Usury and the Medieval English Church Courts

Abstract

Continental historians.' In dealing with enforcement of the law of usury in medieval England, therefore, most general treatments have had either to make reasonable guesses from secondary evidence or to be silent. This article fills a part of the gap.2 It collects the evidence relating to the subject of usury found in the surviving records of the English church courts.3 In some measure, the approach is purely descriptive, bringing to light evidence not previously available. However, insofar as the records permit, the article also attempts to interpret and explain the evidence. Regrettably, the attempt cannot wholly succeed. The records that survive are far from complete, and the information they contain is often unsatisfactory, leaving many questions unanswered. However, the records do contain useful and sure information about the church's attempts to enforce its usury prohibitions in medieval England. They further allow the historian to compare canon law theory with practice and to suggest tentative reasons for the shape that medieval practice took.