Treason Act 1535
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act concerning the Forging of the King's Sign Manual, Signet and Privy Seal. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 27 Hen. 8. c. 2 |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 14 April 1536 |
| Commencement | 4 February 1536[a] |
| Repealed | 28 July 1863 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Treason Act 1553 |
| Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1863 |
| Relates to | |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Treason Act 1535 or Forging the Sign-manual, etc. Act 1535 (27 Hen. 8. c. 2) was an act passed by the English Parliament during the reign of King Henry VIII of England in 1535.
It made it high treason to counterfeit the Privy Seal, Signet or royal sign-manual.
Commentary
[edit]Sir Geoffrey Elton argued that the extension of the definition of treason to include forgery of the king's signet or sign-manual by this act was demanded by administrative methods new since the Treason Act 1351 (25 Edw. 3 Stat. 5. c. 2).[1]
The act was also acknowledged as an important milestone for the recognition of the importance of authenticity and legitimacy in the Tudor period, given that high treason was punishable by death.[2]
Repeal
[edit]The act was virtually repealed by the Treason Act 1553 (1 Mar. Sess. 1. c. 1), but another act passed later in the same year, the Treason (No. 2) Act 1553 (1 Mar. Sess. 2. c. 6) recreated the offence.[3]
The whole act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. 125).
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Start of session.
References
[edit]- ^ Elton, G. R. (1968). "The Law of Treason in the Early Reformation". The Historical Journal. 11 (2): 211–236. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00001990. ISSN 0018-246X. JSTOR 2637780.
- ^ Lerer, Seth (2004). "Paul Bush and the Chaucer Tradition". Medium Ævum. 73 (1): 103–109. doi:10.2307/43630702. ISSN 0025-8385. JSTOR 43630702.
- ^ Lords, Great Britain Parliament House of (1863). Public Bills — Statute Law Revision Bill. p. 120.
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