for Edmond Ironside their Elder Brother had a Son then alive (e) Brompt 945. whose Name was Edward and who was Father to Edgar Atheling living also at the same time And though this Edward had an undoubted Title to the Crown if proximity of Blood could have given it yet the Confessor was so far from suspecting any danger from such a Title as that he invited his Nephew into England and welcom'd him when he came with the greatest expressions of Joy and entertain'd him with the greatest Confidence Nor had the People any regard to this Royal Bloud upon the Death of the Confessor but elected Harald the Son of Earl Godwin who had no pretence of Kindred to the Saxon Line These few among many other Instances which may be given will shew plainly enough how men entituled themselves to the Crown in those days and that then it was no strange thing to hear of a Parliaments medling with the Successon Therefore I suppose the men who seem astonished at the boldness of a Parliament in presuming to speak of it at this time will say that they ought not to be troubled with Presidents before the Norman Conquest and that though the Saxons might be guilty of preferring a brave and deserving Bastard before a cruel or a silly legitimate Prince and of many other Irregularities yet no such things are to be found in our Histories since the time of William the first whose Reign is the great Epoche from whence we do compute our Kings Let us therefore go on more particularly to observe what has been done since that time and we hall see whether they who wonder so much have any reason to do so William the Conquerour was himself illegitimate and yet succeeded his Father in the Dutchy of Normandy and therefore had no reason to set any great value upon that fort of Title which is derived from a Right of Bloud And it seems he did not much regard it for passing by Robert his eldell he gave the Crown (a) A patre ultima valetudine decumbente in Successorem adoptatus Guil. Malmab lib. 4. fol. 120. Sim. Dunel anno 1087. fol. 213. Brompt f. 980. by his last Will to William Rufus his younger Son disposing only with regard to his own Inclinations the Crown which himself had gain'd But his Son was too wise to rely upon this Disposition as a sufficient Title and therefore had recourse to a more sute one (b) Convocatis terrae magnatibus Brompt 983. Optimates frequentes 〈◊〉 Westmonasterium in Concilium convenere ubi loci post lorgam Consultatinnem Guilielinum Rufum Regem fecere Mat. Paris Flores hist fol. 231. Volentibus omnium Provincianum animis in Regem acceptus Mat. Paris in vit Gull 2. fol. 14. anno 1088. For calling together the Nobles and wise Men of the Kingdom he acquainted them in a full Council with his Fathers Will and desired their Consent to it who after a long Consultation did at last unanimously agree to make him their King and thereupon he was Crown'd by Langfranck Archbishop of Canterbury I cannot but observe one thing farther that though some men make use of the absolute Victory which the Conquerour had made and affirm that thereby the English were wholly broken and all the old Laws and Customs of the Realm were destroy'd yet it is plain that at this time the English Interest was so great that it kept the Crown upon William Rufus's Head in spight of all that the Normans could do in behalf of Robert though they universally joyn'd with him (c) Rex fecit convocare Anglos Sim. Dunelm an 1088. fol. 214. For the King calling together the English and opening to them the Treason of the Normans and (d) Angli cum fideliter juvabant c. Sim. Dun. ubi supra promising them a compleat Resticution of their ancient Laws they stood firm to him and soon put an end to all the Attempts of his Brother and his Norman Accomplices Upon the Death of William Rufus Robert had a fair pretence to renew his Claim to the Crown (a) Hic Robertus semper contraraus adeo innaturalis extiterat Baronibus Regni Angliae quod plenario consersie consilio totius Communitatis Regn◠ipsum refutaverunt pro Rege omnino reousaverunt Henricum fratrem in Regem erexerunt H. de Knyght c. 8. 2374. Post mortem Willielmi Rufi electus est Henricus frater ejus M. Paris 55. in vita H. 1. an 1100. 