Henry III Quotes


It will not be legal for the … citizens to give, sell, or mortgage any burgage or tenement that they hold or shall hold in the same city to a church or to a religious person without the license and consent of the aforesaid bishop and his successors.


Context

This quotation illustrates how the power and mechanism of an established church operated to control ideas and maintain theological monopoly. In this case, no one could sell or rent any facility in the city to a cleric or church of any kind or persuasion without first having the approval of the Bishop who had theological control of that territory. Even Catholic scholars could not rent a room in the city unless their scholarship met with the Bishop’s approval. This was history with which the American Founding were very familiar, and wanted to avoid by adopting the 1st Amendment.


Citations

Henry III, 1207-1272, King of England, Edict authorizing the establishing a new city of New Sarum, January 30, 1227

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

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Henry III
Henry III
  • Born: October 1, 1207
  • Died: November 16, 1272
  • Nationality:
  • Profession:

Henry III, also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry assumed the throne when he was only nine in the middle of the First Barons' War. Cardinal Guala declared the war against the rebel barons to be a religious crusade and Henry's forces, led by William Marshal, defeated the rebels at the battles of Lincoln and Sandwich in 1217. Henry promised to abide by the Great Charter of 1225 (aka Magna Carta), which limited royal power and protected the rights of the major barons. His early rule was dominated first by Hubert de Burgh and then Peter des Roches, who re-established royal authority after the war. In 1230, the King attempted to reconquer the provinces of France that had once belonged to his father, but the invasion was a debacle. A revolt led by William Marshal's son, Richard Marshal, broke out in 1232, ending in a peace settlement negotiated by the Church.