The Rise and Fall of the High Commission

2007. ISBN-13: 9781584777335; ISBN-10: 1584777338. A Powerful Court Established by Henry VIII Usher, Roland G. The Rise and Fall of the High Commission. Originally published: Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913. 380 pp. Reprinted 2007 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN-13: 9781584777335; ISBN-10: 1584777338. Hardcover. New. $85. * Reprint of the standard work on the High Commission, a powerful institution with broad legal powers that was established by Henry VIII to supervise ecclesiastical affairs. Closely allied with Star Chamber, it had the authority to enforce the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, punish ecclesiastical offenses and suppress movements dangerous to the Church of England. It also enjoyed an exclusive jurisdiction in cases involving separation, alimony, immorality, heresy and non-conformity, and it later enforced Star Chamber's rules on censorship. Its procedure was generally based on civil law practice. Attacked by the Puritans, common lawyers and Sir Edward Coke during the late-sixteenth century, it was abolished during the Commonwealth, re-established under James II and abolished again in 1689 under the Bill of Rights. Long out of print, Usher's monograph is an essential contribution to our understanding of English legal history during one of its most dynamic and tumultuous periods.