheaded in the reign of Queen Elizabeth; who married Mary daughter and coheir of Henry Fitz-Alan, Earl of Arundel, lord-chamberlain to King Henry the VIIIth. It contains the whole duty of the lordchamberlain, and of the officers in his department, is the original copy kept for the information of that earl, and had been compiled by order of, and approved by the king himself in council. Herald's College, I. C. BROOKE, R. C. "The oolde ordre of makyng the kynges bedd, not to be used nor done, but as hys grace well comaund and appoynte from tyme to tyme hereafter. Furfte a groome or a page to take a torche & to goo to the warderobe of the kynges bedd, & bryng theym of the warderobe with the kynges ftuff unto the chambr for makyng of the fame bedde. Where as aught to be a gentylman-ufher, iiij yomen of the chambr for to make the fame bedde. The groome to ftande at the beddes feete with his torche. -They of the warderobe opennyng the kynges ftuff of hys bedde upon a fayre fheete bytween the fayde groome & the beddes fote, iij yomen or two at the lefte in every fyde of the bedde. The gentylman usher and parte comMaundyng theym what they fhall doo.A yoman with a dagger to fearche the strawe of the kynges bedde that there be none untreuth therin.- And this yoman to cafte up the bedde of downe upon that, & oon of theym to tomble over yt for the ferche thereof. Then they to bete and tufte the fayde bedde, and to laye oon then the bolfter without touchyng of the bedde, where as it aught to lye. Then they of the warderobe to delyver theym a fuftyan takyng the faye thereof. All theys yomen to laye theyr hands thereoon at oones, that they touch not the bedde, tyll yt be layed as it fholde be by the comaundement of the Uffher. And fo the furfte fheete in lyke wyfe, and then to truffe in both fheete & fuftyan rownde about the bedde of downe. The warderoper to delyver the second sheete unto two yomen, they to croffe it over theyre arme, and to ftryke the bedde as the Uffher fhall more playnly sheweun to theym. Then every yoman layeing hande upon the theete to lay the fame fheete upon the bedde. And fo the other füftyan upon or ij with fuche coverynge as fhall content the kynge. Thus doon the ij yomen next to the bedde to laye down agene the overmore fultyan, the yomen of the warderobe delyverynge theym a pane fheete, the fayde yoman therewythall to cover the fayde bedde: and fo then to laye down the overmost sheete from the beddes heed. And then the faid ij yomen to laye all the overmoft clothes of a quarter of the bedde. Then the warderoper to delyver unto theym fuch pyllowes as fhall please the kynge. The fayd yoman to laye theym upon the bolfter and the heed fheete with whych the fayde yoman fhall cover the fayde pyllowes. And fo to truffe the endes of the fayde fheete under every ende of the bolter. And then the fayde warderoper to delyver unto rhem ij lytle fmall pyllowes wherwythall the fquyres for the bodye or gentylman uffher fhall give the fayde to the warderoper, and to the yoman whyche have layde on hande upon the fayde bedde. And then the fayd ij yomen to laye upon the fayde bedde toward the bolter as yt was bifore. They makyng a croffe and kiffynge yt where there handes were. Then ij yomen next to the feete to make the feers, as the uffher fhall teche In a former Volume we gave our Readers an Account of the Objections made by an anonymous Writer to Mr. Bryant's Explanation of the celebrated Apamean Medal, together with Mr. Bryant's Anfwer. As the Ground of that Difpute is now confiderably changed by the Authenticity of the Medal itself being questioned, the following Ob fervations by the learned Prefident of the Society of Antiquarians may not be unacceptable to our Readers. theym. And fo then every of theymnious Mr. Bryant having diHE very learned and ingeΤΗ fticke up the aungell about the bedde, and to lette downe the corteyns of the fayde bedde or fparver. Item, a fquyer for the bodye or gentylman uffher aught to fett the kynges fword at hys beddes hedde. Item, a fquyer for the bodye aught to charge a fecret groome or rected the attention of the public to the Apamean medal, I hope it will not be thought an unacceptable or a ufelefs attempt, to clear up fome points relative to that coin; and to enquire into the proofs of its authenticity, that the learned may |