Edward yielded to the clamor, and first stripping the Jews of their possessions, he prepared to drive them into exile.  It is said that even their books were taken from them and given to the libraries of Oxford.  Thus pillaged, they were forced to leave the realm,—­a miserable procession, numbering some sixteen thousand.  Many perished on the way, and so few ventured to return that for three centuries and a half, until Cromwell came to power, they disappear from English history (S458).

223.  Death of Queen Eleanor.

Shortly after this event, Queen Eleanor died (S216).  The King showed the devoted love he bore her in the beautiful crosses of carved stone that he raised to her memory, three of which still stand.[1] These were erected at the places where her coffin was set down, in its transit from Grantham, in Lincolnshire, where she died, to the little village of Charing (now Charing Cross, the geographical center of London).  This was the last station before her body reached its final resting place, in that abbey at Westminster which holds such wealth of historic dust.  Around Queen Eleanor’s tomb wax lights were kept constantly burning, until the Protestant Reformation extinguished them, nearly three hundred years later.

[1] Originally there were thirteen of these crosses.  Of these, three remain:  namely, at Northampton, at Geddington, near by, and at Waltham, about twelve miles northeast of London.

224.  Edward’s Reforms; Statute of Winchester (1285).

The condition of England when Edward came to the throne was far from settled.  The country was overrun with marauders.  To suppress these, the Statute of Winchester made the inhabitants of every district punishable by fines for crimes committed within their limits.  Every walled town had to close its gates at sunset, and no stranger could be admitted during the night unless some citizen would be responsible for him.

In addition, both sides of the main roads were cleared of bushes in order that desperadoes might not lie in wait for travelers.  Furthermore, every citizen was required to keep arms and armor, according to his condition in life, and to join in the pursuit and arrest of criminals.

225.  Land Legislation, 1285, 1290.

Two very important statutes were passed during this reign, respecting the free sale or transfer of land.[1]

[1] These laws may be regarded as the foundation of the English system of landed property; they completed the feudal claim to the soil established by William the Conqueror.  They are known as the Second Statute of Westminster (De Donis, or Entail, 1285) and the Third Statute of Westminster (Quia Emptores, 1290).  See S264 and Summary of Constitutional History in the Appendix, p. xi, S11.