The Parliament of Bats was a Parliament of England that was held in 1426 in Leicester. Meetings took place in the great hall of Leicester Castle. The king at the time, Henry VI, was an infant, and the session saw him knighted in St Mary de Castro Church across the road from the Castle Great Hall.^[1]

Tensions were high because of the ongoing dispute between Cardinal Beaufort, the Bishop of Winchester and off-and-on Lord Chancellor, and the Duke of Gloucester, the King's uncle and regent. Members and their attendants were therefore not allowed by the Duke of Gloucester to carry swords, and so armed themselves with bats, giving rise to the name "Parliament of Bats". The parliament saw Beaufort removed permanently as Lord Chancellor and replaced with John Kemp.

References

^ "The Parliament of Bats – 1426". Semper-eadem.tripod.com. Retrieved 24 June 2012.

Parliaments of medieval England

Thirteenth century

Henry III	Oxford, 1258 London, 1265
Edward I	Westminster, 1295

Fourteenth century

Edward II	Westminster, 1327
Edward III	Westminster, 1376 Westminster, 1377
Richard II	Westminster, 1386 Westminster, 1388

Fifteenth century

Henry IV	Westminster, 1399 Coventry, 1404
Henry V	Leicester, 1414
Henry VI	Leicester, 1426 Coventry, 1459

Sixteenth century

Henry VIII	Westminster, 1529–1536

See also

References