Bad Parliament

| <-| Good Parliament | 1st Parliament of King Richard II| ->

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Overview
Legislative body| Parliament of England
Term| 27 January 1377 (1377-01-27) – 2 March 1377 (1377-03-02)
Parliaments of England

Predecessors

|  Witenagemot|  7th – 11th centuries

|

Curia regis|  1066 – c. 1215

Henry III

|  1st|  1237

|

2nd|  1242
3rd|  1244
4th|  1246
3rd|  1247
4th|  1248
Unnumbered|  1251
5th|  1252
6th|  1253
7th|  1254
8th|  1255
9th|  1255
10th|  1258
11th|  1258
12th|  1258
13th "Oxford/Mad"|  1258
14th|  1259
15th|  1259
16th|  1259
17th|  1260
18th|  1260
19th|  1260
20th|  1261
21st|  1262
22nd|  1262
23rd|  1263
24th|  1263
25th|  1264
26th "Simon de Montfort"|  1265
27th|  1265
28th|  1265
29th|  1266
30th|  1267
31st|  1267
32nd|  1268
33rd|  1268
34th|  1268
35th|  1269
36th|  1269
37th|  1270
38th|  1272

Edward I

|  "Model"|  1295

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Edward II

|  "Westminster"|  1327

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Edward III

|  "Good"|  1376

|

"Bad"|  1377

Richard II

|  "Wonderful"|  1386

|

"Merciless"|  1388

Henry IV

|  "Convention"|  1399

|

"Unlearned"|  1404

Henry V

|  "Fire and Faggot"|  1414

|

Henry VI

|  "Bats"|  1426

|

"Devils"|  1459

Edward IV

Richard III

Henry VII

Henry VIII

|  "Reformation"|  1529–1536

|

Edward VI

Mary I

|  1st|  1553

|

2nd|  1554
3rd|  1554–1555
4th|  1555
5th|  1558

Elizabeth I

|  1st|  1559

|

2nd|  1563–1567
3rd|  1571
4th|  1572–1583
5th|  1584–1585
6th|  1586–1587
7th|  1589
8th|  1593
9th|  1597–1598
10th|  1601

James I

|  1st "Blessed"|  1604

|

2nd "Addled"|  1614
3rd|  1621
4th|  1624

Charles I

|  1st "Useless"|  1625

|

2nd|  1626
3rd|  1628
4th "Short"|  Apr 1640
5th "Long" (1)|  Nov 1640
Oxford/Mongrel|  1644

Revolution and Commonwealth

|  1st "Long" (2)|  1645

|

2nd "Rump" (1)|  1648
3rd "Barebone's/Little/Nominated Assembly/Saints"|  1653

Protectorate

|  1st|  1654

|

2nd|  1656
3rd|  1659
4th "Rump" (2)|  1659

Commonwealth

|  1st "Rump" (3)|  1659

|

2nd "Long" (3)|  1660

Charles II

|  1st "Convention"|  1660

|

2nd "Cavalier"|  1661
3rd "Habeas Corpus/First Exclusion"|  1679
4th "Exclusion Bill/Second Exclusion"|  1680
5th "Oxford/Third Exclusion"|  1681

James II

|  "Loyal"|  1685

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William III and Mary II

|  1st "Convention"|  1689

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2nd|  1690
3rd|  1695
4th|  1698
5th|  Feb 1701
6th|  Dec 1701

Anne

|  1st|  1702

|

2nd|  1705

List of parliaments of England List of acts of the Parliament of England Parliaments of Great Britain

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The Bad Parliament sat in England between 27 January and 2 March 1377. The initial summons for the parliament went out on 1 December 1376, and the writ dissolving it was dated 2 March 1377.

## History

[edit]

The Bad Parliament was the last parliament of King Edward III of England's reign.[1] Influenced by Edward's son John of Gaunt, it undid the work done by the Good Parliament to reduce corruption in the Royal Council.[2] It approved Gaunt's reversal of the Good Parliament's impeachment of a number of royal courtiers. It also introduced a poll tax, a new form of royal taxation.

Modern historians have rejected the earlier view that the parliament was packed with Gaunt's supporters, and instead argued that a few defections to the royal party as well as the absence of other supporters of the Good Parliament were responsible for the complete change of course from the Good Parliament's work. The Bad Parliament, much like an earlier parliament of Edward III's in 1341, was forced to accede to the fact that the king could renege on political promises that were forced upon him.[3] The poll tax was assessed at the rate of 4 pennies for every person over the age of 14. The idea for the tax came from the Commons and was an attempt to move taxation down the social scale. A similar, but heavier, tax was a contributing factor to the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. The Bad Parliament also approved the payment of 6,000 pounds of back salary owed to Gaunt.[4]

The speaker was Sir Thomas Hungerford, who is the first leader of Commons to be called "speaker" in the rolls of Parliament.[5] Hungerford was Gaunt's steward and his selection as speaker showed Gaunt's power over the parliament.[6]

The ability of Gaunt and the royal government to not only secure approval of their reversal of the impeachments done by the Good Parliament along with the imposition of a new tax was a sign of the strength of the royal administration. Gaunt's ability to get back wages also demonstrated his increased power in the last year of his father's reign.[4]

During the parliament, the Commons met in the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey. Between the sessions of the Good Parliament and of the Bad Parliament, the Commons wore out the floor coverings in the Chapter House due to the length of their deliberations.[7]

## See also

[edit]

* List of parliaments of England

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 564\. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
2. ^ Wedgewood, J. C. (1930) "John of Gaunt and the packing of parliament", English Historical Review 45, pp. 623–5.
3. ^ Ormod, W. M. (2000). The Reign of Edward III (Updated ed.). Stroud: Tempus. pp. 44–45\. ISBN 0-7524-1773-8.
4. ^ a b Prestwich, Michael (1990). The Three Edwards: War and State in England 1272–1377. New York: Routledge. p. 292. ISBN 0-415-05133-9.
5. ^ Kightly, Charles (2004). "Hungerford, Sir Thomas". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/14179. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
6. ^ Lyon, Bryce Dale (1980). A Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England (Second ed.). New York: Norton. p. 560\. ISBN 0-393-95132-4.
7. ^ Lyon, Bryce Dale (1980). A Constitutional and Legal History of Medieval England (Second ed.). New York: Norton. p. 543\. ISBN 0-393-95132-4.

1377 English parliament
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