Editing Edward III of England (section)

=== Parliament and taxation ===
[[File:King Edward III half groat York mint.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Half [[Groat (coin)|groat]] with portrait of King Edward III, York mint]]

[[Parliament of England|Parliament]] as a representative institution was already well established by the time of Edward III, but the reign was nevertheless central to its development.{{Sfn|Harriss|2006|p=66}} During this period, membership in the English [[baron]]age, formerly a somewhat indistinct group, became restricted to those who received a personal [[Hereditary peer#Writs of summons|summons]] to Parliament.{{Sfn|McKisack|1959|pp=186–187}} This happened as Parliament gradually developed into a [[bicameral]] institution, composed of a House of Lords and a House of Commons.{{Sfn|Harriss|2006|p=67}} Yet it was not in the Lords, but in the Commons that the greatest changes took place, with the expanding political role of the Commons. Informative is the Good Parliament, where the Commons for the first time – albeit with noble support – were responsible for precipitating a political crisis.{{Sfn|Prestwich|2005|p=288}} In the process, both the procedure of [[Impeachment in the United Kingdom|impeachment]] and the office of the [[List of Speakers of the House of Commons of England|Speaker]] were created.{{Sfn|Fritze|Robison|2002|p=409}} Even though the political gains were of only temporary duration, this parliament represented a watershed in English political history.

The political influence of the Commons originally lay in their right to grant taxes.{{Sfn|Ormrod|2000|p=52}} The financial demands of the Hundred Years' War were enormous, and the King and his ministers tried different methods of covering the expenses. Edward had a steady income from [[crown lands]], and could also take up substantial loans from Italian and domestic financiers.{{Sfn|Brown|1989|pp=80–84}} To finance warfare, he had to resort to taxation of his subjects. Taxation took two primary forms: levy and customs. The levy was a grant of a proportion of all moveable property, normally a tenth for towns and a fifteenth for farmland. This could produce large sums of money, but each such levy had to be approved by Parliament, and the king had to prove the necessity.{{Sfn|Brown|1989|pp=70–71}} The customs therefore provided a welcome supplement, as a steady and reliable source of income. An "ancient duty" on the export of wool had existed since 1275. [[Edward I]] had tried to introduce an additional duty on wool, but this unpopular ''[[maltolt]]'', or "unjust exaction", was soon abandoned.{{Sfn|Harriss|1975|pp=57, 69}} Then, from 1336 onwards, a series of schemes aimed at increasing royal revenues from wool export were introduced. After some initial problems and discontent, it was agreed through the [[Statute of the Staple]] of 1353 that the new customs should be approved by Parliament, though in reality, they became permanent.{{Sfn|Brown|1989|pp=67–69, 226–228}}

Through the steady taxation of Edward III's reign, Parliament – and in particular the Commons – gained political influence. A consensus emerged that in order for a tax to be just, the King had to prove its necessity, it had to be granted by the community of the realm, and it had to be to the benefit of that community.{{Sfn|Harriss|1975|p=509}} In addition to imposing taxes, Parliament would also present [[petition]]s for redress of grievances to the King, most often concerning misgovernment by royal officials.{{Sfn|Prestwich|2005|pp=282–283}} This way the system was beneficial for both parties. Through this process, the Commons, and the community they represented, became increasingly politically aware, and the foundation was laid for the particular English brand of constitutional monarchy.{{Sfn|Harriss|1975|pp=509–517}} It became the norm for the king's ministers to argue his case before Parliament, the Commons to grant the king the tax he requested, and then the king's concessions to Parliament would be announced at its end.{{sfn|Maddicott|2010|pp=108, 188}}

The King occasionally attempted to avoid resorting to Parliament to raise taxes, such as in 1338 when he attempted a forced loan on wool. This soon collapsed – in the words of [[E. B. Fryde]] it was a "lamentable failure"{{Sfn|Fryde|1983|pp=260–261}} – and once again, Edward had to return to Parliament. Edward also attempted to reinforce what he believed to be his ancient rights, such as the return of all [[Personal property|goods and chattels]] of [[felons]] to the Crown, and [[scutage]], as well as new proposals, such as that debts should be repaid to the Crown in one payment rather than incrementally. All these schemes collapsed, however, the latter because the lords claimed that such a method of taxation infringed upon their traditional rights.{{Sfn|Fryde|1983|pp=260–261}} According to Fryde, "one of Edward's most onerous and wasteful liabilities" came in February 1339, when he effectively [[pawned]] the [[Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom|Great Crown]] of England to the [[Archbishop of Trier]], for which the King promised repayment of £16,650.{{Sfn|Fryde|1983|pp=1164–1165}} Edward met his creditors in [[Ghent]] in 1340, but, unable to immediately satisfy their demands, notes Bertie Wilkinson, "pretending that he wanted to take a walk, he secretly rode away".{{Sfn|Wilkinson|1995|p=134}}

[[File:The Great Seal of Edward III.JPG|thumb|The [[Great Seal of the Realm|Great Seal]] of Edward III]]