Simon de Montfort by Margaret Wade Labarge (review)

6O THE CANADIA2q I-IISTORICAL REVIEW With thecreation of effective central government in thetwelfthcentury came the firstsystematic exercise of all the claims we associate with thetermregaltan fight.Eventhereignof Stephen produced noabsolute breakin thedevelopment. Asonewouldexpect it wasHenryII whoclearly defined thepractice. The bulk of MissHowell'sbookis devoted to the thirteenth century where the sources makepossible a moredetailed study.Johnemerges asthe era[ W, meticulous, andinventiveadministrator sofamiliarin modemscholarship. More surprising is.thefact thatHenryIII, piousthough he undoubtedly was,wasno lessanxious than his father to utilize to the full the possibilities for casual revenue foundin keepingbishopties vacant.If Rufusis to be exeoriated for keein Canterb vacant fouryears whatshall wemake ofHenryIII whokept p g ury Winchester vacant morethansixyears? Of particular interest is MissHoweIFs detailed studyof the machinery and personnel by whichvacantbishopfies were administered in the th/rteenth century. Here the authorhasthrownmuchlightupona little knownbranch of the mediaeval civilservice. Evena quickglance through the listof keepers will reveal manynames familiar in much higher circles of thirteenthandfour teenth -century royaladministration. Thanks to the excellent Indexthe bookis aneasy aswellasindispensable source forinvestigators in thisfield. Bythemid-fourteenth century theimportance o•regalion r/ghtwasclearly on the wane.As a source of revenue its importance declined dueto the generally shorter episcopal vacancies, whileatthesame timemore luerat/ve public imposts were replacing seigniofial fightsas the mainstay of royalfinance. ThusMiss Howellhasended hers•dy intheearlyfourteenth century. Accepting the limitations withinwhichthe bookis written,MissHowellhas produced an admirable study,thoroughly documented and well wriSen.She approaches the subieet •romthepointof viewof the monarch .andhisinterest in regaltan ri ht Thismeans thatecelesiast/cal ob'ections areskirted overli htly; g . ] g it is notthe theorybut the practice of regaltan rightthatinterests the author. Fairenough; ff thebookisprimarily administrative wewill behappy to accept it assuch andrefrainfromasking whatthecanon lawyers thought onthesubject. On theotherhandadministratively regalion rightwasa means to anend.The kingwantedto fill hiscoffers. How successful washe?DespiteMissHowell's detailed analysis o.•receipts fromvacantbishoprics nowhere hasshea•empted to calculate eithertheto•aloraverage yearly revenue English kings received from thissource. Morethanthiswe should likemosto• all to knowwhatpercentage of crownrevenuewasobtained from vacantbishoprics. Theseare largequestionsandeveryone will realizethatnofinalanswers canbe expected. Yetthey are absolutely fundamental in ascertainin the importance • regalian fi ht to g g thecrown.Evenff thebesttha•canbehoped for in suchmatters isaneducated guess, MissHowellisin a far betterposition tomakesucha guess thanthevast majority ofherreaders. T. SANDQUIST LoyolaCallege Simonde Mont'fort. By MARCARET WADELABA•C•.. Toronto:The Macmillan Company ofCanada Limited.1962.Pp.xii,31g.$6.00. EARLIER BIOGRAPHIESOF SIlVION' DE MONTFORT have tended .to concentrate their interest on hisrolein the politicalandconstitutional crises in Englandduring the mid-thirteenth eent•y, andto interpretthisroleasthat of the conscious founding fatherof English representative government or the deliberate creator •vmws 61 of the English parliament. Mrs. Labarge's new biography differsfromsuch earlier biographies, n• onlyin its interests, but alsoin its evaluation of the constitutional awareness of Simon de Monffort. The interestof the bookis bothnarrowerand broaderthanthat of its predecessors . It deals primarily with Simon asa person, hispersonal struggles and ambitions, hispersonal relations to Kingandbarons, hispersonal interests in Englishand Frenchaffairs. Whilethe politicalstruggles are discussed in great detail,theyarenevertreatedasthe primaryconcern of the book,but are of interest onlyinsofar astheyaffect orillustrate deMonffort asanindividual. This concentration on the person, however, broadens the perspective beyondhis merelyconstitutional roleandreveals Simonengaged in all the publicand privatepursuits properto an important baronwith extensive interests andinfluenee in FranceandEngland. In thestruggle between HenryIII andthedefiant barons, de Monffort does notappear astheconscious champion of English liberties, protecting thecommunityof the realmagainst royaltyranny, but ratherasan indomitable and impetuous baronwhohad several legitimate thoughprivategrievances against theKing.He opposed Henry's personal rulenotbecause of anyliberal political theories, butbecause ofhisdetermination to maintain allhisownpersonal rights. The principles for whichhe foughtwerenotthe reformof the constitution, but ratherthesanctity of lustice (i.e.,lustice forhimself), andthesanctity of hisoathto uphold theProvisions of Oxford. He appears asa typical thirteenthcentury English or Frenchbaron,though far morecapable thanmost,"concerned with the practical application of Christian principles to government," butlacking "a genuine feeling fortheindividual andhisrights, if by overriding theindividual some greater cause was-orseemed to be-served," and"regardingthemaintenance of [his]rights asamatter ofprinciple." Such aninterpretation is,ofcourse, nolonger radically new,norisit presented assuch. Butwhile thebook maynots.u•gest acompletely novel thesis, noreven disclose muchhithertounknownmaterial,it is nevertheless a usefuland welcome addition to anybibliography of thethirteenth century aimedat undergraduates. Eventhough Mrs.Labarge does notengage incurrent controversies, sheoffers theundergraduate reader a useful summary of themost recent state of...