council

council

council. The king's council in Ireland was constituted following the Anglo‐Norman conquest. A separate institution from the council following the king, it was charged with advising him and, more immediately, his governor of Ireland specifically concerning Irish affairs. Apart from matters expressly reserved to the king, the council was omnicompetent. It exercised all the powers of government in conjunction with the governor, who convened and presided over it; and from 1520 it might also take decisions in the governor's absence as an executive privy council. Essentially, its work was judicial, legislative, and executive in nature. The council ordered petitions from the king's subjects in Ireland, and it also determined other legal matters referred by the king—work which, eventually in 1563, gave rise to the court of Castle Chamber. Its legislative functions were from the later 13th century mainly discharged in parliaments or (to 1494) in great councils which were similar in composition and powers to later medieval parliaments but summoned at shorter notice. Orders in council remained important, however, particularly for war and defence, in connection with which local dignitaries might also be summoned (‘afforced councils’) to secure more weighty and public backing.

Although the king's greater tenants‐in‐chief had originally been influential, the council's membership was from the 13th century predominantly ministerial, notably the chancellor, treasurer, two chief justices, chief baron, keeper (later, master) of the rolls, and king's serjeant. These leading officials were by 1300 councillors ex officio. In 1479, the king ordered that nothing should be taken as an act of council without their consent. Yet the king could consult whomever he wished; and medieval governors also sometimes appointed councillors and had discretion as to who should be summoned to a particular meeting. Thus leading magnates were regularly sworn of the council. Occasionally too, individuals might be specially paid as councillors. The medieval council was, like the governor, endlessly itinerant, but as Dublin developed as an administrative capital in the 15th century, the council tended more frequently to meet there, particularly in term time, with the chancellor presiding in the governor's absence. The council's clerical work was discharged, already by 1344 apparently, by a specialized clerk of the council. The clerk sometimes doubled as the governor's secretary under the early Tudors. Thus, until 1560, when a new royal seal, the signet, was created for Ireland, the governor's personal seal was commonly used to warrant council orders. The clerk also kept the council's records: a roll of petitions survives from 1392–3, but original registers of proceedings (referred to in 1486) survive only from 1556. As the weight of government increased, separate regional councils (sometimes, in Ireland, called ‘presidencies’) were established for Connacht (1569) and Munster (1570), following practice in the English provinces, but these councils had more limited powers.

Bibliography

Ellis, S. G. , Reform and Revival: English Government in Ireland, 1470–1534 (1986)
Richardson, H. G. , and Sayles, G. O. , The Irish Parliament in the Middle Ages (1952)

Steven Ellis

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"council." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"council." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-council.html

"council." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-council.html

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council

coun·cil / ˈkounsəl/ • n. an advisory, deliberative, or legislative body of people formally constituted and meeting regularly. ∎  a body of people elected to manage the affairs of a city, county, or other municipal district. ∎  an ecclesiastical assembly. ∎  an assembly or meeting for consultation or advice: that evening, she held a family council.

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"council." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"council." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-council.html

"council." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-council.html

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Council

Council. A formal meeting of bishops and representatives of several Churches convened for the purpose of regulating doctrine or discipline. General or Oecumenical Councils are assemblies of bishops representing the whole Church, and their decrees are held to possess the highest authority. See also CONCILIAR THEORY.

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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Council." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Council." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Council.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Council." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Council.html

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council

council XII. — AN. cuncile, concilie — L. concilium convocation, assembly, f. CON- + calāre call, summon, rel. to Gr. kaleîn call. In form and meaning blended at an early date with counsel, but differentiation began XVI.
So councillor XIV; alt. of COUNSELLOR by assim. to council.

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T. F. HOAD. "council." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "council." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-council.html

T. F. HOAD. "council." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-council.html

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Council

COUNCIL

A legislative body of local government. A group of persons who, whether elected or appointed, serve as representatives of the public to establish state or municipal policies and to assist the chief executive of the government unit in the performance of duties.

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"Council." West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Council." West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3437701173.html

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Council

Council

an assembly elected or appointed to administer a county, district, or city; the governing body of various professions, institutions, societies, etc.

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"Council." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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council

councilhassle, Kassel, passel, tassel, vassal •axel, axle •cancel, hansel, Hänsel, Mansell •transaxle •castle, metatarsal, parcel, tarsal •chancel • sandcastle • Newcastle •Bessel, nestle, pestle, redressal, trestle, vessel, wrestle •Edsel • Texel •intercensal, pencil, stencil •pretzel • staysail • mainsail • Wiesel •abyssal, bristle, epistle, gristle, missal, scissel, thistle, whistle •pixel • plimsoll •tinsel, windsail •schnitzel, spritsail •Birtwistle •paradisal, sisal, trysail •apostle, colossal, dossal, fossil, glossal, jostle, throstle •consul, proconsul, tonsil •dorsal, morsel •council, counsel, groundsel •Mosul • fo'c's'le, forecastle •bustle, hustle, muscle, mussel, Russell, rustle, tussle •gunsel • corpuscle •disbursal, dispersal, Purcell, rehearsal, reversal, succursal, tercel, transversal, traversal, universal •Herzl

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"council." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Council Election Results.
Newspaper article from: Daily Mail (London); 5/2/2003
Councils hit families with 'cynical' tax raid.(News)
Newspaper article from: Daily Mail (London); 2/8/2012
Councils Move to Shared Services with COA Solutions Financial Management System.
News Wire article from: M2 Presswire; 12/1/2009

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