Constitutions of Clarendon

The Constitutions of Clarendon were a set of legislative procedures enacted by Henry II of England in 1164. Composed of 16 articles, they represented an attempt to restrict ecclesiastical privileges and curb the power of the Church courts and the extent of papal authority in England, after the Church had extended its jurisdiction during the weak royal authority of Henry II's predecessor, King Stephen; the Constitutions were presented as restoring the law as it had been observed under Henry I. They take their name from Clarendon Palace in Wiltshire, the royal hunting lodge where they were promulgated.