land, the wishes of the nation were gratified by the appearance of his exiled coufin, who landed from France at Ravenspur, in Yorkshire, and was foon at the head of 60,000 men. Richard hurried back to England, where his troops refufing to fight, and his fubjects, whom he had affected to defpife, generally deferting him, he was made prifoner with no more than twenty attendants. Being conducted to London, he was depofed in full parliament, upon a formal charge of tyranny and mifconduct, when the duke of Lancafter was proclaimed king, under the name of Henry IV. With regard to Richard, it was long the prevailing opinion, that Sir Piers Exton, and others of his guards, fell upon him in the castle of Pomfret, where he was confined, and difpatched him with halberts. But it is more probable that he was starved A. D. 1399. to death in prifon, in the 34th year of his age, and the 23d of his reign, having no iffue by either of his marriages.

A

This prince lived in a more magnificent manner than, perhaps, any of his predeceffors or fucceffors. His household confifted of 10,000 perfons. He had 300 in his kitchen, and all the other offices were furnifhed in proportion.

CHAP. II.

RELIGION AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS. A. D. 12161399.

AS S the power of the pope, and of the church, appears to have been at its greatest height in England, during this period, it may not be improper to take a fhort view of this prodigious fabric of ecclefiaftical tyranny, and of the deplorable oppreffions under which our ancestors groaned in this fuperftitious age. Some of thofe oppreffions are well expreffed in a letter of complaint written to the pope by the king, prelates, and barons of England, in 1246. In that letter they complain

complain, that the pope, not content with the annual) payment of Peter-pence, exacted from the clergy great contributions, without the king's confent, and against the customs, rights, and liberties of the realm of England; that the patrons of churches could not present fit perfons to the vacant livings, as the pope generally conferred them on Italians, who underftood not the English language, and carried out of the kingdom the money arifing from their benefices; that the pope oppreffed the churches, by exacting penfions from them; that in churches filled by Italians, there were neither alms nor hofpitality; and that the care of fouls was entirely neglected. To these were added many other grievances no lefs oppreffive and intolerable. His holinefs filled the higheft dignities of the church by his own power, making the archbishops and others pay exorbitant fums for their preferments. He brought all caufes of any importance to Rome, and kept the parties long waiting for their decifion, at great expence. Great fums were annually fent to Rome, for pardons, indulgences, and difpenfations. It is therefore furprifing, that the kingdom was not drained of all its wealth.

The infatiable avarice, and infupportable tyranny of the court of Rome, gave fuch univerfal difguft, in the 14th Century, that a bold attack made on the authority of that court, and the doctrines of that church, was, at firft, more fuccefsful than could have been expected in thofe dark ages. Dr. John Wickliffe, a fecular prieft, educated at Oxford, began in the latter end of the reign of Edward III. to fpread the doctrines of reformation by his difcourfes, fermons and writings, when many people of all ranks became his difciples. He was a man of parts, learning and piety; and has the honour of being the first perfon in Europe, who publickly called in queftion those doctrines, which had paffed for certain during fo many ages. The doctrines of Wickliffe, being nearly the fame with thofe propagated by the reformers in the 16th century, gave, great alarm to the clergy, and a bull was iffued by the

pope

pope for taking him into cuftody, and examining into the fcope of his opinions. Courteney bifhop of Lon 'don cited him before his tribunal; but the reformer had now acquired powerful protectors, who fcreened him from the ecclefiaftical jurifdiction. The duke of Lancafter, who then governed the kingdom, and lord Percy, the marefchal, having encouraged the princi ples of Wickliffe, made no fcruple to appear openly in court with him, in order to give him countenance upon his trial. They even infifted that Wickliffe fhould fit in the bishop's prefence, while his principles were examined. Courteney exclaimed against the infult. The Londoners, thinking their prelate affronted, attacked the duke and marefchal, who with fome difficulty escaped from their hands. The popu lace, foon after, broke into the houfes of both thefe noblemen, threatened their perfons, and plundered their goods, while the bilhop of London had the merit of appeafing their fury and refentment.

