Though widely regarded as the "mother of Parliaments," surprisingly little has been written about the history of the English Parliament as an institution. Because of this, the importance of various antecedents and the role of certain individuals, such as Simon de Montfort and Edward I, are often distorted in assessing their contribution to its development.

For this reason alone, John Robert Maddicott's book fills an important gap in the story of English history. In it, he explains the evolution of Parliament from its precursors in Anglo-Saxon times into its fully-formed existence in the 14th century. To do this, he immerses the reader in a detailed overview of the councils, meetings, and issues involved over the nearly four centuries covered in his narrative. In this way he explains the organic emergence of Parliament as an institution, though one the development of which was determined by circumstances of the moment. Perhaps the most critical of these was the death of King John and the minority of his son Henry III. As Maddicott notes, institutions similar to Parliament were developing throughout Europe at that time, yet it was the vacuum of executive leadership in England at that critical point which allowed Parliament to develop an institutional standing without a challenge from the monarchy.

This may have been the most important point in the development of Parliament, but it was far from the only one. Maddicott describes all of them, using the available records to explain their composition, business, and standing within the English legal and political system. In this the expects from his readers a considerable degree of familiarity with medieval English history -- this is not a book for the novice to the subject. But those who possess it will find reading Maddicott's book to be a richly rewarding experience, as it offers a superb explanation of the evolution of one of the vital institutions of the English constitutional system and a defining body that would shape English and British history down to the present day. ( )

This is a very detailed chronological account of the earliest English parliamentary institutions. Throughout the book the author emphasizes their bidirectional nature; regional representatives gained a hearing with king, but they also distributed information from the assembly to their respective regions after the event. He describes in detail how and why the parliamentary agenda evolved. The final chapter provides a very interesting discussion of how the early English parliaments differed from their counterparts on the European continent.

The book is a bit difficult at times because it presupposes a good deal of prior knowledge on the actual events in English politics which formed the backdrop for parliamentary history in these centuries. They are understandably not presented in this book, which is long enough as it is. Laymen will also have to use other sources to understand the difference between all the magnates, burgesses, knights and other frequently mentioned social groups. But this is nevertheless a very good book which provides a wealth of information on the earliest forms of political representation. The English case is an interesting an exceptional one, as the author argues.