Constitutions of Clarendon

 

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(1164) Sixteen articles issued by King Henry II defining church-state relations in England. Designed to restrict ecclesiastical privileges and curb the power of the church courts, the constitutions provoked the famous quarrel between Henry and St. Thomas Becket. Among their controversial measures were the provisions that all revenues from vacant sees and monasteries reverted to the king, who had discretion in filling the vacant offices, and that clerics charged with serious crimes were to be tried in secular courts. Becket's martyrdom in 1170 forced Henry to moderate his attack on the clergy, but he did not repudiate the constitutions.

1164, articles issued by King Henry II of England at the Council of Clarendon defining the customs governing relations between church and state. In the anarchic conditions of the previous reign, the church had extended its jurisdiction in various ways, and it was the king's object to curb the growth of ecclesiastical power by securing the assent of the English prelates to this codification, which he claimed represented the practices followed during the reign of his grandfather, Henry I. The majority of the 16 articles dealt with church authority and the competence of ecclesiastical courts, while others defined the extent of papal authority in England; and they were in fact a fair statement of earlier customs. However, several articles were contrary to canon law, and controversy centered on two clauses in particular: that which provided for the secular punishment of clerics convicted of crime in the ecclesiastical courts (already a major point at issue between the king and the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas à Becket) and that which forbade appeals to Rome without royal consent. After much debate, the English prelates assented to the Constitutions at Clarendon, but after the pope had condemned the codification, Becket repudiated his agreement. When the bitter quarrel between the king and his archbishop ended (1170) in Becket's murder, Henry felt compelled to amend the Constitutions, explicitly revoking the two controversial clauses. However, for the most part the Constitutions of Clarendon remained in effect as part of the law of the land.

Bibliography

See A. L. Poole, From Domesday Book to Magna Carta, 1087–1216 (2d ed. 1955).

The Constitutions of Clarendon were a set of legislative procedures passed by Henry II of England in 1164. They represent an attempt to legislate primarily in areas where the influence of the Church was previously predominant. They were a part of Henry II's larger expansion of royal jurisdiction into the Church and civil law, which was the defining aspect of his reign.

The Constitutions' primary goal was to deal with the controversial issue of "criminous clerks," or clergy who had committed a serious crime but escaped justice via ecclesiastical courts. Unlike royal courts, ecclesiastical courts were more sympathetic to clergy. An ecclesiastical case of murder often ended with the defendant being defrocked (dismissed from the priesthood). In a royal court, murder was often punished with mutilation or death.

The Constitutions of Clarendon were Henry II's attempts to rein in the problem by claiming that once the ecclesiastical courts had tried and defrocked clergymen, the Church could no longer protect the individual, and convicted former clergy could be further punished under the jurisdiction of royal courts. Thomas Becket, then the Archbishop of Canterbury (1162–1170), resisted Henry II's Constitutions, especially the clause concerning "criminous clerks." Becket claimed no man should be placed in double jeopardy. As a result, Henry II exiled Becket and his family. Bishops were in agreement over the articles until the Pope disapproved and then Becket repudiated his arguments. A bitter quarrel resulted leading to Becket being murdered on 29th December 1170. After this Henry felt compelled to revoke the 2 controversial clauses which went against canon law. However the rest stayed in effect as law of the land.

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