374 The Period of Constitution Making

laity. It is not the place here to study in detail the origin
and growth of Convocation, but some of its features
must be noticed in order to understand the early history
of Parliament.

Before^he^^rteenth^century, there were t^vojDiincipal
ecclesiastical assemblies: diocesan synods, which^were
quite^Saustrve meetings^^^K^He^y^ of the diocese*
and pngpnrial^soiods attended, in each of tKe^rcMe-'
piscopal proviBces, by the bishops, some of the<pjJ^gtSj
and later the axdideacons. Until the thirteenth century,
as far as thedgrgy had been consulted at ajj^about money
grants, there had been negotiaiioga^bjroyal officials with
the individual dioceses, sometimes proEiEIy "through the
diocesagjjYnods. But this had been much morelTmatter
of demanding and<<£ollecting than of cqn^tmgjorj.sldng
consent. If there were to be reaj^^nsultation of the
clergy, it must be in a body where CQDi£iħfidjEu^on of
the higher^clergy would be possible, namely, in the
provincial synod. The intense_j022osition

_

misrule made it necessary for him to treat the clergy
with more consideration, and he was the tj£stjdng to
make any approach to a consultation of the provincial
synods on money jgrants. TE^'succesS^ by

the Bishop of Lincoln against the unusual aid proposed
late in his brother's reign shows that the time was ripe
for such a development. I The new importance attaching
to the provincial synods, as bodies consulted in matters
of taxation, was probably the leading cause of their devel-
opment into representative Convocations in the course
of the century. In JE226, proctors representing the
caffiedraljJiapters and the jnonasteries wereTadded to
the oldjakaaaents. But it was not until

that the parodnalj^^^
was in a series of meetings, 1280 to 1283, under the stress
of Edward's demands for money, tEat in the provinces
both of Canterbury and York the ec^esiastical^assemblies
took dSTffieir final form; all elements of the clergy were
1 See above, pp. 264, 265.