Editing Woolsack (section)

==History==

In the 14th century, King [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] (1327–1377) said that his Lord Chancellor, while in council, should sit on a [[wool bale]], now known as "The Woolsack", to symbolise the central nature and great importance of the wool trade to the [[economy of England in the Middle Ages]].<ref name=HP1>{{cite web |url= http://www.parliament.uk/site-information/glossary/woolsack/|title= Glossary: Woolsack |publisher= UK Parliament|access-date=2014-10-25}}</ref><ref name="friar480">{{harvnb|Friar|2004|pp=480–481}}</ref> Indeed, it was largely to protect the vital [[Medieval English wool trade|English wool trade]] routes with continental Europe that the [[Battle of Crécy]] was fought with the French in 1346.<ref name=sumption188>{{harvnb|Sumption|1991|pp=188–189}}</ref>

In 1938, it was discovered that the Woolsack was stuffed with horsehair. When it was remade, it was re-stuffed with wool from the [[British Isles]] and all over the [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]], supplied by the [[International Wool Secretariat]], as a symbol of unity.<ref name=HP3>{{Cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/architecture/palace-s-interiors/lords-chamber/|title=The Lords Chamber|publisher=UK Parliament|access-date=3 February 2013}}</ref>

From the [[England in the Middle Ages|Middle Ages]] until 2006, the presiding officer in the House of Lords was the [[Lord Chancellor]], and the Woolsack was usually mentioned in association with the office of Lord Chancellor. In July of that year, the function of [[Lord Speaker]] was split from that of Lord Chancellor under the [[Constitutional Reform Act 2005]], with the former now sitting on the Woolsack.<ref name=HP2>{{harvnb|Gay|2003|p=16}}</ref>

Until 1949, Canada's [[Senate of Canada|Senate]] had a judges' woolsack. At the behest of [[Jean-François Pouliot (politician)|Jean-François Pouliot]], an MP from [[Quebec]], who decried the use of a cushion on which the [[Supreme Court of Canada]]'s judges had to sprawl "like urchins," the woolsack was eventually abolished and replaced with conventional chairs. The original woolsack is still extant.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sencanada.ca/en/sencaplus/how-why/how-a-venerable-senate-icon-got-the-sack/ |publisher=Senate of Canada |title=How A Venerable Senate Icon Got The Sack |date=January 28, 2020}}</ref>