The 299
reminiscent of the of 1257.* to
lors for their services early in the four-
teenth century; were
sometimes annuities, and, for minor members, clerks, etc.,
day wages. But was nothing in the nature of a
consistent salary system before Richard II. In Edward
IIL's reign it was thought necessary to have a per-
manent and commodious meeting place,
1340 work was begun upon a building between West-
minster Hall and the palace destined for the Council's
especial use. At the end of this reign the Council
still large and its membership vague. It might include
foreigners, favourites, minor officials, or honorary mem-
bers. But these people did not equally the
routine work. That by a
small group: an evidence of is that only part of the
members received salaries. As to how far such a
coincided with the members who taken the coun-
sellor's oath it is impossible to say; but was no
certainty as yet that the regularly sworn would
always be in control. The Council much work
in all lines, especially the administrative, and its
with the king were intimate.
As time passed, and Parliament (now including the
Commons) became more conscious of its place and possi-
bilities in government, there were signs of a clash with the
Council. Late in Edward IIL's reign the situation was
growing difficult; the circumstance of Richard's minority
made the clash certain. As when Henry III. was a minor
the unformed body of counsellors undertook new duties
and responsibilities, so in Richard's minority the Council
saw occasion to extend its work and authority. From
the Good Parliament, 1376, to the end of Henry VI.'s
minority, 1437, was a distinct period in the Council's
history. It was the time when Parliament made vigor-
* A study of the oath forms is most instructive from the point of view of
the new oaths derived from the counsellor's oath for officials or depart-
ments that were differentiating from the Council, as the Justices and
Barons of the Exchequer,