“Assembled as one man”. The councils of Henry II and the political community of England

Abstract

The study of parliamentary origins for England -and other kingdoms- has traditionally concentrated on aspects such as the social composition of assemblies and territorial representation. It has been argued that parliamentary assemblies were born when the three estates of medieval society were summoned to meet the king at feudal councils. However, such an approach has led to some anachronistic conclusions that have overlooked the importance of the presence of the political community, the "communitas" or "universitas regni" at these assemblies as a key phenomenon to understanding parliamentary origins. Such community was the body of nobles, assembled as one at councils not because they "represented" the kingdom but because they "were" the kingdom.

Keywords

• Asambleas
• Enrique II
• Inglaterra medieval
• parlamento