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List of parliaments of EnglandList of acts of the Parliament of EnglandParliaments of Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TheOxford Parliament, also known as theMad Parliament, assembled in 1258 during the reign ofHenry III of England. It is best known for theProvisions of Oxford, a set of constitutional reforms that forced theEnglish king to govern according to the advice of a council ofbarons.
The parliament came to be known as "Mad" as a result of an entry in theLatin chronicleLiber de Antiquis Legibus which read "Hoc anno fuit illud insane parliamentum apud Oxoniam". However, historiansA.G. Little andR.L. Poole have shown that the wordinsane was overwritten in the original text, and may have originally readinsigne instead.[1] Therefore, it would have originally read "illud insigne parliamentum" ("that distinguished parliament").[2]
By the 1250s, there was widespread resentment among thebarons againstHenry III. The causes included the favoritism he showed to his Lusignan half-brothers,William andAymer de Valence. There was also opposition to Henry's unrealistic plans to conquer theKingdom of Sicily for his second son,Edmund Crouchback. In 1255, the King informed parliament that as a result of theSicilian business he owed thepope the huge sum of £100,000[note 1] and that if he defaulted England would be placed under aninterdict. The King had other debts as well.[4][5] Through 1256 and 1257, however, the barons refused to grant Henry the taxes he needed to solve his financial problems. The King's position was weakened further when English armies suffered several defeats at the hand ofLlywelyn ap Gruffudd in Wales.[6]
Desperate for funds, the King summoned a parliament to meet atWestminster on 9 April.[7] On 12 April, a group of lay magnates came together to offer united resistance to the King's demands for funds. These wereRichard de Clare,Roger Bigod,Simon de Montfort,Peter of Savoy,Hugh Bigod,John FitzGeoffrey, andPeter de Montfort. The barons were given three days to consider their response to the King's request, and on the appointed day a group ofearls, barons, andknights confronted the King and his eldest son,the Lord Edward, fully armed insideWestminster Hall. They demanded the King agree to reforms, and Henry swore on theGospels to agree to whatever they advised.[8]
An agreement was recorded in twoletters patent dated 2 May. In the first, the King agreed that by Christmas he would introduce reforms on the advice of his barons and in return the barons would consent to new taxes for the king. If the King failed to keep his word, he would beexcommunicated. In the second document, the King agreed that a reform programme should be prepared by a council of twenty-four—half from theking's council and half elected by the barons—that was to meet atOxford on 11 June. The twenty-four would then present their suggestions at a parliament summoned to meet in that city.[7]
At the Oxford Parliament on 11 June,[9] Henry accepted a new form of government, laid out in theProvisions of Oxford, in which power was placed in the hands of a council of fifteen members who were to supervise ministerial appointments, local administration and the custody of royal castles. Parliament, meanwhile, which was to meet three times a year, would monitor the performance of this council.[10]
Henry agreed to these terms, and the council of fifteen was formed. The members included Simon de Montfort,Peter de Montfort,Boniface of Savoy in his role as theArchbishop of Canterbury,Walter de Cantilupe as theBishop of Worcester, theEarl of Norfolk, theEarl of Gloucester, theEarl of Hereford, theEarl of Warwick, theEarl of Albemarle, Hugh Bigod,Peter II of Savoy,Roger de Mortimer, James de Audeleye and John Maunsel.[11]
The resolution of the Parliament did not last for long. The pope excused the King of his obligations related to the throne of Sicily, meaning that he no longer required the funds provided by the additional taxation given to him by Parliament.[12] The issue was one which was brought before KingLouis IX of France, acting as arbitrator between Henry and the barons at theMise of Amiens. Louis made a decision entirely in favour of his fellow king,[13] overturning the agreement made at the Oxford Parliament and absolved Henry's need to allow Parliament to appoint ministers, instead restoring that power to him.[14]
This soon resulted in theSecond Barons' War, with forces led by Simon de Montfort rebelling against the King. Following an initial attack by the rebel barons, Henry's feudal army was summoned and won a battle at Northampton.[15] The forces of Montfort and Henry failed to come to terms, resulting in theBattle of Lewes where the rebel barons were victorious and theMise of Lewes resulted.[16][17] Lord Edward escaped his captors within a few months,[18] and began to re-conquer England. The forces of Montfort found themselves trapped at Evesham, and in theensuing battle, he was killed and his forces were routed by Edward's.[19] The rebel barons continued to resist, but theDictum of Kenilworth in October 1266 granted pardons, resulting in their surrender.[20]
Peter de Montfort's role as parlour or prolocutor was the forerunner forSpeaker of the House of Commons which officially began in 1377.[21]