560 Parzival
When Parliament became enlarged by the attendance of
the commons, those representatives of the shires and the
boroughs, a distinction was drawn between them and the
magnates and prelates, and the term peerscame into use
for the latter two groups. The commons presented peti-
tions to the king and the peers as judges.
In the reign of Edward III a noble group of about 50
became accepted and in 1387 hereditary baronies were
created by royal letters that required attendance at Parlia-
ment. They were joined by a clerical element consisting
of bishops and certain important abbots and priors of
religious houses. These bishops were often employed as
the principal ministers in the royal civil service. The
clergy in this part of Parliament also controlled the taxa-
tion of the church in England.
BUSINESS: ISSUES AND AGENDASThe business of Parliament became a discussion of
affairs of state, more especially of foreign affairs, legisla-
tion, taxation, petitions, judicial business involving
criminal and civil clauses, difficult administrative mat-
ters, and feudal questions on such procedures as
homage. WESTMINSTER palace and abbey became the
usual meeting place. Sessions opened with the monarch’s
receiving petitions, a statement of agenda or questions,
and the fiscal needs of the Crown. The two houses, lords
and commons, then met separately to discuss these ques-
tions. The lords expressed their opinion individually, but
the commons had to present corporate opinions. The
commons would provide answers to the king by a com-
mittee or by 1276 through a speaker. The lords were all
summoned as individuals and represented nobody but
themselves.
During the HUNDRED YEARS’WAR, taxation, either
direct or indirect, dominated Parliament, which levied
indirect taxes or duties on imports or exports. It could
agree to impose quotas for payment on every shire or
direct taxation. Parliament tried to maintain control over
such matters and had to be consulted regularly for per-
mission for these taxes. The commons were endowed
with full power to give legal consent to taxation.
Petitions of two kinds, singular and common, could
be presented to and discussed in Parliament. Singular
petitions were for one person or subject, not necessarily a
member, who wished to make a request to the king. They
were passed to persons named to act and dispose of the
petitions as seemed appropriate. Common petitions were
put forward in the name of the commons attending the
Parliament. They were supposed to concern grievances
from the common people. These petitions always went to
the king and his council. Answers were given by the king
with the advice and consent of the lords and eventually
with the assent of the commons.
In 1404 the commons claimed by ancient custom
certain privileges such as freedom from arrest for debt,
trespass, or contract and in 1429 exemption from arrest
for all offenses except treason and serious crimes or
felonies. Genuine liberty of speech was not allowed to
members in the Middle Ages. The member clergy, in the
event of legal issues, could be tried solely in church
courts. The lay magnates claimed the privilege of trial by
peers and demanded that freedom from arrest extend to
their servants.
By the 15th century Parliament had become a
national assembly whose statutes prevailed over common
law and whose approval was required before TAXEScould
be levied.
See alsoCORTES; PARLEMENT OFPARIS ORFRANCE.
Further reading:R. G. Davies and J. H. Denton, eds.,
The English Parliament in the Middle Ages(Manchester:
Manchester University Press, 1981); Nicholas Pronay and
John Taylor, Parliamentary Texts of the Later Middle Ages
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980); H. G. Richardson, The
Irish Parliament in the Middle Ages(Philadelphia: Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania Press, 1952); J. S. Roskell, Parliament
and Politics in Late Medieval England,3 vols. (London:
Hambledon Press, 1981–1983); G. O. Sayles, The King’s
Parliament of England(New York: Norton, 1974).Parzival SeeWOLFRAM VONESCHENBACH.Paschal II, Pope(Raniero or Ranerius of San Lorenzo)
(ca. 1058–1118)Italian pope, Cluniac monk
Raniero was born in RAVENNAor near Faenza in central
Italy about 1058. His first mission to ROMEat about age
20 in 1080 demonstrated his early involvement with reli-
gion and recognition of this ability. He soon became
abbot of the monastery of San Lorenzo or St. Paul’s Out-
side the Walls. Pope GREGORYVII employed him in his
household and raised him to the status of CARDINAL.
After Urban’s death in 1099, the cardinals chose him to
be pope, on August 13, 1099. He inherited major prob-
lems in carrying out the reform program of his predeces-
sors. He had to confront a schism, pressures from the
emperor on investiture, and troubled relations with the
Greek Orthodox Church and the Byzantine government.
There were four different antipopes raised against him
during his reign. The imperial party promoted conflict in
the city of Rome and in Latium or Lazio, the surround-
ing region. More than once Paschal had to leave the city
and take up arms to defend the Patrimony of Saint Peter
or the PAPALSTATES.INVESTITURE DISPUTES
Paschal tried to stand firmly against the attempts of the
emperor Henry IV (1050–1106) to eliminate papal
investiture of bishops in Germany. Henry’s second son,
the emperor Henry V (1086–1125), reached an agree-
ment with Paschal when he needed papal help to replace
his father in 1105–6. But Paschal, a weak and timid man,
reneged on his promises. He went to FRANCEand reached