When Latimer demanded to know by whom and by what authority he was being indicted, Sir Peter de la Mare supplied the historic answer that the Commons as a body would maintain all their charges in common. At one stroke he created the constitutional means for impeachment and removal of ministers.
In the historical context described by Barbara W. Tuchman in "A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century," Latimer's inquiry about his indictment led to a groundbreaking exchange with Sir Peter de la Mare. De la Mare's assertion that the Commons as a collective would uphold their accusations marked the establishment of a crucial constitutional mechanism for holding ministers accountable through impeachment. This pivotal moment not only clarified the Commons' role in...
