Legal Definitions - Articles of the Clergy

The Articles of the Clergy (also known by its Latin name, Articuli Cleri) was a significant English statute enacted in 1315. Its primary purpose was to clarify and establish the boundaries of authority, or jurisdiction, between the courts of the Church (known as ecclesiastical courts) and the courts of the state (referred to as temporal courts). This law aimed to resolve ongoing conflicts and disputes over which court system had the right to hear specific types of cases, thereby defining the scope of religious and secular legal power in medieval England.

Here are some examples illustrating the application of the Articles of the Clergy:

• A priest accused of a non-religious crime: Imagine a parish priest in 14th-century England is accused of assaulting a local merchant. The question arises whether this case should be heard in a secular royal court, which might impose a fine or imprisonment, or in an ecclesiastical court, which traditionally had jurisdiction over clergy and might focus on penance or removal from office. The Articles of the Clergy would have provided guidance on such a situation, clarifying whether the temporal courts had the authority to try a cleric for a common crime, or if the church courts maintained exclusive jurisdiction over their own members, even for offenses not directly related to religious doctrine. This helped prevent clerics from potentially avoiding secular justice for serious offenses.

• Dispute over a will involving church property: Consider a scenario where a wealthy landowner dies, leaving a significant portion of his estate, including a valuable manor, to a local abbey in his will. However, his secular heirs dispute the will, claiming it was made under duress. The conflict here is whether this is a matter of inheritance law and property rights, typically handled by temporal courts, or if the involvement of a religious institution and the spiritual implications of a will (often overseen by church courts) places it within ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The Articles of the Clergy would have been crucial in determining which court system had the authority to interpret the will and adjudicate the dispute over the manor, clarifying the boundaries between secular property law and the church's role in validating wills and overseeing bequests, especially those involving religious beneficiaries.

• A layperson accused of heresy or blasphemy: Suppose a common villager is accused by local church authorities of publicly denying core Christian doctrines, a serious religious offense. While clearly a matter for the church, the question could arise whether temporal authorities had any role in enforcing the church's judgment, or if the church courts had sole power to investigate, try, and punish such an individual, potentially through excommunication or other spiritual penalties. The Articles of the Clergy helped delineate the extent of the ecclesiastical courts' power over laypersons in matters of faith and morals. It would clarify whether the church courts had exclusive jurisdiction over offenses like heresy or blasphemy, or if there were circumstances where temporal courts could become involved, perhaps to enforce a church court's sentence or if the religious offense also constituted a breach of public order under secular law.