IX. THE KINGS OF SCOTLAND BETWEEN 1165 AND 1406. X.-THE KINGS OF FRANCE BETWEEN 1270 AND 1422, AND CLAIM OF EDWARD III. TO THE FRENCH CROWN. CHAPTER I EDWARD L.: 1272-1307 Born 1239; married (1254, Eleanor of Castile-died 1290. CHIEF CONTEMPORARY PRINCES Scotland. Alexander III., d. 1286. France. Pope. Age of Legislative Activity-Final Conquest of Wales-A Scottish Dynastic difficulty leads to its Annexation-Complete and Model Parliament-The Confirmation of the Charters-Scottish Revolt. HENRY III. died on November 16th, 1272, and on the 20th the oath of fealty to Edward was taken by the great men under the direction of the archbishop of York and of the chancellor, Walter de Merton, the founder of Merton College, Oxford. As Edward was abroad, his coronation did not take place till his return; but his reign was reckoned Recognition by the lawyers to date from the taking of the oath of as King. fealty, and not, as in the case of former kings, from the coronation. This change helped to confirm the growing idea that the English kingship was hereditary and not elective, which is tersely embodied in the French saying, ‘Le roi est mort, vive le roi.' The change, however, was not fully accepted till the time of Edward Iv., since which no interval has been recognised between the death of one king and the accession of his successor. The character of the new king was well known in the country. kings had had such an excellent training for rule, and his which tends to confirm the view that the best sovereigns are usually those who have had the longest experience as subjects. He was now thirty-three years of age; had outlived the violence of his youth, and had acquired the remarkable power of self-restraint, which forms such a striking feature during his later years. Wherever he had been brought into contact with affairs, in Wales, in Gascony, during the barons' war, or in the East, he had added to his capacity for rule, and the greater part of his policy as a king was founded upon ideas, the germs of which may be traced to his experiences as a prince. Few case is one Character of Edward I. |