Legal Definitions - Articuli Cleri

Articuli Cleri is a historical Latin term meaning "Articles of the Clergy." It refers to a significant English statute enacted in 1316 during the reign of King Edward II. This legislation was a crucial response to long-standing conflicts between the secular (royal) courts and the ecclesiastical (church) courts over their respective powers and jurisdictions. Its primary purpose was to clarify and define the boundaries of authority between the Crown and the Church, particularly concerning matters involving clergy members, church property, and the types of cases each court could hear. It aimed to reduce friction and establish a clearer legal framework for these interactions.

• Imagine a scenario in 14th-century England where a local priest is accused of a non-violent misdemeanor, such as disturbing the peace. The local sheriff's court (a secular court) might attempt to try him, while the bishop's court (an ecclesiastical court) would also claim jurisdiction, arguing that a cleric should be tried by his peers within the Church. The Articuli Cleri would have provided specific guidance on which court had the rightful authority to hear such a case, depending on the precise nature of the offense and the accused's clerical status, thereby preventing a jurisdictional standoff.

• Consider a dispute over a piece of land that a local abbey claims as part of its historical endowment, but a neighboring lord asserts is rightfully his through a recent purchase. Before the Articuli Cleri, such a dispute could lead to significant contention over whether a royal court, focused on land ownership, or a church court, concerned with ecclesiastical property, should decide the matter. The statute helped clarify which types of property disputes, especially those involving ecclesiastical entities or their assets, fell under the jurisdiction of the church courts versus the king's courts, aiming to prevent arbitrary seizures or conflicting judgments based on differing legal systems.