How Parliament began

Magna Carta put a limit on the king's power in writing. In 1215, King John's noblemen forced him to accept the charter, which laid down that the king, too, was bound by the law, and it limited how freely any monarch after him could rule.

Out of that new authority grew two separate Houses in England. The House of Lords was filled by the nobility, great landowners and bishops, who sat there by rank or office rather than by any vote. The House of Commons was different: knights and wealthy people from the towns and cities sat there, chosen by election, even though only a small part of the population could take part in choosing them. Scotland took its own path, building a Scottish Parliament of three Houses, called Estates, instead of two: the lords, the commons and the clergy.