Editing Parliament (section)

===England===
{{main|Parliament of England}}

====Early forms of assembly====
England has long had a tradition of a body of men who would assist and advise the king on important matters. Under the [[Anglo-Saxon]] kings, there was an advisory council, the [[Witenagemot]]. The name derives from the [[Old English]] ƿitena ȝemōt, or witena gemōt, for "meeting of wise men". The first recorded act of a witenagemot was [[Law of Æthelberht|the law code issued by King Æthelberht]] of Kent around 600, the earliest document which survives in sustained Old English prose; however, the Witan was certainly in existence long before then.<ref>Liebermann, Felix, The National Assembly in the Anglo-Saxon Period (Halle, 1913; repr. New York, 1961).</ref> The Witan, along with the folkmoots (local assemblies), is an important ancestor of the modern English parliament.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/originsofparliament/birthofparliament/overview/origins/|title=Anglo-Saxon origins|work=UK Parliament}}</ref>

As part of the [[Norman Conquest]], the new king, [[William I of England|William I]], did away with the Witenagemot, replacing it with a [[Curia Regis]] ("King's Council"). Membership of the Curia was largely restricted to the [[tenant-in-chief|tenants-in-chief]], the few nobles who "rented" great estates directly from the king, along with [[ecclesiastic]]s. William brought to England the [[feudal system]] of his native [[Normandy]], and sought the advice of the Curia Regis before making laws. This is the original body from which the Parliament, the higher courts of law, and the [[Privy Council]] and Cabinet descend. Of these, the legislature is formally the High Court of Parliament; judges sit in the [[Senior Courts of England and Wales|Supreme Court of Judicature]]. Only the executive government is no longer conducted in a royal court.

Most historians date the emergence of a parliament with some degree of power, to which the throne had to defer, no later than the reign of [[Edward I of England|Edward I]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Kaeuper|first=Richard W.|title=War Justice and Public Order: England and France in the Later Middle Ages|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=1988|isbn=9780198228738|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z35oAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> Like previous kings, Edward called leading nobles and church leaders to discuss government matters, especially [[finance]] and [[taxation]]. A meeting in 1295 became known as the [[Model Parliament]] because it set the pattern for later Parliaments. The significant difference between the Model Parliament and the earlier Curia Regis was the addition of the Commons: that is, the inclusion of elected representatives of rural landowners and of townsmen. In 1307, Edward agreed not to collect certain taxes without the "consent of the realm" through parliament. He also enlarged the court system.

====''Magna Carta'' and the model parliament====
[[File:Magna Carta (British Library Cotton MS Augustus II.106).jpg|thumb|A 1215 edition of ''[[Magna Carta]]'', as featured on display at the British Library]]
The tenants-in-chief often struggled for power with the ecclesiastics and the king. In 1215, they secured ''[[Magna Carta]]'' from [[John of England|King John of England]]. This established that the king may not levy or collect any taxes (except the feudal taxes to which they were hitherto accustomed), save with the consent of a council. It was also established that the most important tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics be summoned to the council by personal writs from the sovereign, and that all others be summoned to the council by general writs from the [[sheriff]]s of their counties. Modern government has its origins in the Curia Regis; parliament descends from the Great Council, later known as the ''parliamentum'', established by ''Magna Carta''.

During the reign of [[Henry III of England|King Henry III]] (13th century), [[Parliament of England|English Parliaments]] included elected representatives from shires and towns. Thus these parliaments are considered forerunners of the modern parliament.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/originsofparliament/birthofparliament/overview/firstparliaments/ |title=Birth of the English Parliament: The first Parliaments |publisher=Parliament.uk |access-date=13 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101013132032/http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/originsofparliament/birthofparliament/overview/firstparliaments/ |archive-date=13 October 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In 1265, [[Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester|Simon de Montfort]], then in rebellion against Henry III, summoned [[Simon de Montfort's Parliament|a parliament]] of his supporters without royal authorisation. The [[archbishop]]s, [[bishop]]s, [[abbot]]s, [[earl]]s, and [[baron]]s were summoned, as were two [[knight]]s from each shire and two [[burgess (title)|burgesses]] from each [[borough]]. Knights had been summoned to previous councils, but it was unprecedented for the boroughs to be represented. In 1295, [[Edward I of England|Edward I]]  adopted De Montfort's ideas for representation and election in the so-called "[[Model Parliament]]". At first, each [[Estates of the realm|estate]] debated independently; by the reign of [[Edward III of England|Edward III]], however, Parliament had grown closer to its modern form, with the legislative body having two separate chambers.

