The Cort General was set up during the reign of Jaume I, who, at the Assembly of the Peace and Truce of God in 1214, established the participation of representatives of the cities and free towns. The institution was firmly consolidated at the Corts of Barcelona in 1283 during the reign of Pere II. The Cort, convened and presided over by the king, was attended by the General de Catalunya - a delegation from each of the social estates in the country consisting of the Church, the military and the nobility, and the populace. The Corts were the highest expression of the pact between the royal power and the land: complaints from the three branches and royal taxes were debated, and new laws were approved by consensus.