Ever heard of the Provisions of Oxford?
According to Simon Schama, the author of the three-volume “A History Of Britain” and presenter of the BBC series of the same name, the Provisions of Oxford in 1258 are so important that “1258 ought to be one of the dates engraved on the national memorial having far more immediate significance than 1215” when Magna Carta was signed.
The Provisions of Oxford were constitutional reforms to the government of late medieval England adopted during the Oxford Parliament of 1258 to resolve a dispute between Henry III of England and his barons. The reforms were designed to ensure the king adhered to the rule of law and governed according to the advice of his barons. A council of fifteen barons was chosen to advise and control the king and supervise his ministers. Parliament was to meet regularly three times a year.
Like the earlier Magna Carta, the Provisions of Oxford demonstrated the ability of the barons to press their concerns in opposition to the English monarchy. Henry’s failure to abide by the reforms sparked the Second Barons’ War, which ended with Henry’s victory and the restoration of royal authority. The Provisions of Oxford were annulled in 1266 by the Dictum of Kenilworth.