Historians of the English legal profession have written comparatively little about the lawyers who served in the courts of the Church. This volume fills a gap; it investigates the law by which they were governed and discusses their careers in legal practice. Using sources drawn from the Roman and canon laws and also from manuscripts found in local archives, R. H. Helmholz brings together previously published work and new evidence about the professional careers of these men. His book covers the careers of many lesser known ecclesiastical lawyers, dealing with their education in law, their reaction to the coming of the Reformation, and their relationship with English common lawyers on the eve of the Civil War. Making connections with the European ius commune, this volume will be of special interest to English and Continental legal historians, as well as to students of the relationship between law and religion.

Co-winner for runner up, 2022 The Inner Temple Book Prize, The Inner Temple

‘This valuable book by one of our most eminent legal historians is the product of fifty years engagement with the history of the Church courts in England. It not only provides new insights into the careers of eighteen very different ecclesiastical lawyers over seven centuries but also (in the first half) prepares the way with an accessible and authoritative history of their profession.'

John H. Baker - Downing Professor Emeritus of the Laws of England, University of Cambridge

‘The Profession of Ecclesiastical Lawyers: An Historical Introduction is an important contribution to the literature on the history of the legal profession by the leading scholar of canon law. It combines a thorough and insightful analysis of the development, education, and regulation of a somewhat neglected segment of the English legal profession with a view of the profession through the activities of its practitioners.'

Jonathan Rose - Willard H. Pedrick Distinguished Research Scholar Emeritus, Arizona State University

‘No one knows the history of ecclesiastical law in the British Isles better than R. H. Helmholz. This volume provides a unique and authoritative overview of the training and practice of English ecclesiastical lawyers, together with biographical portraits of some twenty leading practitioners brought to life with skill and energy. Drenched with fresh and fascinating insights, this is a mighty work of scholarship.'

Mark Hill - Inner Temple, London

‘The Profession of Ecclesiastical Lawyers is an illuminating work from one of the leading historians of canon law, and it has value for both a specialist and a general audience.’

Jennifer McNabb Source: Reviews in History