Praemunire statutes

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Praemunire statutes. The statutes of Praemunire, the first dating from 1351, were passed to prevent the pope from interfering with the king's rights in relation to clergy benefices in England. The statutes imposed penalties on anyone who invoked papal authority to oust the jurisdiction of the king's courts. In 1363 a statute provided that any persons who offended against the statutes must answer for their action before the king's council. This was to be of great significance in the Reformation period and was one of the principal grounds for arraigning before the council those who sought to appeal to Rome, or to accept the authority of the pope after Henry VIII's break with Rome.

Maureen Mulholland