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 1921 'ADVENTUS VICfJCOMITUM 1258-72 489 of 1263. These were the years of preparation for war, during which the strength of both parties fluctuated : until 1261 the barons were, on the whole, in the ascendant, but from that date onwards the royalist party gradually gathered strength. The summer of 1263 saw both Prince Edward and Simon de Montfort engaged in raising armies. When the exchequer opened in the autumn of 1263 to hear the first account of the third period, the country was already on the verge of civil war. During this period were fought the battles of Lewes (May 1264) and Evesham (August 1265). The Dictum of Kenilworth and the Ely rebellion are the chief events of 1266, and peace was finally restored in July 1267. 1 The total attendance for the five years before 1258 was 104 sheriffs ; in the second period it falls to 92, and during the period of civil war to 50, that is, to less than half the number in the first period. During the four years when war was in progress, the attendances, as a glance at the table will show, were abnormally low. In the fourth period, which covers the last five Pipe Rolls of the reign, a distinct improvement may be observed, though even here recovery is slow. It is main- tained, however, in the fifth and last period, though even as late as the first and second years of Edward I the numbers are still low. If, however, the years 3-7 Edward I were taken instead of those chosen, it would be seen that the total is slightly higher than in the first period. In view of these statistics, the collapse of the exchequer cannot be regarded as accidental ; it bears too close a relation to the course of events in the country at large. If the accounts for the forty -sixth year, the last of the second period, are compared with those of the forty-seventh, the first of the third, the break-down is at once seen to have been both sudden and complete. Nineteen sheriffs were present at the account which ended in June 1263 ; nine came up to the exchequer for the account in the following year. From the opening of the exchequer at Michaelmas 1263 until the following November there was no treasurer and no resident baron. 2 The session finally ended early in February, and there was no Easter term in this year. 3 The business of the exchequer was further retarded at the beginning of the following Michaelmas term, owing to Roger Bigod's failure to appoint a deputy. Moreover, only four accounts were heard after the end of January in this year. After 1 Tout in the Political History of England, in. v, vi, and Chapters, i. 295-317. 2 Tout, Chapters, i. 297. 3 The last accountant was the sheriff of Buckingham and Bedford, who came up on 5 February (King's Remembrancer's Memoranda Roll 47 & 48 Hen. Ill, mm. 8-14). He was given a day within the month of Easter to make his sum, but was not able to do so, nor to pay in his Easter profer (ibid. 47 & 48 Hen. Ill, m 14 d ; 48 & 49 Hen. Ill, m. 6. Cf. also Madox, History of the Exchequer, ii. 56. The Memoranda Roll of 47 & 48 Hen. Ill has no entries for Easter term.