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Kilkenny, Statutes of (1366)

There was a widespread revival of GAELIC culture in 14th-century IRELAND, and a PARLIAMENT in 1366 passed a series of laws designed to prevent further dilution of English culture and influence. Intermarriage, adoption of Irish dress and customs, and observance of Irish laws were among the proscribed items. Known as the Statutes of Kilkenny, the laws only applied to the areas under English control, they were not easily enforced, and in 1613 they were repealed.

Killiecrankie, Battle of (1689)

Scottish JACOBITES under Viscount DUNDEE fought with troops of WILLIAM III in the summer of 1689. The king’s army was caught in a pass and badly defeated, but Dundee was killed. Over the next month the royal army overcame the loss and secured SCOTLAND for the Crown.

Kilmainham Treaty

Charles Stewart PARNELL, the Irish nationalist leader, was imprisoned in Kilmainham jail in DUBLIN in 1881 for making speeches inciting violence. An agreement was reached (April 1882) between Parnell and WILLIAM GLADSTONE’s government for his release, and in the Kilmainham Treaty he agreed to try to prevent further violence in exchange for concessions to Irish tenants. When Parnell was released from prison, the chief secretary of IRELAND (the British government’s representative) resigned in protest. His replacement was Frederick CAVENDISH, who with his undersecretary was assassinated in Phoenix Park, Dublin, in May 1882, a brutal comment on the wisdom of the treaty.

King, Gregory (1648–1712) statistician

An early student of political arithmetic, King developed methods of extrapolating population from tax records, and he made estimates of income and other economic measurements. He

published his Natural and Political Observations . . .

on the State and Condition of England in 1696.

King’s Bench, Court of

One of the early COMMON LAW courts, the Court of King’s Bench met “before the lord king” as he traveled around his kingdom. The first record of a chief justice is in 1268, and over the next two centuries the court’s location became fixed, it kept a set of rolls to record decisions, and it began to extend its original criminal jurisdiction. It used legal fictions to claim authority in many cases, and it took appeals from other royal courts. In 1873 it was merged with the other royal courts to form the HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE. The court is referred to as the Queen’s Bench when the monarch is female.

See also COURTS OF LAW.

king’s evil

The disease scrofula, believed to be cured by the touch of royalty. The custom was revived by the house of STUART, and CHARLES II was estimated to have touched as many as 90,000 sufferers. The ceremony not coincidentally reinforced beliefs in the divinity of kings. It was last practiced by Queen ANNE.

king’s friends

A term used to describe influential friends of GEORGE III, pictured by some politicians as the sinister tools of the court who undermined conventional party government. The characterization was popularized by Edmund BURKE’s

Thoughts on the Present Discontents (1770).

kingship See MONARCHY.

Kingsley, Charles (1819–1875) clergyman, novelist, reformer

A leader of the Christian Socialist movement of the mid-19th century, Kingsley wrote for radical

publications. Two of his books—Yeast (1848) and Alton Locke (1850)—presented sympathetic pictures of the conditions of the poor. Kingsley also wrote historical novels, including Westward Ho! (1855) and Hereward the Wake (1866). His children’s books were well-liked: The Heroes (1856) and The Water Babies (1863).

Kinsale, Battle of (1601)

When Spanish aid arrived for Irish rebels in 1601, it was at the wrong end of IRELAND. The port of Kinsale on the southwest coast was the site where 4,000 Spanish troops landed. They were besieged by ELIZABETH I’s commander, Lord MOUNTJOY. Hugh O’NEILL, the ULSTER rebel leader, was forced to march across the country to attempt to aid them, but the Spaniards surrendered, and O’Neill had to return to Ulster, the effort having been so costly as to undermine his chances of victory.

Kipling, Rudyard (1865–1936) writer

Born in INDIA, Kipling was first a journalist, but his best-known works were composed after he moved to ENGLAND in 1889. He became an important figure after publishing his “Recessional” for the Diamond JUBILEE in 1897. Major works included Barrack Room Ballads (1892),

The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and Just So Stories (1902). He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1907. A resonant voice of empire, his view of “the white man’s burden” did not wear well in the 20th century.

