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MATTHEW OF WESTMINSTER
The flowers of history, especially such as relate to the affairs of Britain. Vol. II. A.D. 1066 to A.D. I307.

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MATTHEW OF WESTMINSTER
The flowers of history, especially such as relate to the affairs of Britain. Vol. II. A.D. 1066 to A.D. I307.
page 149



quent events plainly showed, and as will be related in order at the proper time. The king, seduced ly evil counsels, seeks excuses for not regarding the liberties which have been promised. So, when he breaks his agreement, Louis, king of France, does the same. A.D . 1223. King Henry held his court at Oxford, and afterwards, on the day week after the Epiphany, he came to London, and held a conference with the barons, at which he was requested by the archbishop of Canterbury and the other nobles to confirm their liberties and free customs, for the sake of which war was waged against his father ; and, as the archbishop clearly demonstrated, the king could not avoid doing this, as on the withdrawal of Louis from England he had sworn, and all the nobility of the kingdom had sworn with him, that they would observe all the liberties which were registered in the deed, and would cause them to be observed by every one. When William de Briwere, who was one of the counsellors of the king, heard this, he, answering on behalf of the king, said, " The liber ties which you are asking for are not bound to be observed as of right, because they were extorted by violence." But the archbishop was indignant at this expression, and reproved him, saying, " William, if you really loved the king, you would not hinder the peace of the kingdom." But when the king saw that the archbishop was moved to anger, he said, " We have all sworn to those liberties, and we are all bound to observe what we have sworn to." And immediately the king held a council to consider the matter, and sent letters to all the viscounts of the kingdom to cause inquisition to be made by twelve knights or lawyers in each county as to what liberties existed in England in the time of his grandfather, and when they had completed their inquisition, they were to send it to London to the king, by a fortnight after Easter. The same year, William Mareschal, earl of Pembroke, went to Ireland ; but when Leoline heard this, he took two castles belonging to that earl by the strong hand, and beheaded all those whom he found in them. But afterwards, the earl, having collected a numerous army in England, manfully recovered those castles, and retaliated on the Welch for the slaughter they had made. The same year, the Sunday letter being A, in the eighth cycle, Easter day fell on the twenty-third of April, on Saint George's day. The same year, on the


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