5 Annotations

First Reading

Michael Robinson  •  Link

Per L&M Companion:

(d. 1682). Of Greenwich; Registrar of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury from at least 1665.

dinah keane  •  Link

mark cottle was a registrar in prerogative court. What did this mean

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"A prerogative court is a court through which the discretionary powers, privileges, and legal immunities reserved to the sovereign were exercised. In England in the 17th century a clash developed between these courts, representing the crown's authority, and common law courts. Prerogative courts included the Court of the Exchequer, the Court of Chancery, and the Court of the Star Chamber. Their procedures were flexible and not limited by common law procedures. The Star Chamber became a tool of Charles I employed against his enemies, and was abolished by parliament [in 1641]. A parallel system of common law courts was grounded in Magna Carta and property rights; the main common law courts were the Court of the King's Bench and the Court of Common Pleas ." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prer…

Second Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

The Cottles had a nice house in Greenwich:

"Thence with them to Mr. Cuttle’s, being invited, and dined nobly and neatly; with a very pretty house and a fine turret at top, with winding stairs and the finest prospect I know about all Greenwich, save the top of the hill, and yet in some respects better than that. Here I also saw some fine writing worke and flourishing of Mr. Hore, ... that is this man’s clerk. " -- Tuesday 26 December 1665

Michael Zell  •  Link

Mr Foreman has not come up with a correct or useful description of the 'Prerogative Court of Canterbury' (or PCC). It was the highest church court for the province of Canterbury (i.e. most of southern England) and - for most people - its importance was that it proved (or registered and agreed) the last wills and testaments of wealthier people in the province. Historically it dealt with the wills of people who died leaving 'bona notabilia' (or goods and lands) in more than one diocese (e.g. in London and in Winchester). The wills of most ordinary people were handled by the church courts of their own diocese. However, with the collapse of the traditional church courts during the interregnum, the PCC was transformed into a semi-secular court and for a time offered
probate for wills of many people who were by no means wealthy. With the Restoration, the PCC was revived in its traditional identity as the superior court of the restored Church of England. In the mid-1660s its leading official (and a practitioner of civil and ecclesiastical law - rather than a common lawyer) was Mark Cottle; with whom Pepys socialised in 1665-66.

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References

Chart showing the number of references in each month of the diary’s entries.

1665

1666

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