Editing Edward III of England (section)

=== Legislation ===
[[File:Gold quarter noble of Edward III (YORYM 2015 140) reverse.jpg|thumb|Gold quarter [[Noble (English coin)|noble]] of Edward III, York Museums Trust]]

The middle years of Edward's reign were a period of significant legislative activity. Perhaps the best-known piece of legislation passed was the [[Statute of Labourers of 1351]], which addressed the labour shortage problem caused by the [[Black Death]]. The statute fixed wages at their pre-plague level and checked peasant mobility by asserting that lords had the first claim on their men's services. In spite of concerted efforts to uphold the statute, it eventually failed due to intense competition among landowners for labour.{{Sfn|McKisack|1959|p=335}} The law has been described as an attempt "to legislate against the law of [[supply and demand]]", which doomed it to certain failure.{{Sfn|Hanawalt|1989|p=139}} Nevertheless, the labour shortage had created a community of interest between the smaller landowners of the [[House of Commons]] and the greater landowners of the [[House of Lords]]. The resulting measures angered the peasants, leading to the [[Peasants' Revolt]] of 1381.{{Sfn|Prestwich|1983|p=20}}

The reign of Edward III coincided with the so-called [[Avignon Papacy|Babylonian Captivity]] of the papacy at [[Avignon]]. During the wars with France, opposition emerged in England against perceived injustices by a papacy largely controlled by the French crown.{{Sfn|McKisack|1959|p=272}} Papal taxation of the English Church was suspected to be financing the nation's enemies, while the practice of provisions (the Pope's providing benefices for clerics) caused resentment in the English population. The statutes of [[Statute of Provisors|Provisors]] and [[Praemunire]], of 1350 and 1353 respectively, aimed to amend this by banning papal benefices, as well as limiting the power of the papal court over English subjects.{{Sfn|McKisack|1959|pp=280–281}} The statutes did not sever the ties between the king and the Pope, who were equally dependent upon each other.{{Sfn|Ormrod|2000|pp=120–121}}

Other legislation of importance includes the [[Treason Act 1351]]. It was precisely the harmony of the reign that allowed a consensus on the definition of this controversial crime.{{Sfn|McKisack|1959|p=257}} Yet, the most significant legal reform was probably that concerning the [[Justices of the Peace]]. This institution began before the reign of Edward III but, by 1350, the justices had been given the power not only to investigate crimes and make arrests, but also to try cases, including those of [[felony]].{{Sfn|Putnam|1929|pp=43–45}} With this, an enduring fixture in the administration of local English justice had been established.{{Sfn|Musson|Ormrod|1999|pp=50–54}}