Provisions of Oxford

The Provisions of Oxford were constitutional reforms to the government of late medieval England, adopted during the Oxford Parliament of 1258 to resolve a dispute between Henry III and his barons. Drafted by a Committee of Twenty-Four, twelve chosen by the Crown and twelve by the barons, they required the king to govern according to the rule of law and the advice of his barons, established a council of fifteen barons to advise and supervise the king's ministers, and required Parliament to meet three times a year. Like the earlier Magna Carta, the Provisions demonstrated the barons' ability to press their concerns against the monarchy, and Henry's failure to abide by them helped spark the Second Barons' War; they were annulled in 1266 by the Dictum of Kenilworth after his victory.