It’s been a busy summer already at the History of Parliament. As I’m sure you know during the course of 2015 we’ve been celebrating, along with many others of course, a number of important anniversaries in parliamentary history. The two most important of these – the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215 and Simon de Montfort’s 1265 parliament – formed the inspiration for two major … Continue reading Summer Events at the History of Parliament
Our series celebrating the anniversaries of Magna Carta and Simon de Montfort’s Parliament continues today. Dr Paul Cavill, Lecturer in Early Modern British History at Cambridge University discusses how the origins of Parliament were viewed in the early modern period… When did the first parliament in England meet? In modern historical consciousness, the answer is straightforward enough: in the year 1265, following the victory of … Continue reading Early Modern ideas about Parliament’s origins
Continuing our ongoing series celebrating the anniversaries of Magna Carta and Simon de Montfort’s Parliament, this week’s guest blogpost looks at the role of a woman who helped to shape the politics of her time. Louise Wilkinson, Professor of Medieval History at Canterbury Christ Church University, explains the key role of Eleanor de Montfort… In the thirteenth century, Eleanor de Montfort was one of the … Continue reading Eleanor de Montfort, countess of Leicester (b. c. 1215-d. c. 1275): A countess and a rebel
As part of our series on Magna Carta and Simon de Montfort’s parliament, Ian Stone, a Junior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, discusses how a recent discovery among the records of the Corporation of London shows just how tightly bound the citizens of London had become to Simon de Montfort’s regime in advance of Montfort’s famous parliament of 1265… In December 1264 … Continue reading London 1264: from Magna Carta to Montfort’s Parliament
750 years ago today Simon de Montfort’s famous 1265 Parliament opened in Westminster Hall. This is one of two anniversaries this year, along with the sealing of Magna Carta, that have enormous significance in English and British constitutional and legal history. They provide the inspiration for our conference this summer, ‘Making Constitutions, Building Parliaments’. Starting today we’ll be publishing a series of blogposts in the run … Continue reading Simon de Montfort’s 1265 Parliament and Magna Carta
On the anniversary of the battle of Lewes, news of a new play that explores the causes of the battle and we launch our 2015 conference website… 750 years ago today, the enigmatic Simon de Montfort won his greatest victory against Henry III: defeating the King at the Battle of Lewes and taking him and his heir Edward captive. To mark the anniversary a new … Continue reading Simon de Montfort and the Battle of Lewes
Following last week’s blogpost about our 2014 conference, ‘Parliaments and Minorities’, today we have published an advanced notice of an exciting conference for 2015. The year 2015 marks two anniversaries of enormous significance in the history of English, and British constitutional and legal history: the 800th anniversary of King John’s acceptance of Magna Carta, the great charter of liberties of the English nation in 1215; … Continue reading ‘Making Constitutions, Building Parliaments’ Conference for 2015
