Provisions of Westminster 1259

The Provisions of Westminster are one of the first major efforts in English history to codify good governance and administrative fairness. They influenced the Statute of Marlborough (1267), which is still partly in force today, and later medieval reforms of royal justice and local administration. Together with the Oxford Provisions, they show England’s steady move toward constitutional monarchy and rule of law.

On St Edward's day (13th of October 1259) a long series of legislative and administrative provisions were issued by the Parliament sitting in Westminster.  These Provisions came to be known as the Provisions of Westminster and provided the practical, legal framework for governing England, especially in matters of law, justice, and local administration,1 for implementing the Provisions of Oxford that had been agreed upon the previous year.2

While the Oxford Provisions were broad and political, focusing on control of the king and his officials.  By 1259, there was a need to clarify and refine them into specific, workable laws, and the Provisions of Westminster were the result.

Sheriffs (royal officials in the counties) had been notorious for corruption and abuse, and the Provisions set strict rules on how sheriffs were to collect taxes and enforce justice.  Also they could no longer hold office for long periods or exploit their position for profit.3 The Provisions clarified the rights of tenants against their lords.  Addressed issues like inheritance, reliefs (fees owed at succession), wardships, and marriages, and tried to reduce feudal abuses by powerful barons and royal officials alike.4

The provisions also strengthened the role of royal courts and itinerant justices.  Seeking to ensure equal justice under the law, rather than favoritism or local power politics. They extended the barons’ earlier demand that officials must answer to the community (not just the king), reinforcing the principle that even royal officers were subject to the law.5

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

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• 2.
  
  Powicke, Sir Maurice The Thirteenth Century 1216-1307 The Oxford History Of England The Oxford History Of England Oxford Clarendon Press 1962.

  pp146-147.

• 3.
  
  Powicke, Sir Maurice The Thirteenth Century 1216-1307 The Oxford History Of England The Oxford History Of England Oxford Clarendon Press 1962.

  p146.

• 4.
  
  Maddicott, JR The Origins Of The English Parliament, 924-1327 Oxford Oxford University Press 2012.

  p240.

• 5.
  
  Maddicott, JR The Origins Of The English Parliament, 924-1327 Oxford Oxford University Press 2012.

  p240.