The court of the exchequer, which was the ancient court of tax claims, assumed an equity jurisdiction in the sixteenth century which continued until 1841. This book describes the rise, development and abolition of this part of the court. Professor Bryson begins with a discussion of the rise of the equity side of the court during the reign of Henry VIII or Edward VI and its rapid growth under Elizabeth I. This is followed by a note on the generalizing of its jurisdiction at the beginning of the Interregnum. The third chapter deals with the duties of the principal officers - the lord treasurer, the chancellor of the exchequer, the barons of the exchequer, the king's remembrances, and the eight sworn clerks. The fourth chapter traces the equity procedures and describes the archives, which are now in the Public Record Office in London. This chapter will be useful to those who wish to compare this court with another court of equity or to use the exchequer records. Chapter 5 sets out the reasons for the suppression of the equity jurisdiction. This book supplies important information for the lawyer, the historian and the archivist.

Originally published: 5th ed. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1956.

Papers on aspects of the growth of royal government during the century. The size and jurisdiction of English royal government underwent sustained development in the thirteenth century, an understanding of which is crucial to a balanced view of medieval English society. The papers here follow three central themes: the development of central government, law and justice, and the crown and the localities. Examined within this framework are bureaucracy and enrolment under John and his contemporaries; the Royal Chancery; the adaptation of the Exchequer in response to the rapidly changing demands of the crown; the introduction of a licensing system for mortmain alienations; the administration of local justice; women as sheriffs; and a Nottinghamshire study examining the tensions between the role of the king as manorial lord and as monarch. Contributors: NICK BARRATT, PAUL R. BRAND, DAVID CARPENTER, DAVID CROOK, ANTHONY MUSSON, NICHOLAS C. VINCENT, LOUISE WILKINSON