2.The Great Charter and the Beginning of Parliament

During the last years of Henry’s reign，his rift with his wife，Eleanor，led him into a series of civil wars with his sons.In 1189，Henry Ⅱdied in despair，with only one of his bastards to solace his last moments.Richard，the eldest surviving son of Henry Ⅱ，became king upon Henry’s death.He was only in England for ten months of his ten years rule，but the government carried on without serious trouble while he was away.He went on the third crusade² and was held prisoner on his way home by the King of Austria.He was not set free until a large ransom was paid.During the rest of his reign he fought a war in France，and he was killed in a Battle.After his death he became a hero of popular poems and stories.

King John（1167-1216）

John，Richard’s brother，succeeded to the throne of England in 1199.He grew up to be cruel and selfish，and thoroughly unpopular.He impatiently collected money for himself.He became more reckless after he became king.During his reign，he lost all his continental fief except a tiny spot in France.That’s why John was nicknamed“King of Lackland”.

John was determined to revenge himself on France，and for this purpose he had been demanding more feudal taxes and army service than custom allowed.He had made about seventy towns buy charters of freedom at immense cost.Then an army of angry lords marched to London，which welcomed them with open gates.The nobles and the king met at Runnymede，on the Thames near Windsor³.King John was thus forced to sign the charter the lords had prepared in 1215.The charter in history was called“Magna Carta”or the“Great Charter”.

The Great Charter

The Great Charter covered a wide field of law and feudal rights，but the most important matters were these：no tax should be made without the approval of the council，no freeman should be arrested or imprisoned except by the law of the land，and if the king attempted to free himself from law，the vassals had the right to force the king to obey it.This feudal contract guaranteed the barons’traditional feudal rights.It was chiefly important as an expression of the principle of limited government；it forwarded the idea that the king was bound by the law of the land.The right of revolt against unjust government was spelled out in the document.This was to be a factor in the American Revolution.The Great Charter is traditionally regarded as the basis of English liberties.

John signed the charter unwillingly and no one trusted him；so the charter itself gave the lords the right to use force against him if he broke his word.They did not have to wait for long.When the Pope declared that the charter was unlawful and advised John to tear it up，fighting broke out again.At first John’s forces were successful，but the lords asked for help from France and the King’s fortunes began to turn.Then，suddenly，he died.His nine-year-old son，Henry，was then put on the throne as Henry Ⅲ.

Henry Ⅲresembled his father in many ways.He hoped that with Rome’s help he could defeat the lords and their charter.Year after year he poured English gold into the Pope’s treasury and let him fill church posts with hated foreigners.He filled his own household with foreign advisers.He made expensive and useless attempts to win back the French lands that his father lost.After thirty years of misrule his treasury was empty，and England was ready for another Runnymede.

The king’s opponents were led by Simon de Montfort，a French nobleman who had inherited land in England and who had married Henry’s sister Eleanor.Simon set himself up as a leader of Englishmen against French and foreign influence，and put forward demands for the abolition of the excessive feudal taxes levied on the tenants-in-chief，for the relief of the taxation of the people，and for the dismissal of the king’s foreign advisers.Simon kept Henry and the royal family prisoners while he summoned the Great Council to meet at Westminster in Jan.1265.Up to this time，the Great Council had been composed of nobles and clergymen exclusively.Then Simon and his supporters decided to make some changes in the organization of the Great Council.Besides the usual lords and churchmen，two knights from each shire and two citizens from each of the more important towns were summoned to the Great Council.Thus the Great Council got the new name Parliament.The Parliament of 1265in history is generally considered the beginning of parliament.Thirty years later Parliament became a regular agency of the government under EdwardⅠ.

EdwardⅠ，the son of Henry Ⅲ，succeeded his father in 1272.His greatest achievements were in administration.He issued writs and laws to restrict the jurisdiction of feudal and church courts.His parliament（1295）was later quoted as a precedent，and became known as the Model Parliament.EdwardⅠwas also well known for his conquest of Wales.He made his son，EdwardⅡ，the first Prince of Wales in English history.But his conquest of Scotland ended in failure.