means inclined to
give him. As a sop to Cerberus, the King promised thenceforth to abide
by the advice of his native nobility, and the subsidy was voted. But
his next step was to invite his father-in-law, the Count of Provence,
and to shower upon him the gold so unwillingly granted. The nobles were
more angry than ever, and the King's own brother, Richard Earl of
Cornwall, was the first to remonstrate. Then Archbishop Edmund of
Canterbury took a journey to Rome, and declined to return, even when
recalled by the Legate. But the grand event of that year was the final
disruption of Christendom. The Greek Church had many a time quarrelled
with the Latin, chiefly on two heads,--the worship of images and the
assumption of universal primacy. On the first count they differed with
very little distinction, since the Greek Church allowed the full worship
of pictures, but anathematised every body who paid reverence to
statues,--a rather odd state of things to Protestant eyes. Once
already, the Eastern Church had seceded, but the quarrel was patched up
again. But after the secession of 1237, there was never to be peace
between East and West again.

The new year came in with a royal marriage. There were curious
circumstances attending it, for the parties married in spite of the
King, who was obliged to give away the bride, his sister Alianora,
"right sore against his will:" and though the bride had taken the vow of
perpetual widowhood, [Note 1] they did not trouble themselves about a
Papal dispensation till they had been married for some weeks. The
bridegroom was the young Frenchman, Sir Simon de Montfort, whom the King
at last came to fear more than thunder and lightning. The English
nobility were extremely displeased, for they considered that the
Princess had been married beneath her dignity; but since from first to
last she had had her own wilful way, it was rather unreasonable in the
nobles to vent their wrath upon the King. They rose against him
furiously, headed by his own brother, and by the husband of the Princess
Marjory of Scotland, till at last the royal standard was deserted by all
but one man,--that true and loyal patriot, Hubert, Earl of Kent,--the
man whom no oppression could alienate from the Throne, and whom no
cruelty could silence when he thought England in danger. But now his
prestige was on the wane. The nobles were not afraid of him, on account
of his old age, his wisdom, and a vow which he had ta