Provisions of Oxford 1258

Henry III King of England rule was, by the 1250s, very unpopular amongst the barons. He had packed his court with foriegn relatives from  Poitou and Savo,1 and was imposing high taxes on the nobility. The taxes were being spent on expensive and failed foreign adventures,2 such as trying to obtain the crown of Sicily for his son Edmund.3  Led by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, the barons decided that the king’s power had to be limited by law and supervised by the nobility.4

At  a parliament held at Oxford, Henry III was forced by the barons to accept a new set of constitutional reforms, which became known as the 'Provisions of Oxford'.5

The main points of the provisions were that a council of 15 barons would advise and control the king. The king could not make major decisions without their consent. Parliament was to meet three times a year, which was one of the first steps toward the modern parliamentary system. Local officials (sheriffs and justices) were to be regularly replaced to prevent corruption. Royal officials could be held to account for misconduct, and local courts and barons gained more control over justice. Additionally the king’s ability to give lands and offices to foreigners was restricted.

Initially Henry III accepted the Provisions under pressure but soon tried to revoke them, and civil war (the Second Barons’ War 1264–1267) broke out. The barons, led by Simon de Montfort, captured the king at the Battle of Lewes in 1264,6 and called a revolutionary parliament in 1265 that included knights and townsmen, which was a major step toward the modern House of Commons. Eventually, Henry’s forces defeated the rebels7 and the Provisions were annulled, but many of their ideas survived in later constitutional developments.

• 1.
  
  Baker, Darren Henry Iii Stroud History Press 2017.

  p256.

• 2.
  
  Maddicott, JR The Origins Of The English Parliament, 924-1327 Oxford Oxford University Press 2012.

  p170.

• 3.
  
  Baker, Darren Henry Iii Stroud History Press 2017.

  p241.

• 4.
  
  Powicke, Sir Maurice The Thirteenth Century 1216-1307 The Oxford History Of England The Oxford History Of England Oxford Clarendon Press 1962.

  p137.

• 5.
  
  Baker, Darren Henry Iii Stroud History Press 2017.

  p254.

• 6.
  
  Baker, Darren Henry Iii Stroud History Press 2017.

  pp305-309.

• 7.
  
  Powicke, Sir Maurice The Thirteenth Century 1216-1307 The Oxford History Of England The Oxford History Of England Oxford Clarendon Press 1962.

  p202.