Showdown at Oxford, 1258: Should the King Answer to a Council?

Weigh a baron's and a royal councillor's arguments about limiting Henry III.

The council meeting

This is a dramatized scene based on real events. The two speakers and their exact words are imagined, but the king, the laws and the outcome are real. Read it, then answer the questions.

The Great Council at Oxford, June 1258

1King Henry III, the son of King John, has called his great council of barons and bishops to Oxford. People have begun to call such a meeting a parliament. Henry has promised the pope a huge sum of money to win the crown of Sicily for his younger son, and he needs the barons to agree to a tax. Many barons have arrived armed.

2Sir Hugh of Ashby, a baron, speaks first. "When this king reissued the Great Charter in 1225, the kingdom granted him a tax in return. That is our custom: the king asks, and the kingdom agrees. Yet he made his promise to the pope without asking this council. The charter also says that no free man may lose his land except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land. One of the king's own judges has written that the king must be under God and under the law, because the law makes the king. I propose that a council of fifteen advise the king, and that parliament meet three times a year."

3Master Walter, a royal councillor, answers. "The king's power comes from God and from his crowning. Subjects cannot bind their lord with oaths of their own making. And justice in England does not depend on barons. The king's judges travel from county to county and decide cases by the common law of the whole realm. Any free man may buy a writ, a written royal order, to bring his case before them. A council of fifteen barons would turn the king into a puppet, and barons quarrel among themselves."

4The barons won that day. Henry swore to accept the Provisions of Oxford: a council of fifteen would advise him, and parliament would meet three times a year. In 1261, however, the pope released Henry from his oath, and in 1264 war broke out between the king and the barons. In 1265 the rebel baron Simon de Montfort called a parliament that included knights and townsmen. Later kings called parliaments of nobles, knights and townsmen again and again, mostly when they needed taxes.

Sort each argument by the speaker who uses it.

The 1225 charter was paid for with a tax.Royal judges decide cases by one law for the realm.A king's judge wrote that the law makes the king.The king's power comes from God and his crowning.The promise to the pope was made without the council.Quarreling barons would make the king a puppet.

Sir Hugh (for limiting the king)	Master Walter (against limiting the king)

Sir Hugh quotes a judge who wrote that "the law makes the king." What does this idea mean?

A. A king may change the law whenever he wishes.
B. A king holds his power through the law, so he is bound by it.
C. Judges, not kings, should govern the realm.
D. Laws are made by the pope and sent to the king.

Master Walter says the common law already gives justice. How did the common law limit the power of a local lord?

A. Lords chose the juries that judged their own tenants.
B. Each lord could write new laws for his own county.
C. Judges applied one law in every county, not each lord's rules.
D. A lord could buy a writ to overrule the king's judges.

In 1259, a sheriff takes a knight's land with no trial and no court judgment. Which argument from the meeting best supports the knight?

A. No free man may lose his land except by lawful judgment.
B. The king's power comes from God and his crowning.
C. Barons quarrel too much to share in governing.
D. The kingdom has to agree before a new tax is raised.

Why did many barons most likely come to Oxford armed?

A. To help the royal judges travel safely
B. To guard the pope's messengers on the road
C. To join the king's army bound for Sicily
D. To pressure the king into accepting limits

Did the limits last?

Use the timeline and the last paragraph of the scene.

From Runnymede to Parliament
Date	Event
1215	King John seals the Magna Carta
1216	Henry III becomes king
1225	Charter reissued in return for a tax
1258	Provisions of Oxford, before a tax
1261	Pope releases Henry from his oath
1264	War between king and barons
1265	De Montfort's parliament with townsmen

Use the timeline. Subtract the years.

The Provisions of Oxford came about years after King John sealed the Magna Carta.

Which two timeline rows best show that English kings accepted limits on their power because they needed money?

A. 1225 and 1258
B. 1261 and 1265
C. 1215 and 1216
D. 1216 and 1264

Underline the sentence from paragraph 4 that best shows the limits of 1258 were not secure.

The barons won that day.Henry swore to accept the Provisions of Oxford: a council of fifteen would advise him, and parliament would meet three times a year.In 1261, however, the pope released Henry from his oath, and in 1264 war broke out between the king and the barons.In 1265 the rebel baron Simon de Montfort called a parliament that included knights and townsmen.

Later kings called parliaments mostly when they needed taxes. Why did this give Parliament a lasting way to limit rulers?

A. Parliament was allowed to appoint the royal judges.
B. Kings could not pay for wars without its agreement.
C. Parliament could choose who would be the next king.
D. Kings needed its approval before going to church.

10.

Which speaker made the stronger case: Sir Hugh or Master Walter? State your claim, give one piece of evidence from each speech, and explain your reasoning. Use the outcome or the timeline to support your answer.