By Betty Kirkpatrick
We have French to thank for the word parliament. It is derived from the Old French word parlement, itself derived from parler, to speak. The word parliament came into English in the 13th century, originally meaning talk or discussion. Later it came to mean a consultative council and then a legislative body. Now it appears to have reverted to its original meaning and become a talking shop.
The British parliament is a descendant of the Curia Regis (King’s Court). This was established in England in medieval times as a body of advisers to the king. These advisers consisted of those who were perceived to be the great and good of the land, lords, landowners and senior church leaders. Lesser mortals were not represented.
It is said that we owe the concept of parliament to the Icelandic people. In the tenth century they established the Althing, the name by which the Icelandic parliament is still known. Its purpose was to discuss the country’s business, was attended by all of the country’s 36 local chieftains and met once a year. They cannot have had much to talk about – but, then, Iceland is a small country and it was well before the banking crisis.
We appear to have given up the practice of giving nicknames to our parliaments, which I think is a pity. Among the interesting ones of the past is the Club Parliament. This referred to a parliament held in Northampton in the early 15th century when the members, having been forbidden to carry arms, carried clubs instead. I think it would be quite an apt name for the present Westminster parliament for quite a different reason, given the backgrounds of many of the MPs.
There have very probably been many useless parliaments over the centuries, but the one that was given this nickname was the short-lived parliament convened by Charles I in 1625. It earned this title because it did not do anything but quarrel with the king. This is a title that could well be revived some time in the future
In Edinburgh in January 1661, a parliament was convened which was given the name the Drunken Parliament. It is said that its members were in an inebriated state most of the time. Surely not! They were probably just tired.
Betty Kirkpatrick is the former editor of several classic reference books, including Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary and Roget’s Thesaurus. She is also the author of several smaller language reference books, including The Usual Suspects and Other Clichés published by Bloomsbury, and a series of Scots titles, including Scottish Words and Phrases, Scottish Quotations, and Great Scots, published by Crombie Jardine.
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