When Prince Edward ascended the throne in 1272 as King Edward I, he demonstrated an understanding of the lessons of his father’s reign. For the first twenty years of his rule it met almost twice a year. In total (he ruled until 1307) Parliament met 46 times. He called the barons and important churchmen – bishops and abbots. Each county and borough was represented by two members of parliament. Obviously, the main reason why Edward summoned them in 1275, to attend his first parliament, was to approve a new tax. Edward didn’t always stick to the model agreed by Simon de Montfort and the barons. Most of Edward’s parliaments ignored the town burgesses and only summoned two representatives from each shire.

1275 Edward I’s first parliament – he wanted money to wage war. This became the usual reason for summoning parliament in medieval England. The more money the king needed or the more desperate he was for the cash, the more likely it was for parliament to get something they wanted from the king in return for agreeing to a new tax. It is important to remember though that Edward I understood that there could be no taxation without representation (think of the reasons behind the American War of Independence and the Boston Tea Party).

In 1278 the official records of Parliament, known as the Parliamentary Rolls, from the way the parchments were kept on long scrolls commenced.

1295- Edward I’s model parliament – in preparation for war on the Scots. For the first time since 1275, burgesses (the town representatives) were summoned at the same time as the knights of the shires. From now on it would be the more usual format for parliament. So – although the model for lords, commons and the king was put into effect early in Edward’s reign, it wasn’t until almost the end of it that the pattern was established – even then the people in parliament were elite rather than ordinary. In return for taxes, parliament demanded the right to present grievances to the king.

It wasn’t until 1327 (when Edward II was deposed) that the Commons won the right to attend all parliamentary meetings rather than just the Lords. When Edward II was deposed (he’s the one who is alleged to have met with a nasty accident involving a hot poker), his son King Edward III (pictured at the start of this post) became king but he was not yet an adult, so his mother, Isabella, and her lover Roger Mortimer governed the country. When Edward III began to rule for himself, having got rid of the regent – he decided that Parliament should meet every year – and the more that they met, the more that the Commons wanted a voice in deciding how the country was run.

1341 the Commons won the right to meet separately from the Lords – as well as the need for money, the commons provided the soldiers and the archers that English kings needed in their armies – war helped improve the rights of the knights who represented the English counties.

1376 Parliament was becoming tired of the way that King Edward III’s favourites dictated what happened. The king was getting old and court factions were becoming more powerful. The commons elected Sir Peter de la Mare to act as its spokesperson with the king – he was the first Speaker of the House of Commons but in 1377, it was Thomas Hungerford who was named Speaker for the first time. The Good Parliament of 1376 set about prosecuting some royal favourites and ministers because they were so corrupt.

The Commons had come a long way from the beginning of Edward I’s reign to the end of Edward III’s – and the Peasants had decided that enough was enough – they wanted a voice as well.