The Royal Charters of Jersey, 1341-1687

An edition and translation, with introduction and extended commentary, of all the royal charters granted to Jersey.

Examines the process by which the charters were negotiated and the pressures operating on the parties to each grant, including the crown and its local representatives, and the various elements of the local community. It compares and contrasts the charters with those granted to Guernsey, and sets them in the wider context of franchises and liberties across the territories of the English crown through the late medieval and early modern period.

Overall, the book highlights the crucial role of these charters in establishing the constitutional position of the bailiwick of Jersey. This is more than a subject of historical interest. The foundations of the constitutional position of Jersey are of great significance for the people of Jersey now and into the future. Jersey’s constitutional relationship with the Crown is continuing to evolve, including to address the trading implications of Brexit. Understanding the distinct constitutional position of Jersey and the development of its rights to be governed by its own laws and customs may inform constitutional developments in Jersey, the crown dependencies and elsewhere.

Tim Thornton is Deputy Vice-Chancellor of and a Professor of History at the University of Huddersfield. He is the author, amongst other works, of Cheshire and the Tudor State, 1480-1560 (2000), Prophecy, Politics and the People in Early Modern England (2006) and The Channel Islands, 1370-1640 (2012), all published by Boydell and Brewer.