Unit 11. Henry III. The Provisions of Oxford

King John died in 1216 and Henry III, his little son, aged 9, became the king. He was crowned secretly in Gloucester, because his guardia n was afraid of another possible claimant. As the king was just a small boy, the country was ruled by a chain of regents. The first was the Earl of Pembroke, his uncle. Lord Pembroke was a real statesman. He tried to bring the barons to order, forced out of the country the French dauphin, who claimed the throne and added some other points to the Magna Carta. He changed the Forest Laws which regulated the rights of people to hunt on the Royal lands. Lord Pembroke died 3 years after Henry`s ascending the throne and was followed by Hubert de Burgh, who didn`t recommend himself very well. When in 1227 Henry was declared of age he tried to start ruling the country by himself. Henry III`s main trouble was the preference he gave for foreign councilors whom he invited to the country, neglecting his English barons. The years of his reign were marked by a series of crises in which the baronage tried to strengthen their position, often on the basis of the Magna Carta. Henry led constant wars with the French king for the territories in France that had been lost by his ancestors. It took great sums of money that was received by taxation. The king was also notorious for giving promises and going back at them. In his wars Henry depended on papal advisers and the Pope`s financial aid. In 1254 the Pope asked Henry to get the throne of Cicily for his younger son Prince Edmund. But it cost much money both to get this crown first and then to defend it. It demanded additional taxes and in 1258 a group of barons rebelled. They forced the king to sign another document in which he promised to share his power with a council of barons. The document was called "the Provisions of Oxford". According to this document the so-called court of 15 was established. The king was called "the first among the equal". It existed 7 years but in 1264 Henry gathered an army and tried to restore his rights. In 1264 the king was defeated by Simon de Monfort, Earl of Leicester, a noble man and his brother-in-law, who led the barons. The king and his son Edward were taken prisoners and Simon became the unofficial ruler of England for a year. He is said to have been loved by people and got the nickname Simon the Righteous. The king and his elder son, Prince Edward, were captured and imprisoned, but treated well. Though the king himself, then already an elderly man, yielded at least for some period, the prince planned revenge. Some months later he managed to escape from captivity and gather the army of loyal people, who had acquired many other supporters from the barons, envious of Earl Simon. (There is a legend how the prince escaped. He was riding with some people of Simon`s retinue and made them organize a race with one another for his amusement. He watched them, cheering them to ride faster. When their horses got tired, he spurred his horse and rode away. They tried to follow him but soon stopped. Edward reached the camp of his friends and became the head of it). On August, 4 the battle of Evesham took place and Simon`s troops were defeated. Simon himself and the majority of his followers were killed. In the battle the king was placed in the front of the troops and as he was wearing armor, he was not recognized. He got a wound and then was saved by his son who heroically rushed to his rescue, when he heard his voice. Later in 1265 Henry was restored to power and the last years of his reign passed quietly. He devoted himself to rebuilding Westminster Abbey.

Since 1230 the representatives of different strata of society gathered in what was called " a talking place" or "parliament" (from the French word parler -talk, speak).Step by step the role of this assembly increased and during Simon`s rule it was already really important.

I. Read the text, translate it into Russian.

II. Memorize the words, answer the questions: