The Suppression of Heresy Act 1414 (2 Hen. V St. 1, c. 7) was an Act of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

. The Act made

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

an offence against the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...

and temporal officers were to swear to help the spiritual officers in the suppression of heresy.

Justices of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

were given the power of inquiry; to issue an order to arrest; and to hand over the suspected heretic to the ecclesiastical court for trial.Dudley Julius Medley, ''A Student's Manual of English Constitutional History. Sixth Edition'' (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1925), pp. 601-02. It also enacted that

Notes

{{reflist Acts of the Parliament of England concerning religion 1410s in law 1414 in England Christianity and law in the 15th century