62. anno 1105 Mat. West 235. Apud Winton in Regem electus est Brempt 997. but that Prince had discover'd too much of the Cruelty of his Disposition of his aversion to the English Nation and of his proneness to Revenge so that by the full Consent and Counsel of the whole Body of the Realm assembled at Winchester he was finally rejected and they did concur to elect the Conqueror's third Son Henry for their King as Mar. Westminster expresses it Nor did they do this but upon Terms for both the Clergy and Laity said that if he would restore them their ancient Liberties and confirm them by his Charter and abrogate some severe Laws which his Father had made they would consent to make him King And this prudent and learned King was not ashamed or unwilling to own this Title for he does at large recite it in his Charter whereby he confirms their Liberties (b) Rich. Hagulstad 310. Brompt 10.21 Mat. Paris 240. Sciatis me misericordia Dei communi consilio Baronum Regni Angliae ejusdem Regni Regem Coronatum esse c. Henry the first you see had reason to believe and own the Power of the Kingdom in setting the Crown upon what head they pleased and therefore he desired to secure it that way to his Posterity To that end in the 13th year of his Reign (c) Coacio Concilio fecit omnes Principes Potentes Anglicani Regni adjurare terram Regnum Willielmo filio suo c. Gervas Cron. 1138. he summon'd a Council and procured all the great and powerful men of the Kingdom to swear that his Son William should succeed him But afterwards this Son of his was unfortunately drown'd and the King dy'd leaving no other Issue but Maud his Daughter who had been married to the Emperor and afterward to Geoffery Plantaginet Earl of Anjou No dispute can be made but that she had all the Right which proximity of Bloud could give yet Stephen Earl of Boloign who was the Son of Adela one of the Conquerors Daughters and whose elder Brother Theobald Earl of Blois was then living stept in before her and by representing to them the Inconvenience of a Feminine Government and promising them to consent to such good and gentle Laws as they should devise prevail'd (d) A primoribus Regni cum fuvere Cleri populi Electus est à Wil. Cant. Archiepiscopo in Regem Consecratur R. Hagulstad an 1156. f. 312. Consentientibus
could make any title to the Crown nisi ab universitate Regni unanimiter Electus And that he who was most worthy ought to be preferred But as he goes on if any one of the Race of the deceased King was more deserving than others as John the Brother of the deceased King was the People ought more readily to elect him than a Stranger to the Royal Bloud This was all the Title King John pretended and this was then sufficient to put by his Nephew And in his (f) Charta Moderationis feodi Magni figilli an 1 Jo. ex vet Reg. in Archivis Arch. Cant. he says he came to the Crown Jure Hereditarin mediante tam Cleri quam Populi unanimi Consensu Favore Charters he does more than once own that he owed his Crown to the election and favour of his Subjects But when King John gave over to dissemble his Nature and went about to change his Religion (g) Nâ—enon Legem Christianum Quam vanam cersuit retinquens Legi Mahometis fideliter adhaereret Mat. Par. 243. for he made offers of that sort to the King of Morocco when he discovered himself not to be that worthy man which the People supposed him to have been they remembred whence he derived his Title and proceeded upon the same reason that they had chosen him to make a new Election (h) Mat. Par. 279. Flo. Hist an 1216. chusing Lewis Son of Philip King of France who was next Heir to the Crown in the right of Blanch his Wife Neece to King John and Daughter to his Sister Elianor both the Children of Geoffery Duke of Britain being dead before that time When King Philip heard of their choice he consented to send his Son being the rather induced thereto by this reason (i) Velens fratrem suum Regem Ricardum à Regno Angliae injuste privare inde de proditiane accusatus coram eo convictus Damnatus fuit per judicium in Curia ipsius Regis Mat. Westm 275. Mat. Par. 281. That John's Bloud being corrupted by an Attainder of Treason in the Life-time of his Brother Richard he was uncapable of taking the Crown by Descent and unworthy to take it any other way Lewis coming to London was there Elected and Constituted King swearing to preserve the Peoples Laws and they swearing Allgiance to him But he soon forgot his Coronation-Oath