I.

Though the example of Richard II. had proved CHAP. the danger of rendering the sovereign independent of parliament, they granted him for life the tonnage and poundage, with the duties upon wool:96 and to enable him by loan to anticipate the produce of the taxes, offered the security of parliament to those who refused to advance money on the sole security of the crown." By these means, and with the tenths granted by the clergy, the king was enabled to raise armies, and carry on a successful war in the heart of France; though, at the same time, if we may believe a statement laid before him by the officers of his treasury, the ordinary revenue of the crown was hardly equal, if it were equal, to the annual expenditure.98

96 Ibid. 63, 64.

97 Ibid. 95, et passim.

98 The receipts of the year ending the 29th of September, 1420, from the customs and duties, amounted to 40,676l. 19s. 94d.: from the crown lands, escheats, &c. under the head of casualties, to 15,0667. lls. ld, making the gross sum of 55,7431. 10s. 104d. The ordinary expenses for the custody of the marches, the fees of the judges and crown officers, and the annuities granted to different persons amounted to 52,235/. 16s. 10 d., leaving the small balance of 3,5077. 13s. 11d. But out of that sum provision was to be made for the chambers of the king and queen, their household and wardrobe, the royal works, the navy clerk, the constable of the Tower, and the care of the lions, the guard and support of prisoners, embassies, &c., and an allowance of 100%. per month lately granted to the dutchess of Brabant. It was moreover observed, that no provision whatever had yet been made for the payment of old debts, among which were numbered those contracted by the king in his prodigal career before he came to the throne. Rym. x. 113, 114. It has, however, been suggested that this statement in

CHAP.

I.

Schism

in the church.

I may here direct the attention of the reader to the schism in the Papacy, a subject which at this period excited considerable interest. He has witnessed its origin at the death of Gregory XI. after the lapse of almost forty years it still continued to divide and agitate the nations of Europe. The original competitors, Urban and Clement, were indeed dead; but their rival claims had been perpetuated by the zeal or ambition of their partisans; and to Urban had succeeded Boniface IX., Innocent VII., and Gregory XII.; to Clement Peter de Luna, an Arragonese, who, under the name of Benedict XIII., wore the tiara for the long period of thirty years. The evils arising from the conflicting jurisdiction and opposite anathemas of these pontiffs, provoked complaints and remon

Rymer is incorrect; that its deficiency should be supplied from another statement in the rolls, belonging to the twelfth year of the next reign; and that a sum of 20,000l. should be added for the revenue derived from fee-farm rents, from Ireland, Aquitaine, the dutchy of Lancaster, &c. I see no cause for the addition. Both state ments are divided in the same manner. In the first part is given the revenue belonging to the crown, in the second that derived from parliamentary grants. The chief difference between them is, that the statement in Rymer gives the net amount of the first, after the deduction of all charges upon it: the second contains every particular sum as well as the charges. If it be said that the statement in the rolls gives something more than 30,000l. for the hereditary revenue, while that in Rymer gives only 15,000.-the answer is obvious. This sum of 30,000l., after the deduction of the charges upon it, dwindles to about 11,000l.: and thus comes as near as could be expected to the amount of the revenue in the time of Henry V. as it is stated in Rymer.

I.

strances. Consultations were held : princes and CHAP. prelates united their efforts to put an end to the schism and a general understanding prevailed, that the two rivals should be induced or compelled to resign, and a new pope should be canonically elected. With this view the church of France withdrew from the obedience of Benedict, whose authority it had previously acknowledged: but, when this example was proposed for the imitation of the English prelates, they contented themselves with petitioning the king to withhold from Gregory XII. the monies which the pontiffs annually drew from the kingdom. At length the cardinals of the two parties united a council assembled at Pisa: a sentence of deposition was pronounced against both the competitors; and Peter, a Greek, was raised to the papacy by the name of Alexander V. But the remedy added to the evil. Both Gregory and Benedict disputed the authority of the council; and Europe saw for the first time three pontiffs contending for the chair of St. Peter. The restoration of tranquillity was owing to the exertions of the emperor Sigismund, who, by persuasion and menaces, prevailed on John XXIII., the successor of Alexander, to call the council of Constance. In this assembly Gregory resigned: and the refusal of John and Benedict to copy his example, was

99 Wilk. Con. iii. 306.

I.

nation.

1417.

Nov. 11.

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

He

CHAP. followed by a solemn sentence of deposition. To give the greater stability to the election of the new pope, six persons from each of the five nations of Italy, Germany, England, France, Its termi- and Spain entered the conclave: and at the nomination of the bishop of London, the cardinal Colona was unanimously chosen.100 assumed the name of Martin V. Benedict indeed maintained his pretensions in his native country, but after his death his successor acknowledged the claim of Martin. If the schism was thus terminated, it had previously given a shock to the temporal authority of the pontiffs, from which it never recovered. The contending rivals dared not employ the imperious tone of their predecessors. It was the policy of each to conciliate, to increase the number of his adherents, and to avoid every measure which might drive men to seek the friendship of his opponent. Hence the pretensions which had given so much offence to the sovereigns, were allowed to fall into desuetude; enactments, hostile to the immunities or claims of the church, were either passed over in silence, or but feebly opposed; and instead of the spiritual weapons of excommunication and interdict, were adopted the more persuasive means of entreaty and concession.

100 The English nation was represented by the bishops of London, Bath, Lichfield, and Norwich, the dean of York, and the abbot of St. Mary's in the same city. Harps., f. 610.

.I.

Evils aris

ing from

the sta

tutes

In England the duration of the schism had CHAP. allowed the statutes against provisors to be executed with little opposition. Experience, however, shewed that they operated in a way, which had never been contemplated, to the depression against of learning, and the deterioration of the univer- provisors.. sities. Both these bodies, in the year 1399, 1399. presented petitions to the convocation, setting forth, that while the popes were permitted to confer benefices by provision, the preference had always been given to men of talents and industry, who had obtained degrees in the universities; and that the effect of such preference had been to quicken the application, and multiply the number of the students: but that, since the passing of the acts against provisors, their members had been neglected by the patrons, the students had disappeared, and the schools were nearly abandoned.101 The evil continued to increase. Sixteen years later it attracted the notice of the commons, who, to preserve the universities from utter destruction, petitioned the king, that the statutes against provisors might be repealed, or an adequate remedy might be provided.102 He informed them that he had referred the matter to the bishops. But these prelates had no wish that the statutes should be repealed: and in convocation a law was published, obliging every spiritual patron

1416..

1417.