Magnates were still the most important lay patrons. Individually, they were patrons of many churches, not just one or two. They had patronage rights in religious houses, some of them of great wealth and importance. And their influence over clerical appointments extended well beyond their formally constituted rights, reflecting their standing and their connections with prelates and the Crown. We need now to look at how that influence played out when issues relating to patronage were at the forefront in politics. We know very well that the later thirteenth century was a formative period in Church–State relations, particularly in terms of papal provisions, the so-called ‘alien priories’ and the taxation of the clergy. All of those had implications for the patrons who had endowed the ecclesiastical institutions which were affected by them. The magnates were called upon to play an active part in relation to these matters and the evidence enables us to infer what their views may have been. Did the Crown manage to harness the support of the magnates in its policies towards the Church? And, if so, why was that support forthcoming?

The first point to establish is whether or not the magnates were involved in the formulation of royal policies. Clearly, from 1258–65 during the baronial reform movement and civil war there had been occasions on which certain magnates had dominated royal policy and had compromised the king's decision-making powers.