es are used very largely in ancient language,
and, down to the time of Edward III., comprehend the king's ordinary
council, as well as his barons. Nor can these, at any rate, be
construed to pass an inheritance, which in the grant of a private
person, much more of a king, would require express words of limitation.
In a single instance, the writ of summons to Sir Henry de Bromflete (27
H. VI.), we find these remarkable words: Volumus enim vos et haeredes
vestros masculos de corpore vestro legitime exeuntes barones de Vescy
existere. But this Sir Henry de Bromflete was the lineal heir of the
ancient barony de Vesci.[301] And if it were true that the writ of
summons conveyed a barony of itself, there seems no occasion to have
introduced these extraordinary words of creation or revival. Indeed
there is less necessity to urge these arguments from the nature of the
writ, because the modern doctrine, which is entirely opposite to what
has here been suggested, asserts that no one is ennobled by the mere
summons unless he has rendered it operative by taking his seat in
parliament; distinguishing it in this from a patent of peerage, which
requires no act of the party for its completion.[302] But this
distinction could be supported by nothing except long usage. If,
however, we recur to the practice of former times, we shall find that no
less than ninety-eight laymen were summoned once only to parliament,
none of their names occurring afterwards; and fifty others two, three,
or four times. Some were constantly summoned during their lives, none of
whose posterity ever attained that honour.[303] The course of
proceeding, therefore, previous to the accession of Henry VII., by no
means warrants the doctrine which was held in the latter end of
Elizabeth's reign,[304] and has since been too fully established by
repeated precedents to be shaken by any reasoning. The foregoing
observations relate to the more ancient history of our constitution,
and to the plain matter of fact as to those times, without considering
what political cause there might be to prevent the crown from
introducing occasional counsellors into the house of lords.[305]

[Sidenote: Bannerets summoned to house of lords.]

It is manifest by many passages in these records that bannerets were
frequently summoned to the upper house of parliament, constituting a
distinct class inferior to barons, though generally named together, and
ultimately confounded, with them.[306] Baro