In 1279, King Edward I formed a bodyguard team of twenty Sergeants-at-Arms. These men protected the King and carried an elaborate battle-mace, both as a weapon and as a badge of office and authority, displaying the royal insignia to people who could not read.
In 1415, after repeated requests from the House of Commons, King Henry I appointed Nicholas Maudit to serve as the Sergeant-at-Arms for the House of Commons.
The primary responsibility of Maudit and the other early parliamentary Sergeants-at-Arms was to provide security for Members of the House of Commons. They were delegated the power to control the public’s admission to Parliament and to arrest people who had been summoned by the Speaker to appear before the Commons.
