Benefit of Clergy — • The exemption from the jurisdiction of the secular courts, which in England, in the Middle Ages, was accorded to clergymen Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Benefit of Clergy Benefit of Clergy … Catholic encyclopedia
Benefit of clergy — Clergy Cler gy, n. [OE. clergie, clergi, clerge, OF. clergie, F. clergie (fr. clerc clerc, fr. L. clericus priest) confused with OF. clergi[ e], F. clerg[ e], fr. LL. clericatus office of priest, monastic life, fr. L. clericus priest, LL. scholar … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
benefit of clergy — In old England, the privilege of clergy that allowed them to avoid trial by all courts of the civil government. Dictionary from West s Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005. benefit of clergy In old Eng … Law dictionary
benefit of clergy — n. 1. the exemption of the medieval clergy from trial or punishment except in a church court 2. an administering or sanctioning by the church [a couple that is married without benefit of clergy] … English World dictionary
benefit of clergy — ► benefit of clergy 1) historical exemption of the English clergy and nuns from the jurisdiction of the ordinary civil courts. 2) ecclesiastical sanction or approval. Main Entry: ↑benefit … English terms dictionary
Benefit of clergy — In English law, the benefit of clergy (Law Latin Privilegium clericale) was originally a provision by which clergymen could claim that they were outside the jurisdiction of the secular courts and be tried instead in an ecclesiastical court under… … Wikipedia
benefit of clergy — noun sanction by a religious rite they are living together without benefit of clergy • Hypernyms: ↑sanction * * * Etymology: translation of Medieval Latin beneficium clericale 1. : the privilege claimed by the medieval church of demanding a trial … Useful english dictionary
Benefit of clergy — One of the issues at the centre of the dispute between Henry II and the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. The benefit released *clergy, criminous clerks , from the power of secular courts regarding various charges of felony and other… … Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases
benefit of clergy — 1. the rites or sanctions of a church. 2. formal marriage: living together without benefit of clergy. 3. the privilege claimed by church authorities to try and punish, by an ecclesiastical court, any member of the clergy accused of a serious… … Universalium
benefit of clergy — ben′efit of cler′gy n. 1) rel the rites or sanctions of a church: living together without benefit of clergy[/ex] 2) rel the medieval privilege of clerics to be tried by ecclesiastic rather than secular courts • Etymology: 1480–90 … From formal English to slang
