Government, the rights of the king & people

The Feudal System

• KING → BARONS → KNIGHTS → PEASANTS

• the king owned all the land and granted land to who he wanted

• his followers promised to : pay taxes, fight for the king, be loyal, keep countryside safe and provide food + supplies

The Church

• had immense power, bishops were on the same level as barons

• owned large areas of land

• often tension where caught between obeying Pope or King

• struggle for power between Edward and Church

Problems for Edward - Legacy of Henry

• Henry alienated barons, increased taxes and was forced to sign Provisions of Oxford in 1258 giving the barons lots of power

• people were unhappy with Henry so were less likely to cooperate with Edward

• expectations that the land Henry lost to the French would be recovered

Problems for Edward - The Barons

• wielded power with their private armies and owned land

• Provisions of Oxford gave them too much power over things like tax

• E needed them to help run the country so couldn’t ignore them

• Parliament was dominated by the Barons

Problems for Edward - War and Foreign Policy

• war was the way to prove Edward’s capability as a king

• Edward was still the Duke of Aquitaine so he had to pay homage to the King of France

• wanted to go on another crusade

Problems for Edward - Finances

• Henry’s wars were expensive and had attempted to raise taxes however it caused conflict with the barons

• Henry had left Edward with very little funds

• Edward couldn’t increase taxes because before it lead to conflict

Problems for Edward - Wales

• Wales bordered England and there were regular rebellions that threatened the security of England

• Llywelyn ap Gruffudd became Prince of Wales in 1275 and tried to support Simon de Montfort and refused to pay homage

Asserting the King’s Authority

• Edward wanted to reassert authority over the decision making in gov

• chose his own officials (e.g. Robert Burnell)

• 1274 - Edward sent out commissioners to ask questions about land ownership, rights and what money was due to the king

Hundred Rolls

• complaints and answers to the commissioners’ questions were delivered to London and listed in the Hundred Rolls

• the Hundred Rolls were a set of inquiries into the rights and privileges of local communities in England

Statute of Westminster 1275

• response to the findings in the Hundred Rolls

• all land fell under the king

• dealt with the corruption of officials and injustices in the law system

• Edward wanted to show he was listening to the people and thought it would gain him populatity

Quo Warranto 1278

• investigated land ownership

• landowners were asked to prove that they had a right to land otherwise it would revert back to Edward

• this gained Edward more land

Statute of Mortmain 1279

• preventing land passing to the Church without the Kings permission

• the Church didn’t have to pay tax

• people used this to avoid tax so Edward closed this loophole as he was missing our on tax revenue

Statute of Westminster 1285

• focused on law & order and making the legal system fairer & quicker

Statute of Winchester 1285

• community crime

• introduced Hue and Cry - fined anyone who didn’t heed the call to peruse criminals

Statute of Merchants 1285

• reinforced Statute of Acton Burnell from 1283 to resolve issues of payment and debt between merchants

• showed Edward listened to his people’s complaints and was willing to do something about it

Statute of Westminster 1290

• banned subinfeudation

• land owners had no rights to their land once it had been sold on

Statute of Mortmain 1290

• rent still had to be payed

• military service still had to be provided on Church land

Robert Burnell

• controlled government administration - put forward the Hundred Rolls, took lead in writing the first Statute of Westminster

• in 1282 he was rich enough to lend money to Edward

• in 1284, Edward gave Burnell permission to fortify his manor house