THE KING'S PARLIAMENT OF ENGLAND

by George O. Sayles ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 29, 1974

G. O. Sayles, who together with H. R. Richardson authored one of the standard texts of Medieval British Constitutional History, here pursues in scholarly but argumentative fashion the growth of that august institution -- the English Parliament. Sayles' thesis on the evolution of Parliament can be summarized succinctly: the Commons didn't count. Parliament was strictly an aristocratic body; as late as the 15th century a papal legate described it as ""nobles and prelates."" Those who look determinedly for ""democracy in embryo"" are misguided or worse. The history of Parliament does not equal the history of representative institutions; far from being the voice of the people it was the King's supreme administrative organ summoned in its earliest years primarily for the purpose of levying taxes. Sayles takes some nasty swipes at Stubbs, the great 19th century constitutionalist, for his naive democratic predilections and disregards entirely those who like to trace Parliament back to the Anglo-Saxon witan. The scholarship is, as always, exceedingly careful as Sayles analyzes the Provisions of Oxford and the bureaucratic refinements of Edward I. The message is clear if somewhat truculent: English government was created de haut en bas and only later circumstances and expedients involved the knights of the shire. Other interpretations which place far more emphasis on the development of Common Law and on grass-roots government do exist but Sayles gives them short shrift.

Pub Date: July 29, 1974

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Norton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1974

Categories: NONFICTION