Kitchener, Horatio Herbert Kitchener, first earl (1850–1916)

soldier

Lord Kitchener served in PALESTINE and CYPRUS in the 1870s and in The SUDAN in the 1880s, where he was able to restore imperial authority. As chief of staff to General Frederick ROBERTS in the BOER WAR, he succeeded to command and

Lord Kitchener (Hulton/Archive)

implemented the concentration camp policy which broke the Boers’ resistance. He then served in INDIA as commander in chief (1902–09). In 1914 he was made secretary for war, and he created a “new” ARMY of 70 divisions of volunteers, anticipating the long conflict that eventually materialized as WORLD WAR I. He died in 1916 when his ship sank on a mission to Russia.

knight

The mounted medieval warrior customarily paid by a “fee,” or land granted on condition of military service and various other prescribed duties. Landowning brought the knight into the framework of government and administration, and he played an important role as a member of the growing GENTRY class. The practical utility of the knight declined by the late medieval period, there

being only a few hundred by the 15th century, from about 2,000 in the 13th century. Orders of knighthood, heraldic symbols, and concepts of CHIVALRY outlived the military value of the knight, and the title became primarily a social distinction.

Knox, John (ca. 1505–1572)

Protestant reformer

Educated at St. Andrews, Knox was ordained as a Catholic priest but became a Protestant under the influence of George WISHART. In 1547 he was preacher in the Protestant garrison at St. Andrews castle, and though he was probably not involved in the murder of Cardinal BEATON there, he was captured by the French when they seized the castle, and he was made a galley slave.

After his release in 1549, he went to ENGLAND and a few years later went to Geneva to join the exiles from MARY I’s government. There he wrote his intemperate attack on female rulers:

The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women (1558) aimed at Mary I and MARY OF GUISE, but sure to be read by their suc-

cessors, ELIZABETH I and MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS.

Knox returned to SCOTLAND, became one of the leaders of the REFORMATION there, and was one of the authors of the First Book of Discipline

(1559). He was minister of Edinburgh in 1560, but he had no part in the downfall of Mary, Queen of Scots, and his role overall was somewhat less than he claimed in his History of the Reformation of Religion within the Realm of Scotland

(1587).

Labour Party

The efforts of workingmen to enter political life began with the CHARTIST MOVEMENT in the early 19th century and culminated in the formation of workers’ political parties at the beginning of the 20th century. The largest and most durable of these, Labour became one of the major parliamentary parties by the 1920s. The obstacles to worker participation—voting rights, property qualifications for MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT (MPs), no pay for legislators, and lack of voter organi- zation—were the product of a system that never expected workers to become involved. Thus there was no solid principle of opposition to the removal of most of the restrictions. In 1858 the property qualification for MPs was abolished. By 1885 some coal miners had been elected under the banner of the LIBERAL PARTY. In the next decade the electorate was widened and reorganized into equal districts. By then the growing TRADE UNION and small but vocal socialist groups (e.g., the FABIAN SOCIETY) made increasing demands for full (male) participation in politics. In 1893 Keir HARDIE organized the INDEPENDENT LABOUR PARTY. In 1900 these disparate groups formed a joint Labour Representation Committee to coordinate their parliamentary campaigns and conserve their limited resources. They won 29 seats in the 1906 election and formed an official parliamentary party, together with 25 MPs affiliated with the Liberal Party.

In 1911 MPs were granted small salaries, a sign that politics was becoming more open. Another sign was the addition of the Labour Party to the wartime coalition formed in 1915. In 1918, when the vote was granted to all adult

men (and some women), a new constitution for the party was written. Local constituency parties were formed, and membership was opened to individuals. Perhaps the most significant item in the revised constitution was the fourth clause, which called for “common ownership of the means of production,” a central tenet of the socialist membership. This was to be one of several internal points of friction, as the party now grew beyond its working-class base and took in more and more middle-class members. By 1924 the party had formed its first government, when a minority CONSERVATIVE PARTY government fell. But that only lasted nine months. The next Labour CABINET took office in 1929, this time with 288 seats. In the economic crisis of 1931,

the Labour PRIME MINISTER Ramsay MACDONALD

resigned and formed a coalition government. This so outraged his colleagues that he was expelled from the party. The conflict contributed to a fall to only 52 Labour seats in the 1931 election. But the effects of DEPRESSION and war brought a rebound in 1945, when the party won with 393 seats, a majority of 146. This enabled Labour to implement the reforms of the

WELFARE STATE: full employment, NATIONAL INSUR- ANCE, a NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, and national-

ized industry. In subsequent elections, Labour held power in 1964–70, and 1974–79, alternating with the Conservatives. There followed the long era of Margaret THATCHER (1979–90), followed by John MAJOR, with the next Labour victory in 1997.

