ABSTRACT
The chief strength of the king's position lay, however, in its negative power. The king could make writs even if he could not enforce them. The barons had, at times, the force but they could not secure control over the great seal ; and behind the great seal the king had the privy seal and the secret seal. In a word, the king's strength depended upon his executive power. It was in execution that the baronial opposition was weak. The vital point in their attempts to exercise restraint was the capture of the executive. It was here that their failure was greatest and most serious in its results. If the king could not secure the enforcement of his own commands, he could yet frustrate baronial action. He could prevent baronial commands having force by refusing to allow them to be given in the normal way. The king could ensure that his commands alone passed the great seal. As long as the king controlled the executive he controlled the administration. If the administrative officers did not obey the commands of the executive, they could be removed by the executive. The control of the central administration by the executive was extremely important and comparatively easy. To mention but one way in which the central administration was maintained in its loyalty, the king secured offices there for his household officials. In the strength of the household system and in the executive power which it assured the king, the barons found a position which they could not overcome.
