The Commune of London, and other studies

The Commune of London, and other studies

The paper which gives its title to this volume of unpublished studies deals with a subject of great interest, the origin of the City Corporation. In my previous work, Geoffrey de Mandeville (1892), and especially in the Appendix it contains on The early administration of London, I endeavoured to advance our knowledge of the government and the liberties of the City in the 12th century. In the present volume the paper entitled London under Stephen pursues the enquiry further. I have there argued that the English Cnihtengild was not the governing body, and have shown that it did not, as is alleged, embrace a religious life by entering Holy Trinity Priory en masse. The great office of Justiciar of London, created, as I previously held, by the charter of Henry I., is now proved, in this paper, to have been held by successive citizens in the days of Stephen. The communal movement, which, even under Stephen, seems to have influenced the City, attained its triumph under Richard I.; and the most important discovery, perhaps, in these pages is that of the oath sworn to the Commune of London. From it we learn that the governing body consisted at the time of a Mayor and chevins, as in a continental city, and[x] that the older officers, the Aldermen of the Wards, had not been amalgamated, as has been supposed, with the new and foreign system. The latter, I have urged, is now represented by the Mayor and Common Council. That this communal organization was almost certainly derived from Normandy, and probably from Rouen, will, I think, be generally admitted in the light of the evidence here adduced. This conclusion has led me to discuss the date of the tablissements de Rouen, a problem that has received much attention from that eminent scholar, M. Giry. I have also dwelt on the financial side of Londons communal revolution, and shown that it involved the sharp reduction of the firma paid by the City to the Crown, the amount of which was a grievance with the citizens and a standing subject of dispute. The strand connecting the other studies contained in this volume is the critical treatment of historical evidence, especially of records and kindred documents. It is possible that some of the discoveries resulting from this treatment may not only illustrate the importance of absolute exactitude in statement, but may also encourage that searching and independent study of sources which affords so valuable an historical training, and is at times the means of obtaining light on hitherto perplexing problems. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 68933
Author: Round, John Horace
Release Date: Sep 8, 2022
Format: eBook
Language: English
Publisher: Archibald Constable and Co
Publication Date: 1899
Publisher Country: United Kingdom