The rule of law

Kingship and the rule of law (1)

This is an episode from the chronicle of Matthew Paris, concerning the robbery of foreign merchants in the pass of Alton near Winchester in 1248. Paris puts a speech into the mouth of Henry III, meant to illustrate the king's personal concern for justice:

'The lord king therefore called a gathering of the bailiffs and free men of the same county, namely Hampshire. And said to them with a scowling look: “What is it that I hear concerning you? The complaint of the despoiled has reached me. Out of necessity I have come to investigate. There is no county or neighbourhood in the whole breadth of England so infamous or disgraced by such crimes. For when I am present, in the same city or suburbs or in adjoining places there have been robberies and homicides. Nor are these bad things all. Even my own wine exposed both to plunder and pillage is carried off by these malefactors, laughing and getting drunk as they go. Can such things be tolerated further? To eradicate this and like crimes, I have commissioned wise men to rule and guard my kingdom together with me. I am but one man; I do not want, nor am I able, to carry alone the entire burden of the whole kingdom without co-operation. I am ashamed and weary of the stench of this city and the adjacent area. I was born in this city, and never was such disgrace inflicted on me as here. It is probable, however, and believable and now fairly well apparent, that you citizens and compatriots are infamous accomplices and confederates. I will call together all the counties of England, so that they might detect your crimes, judging you as traitors to me, nor will guileful arguments profit you further.”

According to the editor, the speech is dramatic licence on Paris's part: Henry III was at Winchester during the sessions of the eyre rather than at the time of the robbery. Even so, the passage serves a purpose. It is meant to underline the limits of royal power, and show the monarch was reliant on the co-operation of his subjects in the upholding of law and order. Whether or not he actually spoke these words, the frankness and sense of exasperation of the speech is supposedly characteristic of Henry and offers a glimpse of the man behind the crown.