Ecclesiastical Courts is not a trending topic in today’s world.  It probably never will be.   But if it has a chance of ever hitting that dubious height, it will be in great part due to the work of Professor Helmholz here.  He owns this topic.   His explanation of the legal profession in these Ecclesiastical Courts turns a dry and complicated subject into one ready to be understood. 

This book is broken into two basic parts.  The first is “The Profession Described.”  And describe he does.  Professor Helmholz breaks it down into language one wishes they had studying law in contemporaneous times.  It answers the question of why Roman Law was such an important topic for Canon Law students all those years ago.   That alone makes this book worth reading outside of research purposes.

Part Two is “The Profession Illustrated.”  Professor Helmholz  delves into the  character and duties of eighteen advocates and procurators of the legal profession in England’s Ecclesiastical Courts.  He explores the parameters of spiritual jurisdiction exercised by noteworthy ecclesiastical lawyers from the twelfth century through the nineteenth century.   None of the names are fodder for common knowledge, but each has his own distinction as an Ecclesiastical Lawyer. 

Society today is fascinated by Law.  It has always been a popular topic in western culture.  Television, films and podcasts revel in stories of fighting for justice,  how to get it, and most importantly, who gets it for those downtrodden.  This part of the book is Ecclesiastical Lawyers for the Unenlightened.  It tells who obtained justice in his age, even fought for it.  By describing the personal and professional lives of the eighteen he selected over seven centuries, Professor Helmholz gives a comprehensive line of development for law that eventually leads to today.   For students of law and religion this book connects many dots between the legal studies, jurisdiction, influence, writing and professional day to day work of ecclesiastical lawyers in England.  It’s a crawl rather than a leap of faith.  But each lawyer described in his six pages of biography has something that makes him stand out, something worth noting.  Finding that notable thing keeps one reading each short biography.  This is the type of writing one can take in small bites, at one’s reading leisure,  to think about and once or twice, even savor. 

Professor Helmholz has proven his expertise in fifty years of work on this topic.  In this book he shows not only his expertise but an enthusiasm for it that rubs off on the reader.  It is inevitable.  He puts on display lawyers who may have had his enthusiasm as well.  Stepping through their professional lives is a walk worth taking, especially with the enthusiasm so obvious in this author.