Synopsis
The Ecclesiastical Statutes At Large, Extr. And Arranged By J.T. Law by James Thomas Law is a comprehensive legal-historical compilation of English ecclesiastical statutes designed to regulate church governance, property, and practice across England, Ireland, and the empire. It collects and consolidates sections of Acts from the late medieval to the early modern period, emphasizing state sponsorship of Anglican hegemony and the suppression of Papist influence. The text outlines the coercive machinery of the state: residence requirements for recusants, oaths of supremacy, restrictions on public office and education, and penalties for noncompliance, as well as broader themes such as the administration of church courts, tithe and endowment management, and the regulation of marriage, leases of ecclesiastical lands, and pluralities of benefices. It also covers colonial provisions and Welsh-language considerations, documenting how Crown authority, bishops, magistrates, and colonial authorities enforced conformity through fines, sequestration, and institutional reforms. The work serves as a reference for understanding how law, religion, and governance intersected in Britain’s legal and imperial history.
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