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 originated in
Wessex
The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886.
The Anglo-Sa ...
, then expanded to other parts of England. Although retained after the 1066
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 ...
, it gradually lost its power, before the shire courts were formally abolished by the
County Courts Act 1846.
Purpose and membership
Headed by an
Earl
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...
, it was composed of local magnates, both secular and spiritual, who sat in council for the
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 ...
; also present was the county
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 ...
, or shire-reeve, who, after the conquest, became the king's representative. Thereafter it appears courts were headed by the local bishop, who determined the result, while the sheriff ensured it was carried out.
Most legal issues, including theft or murder, were managed by
tithing
A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or ...
and
hundred court
A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of ...
s in the south, or
wapentake
A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of ...
s in the northern shires. The shire court primarily dealt with civil issues, such as land disputes, and met at least twice a year, acting as a Court of Appeal; an issue had to have been rejected three times by a hundred court before it was passed up to the shire court.
Using multiple courts often led to arguments over jurisdiction, that delayed legal resolution; in addition to those of the hundreds, these included
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
. It was possible for a wealthy and determined individual to delay judgement almost indefinitely, but few were powerful enough to do so regularly.
The practice originated in
Wessex
The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886.
The Anglo-Sa ...
, then gradually expanded into the rest of England; a similar model was used in
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, particularly after the 1284
Statute of Rhuddlan
The Statute of Rhuddlan (), also known as the Statutes of Wales ( or ''Valliae'') or as the Statute of Wales ( or ''Valliae''), was a royal ordinance by Edward I of England, which gave the constitutional basis for the government of the Principal ...
, although some unique Welsh practices were retained.
Another important function was collecting taxes for central government. Outside urban areas, Anglo-Saxon England was a non-cash economy, based on
barter
In trade, barter (derived from ''bareter'') is a system of exchange (economics), exchange in which participants in a financial transaction, transaction directly exchange good (economics), goods or service (economics), services for other goods ...
, or
in kind
The term in kind (or in-kind) generally refers to goods, services, and transactions not involving money or not measured in monetary terms. It is a part of many spheres, mainly economics, finance, but also politics, work career, food, health and o ...
payments. The process monetised taxes paid in goods or food lower down, with the members of the court then responsible for converting it into coin.
Decline and abolishment
The courts remained in place after the 1066
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 ...
, but lost their jurisdiction over the church; in return for papal support,
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 ...
established separate
ecclesiastical courts
In organized Christianity, an ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain non-adversarial courts conducted by church-approved officials having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. Histo ...
. Over the next century, criminal justice was gradually transferred to
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 ...
, starting with the ''
Curia regis''; by 1278, shire courts only tried civil cases under 40
shillings
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence ...
(2
pounds sterling
Sterling (Currency symbol, symbol: Pound sign, £; ISO 4217, currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of account, unit of sterling, and the word ''Pound (cu ...
). They continued in existence until abolished by the
County Courts Act 1846.
In middle and later mediaeval times the local criminal courts were presided over by a local
justice of the peace, appointed by the monarch. These developed into
magistrates' courts. Higher criminal courts included commissions of
trailbaston"Trailbaston"
''Luminarium.com''. Retrieved 14 July 2020. and forest courts presided over by a justice in eyre from the time of Henry II
Henry II may refer to:
Kings
* Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014
*Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154
*Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
. These itinerant justices of the high court travelled around one of six eyres or regional court circuits, and by 1234 under Henry III the system had developed into the Court of King's Bench
The Court of King's Bench, formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was a court of common law in the English legal system. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century from the '' curia regis'', the King's Bench initi ...
permanently based in Westminster Hall
Westminster Hall is a medieval great hall which is part of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. It was erected in 1097 for William II (William Rufus), at which point it was the largest hall in Europe. The building has had various functio ...
. Justices of the King's Bench were appointed by letters patent
Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...
to commissions of gaol delivery and oyer and terminer
In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French , which literally means 'to hear and to determine') was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the commission was also ...
which sat at assizes
The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...
; these generally took place in county courts every six months in county town
In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...
s during the Hilary and Trinity vacations.
See also
* Court of piepowders
*English criminal law
English criminal law concerns offences, their prevention and the consequences, in England and Wales. Criminal conduct is considered to be a wrong against the whole of a community, rather than just the private individuals affected. The state, i ...
* Government in medieval England
*History of the courts of England and Wales
Certain former courts of England and Wales have been abolished or merged into or with other courts, and certain other courts of England and Wales have fallen into disuse.
For just under 600 years, from the time of the Norman Conquest until 1642, ...
*Manorial court
The manorial courts were the lowest courts of law in England during the feudal period. They had a civil jurisdiction limited both in subject matter and geography. They dealt with matters over which the lord of the manor had jurisdiction, primar ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
* {{cite journal , last1=Zinkeisen , first1=Frank , title=The Anglo-Saxon Courts of Law , journal=Political Science Quarterly , date=1895 , volume=10 , issue=1 , pages=132–144 , doi=10.2307/2139582 , jstor=2139582
Anglo-Saxon law