Medieval Britain 1066–1509, Year 11: Magna Carta, the first parliaments and the Peasants' Revolt (Power and the people option)

The Battle of Bouvines

提示John's allies, not John himself, were the ones beaten.

为什么John had planned the campaign for years, and it failed. Barons who had lost estates in France were already angry about the heavy taxes that paid for his wars, and in 1215 they turned on him.

15

提示Around the middle of the month.

为什么The meeting was in a meadow between Windsor and Staines. John sealed because the rebel barons held London and he had little choice but to give way.

The common counsel of the kingdom

提示He could not simply decide alone.

为什么John had imposed new and heavier taxes to pay for his wars, and the barons wanted a say. The clause is remembered as an early statement that special taxes should need agreement, and the charter is seen as an early step towards parliament. It did not last: the 1215 version was annulled within months.

39

提示Its neighbour promises that justice will not be sold or delayed.

为什么This clause and the next, which promises that justice will not be sold, denied or delayed, are the best-known parts of the charter. The charter focused mainly on free men, above all the barons themselves.

Declared it null and void

提示John had asked him to take his side.

为什么John appealed for papal support once he found the limits on his power unbearable. Civil war broke out by September 1215, and the First Barons' War lasted until 1217.

15

提示More than ten, fewer than twenty.

为什么The council also supervised the king's ministers and the royal castles, and parliament was to meet regularly, three times a year. Henry accepted all this when the barons agreed to help with his debts only if he accepted reform.

The throne of Sicily

提示The pope had the gift of this crown.

为什么Parliament refused to raise the money, and the pope threatened to excommunicate Henry if it was not paid. In 1258 Henry asked his barons for help, and they agreed only if he accepted major reform.

The Battle of Lewes

提示It was fought on the Sussex Downs.

为什么Prince Edward, the king's son, was captured too. Montfort became the unofficial ruler of England, and in January 1265 he called the parliament that summoned both knights and townsmen.

Burgesses

提示They spoke for boroughs, not counties.

为什么Knights and burgesses had been called to parliament before, but Montfort needed wide support for his new government and made sure they attended. Later kings kept summoning them, and they became the House of Commons.

He was killed

提示The royal side won the day.

为什么The royal army was led by Prince Edward, the future Edward I. As king he called parliaments often, and knights and burgesses were summoned to more and more of them.

3

提示Fewer than five, more than two.

为什么Everyone over fifteen apart from beggars was liable, at a time when the government was short of money. Collecting it in the summer of 1381 sparked the revolt.

The Black Death had killed so many workers that labour was scarce

提示Think of the epidemic of 1348.

为什么Wages rose, and the government tried to hold them down by law. Anger at these limits on pay helped fuel the revolt.

Wat Tyler

提示He came from Kent.

为什么Richard was only 14. He rode out and promised to lead the crowd himself, and the rebels dispersed. The king's courage won admiration, though his promises to the rebels were not kept.

John Ball

提示Often named alongside Wat Tyler as the revolt's other leading figure.

为什么He was a radical, and the rebels' demands included an end to serfdom. They said they were loyal to King Richard and the true Commons.

They were hunted down and executed

提示The young king's mercy lasted only as long as the danger.

为什么The king rescinded the grants he had made to the rebels. Estimates of the toll differ: one account has about 150 rebels hanged, another at least 1,500 rebels killed by November. Historians now doubt how much the revolt changed.