onquest the insular spirit of England, which
was now shared even by the conquerors themselves, manifested itself in
a natural opposition to all foreign influence. The King's
half-brothers with their numerous dependents were driven out without
mercy, their castles occupied, their places given to the foremost
Englishmen. The Papal legate Guido, one of the most distinguished
members of the Curia, who himself became Pope at a later time, was
forbidden to enter England. Most foreigners, it mattered not of what
station or nationality, were forced to quit the realm: it went hard
with those who could not speak English. The leader of the barons,
Simon de Montfort, was solemnly declared Protector of the kingdom and
people; he had in particular the lower clergy, the natural leaders of
the masses, on his side. When he was put under the ban of the Church
his followers retorted by assuming the badge of the cross, since his
cause appeared to them just and holy.[38]

At this very juncture it was that the attempt was made to form a
Parliamentary Assembly corresponding to the meaning of that word.

The Statutes or Provisions of Oxford contain the first attempt to
effect this, by enacting that thrice every year the newly formed royal
Council should meet together with twelve men elected by the Commonalty
of England, and consult on the affairs of the kingdom.[39] There is no
doubt that these twelve belonged to the nobles and were to represent
them: the decisive point lies in the fact that it was not a number of
nobles summoned by the King, but a committee of the Estates chosen by
themselves that was placed by the side of the Council. The Council and
the twelve persons elected formed for some years an association that
united the executive and legislative powers.

But this continued only as long as the King acquiesced in it. When he
had the courage to resist, it is true that in the first encounter
which ensued, he was himself taken prisoner: but his partisans were
not crushed by this; and soon after his wife, who had collected about
her a considerable body of mercenaries, in concert with the Pope and
the King of France, thought herself strong enough to invade England.
Simon felt that he needed a greater, in other words, a broader, basis
of support. And the design he then conceived has secured him an
imperishable memory. He summoned first of all representatives of the
knights of the shires, and directly afterwards representatives of the
tow