Parliament of Devils
The Parliament of Devils was a session of the Parliament of England, held at Coventry. It was the 21st Parliament summoned in the reign of King Henry VI of England.
The Parliament was summoned on 9 October 1459 for a first meeting on 20 November 1459.
Sir Thomas Tresham, knight of the shire for Northamptonshire, was elected Speaker of the House of Commons.
The main business of the Parliament was to pass bills of attainder for High treason against the leading Yorkist nobles, following the start of a new stage in the Wars of the Roses and the Battle of Ludford Bridge.
The prominent figures condemned at this Parliament were Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, his sons Edward, Earl of March (the future King Edward IV) and Edmund, Earl of Rutland, as well as Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury and his son, Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick.
The Parliament was dissolved on 20 December 1459 and it is crucial to recognise that the Duke of York was not invited to this parliament.