etors do their part,
the Statute of Mortmain was passed, 1279. It required the donor of an
estate to the Church to obtain a royal license, which, it is perhaps
needless to say, was not readily granted.[1]

[1] See p. 76, note 1, on Clergy; and see Summary of Constitutional
History in the Appendix, p. xi, S11.

227. Death of Edward I.

Edward died while endeavoring to subdue a revolt in Scotland, in which
Robert Bruce, grandson of the first of that name (S219), had seized
the throne. His last request was that his son Edward should continue
the war. "Carry my bones before you on your march," said the dying
King, "for the rebels will not endure the sight of me, alive or dead!"

Not far from the beautiful effigy of Queen Eleanor in Westminster Abey
(S223), "her husband rests in a severely simple tomb. Pass it not by
for its simplicity; few tombs hold nobler dust."[2]

[2] Goldwin Smith's "History of the United Kingdom."

228. Summary.

During Edward I's reign the following changes took place:

1. Wales and Scotland were conquered, and the first remained
permanently a part of the English kingdom.
2. The landed proprietors of the whole country were made more directly
responsible to the Crown.
3. The excessive growth of Church property was checked.
4. Laws for the better suppression of acts of violence were enacted
and rigorously enforced.
5. The Great Charter, with additional articles for the protection of
the people, was confirmed by the King, and the power of taxation
expressly acknowledged to reside in Parliament only.
6. Parliament, a legislative body now representing all classes of the
nation, was permanently organized, and for the first time regularly
and frequently summoned by the King.[1]

[1] It will be remembered that De Montfort's Parliament in 1265 (S213)
was not regularly and legally summoned, since the King (Henry III) was
at that time a captive. The first Parliament (consisting of a House
of Commons and House of Lords, including the upper Clergy), convened
by the Crown, was that called by Edward I in 1295 (S217).

Edward II--1307-1327

229. Accession and Character.

The son to whom Edward I left his power was in every respect his
opposite. The old definition of the word "king" was "the man who
CAN," or the able man. The modern explanation usually makes him "the
chief or head of a people." Edward II would satisfy neither of these
definitions. He lacked all disposition to do anything him