Magnum Concilium facts for kids

The Magnum Concilium (which means "Great Council" in Latin) was an important meeting in the Kingdom of England. It was a group of powerful English nobles and church leaders. They met with the king to talk about important country matters. Over time, in the 1200s, this Great Council slowly became what we now know as the Parliament of England. The very last time a Great Council was called was in 1640 by King Charles I.

The Great Council in the Middle Ages

Early Beginnings in Anglo-Saxon England

The idea of a "great council" started a long time ago. It began in the 900s when England became one unified kingdom. In Anglo-Saxon England, kings used to hold special meetings. These meetings were called witans. They included nobles and important church leaders like bishops and abbots.

Witans could have anywhere from 25 to hundreds of people. They met regularly during big holidays like Christmas and Easter. These meetings helped the king stay in control of his large kingdom. They were a way for the king to talk with his most powerful people.

Witans did many important things. They sometimes helped choose new kings, especially when there was a disagreement. They were also a chance for people to ask the king for things. Kings would give out gifts or land during these meetings. Important decisions were made there too, like whether to go to war or make peace treaties. Witans also helped the king create new laws and acted as a court for big legal cases.

Norman England and the Great Council

After William the Conqueror took over England in 1066, he continued these meetings. He still called together powerful leaders to discuss national issues. These meetings were now called the Magnum Concilium. Kings needed these big meetings to get everyone's agreement. Relying only on private advice could cause problems.

The Great Councils were good because they shared the responsibility. They brought together many church leaders and nobles to make decisions. The members of the council were the king's main landholders. Important people like archbishops, bishops, earls, and barons were invited. Sometimes, smaller landholders were also asked to come.

After the Norman Conquest (1066–1154), about 200 wealthy noblemen were very powerful. Church leaders were also very important. The Church owned a lot of land in England, sometimes up to a third of all the land.

Plantagenet England and New Powers

For a long time, the Great Council did not deal with taxes. Kings got their money from land and other feudal payments. But this changed near the end of King Henry II's rule (1154–1189). Kings needed money for big wars and to pay ransoms. For example, they needed money for the Third Crusade and to free King Richard I when he was captured.

In 1188, Henry II asked the council for permission to collect a special tax called the Saladin tithe. From then on, kings usually asked the nobles for their agreement to collect taxes. This made the council more important. They were now agreeing to taxes on behalf of all the people in the kingdom. This also created new tensions between the nobles and the king.

King John (1199–1216) made many nobles angry. He was unfair in his judgments and demanded too much money. In 1215, the nobles forced King John to agree to a special document. This document was called the Magna Carta (Latin for "Great Charter").

The Magna Carta was very important for the future of Parliament. It said three main things:

• The king had to follow the law.
• The king could only make new laws and raise taxes (except for regular feudal payments) if the "community of the realm" agreed.
• People only had to obey the king if he followed these rules.

Even though the part about "no taxation without common counsel" was later removed, it was still followed. The Magna Carta changed the nobles' duty to advise the king into a right to agree or disagree. The freedoms in the charter were for "all the free men of our realm." But it was the barons in the council who spoke for them.

During the rule of King John's son, Henry III (1216–1272), meetings of the Great Council started to be called parliament. This word comes from the French word parlement, meaning a discussion or talk. The Parliament of England continued to grow and become more powerful under Henry's son, Edward I (1272–1307).

Later Years: Tudor and Stuart Times

The Great Council was rarely called after the 1400s. King Henry VII called it a few times, but then it stopped being used.

In 1640, King Charles I called the Great Council again. This was after he had dissolved a Parliament and lost battles against Scotland. The council offered King Charles a loan to pay his army. They also tried to make peace with the Scots. However, the council did not want to take back its old role in governing. Instead, they told King Charles to call a new Parliament. The Great Council has not met since then.