British Parliamentary Papers

This four volume set contains the biographies of 3,175 individuals who sat in the House of Commons in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, providing not only a picture of political affiliations, aim and motives in seeking Membership, but also a study of other preocupations: the contrast between the code of chivalrous conduct and the reality of military service; the competitive pursuit of wealthy heiresses; the sometimes ambivalent relations between the laity and the Church; and their fluctuating success and failures in the scramble for patronage and preferment from the Crown and baronetage alike. Among those included are poets (Geoffrey Chaucer made an appearance in 1386), pirates (such as the notorious William Long and John Hawley), lollards (including Sir John Oldcastle, who met a traitor's death), henchmen of the king (most notably the infamous Bussy, Bagot and Green) and the most outstanding parliamentarians of the Middle Ages, among them Sir John Tiptoft, perhaps the youngest Speaker ever to be elected, the charismatic Thomas Chaucer (the poet's son), and the intrepid Sir Arnold Savage, whose verbal exchanges with Henry IV throw fresh light on the relationship between King and Commons in the 15th century. Surveys of each of the 135 constituencies represented in Parliament in this period supply a detailed explanation of local politics, while information about the economic and constitutional background of each city and borough provides the context in which the MPs' biographies are set. The Introductory Survey in Volume I, the culmination of a lifetime's dedication to the subject by the distinguished historian J. S. Roskell, provides the most thorough examination yet undertaken of the work of the medieval House of Commons. Appendices supply tables on specific topics discussed in the Introductory Survey and touched on in the biographies.

Over 2.260 biographical articles and 218 constituency articles are included in this three volume set of the History of Parliament in the first half of the sixteenth century. Among the biographies are those of Sir Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell; and despite the difficulty of obtaining information about these early parliaments - the official returns for many of the early parliaments or Henry VIII are lost and such names as can be found have often had to be reconstructed from civil, municipal and parish records - many of the lesser figures are also included. They were published without the normal introductory survey following the death of the editor of the volumes, S. T. Bindoff.

The History of Parliament - The House of Commons 1558-1603 contains 2.668 biographical articles and 241 constituency articles. The biographies include many of the powerful political figures of Elizabeth's reign such as Sir William Cecil, Sir Robert Dudley, Sir Amias Paulet, Thomas Sackville and Sir Christopher Hatton, as well as the middling figures like Laurence Tomson and Richard Topcliffe, the 'parliament men' Thomas Norton and William Fleetwood and the firebrand Peter Wentworth. "All writers of Elizabethan history shall now refer to these biographies for the most reliable information about the leaders of the Elizabethan polity who served out their time in the Commons" declared the British Book News on the first publication of this three volume set.

Here is the period from the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 to the Revolution of 1688 and the Convention Parliament which followed it. These three volumes cover the period of constitutional reconstruction after the Interregnum and the political crises of the 1670s and early 1680s. The three volumes contain 2,040 biographical articles and 269 constituency articles. An Introductory Essay by Basil Duke Henning analyses information about the age, education, social background of the Members and their residential and electoral relationship with their constituencies. Questions concerning how far non-political factors influenced a Member's party political alignment are also examined.

The History of Parliament is one of the great enduring monuments of twentieth-century historical research and one of the most comprehensive prosopographical projects ever undertaken. These five volumes, devoted to the years 1690-1715, provide a unique research tool comprising an introductory survey, detailed accounts of constituencies, and biographies of all members of the House of Commons during this period. The volumes detail a crucial stage in the evolution of Parliament, during which the constitutional position of the Commons was transformed by the revolution in public finance, leading to more frequent and longer sessions, and an increase in business. At the same time the electoral system was undergoing significant changes, in response to the frenetic political activity that characterised this 'first age of party'. Embodying exhaustive original research, these volumes stand as a unique contribution to the political and social history of Britain during the Augustan period.

This first study of the Irish House of Lords concentrates on the largely resident peers who attended parliament. It discusses their origins, education, marriages, and economic position. While these peers looked after their own interests, many also proved responsible public leaders; some were patrons of art and learning.