Scotland, with Johanna, fifter to king Edward. This peace, however, though the greater part of the nation was exceedingly difgufted at it, received a parliamentary fan&tion; Mortimer, and the queen-mother, having found means to get over to their interefts a majority of the Parliament. This is one amongit other inftances in the English hiftory, fome perhaps at a much later period, which are fufficient to evince that Parliaments are not infallible, nor their determinations always to be depended on. Means may frequently be found, by Minifters or Princes, to biafs the judgment, and to warp the integrity, of a great number of individuals in a parliament, which cannot be taken with a whole nation. The majority of Members in a parliament may therefore be influenced by motives very different from a regard to the interests of their country; whereas the body of the nation being, unbiaffed, judge impartially, and therefore they generally judge rightly. Henry, earl of Lancafter, and fome other Lords, had not attended this Parliament: they were dif fatisfied that the queen-mother and Mortimer had ufurped all authority, contrary to the original intent of the parliament, who had nominated a regency, confifting of twelve barons to manage the public affairs. The tragical end of the late king, Edward the fecond, and the difhonourable treaty with Scotland, furnishing them with a plaufible caufe of complaint, they began to hold private conferences, in order to redrefs the diforders of the government; for which purpose an affociation was afterwards entered into by Lancaster and these noblemen, with the earls of Kent and Norfolk, the king's uncles together with fome others of the peers; who unanimoufly refolved, to ftand upon their defence in cafe they were attacked, and at the fame time published a mani. fefto containing their reafons for taking up arms. The queen-mether and Mortimer, now created earl of March, falfely infinuated to the young King, that those who had taken arms intended to deprive him of the crown; and that his two uncles, and Henry, earl of Lancáfter, grandfon to king Henry the Third, had formed a defign to exclude the iffue of Edward the fecond from the throne. Edward, who had no fufpicion of his mother, gave ready ear to this accufation, and being therefore inflamed against the malecontents, détermined to compel those by force to return to their duty, whom he already confidered as rebels. This affair would probably have been attended with fatal confequences; but the queen-mother was unwilling that matters fhould be carried to extremities, confidering that it might be as dangerous for her as for the difcontented Lords: and they, on their part, not having yet formed a party ftrong enough to carry things to the point they aimed at, were not unwilling to defil, at least for the prefent; and accordingly a pardon being offered them, they accepted it and laid down their arms. The earl of March, fupported by the queen-mother, continued to act in fo arrogant and arbitrary a manner, that he excited the general difgult of

the

the people against him; and the earl of Kent, uncle to the king, having expreffed his diflike of the measures of the queenmother and her favourite with great freedom, they laid a fnare for the deftruction of that prince, and brought him to the block. In 1328 died Charles the Fair, king of France, and leaving no male iffue, Edward, king of England, demanded the crown of France, as being the nephew, and nearest relation to the deceased king; Philip of Valois, and coufin-german to the late king, had, however, been crowned king of France; it being maintained by Philip, and admitted by the peers of France, that Edward's claim of right being derived only from his mother, he was excluded by the Salique law; by which, they said, not the females only, but their defcendents alfo, were excluded from the fucceffion to the throne of France. Edward's ambaffadors were not even heard; and as it was not in his power to profecute his claim at that time, he diffembled his intentions, and even did homage to Philip for Guienne and Ponthieu, though he appears evidently to have had no defign to drop his pretenfions.

