Associated with the King in government was the Great or Central
Council, made up of, first, the earls and barons; and secondly, of the
archbishops, bishops, and abbots; that is, of all the great
landholders holding directly from the Crown. The Great Council
usually met three times a year,--at Christmas, Easter, and
Whitsuntide. All laws were held to be made by the King, acting with
the advice and consent of this Council,--which in the next century
first came to be known as Parliament (1246, 1265, 1295),--but
practically the King alone often enacted such laws as he saw fit
(SS213, 217).
When a new sovereign came to the throne, it was with the consent or by
the election of the Great Council, but their choice was generally
limited to some one of the late King's sons, and unless therer was
good reason for making a different selection, the oldest was chosen.
Finally the right of imposing taxes rested, theoretically at least, in
the King and Council, but, in fact, the King himself frequently levied
them. This action of the King was a cause of constant irritation and
of frequent insurrection.