on the approach of the festival of Easter, when
they were to expect the king's answer to their petition, met by
agreement at Stamford; and they assembled a force, consisting of above
two thousand knights, besides their retainers and inferior persons
without number. [MN 27th April.] Elated with their power, they
advanced in a body to Brackley, within fifteen miles of Oxford, the
place where the court then resided; and they there received a message
from the king, by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Earl of
Pembroke, desiring to know what those liberties were which they so
zealously challenged from their sovereign. They delivered to these
messengers a schedule containing the chief articles of their demands;
which was no sooner shown to the king than he burst into a furious
passion, and asked why the barons did not also demand of him his
kingdom? swearing that he would never grant them such liberties as
must reduce himself to slavery [g].
[FN [g] M. Paris, p. 176.]

No sooner were the confederated nobles informed of John's reply than
they chose Robert Fitz-Walter their general, whom they called THE
MARESCHAL OF THE ARMY OF GOD AND OF HOLY CHURCH; and they proceeded
without farther ceremony to levy war upon the king. They besieged the
castle of Northampton during fifteen days, though without success [h]:
the gates of Bedford castle were willingly opened to them by William
Beauchamp, its owner: [MN 24th May.] they advanced to Ware in their
way to London, where they held a correspondence with the principal
citizens: they were received without opposition into that capital: and
finding now the great superiority of their force, they issued
proclamations, requiring the other barons to join them; and menacing
them, in case of refusal or delay, with committing devastation on
their houses and estates [i]. In order to show what might be expected
from their prosperous arms, they made incursions from London, and laid
waste the king's parks and palaces; and all the barons, who had
hitherto carried the semblance of supporting the royal party, were
glad of this pretence for openly joining a cause which they always had
secretly favoured. The king was left at Odiham in Hampshire, with a
poor retinue of only seven knights; and after trying several
expedients to elude the blow, after offering to refer all differences
to the pope alone, or to eight barons, four to be chosen by himself,
and four by the confederates [k], he found hims