====Parliament under Henry VIII and Edward VI====
The purpose and structure of Parliament in Tudor England underwent a significant transformation under the reign of [[Henry VIII]]. Originally its methods were primarily medieval, and the monarch still possessed a form of inarguable dominion over its decisions. According to Elton, it was [[Thomas Cromwell]], 1st Earl of Essex, then chief minister to Henry VIII, who initiated still other changes within parliament.

The [[Acts of Supremacy]] established the monarch as head of the Church of England.

====Civil War and beyond====
The power of Parliament, in its relationship with the monarch, increased considerably after the [[English Civil War|Civil War]], and again at the [[Glorious Revolution]]. It also provided the country with unprecedented stability. More stability, in turn, helped assure more effective management, organisation, and efficiency. Parliament printed statutes and devised a more coherent [[parliamentary procedure]].

The rise of Parliament proved especially important in the sense that it limited the repercussions of dynastic complications that had so often plunged England into civil war. Parliament still ran the country even in the absence of suitable heirs to the throne, and its legitimacy as a decision-making body reduced the royal prerogatives of kings like Henry VIII and the importance of their whims. For example, Henry VIII could not simply establish supremacy by proclamation; he required Parliament to enforce statutes and add felonies and treasons. An important liberty for Parliament was its freedom of speech; Henry allowed anything to be spoken openly within Parliament and speakers could not face arrest – a fact which they exploited incessantly. Nevertheless, Parliament in Henry VIII's time offered up very little objection to the monarch's desires. Under his and [[Edward I of England|Edward]]'s reign, the legislative body complied willingly with the majority of the kings' decisions.

Much of this compliance stemmed from how the English viewed and traditionally understood authority. As Williams described it, "King and parliament were not separate entities, but a single body, of which the monarch was the senior partner and the Lords and the Commons the lesser, but still essential, members."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Monaghan |first1=E. Jennifer |title=Learning to Read and Write in Colonial America |date=2002 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press}}</ref>

[[File:Statue_of_Oliver_Cromwell_280_tcm4-569959.jpg|thumb|The statue of [[Oliver Cromwell]], as it stands outside the House of Commons at the Palace of Westminster]]

Although its role in government had expanded significantly in the mid 16th century, the Parliament of England saw some of its most important gains in the 17th century. A [[English Civil War|series of conflicts]] between the Crown and Parliament culminated in the execution of [[Charles I of England|King Charles I]] in 1649. For a brief period, England became a [[Commonwealth of England|commonwealth]], with [[Oliver Cromwell]] the de facto ruler, with the title of [[Lord Protector]]. Frustrated with its decisions, Cromwell purged and suspended Parliament on several occasions.

A controversial figure notorious for [[Cromwellian conquest of Ireland|his actions in Ireland]], Cromwell is nonetheless regarded as essential to the growth of democracy in England.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/zttpsbk |title = Was Oliver Cromwell the father of British democracy? |publisher=BBC |work= iWonder |access-date=5 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151121190743/https://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/zttpsbk |archive-date= Nov 21, 2015 }}</ref> The years of the Commonwealth, coupled with the [[Restoration (1660)|restoration of the monarchy]] in 1660 and the subsequent [[Glorious Revolution|Glorious Revolution of 1688]], helped reinforce and strengthen Parliament as an institution separate from the Crown.

====Acts of Union====
The Parliament of England met until it merged with the [[Parliament of Scotland]] under the [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]]. This union created the new [[Parliament of Great Britain]] in 1707. The Parliament of the United Kingdom followed at the union with Ireland.