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Medieval manuscript image of a legal proceeding

Justices in eyre

JUSTICES IN EYRE. In Medieval England, justices in eyre were groups of itinerant (that is, journeying) judges, who brought the King's Law into the six circuits, or eyres, they served. The word "eyre" derived from the Old French "erre", to journey. These errant, or itinerant, judges were commissioned by the King and had, in essence, the powers of the King behind them.

A general eyre usually occurred every seven years and had jurisdiction over all pleas of the crown, all felonies, all suits concerning franchises, as well as private legal disputes. An eyre would begin by being announced to the circuit a few weeks before the arrival of the justices. All freeholders were required to attend. All cases active in the Court of Common Pleas were turned over to the justices in eyre, to be determined before them. Additionally, the justices in eyre were tasked with investigating and adjudicating charges of misconduct or negligence by local officials.

Verdicts could result in injunctions, orders for specific performance, imprisonment, or even capital punishment. However, most often judgments in eyre resulted in "amercements" (or fines) and, as such, in income for the Crown. These fines could be hefty, and could be levied not only against individuals, but against the respective townships, hundreds, and counties. It is not hard to understand why the eyres were dreaded and hated.

The justices interpreted the King's laws; their judgments were entered in long eyre rolls. Bringing the King's law into the districts around the country had a role in creating conformity in legal decisions regardless of geography, and setting precedents for future cases. Thus, the courts of eyre were instrumental in creating English Common Law. The eyres were gradually replaced by assizes and general commissions of Oyer and Terminer in the latter half of the fourteenth century.





Citation:

Jokinen, Anniina. "Justices in Eyre." Luminarium Encyclopedia.
     25 Sep 2017. [Date you accessed the page].
     http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/eyre.htm




Other Local Resources:




Books for further study:

Goodman, Ellen. Origins of the Western Legal Tradition: From Thales to Tudors.
            Federation Press, 1995.

Janin, Hunt. Medieval Justice: Cases and Laws in France, England and Germany.
            Mcfarland & Co Inc, 2004.

Waugh, Scott L. England in the Reign of Edward III.
            Cambridge University Press, 2007.




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This page was created on September 25, 2017. Last updated May 1, 2023.







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Henry VI
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John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester
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Jack Cade's Rebellion, 1450


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     5th Earl of Northumberland
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     6th Earl of Northumberland
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Sir Francis Bryan
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Sir Thomas Wyatt, the Younger

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Hans Holbein, the Younger
The Sweating Sickness

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Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536
Robert Aske
Anne Askew
Lord Thomas Darcy
Sir Robert Constable

Oath of Supremacy
The Act of Supremacy, 1534
The First Act of Succession, 1534
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The Ten Articles, 1536
The Six Articles, 1539
The Second Statute of Repeal, 1555
The Act of Supremacy, 1559
Articles Touching Preachers, 1583

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William Cecil, Lord Burghley
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury
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Sir Nicholas Bacon
Sir Thomas Bromley

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick
Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon
Sir Thomas Egerton, Viscount Brackley
Sir Francis Knollys
Katherine "Kat" Ashley
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Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury
Gilbert Talbot, 7. E. of Shrewsbury
Sir Henry Sidney
Sir Robert Sidney
Archbishop Matthew Parker
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich
Sir Christopher Hatton
Edward Courtenay, E. Devonshire
Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland
Thomas Radcliffe, 3. Earl of Sussex
Henry Radcliffe, 4. Earl of Sussex
Robert Radcliffe, 5. Earl of Sussex
William Parr, Marquis of Northampton
Henry Wriothesley, 2. Southampton
Henry Wriothesley, 3. Southampton
Charles Neville, 6. E. Westmorland
Thomas Percy, 7. E. Northumberland
Henry Percy, 8. E. Northumberland
Henry Percy, 9. E. Nothumberland
William Herbert, 1. Earl of Pembroke
Charles, Lord Howard of Effingham
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
Henry Howard, 1. Earl of Northampton
Thomas Howard, 1. Earl of Suffolk
Henry Hastings, 3. E. of Huntingdon
Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland
Roger Manners, 5th Earl of Rutland
Francis Manners, 6th Earl of Rutland
Henry FitzAlan, 12. Earl of Arundel
Thomas, Earl Arundell of Wardour
Edward Somerset, E. of Worcester
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Sir Amyas Paulet
Gilbert Gifford
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François, Duke of Alençon & Anjou

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John Dee, Alchemist

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Livery and Maintenance
Oyer and terminer
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Anne of Denmark
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John Selden
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Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford
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Robert Sidney, 2. E. of Leicester
Algernon Percy, E. of Northumberland
Henry Montagu, Earl of Manchester
Edward Montagu, 2. Earl of Manchester

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Test Acts

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Woodstock Manor

The Cinque Ports
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Malmsey Wine
Great Fire of London, 1666
Merchant Taylors' School
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The Sanctuary at Westminster
"Sanctuary"


Images:

Chart of the English Succession from William I through Henry VII

Medieval English Drama

London c1480, MS Royal 16
London, 1510, the earliest view in print
Map of England from Saxton's Descriptio Angliae, 1579
London in late 16th century
Location Map of Elizabethan London
Plan of the Bankside, Southwark, in Shakespeare's time
Detail of Norden's Map of the Bankside, 1593
Bull and Bear Baiting Rings from the Agas Map (1569-1590, pub. 1631)
Sketch of the Swan Theatre, c. 1596
Westminster in the Seventeenth Century, by Hollar
Visscher's View of London, 1616
Larger Visscher's View in Sections
c. 1690. View of London Churches, after the Great Fire
The Yard of the Tabard Inn from Thornbury, Old and New London




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