and attempted several ways to introduce an Arbitrary Government before he was well Established in his Throne which the English assoon resented And King John happening to die very opportunely The Earl-Marshal calling together the Great men of the Kingdom and placing Henry the third then an Infant in the midst of them perswaded them to make him King who was altogether innocent of his Fathers faults (k) Mat. West 275. Hen. de Knyght f. 2426 c. 15. l. 2. The Earl of Gloucester said this was contrary to their Oath to Lewis To which the Marshal replied that Lewis by breaking his Oath had absolved them from theirs and that he despised the English to set up the French and that he would be the destruction of the Realm With whose Reasons the whole Assembly being convinced cried out unanimously Fiat Rex and accordingly they Crown'd King Henry the third and soon after compelled Lewis to re-renounce all pretences to the Crown Henry the Third dying Hen. de Knight f. 2472. c. 16. l. 2. after a long and troublesome Reign his Son Edward the First a Prince of great hopes and whose Life answered the highest expectations succeeded but whether he was the eldest Son of his Father remains a doubt in History The House of Lancaster who derived themselves from his Brother Edmond pretending always that Edmond was the Elder and Edward the Younger Brother and that Edmond was put by the Crown by common Consent for his Deformity After the Death of Edward the First Tho. Walsingh in Vit. Ed. 2. f. 126. his Son Edward the Second succeeded but he degenerating from so great a Father the People grew weary of his Irregular and Arbitrary Government And a Parliament being by him summoned at Westminster Pol. Virg. l. 18. f. 352. as all our Writers say or as Polydor Virgil words it Principes Convocato Concilio pervenerunt Londini which I observe only that we may know what Polydor means when he makes use of the expression of Principes in Concilio Congregati They presently entred into a consideration of the miserable state of the Nation Froissart 1. vol c. 14. Fructus Temporum Part 7. f. 107. Hen. de Knight l. 3. c. 15. f. 2549. and a Paper being publickly read containing many Instances of the King's Misgovernment all which he had confessed they concluded he was unworthy to Reign any longer and that he ought to be deposed and sent to him to let him know their Resolution and to require him to renounce his Crown and Royal Dignity otherwise they would proceed as they thought good And they appointed Commissioners to go to him in their Names The Bishop of Ely for the Bishops The Earl of Warren for the Earls Sir Henry Piercy for the Barons and Sir William Frussel for the Commons to resign their Homage up to him which Frussel pronounced in all their Names and formally deprived him of all Royal Power the form of which is particularly set down by Knighton The King read this sad Sentence with extraordinary grief and many complaints of those evil Counsellors who had seduced him but in the midst of his Sorrow (a) Quod Filium suum Edwardum post se Regnaturum Eligissemt Knyght 2550. he gave them thanks that they Elected his Son to reign after him Thus was that glorious Prince Edward the Third elected King in his Fathers Life-time Et huic Electioni universus populus consensit Walter Arch-Bishop of Canterbury who preached the Coronation-Sermon took this for his Text Vox Populi vox Dei. By this we may see that all his Predecessors were not of Archbishop Lawd's minde but thought there was a Divine Right somewhere else than where he placed it Upon the death of Edward the black Prince there was some Dispute whether John of Gaunt the eldest surviving Son of Edward the Third should Succeed Jure propinquitatis or Richard the Son of the Black Prince whereupon Edward the Third procured the Parliament to confirm the Succession to Richard the Second And afterwards when Edward the Third dyed (b) Pol. Virg. 20. f. 295. (c) Juri Hereditario ac etiam voto communi singulorum H. Knyght l. 5. f. 2630. Polidorus Virgil says Rot. Parl. 1 H. 4. Principes Regni habito Concilio apud Westm you know what Polidor means by principes Richardum Edwardi principis Filium Regem dicunt by their common Suffrages Pol. Virg. l. 5. In the 21 year of Richard's Reign a Parliament being assembled at Westminster they drew up by their common Consent a Form whereby he did resign
