The Commons 1422-1504

Editor
Dr Linda Clark

Research staff
Dr David Grummitt
Dr Hannes Kleineke
Dr Charles Moreton
Dr Simon Payling

Period

This period witnessed several changes of government as the conciliar rule of Henry VI’s minority gave way to the ascendancy of the royal household, and then to protectorates while the King was incapacitated. The emergency measures of the civil war as Lancaster succumbed to York and York to Tudor had their effect on the personnel of the Commons and the business of the Parliaments, most notably in the passing of Acts of Attainder. Charting the changing political allegiances of MPs in response to local conflicts and the rivalry between magnates at the centre lies at the core of most of the biographies. Another theme is the MPs’ participation in attempts to prevent the loss of English possessions in France, and their involvement in measures to cope with recurrent crises at the Exchequer. These prompted the passing of successive Acts of Resumption. Increasing demand for seats in Parliament led to developments in electoral law, marked by the statutes of 1430 and 1445, and the Commons’ sense of solidarity was strengthened by confirmation of Members’ privileges of protection from assault and freedom from arrest.

Thirty-seven Parliaments met between the accession of Henry VI and the death of Henry VII, and the names of nearly 4,000 MPs are recorded. There is, however, a severe imbalance in our knowledge about the Membership of the Commons in this period, as although the parliamentary returns are almost complete for Henry VI’s reign, after 1461 there are serious lacunae in the records, with no returns surviving for 11 of the Parliaments of the late 15th century.

The Section will be published as two sets of volumes, covering 1422-61 and 1461-1504. So far our efforts have been concentrated on the reign of Henry VI, and as at April 2008 we have completed 2,521 biographies and 100 constituency surveys.