Soon after Edward's return from Amiens, at which place he performed the ceremony of homage to Philip, he began to be fufpicious of the queen his mother's conduct; and as his fufpicions were foon confirmed by the informations of thofe about him, he was at length entirely convinced of the bad conduct, both of his mother and her favourite; and accordingly contrived to feize the earl of March at Nottingham caftle, where he lodged, as did alfo the queen-mother. He fent Mortimer to the tower, and confined his mother in the caftle of Rifing in Norfolk, where the lived in confinement twenty-eight years. King Edward having proceeded thus far, immediately diffolved the parliament, and called another by proclamation. The new parliament met at London, with difpofitions very different from those of the former; and the majority of the members were very glad to fee the kingdom free from the tyranny of Mortimer. As there were few who were attached to him from any other motive, than a regard to the influence and power he had been poffeffed of, the moment he was deprived of thefe he found himself univerfally abandoned; the common fate of favourites and wicked minifters. Edward, in his fpeech to the new parlia ment, declared to them, that it was his intention, with the confent of his fubjects, to affume the reins of government himself, tho' he was yet under age; to which the parliament readily and chearfully agreed. The earl of March was condemned by the parliament even without obferving the common forms of trial, and hanged as a traitor at the common gallows at Tyburn. The fpirit which Edward exerted in thefe tranfactions, contributed to wipe off the blemishes with which his minority had been fullied; and was an happy prefage to his fubjects of the profperity of his future reign. Soon after he formed a defign of conquering Scotland, and raifed Edward Baliol to the throne of that kingdom

kingdom, in order to carry his intentions the better into execution. He made feveral expeditions into Scotland, ravaged without mercy thofe parts of it which would not fubmit to him, and was in general very fuccefsful. When he imagined he had fufficiently fubdued Scotland, he refolved to attack France, and to exert his utmoft endeavours to wreft the crown from Philip of Valois; and with this view he made an alliance with several confiderable princes of Europe. He affumed the title of king of France, and forbid all his minifters to give Philip any other title than that of earl of Valois. Benedict XII. who was then Pope, exhorted Edward to quit the title of king of France; but Edward, who does not appear to have been a very dutiful fon of the church, paid no regard to his Holiness's exhortations. In the courfe of this war, with Philip, Edward gained the greatest military reputation, and fpread the terror of his arms through all France; he totally defeated, on the coaft of Flanders, the whole French fleet, confifting of four hundred fail, so that only thirty fhips escaped; he expofing his own perfon with the ut moft bravery. At the famous battle of Creffy, in which he was attended by his fon the célebrated Black Prince, who was then only fixteen years of age, and who greatly diftinguished himself, he gained a complete victory over the French army; and afterwards made himself mafter of the important town of Calais. In the parliament which he called, in 1342, he confirmed Magna Charta in a very folemn manner; and the fame year several beneficial laws were enacted; and, amongst others, the famous ftatute of Provifors.

The ftatute of Provisors was an act against those who brought provifions from the court of Rome for benefices. The Popes, who had affumed the power of difpofing of the benefices of the kingdom, did frequently, without fo much as ftaying till they became vacant, confer them on perfons, generally foreigners and their own creatures, who were to take poffeffion upon the death of the present incumbents. This raised loud complaints from the patrons of fuch livings; and Pope Clement VI. having carried this matter farther than any of his predeceffors, the Parliament had been forced to complain of it to him, but it was to no manner of purpose. The Pope defended what had been done by himself and his predeceffors, as an undoubted prerogative of the holy See; and the Parliament finding that it was in vain to expect any redress from the court of Rome, refolved to provide against this evil by their own authority. Accordingly by the ftatute of Provifors it was enacted, that in cafe the Pope collated to any archbishopric, bishopric, dignity or other benefice, contrary to the rights of the king, chapters, or patrons, the colla tion was to fall to the king for one turn. And if any perfan fued for, and procured refervations or provifions from the court of Rome, he should he imprifoned till he had made fine to the king at his will, and found fufficient furety not to fue any procefs against

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against any man in the court of Rome, on the fcore of his imprifonment. It was alfo enacted, that if any of the king's fubjects fhould carry caufes into a foreign court, the cognizance whereof belonged to the king's court, they fhould be imprisoned and their lands, goods, and chattles, be forfeited to the king. The Pope was extremely nettled at this ftatute; however, he did not think proper to make any noife about it, being informed that the king and parliament had refolved to stand by what they had done, and to defpife his cenfures, in cafe he should have recourfe to them. However, as he was not willing that his pretended right should entirely drop, he chofe to feem as if he never minded the ftatute; but although he afterwards granted several fuch provifions, it was with fo much caution that the abufe of them was confiderafibly leffened throughout this whole reign. On the other hand, the king, who did not chufe to break entirely with the court of Rome, was content with leaving the ftatute in force, without vigorously putting it in execution. In 1348, ambaffadors arrived from Germany, with offers of the imperial dignity to Edward; which honour, however, he thought proper to decline the acceptance of. Two years after, Philip king of France died, and was fucceeded by his fon John; and in 1354, Edward invested his fon, the gallant prince of Wales, with the dutchy of Guienne, and fent him thither, commanding him to renew hoftilities, and, at the fame time, landed himself at Calais, and ravaged Boullonois and Artois. About this time

