Sir Peter de la Mare (died after 1387) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

politician and

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

during the

Good Parliament The Good Parliament is the name traditionally given to the English Parliament of 1376. Sitting in London from April 28 to July 10, it was the longest Parliament up until that time. It took place during a time when the English court was perceived ...

of 1376.

Family

His parents were probably Sir Reginald de la Mare (died before 1358), of

Yatton Yatton is a village and civil parish within the unitary authority of North Somerset, which falls within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located south-west of Bristol. Its population in 2011 was 7,552. The parish includes Clav ...

and Little Hereford in Herefordshire, and his wife Margery. His younger brother Malcolm, also prominent in Herefordshire and an MP in several Parliaments, died childless. His sister Joan married Simon Brockbury and their daughter Margaret married William Seymour, having a son Roger (died 1420) who inherited his great-uncle's estates, which implies that Sir Peter died childless and may never have married.

Life

Before becoming Speaker, Mare worked as a toll collector, was

Sheriff of Herefordshire This is a list of Sheriffs and, since 1998, High Sheriffs of Herefordshire The position of Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in each county, but over the centurie ...

in 1374, and served as a steward to

Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March Edmund de Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and ''jure uxoris'' Earl of Ulster (1 February 135227 December 1381) was the son of Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, by his wife Philippa, daughter of William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury and Catherine Gr ...

. It may have been his connection with Mortimer which led to his election to Parliament. Peter de la Mare attended the

in 1376 as a

knight of the shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistributio ...

for

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

. After being elected as Speaker, he served as a spokesman for the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

during the indictment of various figures close to

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

, including the king's mistress

Alice Perrers Alice Perrers, also known as Alice de Windsor (circa 1348 –1400) was an English and British royal mistress, English royal mistress, lover of Edward III of England, Edward III, Monarchy of the United Kingdom, King of England. As a result o ...

, who was accused of having gained an undue degree of influence over the king. However, the political influence of the Good Parliament was brief. In November 1376, Peter de la Mare was imprisoned in

Nottingham Castle Nottingham Castle is a Stuart Restoration-era ducal mansion in Nottingham, England, built on the site of a Norman castle built starting in 1068, and added to extensively through the medieval period, when it was an important royal fortress and o ...

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

. Despite pleas for his release, the

Bad Parliament The Bad Parliament sat in England between 27 January and 2 March 1377. The initial summons for the parliament went out on 1 December 1376, and the writ dissolving it was dated 2 March 1377. History The Bad Parliament was the last parliament of Ki ...

of 1377 refused to pardon him. However, he regained his freedom in June 1377, following the death of Edward III. Following his release, Mare was pardoned and compensated by

King Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father d ...

. He was re-elected as Speaker of the Commons in the Parliament of October 1377. Peter de la Mare served in several more Parliaments during the 1380s. The last recorded mention of him was as a

feoffee Under the feudal system in England, a feoffee () is a trustee who holds a fief (or "fee"), that is to say an estate in land, for the use of a beneficial owner. The term is more fully stated as a feoffee to uses of the beneficial owner. The use o ...

to Richard Burley in 1387.

In ''Piers Plowman''

Many scholars agree that the parliament of rats and mice in the prologue of ''

Piers Plowman ''Piers Plowman'' (written 1370–86; possibly ) or ''Visio Willelmi de Petro Ploughman'' (''William's Vision of Piers Plowman'') is a Middle English allegorical narrative poem by William Langland. It is written in un-rhymed, alliterative v ...

'' is a direct reference to the Good Parliament. Peter de la Mare is portrayed as the "rat of renown" who proposes belling the cat (who is probably

), thus casting him as a well-intentioned reformer who would not or could not follow through.Dodd, G. ''A parliament full of rats? Piers Plowman and the Good Parliament of 1376.'' Historical Research 79:203, 2006.

References

*Holmes, George (1975). ''The Good Parliament''. Oxford, Clarendon Press. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Mare, Peter de la Speakers of the House of Commons of England 1387 deaths Recipients of English royal pardons Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown Anglo-Normans English people of French descent High Sheriffs of Herefordshire English MPs 1376 Year of birth uncertain English MPs October 1377