Curia regis

The curia regis ([ˈkuː.ri.a ˈreː.gis]), Latin for "the royal council" or "king's court", was any of various councils of advisers and administrators in medieval Europe who served kings, including kings of France, Norman kings of England and Sicily, kings of Poland and the kings of Scotland and Norman Lords of Ireland.

After the Norman Conquest of 1066, the central governing body of the Kingdom of England was called the curia regis (or curia domini regis, 'court of the Lord King'). Before the Conquest, the Anglo-Saxons called this body the witan, and English writers continued to use this term as well. It corresponded to the placitum generale of the Frankish kingdoms, and this name was also applied to the English curia regis. It was similar to, but not the same as, the curia ducis which served the Dukes of Normandy. Members, particularly the king's household knights, were also known as the curiales regis.

The curia regis conducted the business of state whether legislative, judicial, or diplomatic. Its membership was the tenants-in-chief (i.e. the baronage, including bishops and abbots) along with the great officers of state and of the royal household, such as the chancellor, constable, treasurer or chamberlain, marshal, and steward. Occasionally, these would be summoned by the king to meet as a magnum concilium (Latin for "great council").

In between great councils, the curia regis remained in session; though, its membership was much smaller. The smaller curia was composed of royal officers and barons attending the monarch. English kings had itinerant courts during this period, and the small curia followed the king in all his travels. As they traveled the kingdom, the king and curia often heard suitors in person. The powers and functions of the great council and the small curia were identical since they were considered the same institution meeting under different circumstances.

During the 13th century, the great council and the small curia separated into two distinct bodies. The great council evolved into Parliament and the small curia evolved into the Privy Council. The small curia regis then is "the very distant ancestor of the modern executive, the Cabinet acting for the authority of the crown." Early government departments also developed out of the small curia regis, such as the chancery, the treasury, and the exchequer.

Much of Ireland was conquered by the Anglo-Norman kings of England in the late 12th century, and the King was made Lord of Ireland. In 1171, Henry II held a curia regis in Waterford, declaring that English law would run in his Irish domains, an aspiration that was not fully realised.

In Ireland, the Court of the Justiciar in Ireland corresponded with the curia regis in England; the Chief Justiciar presided over it as the king's representative. The Irish curia regis evolved into the Privy Council of Ireland.

In France the King's Court, called the Curia Regis in Latin, functioned as an advisory body under the early Capetian kings. It was composed of a number of the king's trusted advisers but only a few travelled with the king at any time. By the later twelfth century it had become a judicial body with a few branching off to remain the king's council.