Trial of William Laud

The trial of William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, took place in stages in the first half of the 1640s, and resulted in his execution on treason charges.

Arrested in late 1640, Laud was held initially for tactical reasons in the struggle between Charles I of England and the English parliament.

[2] The trial has been called a "travesty of justice", in that Laud was clearly innocent of the major charges, which were not seriously documented even given the run of his private papers.

On the other hand, Laud's defence of his own actions was not conducted with full candour; and lesser charges sometimes stuck, despite his astute use of denial of personal responsibility.

[3] William Laud was arrested at the same time as Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, whose fate he would eventually share.

Laud was first placed in the custody of Black Rod, on the day (18 December 1640) when Denzil Holles moved his impeachment in the Lords.

It is unclear whether the original verbal charges can be recovered accurately from the published versions, some of which can be considered pamphleteering or subject to editorial additions.

[22] Oliver St John had a hand in reviving the stalled prosecution, in 1643, having regard to the views of the Scots and his own position.

[25] Laud's legal team was made up of Chaloner Chute, Richard Gerrard, Matthew Hale, and John Herne.

[26] The first 20 days of the trial fell into a pattern of the prosecution presenting their case in the morning, a two-hour break, and Laud answering in the afternoon.