The term is derived from Old French erre, from Latin iter ("journey"), and is cognate with errand and errant.
The eyre of 1194 was initiated under Hubert Walter's justiciarship to restore royal justice following the anarchy of Prince John's rebellion.
The Articles of Eyre appointed local knights as coroners to record crown pleas to be presented to the justices.
The coroners were also required to account for the wealth forfeited by the rebels and list the financial resources of each shire.
[2] One medieval chronicle asserts that the 1233 Eyre of Cornwall provoked terror in the populace, with men having "fled into the woods" in fear of the judges.