Bishop Secures Probate Rights
Bishop Aldric pays a multa to King Henry to obtain royal license. The payment allows Aldric to draft and probate wills for his diocese. He then administers several estates without further royal interference.
Also known as: multae · fine · penalty
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A fine paid by bishops to the king in historical ecclesiastical law to secure the right to make and probate wills and administer estates.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Bishop Aldric pays a multa to King Henry to obtain royal license. The payment allows Aldric to draft and probate wills for his diocese. He then administers several estates without further royal interference.
Bishop Eadric tenders the required multa at the royal court. The king grants permission for will-making and estate oversight. Eadric proceeds to validate testaments and distribute assets under that authority.
Bishop Cuthbert fears loss of probate powers to the crown. He remits the multa directly to the king's treasury. The payment confirms his ongoing right to administer church estates and wills.
Bishop Dunstan delivers the multa to secure testamentary jurisdiction. The king issues formal letters patent in return. Dunstan uses the license to probate wills and manage diocesan properties.
Bishop Wilfrid pays the multa to King Edward. The transaction restores his power to make and prove wills. He immediately begins overseeing several contested church estates.
Bishop Leofric submits the multa after a royal demand. The payment reinstates his authority over wills and estate administration. Leofric resumes validating testaments without crown objection.
A multa allowed bishops to obtain royal permission to make and probate wills and administer estates. It functioned as a payment to the crown in exchange for that authority.
Supporting sources
…contrast was continued in the general revision of 1828, 9 Geo. 4, c. 31, § 13. It disappeared, however, together with the death penalty, in 1837, 7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict., c. 85. § 6, and did not reappear in the Offenses Against the Person Act of 1861, 24 & 25 Vict., c. 100, § 59, that formed the core of English anti-abortion…