This
state of things was more marked on the Continent than in England, where
the Barons led the assault on tyranny, and where, for his own purposes,
the monarch fostered the prosperity of towns of his own planting. But
Mr. J. H. Round, in his singularly able article on "The Origin of the
Mayoralty of London," contributed to the "Archaeological Journal," shows
conclusively that this institution, now the aegis of all that is staid,
stable, and respectable, was the offspring of the spirit of revolt which
spread like a contagion from Italy to France, Germany, and the Low
Countries, and thence to the Thames.
Dr. Gross's valuable contribution to the "Antiquary" (1885), treating of
the affiliation of towns, is of a general character, and illustrated
largely by continental examples; anyone, however, who wishes to grasp
the full significance of mediaeval relationships as between town and
town, will be well advised in consulting that succinct account. Here we
must confine ourselves to English experience, in which the same traits
appear, only more faintly. Before proceeding to this inquiry it may not
be amiss to advert briefly to another aspect of the subject. We have
said above that, in England, the monarch inclined to favour certain
towns for his own purposes, and such towns were naturally of the highest
precedence. If we turn to Liverpool, we shall find that in 1206 it
received a visit from King John, who the following year issued letters
patent of which the following is a translation:
"John, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of
Normandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, to all his liegemen who
would desire to have burgages at the town of Liverpool, greeting.
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