The Court of High Commission

If we were to go on a tour of Morocco or the Sudan, our guides would certainly warn us against things the law might punish. We would not, for instance, expect to drink alcohol in public; nor would the women in our group go bareheaded.

But our tour of England in the 17th century should be subject to far fewer restrictions, right? Well, if Gardiner is right (please review pages 34-37), perhaps the answer is unclear. The establishment of the Court of High Commission was a major change in the way that moral crime was prosecuted in England. Certainly religious crimes were prosecuted in earlier times—read Foxe's Book of Martyrs or any account of the 40 Catholic Martyrs for examples. What the High Commission court added was a way to enforce moral and doctrinal standards outside the framework of the Common Law. Perhaps the strangest thing about the establishment of the Court was how little stir it originally caused. Gardiner suggests that because it coincided with the surge of national goodwill that accompanied the defeat of the Armada, it was overlooked. That may be, but by the time our tour starts, we will see a growing conflict between the ecclesiastical courts and the Common Law, and that conflict will shape much of the landscape we will see.