Magnum Concilium

English government

Also known as: Great Council

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June 30, 2026

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The term "Magnum Concilium" translates to "great council" and refers to a preeminent political council. In England, under the Norman kings, it was the principal council or assembly composed of the sovereign's tenants in chief. This body closely resembled its predecessor, the commune concilium, with the key distinction that its baronial councillors were bound to the king by feudal ties. The witan, the council of Anglo-Saxon kings, served a similar advisory role, assisting the king with grants, laws, and dealing with disaffection, though its composition and meeting times were at the king's discretion.12

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Parliament
Historical development
…of two governmental institutions: the Magnum Concilium, or Great Council, comprising lay and ecclesiastical magnates, and the Curia Regis, or King’s Court, a much smaller body of semiprofessional advisers. At those meetings of the Curia Regis that came to be called concilium regis in parliamento (“the king’s council in parliament”),…
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…of two governmental institutions: the Magnum Concilium, or Great Council, comprising lay and ecclesiastical magnates, and the Curia Regis, or King’s Court, a much smaller body of semiprofessional advisers. At those meetings of the Curia Regis that came to be called concilium regis in parliamento (“the king’s council in parliament”),…
Read More