High Commission

In England, ecclesiastical court established under the Royal Supremacy in the provinces of York and Canterbury following Henry VIII's break with Rome 1534. It dealt primarily with offences against the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity and from the 1590s was used to root out extreme Puritanism and later to assist the Arminians. Both Puritans and lawyers protested against its arbitrary abuse of procedure and the court became increasingly discredited until it was eventually abolished 1641 after the Stuarts had used it to enforce the royal prerogative.