Our Legal Heritage: The First Thousand Years: 600 - 1600: King Aethelbert - Queen ElizabethReilly, S. A.
History
Our Legal Heritage: The First Thousand Years: 600 - 1600: King Aethelbert - Queen Elizabeth
Reilly, S. A.
Law -- England -- History
Various courts had overlapping jurisdiction. For instance,
trespass could be brought in the Court of Common Pleas because
it was a civil action between two private persons. It could also
be brought in the Court of the King's Bench because it broke the
King's peace. It was advantageous for a party to sue for
trespass in the King's court because there a defendant could be
made to pay a fine to the King or imprisoned, or declared outlaw
if he did not appear at court. In a couple of centuries,
trespass on the case will extend all over the previous common
law including assumpsit, ejectment, trover, deceit, libel,
slander, battery, and assault. And the rigid writs with specific
forms of action for common law cases will fall into disuse.
Parliament's supremacy over all regular courts of law was firmly
established and it was called "the high court of Parliament",
paradoxically, since it came to rarely function as a law court.
The humanist intellectual revival also caused the church courts
to try to eliminate contradictions with state law, for instance
in debt, restitution, illegitimacy, and the age of legal
majority.
Chapter 12
The Times: 1509-1547
Renaissance humanism came into being in the nation. In this
development, scholars in London, Oxford, and Cambridge
emphasized the value of classical learning, especially Platonism
and the study of Greek literature as the means of better
understanding and writing. They studied the original Greek texts
and became disillusioned with the filtered interpretations of
the church, for example of the Bible and Aristotle. There had
long been displeasure with the priests of the church. They were
supposed to preach four times yearly, visit the sick, say the
daily liturgies, and hear confessions at least yearly. But there
were many lapses. Many were not celibate, and some openly lived
with a woman and had children. Complaints about them included
not residing within their parish community, doing other work
such as raising crops, and taking too much in probate,
mortuary, and marriage fees. Probate fees had risen from at most
5s. to 60s. in the last hundred years. Mortuary fees ranged from
1/3 to 1/9 of a deceased person's goods. Sanctuary was abused.
People objected to the right of arrest by ecclesiastical
authorities.
Also, most parish priests did not have a theology degree or even
a Bachelor's degree, as did many laymen. In fact, many laymen
were better educated than the parish priests. No one other than
a laborer was illiterate in the towns.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account