The duke of Lancafter, however, ftill continued his protection to Wickliffe, during the minority of Richard, and the principles of that reformer were fo much propagated, that, when the pope fent to Oxford a new bull against thefe doctrines, the univerfity deliberated for fome time whether they should receive it; and they never took any vigorous measures in confequence of the papal orders. Even the populace of London were, at last, brought to entertain favorable fentiments of this reformer. When he was cited be fore a fynod at Lambeth, they forced their way into the affembly, and fo overáwed the prelates, who found both the people and the court against them, thất they difmiffed him without any farther cenfure.

Wickliffe died of a palfy, at his rectory A. D. 1385, of Lutterworth, in Leicestershire, when

the clergy, mortified that he should have efcaped their vengeance, took care, befides affuring the people of his eternal damnation, to reprefent his laft diftemper as a vifible judgment of heaven upon him, for his multiplied herefies and impieties. T

The

The profelytes, however, of Wickliffe's opinions fill increased in England, and were distinguished by the name of Wickliffites or Lollards. His principles were carried over to Bohemia by fome youth of that nation, who studied at Oxford. But though many were ftrongly difpofed to receive them, affairs were not yet fully ripe for this great revolution, wifely referved for a more free and enquiring age, which abolished Romish fuperftition in this and many other kingdoms of Europe.

CHAP. III.

GOVERNMENT AND LAWS. A. D. 1216-1399.

INDER the long reign of Henry the third, the difference which arole between the king and the nobles, rendered England a scene of confufion. The people, however, obtained a confirmation of the great charter with the addition of new privileges. But the liberty of the fubject made the greatest progrefs during the reign of Edward the firft; a prince, who, from his numerous and prudent laws, has been denominated the English Juftinian. During the first thirteen years of this prince's reign, the English laws received more improvement than in all the ages fince his time. But what renders this æra particularly interefting is, that it affords the firft inftance of the admiffion of the deputies of towns and boroughs into parliament. In order to raise fubfidies to fupport the wars in which he was engaged, he found himself obliged to employ a new method, and to endeavour to obtain, by the confent of the people, what his predeceffors had hitherto expected from their own power. The fheriffs were ordered to invite the towns and boroughs of the different counties to fend deputies to parliament; and it is from this æra that we are to date the origin of the house of commons. King Edward confirmed the great charter eleven times in the course of his reign. And,

at

at length, he converted into an established law, a pri vilege of which the English had hitherto only a precarious enjoyment, by decreeing that no tax fhould be laid, nor impoft levied, without the joint confent of the lords and commons. This most important ftatute, in conjunction with Magna Charta, forms the bafis of the Englifh conftitution. Under Edward the fecond, the commons began to annex petitions to the bills by which they granted fubfidies. This was the dawn of their legiflative authority. Under Edward the third, they declared they would not, in future, acknowledge any law to which they had not exprefsly affented. Soon after this, they exerted a privilege in which confifts, at this time, one of the great balances of the conftitution; they impeached, and procured to be con. demned, fome of the chief ministèrs of state.

During the whole of this period, however, the government, was at best only a barbarous monarchy, not regulated by any fixed maxims, or bounded by any cer tain undifputed rights, which in practice were regularly obferved. The king conducted himself by one fet of principles, the barons by another, the commons by a third, and the clergy by a fourth. All thefe fyftems of government were oppofite and incompatible. Each of them prevailed in its turn, as incidents were favourable to it. A great prince rendered the monarchical power predominant. The weakness of a king gave reins to the aristocracy. A fuperftitious age faw the clergy triumphant. The people, for whom chiefly government was inftituted, and who chiefly deferve confideration, were the weakeft of the whole. But though they funk under the violence of tempefts, they filently reared their head in more peaceable times; and while the form was brewing, were courted by all fides, and thus received ftill fome acceffion to their privileges, or at worst fome confirmation of them.

CHAP.