ABSTRACT
He went on to promise that he would speak to the Commons directly and not through the intermediaries of the Speaker or his servants. Despite his friendly words and good intentions, though, the parliament was distinguished by a failure of communication not only between the king and the Commons but between members of the Lower House themselves. Less than two months later, in the face of paranoia about the misreporting of speeches and threats of dissolution, John Hoskyns pointed out that ‘this was titled a parliament of love but the arguments that are made are rather of fear.’2 Many of his fellow MPs made speeches that seriously suggested James was acting more like a tyrant than a king and that they were in danger of being enslaved.