See also ATTLEE, CLEMENT; BLAIR, TONY;

GAITSKELL, HUGH; LANSBURY, GEORGE; WILSON, SIR HAROLD.

laissez faire

The body of thought and policies which opposed government intervention in economic affairs. The term laissez faire was adopted from French authors of the 18th century who promoted FREE TRADE. These authors inspired the school of “classical economists,” such as Adam SMITH, David RICARDO, and others who argued that individuals should be free to pursue their own interests, and the government should be restrained in its powers of TAXATION, imposing TARIFFs, and regulation. The debates on this subject still continue, although a majority of economists would probably agree that there are limited areas which require some regulation. These include the legal power to secure property and enforce contracts, and general taxation to support EDUCATION and public health. Such exceptions help to explain the coexistence in 19th-century Britain of a dominant laissez-faire philosophy and a wide range of social reforms (factories, sanitation, poor laws, education).

See also BRIGHT, JOHN; COBDEN, RICHARD.

Lamb, William See MELBOURNE, WILLIAM

LAMB, VISCOUNT.

Lambert, John (1619–1684) soldier

A successful and popular commander in the parliamentary armies, Lambert was involved in battles at MARSTON MOOR (1644), Preston (1648), and Worcester (1650). He helped to compose

the INSTRUMENT OF GOVERNMENT (1653) setting up the PROTECTORATE of Oliver CROMWELL

(1654), but when he opposed greater authority for the Lord Protector in 1657, he was dismissed. He returned to command the ARMY in 1659, but failing to gain power with it, he was arrested and spent the rest of his life in prison.

Lambton, John See DURHAM, JOHN

LAMBTON, EARL OF.

Lancaster, house of

The descendants of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, ruled England from 1400 to 1461: HENRY IV, HENRY V, and HENRY VI. The last was the leader of the Lancastrians in the Wars of the ROSES, against the forces of the house of YORK.

Lancaster, Joseph 1778–1838 education reformer

The son of a soldier, Lancaster was intended for the ministry but joined the NAVY. After one voyage he became a QUAKER and started teaching. He opened a school in LONDON, and offered free tuition to those who could not pay, organizing the teaching under older boys, called monitors. In this fashion his school taught up to 1,000 pupils. The Royal Lancasterian Society was established in 1808 to manage a group of schools on his plan. The CHURCH OF ENGLAND adopted a similar plan under the inspiration of Andrew BELL. Lancaster quarreled with the trustees and emigrated to America, where he continued to promote his teaching methods.

land

Until the end of the 19th century, landowning was the dominant form of wealth, the main gauge of social standing, and the basis for the political system. Thus it was naturally the subject of extensive legislation, litigation, and economic transactions. This general description was equally true of all parts of the British Isles, while there were differences in detail.

In theory all land was held from the Crown, originally by various feudal tenures. These fell out of use and were abolished at the time of the RESTORATION in 1660. COPYHOLD, leasehold, and FREEHOLD were the main English forms of tenancy. The first came from the manorial system (see MANOR), and it was abolished in 1925. The second was subject to many variations: leases for lives, fixed terms, or merely the will of the landlord. Freehold was full ownership, the term originally indicating freedom from feudal obligations.

There were numerous other forms of tenure specific to SCOTLAND and IRELAND, also of medieval origin, and often of greater endurance than their English counterparts.

The customary rules came from feudal law and were subject to legislative alteration and judicial interpretation. Generally speaking, for the modern era, an English estate was supposed to be free of binding limits. However, the lawyers devised a strict settlement, a will with conditions that preserved an estate intact. Scottish law, on the other hand, permitted entails—a binding limit on an inheritance—and an act of 1685 endorsed and regulated these devices.

There was an inherent conflict between the preservation of an estate and the sale of property, which tended to deplete the inheritance. The growth of commerce and industry in the 18th century put pressure on older, static landholding. Because of urban development, new factories, and the demand from a large new class of aspiring landowners, selling was made easier. There were very large transfers of land in all parts of the British Isles in the later 19th century, with many Irish peasant proprietors gaining land from former landlords (IRISH LAND ACTS). At the same time, English and Scottish estate owners were beginning to feel the effects of increased progressive TAXATION, and they were forced to liquidate large holdings.

Taxation of land was introduced in ENGLAND to pay for the French wars of the 1690s. The primary source of government revenue for the 18th century, it was levied on assessed values and began at four shillings in the pound (20 percent), but the calculation was changed to a fixed sum for certain areas. In Scotland there was an older tradition of the tax, or cess, levied on property.

From time to time the issue of landowning dominated economic and political life in different parts of the islands. For instance, the CLAN structure of the HIGHLANDS was a central issue in the 17th and 18th centuries, playing a part in the JACOBITES’ unrest. In the 19th century the special circumstances of Ireland—its many Anglo-Irish landowners, its large class of tenants, and adverse economic conditions—energized the Irish “land

question,” a struggle to redefine the relation of Irish landlords and tenants. In general, the questions surrounding land, urban as well as rural, were and remain vital to the social and economic well-being of all parts of the archipelago.

