Royal justices were

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

s in

medieval England England in the Middle Ages concerns the history of England during the Middle Ages, medieval period, from the end of the 5th century through to the start of the Early modern Britain, early modern period in 1485. When England emerged from the co ...

with the power to hear pleas of

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

. They were roving officials of the

king of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

, sent to seek out notorious robbers and murderers and bring them to justice.

Norman period

In medieval England, the king dispensed justice. He judged cases himself with the advice of his (Latin for "king's court"). But he could also delegate this power to others. Before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

of 1066, each

shire Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

had its own

shire court A shire court or shire moot was an Anglo-Saxon government institution, used to maintain law and order at a local level, and perform various administrative functions, including the collection of taxes for the central government. The system origina ...

presided over by the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

, who was the king's representative. The laws of Cnut () reserved the most serious crimes, such as murder and treason, to the king's jurisdiction as pleas of the Crown.

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

() and

William Rufus William II (; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third son of William the Co ...

() occasionally commissioned trusted

barons Barons may refer to: *Baron (plural), a rank of nobility *Barons (surname), a Latvian surname *Barons, Alberta, Canada * ''Barons'' (TV series), a 2022 Australian drama series * ''The Barons'', a 2009 Belgian film Sports * Birmingham Barons, a Min ...

to hear cases at the shire courts, which were called

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

courts after the Conquest. Under Rufus, these judicial commissions were supplemented by itinerant justices.

Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry ...

() organised the royal justices into judicial circuits, and his

chief justiciar Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

would send justices on periodic general eyres to investigate crown pleas and levy fines for dereliction of duty. They could also hear common pleas (anything not a crown plea) at the request of the parties. This is the origin of the modern system where High Court judges go "on circuit" to hear serious cases. In cases involving crown pleas, the itinerant justices presided over the county court, while the sheriff's role was to preserve order and ensure the necessary people attended court. Nevertheless, the sheriff still presided over non-royal pleas. Royal justices were chosen from among barons and

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

s of the royal household, and they played an important role in ensuring the king had accurate information regarding events in the counties.{{Sfn, Lyon, 1980, pp=168–169

Norman period

See also

References