A Brief HISTORY OF THE SUCCESSION Collected out of the RECORDS and the most Authentick HISTORIANS Written for the Satisfaction of the EARL of H. MEn generally at present busy themselves in discoursing about the Succession and therefore cannot but be pleased to have a short History of it set before them For by seeing how the Crown has descended and in what manner Caes de Bell. Gall. lib. 5. Tacitus in vitae Jul. Agricolae Strab. lib. 4. and upon what grounds the natural Course of the Descent hath been changed they will be enabled to judge what has been the Opinion of all Ages in this so controverted a Point and thereby may safely direct their Own Nothing certain has come dow to us of the Nature of the Government of this Island before the Romans came hither only this we learn from Caesar and Strabo and Tacitus That the Britans were subject to many Princes and States not confederate nor consulting in common but always suspecting and frequently warring with one another During the Heptarchy whilst every Kingdom was govern'd by different Laws we cannot think they agreed in one Rule of Succession But if that does not I am sure the reading the many Changes and Confusions of those Times must convince any man that their Rule was uncertain or else that they had no Rule at all Those seven Kingdoms were at last united under Egbert But yet our Historians who lived nearest those Times exprest themselves so odly in this Matter and do so constantly mention the Election of almost every King before they tell us of his Coronation that some learned men have doubted whether before the Conquest the Government of this Island was ever grown up into a settled Hereditary Monarchy Surely if it were so yet all must agree that (a) Pol. Virg. Hist Angl. l. 4. in fine Will. Malmes l. 1. c. 2. fol. 16. l. 2. c. 1. fol. 36. then the Succession was not guided by the same Rules as some men believe or pretend it ought now to be Egbert himself the first English Monarch came to the Crown not by Succession but Election being no way related to Brissicu the last of the West-Saxon Kings and when he died he gave the Kingdons of Kent and Essex to his second Son (b) Hen. Hunt l. 5 fol. 348. Will. Malmes lib. 2. c. 3. f. 41. Ethelwolf divided the whole Island between his two Sons Ethelbald and Ethelbert (c) Will. Malmes l. 2. c. 6. f. 48. Athelstan though a Bastard succeeded his Father and was preferred to his ligitimate Brothers (d) Will. Malmes l. 2. c. 6. f. 55. Rog. Hoved. par 1. f. 423. Hen. Hunt l. 5. f. 355. Edred the younger Brother of King Edmond was advanced to the Throne though the deceased Prince had two Sons Edwin and Edgar who did both of them reign afterward successively Edgar left a Son at his Death but yet there hapned a mighty Contest about his Successor (e) De Rege Eligendo magna inter Regni Primores oborta est dissentio Simeon Dunelm an 975. f. 160 Edwardum Elegerunt Electum consecraverunt lin Rogem unxerunt Sim. Dunelm ubi supra some of the great 〈◊〉 contending for the Election of Egelred his Brother But at last the Interest of Edward the Son prevail'd and he was in a full Assembly elected consecrated and anointed King That which Ailredus Abbot of Rievallis in his Life of Edward the Confessor gives an account of seems very remarkable to our purpose King Ethelred (f) Gloriosus Rex Ethelridus Ailred Rievalis fo 372. who was no tame and easie Prince desirous to establish his Successor in his Life-time (g) Fit magnus coram Rege Episcoporum Conventus Reival ubi supra summon'd a great Council expresly for that purpose and proposes the thing to them The Council were divided some of them appearing for Edmond his eldest Son and some for Alfred his second Son by Queen Emma But at last upon some superstitious Fancy they agreed to pass by both of them and elected the Infant that was in the Queens Womb. To which Election the King gave his (h) Praebet Electioni Rex consensum Ailr Ab. Reival ubi supra Royal Assent and the whole Assembly swore Fealty to the Child whilst yet unborn Undoubtedly this Story makes it plain that it was not enough at that time to entitle one to the Crown that he was the Kings Eldest Son for the Ethelred would never have suffer'd a Debate about the Election of a Successor nor summon'd a Parliament expresly for that purpose which you