The History of Parliament is supporting a one-day colloquium, organised by Paul Cavill and Alexandra Gajda through the Centre for Early Modern British and Irish History, to be held on Saturday 20 April, in the Habakkuk Room, Jesus College, Oxford.

Because the ideological template of early modern England remained resolutely traditionalist, it was the re-envisioning of the past that empowered the momentous changes of this period. Medieval ideas about counsel, consent, and responsible government coalesced around parliament. This colloquium will explore the rise of parliament in the contemporary historical imagination. Renaissance scholarship prompted new approaches to the reading and writing of history, which exercised a powerful influence on the ways that contemporaries interpreted the politics of their own world. The place of parliament in early modern literature encompassed plays and poetry as well as more strictly defined works of history. The colloquium therefore will bring together the political study of parliament with work on antiquarian, intellectual, literary, and religious culture.

Speakers include: Ian Archer, Andrew Boyle, Paul Cavill, Pauline Croft, Alexandra Gajda, Simon Healey, Paulina Kewes, Scott Lucas, Jason Peacey, Paul Seaward.

For further information and details about registration please email Paul Cavill (p.r.cavill@leeds.ac.uk) or Alexandra Gajda (alexandra.gajda@jesus.ox.ac.uk)