The Church Under the Law

Dr Marchant has produced a systematic account of Church courts as they were re-moulded to serve the Protestant Church in England after the Elizabethan Settlement, and at a time when they were still one of the principal responsibilities of bishops and archdeacons. Responding to the challenge of the times, these courts displayed a vitality and adaptability which has often been unrecognized. This study is based on a detailed account of the courts in the diocese of York, but the author measures the individuality of the northern courts by constant reference to the typical southern diocese of Norwich. There is a full description of the lawyers and the ecclesiastical 'civil service', the amount and nature of the business transacted by the courts, the internal administration of the Church and the sources of its administrative law.