Secularizing a Religious Legal System: Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in Early Eighteenth Century England
The early eighteenth-century English ecclesiastical courts are a case study in the secularization of a legal system. As demonstrated elsewhere, the courts were very busy. And yet the theoretical justification for their jurisdiction was very much a matter of debate throughout the period, with divine-...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sciendo
2019-07-01
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| Series: | British Journal of American Legal Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.2478/bjals-2019-0001 |
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doaj-3b0a7b94049c4ca3b0fc5f246d2276e22021-09-05T21:00:27ZengSciendoBritish Journal of American Legal Studies2049-40922019-07-018113610.2478/bjals-2019-0001bjals-2019-0001Secularizing a Religious Legal System: Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in Early Eighteenth Century EnglandHarris Troy L.0Associate Professor of Law, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. MichiganUSAThe early eighteenth-century English ecclesiastical courts are a case study in the secularization of a legal system. As demonstrated elsewhere, the courts were very busy. And yet the theoretical justification for their jurisdiction was very much a matter of debate throughout the period, with divine-right and voluntaristic conceptions vying for precedence. Placed in this context, the King’s Bench decision in Middleton v Crofts (1736) represented an important step in the direction of limiting the reach of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and did so on grounds that undermined divine-right justifications of the ecclesiastical court system as a whole.https://doi.org/10.2478/bjals-2019-0001secularizationeighteenth centuryecclesiastical courtsmiddleton v croftscanon law |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
Harris Troy L. |
| spellingShingle |
Harris Troy L. Secularizing a Religious Legal System: Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in Early Eighteenth Century England British Journal of American Legal Studies secularization eighteenth century ecclesiastical courts middleton v crofts canon law |
| author_facet |
Harris Troy L. |
| author_sort |
Harris Troy L. |
| title |
Secularizing a Religious Legal System: Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in Early Eighteenth Century England |
| title_short |
Secularizing a Religious Legal System: Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in Early Eighteenth Century England |
| title_full |
Secularizing a Religious Legal System: Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in Early Eighteenth Century England |
| title_fullStr |
Secularizing a Religious Legal System: Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in Early Eighteenth Century England |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Secularizing a Religious Legal System: Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in Early Eighteenth Century England |
| title_sort |
secularizing a religious legal system: ecclesiastical jurisdiction in early eighteenth century england |
| publisher |
Sciendo |
| series |
British Journal of American Legal Studies |
| issn |
2049-4092 |
| publishDate |
2019-07-01 |
| description |
The early eighteenth-century English ecclesiastical courts are a case study in the secularization of a legal system. As demonstrated elsewhere, the courts were very busy. And yet the theoretical justification for their jurisdiction was very much a matter of debate throughout the period, with divine-right and voluntaristic conceptions vying for precedence. Placed in this context, the King’s Bench decision in Middleton v Crofts (1736) represented an important step in the direction of limiting the reach of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and did so on grounds that undermined divine-right justifications of the ecclesiastical court system as a whole. |
| topic |
secularization eighteenth century ecclesiastical courts middleton v crofts canon law |
| url |
https://doi.org/10.2478/bjals-2019-0001 |
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AT harristroyl secularizingareligiouslegalsystemecclesiasticaljurisdictioninearlyeighteenthcenturyengland |
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