ABSTRACT
Some medieval chroniclers claim that the right of sanctuary dates from as early as the second century when, King Lucius introduced Christianity to England. In spite of the strength of church sanctuary as an institution throughout the mediaeval period, there were often violations. The late twelfth century witnessed a series of attacks upon sanctuary, some of which the author had mentioned. As sanctuary headed for its denouement in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, it was the combined canon and Roman law of the ius commune which provided the source for 'some of the ideas expressed by common lawyers. Barbara H. Rosenwein places medieval asylum within the framework of the more general context of immunities. Sanctuary, like immunities, might also have been 'a practical tool … used to help keep the peace'. Almost alone among historians of sanctuary, Mazzinghi admits the limitations of law and the crucial role that sanctuary did, and potentially could have, in mitigating its flaws.
