In the Middle Ages, the use of election went hand in hand with the invocation of a principle that, according to all evidence, crucially affected the history of Western institutions. This was the principle of Roman origin: Quod omnes tangit, ab omnibus tractari et approbari debet ("What touches all should be considered and approved by all"). Following the reemergence of Roman law in the twelfth century, both civil and Canon lawyers spread this principle, though reinterpreting it as applying to public matters, whereas in Rome it belonged to private law.The principle Q.O.T. was invoked by Edward I in his writ summoning the English Parliament in 1295, but recent research has shown that by the late thirteenth century the phrase already had wide currency. The expression was also used by the French king Philip IV when he summoned the Estates-General in 1302, and by Emperor Frederick II when he invited the cities of Tuscany to send delegates (nuntii) with full powers.