Loveday (arbitration)

Last updated

A Loveday (dies amoris (Latin), jour d'amour (French)) was a day, in Medieval England, assigned to arbitrate between parties and resolve legal differences under arbitration rather than common law. They were held between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries, by which time they had died out.

Contents

Origins

Marc Bloch pointed out in his Feudal England that even in a relatively young country such as England, by the year 1000, charters ‘abound’ with not just litigants, but individuals creating their own systems of mediation and arbitration. [1] The earliest known usage of the word 'loveday' is from 1290, although in the early years of its existence it appears to have been less of a legal and more of a religious day, devoted to Christian charity. [2] A hundred years later, Chaucer described it as being symbolised by hand-holding and the renewal of friendship. [3] M.T Clanchy traced the loveday back to a twelfth-century maxim of ‘agreement prevails over law, and love over judgement’ as the most public and most local of mediated settlements. [4]

Mechanics

In the context of a 'loveday', 'love' meant concord or a settlement; [5] likewise, in law, a 'day' indicated a case-opening rather than a twenty-four hour period. [6] There were few, if any restrictions on the kind of business that the loveday could address, as long as the court had authorised it, [7] and this included cases that were pending at a higher court. [8] The results of the loveday could vary; often they broke down (including a celebrated affair in 1411, when on their way to their own loveday, one party ambushed his opponent, with 500 armed men), [9] or they could result in feasts being held, not just for the protagonists, but which the entire manor attended. [10]

Later middle ages

From the later thirteenth century, a loveday gradually became a day where legal redress could be obtained. It was called the dies amoris by Bracton (Latin being the legal lingua franca), and in the contemporary book of manorial law, the Court Baron in the French, jour d'amour. [11] It was a court-appointed day, although the details (time, place, etc.) were up to the litigants to decide). [12] Historians have since debated the extent to which the growth of lovedays was a reflection of the decline in royal authority; Christine Carpenter has suggested that until the fourteenth century the King's writ was sufficient to keep the peace, [13] whilst Edward Powell proposed that, actually, an efficient means of legal self-sufficiency (particularly the means to resolve one's own disputes) was essential particularly if the crown was weak, [14] as was the case for much of the fifteenth century, during the Wars of the Roses.

Notable instances

Related Research Articles

Vexatious litigation is legal action which is brought solely to harass or subdue an adversary. It may take the form of a primary frivolous lawsuit or may be the repetitive, burdensome, and unwarranted filing of meritless motions in a matter which is otherwise a meritorious cause of action. Filing vexatious litigation is considered an abuse of the judicial process and may result in sanctions against the offender.

A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties against one or more parties in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used with respect to a civil action brought by a plaintiff who requests a legal remedy or equitable remedy from a court. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint or else risk default judgment. If the plaintiff is successful, judgment is entered in favor of the plaintiff, and the Court may impose the legal and/or equitable remedies available against the defendant (respondent). A variety of court orders may be issued in connection with or as part of the judgment to enforce a right, award damages or restitution, or impose a temporary or permanent injunction to prevent an act or compel an act. A declaratory judgment may be issued to prevent future legal disputes.

Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants, to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the parties involved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consistory court</span> Ecclesiastical court in the Church of England

A consistory court is a type of ecclesiastical court, especially within the Church of England where they were originally established pursuant to a charter of King William the Conqueror, and still exist today, although since about the middle of the 19th century consistory courts have lost much of their subject-matter jurisdiction. Each diocese in the Church of England has a consistory court.

<i>Res judicata</i> Claim preclusion in law

Res judicata or res iudicata, also known as claim preclusion, is the Latin term for judged matter, and refers to either of two concepts in common law civil procedure: a case in which there has been a final judgment and that is no longer subject to appeal; and the legal doctrine meant to bar relitigation of a claim between the same parties.

A McKenzie friend assists a litigant in person in a court of law in Australia, Canada, England and Wales, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and New Zealand, by prompting, taking notes, and quietly giving advice. They need not be legally trained or have any professional legal qualifications.

Ralph Neville was a medieval clergyman and politician who served as Bishop of Chichester and Lord Chancellor of England. Neville first appears in the historical record in 1207 in the service of King John, and remained in royal service throughout the rest of his life. By 1213 Neville had custody of the Great Seal of England, although he was not named chancellor, the office responsible for the seal, until 1226. He was rewarded with the bishopric of Chichester in 1222. Although he was also briefly Archbishop-elect of Canterbury and Bishop-elect of Winchester, both elections were set aside, or quashed, and he held neither office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William de Ros, 6th Baron Ros</span> English nobleman (c. 1370 – 1414)

William de Ros, 6th Baron Ros, was a medieval English nobleman, politician and soldier. The second son of Thomas de Ros, 4th Baron Ros, and Beatrice Stafford, William inherited his father's feudal barony and estates in 1394. Shortly afterwards, he married Margaret, daughter of John FitzAlan, 1st Baron Arundel. The Fitzalan family, like that of de Ros, was well-connected at the local and national level. They were implacably opposed to King Richard II, and this may have soured Richard's opinion of the young de Ros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forum selection clause</span> Contract clause which requires disputes to be resolved in a given manner or court

In contract law, a forum selection clause in a contract with a conflict of laws element allows the parties to agree that any disputes relating to that contract will be resolved in a specific forum. They usually operate in conjunction with a choice of law clause which determines the proper law of the relevant contract.

