On February 11, 1254, King Henry III of England summoned a parliament that, for the first time, included elected representatives from the shires, with two knights from each county. This innovation marked a significant step in the evolution of the English Parliament, as it began to include representatives from the gentry alongside the barons and clergy. The move was driven by the king's need for financial support for his campaigns in Gascony.

The summoning of elected representatives to parliament was a landmark event in the development of English constitutional history and was noted by contemporary chroniclers such as Matthew Paris. This precedent of involving a broader segment of society in governance would later be celebrated in political poems and treatises, contributing to a growing body of political literature that advocated for the rights of subjects and the limits of royal power.