the Scots took Berwick by furprize, upon which king Edward croffed over and retook it; and caufed Baliol, whom he had raised to the throne of Scotland, to make over his right to him for a yearly penfion. In 1356, the prince of Wales ravaged the fouthern provinces of France, particular Languedoc; and in the fame year defeated the army of John, king of France, at the battle of Poitiers, and took the king himself prifoner, and afterwards brought him over with him into England. This prince, whilft he was king Edward's prifoner, entered into a treaty with him, whereby he agreed to give up feveral provinces to the crown of England; but the parliament of France refufed to ratify the treaty; upon which king Edward, in 1360, attended by the prince of Wales, and a great army, croffed over into France, and ravaged the country to the very gates of Paris. However, this did not prevent his concluding the treaty of Bretigny with the king of France the fame year; which put an end to this long and bloody war, & by which feveral confiderable provinces were ceded to the crown of England. On the conclufion of this treaty, king John returned into France; but in the year 1364, came over again into England, on a visit to king Edward, and died at London.

An end being thus put to the war in which Edward had been fo long engaged, feveral excellent domeftic regulations were made; and amongst others it was appointed, that the English

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language fhould be ufed in all law-proceedings, inftead of the French or Norman, which had been in ufe from the time of William the Conqueror.

This was the state of affairs in England, at the period in which Wickliff began to draw upon himself the public attention. Edward the third had reigned long and profperously, had carried his own reputation, and that of his fubjects, to the highest pitch, and was now employed in making regulations for their intereft and happiness.

We have been the more particular in reviewing the most remarkable occurrences of this prince's reign, as it was in fome measure necessary, to throw a proper degree of light upon fome fubfequent tranfactions, which we shall have occafion to relate, or refer to, in the courfe of thefe lives. But we fhal! now proceed, more immediately, to the life of our Reformer.

JOHN WICKLIFF was born about the year 1324, in fome part of the north of England. There is no certain account either of the particular place of his birth, or of his extraction. His parents, who defigned him for the church, fent him to Queen's college in Oxford, then just founded. He did not, however, in that new-established houfe, meet with the advantages for ftudy which he expected, and therefore removed to Merton colledge, which was then efteemed one of the moft learned focieties in Europe. His application to his ftudies in this feminary of learning was very great he is said to have committed to memory the moft abitrufe parts of the works of Ariftotle. His attention appears chiefly to have been engaged by the logic of that acute philofopher; in which he was fo converfant that he became a moft fubtle difputant, and reigned in the fchools unrivalled. He then proceeded to his theological ftudies, and made himself a master of all the niceties, and fubtle diftinctions, of what is commonly called fchool-divinity, which was well calculated to difplay the acutenefs of his parts, and to diftinguish him above his fellow-ftudents; and which was the fashionable study of the times.

The fuperior penetration of Wickliff, however, foon enabled him to discover the unprofitableness of these ftudies. He chofe, therefore, a more fimple and more rational method of enquiring after truth; he took the plain text of fcripture into his hands, uncorrupted by commentators & fcholaftic divines, and endeavour'd to discover the true and genuine fenfe of the facred writings, without regarding, or implicitly affenting to, any prevailing or eftablished fyftem. Were this method of ftudying the fcriptures more univerfally adopted, they would be in general much better understood; and a spirit of candour, charity, and mutual forbearance, would be more common amongst those who differ in fentiment. An intolerant zeal against thofe of a different opinion, is amongst none more common. than amongst those who take every