See also COMMON LAW; COURTS OF LAW; GEN-

TRY; LAW.

Lansbury, George (1859–1940)

Labour politician

A highly-principled Christian socialist and pacifist, Lansbury preferred the arena of local politics. He gave up his seat in PARLIAMENT in 1912 to campaign in a BY-ELECTION on a women’s suffrage platform. He was a leader of the protest by the BOROUGH council of Poplar against taxes by the London County Council, for which he was sent to prison. In the later 1920s he was in Parliament and served in Ramsay MACDONALD’s government. When the LABOUR PARTY split in 1931, Lansbury was chosen as leader of the wrecked organization. His pacifist opposition to sanctions on Italy, after Mussolini invaded Ethiopia, caused his fall as party leader in 1935, and he was replaced by Clement ATTLEE.

Lansdowne, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, marquis of (1845–1927)

politician

Heir to an Irish PEERAGE and a LIBERAL PARTY

member, Lansdowne opposed William GLAD- STONE’s Irish policies, became a leader of the LIBERAL UNIONISTS and later a member of the CON- SERVATIVE PARTY. He served as governor-general

of CANADA (1883–88) and VICEROY of INDIA

(1888–94). As foreign secretary (1900–05) he arranged the Anglo-Japanese alliance (1902) and the Anglo-French ENTENTE (1904).

Larkin, James (1876–1947)

Irish union leader

Born in Liverpool, Larkin went to IRELAND to organize the dock workers. He founded the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union in 1908.

A believer in syndicalism—the use of union power to disable the economy—he led a DUBLIN tramway strike in 1913, but it failed. Although he became a Marxist and was expelled from his own union, he was elected to the DÁIL ÉIRANN in the 1920s and 1930s.

Laski, Harold (1893–1950) theorist, professor

An OXFORD graduate, Laski taught at Harvard University, where he became a friend of Oliver Wendell Holmes (1916–20). While there he wrote Studies in the Problem of Sovereignty (1917) and Authority in the Modern State (1919). Thereafter he taught political science at the London School of Economics, and he served as chairman of the LABOUR PARTY. His shifting political thought is reflected in A Grammar of Politics

(1925), Parliamentary Government in England (1938), and Reflections on the Constitution (1950).

Latimer, Hugh (1485–1555) bishop

From humble origins, Latimer became a renowned preacher and a strong spokesman for church reform. He was made BISHOP of Worcester in 1535. He resigned in 1539 to protest the adoption of the conservative Six Articles of Religion. Under EDWARD VI he was free to preach, but with MARY I’s accession, he was examined for heresy and burned at the stake in 1555.

latitudinarian

The early 18th-century theological and liturgical reaction to controversies of the 17th century: a lax attitude toward UNIFORMITY, and a toleration of different shades of ANGLICAN belief. This naturally excited criticism from “high church” members.

Laud, William (1573–1645) archbishop of Canterbury, 1633–1645

The son of a clothier, Laud was born in Reading and attended St. John’s College, OXFORD UNIVER-

SITY. A royal chaplain, then councillor, and finally ARCHBISHOP, he was the key architect of the religious policy of CHARLES I. An enemy of Calvinist influence, hence described as ARMINIAN, he tried to bring the church into uniform belief and practice using the courts of STAR CHAMBER and HIGH COMMISSION. His enemies portrayed him as a crypto-Catholic, though he was undoubtedly nothing of the sort. When a new prayer book drafted by Scottish bishops was imposed there in 1637, the public reaction was swift and violent. Laud became a target for the king’s enemies, and in 1641 he was arrested, impeached, and executed in 1645 at the order of PARLIAMENT.

Lauderdale, John Maitland, duke of

(1616–1682) secretary of state

A royalist, a signer of the SCOTTISH NATIONAL COVENANT, and a negotiator of both the SOLEMN

LEAGUE AND COVENANT and the ENGAGEMENT with

King CHARLES I, Lauderdale was at the center of 17th-century politics. After the RESTORATION he was the chief Scottish agent for (1660–80). He was feared as the promoter of restored episcopal authority and the scourge of

the PRESBYTERIANS.

law

The many varieties of law in the British Isles since the later Middle Ages are valuable guides to the histories of the several communities. Understanding the different systems of law begins with two questions: what were the sources of legal rules, and who enforced them?

Custom is what people have done in like circumstances in the past; the memory of a judge or a jury was both source and enforcer. The customary law of a MANOR or BOROUGH or GUILD was later written down, and the variety of customs was remarkable.

The COMMON LAW practiced in the king’s courts was common to the realm as a whole. Judgments followed prevailing legal rules, as found in decided cases. These were recorded in rolls or