see he though necessary to be done And notwithstanding all his care it seems upon the Death of Ethelred Canutus had so great an Interest that by an unanimous consent in a full (a) Episcopi Abbates Duces Quique nobiliores Angliae in unum congregati pari consensu Canutum in Dominium Regem Eligere omnem progeniem Regis Ethelredi repudiantes Sim. Dunelm an 1016. f. 173. Brompt f. 903. Rog. Hovedon 1 par f. 434. Counsel he was elected King and all the Issue of the last Prince rejected 'T is true the Londoners stood firm to Edmond Ironside the approbation of that renowned City had then no little Influence on the Succession and there were divers Battels fought between them but at last they came to an Agreement and Edmond dying the Dane ruled the whole Island peaceably whilst he lived Immediately upon the Death of Canutus there was assembled at Oxford (b) Placitum magnum de Regni Successione apud Oxonium factum est Brompt 932. Canuto mortuo facta est apud Oxonium magna alteratio de Regni Successione Hen. Knyht de event Angl. Hen. Hunt l. 6. f. 364. a great Council to determine who ought to succeed where notwithstanding all the Interest which Godwin Earl of Kent and the West Saxon great men could make on the behalf of Hardiknute the legitimate Son of the dead King they were over-voted and Harald Harefoot his Bastard begotten on Ailena or Elgiva was elected Harald dy'd in the 5th year of his Reign and (c) Post mortem Heraldi Hardeknute Electus Rex Hen. Hunt l. 6. f. 365. then the People were content to accept of Hardiknute for their King and to that end sent for him out of Flanders but he dying Issueless it was ordained in a (d) Omnes Anglorum magnates ad invicem tractantes de communi Concilio Juramento statuerunt quod nunquam temporibus futuris aliquis Dacus super cos in Angliâ regnaret Brompt 934. General Council that never any Dane should for the future be admitted to Reign in England After which they proceeded to elect Alfred the Son of Ethelred and he being murder'd by the Treachery of Earl Godwin they chose his Brother Edward commonly called Edward the Confessor Nor were these Elections of theirs made with any respect to nearness of Bloud more than those whereof we have heard before
in ejus promotionem Willielmo Cantuariensis Archiepiscopo Clericorum Laicorum universitate apud London Jo. Hagulstad 250. Predictus Stephanus à cunctis in Regem Electus Gervas Chron. f. 340. Congregatis Londiniis terrae magnatibus Mat. Paris 74. with the Estates of the Realm to elect him King And in this Charter which he made soon after he owns this Title beginning it thus Ego Stephanus Dei gratia assensu Cleri Populi in Regem Angliae electus c. And the Pope in his Charter of Confirmation sent to him in the first year of his Reign tells him That he was Communi voto unanimi assensu tam Procerum quam etiam Populi in Regem electus And then he adds That since so universal an Assent could not be directed but by the Divine Grace he therefore allows his Title and confirms him in the Kingdom 'T is true that afterwards Mawd the Empress together with her Son Henry having after some years gained many to their side gave him great disturbance till at last Stephen having lost his Eldest Son Eustace in whom he placed his hopes (e) Hen. Hunt l. 8. f. 395. R. Hag. de gestii Steph. 314. and used all means whilst he liv'd to have got him declared his Successor but without Success came to an Agreement with the Empress and her Son and (a) Facto Wintoniae conventu publica Rex Stephanus ipsum Ducem cunctis videntibus adoptavit in Filium utque interposito omnium Juramento concessit confirmarit ei totius Angliae principatum Dux autem suscepit eum in loeum genitoris contendens ei omnibus diebus vitae fuae nomen rem Regij culminis obtinere Gervas f. 1375. In conventu Episcoporum aliorum de Regno optum Mat. Westm f. 246. an 1153. 