Dave Fogg Postles, ‘Fidei laesio and debt revisited: the Lichfield consistory court, 1464-1478′

ABSTRACT
Although the contours of fidei laesio (pleas for debt in ecclesiastical courts) were established by Helmholz and suggestions about the wider impact on credit relationships were offered by Briggs, there still remains scope for a detailed examination of the causes in an ecclesiastical court to establish precisely the extent of the litigation in those fora, the composition of the litigants, the character of the debts, and the incentives and impediments to actions (although Helmholz broadly indicated these issues). Accordingly, an examination has been undertaken of two extant registers of the Lichfield consistory court (1464-1478) which survive for the period of maximum referral to these courts by lay (and clerical) creditors and debtors. The information allows a new perspective on the character of the credit relationships prosecuted in the consistory court.

Dave Fogg Postles, Fidei laesio and debt revisited: the Lichfield consistory court, 1464-1478, Continuity and Change volume 39 issue 1. Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2024.

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