The Oxford History of the Laws of England

The long transition from a natural state to a liberal economic order

“…The laws of England in middle ages were a mixture of customary laws, feudal laws, church laws, and the decisions of the royal courts (Helmholz, 2004). The Norman rulers of England had inherited an Anglo-Saxon legal system that was based on customary law.…”

‘The Enemy of God and His Church’: James Hobart, Praemunire, and the Clergy of Norwich Diocese

“…112 Such an action could possibly have been brought on the basis that tithes, once severed from the ground, became lay chattels, but the presentment stopped short of alleging praemunire. 113 The second Suffolk presentment concerned an offence also committed in August 1504. 114 The bishop and his officers had allegedly demanded probate fees in excess of those stipulated in provincial legislation and by common law.…”

Least of the laity: the minimum requirements for a medieval Christian

“…130 It is apparent, rather, that compromise was required of all parties. 131 The obligation to abstain from work on Sundays and feast-days also developed from biblical precedent. The early church had been cautious about transferring observance of the Old Testament Sabbath to the Christian Sunday, but the prescription was recognised gradually, finding its way into Justinian's Code (3.2), Gregory IX's Decretals (X 2.9.1), and other legislation.…”

“…133 In a ruling subsequently incorporated into the Decretals (X 2.9.3), Alexander III (1159-81) exempted necessary labour e to protect crops or catch fish during a limited season e and the canonical interpretation of 'need' became relatively broad during the thirteenth century. 134 A profusion of fairs and markets on Sundays and feast-days in early thirteenth-century England suggests that public utility and commerce might be exempted, but the church increasingly acted against commercial activity from the mid-thirteenth century. 135 Legislation not only exempted purchase of necessary food and drink, however, but was relatively indulgent towards recreation and amusements on Sundays and feast-days.…”