404 Constitutional IIistonj. [chap.
form of writ having been Oiiginally settled by no constitutional
act except in the very general terms of the great charter1 ;
Writs but certain additions were made by acts of parliament, the
act of par- omission of which would have the effect of invalidating the
Iiament.
summons ; such in particular were the clauses inserted in con-
sequence of the amendments of election law under Henry IV,
Henry V, and Henry VI. Yet, like the times and places of
session, the form of writ had in the fourteenth century attained
a sort of sanctity which it was exceedingly dangerous to violate ;
Richard II was compelled to withdraw the clause by which he
ordered the sheriffs to return impartial persons ; and the order,
given in 1404, that lawyers should not be elected, was made
the ground of a charge of unconstitutional conduct brought
against Henry IV.
Special write ~417. Special writs of summons were addressed to the lords,
and judges, spiritual and temporal, and to the judges or occasional coun-
sellors who were called to advise the king in the upper house
of parliament. The summons of the parliamentary assembly of
the clergy was inserted in the writs to the archbishops and
bishops, and all the summonses of representatives of the com-
Variations ɪnons were addressed to the sheriffs of the counties. The
in th© forms. .... _ _ p
variations in the writs addressed to the lords are ↑ ot minor
importance, as they are chiefly found in the clauses in’ which
the king gives an account of the cause which has moved him
to call the parliament ; but some peculiarities marking the
various writs of the barons, bishops, r abbots, and judges, de-
serve special notice2. On the other hand the changes which
1 i Ad certuni diem scilicet ad terminum quadraginta dierum ad minus,
et ad,certum locum; et in omnibus Iitteris illius Summonitionis causam
Summonitionis exprimemus;’ Mag. Cart. art. 14.
2 These points will be seen best by giving a specimen of the writs :
‘Rex venerabili in Chiisto patri H. eadem gratia archiepiscopo Cantua-
riensi, totius Angliae primati, salutem. (ɪ) Quia de avisamento consilii
nostri pro quibusdam arduis et urgentibus negotiis, nos statum et defeιι
sionem regni nostri Angliae ас ecclesiae Anglicanae Contingeiitibus, quod-
dam parliamentum nostrum apud Westmonasterium die Iunae proximo
post festum Sancti Lucae Evangelistae proxime futurum teneri ordinavimus,
et ibidem (ii) vobiscιιm ac cum ceteris praelatis, magnatibus et proceribus
dicti regni nostri colloquium habere et tractatunι ; vobis (iii) in fide et
dilectione (to the lords temporal ‘ in fide et Iigeaneia5) quibus nobis tene-
nɪini fir mi ter hyungendo mandamus quod, consideratis dictorum nego-
JJrrits of the Tor<ls.
4°5
were from time to time introduced or attempted in the writs
for the elections to the house of commons, point in some cases
to important, in some to very obscure causes in contemporary
history.
The writs enrolled and issued first were those addressed to ʌ'jɪte to the
the lords spiritual ; the archbishop of Canterbury being by his
ancient privilege entitled to the first summons ; then followed
the writ to the archbishop of York and the suffragan bishops.
The normal form of the writ contained, first, a clause declaring
the cause on account of which the king has ordered the par-
liament to be summoned, with the time and place of meeting ;
a description of the body whose deliberations the recipient is
to share, ‘ cum ceteris praelatis magnatibus et proeeribus regni
nostri ; ’ this is followed by an injunction on the recipient to
attend, ‘vobis mandamus in fide et dilectione quibus nobis
tenemini/ and a description of the function which he is to
discharge ‘ tractatuτi vestrumque consilium impensuri.’ Finally
the praemunientes clause directs the bishop to warn the clergy
of his diocese to appear, the deans and archdeacons in person
and the minor clergy by their proctors, on the same occasion, to
do or consent to the things which may then and there be
determined.
ɪt is on the varying of these few expressions that all the τhe canκβ
. . . . x °? summons
distinctive interest of the writs of the prelates depends. The stated in
first clause admits of infinite but non-essential variation ; and
is continually changed. The highest note is struck when
Edward I reminds the bishops that what touches all should
tiorum arduitate et periculis imminentibus, cessante quacunque excusa-
tione, dietis die et loco personaliter intersitis nobiseum ac cum praelatis
magnatibus et proeeribus praedictis super praedictis negotiis (ɪv) tractaturi
Vestrumque consilium impensuri. Et hoc, sicut nos et honorem nostrum
ac Salvationem et defensionem regni et ecclesiae praedietoruɪn expeditio-
nemque dictorum negotiorum diligitis, nullatenus onɪittatis. Çv) Prae-
munientes priorem et capitulum ecclesiae vestrae Cantuariensis ac archi-
diaconos totumque eleruɪn vestrae diocesis quod iidem prior et arclιidiaconi
in propriis personis suis, ac dictum capitulum per unum, idemque clerus
per duos procm∙atores idoneos plenum et Sufficientem potestatem ab ipsis
capitulo et clero divisim habentes, dietis die et Ioco personaliter intersint
ad Cqnsentiendum hiis quae tunc ibidem de communi consilio dicti remɪi
nostri divina favente dementia Contigerit ordinari. Teste’ &e ∙ Lords’
lieport, iv. 827. ’’