282. an 1154. Consenserunt in hoc omnes principes Regni Jo. Hagulstad f. 282. Mat. pacis 86. Hen. Hunt l. 8. f. 398. Jo. Hagalstad 282. an 1154. the Parliament who alone could give a Sanction to such Agreement was assembled at Winchester to confirm it and then Stephen publickly Adopts Henry for his Son and with their full consent declares him his Heir and with the same consent Henry gives Stephen the name of Father and agrees that he should continue to be King during his Life and they all Swore That if Henry surviv'd he should without opposition obtain the Crown and Stephen by his Charter which is set down at large in Brompton publishes this Agreement Brompt 1037. In all this Transaction certainly there was no consideration had of any other Right but that which universal consent conferred For if Stephen's Heir had any pretence he had a Son then living whose Name was William and who by the same Agreement was to have all the Possessions which his Father enjoyed before he was made King If the Heir of Henry the first had any Title that was vested in Mawd the Empress who was then also living so that neither of the parties had any other colour of Right to the Crown than what the consent of the People gave them According to this Parliamentary Agreement and Limitation Stephen enjoy'd the Crown peaceably during his Life and after his Death Henry the Second came to it as peaceably but he remembred by what Title and therefore was desirous to secure it to his Son in the same manner that he took a very dangerous and unusual way to do it (b) Convenerunt interim die statuto ex mandato Regis Londoniam totius Angliae Episcopi Abbates Comites Barones vicecomites prepositi Aldermanit cum sidejussoribus Gervas H 2. f 1412. For Summoning a Parliament to meet at London he procures his Son Henry to be declared King together with himself by their consent and thereupon he was Crowned by the Archbishop of York and Fealty Sworn to him by all This was the occasion of Civil Wars between them for the Father meant hereby only to have secured the Succession to him and the Son was impatient of having only the bare Title of a King all along pretending to an Equal Authority as doth sufficiently appear by what he writes to the Prior and Convent of Canterbury where he takes notice That his Father did attempt some Invasions upon them which he ought not to have done without his assent (c) Gervas H. 2. f 1425. Qui ratione Regiae unctionis Regnum totius Regni curam suscepiemus and therefore he appeal'd to the Pope in that behalf Nay the Father himself paid that Respect to his Sons Dignity That when he at last subdued him and his Rebellious Brothers (d) Brompt f. 1100. he would not suffer him to do him Hommage with his other Sons though he offered it But Henry the Son dying in the Life of his Father Richard was then his Eldest Son surviving and consequently had all the Right which a next Heir could claim But the wise and wary King had not confidence enough to rely upon this now so much talk'd of sacred Right but though he had already suffered so much from disobedient Sons was glad to get the Succession confirmed to him in his Life-time And the Truth is there was reason enough that he should do so for he had all his Children by Eleanor the Daughter of William Duke of Guyen (a) M. Paris 84 who was before the Wife of Lewis the 7th King of France who was still living and she onely Divorced causa Adulterii which being not a Divorce à vinculo Matrimonii she could not either by the Canon-Law universally received or the Laws of England lawfully Marry with any other Husband After his Father's Death Richard came to London to which place all the Clergy and Laity were summoned and (b) Post tamcleri quam populi solennem debitam Electionem R. de daeto f 647. R. H. par 2. f. 6. 56. after he had been solemnly and duely Elected by the whole Clergy and Laity they are the very words of the Historian and taken the usual Oaths he was Crowned And when he undertook the holy War he (c) Flo. Hist An. 1190. declared Arthur Son of his next Brother Geoffery the Duke of Britain the next Heir to the Crown Richard dying without Issue this Arthur ought to have succeeded and his Sister Elianor also had a Title before her Uncle But John the younger Brother without regarding this divine Right of his Nephew applies himself to the People for a more sure though but a humane Title (d) Praelatorum Comitum aliorum Nobilium multitudo insinita Brompt 1281. who being summon'd together elected him King And (e) Mat. Paris 197. An. 1199. Si aliquis ex stirpe Regis Defuncti aliis praepolliret pronius promptius in electionem ejus esse consentiendum Hubert the then Archbishop of Canterbury did at his Coronation preach a Doctrine which would have sounded very strangely to the Convocation in 1640. viz. No one