The iuramentum perhorrescentiae under canon law: an influence on the development of early chancery jurisdiction?

The iuramentum perhorrescentiae was a remedy under canon law in the fourteenth century by which any person could have his case tried in the first instance at the Papal Curia by swearing that, because of the power of his adversary, he did not expect to obtain justice in the locality. The English chancellor exercised a similar jurisdiction in the late-fourteenth century in cases in which the plaintiff claimed he could not avail himself of the common law remedy because of the defendant's power. This paper examines the possible influence of the iuramentum perhorrescentiae on the development of early Chancery jurisdiction.