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The Statute of Westminster of 1275 (3 Edw. I), also known as the Statute of Westminster I, codified the existing law in England, into 51 chapters. Only Chapter 5 (which mandates free elections) is still in force in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
, whilst part of Chapter 1 remains in force in
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
. It was repealed in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
in 1983.
William Stubbs William Stubbs (21 June 182522 April 1901) was an English historian and Anglican bishop. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford between 1866 and 1884. He was Bishop of Chester from 1884 to 1889 and Bishop of O ...
gives a summary of the Statute: Though it is a matter of dispute when ' (
Law French Law French ( nrf, Louai Français, enm, Lawe Frensch) is an archaic language originally based on Old Norman and Anglo-Norman, but increasingly influenced by Parisian French and, later, English. It was used in the law courts of England, be ...
for "hard and forceful punishment") was first introduced, chapter 3 states that those felons standing mute shall be put in '.


History

The Statute of Westminster of 1275 was one of two English
statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by ...
s largely drafted by
Robert Burnell Robert Burnell (sometimes spelled Robert Burnel;Harding ''England in the Thirteenth Century'' p. 159 c. 1239 – 25 October 1292) was an English bishop who served as Lord Chancellor of England from 1274 to 1292. A native of Shropshire, h ...
and passed during the reign of
Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...
. Edward I had returned from the Ninth Crusade on 2 August 1274 and was crowned King of England on 19 August. His first
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
was summoned for the
quinzaine Quinzaine is a word of French language derivation: 'a quinzaine' is to Fifteen as 'a dozen' is to Twelve, and 'a trental' is to Thirty. It has various contexts of use in English. 'La quinzaine' is used in French to indicate a two week period, just ...
of the Purification on 16 February 1275 but was
prorogued A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two election ...
until the day after
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...
on 22 April 1275, but did not meet until the week commencing 29 April or, according to Chronicle records, until the beginning of May, for unknown reasons. It met at
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
, its main work being the consideration of the Statute of Westminster I, the agreement of new levies in Ireland and allowing the King to levy a new tax on wool. This was drawn up, not in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
, but in
Norman French Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...
, and was passed "by the assent of Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, Barons, and llthe Commonalty of the Realm, being thither summoned."


Chapters

The Statute of Westminster I is composed of 51 chapters:


Ireland

In the early history of the
Lordship of Ireland The Lordship of Ireland ( ga, Tiarnas na hÉireann), sometimes referred to retroactively as Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Anglo-Norman lords between ...
, English statutes were often applied to Ireland. A 1285
writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...
authorised Stephen de Fulbourn, then
Justiciar of Ireland The chief governor was the senior official in the Dublin Castle administration, which maintained English and British rule in Ireland from the 1170s to 1922. The chief governor was the viceroy of the English monarch (and later the British monarch ...
, to apply there English statutes including Westminster I, Westminster II,
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east o ...
, and those of merchants. A 1320 act of the
Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two ch ...
(13 Edw. 2 c.2) readopted all these statutes. An act of
Edward Poynings Sir Edward Poynings KG (1459 – 22 October 1521) was an English soldier, administrator and diplomat, and Lord Deputy of Ireland under King Henry VII of England. Early life Edward Poynings was the only son of Sir Robert Poynings (c.1419–14 ...
' 1495 session of the
Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two ch ...
adopted statutes "formerly made for the
common weal Common Weal is a Scottish pro-independence think tank and advocacy group which campaigns for social and economic equality in Scotland. It launched in 2013 and regularly publishes papers and works exploring an alternate economic and social model ...
" in England; later the Maintenance and Embracery Act 1634 adopted all English statutes dealing with champerty and maintenance and embracery. Many chapters of the 1275 English statute were repealed with respect to Ireland by the
Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872 The Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict c 98) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which repealed, as to Ireland, certain Acts of the Parliament of England which had been extended to the then Lordship of Ireland by ...
. In the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...
, the
Short Titles Act 1962 The Short Titles Act 1962 (No. 5) is an Act of the Oireachtas. It authorises the citation, by short titles, of English statutes applied to Ireland by Poynings' Act 1495 and by the Maintenance and Embracery Act 1634, and of pre-Union Irish statut ...
assigned the short title "Distress Act 1275" to chapter 16 of the 1275 English statute, as adopted under the 1495 Irish act; and the short title "Maintenance and Champerty Act 1275" to chapters 25 and 28 of the 1275 English statute, as adopted under the 1634 Irish act. The Statute Law Revision Act 1983 repealed the whole of the 1275 English statute and the 1285 and 1320 Irish statutes.


See also

*
Statute of Westminster 1285 The Statute of Westminster of 1285, also known as the Statute of Westminster II or the Statute of Westminster the Second, like the Statute of Westminster 1275, is a code in itself, and contains the famous clause '' De donis conditionalibus'', one ...
* ''
Quia Emptores ''Quia Emptores'' is a statute passed by the Parliament of England in 1290 during the reign of Edward I that prevented tenants from alienating their lands to others by subinfeudation, instead requiring all tenants who wished to alienate the ...
'' of 1290 is sometimes called the statute of Westminster III


References


Notes


Sources

* - Chapter 5 of the Statute * *


Additional reading

* {{UK legislation 1275 in England 1270s in law 13th century in England Acts of the Parliament of England Acts of the Parliament of England still in force History of the City of Westminster Medieval English law