R. H. Helmholz
Search for other papers by R. H. Helmholz in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Close
Judges and trials in the English ecclesiastical courts

This chapter examines the nature of trials in the English ecclesiastical courts, paying special attention to the role played by the judges. It focuses on the period from the mid-fifteenth century to the 1640s, when the ecclesiastical courts in England were abolished, as it turned out temporarily. As in the Western Church generally, the English courts were organised by diocese. A few of the consistory courts also employed an 'examiner general' to carry on the depositions of witnesses which provided the bedrock of proof in the spiritual forum. Some courts would also have been able to call upon the bishop's 'sequestrator' to enforce appropriate orders to take revenues of churches into the bishop's hands, although it seems unlikely that these men regularly attended court sessions. Like many office-holders in the Ancien Regime, the judges of England's ecclesiastical courts depended upon court fees for their basic incomes.

  • Collapse
  • Expand

All of MUP's digital content including Open Access books and journals is now available on manchesterhive.

 

Metrics

All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 0 0 0
Full Text Views 473 26 1
PDF Downloads 1874 173 12