A History Of The British Constitution (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt From A History Of The British Constitution The Great Nobles Of The Norman And Early Angevin Times Would, If They Could, Have Reduced The King To The Position Of A Feudal Overlord, Cut Off From Direct Authority Over The Mass Of The People By Intervening Grades Of Feudal Order. That They Failed To Do So Was Due To The Fact That The Anglo-Saxon Period Had Taught The English Freeman To Regard The King As A National Officer, And That William The Conqueror And Henry I. Had The Sagacity To Recognize And Encourage This Feeling. As A Result, An Informal Alliance Between The Crown And The People Grew Up. When The Chartered Towns Began To Develop A Local Political Life Based Not On Land But On Trade And Industry, It Was To The Crown That They Turned For Support. But It Was Not Through Any Wish Of Their Own That The Com Mons Began To Play A Part In National Affairs, But Because The Crown Called Them In To Redress The Balance Of Feudal Oligarchy. Throughout The Middle Ages Political Representation Was Regarded As A Burden Rather Than A Privilege. It Was Edward I.S Supreme Title To Greatness That He Recognized That The Feudal Expression Of The Idea Of Govern Ment By Consent Must Give Place To The National. In The Writs Of Summons To The Model Parliament Of 1295, He Re Asserted The Fundamental Principle Of The Old Teutonic Assembly That Common Danger Should Be Met By Means Devised In Common. About The Publisher Forgotten Books Publishes Hundreds Of Thousands Of Rare And Classic Books. Find More At This Book Is A Reproduction Of An Important Historical Work. Forgotten Books Uses State-Of-The-Art Technology To Digitally Reconstruct The Work, Preserving The Original Format Whilst Repairing Imperfections Present In The Aged Copy. In Rare Cases, An Imperfection In The Original, Such As A Blemish Or Missing Page, May Be Replicated In Our Edition. We Do, However, Repair The Vast Majority Of Imperfections Successfully; Any Imperfections That Remain Are Intentionally Left To Preserve The State Of Such Historical Works.