Articles of Eyre

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England formed the office of coroner in September 1194 with Article 20 of the Articles of Eyre. The coroner’s job was to record the king’s pleas for the royal courts, from the Latin custos placitorum coronae. The Eyre of 1194, started under Hubert Walter as justiciar, aimed to restore royal justice after the disorder of Prince John’s rebellion while Richard I was detained returning from the Third Crusade. Within two months, royal justices on eyre had visited every shire, and local knights were made coroners to record crown pleas for the justices. The reform was mainly to raise money for Richard’s campaign to reconquer Normandy, and coroners were also tasked with listing rebel wealth and the resources of each shire.