The pages which follow attempt to describe the history of the canon law and the ecclesiastical courts in England during the era of the Reformation. That ‘era’ is here taken in an extended sense, as embracing the reigns of all the Tudor monarchs together with that of James I, or from 1485 to 1625. This choice of dates was dictated in the first instance by a desire to tell a fuller story than would be possible by concentrating simply on the years when ties between England and the papacy were cut, and also by a belief that the causes and consequences of constitutional change would be more fairly seen over the course of a longer period. Luckily, later research justified the choice. The evidence shows that this part of the history of ecclesiastical jurisdiction in England cannot be adequately described by concentrating on a few years or upon a single event.

Behind the description found in these pages lies a continuing investigation of the records of the ecclesiastical courts. By the sixteenth century these records survive in great profusion for virtually every English diocese and archdeaconry. I doubt that anyone can do more than sample this vast store. Certainly that is all I have done. The book is also based, however, on a preliminary examination of another kind of legal literature. It consists of a surprisingly large number of manuscript works written for and used in actual practice by the English civilians, the advocates and proctors who staffed the spiritual tribunals.