Page:The Church of England, its catholicity and continuity.djvu/68

 more than anyone else to bring England under the authority of his mother Church, and England could not speedily recover from the harm which the Roman See had now done to it.

I must continue to relate other troubles to show how the English people continually and persistently resisted the claims of Rome.

Henry III. came to the throne of England, and he was a Romanist. During his reign the papal imposition in England took a different and a more decided turn. Rome was now embroiled in expensive wars, and it was thought that part of the money to carry them on should come from our country. There were two ways of procuring it—by imposing taxes on us and demanding Peter's pence, and by filling up our rich Sees and benefices with foreigners, through whom much wealth might be taken to Rome. We cannot fully understand the misery caused to our country by these measures. The Pope had many men in England to help him in his plans. The Dominican and Franciscan Friars were active in working according to his will.

The nation ultimately raised a great outcry against these impositions. In the year 1231 a secret society was founded in England to oppose these evils. Letters were freely circulated which emphasized the evils, and this led to a widespread insurrection. The people "Seized the tithes collected for the Pope," says Mr. Hore; "They trampled his bulls under foot. The barns of the foreigners were destroyed and the corn distributed amongst the poor, and the foreigners were in danger