1 Answers
Henry of Bracton, also Henry de Bracton, also Henricus Bracton, or Henry Bratton also Henry Bretton was an English cleric and jurist.
He is famous now for his writings on law, particularly Tractatus de legibus et consuetudinibus Anglie and his ideas on mens rea. According to Bracton, it was only through the examination of a combination of action and intention that the commission of a criminal act could be established.
He also wrote on kingship, arguing that a ruler should be called king only if he obtained and exercised power in a lawful manner.
In his writings, Bracton manages to set out coherently the law of the royal courts through his use of categories drawn from Roman law, thus incorporating into English law several developments of medieval Roman law.