Читать книгу Magna Carta: A Commentary on the Great Charter of King John. With an Historical Introduction онлайн

117 страница из 194

During the two financial years immediately following (Michaelmas, 1211, to Michaelmas, 1213) no scutage was imposed. John, however, although he thus a second time relaxed the tension, had no intention to do so for long. On the contrary, he determined to ascertain if scutages could not be made to yield more in the future. By writs, dated 1st June, 1212, he instituted a great Inquest throughout the land. Commissioners were appointed to take sworn verdicts of local juries as to the amount of liability due by each Crown vassal. Mr. Round^[136] considers that previous writers have unaccountably ignored the importance of this measure, “an Inquest worthy to be named in future by historians in conjunction with those of 1086 and 1166,”^[137] and describes it as an effort “to revive rights of the Crown alleged to have lapsed.” It is possible that John, by this Inquest of 1212, sought also (unsuccessfully, as the sequel proved) to do what Henry had done successfully in 1166—that is, to increase the amount of knights’ fees on which each Crown tenant’s scutage was assessed by adding to the previous total the number of knights recently enfeoffed.