Who represented the common people in the House of Commons during the Middle Ages?
Okay, let's delve into the representation of common people in the medieval House of Commons. During the Middle Ages, the English Parliament was evolving, and it wasn't quite the representative body we know today. The House of Commons was primarily intended to represent the interests of the 'commoners,' but who exactly were these commoners? Well, it wasn't just any ordinary peasant. The nobility and great landowners had their own representation in the House of Lords. The commoners in the House of Commons were represented by knights. Think of knights as more than just warriors; they were often landowners themselves, but of a lesser status than the great lords. They were elected by other landowners in the shires, so they had a direct connection to the concerns of the local people. Bishops, while influential, sat in the House of Lords representing the Church. So, while it wasn't a perfect system of representation by modern standards, the knights were the ones specifically tasked with voicing the concerns of the common landowners and people in the House of Commons during that period.
Think of the knights as the 'champions' of the common folk, representing them in the House of Commons.