International arbitration is arbitration between companies or individuals in different states, usually by including a provision for future disputes in a contract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arbitration</span> Method of dispute resolution

Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitration award'. An arbitration award is legally binding on both sides and enforceable in local courts, unless all parties stipulate that the arbitration process and decision are non-binding.

Loveday is a name, thought to derive from Old English Leofdaeg or alternatively Lief Tag. Leofdaeg is composed of the words leof meaning dear/beloved or precious and daeg meaning day. Lief Tag literally translates to Love Day, and is thought to have existed in eastern Britain from around the 7th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madrid Protocol of 1885</span> 1885 colonial treaty between the UK, Germany and Spain

The Madrid Protocol of 1885 was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain to recognize the sovereignty of Spain over the Sulu Archipelago as well as the limit of Spanish influence in the region. Under the agreement, Spain relinquished all claim to Borneo.

The Spanish Government renounces, as far as regards the British Government, all claims of sovereignty over the

territories of the continent of Borneo, which belong, or which have belonged in the past to the Sultan of Sulu (Jolo), and which comprise the neighbouring islands of Balambangan, Banguey, and Malawali, as well as all those comprised within

a zone of three maritime leagues from the coast, and which form part of the territories administered by the Company styled the "British North Borneo Company".

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for disagreeing parties who cannot come to an agreement short of litigation. However, ADR is also increasingly being adopted as a tool to help settle disputes within the court system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legal financing</span>

Legal financing is the mechanism or process through which litigants can finance their litigation or other legal costs through a third party funding company.

Michael Thomas Clanchy was a British medievalist who was Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London and Fellow of the British Academy.

A court show is a broadcast programming genre comprising legal dramas and reality legal programming. Court shows present content mainly in the form of legal hearings between plaintiffs and defendants, presided over in one of two formats: scripted/improvised with an actor portraying a judge; or, an arbitration-based reality format with the case handled by an adjudicator who was formerly a judge or attorney.

Lady Camilla Bloch ; is a British barrister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loveday (1458)</span> Arbitration event during the Wars of the Roses

The Loveday of 1458 was a ritualistic reconciliation between warring factions of the English nobility that took place at St Paul's Cathedral on 25 March 1458. Following the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses in 1455, it was the culmination of lengthy negotiations initiated by King Henry VI to resolve the lords' rivalries. English politics had become increasingly factional during his reign, and was exacerbated in 1453 when he became catatonic. This effectively left the government leaderless, and eventually the King's cousin, and at the time heir to the throne, Richard, Duke of York, was appointed Protector during the King's illness. Alongside York were his allies from the politically and militarily powerful Neville family, led by Richard, Earl of Salisbury, and his eldest son, Richard, Earl of Warwick. When the King returned to health a year later, the protectorship ended but partisanship within the government did not.

Loveday is a given name and surname.

References

  1. ↑ Bloch, M., Feudal Society, trans. Manyon, L.A. (2 vols, London, 1961), 359.
  2. ↑ Bennett, J.W., 'The Mediaeval Loveday' Speculum, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1958), 352.
  3. ↑ Bennett, J.W., 'The Mediaeval Loveday' Speculum, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1958), 352.
  4. ↑ Clanchy, M.T., 'Law and Love in the Middle Ages', in Disputes and Settlements: Law and human Relations in the West, ed. J. Bossy (Cambridge, 1983), 47-8
  5. ↑ Bennett, J.W., 'The Mediaeval Loveday' Speculum, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1958), 357.
  6. ↑ Bennett, J.W., 'The Mediaeval Loveday' Speculum, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1958), 354, n. 19.
  7. ↑ Bennett, J.W., 'The Mediaeval Loveday' Speculum, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1958), 355.
  8. ↑ Bennett, J.W., 'The Mediaeval Loveday' Speculum, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1958), 356.
  9. ↑ Bennett, J.W., 'The Mediaeval Loveday' Speculum, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1958), 360.
  10. ↑ Bennett, J.W., 'The Mediaeval Loveday' Speculum, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1958), 360.
  11. ↑ Bennett, J.W., 'The Mediaeval Loveday' Speculum, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1958), 353.
  12. ↑ Bennett, J.W., 'The Mediaeval Loveday' Speculum, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1958), 352.
  13. ↑ C. Carpenter, 'Bastard Feudalism in the Fourteenth Century', in Kings, Lords and Men in Scotland and Britain, 1300-1625: Essays in Honour of Jenny Wormald, eds S. Boardman and J. Goodare (Edinburgh, 2014), 89.
  14. ↑ Powell, E., 'Arbitration and the Law in England in the Late Middle Ages: The Alexander Prize Essay', Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 33 (1983), 66-7.
  15. ↑ Hicks, M.A., The Wars of the Roses (London, 2010), 137-40.
  16. ↑ Weckmann, L., 'The Middle Ages in the Conquest of America,' Speculum 26 (1951), 135.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.