Edward I presiding over parliament in c.1278, as illustrated in Sir Thomas Wriothesley's Garter Book of c.1524. Wikicommons. Public domain.Parliament in England developed rather than being created. In the thirteenth century, the king had a royal court and the court would be complemented on occasion by the presence of his leading tenants-in-chief (usually earls and barons) and prelates, summoned to offer their counsel.
In 1254 two knights from each county were summoned to court to give their assent to the king’s demand for more taxes. Ten years later, Simon de Montfort – the leading baron in the kingdom – issued writs in the king’s name to summon four knights from each shire. The following year he also issued writs for two burgesses from each borough. The attendance of knights and burgesses is often seen as the origins of ‘Parliament’.
