Legal Definitions - recto de advocatione

Recto de advocatione refers to a specific type of legal action, or "writ of right," that existed in historical English common law. It was used by an individual or entity to assert their superior and permanent claim to an advowson. An advowson is the legal right to nominate or present a qualified cleric (such as a priest or vicar) to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice, like a parish church, thereby appointing them to that position. Essentially, a recto de advocatione was a lawsuit brought to definitively determine who rightfully owned the power to choose a spiritual leader for a particular church or chapel.

Here are some examples illustrating its application:

• Dispute Between Feudal Lords: Imagine two powerful feudal lords, Lord A and Lord B, both claiming the right to appoint the new rector for a prosperous parish church located near their respective estates. Lord A might assert that his family has held the advowson for centuries through an ancient grant, while Lord B might argue that the right was transferred to his lineage through a marriage settlement generations ago. To resolve this fundamental dispute over who permanently holds the advowson, one of the lords would initiate a recto de advocatione to legally establish their superior, enduring claim to this valuable right.
• Monastery vs. Private Patron: Consider a situation where a monastery believes it was granted the advowson for a rural chapel by a royal charter centuries ago, giving it the right to appoint the chaplain. However, a local wealthy landowner, a private patron, begins to assert that the advowson rightfully belongs to their family, having been passed down through inheritance. If the chapel becomes vacant and both parties attempt to present their chosen cleric, the monastery or the landowner would bring a recto de advocatione to obtain a definitive legal judgment on who possesses the permanent right to appoint the chaplain.
• Crown vs. Noble Family: In some cases, the Crown (the monarchy) might dispute a noble family's claim to an advowson. For instance, a noble family might believe they inherited the advowson for a cathedral prebend (a type of church office with an income). The Crown, however, might contend that the original grant of the advowson had specific conditions that were violated, or that the family's line of succession for the advowson had failed, causing the right to revert to the monarch. A recto de advocatione would be the legal mechanism used by either the Crown or the noble family to settle this profound dispute over the ultimate ownership of the advowson.