Introduction
When King John died in 1216, England was in civil war. A series of cool-headed regents for John’s nine-year-old son Henry III steadied the kingdom, but when Henry took over from them in 1236 he immediately undid all their good work. His spending was so lavish (he tried to buy Sicily) and he levied such cruel taxes to fund it, that his barons longed for the days when Henry had left government to them.
THE prodigal expenditure and mismanagement of Henry kept on increasing. At last the burden of taxation became too great to bear. Bad harvests had caused a famine, and multitudes perished even in London. Confronted by these evils, Parliament met in the Great Hall at Westminster. Many of the barons were in complete armour. As the king entered there was an ominous clatter of swords. Henry, looking around, asked timidly, “Am I a prisoner?” “No, sire,” answered Earl Bigod;* “but we must have reform.”
The king agreed to summon a Parliament to meet at Oxford (1258) and consider what should be done.* With Simon de Montfort,* the king’s brother-in-law, at their head, they drew up a set of articles or provisions to which Henry gave an unwilling assent, which practically took the government out of his inefficient hands and vested it in the control of three committees, or councils. The king was now compelled to reaffirm that Great Charter which his father had unwillingly granted at Runnymede;* but the compact was soon broken, and the land again stripped by taxes extorted by violence.
* Hugh Bigod (?1211-1266) was Chief Justiciar from 1258 to 1260. He resigned his position because he was unhappy with the direction taken under de Montfort’s councils, and fought for the King at The Battle of Lewes in 1264. His great-great-grandfather Roger Bigod came over with William the Conqueror in 1066.
* It is known as the ‘Mad Parliament.’ It stripped the King of absolute power, though at this stage did not vest that power in the people; that process began after The Battle of Lewes, and in 1295 Henry’s son Edward I summoned the historic ‘Model Parliament.’
* Simon de Montfort (?1208-1265) married Henry’s sister Eleanor in January 1238. Simon had grown up in France, which at first suited Henry as French was still the language of his court. However, Simon agreed to let his older brother Amaury take the French estates they inherited from their father, in exchange for the right to succeed as 6th Earl of Leicester. He was not, unfortunately, an altogether heroic figure: in 1231 he drove all the Jews out of Leicester, part of a series of expulsions across English towns. After the Battle of Lewes in 1264, he rewarded his supporters by cancelling their debts to Jewish moneylenders, destroying records and murdering witnesses. See also Britain’s Jews.
Précis
In 1258, Henry III’s barons lost patience with his profligate spending and extortionate taxes. Encouraged by Henry’s brother-in-law Simon de Montfort, they accosted the king and demanded reform. Henry grudgingly signed the Provisions of Oxford, and the Great Charter signed by his father John before him; but like John, he broke his pledges soon after. (55 / 60 words)
In 1258, Henry III’s barons lost patience with his profligate spending and extortionate taxes. Encouraged by Henry’s brother-in-law Simon de Montfort, they accosted the king and demanded reform. Henry grudgingly signed the Provisions of Oxford, and the Great Charter signed by his father John before him; but like John, he broke his pledges soon after.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: besides, just, may, otherwise, ought, since, whereas, who.
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Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Consider. Last. Vest.
2 Control. Oxford. Take.
3 Compel. Great. Up.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
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